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How are your book club picks looking for 2025? To help book clubs pick their reads for next year, we've compiled a big list of favorites that we think would make great discussion selections. All these books are paired with reading guides and have been featured (or will be featured) on BookBrowse, and all are either recent or upcoming hardcover or paperback releases. Some are even tried-and-tested titles from our own online book club, and we've included the discussion links below for inspiration. Happy reading!
Please note that discussions may contain spoilers.
Quick Links:
Contemporary Fiction
Hardcover Mar 2024. 256 pages
Published by Mariner Books
From the New York Times bestselling author, a novel in the tradition of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, exploring the ties and fractures of a close-knit Indian-American family in the aftermath of a violent encounter with the police.
Why we recommend it: Gowda's novel includes many topical themes ripe for thought and discussion, including immigration, assimilation, and the American Dream. Book club member millicentg comments, "This was a book that I will be thinking about all week and one that I want to recommend to friends, family and my book club."
Oct 2023. 402 pages
Published by Alder House Books
Finalist of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for fiction, Half a Cup of Sand and Sky is a moving portrait of one woman's search for love and belonging cast against a nuanced backdrop of political turmoil.
Why we recommend it: A love story set against Iranian politics from the 1970s to the 1990s, Half a Cup of Sand and Sky offers a rich mix of societal and human elements. Book clubber Archana writes, "While the backdrop of Iran in the latter part of the last century and the cultural nuances that shape all the characters add to the captivating storyline and provide yet another dimension, the human reactions, philosophy and ideologies can be seen rampant even today across almost all parts of the world."
Oct 29, 2024. 320 pages
Published by Catapult
*Upcoming book club pick
A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a family, and will remain unsolved for nearly fifty years.
Why we recommend it: This is a deeply character-driven story that takes on the important subject of Indigenous family separation and invites discussion on past and present related issues. Eric Nguyen writes for The New York Times Book Review, "[Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting...With The Berry Pickers, Peters takes on the monumental task of giving witness to people who suffered through racist attempts of erasure like her Mi’kmaw ancestors."
Oct 2024. 336 pages
Published by Counterpoint Press
Five siblings in West Virginia unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured.
Why we recommend it: If your book club would enjoy fiction that's contemporary but nevertheless takes place in a virtually unrecognizable world, this work of modern gothic horror may be just the ticket. First Impressions reader Becky S. remarks, "This is definitely not my normal genre, but I found this book very intriguing and creepy and strange...This would be a great book club book because there are so many things to discuss!"
Hardcover Sep 2024. 416 pages
Published by Scribner
From Rachel Kushner, a Booker Prize finalist, two-time National Book Award finalist, and "one of the most gifted authors of her generation" (The New York Times Book Review), comes a new novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective in France—a propulsive page-turner of glittering insights and dark humor.
Why we recommend it: This layered and complex work may be best enjoyed when you have the option of discussing the many questions it raises with others. Reviewer Erin Lyndal Martin writes, "I wasn't fully sure what I was reading at times...This is one of those books where everything clicks into place an hour after finishing."
Hardcover Mar 2024. 320 pages
Published by Scribner
An electric contemporary reimagining of the myth of Persephone and Demeter set over the course of one summer on a lush private island, about addiction and sex, family and independence, and who holds the power in a modern underworld.
Why we recommend it: Fans of (thoroughly) modernized Greek myths will find plenty to bask in here and much to discuss about how ancient concepts of love and power can be applied to today's world. Reviewer Elisabeth Cook notes, "Because we know how the story ends, or think we do, the question of what will happen isn't the main draw — the action and telling are. Lyon's novel, if thoroughly drenched in the contemporary world, isn't just modern décor filling the set piece of the original myth, either, but echoes the roiling energy of the Homeric poem."
Hardcover Jul 2024. 496 pages
Published by Riverhead Books
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.
Why we recommend it: Moore's most recent novel is a perfect pick for mystery-loving book clubs seeking substantial themes. Reviewer Kim Kovacs explains, "the plot concerns not only two separate mysteries but abounds with subplots, examining themes such as family dysfunction, class structure, and the roles of women."
Hardcover Mar 2023. 400 pages
Published by The Dial Press
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a poignant and engrossing family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?
Why we recommend it: A classic, character-rich family story based on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Hello Beautiful "moves beyond blood ties and uplifts not only the bonds between family members, but between those we choose to make family" (Abby Edgecumbe).
Hardcover Sep 2024. 464 pages
Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux
An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family―but especially love―from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.
Why we recommend it: Sally Rooney's intriguing way of writing relationships is on full display here, and book clubs who have had fruitful discussions about the author's previous novels will want to snatch this one up. "As in her previous works, sexual and emotional relationships and their blurred boundaries are at the center," writes reviewer Alicia Calvo Hernández, "Rooney delves into the characters' complex minds with acuity."
Hardcover May 2024. 304 pages
Published by Scribner
From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love, the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín's most popular work twenty years later.
Why we recommend it: Reviewer Kim Kovacs writes, "I can't recall another book in my recent reading that I've been so eager to discuss with others, so I have to think Long Island would make an excellent book club selection. Those looking for an outstanding character-driven novel will most certainly want to put this one on their lists."
Hardcover Feb 2024. 352 pages
Published by Grand Central Publishing
In this enchanting love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem.
Why we recommend it: Williams' novel is an entertaining rom-com that's serious enough for a riveting book club discussion. "While this book is profoundly emotionally moving, it's also laugh-out-loud funny, with quippy banter straight out of Gilmore Girls" (Jillian Bell).
Paperback Jan 28, 2025. 288 pages
Published by Henry Holt and Company
Based on the Olivier and Tony Award-winning play, Suzie Miller's Prima Facie is an unforgettable story of what happens when a victim is asked to navigate a system that is not set up to accommodate the lived experience of sexual assault survivors.
Why we recommend it: Prima Facie is an intense exploration of sexism and rape culture that paves the way for a considered and informed discussion of these subjects. Reviewer Valerie Morales describes it as being "about the internal and external flaws of both humans and systems."
Hardcover Sep 2024. 304 pages
Published by Simon & Schuster
In a world without white people, what does it mean to be black?
Why we recommend it: This speculative novel, based on the premise of a future in which all white people have died, probes questions of racial identity and opens many avenues for discussion on current topics. According to reviewer Valerie Morales: "It's about what racial politics fail to address: Who are we beneath the color of our skin? Does black identity feed off the host of white existence? Is it refracted in white light? If white people are gone, what do black people know about themselves?"
Hardcover Apr 2024. 384 pages
Published by Dutton
From bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza, comes a transporting novel rooted in the author's own family history about a long-awaited trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect ...
Why we recommend it: This book featuring the Sicilian countryside comes with both a stellar story and an absorbing atmosphere to enhance your reading and discussion. According to reviewer Rachel Hullett, "the whole book comes together as a propulsive family saga and potent commentary on the deep roots of Italian patriarchy."
Apr 2024. 352 pages
Published by William Morrow
A hauntingly poetic family drama and coming-of-age story that reveals a dark corner of South Korean history through the eyes of a small community living in a reformatory center.
Why we recommend it: This book focuses on harrowing circumstances in recent Korean history but also on the intricacies of love and human connection. First Impressions reader Maryanne H. writes, "For the right book club, The Stone Home would be perfect. Even its title could be unpacked in discussion."
Hardcover Sep 2024. 352 pages
Published by Random House
From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a hopeful, healing novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.
Why we recommend it: "Its wide range of themes makes it a great choice for book groups," according to reviewer Kim Kovacs. Plus, we imagine plenty of book clubs are simply committed to Strout's finely drawn characters and expanding universe at this point.
Hardcover Apr 2024. 416 pages
Published by Knopf
From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?
Why we recommend it: An intergenerational novel spanning continents, Khong's novel is sure to prompt interesting discussions of family and identity. "As a Chinese-American reader," writes reviewer Pei Chen, "I particularly related to many of the identity questions posed, though this exploration is relevant to anyone who has ever gone to a gift shop and not been able to find their name on a souvenir keychain."
Paperback Mar 4, 2025. 368 pages
Published by Ecco
Winner of the 2022 BookBrowse Debut Award
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.
Why we recommend it: Remarkably Bright Creatures contains "a vast array of quirky characters" (Kim Kovacs) and offers "a marvelous escape" while still delivering on weighty themes, like aging and the passing of time.
Hardcover Apr 2024. 400 pages
Published by Flatiron Books
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.
Why we recommend it: The Familiar brings audiences top-notch historical fiction, detailed characters, and a dash of magic. According to reviewer Kim Kovacs, Bardugo's book is "sure to become a book club favorite."
Paperback Mar 2024. 400 pages
Published by Berkley Books
A heartrending story about a young mother's fight to keep her daughter, and the winds of fortune that tear them apart by the USA Today bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.
Why we recommend it: This book offers a unique historical and personal perspective on the subject of eugenics and gives readers much to ponder, research, and discuss. Book club discussion participant LizB writes, "It was heart wrenching to read at times but also very uplifting."
Hardcover May 2024. 432 pages
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark
An explosive and emotional story of four siblings―each fighting their own personal battle―who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them, from the author of One Summer in Savannah.
Why we recommend it: Many of our discussion participants thought this would be an excellent book for book clubs. Book club member deed remarks, "This book has a wide appeal. It would be terrific for a book club (it is now on the list for my book club). Those that enjoy family dramas, historical fiction and want big emotions would enjoy this book."
Paperback Oct 29, 2024. 320 pages
Published by Algonquin Books
A heart-wrenching story of love and defiance set in the Warsaw Ghetto, based on the actual archives kept by those determined to have their stories survive World War II.
Why we recommend it: An evocative work bringing to life the intimate stories of real people, Grodstein's novel is a must-read for book clubs who gravitate towards historical fiction. Book club member Sheila comments, "This was a beautiful thought-provoking book. I had read many books about the Holocaust, had several relatives who had perished in concentration camps during the war. I had also visited Poland and seen the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, but never imagined how dire the circumstances within the ghetto were."
*Upcoming book club pick
Hardcover January 2025. 448 pages
Published by Sourcebooks
From the author of the bestselling Clytemnestra comes another intoxicating excursion into ancient history, painting the brutal and captivating empire of gods and men, and the one queen destined to rule them all.
Why we recommend it: Our book club participants loved Casati's Clytemnestra, and we're betting book clubs in general will adore this rendering of Assyrian queen Semiramis. Publishers Weekly writes, "No matter how much cruelty Semiramis dispenses, Casati never loses sight of what drives her heroine to achieve a status where she need not obey anyone else. Admirers of Robert Graves’s Claudius novels will be riveted."
*Upcoming book club pick
Hardcover May 2024. 400 pages
Published by Berkley Books
A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters' harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story.
Why we recommend it: First Impressions reviewer Melissa C. says, "Daughters of Shandong is now on the top of my list of historical fiction novels. The author transports the reader into the eye of Chinese history and shows the incredible strength and fortitude of women who refused to be oppressed so that their daughters could rise above the hardships of cultural and political challenges and injustice."
*Upcoming book club pick
Dec 3, 2024. 360 pages
Published by Dzanc Books
Drawing upon a long-suppressed episode in American history, when thousands of German immigrants were rounded up and interned following the attack on Pearl Harbor, In Our Midst tells the story of one family's fight to cling to the ideals of freedom and opportunity that brought them to America.
Why we recommend it: Some book clubs find it meaningful to read fiction spotlighting smaller episodes of history that took place alongside well-known events, and this is one such example. According to Publishers Weekly, "Jensen admirably pulls off the balancing act between an emotionally gripping narrative and adherence to historical facts without becoming pedantic."
Hardcover Mar 2024. 528 pages
Published by Berkley Books
*Upcoming book club pick
New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel about an American heroine, Frances Perkins.
Why we recommend it: The life of workers' rights advocate Frances Perkins is a worthy subject for both a historical fiction novel and a book club discussion. First Impressions reviewer Ricki A. writes, "I have suggested to the members of my book club we read Becoming Madam Secretary and look forward to a great discussion with other thoughtful women on a subject that has benefited us in our own life endeavors."
Hardcover Mar 2024. 368 pages
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
A propulsive and piercing debut, set ten years before the events of Shakespeare's historic play, about the ambition, power, and fate that define one of literature's most notorious figures: Lady Macbeth.
Why we recommend it: If historical fiction is already a well-loved genre, fiction with a dash of literary history is its own special category, and one sure to be popular with many book clubs. Kim Kovacs notes, "The novel reminded me very much of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, another book about a woman maligned by history, and readers who enjoyed that work will likely enjoy All Our Yesterdays as well."
Paperback Nov 5, 2024. 304 pages
Published by Mariner Books
The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award–winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.
Why we recommend it: According to our First Impressions reviewers, this book, which reads like a memoir, is beautifully written and contains highly memorable characters. Reader Nanette C. observes, "It's been a long time since I've read a book that I wanted to put in other people's hands. A Council of Dolls is that kind of book."
Hardcover Jan 2024. 320 pages
Published by Viking
"A dark and heady dream of a book" (Alix E. Harrow) about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous.
Why we recommend it: This gorgeously written, atmospheric novel is suspenseful, moving, and includes many affecting plot and character details to discuss. "The author powerfully evokes the contrasting worlds of a glamorous 1930s Muslim Indian family who emigrate to South Africa and the 21st-century diaspora" (Jo-Anne Blanco).
Hardcover Mar 2024. 320 pages
Published by Doubleday
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. From the "literary icon" (Oprah Daily) and Pulitzer Prize Finalist whose novel Erasure is the basis for Cord Jefferson's critically acclaimed film American Fiction.
Why we recommend it: Percival Everett is one of the most imaginative (and prolific) novelists working today, and his historical novel James is another book with a classic literary twist that's bound to get readers enthusiastically talking. Reviewer Lisa Butts writes, "Everett captures the milieu of slavery at the start of the Civil War with precision and depth and frees his protagonist from the bonds of offensive caricature."
Hardcover Jul 2024. 352 pages
Published by Forge Books
Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman's fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she'll go to secure her future.
Why we recommend it: A vividly rendered debut, Masquerade brings West African history to life and gives readers an array of fascinating personalities to follow and discuss. "[W]ith its multifaceted characters within a vibrant but subtly dangerous Yorùbáland, it's no wonder Masquerade is spellbinding" (Isabella Zhou).
Hardcover Aug 2024. 464 pages
Published by Knopf
In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign.
Why we recommend it: With three interwoven timelines encapsulating different times and places, Shafak's new novel has something for everyone, making it great for a group read. Reviewer Kim Kovacs writes, "It reminded me very much of Anthony Doerr's excellent novel Cloud Cuckoo Land, and readers who enjoyed that title will likely relish this one equally. It would make an excellent book group selection."
Paperback Jan 7, 2025. 304 pages
Published by W.W. Norton & Company
A gorgeous debut, laced through with magic, following four generations of women as they seek to chart their own futures.
Why we recommend it: A novel containing elements of magic and following four generations of women that stems from the plot of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is just waiting to be passionately dissected by the right book club. First Impressions reviewer Nicole G comments, "Call me a sucker for a reimagining or retelling of a classic tale, but I enjoyed this homage to Moby-Dick. Told in five parts by the matrilineal descendants of the famous narrator, Ishmael, the story almost feels like four individual novellas that are satisfyingly woven together at the end."
Hardcover Apr 2024. 592 pages
Published by Crown
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War—a simmering crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two.
Why we recommend it: Erik Larson has developed a reputation for penning captivating historical accounts for good reason. As reviewer Peggy Kurkowski puts it, "Covering the dicey days leading up to war, The Demon of Unrest is cinematic in scope, intimate in detail and charmingly written. Even more importantly, the parallels of 1861 with the electoral riots of 2021 make this book an urgent call to learn from history's mistakes."
Hardcover Jun 2024. 448 pages
Published by Algonquin Books
In this captivating Jazz Age true crime about "the greatest jewel thief who ever lived" (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed celebrities and millionaires while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the 1920s.
Why we recommend it: Book clubs who enjoy historical nonfiction will love this stranger-than-fiction narrative about a charismatic thief. "Arthur Barry's exploits will appeal not only to fans of true crime and the Roaring Twenties but to anyone who loves a clever, elaborate heist and the debonair criminal who can pull it off" (Jordan Lynch).
Hardcover Aug 2024. 304 pages
Published by St. Martin's Press
"Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn't a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me."
Why we recommend it: Tia Levings' memoir is a deeply personal look at larger societal issues that raises many potential discussion topics, such as marital abuse and the different roles religion can play in family life. Our reviewer Jillian Bell notes, "While this book deals with heavy topics, its ending, and its final reflective chapters, are ultimately inspiring and uplifting."
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