With 2024 well underway, everyone surviving the post-holiday blues, and new book releases gaining popularity – it is time to get your reading roaster going. There is no better way to dive into the books bound to be the most talked about than making sure they are on your book club’s reading list. Plus, when you are turning pages, and desperate to talk about the plot twists, you will be glad to have a group of people to speak to about it.
From fiction to nonfiction, there is a large variety of genres and topics already gaining traction in 2024. Check out these 10 books that must be on your book club’s reading list this year, and get ahead of the internet forums with your friends.
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10. Redwood Court by DeLana R.A. Dameron
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While DeLana R.A. Dameron is now a seasoned author, her debut novel Redwood Court put her on the map. The novel is a beautiful story of a Black family living in South Carolina in the ’90s, following the family through time and growth.
Mika is the family’s youngest, and while the youngest siblings are often typed as the baby of the family, they are highly underestimated for their great attention to detail, their ability to walk through rooms, and in Mika’s case, be an incredible observer and narrator. She tells the story of her community and family through the good times and the bad.
9. Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor
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While books about isolation, self-reflection, and grief can be quite heavy, they are perfect for book clubs as you can have a group of people to speak with about these difficult topics.
Manod has lived all her 18 years on a remote island off the coast of Wales, and when her mother passed away a few years back she took on a vital role in her household which consists of her father and sister.
A few strange things happen, one a whale washes up on their shores which creates a dark yet intricate layer to Manod’s desire to see the world outside of her community. Then some English ethnographers come to the island, giving a real glimpse of life elsewhere. The biggest question this book takes up is what happens when one person in a community discovers their ambition.
8. Good Material by Dolly Alderton
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For your February book of the month, suggest to your book club Good Material by Dolly Alderton, which is about discovering what went wrong in a relationship despite love not going away.
The book actually has two endings, mirroring the ways that relationships often end differently for both of the people despite being in the same relationship. Take a trip down memory lane with Andy as he retraces his relationship with Jen, and takes you along with him like a friend lending an open ear. This book is great for fans of 500 Days of Summer.
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7. The Mother Of All Things by Alexis Landau
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There is nothing like getting beef off of your chest, and also realizing you are not the only one. In This novel, Alexis Landau explores female rage and rediscovery later in life.
Elaine goes through a breakup, among other traumas, which lands her back at her family home for a summer. When faced with the walls of her parent’s home, she goes beyond a reality check and takes a deep look at how she got back here. Beyond rediscovery, Elaine works through the rage that accumulated over time. Let it all out with your book club after finishing this relatable novel.
6. The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza
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Based on her own family, Jo Piazza writes about a family trip to their homeland in Sicily; but what begins as a trip to discover their roots ends in chaos.
While grieving the loss of her great aunt, a young woman finds out she inherits a plot of land in Sicily – but it comes with a price: solve the family mystery. The mystery begins by questioning the death of a family member and only goes deeper into their ancestrial roots, secret, and drama. Add this to your book club for a moment of playing sleuth.
5. Perris, California by Rachel Stark
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Tessa is 27, pregnant with her third child, and living in her mother-in-law’s trailer, but compared to a difficult childhood she is content with her quiet and ordinary life. When she runs into her first love, a woman named Mel, she is taken back to another time and begins to question the life she lives.
The book displays how trauma rules people’s decisions, and also how those decisions can change with healing. A great read for anyone, especially those grappling with adulthood and the stages of life.
4. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
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If your book club is unto true-crime, horror, or psychological thrillers, this page-turner needs to be added to the list for 2024 reads.
As any horror story might begin, the book opens at Florida State University in a sorority house in the late 70s when Pamela wakes up to find several of her sorority sisters dead. Across the country, Tina believes that her friend has been taken victim by the same killer responsible for the sorority house murder, so she goes to Tallahassee for her vengeance where by change the two women team up to avenge their friends.
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3. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
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Generational trauma meets mystery and mysticism in this exciting book by Abraham Verghese. The book takes place over three generations of a family, from 1900-1977 in Kerala, India.
As time and history move forward, a family is haunted by one mystery: every generation several family members die from drowning. The matriarch, Big Ammarchi was once a child bride and now raises her children and minds the estate in Kerala.
She observes critically the state around her and her family and years to solve the mystery. The book critiques the caste system in 20th-century India, and British colonialization while also pulling intriguing self-discovery from its characters.
2. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
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Take a trip to the side of history untold during WWII with this historical fiction book about three women who crack codes for the British military, working against the Germans. Each of the women comes from different worlds, one from poverty, another is Price Phillip’s lover, and the third is an underestimated genius.
In a country and continent torn apart by war, these three women from different social backgrounds make an unlikely friendship in solving mysteries and uncovering war spies. Plus, if you like The Crown, there is an interesting royal backstory.
1. Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
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From the New York Times best-selling author Kiley Reid comes a highly anticipated sophomore novel. The protagonist, Millie is an RA counting down the days until graduation so she can get her finances in order and start her life. By change, she meets Agatha who is researching how Southern young women think about money, and recruits Millie to help her seek out the information.
As Millie begins to work for Agatha, things get tense, intimacy gets involved and power dynamics come into play. The book presents an important intersection of race, class, and power that will spark deep conversations in your book club this year.
*Disclosure: We only recommend books that we love and would read ourselves. This post contains affiliate links, as we are part of the Amazon Services LCC Associate Program and others, which may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
