Hello Davina
It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, we're not talking holiday parties and sugar cookies although those are fun too. It's time to start planning your book club lineup for 2017. Wading through recommendations from friends and family alike is not for the faint of heart so we've culled a select dozen novels that we suggest should be at the top of your "to consider" pile, plus three recommendations for young adults. Also in this issue, meet the Booknerds of Dehradun, India whose one-year-old book club is going from strength to strength, welcoming readers of all ages, both in person and via online chat. As for BookBrowse's Book Club, this month we're discussing The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Next month we'll be discussing The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson, and in January, Victoria by Daisy Goodwin. Please do join us to discuss, or find out more about, these books!
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 The BookBrowse Book Club Please join us to discuss...
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Hardcover (Aug 2016), 320 pages
From the jacket: From prize-winning, bestselling author Colson Whitehead, a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South.
Like the protagonist of Gulliver's Travels, Cora encounters different worlds at each stage of her journey - hers is an odyssey through time as well as space. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day.
The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
More about this book | Join the discussion
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2017 Book Club Recommendations
Here are a select dozen novels that we suggest should be at the top of your book club's "to consider" pile in 2017. With the exception of one, all are already released in paperback or soon to be so, and all are also in hardcover and ebook. Plus, we have included an additional three titles for young adults.
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Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
Paperback Sep 2016. Also in hardcover & ebook.
336 pages. Published by Mariner Books
Young Ijeoma has always grown up with Christianity as one of the cornerstones of her character. Yet as her small town in Nigeria is torn apart by civil war, she must grapple with her newly discovered sexuality and the conservative cultural norms imposed by society and religion. A touching story about coming out in in a country where homosexuality is considered a crime.
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The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
Paperback Oct 2016. Also in hardcover & ebook.
352 pages. Published by William Morrow Paperbacks
They say you can't run from the past and this is certainly true of Paula Vauss who, endless reinventions notwithstanding, is gobsmacked when an old letter rekindles memories she had been working hard on suppressing. Peppered with plenty of Southern charm and elements of Hindu mysticism, this is a mother-daughter tale with an unexpected spin, quirky characters and refreshing dialog. Plenty of fodder for book clubs.
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Fishbowl: A Novel by Bradley Somer
Paperback Nov 2016. Also in hardcover & ebook.
304 pages. Published by St. Martin's Griffin
With a fresh take on the concept of a fishbowl existence, little Ian the goldfish takes a leap out of a highrise apartment building and gets a peek at the residents' lives as he makes his way down. The varying complexities of humanity are often hard to capture and doing so with humor takes even more panache. Book clubbers will enjoy dissecting the lives of their fellow (fictional) citizens and contrasting the challenges against their own.
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The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela
Hardcover & ebook Jan 2016. Paperback Jan 2017.
320 pages. Published by Grove Press
You might as well have ripped this one from the headlines. A professor, part-Muslim, seeks out a Muslim student in greater London only to find out that he is soon arrested for suspicious terrorist activities. By weaving in a story about an eighteenth century Islamic freedom fighter in the mix, this novel explores the true meaning of "jihad" and tells a story with grace and plenty of nuance about a topic where shades of grey are often hard to find.
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The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth
Hardcover & ebook Jan 2016. Paperback Jan 2017.
352 pages. Published by St. Martin's Press
They say love conquers all but what about a devastating disease? Can a relationship, especially a newly forged one, find its roots in the face of an uncertain future? Diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Anna is admitted to a facility where she finds companionship in Luke who is facing the same struggles. The candid story explores the fallout of a serious illness and does so with grace and humor.
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Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets
Hardcover & ebook Feb 2016. Paperback Feb 2017.
320 pages. Published by Berkley Books
The theme of hunter and prey is a tried and tested trope in thrillers but don't be fooled by such a straightforward label. Two women with fractured pasts anchor this delightfully suspenseful novel and their single-minded ability to stay the course despite the harshest conditions is a thing of beauty to behold. Get ready for a page-turner that you'll read into the wee hours of the morning.
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The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
Hardcover & ebook Feb 2016. Paperback Feb 2017.
368 pages. Published by Flatiron Books
Weighty themes such as motherhood and reincarnation carry this delicate tale of a young boy and an eccentric professor and the mission that brings them together. It's a book that makes you think about life's possibilities and regrets. A BookBrowse First Impressions reviewer said of this novel: "After it concluded, I wanted to talk about this book. I needed to talk about this book." Enough said.
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The Photographer's Wife by Suzanne Joinson
Hardcover & ebook Feb 2016. Paperback Feb 2017.
320 pages. Published by Bloomsbury USA
Set in the simmering period of tension between the two world wars, this book about divided loyalties and warring factions not just between countries but also within families. As the characters try to tease out the frailties of their relationships, they must do so against an increasingly the fragile geopolitical that is the volatile Middle East. Proof that all history--and politics--is personal.
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What Lies Between Us by Nayomi Munaweera
Hardcover & ebook Feb 2016. Paperback Apr 2017.
320 pages. Published by St. Martin's Press
A Sri Lankan girl tries to flee the long shadow of tragedy by migrating to the United States but finds that she can't shake her past that easily. The novel explores the dark recesses of human nature, an exploration that is made palatable by lyrical writing and thoughtful handling of sensitive topics. Definitely one for book clubbers to consider.
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The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californian by David Dyer
Hardcover & ebook Apr 2016. Paperback Apr 2017.
336 pages. Published by St. Martin's Griffin
We have all heard about the Titanic and the tragic end that it met. But could that fate have been averted? A nearby ship, The Californian, saw the distress signals put out by the legendary liner but the captain did nothing. The fictional retelling of a timeless tale looks anew at the Jazz Age, the sensational tabloids and offers a head-scratching and roundly infuriating "what-if" to this familiar tale set on the high seas.
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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Hardcover & ebook Jun 2016. Paperback Apr 2017.
320 pages. Published by Knopf
Want a glorious and accessible history of the Black American experience? Look no further. Two half-sisters in eighteenth-century Ghana are consigned to radically different fates. So while one finds a relative degree of comfort, the other gets sucked into the whirlpool of the slave trade. This most impressive debut traces the lives of their respective descendants over eight generations and in doing so, touches on some of black history's most singular moments. A truly absorbing read.
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The Underground Railroad: A Novel
by Colson Whitehead
Hardcover & ebook Aug 2016. Paperback TBA.
320 pages. Published by Doubleday
A young black slave, Cora, tries to make her way to safety in this stunning novel where the historical underground railroad is an actual physical thing. The travels take Cora through hostile territory and sympathetic, brushing up against kindness from strangers and plenty of betrayals. As our reviewer put it, "Reading The Underground Railroad offers plenty of reminders of just how far our nation has come since these darkest years in our history, but also countless reminders of just how far we have yet to travel before we arrive at any destination resembling that hopeful vision."
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Young Adults
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Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom
Paperback Nov 2016. Also in hardcover & ebook.
320 pages. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The thing that most people don't get--or at least internalize-- is that disabled people don't want to be defined by their handicap. High schooler Parker Grant is blind but she would love nothing better than a normal teen life. For a while she seems to have it all under control until a betrayal leads her to recalibrate her outlook on what it means to hold someone dear and life life by your own rules..
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Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Hardcover & ebook Oct 2014. Paperback Jan 2017.
240 pages. Published by Feiwel & Friends
Rose has mildly functioning autism and likes order in her life. She's obsessed with homonyms and prime numbers, even naming her dog Rain Reign. She lives with Wesley, her single dad and the two share a complicated relationship. Wesley faces the challenges of parenting alone head-on while caring for his bright and beautiful child. These bonds will be tested when a natural disaster hits town exposing plenty of gaping chasms in an already fragile relationship.
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The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
Hardcover & ebook Oct 2015. Paperback Mar 2017.
336 pages. Published by Candlewick Press
Not many novels that addresses the effects of war can make a beautifully profound effect on young adults. This novel teases out the relationship between a teenager and his grandfather while tracing the connections between a Japanese man stranded on an island after World War II and his fighter pen pal. Both ties are strained and complicated by the fog of war in this thrilling and suspenseful novel tinged with elements of terror.
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List curated by Davina Morgan-Witts. Written by Poornima Apte
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 Book Club Chat
The Booknerds is a bookclub based in Dehradun, India. Begun by husband and wife team Rohan and Neja Raj, the Booknerds is dedicated to "quenching the thirst for literature". Rohan Raj talks with Tamara Elllis Smith about this creative and democratic group.
Hello Rohan. Please tell us a bit about your book group?
 Dehradun, India is no more the sleepy town it once was. Its people are rising to make it prominent on the world map. The Booknerds club was launched as a one of a kind initiative, the club aims to bring together the book lovers of the valley and give them a common platform for sharing books and related ideas. This club is unique, as it encompasses various genres of poets and writers - of languages other than English too. The club has had an overwhelming response from bibliophiles across India. Is there something in particular that makes your group special to you and/or that you think might be different to other groups?
Traditionally, book clubs restrict themselves to age groups or themes or the kind of books they read. The Booknerds group does not put out any such limitations. Anybody can join the group.
Anybody in Dehradun?
No, we are not restricted to the city itself as our online hangouts give the opportunity for others to connect with us in real time. We use Google Hangouts on Air, which is convenient for members who cannot travel.
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