Historical fiction doesn't get any better than this. Written in the 1940s and '50s, the Poldark series continues to resonate in contemporary times with its tales of a returning war hero reinventing his life and rallying his country in the wake of devastation and loss. Ross Poldark makes a dashing hero and his world an inviting escape; and the windswept, sea-hugging Cornish countryside adds a splash of romance to the stories, which are peppered with dramatic clashes about morality, class and ego.

If your appetite is whetted for more stories that whisk you away to a different era, BookBrowse--in response to a request from PBS's MASTERPIECE--suggests these titles that fit the bill. Read

If you're lucky enough to own a gardening patch, you know how therapeutic an exercise it can be to smell the lavender and work the soil to get the tomatoes going. These book club selections deliver much to enjoy with the turn of every leaf. We hope you dig them as much as we do!

We hear you: We miss Downton Abbey too. We miss the tightly knit story, the characters, the costumes, the accents and most of all -- the setting. Fret not. At BookBrowse, we have compiled our own special list of books that take you back to Britain, to the land of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. After all armchair travel, especially with a great book, is as close to the real thing as it can get. Even better, it's much less expensive. These cherry-picked recommendations will pair perfectly with a spot of tea or even the house's best curry (curry usually tops surveys of Britain's favorite dishes) to give you or your book club that extra dash of British panache. Read

Refugees and immigrants have long been the backbone of societies around the world, and their struggles have been rich fodder for books long before their plight (once again) occupied center stage in geopolitics. Whether it's the European refugee crisis or the United States deciding to deport many who came here as part of the 2014 South American unaccompanied minors influx, or the vitriol spewed by politicians rooted in fear, the complexities of the issue refuse to lend themselves to easy sound bites. These are discussions worth having, book club or not, especially given that they could not be more a timely reflection of the headlines around the world. Read