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Book Nook
Here's What Our Book Clubs Are Reading
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie by James Lee Burke
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Lives We Bury by Allen Eskens
Too Old for This by Samantha Downing
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles​
The Space Between by Sarah Ready
Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid
Such a Fun Age is a debut novel by Kiley Reid, published in 2019, that satirizes racial dynamics, privilege, and millennial anxieties through a gripping, fast-paced story. It centers on Emira Tucker, a Black babysitter wrongly accused of kidnapping a white child, sparking a chain of awkward "white savior" interactions with her employer, Alix Chamberlain.
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Reviewers praise its addictive readability and witty social commentary, calling it a page-turner that tackles microaggressions without preachiness. On Goodreads and NPR, it's lauded for vivid characters and immersive prose, earning high marks (often 4-5 stars) as a book-club pick that sparks real discussions. Some note exaggerated elements or a breezy tone that lightens heavy themes, making it accessible yet divisive for those preferring denser literary fare.
Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Reese's Book Club Pick
"The most provocative page-turner of the year." --Entertainment Weekly
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
The author is 44 years old from Nova Scotia Canada and is mixed race of Mi'Kang Indian and French heritage. Her family were berry pickers in Maine in the 60's and 70's. She has a Masters in Fine Arts and Creative Writing and currently is teaching Creative Writing in Toronto. The Berry Pickers is her first novel. She has won many awards for this novel including the Andrew Carnegie medal, Barnes and Noble best 10 novel, and Amazons First Book award. She has done many interviews and has added facts such as she is a descendant of accused witches, a revolutionary war sailor, a reader of books and a teller of tales.
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"I couldn’t put this book down, not only because I was eager for the mystery to be completed, but also because it is so beautifully written, with every phrase deserving of the yellow highlighting I give to especially lovely passages."
Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie
by James Lee Burke
"Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie" is a 2025 historical novel by bestselling author James Lee Burke, part of his Holland Family series. Narrated by 14-year-old Bessie Holland in the early 20th century, it delivers a gripping tale of family, hardship, and resilience amid America's turbulent past.
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Set at the dawn of the 20th century, the story follows young Bessie and her brother navigating poverty, racial tensions, and moral dilemmas in the rural South. Themes of lynching, sexual violence, and survival infuse Burke's signature atmospheric prose, blending thriller elements with poignant historical insight.
Another great story from JL Burke
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JLB captured the era, people and place like no one else can.
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Bestselling author James Lee Burke tells his most thrilling and insightful story yet through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Bessie Holland.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, following his debut The Kite Runner, and it chronicles the intertwined lives of two Afghan women across decades of war and oppression. Mariam, a harami (illegitimate child), and Laila endure forced marriages, Taliban brutality, and personal tragedies in Kabul, forging a bond that highlights resilience and sacrifice.
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The story spans from the 1970s Soviet invasion through the Taliban's reign to post-2001 changes, weaving historical events into the women's domestic struggles against abuse and loss. Mariam's early hardships lead to a stifling marriage with Rasheed, while Laila's modern upbringing collides with similar fates, culminating in acts of profound loyalty amid violence and hope.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, the #1 New York Times bestseller
New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
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The Life We Bury
by Allen Eskens
The Life We Bury is a 2014 debut crime thriller by Allen Eskens, centering on college student Joe Talbert's quest to prove a dying Vietnam veteran's innocence in a decades-old murder case. Joe interviews Carl Iverson, convicted of raping and killing 14-year-old Crystal Hagen, uncovering inconsistencies amid his own family struggles with an alcoholic mother and autistic brother Jeremy.
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Joe's English assignment leads him to Carl at a nursing home; Carl's Vietnam heroics and trial files suggest a frame-up by Crystal's stepbrother Daniel Lockwood. With girlfriend Lila Nash and Jeremy's help decoding diaries, Joe gathers DNA evidence, facing kidnapping and danger before exonerating Carl. The fast-paced climax resolves with justice served, reward money aiding Joe's family, and Carl dying free.
Outstanding story with engaging characters you can't help but love and root for.
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Suspense, romance and a clever plot twist that was totally unpredictable
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing
Too Old for This is a 2025 thriller by Samantha Downing, featuring Lottie Jones, a 75-year-old retired serial killer living quietly in a small town after changing her identity decades ago. Her peaceful routine of bingo and church gossip shatters when journalist Plum Dixon arrives, probing Lottie's past links to unsolved murders, forcing her to kill again to protect her secret amid escalating complications.
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Lottie, acquitted but suspected in 1980s killings, faces Plum's podcast ambitions, leading to a botched murder that draws in detectives, family, and her old nemesis. Flashbacks reveal her past spree, while present-day chaos involves body disposal, blackmail, and hip surgery woes, blending dark humor with tense cat-and-mouse games.
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“Equal parts hilarious and disturbing, Too Old for This kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end!”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden
Rules of Civility
by Amor Towles
Rules of Civility is a 2011 debut novel by Amor Towles, set in 1938 New York City, where young secretary Katey Kontent navigates love, ambition, and social upheaval after a chance encounter with enigmatic banker Tinker Grey. Framed by a 1966 reunion that hints at life's regrets, it captures the Jazz Age's fading glamour through Katey's sharp observations of class, fate, and reinvention amid speakeasies, high society, and economic uncertainty.
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Katey and roommate Eve Ross meet Tinker on New Year's Eve; a car crash alters their triangle, propelling Katey into elite circles with figures like widow Anne Grandyn and ne'er-do-well Dickey Vanderwhile. As Tinker vanishes and reemerges in scandal, Katey rises from typist to magazine editor, balancing romance, betrayal, and moral choices in a pre-WWII world of cocktails and hidden motives.
From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide
The Space Between
by Sarah Ready
The Space Between is a 2023 contemporary romance by Sarah Ready, spanning nearly two decades in the epic love story of wealthy Manhattan heiress Andrea Leighton-Hughes and Bronx musician Jace Morgan, whose Central Park meeting ignites a destined bond tested by family pressures, betrayal, and life's cruel separations. Despite promising "forever," external forces tear them apart, leading to a climactic wedding interruption where Jace pleads "don't," forcing Andrea to choose between true love and obligation.
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Andrea defies her manipulative elite family for Jace, whose musical ambitions clash with street-tough realities, creating a saga of longing, redemption, and found family amid fame, loss, and reunion. Flashbacks and dual perspectives reveal their passion against obstacles like class divides and broken promises, culminating in a heartfelt test of enduring love.