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Bookish Mysteries & Solitary Pleasures
Julie Clark, Freya Sampson, Melissa Febos, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
Our book club members are currently discussing two bookish mysteries: Julie Clark’s The Ghostwriter, centering a horror writer father, a ghostwriter daughter, and real-life family secrets, and Freya Sampson’s The Busybody Book Club, about a community center crime that falls to a team of book group sleuths to solve.
In Editor’s Choice, we cover The Dry Season by Melissa Febos, a memoir of her year-long celibacy project, solitary pleasures, and commitment to art and the self.
We also have new books for members to request, and our list of subscribers’ favorite book club books of all time!
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
Book Club Discussions
Discussions are open to all! If you’d like to participate, you can do so by creating an account here. Please note that discussions can contain spoilers.
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
From the Jacket The Taylor family shatters in a single night when two teenage siblings are found dead in their own home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the whispers and accusations that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, the legend only grows as his career as a horror writer skyrockets. Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor. Now on the brink of financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her father's last book. |  |
From the Discussion
"An excellent mystery. It will be a great discussion for book clubs.” —Paula_Walters
“I really liked it and found it fast and easy to read. I don’t normally like the multiple POV approach that takes the reader back and forth between time periods but Clark did this so seamlessly. Nice segues.” —Katherine_P
“It was like peeling away layers of an onion to get to what really went on with this family. I loved it.” —Melissa_Chaitin
The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson
From the Jacket Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it's a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk. Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. |  |
From the Discussion
“I loved this book. I am a sucker for good character development of a quirky cast of characters, and this book fit the bill. I especially enjoyed the relationships within the book club.” —Susan_W1
“I would recommend this to any book club where they are looking for a good book that has great characters and a good ending.” —Nancy_D
See what people are saying in response to this question: Each of the book club members has a specific genre of book they particularly like to read. Do you have a favorite genre you come back to time and again?
For Members
This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris, The Dry Season by Melissa Febos, and My Friends by Fredrik Backman. We also bring you our list of June Books We're Excited About, previews of upcoming books, the latest book news, and more. Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas? |  |
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Editor’s Choice
The Dry Season by Melissa Febos
Two years after the chaotic, self-imposed implosion of her most significant romantic relationship (an affair and breakup she dubs "the Maelstrom") and on the heels of yet another anxiety-provoking bad date, Melissa Febos came to an overdue realization: "I scrolled back in time and saw that … I was drawn to the bright promise of sex and romance, only to find it soon tasteless like that cheap gum I used to love as a kid, chasing the bloom of acid sweetness piece after piece until my jaw ached." Belatedly prompted by an offhand comment by her mother that she previously ignored ("Don't you think you should take a break?"), Febos—who hasn't been single since her teens—sets off what's initially a three-month experiment with celibacy. … continued Review by Norah Piehl |  |
Book Clubs’ All-Time Favorite Books
Book club favorites vary from year to year, and we're here to keep you updated on the most current trends! In this year's subscriber survey, we once again asked book club members to name their top three book club books of all time. From their answers, we've compiled our latest list of book clubs' top ten overall favorite books. … continued |  |
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