Book Club News: June Issue
Hello Book Clubbers,
Travel back in time to the days of Swinging London and iconic 1960s fashion with Catherine Lloyd’s novel Chelsea Girls, a current BookBrowse Book Club pick. We’ve also just begun discussing Days of Sun and Shadow by India Hayford, which follows a young woman and her relationship with nature as she comes of age in the early-1800s American South.
Enjoy our review, discussion guide, and other content for The Slip by Lucas Schaefer, focused on the mysterious disappearance of a teenager in 1990s Texas, now out in paperback. And for fans of Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, we share their letter to readers about their latest collaboration, A Pair of Aces.
Plus, invite your book club to BookBrowse and get a chance to win a free T-shirt! Check out the details below, along with our upcoming summer discussions and Ask the Author interviews.
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.
Chelsea Girls by Catherine Lloyd
From the Jacket
A glamorous and revealing biographical novel for readers of Renee Rosen, Allison Pataki, and Fiona Davis, starring one of Swinging London's defining figures, Mary Quant, who made history with the miniskirt, slashed hemlines, and transformed more than fashion, for herself, for her friends, and for a generation.
From the Discussion
“I absolutely loved reading Chelsea Girls!…I was an avid fan of Seventeen magazine and imagine that was why Mary Quant was a familiar name to me. Other references were so familiar too—Twiggy, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Butterick patterns and the JCPenney stores. Just a warm, engaging read for me!” —Shirl
“Particularly interesting were the changes in women’s roles, as the younger folk resisted being forced into the ‘just a housewife taking care of her husband’ mode and began looking for their own career opportunities. Quant personified this movement.” —Laura_Poe
See what people are saying in response to this question: What is your experience with homemade clothes? Have you ever sewn your own styles, or used a pattern (Butterick or some other brand)?
Days of Sun and Shadow by India Hayford
From the Jacket
Born into tragedy but gifted with a powerful connection to the natural world, a resilient young woman comes of age amid the wild beauty of early-1800s Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas in this incandescent, hauntingly moving epic about home, horses, human connection, and the transcendent awe of nature for readers of Go As a River and The Giver of Stars.
From the Discussion
“I was hooked immediately. The story and the history are fascinating to me because I did not know much about Arkansas during that time period. The prose is majestic.” —Cheryl_T
“I could not put this book down! I enjoyed the characters and settings. Such an easy read and constantly in motion, i.e., what’s going to happen next? The main character Emilie is amazing and really enjoyed her relationship with horses. Wonderful story!” —Ruth_Hollandsworth
“Obviously well-researched, the details were perfectly in place and created an entire and realistic portrait. There is so much packed into the book that feels totally natural.” —Donna_M
Featured Paperback
Stay on top of paperback releases for your book club with our Recent Paperbacks section, and discover additional content for featured titles, including reviews, “beyond the book” articles, and discussion questions. Below is just one new paperback we recommend.
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer begins with a newspaper clipping highlighting the ten-year disappearance of Nathaniel Rothstein. Nathaniel, a troubled Jewish sixteen-year-old from Newton, Massachusetts, was sent to spend the summer of 1998 in Austin, Texas with his uncle Bob Alexander, a University of Texas history professor, after being suspended for fighting. The summer was meant to be transformative for Nathaniel, and it fulfilled that promise. His Uncle Bob arranged a volunteer opportunity for him at the Shoal Creek Rehabilitation Center, where David Dalice, a Haitian-born former boxer, mentored him.
As the summer unfolded and David's guidance extended to the local boxing gym, a bond formed between David and Nathaniel, and both of them underwent personal shifts. … continued
Review by Letitia Asare
A Letter About A Pair of Aces
In addition to regular Ask the Author interviews in our community forum, BookBrowse offers supplemental content for readers and book clubs on our Author Interviews page.
Below is a letter to readers from Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray about their latest novel collaboration, A Pair of Aces, a recent BookBrowse Book Club discussion pick.
Dear Readers,
Two women. One Black. One white. Not friends, but compatriots. Working together, but alone. Is it possible that, against all odds, they could cross the divide between their very different worlds to effectuate great change?
This was the question that nagged at us while on our book tours, first for The Personal Librarian and then for The First Ladies.
We saw that readers were fascinated not only by our novels, but also by our desire to collaborate on stories that uncover the real women from the past who crossed boundaries of race, class, and circumstance to alter the course of history. … continued
Invite Your Club to BookBrowse!
Share BookBrowse with your book club!
BookBrowse members now have the option to invite other readers to sign up for a free limited membership on the readers you follow page. The top 10 members who get the most signups via their invite by end of day 7/5 will receive a free Booked for the Summer T-shirt. Not currently a BookBrowse member? Sign up here.
Coming soon: your book club will have the option to share your reading lists among members to surface recommended titles for your club!
Discussions & Ask the Author Interviews
Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification. You can also find inspiration for your book club among our more than 200 past discussions.
Currently, we’re discussing Chelsea Girls by Catherine Lloyd and Days of Sun and Shadow by India Hayford, among other books.
Starting July 2, we feature Merry-Go-Round Broke Down by David Woo and Margalit Shinar.
BookBrowse regularly hosts Ask the Author sessions in our community forum. We invite you to follow along and post your own questions in any interviews that interest you.
Check out this week’s conversation with Izzy Broom, author of the First Impressions selection The House of Hidden Letters.
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BookBrowse offers a cornucopia of resources for book clubs, including recommended books by genre, time period, setting, and a wide range of themes; advice on starting and running a book club; and much more!
