Best Book Club Books 2024
I’ve previously compiled a list about the best book club books for 2023 so I thought I’d do the same for 2024. These are books I’ve come across that I think have the right mix of readability and discussion topics to make them a good pick.
Picking a book is something I’ve also written about in my post about book club rules. You want something that gets people reading and talking. It’s better if they enjoy it, as they’re more likely to finish it which is always a bonus, but disliking it doesn’t matter as that also generates debate.
Anyway, here are the books I’ve read this year that I think would make good book clubs for 2024.
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton is about 12 year old Eli Bell, growing up in suburban Brisbane with his mysterious mute older brother Augustus, his mother and low level heroin dealing stepfather, Lyle.
It’s a rip roaring story involving prison escapes, getting on the wrong side of a criminal empire, full of colourful characters and just a joy to read. It’s a coming of age story, not dissimilar to ‘Demon Copperhead’ in many ways, and just as readable.
Lots to discuss - the power of family, overcoming the odds, and childhood trauma. But what about the blue wren and the red telephone?
I realise ‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin was released in 2023, but I only got around to reading it this year, and anyway, books don’t go out of date.
This is the story of the friendship between Sadie and Sampson over the decades, from their first meeting in a hospital to running a successful games company. It charts the ups and downs of their relationship, and explores how the dynamic between them drives the creative process that makes them so successful.
Plenty to talk about here - how friendship changes over the years, childhood trauma (again), living with disability, the creative process, and topical subjects such as the virtual world versus reality.
Ahead in the running for my ‘cover of the year’ award, Jan Carson’s ‘Quickly, while they still have horses’ is collection of 16 short stories, perfect for a book club because if you’re not enjoying one, there’ll be another along shortly that might be more to your tastes. Not that I had that problem with this volume -such a level of quality thoughout.
I’m not sure why I haven’t chosen short story collections before - with so many different themes explored, they’re ripe for discussion. Though perhaps they’re not all as thought provoking and memorable as these. Identity in the north of Ireland is a topic throughout, but there’s so much to discuss in relation to symbolism, the fantastical, the absurd - and asking fellow bookclubbers; what do you think that was about?
It’s hard to beat a memoir for a book club pick and ‘Poor’ by Katriona O’Sullivan ticks all the boxes. It’s an inspirational story of a powerhouse of a woman, brought up by heroin addicts, suffering abuse, homeless and pregnant at 15, suffering her own demons, before she transformed her life and reached the heights of academia.
Lots of talking points in this one. How hard is it to escape the cycle of poverty in these times of austerity - would the same story be possible now? Could you forgive your parents in the same Katriona did? How important is education to a childs sense of self worth and fulfilling their potential?
This is a powerful, raw and honest memoir of an incredible woman and worthy of your time.
‘All the colors of the dark’ by Chris Whitaker is a very easy book club pick because it crosses a number of genres and is generally unputdownable. Missing persons mystery, crime thriller and serial killer chase, unrequited love story - there’s something for everyone here.
And you can argue over whether it’s too long, express surprise (maybe incredulity) at some of the plot twists, but this is never a boring book. Sure it might take a while to read, weighing in at over 600 pages, but if it grips you like it did me, you’ll blow through it.