Thank You for Taking Reading Group Choices'
Annual Favorite Books Survey!
The results and winners will be announced in June!
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Fresh Fiction Ideas for Discussion
The Mountaintop School for Dogs & Other Second Chances
by Ellen Cooney
 This is the story of two women and a whole pack of dogs who, having lost their way in the world, find a place at a training school and rescue center: the Sanctuary. It is a story of strays and rescues, kidnappings and homecomings, moving on and holding on and letting go. And it is, ultimately, a moving and hilarious chronicle of the ways in which humans and canines help each other find new lives, new selves, and new hope.
Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland
 Evie Rosen has had enough. She's tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She's over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it's time to put down her smartphone for good.
The Predictions by Bianca Zander
 From the author of the acclaimed The Girl Below comes a stunning novel of one woman’s attempt to outrun the destiny that is predicted for her, moving from a remote New Zealand commune in the waning days of 1970s free-love experimentation to the heady music scene of 1980s London. The Predictions is a mesmerizing, magical novel of fate, love, mistakes, and finding your place.
Moonlight on Butternut Lake by Mary McNear
 From the author of the New York Times bestselling Up at Butternut Lake comes the third novel in the Butternut Lake series—a dazzling story of two wounded souls seizing a second chance at life and love. On the run from her abusive husband, Mila flees Minneapolis for the safety and serenity of Butternut Lake. Ready to forge a new life, Mila's position as home health aide to Reid Ford is more than a job. It’s a chance at a fresh start. Though her sullen patient seems determined to make her quit, she refuses to give up on him.
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A Masterwork by the Nobel Prize-winning author of
Beloved and Song of Solomon
Spare and unsparing, God Help the Child weaves a tale about the way the sufferings of childhood can shape, and misshape,
the life of the adult.
A young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger. Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths. And finally, Bride’s mother herself, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”
"One of the greatest authors in American history. She makes black life—regular, quotidian black life—complex, fantastic and heroic." –The New York Times Magazine
"She is one of the gods who walk among us. In her sensually written and commanding new novel, she excavates the legacy of childhood trauma."
–Vanity Fair
"Intoxicating…Once again, she thrillingly brings the storytelling moxie and mojo that make her, arguably, our greatest living novelist…A sly, savage, honest and elegant twelfth novel." –ELLE
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Register to Win a Copy of Melissa Cistaro's memoir, Pieces of My Mother!
One summer, Melissa Cistaro’s mother drove off without a word. Devastated, Melissa and her brothers were left to pick up the pieces, wondering why their mother abandoned them. Decades later, Melissa finds herself in Olympia, Washington with her dying mother and just days to find out what happened that summer and confront the fear she could do the same to her kids. She never expects to stumble on a cache of letters her mother wrote but never sent her, which could hold the answers she seeks. Haunting yet ultimately uplifting, Pieces of My Mother reveals how our parents’ choices impact our own and how we can survive those to forge our own paths.
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1 Reading Group Will Win a Skype Chat with Elena Dunkle and Clare Dunkle, authors of Elena Vanishing and
Hope and Other Luxuries.
Each member of the group will also receive signed copies of both books!
"When I offered to help my daughter Elena write about her life with anorexia nervosa, I thought I already understood her disorder. Like most educated women, I’d been reading articles and watching focus pieces about it for years. But I quickly discovered how little I knew. Most of my basic assumptions were wrong." —Clare B. Dunkle
Elena Vanishing: A Memoir
by Elena Dunkle
 17-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia. Told entirely from Elena's perspective over a five-year period and co-written with her mother, award-winning author Clare B. Dunkle.
Hope and Other Luxuries: A Mother's Life with a Daughter's Anorexia
by Clare B. Dunkle
 Just after one of Clare Dunkle's daughters successfully conquered her depression, Clare's other daughter developed a life-threatening eating disorder. Co-published with Elena Vanishing, the memoir of her daughter, this is the story—told in brave, beautifully written, and unflinchingly honest prose—of one family's fight against a deadly disease, told from the mother's perspective.
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Lost in (Love of) Translation
We know that we say each month how hard it is to narrow down our lists, and how many wonderful books there are to choose from, but this time we might be even more biased and say this is one of our favorite lists (maybe even our favorite list) to present. We are lost in love of translation because all of these books are so unique and so beautiful – in meaning and presentation. We are extremely happy to recommend them as you begin to plan your summer reading lists!
Many of these books are recently out or are coming out soon so you have time to pre-order or put in your library special requests. But there are a couple older titles that we just can’t recommend enough. There is a variety – fictional mystery and intrigue, entirely sweet characters you’ll fall in love with, and nonfiction ponderings on life, love, and happiness. Some of these books offer important histories and perspectives, and are recently available for the first time in English.
We are very lucky to have access to all of these books through the work of wonderful and talented authors, translators, and publishers so we thank them for their hard work, and look forward to reading more in the future!
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Congratulations to Our April Little Free Library Winner!
Beth from Staten Island, New York
In partnership with The Little Free Library Organization, LFL stewards can enter a monthly contest to win the books featured in our themed book lists. We had a record number of entries for our April poetry list in honor of National Poetry Month. Thank you to all of the LFL stewards who entered! Our May LFL winner is in Staten Island, New York, and will receive books from our Happy Poetry Month list!
Staten Island OutLOUD maintains a Little Free Library at one of our community's nature preserves. We draw a wide variety of readers, from tots to seniors, families, couples, singles, groups of friends, scout troops, bird watchers, hikers, botanists, artists & photographers. Many leave a book when they take a book. We host frequent readings & forest walks that feature global poetry, plus readings geared to young families & intergenerational gatherings. Photos of some events on our website, www.statenislandoutloud.org, & Facebook (Staten Island OutLOUD). Our little library is well-used, well-loved & well-cared-for. Soon we plan to set up a second Little Free Library at another nature preserve, where we'll offer similar programs. These poetry books will be read, re-read & re-circulated!
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I wanted to share our unique book club. We started in 1998 as a bunch of mothers with toddlers who wanted to get back into reading - a passion we loved but one that had dwindled with taking care of our babies.
We have 10 members in our club and each member takes one month between January and October. Each member decides the book to be read for their month and announces it at the previous month's book club meeting. She then cooks a meal at her house for the club and leads the discussion. We talk as much as we can about the book and then the rest of the night is filled with wine, laughter, catching up with each other, and solving the world's problems :)
In November, we pick a restaurant and we treat ourselves to dinner together. We do a fun book exchange - often giving books we are considering for the next year's picks. Sometimes we share recipes - fun for the upcoming holidays. We take December off - such a busy time - and rejoin in January for an extra long book club where we make sure to catch up with everyone!
We have talked with authors of our books on a live phone call during our meeting, gone to movies of our past books, read a wide variety of books from local authors down to the classics, and we keep a master list of all the books we've ever read.
This book club has seen babies born, children head off to college, parents die... We have lived a lifetime together - and the bonds continue to inspire us and bring a great blessing into all our lives.
Thank you for letting us share this special group of women.
~Our Blessed Book Club
Become one of our Spotlight Book Clubs:
Email us at info@readinggroupchoices.com with a picture of your book group and description of what makes your reading group unique. If your book club is chosen, we will send you and your group a box of books to share!
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 Reading Group Choices 2015 is available for purchase as an ebook or print book on our website. We hope you enjoy the variety of books we have recommended this year. As always, thank you to our readers for your continued support, interest, and passion for books!
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