We like to discuss books with you over the counter, but even better is getting together to rehash a good title. In the spirit of enhancing a great read, we host an open book club that typically meets at Island Books the last Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm (if that Thursday coincides with a holiday, the meeting date will be adjusted). Our staff facilitator chooses both fiction and nonfiction titles. Everyone is welcome to attend even if you haven't read the book, and if you purchase your copy from Island Books you'll always get a 10% discount.
Join our Facebook group, browse below for selections, and check our events calendar for further information!
2024
Four Thousand Weeks: time management for mortals by Oliver Burkeman (25 January)
Love Marriage by Monica Ali (29 February)
Master Slave Husband Wife: an epic journey from slavery to freedom by Ilyon Woo (28 March)
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (25 April)
2023
- The Promise by Damon Galgut (26 January)
- Still Life by Sarah Winman (23 February)
- Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein (30 March)
- Joan is Okay by Weike Wang (20 April)
- The Beauty of Dusk: on vision lost and found by Frank Bruni (25 May)
- Small World by Jonathan Evison (29 June)
- Fault Lines by Emily Itami (26 July) at Mercerdale Park
- When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry (31 August)
- Trust by Hernan Diaz (28 September)
- Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins (26 October)
- The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz (30 November)
2022
- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (27 January) on Zoom
- Meet me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (24 February) on Zoom
- Red Island House by Andrea Lee (31 March) on Zoom
- Song of Myself and other Poems by Walt Whitman (5 May) on Zoom
- Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah (26 May) on Zoom
- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry (30 June) on Zoom
- Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles (27 July) in person at Mercerdale Park
- The Girl with Seven Names: escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee (25 August) in person at Mercerdale Park
- A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (29 September) on Zoom
- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (27 October) in person at Island Books
- Small Things like These and Foster by Claire Keegan (1 December) on Zoom
2021
- The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (28 January) on Zoom
- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (25 February) on Zoom
- A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib (25 March) on Zoom
- Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips (29 April) on Zoom
- The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (27 May) on Zoom
- The Story of More: how we got to climate change and where to go from here by Hope Jahren (24 June) on Zoom
- Amnesty by Aravind Adiga (29 July) Open-air gathering at Mercerdale Park
- The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (26 August) on Zoom
- Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn (30 September) on Zoom
- The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (28 October) on Zoom
- Having and Being Had by Eula Biss (2 December) on Zoom
2020
- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (Jan 30th)
- She Said by Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey (Feb 27th)
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (April 30th) on Zoom
- Nutshell by Ian McEwan (May 28th) on Zoom
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (June 25th) on Zoom
- Calypso by David Sedaris (July 30th) on Zoom
- American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee (August 27th) on Zoom
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt (September 24th) on Zoom
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (October 29th) on Zoom
- The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes (December 3rd) on Zoom
2019
- Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Jan 31st)
- Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Feb 28nd)
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (March 28th)
- The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu (April 25nd)
- Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (May 30th)
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling (June 27th)
- There There by Tommy Orange (July 25th)
- Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (August 29th)
- The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (September 26th)
- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (October 24th)
- The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (November 21st)
- French Exit by Patrick deWitt (December 19th)
2018
- Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst (Jan 25th)
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Feb 22nd)
- Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast (March 29th)
- This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (April 26th)
- The Mothers by Brit Bennett (May 31st)
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (June 28th)
- The Dead Zone by Stephen King (July 26th)
- Us&Them by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (August 30th)
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (September 27th)
- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (October 25th)
- Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo (November 29th)
- Educated by Tara Westover (December 20th)
2017
- In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien (Jan 26th)
- Books for Living by Will Schwalbe (Feb 23rd)
- The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald (March 30th)
- The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (April 27th)
- Before the Wind by Jim Lynch (author visit! May 25th)
- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (June 29th)
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio (July 27th)
- Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (August 31st)
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (September 28th)
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (October 26th)
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue (November 30)
- Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun (December 28)
2016
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Jan 27th)
- Room by Emma Donoghue (Feb 24th)
- The Human Age by Diane Ackerman (March 30th)
- The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud (April 27th)
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (May 25th)
- Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (June 29th)
- Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (July 27th)
- More Was Lost by Eleanor Perenyi (Sept 29th)
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (Oct 27th)
- The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall (Nov 17th)
2015
- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
- The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
- The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
- The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
- The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt
- Euphoria by Lily King
- Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar
- Sweetland by Michael Crummey
2014
- The Black Count by Tom Reiss
- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Tim Egan
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Mink River by Brian Doyle
- The View from Casa Chepitos by Judith Gille
- We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
- The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Someone by Alice McDermott
2013
- The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
- Swimming Home by Deborah Levy
- Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
- The Barbarian Nurseries by Héctor Tobar
- The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
- Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
- The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
- A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
2012
- The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
- Great House by Nicole Krauss
- Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
- The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
- Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
- The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
- Doc by Mary Doria Russell
- Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
- The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
- Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
2011
- The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
- Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
- River House by Sarah Lee Lawrence
- Country Driving by Peter Hessler
- Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
- My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
- The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
- The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa
- The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
- Consequences by Penelope Lively
2010
- The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace
- The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
- The Lost City of Z by David Grann
- Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
- Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
- War Dances by Sherman Alexie
2009
- The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
- Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
- The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh by Linda Colley
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
- World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler
- The Writing Class by Jincy Willett
- The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
2008
- Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tamnet
- Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
- Primavera by Mary Jane Beaufrand
- White Cascade by Gary Krist
- Triangle by Katharine Weber
- Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
- Run by Ann Patchett
2007
- The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
- Accidental Happiness by Jean Reynolds Page
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
- The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
- The World to Come by Dara Horn
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
- The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen
- Miss Alcott's Email by Kit Bakke
- Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott
2006
- March by Geraldine Brooks
- Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
- The Finishing School by Muriel Sparks
- Chronicles: Volume 1 by Bob Dylan
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Summer Crossing by Truman Capote
- Owl Island by Randy Sue Coburn
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
2005
- Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick
- Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle
- Small Island by Andrea Levy
- Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes
- The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall
- Waxwings by Jonathan Raban
- The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa
- Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
- Elizabeth Costello by J. M. Coetzee
2004
- Old School by Tobias Wolff
- Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill
- The Known World by Edward P. Jones
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- My Invented Country by Isabella Allende
- Washington Square by Henry James
- Dancer by Colum Mcann
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
- Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
- As Above, So Below: A Novel of Peter Bruegel by Rudy Rucker
- The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World by Jenny Uglow
- The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
2003
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- Bad Blood by Lorna Sage
- The Translator by John Crowley
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt
- Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
- Breaking Clean by Judy Blunt
- Atonement by Ian McEwan
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
- Wine & War: The French, The Nazis & the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don & Petie Kladstrup
- Embers by Sandor Marai
2002
- Folly by Laurie R. King
- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
- Holes by Lois Sachar
- Secrets of the Tsil Cafe by Thomas Fox Averill
- Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
- Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
- The Family Orchard by Naomi Eve
- Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
- The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
- The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
- Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith
2001
- Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth by Naguib Mahfouz
- Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel
- Anil's Ghost by Michel Ondaatje
- The Human Stain by Philip Roth
- Tulipomania by Mike Dash
- The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman
- Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
- Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic by Martha Beck
- Pilgrim by Timothy Findley
- A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
- The Lexus and the Olive Tree; Understanding Globalization by Thomas L. Friedman
- Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
2000
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham
- Headlong by Michael Frayn
- The Late Mr. Shakespeare by Robert Nye
- Lenin's Embalmers by Ilya Zbarsky
- The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimler
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
- King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero by David Remnick
- The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
1999
- The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett
- The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
- The American by Henry James
- The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine
- When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
- Last Day by Glenn Kleier
- The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
- The Witch of Exmoor by Margaret Drabble
1998
- The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
- Old Books, Rare Friends by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern
- Straight Man by Richard Russo
- Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
- Fragments by Binjamin Wilkomirski
- Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
- Desert Places by Robyn Davidson
- Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
1997
- Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
- An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
- Audrey Hepburn's Neck by Alan Brown
- Ishmael by David Quinn
- Paula by Isabel Allende
- Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
1996
- Salvation on Sand Mountain by Dennis Covington
- Saving Grace by Lee Smith
- The Riders by Tim Winton
- An Imaginary Life by David Malouf
- A Very Long Engagement by Sebastian Japrisot
- The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir
- Independence Day by Richard Ford
- Bombardiers by Po Bronson
- Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
- Rocking the Babies by Linda Raymond
- Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
- Daisy Bates in the Desert by Julia Blackburn
- Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher
1995
- Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- Daughter of the Samurai by Etsu Sugimoto
- The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge
- Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
- A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
- The Alchemist by Paulo Cochio
- A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines
- The Republic of Love by Carol Shields
- A History of God by Karen Armstrong
- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
1994
- The All of It by Jeanette Haien
- A River Sutra by Gita Mehta
- Theory of War by Joan Brady
- The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
- Fraud by Anita Brookner
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto