Island Books Open Book Club

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!

2023

The Promise by Damon Galgut (26 January)

Still Life by Sarah Winman (23 February) on Zoom

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)

Trust by Hernan Diaz (27 July)

 

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--note it's the second-to-last Thursday of the month due to Halloween)
• The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (November 21st--second-to-last Thursday due to Thanksgiving)
• French Exit by Patrick deWitt (December 19th--second-to-last Thursday due to Christmas)

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