October is National Reading Group Month!
Reading groups, aka Book Clubs, can be many things: a chance to learn, to connect, to share stories and ideas, or just a way to get ourselves to read. Whether you want to join a book club, pick up a copy of your book club title, or find out what other book clubs are reading, the library is here for you.
In celebration of National Reading Group Month, here is a glimpse of current OPL books clubs you can join, followed by a reading list of October picks by some well known book clubs.
We Bike Book Club (formerly Women Bike Book Club) - Originally started by Bike East Bay as part of their Women Bike program, WBBC aims to make space for and focus on voices historically underrepresented in the larger biking world (namely women, femme, and trans folks). They meet every 1st Thursday of the month at 6pm. Currently, they are reading Cyclista Zine Issue #4: Unfiltered. Fore more information, go here.
Folkland Book Club is a monthly book club that features books from Small Press Distribution. Folkland Book Club meets the third Wednesday of each month from 6-7pm, and copies of the book are generally available to pick up at the Main Library. November's book is Minarets on the Horizon: Muslim Pioneers in Canada by Murray Hogben. Find more information about the book and meeting details here.
Dimond Short Story Read Aloud is just what it sounds like. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm, they read a short story together and then discuss it. The short story is picked by the librarian and is always a surprise. For more information, go here.
César E. Chávez Branch Club de lectura is a Spanish language book club that occurs every second Saturday. Currently they are reading by Piedad Bonnet, which they will discuss November 13th. After that they will be reading Toda la soledad del centro de la Tierra by Luis Jorge Boone. For more information, go here.
Lakeview Book Club is a book club that meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month. Book club members pick the books each month.
Check out this page for more information about all of our book clubs!
Want to read along with people far and wide? Check out this list of October 2021 picks for some of the most well-known book clubs out there.
Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club:
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
A classical musician struggling with professional burnout, family judgment, and a faithless long-term boyfriend gets her groove back in the beautifully melancholy and meditative latest from Hoang (The Bride Test).
The Inugami Curse Seishi Yokomizo
A multiple murder case confounds brilliant private detective Kosuke Kindaichi in this stellar whodunit set in 1940s Japan.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
A powerful portrait of patriarchal, racial, and religious abuses in Bethel society, conjuring a sense of creeping dread and maintaining the pacing throughout. Henderson’s bewitching feminist fantasy debut draws readers into a world of harsh contrasts and dark magic.
Fearless, Malala's Book Club:
Shamsie’s memorable novel features timely themes in this epic tale of two Muslim families whose lives are entangled by politics and conflict.
Finding Wonder, the Atlas Obscura Book Club:
Mortician Doughty (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) catalogues rituals and cultural practices surrounding death from all over the world in this fantastic memoir, which is intended to “help us reclaim meaning and tradition in our own community.”
Set largely in the black and Hispanic communities of Florida's Dade County, Due's first novel, a skillful blend of horror and the supernatural, poses questions about life and identity that transcend racial boundaries.
Gathering of Voices, the Jesmyn Ward Book Club:
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Machado creates eerie, inventive worlds shimmering with supernatural swerves in this engrossing debut collection. Her stories make strikingly feminist moves by combining elements of horror and speculative fiction with women’s everyday crises.
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Two-time Pulitzer winner Whitehead (The Nickel Boys) returns with a sizzling heist novel set in civil rights–era Harlem.
Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Book Club:
Sahota’s engaging latest (after The Year of the Runaways) follows a teenage bride in rural Punjab during the British Raj.
Myth & Meaning, the Joseph Campbell Book Club:
Saint’s enchanting debut retells the myth of the minotaur through the eyes of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete.
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler
A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Pulitzer winner Powers (The Overstory) offers up a marvelous story of experimental neurotherapy and speculations about alien life.
Underrated, the Stephen Curry Book Club:
This Bright Future by Bobby Hall
This Bright Future is a raw and unfiltered journey into the life and mind of Bobby Hall, who emerged from the wreckage of a horrifically abusive childhood to become an era-defining artist of our tumultuous age.
*All descriptions from Publisher's Weekly
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