Whew, what a year! It was truly a year of our motto, “There’s beauty in different opinions”, and with 15 active members in book club, we certainly have differing opinions. I don’t think there was a single book this year that got a full consensus, but that’s why we pick the books we pick — if we all agree that a book is amazing, there’s nothing to discuss.
That being said, it’s hard being the person who picked a book everyone hates…
So here’s a recap on our year, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We had some really memorable reads, and some we would recommend (and some we would not…).
Total Books Read for the Year: 1,777! (That’s an average of 118 per person, though Megan S carried us with her 567 in one year)
Most Favorited Book Club Pick: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Least Favorited Book Club Pick: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
My Rating: 5 Stars
Book Club Rating: 3.82 Stars
What a way to kick off the year! I had covid and couldn’t attend book club this month, but it was HEATED. I feel like this is a book that you either loved or hated… there’s no middle ground. My review of this book says, “I loved this book, but it was BRUTAL. 5 stars for making me feel things that books don’t normally touch.” I’m not convinced 5 stars was the way to go for me, but, like I said, it would have been either 5 or 1, no in between.
The discussion was mostly centered around one side trying to convince the other side why they feel the way they feel. The people who loved the book found it unpredictable, emotional, and unlike anything else we have read. The people who hated the book found the violence gratuitous and the ending implausible. Anyone who had given it 3 stars ended up moving their rating by the end of the night.
From Megan S: “It sucked me in from the beginning, and completely gutted me by the end.”
From Erin L: “I thought it was a 3-star read, but by the end of book club, I’d downgraded it to a 2. The animal cruelty was over the top and totally unnecessary.”
From Alyssa D: “Feeling things that I normally wouldn’t feel pushed me out of my comfort zone. Five star, and I won’t budge from that.”
From Katherine J: “Between the unnecessary violence, the creepy sister relationship, and the downright absurd ‘twists’, I found it hard to connect to the characters. Only bright side is learning how important wolves are to a healthy ecosystem.”
In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström
My Rating: 3 Stars
Book Club Rating: 2.88 Stars
This book was a bit of a flop for most of book club. I had to go reread the synopsis to remind myself what this book was even about, because it just blended in to the rest of the books I read this year. In my review, I mention that the beginning of this novel felt more about the man that connected the protagonists rather than the protagonists themselves, and I think the rest of book club agreed with that assessment.
Overall, it was a let down for book club and we spent a lot more time discussing our own lives than the lives of the characters in this book.
From Erin L: “It missed the mark for me. I was so excited for that book and ended up being disappointed.”
From Lauren D: ” The author focused more about the men in these women’s lives than their actual goals and accomplishments. In the end, it was a major disappointment for me.”
From Katherine J: “I understood the intention of the book, but I found that the character plots didn’t meld. I was confused by Muna’s place in the story.”
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
My Rating: 3 Stars
Book Club Rating: 3.27 Stars
I’m bringing down the average on this one! I love Ruta Sepetys so much, so I was excited to read something from her backlist, but this was just not it. It felt VERY YA, and not in a way I generally connect with. That being said, most of book club rated this one 3 or 4 stars, so I wasn’t too off from the general consensus.
General consensus is that we loved the setting and thought it really did New Orleans justice. One of our members had even lived in a building that was mentioned in the book! But that didn’t really make up for the repetition and pacing of the story.
From Lauren D: “It was a pretty easy read and I appreciated the New Orleans setting. I found it more YA than some of Sepetys other books though.”
From Kate A: “I had such high hopes for this one because I loved Salt to the Sea and The Fountains of Silence. But it was really YA, and everything wrapped up too neatly at the end.”
From Abby O: “I wanted to like it more than I did. I feel like everything wrapped up way too easily and unrealistically at the end with a pretty bow.”
From Alyssa D: “It was good and one I enjoyed. I didn’t have strong feelings either way for it.”
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Book Club Rating: 2.30 Stars
For the past three years, book club has decided they want to slot in a classic. For the last three years, that classic has been one of the lowest rated books of the year. (Spoiler: We are not reading a classic in 2023…) That being said, we all had high hopes for this book, as we (mostly) all love Fahrenheit 451 and Ray Bradbury. This book was not it.
To be fair, I read the graphic novel version of this book, which was abridged by Bradbury himself then turned over to a cartoonist. It still counts as read, I promise. The portions of the novel that were in the graphic novel were apparently better than the actual novel itself, because those of us who did the graphic novel version enjoyed the story more than the rest of the group. There were a couple people who enjoyed the story, but it was a big no from most of us.
From Simone O: I liked how it was short stories but they were all connected and had a linear storyline of the colonization of the planet. I also liked how I was outright shocked by the end of the second story. I wanted to keep going to see where it went.”
From Erin L: “Fuck that book.”
From Megan S: “Ray Bradbury definitely missed the mark with this one. Not sure what I was reading the whole book. Skip this one and just go with Fahrenheit instead.”
From Alyssa D: “-47 Stars. All I took away from it were the ridiculous names of the aliens – Mr. Tt, Mr. Hhh, Mr. Aaa.”
From Abby O: “Just… really hated The Martian Chronicles.”
Notes on a Silencing by Lucy Crawford
My Rating: 4 Stars
Book Club Rating: 3.88 Stars
You know how there are some books that stick with you, no matter how long ago you read them? Like you will always remember where you were when you were reading it? This book had that impact on me. I will never forget floating on a raft in my pool, listening to Lacy tell her parents about her assault, and hearing her parents’ reaction to the news.
Did we love this one? Maybe? It’s hard to “love” a book that is so gut-wrenching and heart-breaking, and also a memoir where you can actually google the events in the book. The publication of this memoir had real lasting effects on the author, and I’m glad I was able to pick it for one of my choices for the year.
From Erin L: “Powerful story, but a bit disjointed in the order of events.”
From Abby O: “I really appreciated the bravery it took to write Notes on a Silencing. It was powerful and important.”
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
My Rating: 4 Stars
Book Club Rating: 3.75 Stars
Given the hype of this novel, I had really high expectations going into it, and I think that’s why it wasn’t a 5 star. I loved the setting, loved the history, and felt it was really an impactful subject, but it also felt pretty YA in the writing style. June’s books are always some of my favorites, as we always choose an LGBTQIA+ book for Pride Month.
As you can see, we had a lot of opinions about this novel, and the discussion was a good one (especially for a June book). It gave us a lot to dive into, and provided an interesting perspective that we hadn’t experienced before. All in all, while YA, it was still an excellent book club pick.
From Alyssa D: “The cultural and time period influence that was placed on sexuality was humbling. Loved it.”
From Kate A: “I really enjoyed this one. It was an easy read for dealing with hard stuff but it was not heavy.”
From Abby O: “This was a beautiful depiction of growing up and having the courage to be yourself.”
From Erin L: “It was so good! It had a way of dealing with serious, complicated issues without being too heavy.”
From Simone O: “I had a problem with the lack of inner conflict the main character had in coming to terms with her sexuality. It seemed too easy.”
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Book Club Rating: 4.18 Stars
Our July book always ends up getting the shaft in the discussion department because we usually just call Book Club Beach Trip our meeting for the month, and then we spend the whole weekend talking about every book except the one we picked. This novel, however, is one that we all raved about. Emily Henry is a book club favorite, for good reason, and this novel did a great job of bringing together a bit of everything we loved from her previous books.
Far and away, we thought the banter between the two love interests were great. I listened to this book while painting the nursery, and I was actually laughing out loud while listening. Aside from the romance, there’s a great sister relationship (I’d argue this book is more about the sisters than the love interest), and there’s a lot of inner conflict. Definitely worth the high rating.
From Erin L: “Emily Henry can do no wrong in my opinion. I love every book by her.”
From Katherine J: “No one waits that long to have sex.”
From Lauren D: “This may have been the best banter I’ve ever read!”
From Beth D: “I loooooved the banter in this one!”
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My Rating: 5 Stars
Book Club Rating: 4.11 Stars
This is one of my all time favorite YA novels. I’ve read it three or four times now, and it was my best book of 2015 (and the first book I read in 2015!). When this was suggested for our book club, I was PUMPED. And for the most part, everyone loved it.
The people who didn’t love it felt like it was too flowery in its language and just “too weird”, but the majority of the group thought the relationships between the characters were fascinating, and getting inside the mind of these artists felt authentic. Of course, it is a YA novel, and there are some in the group that just don’t read YA. To each their own, but this was a hit.
From Abby O: “I LOVED this book. It was so beautiful and heartbreaking and wonderfully written. I was very invested in the character development and couldn’t put it down.”
From Megan S: “ALL THE FEELS! Easily my best book of the year.”
From Erin L: “I only finished this book through divine intervention. I do think I may have liked it better if I’d done it in print vs audio.”
From Katherine J: “This one ripped my heart out. The writing perfectly embodied what I think the mind of an artist is like.”
From Kate A: “This was my third time reading it, and it was still amazing. The writing is beautiful.”
Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky
My Rating: 3 Stars
Book Club Rating: 3.30 Stars
As far as books go, this book got mixed reviews from book club. Most of the people who read it felt it was helpful and beneficial, but it could have been a much shorter book. I enjoyed the reminder to make room for fun and creativity in my life, but reading this at 8 months pregnant was not super useful.
Despite the ratings, this book produced one of the best book club discussions all year. We went around the table and discussed what we thought our “unicorn space” was, and helped the people who didn’t think they had any (ahem, me). We are still referring to things as our unicorn space, and reminding each other to not feel guilty about taking that time for themselves. It will likely be a long-lasting book for us.
From Erin L: “I wish I could have read this in my 20s as a new mom. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone trying to find themselves.”
From Kate A: “I agree with Erin, but I do feel like it could have been shorter.”
From Heather D: “This book is an enneagram 3.”
From Alyssa D: “Loved the message and the concept, but I think it could have been condensed into a TED talk.”
From Lauren D: “This book felt like a lot but I appreciate the concept of doing something that sparks your creativity. It served as a great conversation starter too.”
Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon
My Rating: Didn’t Read
Book Club Rating: 2.86 Stars
I am not someone who generally skips book club books, but October was a wild month for me. I heard enough negative reviews and thought it might be worth skipping with all the other things I had going on in my life. I’m not someone who typically reads thrillers anyway, so it wasn’t a hard decision.
Book club conversations centered around who was able to guess the twists and if the book was worth reading. We obviously fell all over the spectrum, with some people giving it 5 stars, and other giving it 1. Unlike some of our other books, though, it didn’t inspire the nuanced discussion that we hope for.
From Beth D: “This one had its hook in me. Definitely a thrilling page turner.”
From Erin L: “It was a good thriller, but I called the twist.”
From Heather D: “Absolute trash with shallow, stereotypically written characters.”
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My Rating: 5 Stars
Book Club Rating: 4.33 Stars
Hello, it is my Best Fiction book of the year! As evidenced by the high book club rating, this was also our book club favorite of the year. Two people (out of the 15 of us) gave it one star, but the rest of the group fell between 4 and 5 stars. The worst part about it was that I had a baby a week before book club so I didn’t get to rave over it with the rest of the group.
The friendship in this novel was the best friendship I’ve read in a long time (and I read a lot of friendship books this year). It was heartwarming without being sappy, poignant without being dramatic. The science was a lot but also approachable. We would recommend this to literally anyone with a heart.
From Beth D: “EPIC. I loved the science”
From Alyssa D: “-12 stars. If something didn’t work, he could have explained it in one paragraph instead of 1.75 pages. Also, the science was just too much.”
From Megan S: “When a book starts off with a tube up someone’s butt, you know it’s gonna be a good time.”
From Kate A: “It completely blew me away. It far exceeded any expectation I had going in. It was science-y but not stuffy or snobby. I could not put it down, and it was one of my top 5 for the year. The friendship is probably my second favorite friendship behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione.”
From Erin L: “It is in my top 3 across any genre.”
From Katherine J: “This book was MADE FOR ME. I deeply appreciated the accuracy of the science, ad the writing was perfection. Made me laugh and cry, and that’s hard to do. Definitely my favorite fiction book of the year.”
The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter
My Rating: Didn’t Read
Book Club Rating: 1.50 Stars
I didn’t read this book, and the only reason this book has a 1.50 rating from the group is because only two people read it, and one gave it a 1 star, and the other gave it 2 stars. So. I don’t have much to say here. We didn’t discuss the book at Christmas party, though some people did say they may give it a shot later this year. It generally seemed too heavy for a December read.
From Erin L: “Ummm. This was the first ever book club book I skipped. It’s not it’s fault, I blame Beartown.”
From Kate A: “It probably would have been better earlier in the year. The liberation of Algeria is a little heavy for December. I’m not saying I wouldn’t give it another shot, but it’s definitely a slow burn.”
From Lauren D: “I DNF’d after 20 pages, but I blame the Christmas romcom train I decided to board and not the actual book.”
Book Club Favorites
Outside of our book club picks for the month, the following books were favorites of the members! Each of the books or series listed below was named as one of our favorites of the year by two or more book club members.
- The Beartown Trilogy (specifically The Winners) by Fredrik Backman
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
- The A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas
- Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
- The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- The Change by Kirsten Miller
- The Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
You’re so right about Project Hail Mary