As the sun begins to shine warmer and longer, the book clubs of the world are preparing to come out of their winter slumbers and dive into a new, exciting read. From political intrigue to historical fiction to delicious literary fiction that will keep you glued to the page, we have prepared a list of reads so good your entire book club will be fighting over which one to pick next.

This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin (1/13)

In a woven tapestry of stories, Pulitzer prize finalist Daniyal Mueenuddin writes how the interconnection of life on the land of Colonel Atar can form love, create outlaws, and unearth the corruption of the justice system. Hard work can forge a respected place in society, but overstepping can get one cast out of it just as quickly. In a world where choosing morality can cause suffering or death, what other options are there but to survive?

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Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (1/20)

Waldo knows what she wants, and what she wants is the man who has seen her when no one else has. She wants his stability, his knowledge, the way their spirits connected on a level no one else could even hope for. The only problem? That man is Mr. Korgy, her middle-aged creative writing teacher who is married with a child. For Waldo, these are small details in the way of getting what’s hers.

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A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman (3/3)

The MacBrides family has lived in the quiet sheep station of Meredith Downs for generations with little to trouble them. On one perfectly sunny day, the head of the family makes a split-second decision to swerve off the road to avoid a kangaroo and everything they had been building is destroyed. Now plagued with loss, death, and sacrifice, the MacBrides must find a way to find their own individual happiness after losing and giving up so much. They must learn how much their hearts can endure before they’ve been pushed too far to heal.

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Now I Surrender by Álvaro Enrigue (3/3)

Deep in the heart of the borderlands of Mexico and the United States lie stories that entirely change perspective of what it means to have won the West, and maneuvers across time to illustrate the rippling ramifications. From a woman escaping the carnage of a raid on her dead husband’s ranch and a lieutenant colonel unearthing deeper, more sinister plots than he had been prepared for in the past, to an attempt from both American and Mexican militaries to contend with the legendary Apache warrior Geronimo, to today, where a family tries to explore their own past and what it might mean for their future.

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Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami (3/17)

When you have nothing, what is there left to lose? For fifteen-year-old Hana, who has nothing in her run-down apartment in the Tokyo suburbs but her mother who works as a hostess just to keep them both afloat, Kimiko coming into her life is almost too good to be true. Kimiko brings opportunity to Hana when the pair open Lemon, a bar no less divey than the one her mother works for, but one every bit more perfect because it belongs to Hana. She, now armed with income, friends, and the promise of a future, might just have what it takes to survive the betrayal and heartache about to befall her.

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American Fantasy by Emma Straub (4/7)

On the American Fantasy cruise ship, there are thousands of women who would love to have just one conversation with the five members of a nineties-era boyband, back and performing for the nostalgia bait. Annie, however, is not here for the bait. She is here as a newly-divorced, empty-nester who tagged along only to appease her sister. Still, the booze is flush and the music is enough to wake up a part of her she thought she buried with low-rise jeans. This part of her is ready to take risks, even the risk of befriending a member of the band and discovering where that takes her along the way.

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Transcription by Ben Lerner (4/7)

In the early days of COVID, the narrator is given the opportunity to conduct the final recorded interview of  Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor, father to his college friend Max, and absolute giant in the world of the arts. Just before the interview, the narrator drops his phone— and only recording device— in the sink. Unable to confess to this blunder, he carries on with the interview. The lines drawn between the narrator, Max, and Thomas paint a vivid portrait of the challenges of fathers, sons, and rivalry, all relying on our faulty memories and the effects of memories warping the narrative we tell ourselves.

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Go Gentle by Maria Semple (4/14)

Adora has discovered the secrets to a good life. Post-divorce, she has poured herself into her Stoic philosophy and only desired that which she already had: a warm home, a loving daughter, and a coven of like-minded women all living on the same floor of the historic Ansonia building in New York City’s Upper West Side. Her life is changed when she meets a dark and handsome stranger who pulls her down into his world of black market dealings and international intrigue, but none of this is new to Adora. She’d thought she left her past behind her, but now no amount of moral theory will protect her from her uncontrollable desire.

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Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez (4/21)

Alicia Canales Forten’s entire life is planned out in front of her. She will marry a proper doctor, move out of her mother’s home, and all will be as it was meant to be. That thought is terrifying to her. One night, she finds herself sneaking away to explore a new corner of Brooklyn and comes to find herself enamored with the youth and adventure and creativity. Unable to pull herself away from this new potential she’s unlocked, she moves in directly across from La Garza, an unstoppable tour de force of a fashion designer that Alicia cannot seem to draw herself away from. The closer she allows herself to get to the fire, though, the more likely it is to burn her.

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John of John by Douglas Stuart (5/5)

John-Calum is returning home to the island of Harris after ages with little to show for his time away but an art degree, long hair, and strange fashions (all things his father, John, loathes). The closeted John-Calum must try to find his place in the family he left behind with his preacher father and loving– if vulgar– grandmother. As the threads of their family begin to fray under the weight of secrets they all keep, it seems impossible to continue to keep what’s been hidden in the dark from coming into the light.

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