Book Club Picks: August 2026
Alta Journal’s California Book Club
The book: The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Our reviewer says: “New Yorker staff writer Orlean doubles as an investigative reporter and an institutional historian in this sprawling account of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Public Library.... This is a persuasive reminder of the importance of libraries, whose shared spaces house historical treasures built with the common good in mind.” Read more.
The book: The Simp by Roshan Sethi
Our reviewer says: “Film director Sethi debuts with the whip-smart story of an amateur actor’s rocky bid to become a movie star.... It’s a laugh-out-loud tale of a Hollywood hustler.” Read more.
Barnes & Noble Book Club and Read with Jenna
The book: Sunlight Finds You by Laura Moriarty
Our reviewer says: “A humble Missouri-born teen moves to St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1947 and falls into a star-crossed romance with a rich New Yorker in this twisty coming-of-age drama from Moriarty.... Readers will fall for the delightful and well-rounded Nora and Leonard as much as they do for each other.” Read more.
The book: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
Our reviewer says: “Gaines's first novel in a decade may be his crowning achievement.... Gaines invests the story with emotional power and universal resonance.” Read more.
The book: Girl’s Girl by Sonia Feldman
The book: Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi
The book: Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum
Our reviewer says: “An advertising executive’s exasperation with the business world strains his marriage in this pitch-perfect satire from Maum.... [A] fierce and funny portrait of late-stage capitalism and its limited supply of happiness.” Read more.
The book: Night Objects by Eli Raphael
Our reviewer says: “A woman reflects on the suspicious death of her boarding school classmate in Raphael’s riveting debut.... Readers will be eager to see what Raphael does next.” Read more.
Good Morning America Book Club
The book: Take What You Can by Naima Coster
Our reviewer says: “In 2004 France, two young women forge a bond as the only Black Americans on their college-sponsored trip in Coster’s underdeveloped latest.... This one will leave readers scratching their heads.” Read more.
Good Morning America YA Book Club
The book: The Hardest Ones to Fool by Christina Li
Our reviewer says: “Li weaves a labyrinthine mystery about a teen with multiple personae encountering increasingly dangerous consequences as her elaborate web of lies unravels.... The novel’s pacing hinges on delayed revelations, and the resulting twists feel both surprising and earned.” Read more.
The book: TBA
Jewish Book Council Book Club (fiction)
The book: Remember to Eat by Meryl Ain
Jewish Book Council Book Club (nonfiction)
The book: A Time to Gather by Bruce Feiler
Our reviewer says: “A Brooklyn ‘grieving and weaving’ circle, a forest bathing session in Chile, and a group baptism at the Vatican are just some of the gatherings attended by bestseller Feiler.... It’s a powerful case for the continued importance of ritual at a time of disconnection and division.” Read more.
The book: A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
The book: Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Our reviewer says: “Stunning, wrenching and inspiring, the fourth novel by Canadian novelist Hill spans the life of Aminata Diallo, born in Bayo, West Africa, in 1745.... In depicting a woman who survives history's most trying conditions through force of intelligence and personality, Hill's book is a harrowing, breathtaking tour de force.” Read more.
The book: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Our reviewer says: “Carson's book is a caution against greed and hubris that our governments and businesses largely have ignored, to the peril of the whole planet.” Read more.
The book: The Challenge for Africa by Wangari Maathai
Our reviewer says: “Africa's moral and cultural dysfunctions loom as large as its material problems in this wide-ranging jeremiad by Maathai, a Kenyan biologist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.” Read more.
The book: TBA
The book: If I Ruled the World by Amy Dubois Barnett
The book: The Wild Beneath by Kelly Anderson
Our reviewer says: “A young seafaring woman comes to terms with her mysterious magical powers in this evocative if tonally unbalanced debut from Anderson.... This has some bright spots, but for the most part it’s a bit too fuzzy.” Read more.
The book: Fragments of Wasted Devotion by Mia Arias Tsang
The book: Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
Our reviewer says: “Loaded with snarky one-liners and absurdist set pieces, Cash’s glittering debut novel follows the middle-class Flynn family as they try and fail to find a sense of purpose.... It’s unforgettable.” Read more.
The book: Fish Tales by Nettie Jones
The book: Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
Our reviewer says: “Alyan blends joy with pain, frustration with elation, longing with boredom in this beautiful debut novel filled with the panoply of life.” Read more.
The book: TBA
The book: Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory
Our reviewer says: “Gregory resumes her Tudor Series with an engrossing tale of lady-in-waiting Jane Boleyn.... Once again, Gregory brings the Tudor era to vivid life.” Read more.
The book: Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
Our reviewer says: “A writer and her 12-year-old daughter grapple with their family legacy while on a road trip through Sicily in this arresting and layered novel from Luiselli.... It’s a masterpiece.” Read more.
The book: Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Our reviewer says: “Written when the author was 20, this first novel tells the story of Clay, a New Hampshire college student who returns home to Los Angeles for Christmas vacation.” Read more.
