Hello Book Clubbers,

In this issue, we bring you titles from our current featured reading guides: The Dance of the Dolls by Lucy Ashe, a novel taking on the history of British ballet, and King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner, a coming-of-age First Impressions favorite.

We also hope you'll check out our new online forum, where future BookBrowse book club discussions will be held.

Plus, get a jump start on January with our best books for book clubs in 2025 and our most anticipated books publishing next year.

With best wishes,

The BookBrowse Team

BookBrowse presents a rotating selection of featured reading guides for titles we've reviewed to help you with ideas for possible book club reads and to keep your discussions running smoothly. Below are a couple from the current lineup, with the link to the full selection below.

Though the setting they are in is one that will become iconic, and though the novel takes place against a backdrop of pre-World War II fears, Clara and Olivia's story, with its thrilling twists and creeping character development, focuses primarily on the personal anxieties, victories, and threats they encounter. Lovingly researched by former ballerina and current English literature teacher Lucy Ashe, The Dance of the Dolls is full of brilliant description and the deep inner thoughts of multiple fascinating characters. Yet this book's beating heart is the experience of Clara and Olivia. Their impenetrable bond has clearly been cemented even beyond the usual closeness shared by twins, and each moment of contact between the two feels lived-in and real — perfectly broken-in, like a pointe shoe should be.

Although fiction, this coming-of-age novel sheds light on the reality of dealing with a rare, debilitating and feared disease. It is dedicated to the author's father, who was a patient at Carville, where there is today a museum of artifacts on the grounds of the now-closed leprosarium near New Orleans (Laura C). I grew up not far from Carville and often heard stories and rumors about the "leper colony." Reading King of the Armadillos was shocking for me as I had no idea what life was truly like inside the Hansen's facility and figured it was just a locked-down hospital. The description of the treatments and the effects of the disease were eye-opening to say the least! (Margot P).

BookBrowse has a new community forum! In addition to hosting future book club discussions, this space is available for our members to share their favorite reads and discuss all things books. 

To prevent our moderators from being overwhelmed, participation is currently limited to members only, but anyone can browse the forum, so please check it out!

How are your book club picks looking for 2025? To help book clubs choose their reads for next year, we've compiled a big list of favorites that we think would make great discussion selections. Almost all these books are paired with reading guides and have been featured (or will be featured) on BookBrowse, and all are either recent or upcoming hardcover or paperback releases.

Some are even tried-and-tested titles from our own online book club, and we've included the discussion links for inspiration. Happy reading!

Looking for nonfiction for your book club in 2025? In the past, we've released separate lists for fiction and nonfiction, but this year, we've bundled them together so you can see all our book club recommendations in one place. Use our nonfiction quick link to find this year's titles in that category.

It's never too early to start getting excited about next year's books. So why not plan your reading alongside our most anticipated books for 2025? Our selections range from work by famous and beloved authors to promising debuts, and can give you a sneak peek of titles we may cover at BookBrowse — including some appearing in our First Impressions program or book club.

We hope you discover future favorites on this list and join us next year as we continue to bring you the best new books.

Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification.

You can also find inspiration for your book club among our more than 200 past discussions.

In November, we feature Amanda Peters' The Berry Pickers as well as Nancy Jensen's In Our Midst, and we have more exciting discussions lined up for next year!

Usually published once a month, Book Club News is one of BookBrowse's four free newsletters. We also publish BookBrowse Highlights every Thursday, Publishing This Week every Sunday; and Librarian News monthly. We also offer occasional emails focusing on specific genres.

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