This month, our members are participating in book club discussions of two novels that follow ambitious female protagonists as they navigate social and political realities.

Nancy Johnson's The Kindest Lie is about Ruth Tuttle, a woman with a successful present and a secret past whose personal struggles are inseparable from problems of racism in America, while Marie Benedict's Her Hidden Genius focuses on Dr. Rosalind Franklin, a real-life historical woman whose work was pivotal to DNA studies but whose contributions have been overlooked.

We also have two new blog posts full of content for you and your book club. For Black History Month, we're making 70+ reviews of nonfiction and historical fiction by Black authors accessible to everyone for free. In addition, we're sharing a reading list of 26 recommended short books for book clubs.

Plus, we're giving away copies of Secrets of the Sprakkar by the First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid, who explores the reasons behind the country's success in the area of gender equality.

Very best,

Davina

Rosalind Franklin has always been an outsider―brilliant, but different. Whether working at the laboratory she adored in Paris or toiling at a university in London, she feels closest to the science, those unchanging laws of physics and chemistry that guide her experiments. When she is assigned to work on DNA, she believes she can unearth its secrets.

Rosalind knows if she just takes one more X-ray picture―one more after thousands―she can unlock the building blocks of life. Never again will she have to listen to her colleagues complain about her, especially Maurice Wilkins who'd rather conspire about genetics with James Watson and Francis Crick than work alongside her.

"I love science and I loved discovering Rosalind Franklin and the role she played in discovering DNA. Marie Benedict did a great job bringing to life Rosalind not just as a scientist but a woman living in post World War II Europe, a dedicated hiker, a woman of culture with a love for fashion and color; a multifaceted woman." - barbarao

"I spent most of the book seething because of the injustice Franklin had to suffer. What would the world look like if women, and other minorities, were able to follow their dreams and live up to their potential! I hurt for her. I am so glad I read Her Hidden Genius. I knew nothing about Franklin before and I have just added two nonfiction books about her to my reading list." - Gloria

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to read about an outstanding woman in science! I had not heard of Rosalind Franklin: what an amazing woman and researcher she was!" - viquig

About the Book / Discuss

It's 2008, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He's eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to - and was forced to leave behind - when she was a teenager.

Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. Just as she is about to uncover a burning secret her family desperately wants to keep hidden, a traumatic incident strains the town's already searing racial tensions.

"The Kindest Lie is told with such an assured voice and graceful conviction. I thoroughly enjoyed and HIGHLY recommend this book." - sylviaann

"This is a timely novel about motherhood and race. I appreciate its exploration of how Ruth is pulled apart by others' expectations of her: the dutiful academic daughter, the wife and mother. Who among us has not kept a secret in the moment, only to realize later that we are stuck with the consequences?" - Julia B

"What I appreciated about this book was seeing all the obstacles, stereotypes and 'everyday moments' of life through the eyes of a Black woman and her family. (Everyday moments that are often unnecessarily complicated for no other reason than the color of Ruth's skin.) While Ruth comes to terms with a long-buried, traumatic event, she must also deal with the day-to-day trauma of being a Black woman. I could actually visualize the balancing act people of color experience daily in almost every interaction." - acstrine

About the Book / Discuss

Looking for short books for your book club? As fulfilling as participating in a book group can be, keeping up with the reading is no easy feat. If your group is on the lookout for short reads that still pack a punch, look no further. We’ve put together a wide variety of intriguing novels, memoirs and short story collections that all clock in at less than 250 pages.

In celebration of Black History Month, we encourage you to take advantage of having full access to reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 70+ exceptional books, nonfiction and historical fiction, by Black authors at BookBrowse.

All books have a review, a "beyond the book" article, read-alikes and an excerpt. Just click and explore!

Iceland is the best place on earth to be a woman - but why? Secrets of the Sprakkar is a powerful and atmospheric portrait of a tiny country that could lead the way forward for us all.

In Secrets of the Sprakkar (pronounced SPRAH-car), Eliza Reid, the First Lady of Iceland, examines her adopted homeland's attitude toward women - the deep-seated cultural sense of fairness, the influence of current and historical role models, and, crucially, the areas where Iceland still has room for improvement.

"I enjoyed it so much...Reid's style is amusing, her thoughts are honest, and the issues she discusses are becoming more important by the day." - Jane Smiley, The Washington Post

"With warmth, wit, and insight, First Lady Eliza Reid explores the reasons why Iceland is one of the best places on earth for women, as well as the challenges still ahead in achieving full gender equity. Secrets of the Sprakkar is an illuminating, inspiring, and absorbing book about how a more equitable society could elevate us all." - Cheryl Strayed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wild

Read More / Enter Giveaway

Discussions are open to all, so please join us! You can also find inspiration for your book club among our almost 200 past discussions.

If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, sign up for a one-time notification.

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.