Carole Barrowman's Tips for a Successful Book Club

Now that summer is winding down, a lot of people have more regular schedules. That means it's the perfect time to start that book club you've always wanted! Joining us with her tips for starting a successful book club, and her fall book reviews, is Carole Barrowman. For more information on Carole and her own books, visit BarrowmanBooks.com. And check out her reviews below: "A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue" by Mackenzi Lee - I’m recommending this historical and hysterical YA novel to everyone! It’s perfect for the book club that wants to squeal and laugh while reading something that deals with a myriad of contemporary issues (peer pressure, homophobia, racism, sexism). This is a wild sexy three musketeers kind of tale about a young British aristocrat who likes fine wine and fine boys, lusty girls and gambling. His father sends him on a Grand Tour of Europe with his younger sister and a conservative chaperone to try to change his rakish ways. “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui is an illustrated memoir and perfect for the book club looking for something quite different. One review describes it as a book that lands “with the force of a blow and the strength of a mountain.” It tells the story of a family fleeing Vietnam for America in the 1970s. This is a stunning story about love, loyalty, and how we carry our history in our bones. "The Dark Net" by Benjamin Percy - A number of my male colleagues have a “boys reading club” at Alverno and this is their first choice of the fall based on my review. You’ll want to hide your cell phone while reading this. It’s a scary novel, not just in its plot but also because of its premise– that our technology is literally sucking our humanity from us. "Sulfur Springs" by William Kent Krueger - Mysteries are always my go to picks for book clubs because they’re all about big moral issues. In this case, the story is about illegal immigration and how an unforgiving landscape can create ruthless people who prey on others. The plot opens in familiar territory– a missing person’s case that begins in Minnesota and ends in Arizona. “Sulfur Springs” is a fast-paced blistering wild-west mystery.