Hi everyone, Emma here once again with book club news.
First of all.. I’m blown away by the response we’ve had to the book club being re-instated. As many of you may know, we used to have a book club hosted here – on the blog, back in 2018. When we put it on an indefinite hold, we received messages for years asking us to bring it back! I’m so glad we did.. since now we have almost 2000+ members in the facebook group & had so many more vowing to join the group here on the blog. I’m so happy and proud that so many of you are interested in falling in love with reading again in 2020, and I look forward to a fun-filled year ahead.
If you aren’t in the facebook group.. definitely click here to join. We are pretty active over there.. with tons of posts going up each day discussing the current books, book suggestions, questions, book hauls, memes and more! It’s been a fun way to gain friends.
We are hosting the January book club discussion here on the blog next week (January 27th). I’ll make sure to drop the link in stories + on the facebook group for those interested in partaking. It should be interesting since our main book club pick (The Wives by Tarryn Fisher) was a highly controversial thriller. Some loved it & some hated it.
We also wanted to share that we have a ‘bookshop’ online – where we have ALL of the book club books, our favorite reads, what we are currently reading, Jeff’s favorites.. and more linked HERE. You can order everything from that page & proceeds go back to the authors and independent bookstores. It’s an amazing opportunity to not purchase from Amazon. Click here to shop & see everything we’re reading!
Anyways.. on to our February Book Club Picks! For those of you who are new or who aren’t in the facebook group.. we decided to add a secondary book to January’s lineup for the overachievers. We’ll be discussing that novel solely in the facebook group, not here on the blog. We will make the second book semi-permanent for the time being, and we’ll always have 1 main book for each month and a secondary book for those who aren’t interested in the main book or for the overachievers who want to read both.
February’s Book Club Main book is…..
Followers by Megan Angelo
Summary:
“SPECTACULAR” —Publishers Weekly
“AN ADDICTIVE TREAT” —Kirkus Reviews
“AN INTRICATE AND BRAVE STORY” —Booklist
“ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS OF 2020” —BookPage
“If anyone is going to explore a future version of our high-tech, internet-obsessed culture, please let it be Megan Angelo. Followers is pure gold.” —Abbi Jacobson, bestselling author and cocreator of Broad City
An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the stunning moment that changes the world as we know it forever
“Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss—a striving, wannabe A-lister—who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss’s methods are a little shady—and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can’t be wrong.
Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity—twelve million loyal followers—Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.
Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.”
WOW! Sounds amazing.. right?! I’m so excited to dive into this one…
You can pick this book up from Graydon House Publishers anywhere books are sold! Click here to shop.
Secondary Book
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
“Mix in one part Diane Mott Davidson’s delightful culinary adventures with several tablespoons of Jan Karon’s country living and quirky characters, bake at 350 degrees for one rich and warm romance.” –Library Journal
A full-hearted novel about a big-city baker who discovers the true meaning of home—and that sometimes the best things are found when you didn’t even know you were looking
“When Olivia Rawlings—pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club—sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of—the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country’s longest-running contra dance, and her best friend Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job. Broke and knowing that her days at the club are numbered, Livvy accepts.
Livvy moves with her larger-than-life, uberenthusiastic dog, Salty, into a sugarhouse on the inn’s property and begins creating her mouthwatering desserts for the residents of Guthrie. She soon uncovers the real reason she has been hired—to help Margaret reclaim the inn’s blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest.
With the joys of a fragrant kitchen, the sound of banjos and fiddles being tuned in a barn, and the crisp scent of the orchard just outside the front door, Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small town life. And when she meets Martin McCracken, the Guthrie native who has returned from Seattle to tend his ailing father, Livvy comes to understand that she may not be as alone in this world as she once thought.
But then another new arrival takes the community by surprise, and Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee—or stay and finally discover what it means to belong. Olivia Rawlings may finally find out that the life you want may not be the one you expected—it could be even better.”
This book sounds SO sweet and adorable. I can’t wait to dive into it. Once again, you can pick this up wherever books are sold. Click here to order.
What do you think about our February book club picks? Let me know in the comments below.
Please keep in mind that I’m reading along side you each month.. so I don’t know anything more than you other than what’s in the main summary. If there are issues that may trigger you while reading a book, please do your due-diligence and research whether this book is right for you. This book club will open to all subjects – from hard times, political, romance, horror, serial killers, miscarriage.. so please make sure to research if that bothers you. Thanks!
Click here to see more of our reading & book club posts.
xo,
Emma
2020 Book Club Posts
– January Book Announcement
– January Book Discussion
– February Book Announcement
– February Book Discussion
– March Book Announcement
They both sound like good reads. Thanks for the recommendation
New followEr to the bLog/insta and i just adore you two alreAdy. Emma, thank you for such a thoughtful post about the bOok club, being sensitIve to people’s triggers, and also (especially!) Encouraging people to support local bookstores. I love that! Up here In Canada wE have a Nationwide ‘Canada Reads’ book list and dEbate that goes from January thRough march, but when i’M done tearing through those books i can’t wAIt to join your book club!
Sorry- not sure what’s up with the random caps letters…
Read all the books already. Followers just was obviously not glued together in smooth writing and found myself reading, putting it down, reading again, just trying to breathe in the long drawn out sentencing and structure. not well written and when trying to piece things together it made no sense. Think the Authors intentions were good, just not very believable and with a Dystopian fanfare it needs to be solid, Poor structure and outline. 2nd book was a very easy read. I love baked goodies and thought this would be charming but the main characters personality was particularly unlikeable. wanted more baking aND less hookups. Predictable. Just too simple of A book for me and boring. Plus not a good portrayal of Vermont or vermonters either.. fail. The Wives, read it and you either like Fisher’s style of writing or you hate it. It’s the same style in all of her books, starts off interesting, we’ll edited, draws you in… then falls flat. Shes a messy writer. Wives is like a TV movie from Lifetime, just big hype, nothing to back it up.
I’m an avid reader and so far none of the choices have gotten a thumbs up. Hoping for March to be a good one. Then again it’s interesting to read the reviews from everyone so that’s fun.
Read “The Wives” yesterday…pretty gruesome aNd disturbiNg story…writers are inspired by what they know…not sure id read this author again. Love you are promoting books though…
Read Jan in one day apt didn’t get cleaned but couldn’t put it down. Bought myself a small kindle cause I love to read Feb already loaded. Happy reading thnx Emma
Love that we have two books to choose from😉