Must-Read Indie Books for Your Book Club - Fall 2024
This season, we've lined up some fantastic book club recommendations from independent publishers that you won’t want to miss. These titles promise to spark some great discussions and add some fun to your meetings. Be sure to mark them as "Want to Read," recommend them with your club, or throw them in the mix for your next book poll. Happy reading!
Between the Sound and Sea
by Amanda Cox
Her family name tarnished, Josephina escapes to a remote North Carolina island to oversee the restoration of a lighthouse—one complete with ghost stories, rumors, and notes tucked into the old stone walls. Perhaps if she can untangle the secrets of the past she can restore a family’s reputation and correct the course of her own life in the process.
“An emotionally gripping must-read [that] reminds us that life is a beautiful gift and love overcomes all.”—Julie Cantrell.
Ana Turns
by Lisa Gornick
Ana Turns unspools over the 24 hours of a woman’s 60th birthday, as she grapples with issues from addiction to marital fidelity to family betrayals—filled with “keen insight and just the right touch of delightful humor” (Sigrid Nunez), by “one of the most perceptive, compassionate writers of fiction in America” (NPR).
Narrated by Ana and the key figures in her life—her husband, her brother, her lover’s wife, to name a few—Ana Turns spirals through issues from capital punishment to the dynamiting of the Bamiyan Buddhas, culminating in a watershed dinner party, with Ana’s family members’ true colors on full display. By day’s end, the boundaries of her own collaboration and forgiveness illuminated, Ana turns towards a vision of what she wants next in this blink of a life.
The Disappeared
by Rebecca J. Sanford
A heart-wrenching drama that spans thirty years, The Disappeared is inspired by the true stories of the mothers and grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an extraordinary group of women who spoke out against Argentina’s military dictatorship, and have been searching for more than forty-five years for children of the “disappeared”—those captured as dissidents during Argentina’s Dirty War.
by Tan Twan Eng
An international bestseller, now in paperback!
The “masterful” (San Francisco Chronicle) Booker-longlisted novel about love and betrayal, colonialism and revolution, storytelling and redemption. In 1921, Lesley Hamlyn and her husband are living in a beautiful house in Penang.
When the famous writer “Willie” Somerset Maugham arrives with his lover, Gerald, for an extended visit, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one. As Lesley’s friendship with Maugham grows and she confides in him about life in Penang, Maugham discovers that this community has a scandalous history that involves not only war and affairs but also the trial of an Englishwoman charged with murder. An exquisitely written novel with a love story at its heart, The House of Doors traces the fault lines of race, gender, sexuality, and power under empire, and culminates in an unforgettable conclusion.
Hoof Beats
by William T. Taylor
From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, author William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the horse's origins and spread from the western Eurasian steppes to the invention of horse-drawn transportation and the explosive shift to mounted riding, Taylor offers a revolutionary new account of how horses altered the course of human history.
by Iris Jamahl Dunkle
This saga of a writer done dirty resurrects the silenced voice of Sanora Babb, peerless author of midcentury American literature.
In 1939, when John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was published, it became an instant bestseller and a prevailing narrative in the nation's collective imagination of the era. But it also stopped the publication of another important novel, silencing a gifted writer who was more intimately connected to the true experiences of Dust Bowl migrants. In Riding Like the Wind, renowned biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle revives the groundbreaking voice of Sanora Babb.
What Kind of Mother
by Clay McLeod Chapman
After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her Virginia hometown. Her teenage daughter Kendra chooses to stay mostly with her birth father, and Madi scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market and lives in a motel, hoping to save enough to move and have Kendra come home. Madi’s high school boyfriend, Henry McCabe, has become a reclusive fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. He’s never believed that Skyler is truly dead, and when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s granted a vision that suggests he may be right.
By turns supernaturally chilling and deeply effecting as it explores parenting, grief, and family, What Kind of Mother was named one of the best horror novels of 2023 by The New York Times Book Review, BookRiot, Esquire, and more.
A Golden Life
by Ginny Kubitz Moyer
Featured in Parade.com, called “irresistible” by Library Journal, and called "dazzling" by Adrianna Trigiani, this novel is about big dreams and big secrets in 1930's Hollywood.
Will End in Fire
by Nicole Bokat
Kirkus Reviews said this domestic suspense novel “will confound readers’ expectations and keep them guessing." Crime Fiction Lover added, "Bokat is an accomplished writer whose skill lies in conveying the minutiae of a crisis, and digging deep into the psyche of the people affected by it." A page-turner perfect for fall reading!
These book picks are a combination of titles chosen by the Bookclubs editorial staff, and the top titles recommended for book clubs by independent publishing sponsors. If you buy books through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
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COMMENTS
Muzzammil Khatri
Nov 01, 2024 - 2 months
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Razib Paul
Oct 12, 2024 - 2 months
Great list! Indie books often bring fresh perspectives and unique voices to the literary world, making them perfect for book club discussions. I'm especially excited to dive into some of these Fall 2024 picks and explore stories that might not be on everyone's radar. Indie authors really push creative boundaries, which always leads to fascinating conversations. For anyone looking to connect with fellow readers and discover more hidden indie gems, you can also join **ATReads**, the social media platform for bookworms, where indie books are often highlighted and discussed. Can’t wait to see how these titles spark conversation!