A new month—hello, April!—means we have a fresh new round of books picked by a bunch of great book clubs! As always, there is a wide range of book clubs—all different from each other but all centering on a love of books—that you can participate in as little or as much as you’d like. They all have a virtual component, many involve the author, and a few also meet in person! Whether you plan on joining or not, this is a great list to find your next read.
There is something for every reading taste this month: a poetry collection for poetry month; a debut novel written by a poet that was on all the Best of Lists of 2024; a sci-fi book-within-a-book by a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author; a dystopian that could not feel more relevant; an SAT tutor on the run after discovering a murdered couple; a great satire; a novel about a lost hiker in the wilds of Maine; a genre-bending story about sisters over centuries; a London set novel about love and ambition; and a “You’ve Got Mail-esquse romance”. In nonfiction, there’s a memoir about repressed childhood trauma that Oprah picked—which I’ll note says “March pick,” and it’s because Oprah doesn’t announce at the beginning of the month, so her schedule usually flows from the middle of one month into the middle of the next.
Subtle Asian Book Club
Martyr! by Kaveh AkbarAbout the book club: Tiffany and Alexandra, longtime friends, created the Subtle Asian Book Club in 2020 with the goal of uplifting Asian voices and storytellers. You can read along with the monthly book pick, join in on discussions on social media, and watch videos of their live author interviews. About the book: If you’re looking for a debut novel by an Iranian-American poet that made it onto a ton of 2024’s Best of Lists, this is your book club this month! Follow Subtle Asian Book Club on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Discord |
Mocha Girls Read
Death of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforAbout the book club: Mocha Girls Read is a monthly book club of Black women who love to read. They currently have chapters in 14 cities across the United States. Starting in 2024, anyone can join an “IG Live every first Saturday of the month at 5 pm PT. Alysia, our founder, will chat about our current book club selection.” What Mocha Girls Read said about the book: “The member’s voice has spoken! The anticipation peaked after a vibrant seven days of nominations, followed by a decisive seven days of voting. We are thrilled to announce the winner of our next book selection for 2025. The Mocha Girl Read March 2025 Monthly Book Selection is Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. We encourage you to take a moment to explore our upcoming read and to prepare for a month of rich discussions.” Follow Mocha Girls Read on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, MeetUp, Goodreads, Pinterest |
The Audacious Book Club
The Dream Hotel by Laila LalamiAbout the book club: Author Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist, Ayiti, The Banks) selects a book every month with the goal of uplifting “authentic and necessary perspectives from writers who fearlessly share their stories.” Here are the Book Club FAQs. What Roxane said about the book: “Next month in the Audacious Book Club, we’re talking about The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (@LailaWrites). I hope you’ll join us at The Audacity to discuss this excellent novel throughout the month of April.” Follow Roxane Gay on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads |
Sapph-Lit
Killer Potential by Hannah DeitchAbout the book club: Born from TikTok, Sapph-Lit is a safe space book club for sapphic women and nonbinary readers to come together and chat books and life as well as offer each other support. One book a month is selected, alternating between fiction and nonfiction. What Sapph-Lit said about the book: “A thriller novel about an SAT tutor suddenly at the heart of a manhunt accompanied by a mysterious woman who refuses to speak.” Follow Sapph-Lit on social media: Instagram, Geneva |
Eclectix The Book Club
Colored Television by Danzy SennaAbout the book club: Dawnshaeé Reid is a self-proclaimed eclectic blogger who created this book club with Black authors as a priority. It aims to highlight a wide range of genres. There’s an in-person, once-a-month meeting option if you’re in Louisville, KY, and a virtual option that meets the last Tuesday of every month. What Eclectix The Book Club said about the book: “This will be the first book I’ve read by this author, but I have heard nothing but amazing reviews about Senna’s work! Satirical fiction always leaves me with a good chuckle and a thought-provoking examination of our society, so I’m excited to finally read Colored Television with everyone.” Follow Eclectix The Book Club on social media: Instagram, Discord, TikTok |
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Oprah’s Book Club
The Tell by Amy GriffinAbout the book club: Oprah’s book club has taken on different forms over decades, starting in 1996 on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She’s still book clubbing more than 100 titles later! What Oprah said about the book: “Today on CBS Mornings, Oprah announced that her March Book Club Pick is—drum roll please—The Tell, by Amy Griffin: an earth-shattering memoir about one woman’s quest to uncover repressed childhood trauma, overcome perfectionism, and live a life of authentic joy.” Follow Oprah’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, Twitter |
The Stacks Book Club
Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000 by Lucille CliftonAbout the book club: The Stacks is a podcast that chats all about books, and there’s a monthly book club. The book chosen for the month is discussed on the podcast the last week of the month with a selected special guest. What The Stacks Book Club said about the book: “As you may know, April is National Poetry Month, and so keeping with tradition our pick this month is Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988–2000 by Lucille Clifton. This collection from the legendary American poet brings together over a decade of Clifton’s work, exploring themes of Black womanhood, spirituality, survival, and the body—often grounded in personal and ancestral history. Winner of the National Book Award for Poetry, Blessing the Boats is a moving and accessible introduction to one of the most important voices in American poetry.” Follow The Stacks on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok |
TODAY Book Club, #ReadWithJenna
Heartwood by Amity GaigeAbout the book club: Jenna Bush Hager—current co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna—independently chooses a book each month that she personally loves. (“Jenna was not paid to mention these items and is unaffiliated with the authors and publishers“) What Jenna said about the book: “What would you do if you were lost on the Appalachian Trail? For most of us, the question is, thankfully, a hypothetical. But for the main character in Amity Gaige’s Heartwood, Jenna’s April 2025 Read With Jenna pick, the question is urgent and very real. In the novel, Valerie Gillis, a 42-year-old hiker, becomes lost somewhere in the wilds of Maine. Lost and losing energy, she composes letters to her mother in her head. The book also tracks two women who are obsessed with Valerie’s whereabouts: Beverly, a game warden at the Maine Warden Service in charge of the search, and Lena, a loner in a nursing home following the story.” Follow Read With Jenna on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Read With Jenna Goodreads group |
Good Morning America’s GMA Book Club
The Sirens by Emilia HartAbout the book club: Read along with Good Morning America Book Club, which aims to “showcase book picks from a wide range of compelling authors.” What GMA said about the book: “A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.” Follow GMA Book Club on social media: Instagram, Facebook |
Reese’s Book Club
All That Life Can Afford by Emily EverettAbout the book club: Every month, Reese Witherspoon picks a book for Reese’s Book Club that centers a woman in its story. What Reese said about the book: “April’s @ReesesBookClub pick had me hooked the moment I started the audiobook. And this line?! All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett (@ednahi) is about love, ambition, and the cost of belonging, and I cannot stop thinking about it.” Reese’s spring YA pick: “Big News! Our Spring YA pick, Heiress Takes All, is here — and we’ve asked @RaeganRevord to read with us all year long. This story follows a former heiress who enlists the help of unlikely classmates for a heist at the wedding of the season… and it just so happens to be her father’s. This novel pairs high stakes with a lovable cast of characters and is sure to keep you up all night reading.” Follow Reese’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube |
Teen Banned Book Club at NYPL
Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen SchneemannAbout the book club: The NYPL is selecting young adult books that have been challenged or banned from schools and offering them free nationwide via digital access. The book club also hosts the authors for an event. What The New York Public Library’s Teen Banned Book Club said about the book: “Our latest Teen Banned Book Club pick is Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann. The book is available on Libby for unlimited download—no holds or wait times—for NYPL cardholders through April 30. Plus, download our free discussion guide and sign up for our book club event with the authors!” Follow The New York Public Library on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram |
Matzah Book Soup: A Jewish Own Voices Book Club for All
Unlikely Story by Ali RosenAbout the book club: Lillianne Leight and Amanda Spivack created this book club with a focus on Jewish books and characters “with varying relationships to Judaism” that welcomes all readers—Jewish and non. What Matzah Book Soup said about the book: “We are so excited to share that this month’s pick is UNLIKELY STORY by @ali_rosen ! We can’t wait to chat about this You Got Mail-esquse romance with you all on April 30 at 8 PM EST!” Follow Matzah Book Soup on social media: Instagram, Facebook |
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby! Revisit F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic (and emblem of assigned reading) and get a crash course on the book’s history, including challenges encountered by its readers and adapters. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
January 16, 2025, marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The New York Public Library celebrated with a party, following a special performance of the Broadway musical adaptation of the novel. Simon and Schuster recently released a new audiobook with an introduction by Jesmyn Ward.
The novel’s theme of reinventing oneself is timeless. The ideas of living a lie by reinventing yourself and wealth making people callous are equally resonant today. How did this novel become so influential, especially on other American novels, and a fixture on high school syllabi? Was it always a bestseller? What aspects of Gatsby hold up, and which ones have aged terribly?
Fitzgerald’s original title for The Great Gatsby was Trimalchio in West Egg. I think the publisher was right to change it. Trimalchio is a character from the ancient Roman work The Satyricon. Combined with the fictional West Egg neighborhood, this reference is cryptic. Gatsby is now an icon in his own right. He doesn’t need a classical allusion for us to notice the theme of excessive wealth.
In a 2014 NPR interview, Maureen Corrigan, the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, explained how Gatsby became popular. Initial reception was mixed, ranging from the headline “Fitzgerald’s Latest a Dud,” to Modernist poets like T. S. Eliot saying they loved it. When Fitzgerald died in 1940, Gatsby was unpopular (but not out of print). A few years later, it was republished for US service members in World War II, and 123,000 copies were given to members of the military through the Armed Services Editions.
After World War II, Gatsby was no longer an obscure book with mixed reviews. It was considered a classic and became a staple of countless high school syllabi. Constance Grady wrote that Gatsby was ideal for many 20th and early 21st-century English teachers’ emphasis on New Criticism. It’s a great choice for close readings of short passages and analyzing symbolism. However, historical context is also crucial and should never be downplayed, especially in terms of bias.
The Great Gatsby possibly condemns white supremacist theories but uses racist language elsewhere. Tom Buchanan reads white supremacist books and goes on racist rants. Daisy mocks him for this. It’s easy to read this as condemning Tom’s overall bigotry. However, Fitzgerald also expressed racist and antisemitic views in real life.
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Source : 12 Book Club Picks For April 2025
