{"id":1010341,"date":"2026-08-19T07:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T07:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1010341\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T07:45:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T07:45:41","slug":"the-11-best-book-club-books-l-a-reader-approved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1010341\/","title":{"rendered":"The 11 best book club books (L.A. reader approved)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly every week, I pass a colleague in the office who taunts me with four words: \u201cCount of Monte Cristo, Count of Monte Cristo,\u201d as he shakes his head. He\u2019s disappointed his favorite book didn\u2019t make the cut of our 101 best book club picks<\/a> list, which served as the 2026 LA Times Festival of Books curtain-raiser. I don\u2019t mind the barb. There\u2019s nothing more exciting than an impassioned reader \u2014 even when they\u2019re wrong. I\u2019m all for rallying around a book or author and debating their merits like it\u2019s a sporting match. Our book lists, after all, aren\u2019t meant to be final verdicts. They\u2019re invitations to read more (and, maybe, better).<\/p>\n

Reading List<\/p>\n

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org<\/a>, whose fees support independent bookstores.<\/p>\n

To compile our expansive list we surveyed more than 200 bookish luminaries \u2014 along with a few zealous book club members. Our readers had their own ideas for their top book club picks, many of which we deeply considered. Here you\u2019ll find some of our worthy Los Angeles Times reader selections.<\/p>\n

\""Fahrenheit <\/p>\n

\u201cFahrenheit 451\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Raymond Bradbury<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cA favorite book my book group read and discussed is \u2018Farenheit 451.\u2019 It was fascinating to see what the past thought the future might bring,\u201d reader Margaret Hardy writes of the 20th century classic. \u201cIn terms of technology and control by the government we are seeing today what Bradbury was thinking about in 1953. We felt that the future was found in the past. It was a chilling read.\u201d Equally chilling is that the book often shows up on banned books lists \u2014 not unlike in its narrative.<\/p>\n

\""Homegoing" <\/p>\n

\u201cHomegoing\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Yaa Gyasi<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou missed \u2018Homegoing\u2019 by Yaa Gyasi!\u201d reader Melanie H. writes of the critically acclaimed Ghanian historical fiction novel. \u201cMy book club read it and I was enthralled. I can\u2019t stop thinking about it ever since. The amount of research and empathy into every single character and era Gyasi put into this story is incredible. It altered my brain and to this day I tell everyone about this book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Giovanni's <\/p>\n

\u201cGiovanni\u2019s Room\u201d<\/b><\/a> by James Baldwin<\/b> <\/p>\n

Reader Roxanne Yahner writes, \u201cIt is beautifully written, elegant and eloquent, and there is no preparing anyone for the sheer inexorable force of Baldwin\u2019s language. This novel expresses the personal \u2014 and historical \u2014 grief of two gay, perhaps bisexual, men as they explore their sexuality at a time and place where such behavior was dangerous. The reader aches for these men and feels their grief. Some in our book club were disturbed by this novel, but all agreed they were deeply moved by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Satanic <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Satanic Verses\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Salman Rushdie <\/b><\/p>\n

Several readers wrote to us recommending Rushdie\u2019s magical realist epic. \u201cIt\u2019s such a complex, yet entertaining novel. We learned a lot about the tenets of Islam as woven into the story,\u201d Ellyn Moscowitz shares about their book club pick. \u201cIt provoked great discussions about death, afterlife, religion in general and great character studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Geek <\/p>\n

\u201cGeek Love\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Katherine Dunn<\/b> <\/p>\n

Reader Francesca Smithwick-Driver chose this as a book club pick in the \u201890s for her group and the 1989 National Book Award fiction finalist remains a favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s] about a family who runs a carnival of \u2018freaks.\u2019 The story is told by an albino dwarf. There are strong themes about what it is to be normal, falling in and out of love with yourself \u2014 your family \u2014 and the world around you. Wonderfully written scenes about horrible things and beautiful things. I still remember the discussion of my book club \u2014 from \u2018why in the world did you recommend this disgusting book\u2019 to \u2018what a book\u2019 \u2026 I couldn\u2019t wait to get back to it each time I put it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""The <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Master and Margarita\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Mikhail Bulgakov<\/b><\/p>\n

Reader Kate Karp, who has a cat who resembles a key character in this Russian classic, writes: \u201c[It] turned out, no surprise, to have been the inspiration for the Stones\u2019 \u2018Sympathy for the Devil.\u2019\u201d She notes it also requires multiple readings to grasp all the subplots \u2014 but it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

\""Klara <\/p>\n

\u201cKlara and the Sun\u201d <\/b><\/a>by Kazuo Ishiguro<\/b> (and \u201cChain Gang All-Stars\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah)<\/p>\n

\u201cI am terrible at book clubs because I have found that I am a very picky reader who simply will not read a book that I do not enjoy,\u201d reader Mike Gascoigne writes. \u201cThat said, in a book club I did very much enjoy Kazuo Ishiguro\u2019s \u2018Klara and the Sun\u2019 and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah\u2019s \u2018Chain Gang All-Stars.\u2019 There was a lot to discuss about both titles including AI\/robots, intellectual enhancements, climate change, reality television, prison reform\/abolition and human nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""All <\/p>\n

\u201cAll the King\u2019s Men\u201d <\/b><\/a> by Robert Penn Warren<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018All the King\u2019s Men\u2019 is a powerful summer read \u2014 a Pulitzer-winning novel that feels strikingly current,\u201d reader Ken Muche writes. \u201cSet in the 1930s South, Willie Stark\u2019s political rise echoes modern demagogues, reminding us how easily power can blur truth. Even more important, the novel invites reflection on our own bad life choices \u2014 showing that taking accountability for one\u2019s actions is the first step toward forgiveness, peace, and ultimately, a more grounded kind of happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Girl, <\/p>\n

(Grove Press \/ Black Cat)<\/p>\n

\u201cGirl, Woman, Other\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Bernardine Evaristo<\/b><\/p>\n

Reader Seth Kivnick\u2019s pick is this work of fiction that co-won the Booker Prize in 2019, he notes that the compelling book describes the Black women in the British Isles who came from all walks of life and different countries. \u201c[It] appealed to male and female club members.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Hell <\/p>\n

\u201cHell of a Book\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Jason Mott<\/b> <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good-humored without being comedy or satire but opens serious friendly discussions about contemporary problems,\u201d reader Christine Almeida writes of the novel that won the 2021 National Book Award for fiction. \u201cOur library-based book club talked about it for a solid 90 minutes without straying from what the book itself had to offer its readers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly every week, I pass a colleague in the office who taunts me with four words: \u201cCount of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1010342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,404499,19351,404497,404496,21132,2961,11804,224,5337,7088,2089,5976,404498,33700,645,582,404495,11459],"class_list":["post-1010341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-chain-gang-all-stars","tag-count","tag-great-discussion","tag-impassioned-reader","tag-king","tag-la","tag-list","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-lot","tag-man","tag-men","tag-monte-cristo","tag-novel","tag-story","tag-sun","tag-top-book-club","tag-woman"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117121066039078869","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1010341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1010342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1010341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1010341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1010341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}