I personally love that there is a plethora of cereal options in the cereal aisle because it means there is something(s) for everyone. But when everything isn’t in one place to easily peruse, it can be time consuming to search out and know all the things. So I did the time for you! Below you’ll find the April 2023 book club picks for a bunch of great virtual book clubs — and one in L.A. — that you can join. Or feel free to just follow along with as much or as little participation as you’d like because this isn’t school!
Whether you like to read as many book club picks as possible or just like to look at the list — because who can say no to scrolling through a long book list? — there is something for all readers below. There’s romance, lit fic, memoir, essays, poetry, historical fiction, contemporary playing off Thelma and Louise, near future dystopia, and one book club even picked three books! Which is totally allowed because there are no rules in book club — except maybe have fun, read books! So scroll and find your next great read. And at the end I’ve linked to the March Book Club picks in case you missed those and just need to add more books to your TBR, wheeeeeeeeeeee.
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
About the book club: Author Roxane Gay has moved Audacious Book Club back to newsletter — where it began — now that “Literati is shuttering all their adult book clubs to better focus on their kids books division and we wish them the best on that journey.”
About the book: Sociologist Matthew Desmond looks at why “The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy” and how affluent Americans help keep poor people poor — knowingly and unknowingly.
Follow Roxane Gay on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
About the book club: “A modern book club for the modern reader” that invites casual readers to bibliophiles to join in on social media to talk about exciting books.
What Amerie said about the book: “’What are you?’ It’s a question Trelawny, the son of Jamaican immigrants, is asked and asks himself throughout If I Survive You. Growing up, Trelawny tries on various identities, all the while offering wry commentary on his uncomfortable situation and the circumstances of those around him…Or maybe we leave with more questions regarding who and what any of us are in a world that so desperately demands categorization.”
Follow Amerie’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, YouTube
Ana María and The Fox by Liana De la Rosa
About the book club: A monthly book club run by two Latinas with the goal of amplifying romance novels written by Latinx authors.
About the book: For fans of Victorian, historical romance, politician and heiress leads! Ana María Luna Valdés is from a powerful family and always makes sure to show her perfect side. But now in London, seeking refuge during the French occupation of Mexico, she thinks she can find some freedom without all eyes on her. All eyes except Gideon Fox’s, a member of Parliament whose worked too hard to get distracted by a beautiful woman…Good luck with that, buddy!
Follow Amor en Páginas on social media: Instagram
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
About 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 chosen, join on social media, and watch videos of their live author interviews.
About the book: An academia satire that follows Taiwanese American PhD student Ingrid Yang, who while desperately wanting to finish her dissertation ends up discovering a curious note which leads her and her friend Eunice Kim on a wild ride of misadventures.
Follow Subtle Asian Book Club on social media: Instagram; Twitter; Facebook; Discord
Matzah Book Soup: A Jewish Own Voices Book Club for All
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin
About the book club: Lillianne Leight and Amanda Spivack created this book club with the focus on Jewish books and characters “with varying relationships to Judaism” that welcomed all readers — Jewish and non.
What Matzah Book Soup said about the book: “MY LAST INNOCENT YEAR is a literary fiction book that takes place on a college campus. We love the dark academia vibes of this one and we can’t wait to read it with you all!”
Follow Matzah Book Soup on social media: Instagram, Facebook
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
About the book club: Marie Claire editors created an online monthly book club for people with busy schedules to still be able to read and to “Consider it socializing without actually socializing because, really, we all just want to take off our bra and lay down after a long day.” You can also share reviews online with the chance to have it featured on the site.
What MC said about the book: “In April, we’re reading Colleen Oakley’s The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise, an absolute blast of a story about how an underestimated elderly woman and 21-year-old college dropout became the most unlikely of roommates and eventually, partners in crime.” And you can read an excerpt here.
Commitment by Mona Simpson
About the book club: WNYC host Alison Stewart and New York Public Library have on-air and social media posts throughout the month about their pick, along with in-person and online book discussions led by librarians.
About the book: For readers of recent historical fiction and mental illness. Single mother Diane Aziz enters a California state hospital in the 1970s, following a deep depression.
Follow NYPL and WNYC’s Virtual Book Club: Events, live conversations
If you’re curious what the book clubs picked for March 2023 were you can check out that list, and go back and look at discussions and author chats.