10 Books for Your Senior Book Club to Read This Winter
There’s nothing like cracking open a new book, spending a few hours turning the pages of a bestseller and socializing with your friends in a senior book club. If your group is always on the hunt for the next thriller, romance, historical novel and everything else in between, consider these 10 bestselling books that will keep you and your friends talking long after the last chapter.
1. “And There Was Light” by Jon Meacham
Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham offers a deeply researched looked at Abraham Lincoln’s moral evolution on the issue of slavery in this illuminating portrait of one of America’s most beloved historical figures. Follow along as Meacham traces Lincoln’s footsteps from his Kentucky roots to his assassination in 1865, and highlights his self-education, loves, struggles with depression, deepening faith and commitment to ending slavery.
2. “The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham
This latest bestseller from John Grisham is a courtroom and crime thriller where two friends from Biloxi, Mississippi, turn into foes. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco begin as childhood friends, but as they become adults, their lives diverge dramatically. They’re reunited when Hurricane Camille flattens Biloxi in 1969. However, as Keith makes plans to clean up Biloxi in his new role as district attorney, Hugh has his own scheme to keep Biloxi dirty and profitable.
3. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
“Lessons in Chemistry” is a lovely, yet thrilling, read for any senior book club. Set in the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott is the star of a popular television show called “Supper at Six” that has captivated housewives across the country, but it’s not where she imagined herself. Zott is a chemist who was forced to leave the lab because of an unexpected pregnancy. Now, she’s explaining how to cook the perfect steak, while trying to take control of her success. Along with fascinating subplots like a corrupt orphanage with a mysterious benefactor and a recently retired military dog named Six-Thirty, Bonnie Garmus’ bestseller will keep you turning page after page.
4. “Verity” by Colleen Hoover
If you’re looking for something to keep your senior book club talking, then try this bone-chilling romantic thriller by Colleen Hoover. Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the edge of financial ruin when she accepts the job of her dreams. Jeremy Crawford, husband of famous author Verity Crawford, hires Lowen to complete the last few books in a successful series his injured wife cannot finish, but as she’s sorting through Verity’s disorganized office, she finds something no one was ever meant to read.
5. “The Christmas Bookshop” by Jenny Colgan
This heartwarming novel is an easy and entertaining treat, just right for the holidays. Carmen is strapped for cash and the department store she works at just closed for good. Carmen doesn’t want to move in with her nearly perfect sister, Sofia, and Sofia isn’t exactly keen on having her there either. However, their mother is desperate to see them get along and with another baby on the way, Sofia could use all the help she can get. Sofia gets Carmen a job at Mr. McCredie’s failing bookshop, where she attempts to bring the shop back to life, but can Carmen heal the rift with her sister, find the love of her life, and save the bookshop in time for the holidays?
6. “The Philosophy of Modern Song” by Bob Dylan
In his follow-up to 2004’s “Chronicles: Volume One,”Bob Dylan reflects on a lifetime of listening to music by examining 66 songs across many genres, going all the way back to Stephen Foster’s “Nelly Was a Lady” from 1849. While designed to be a coffee-table book, each essay is mysterious, profound and, often, laugh-out-loud funny. Throughout the book are almost 150 thought-provoking photos and a series of dream-like prose that resembles an epic poem when read together. Whether discussed among friends or casually read from the comfort of your couch, this book is the perfect way to celebrate Bob Dylan becoming the first artist to have a Billboard Top 40 album in each decade since the 1960s.
7. “Desert Star” by Michael Connelly
Even though “Desert Star” was just released last month, it’s still one of our must-read books in 2022. Harry Bosch is yanked out of retirement when Los Angeles Councilman Jake Pearlman reopens the mysterious case of his kid sister, whose murder was overshadowed by the O.J. Simpson case. But Pearlman’s superiors also expect him to reopen other cold cases, which gives Bosch the chance to pursue Finbar McShane, a crooked investor who Bosch suspects brought a family to an early desert grave. You’ll be sweating every detail as this retired detective gets closer to cracking both cases.
8. “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
Written in 2018, “Atomic Habits” has sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. This fun book is filled with insightful stories by inspiring people like Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, world-changing physicians and popular comedians who have all used creating small habits to propel their success. James Clear provides readers with a four-step model for human behavior that teaches the value of making small improvements daily, instead of only striving for enormous accomplishments. It’s the perfect book club recommendation to get the new year started on the right foot.
9. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Your senior book club will cling to the pages of this historical novel that follows former Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo, 79, as she divulges the secrets of her seven marriages in a tell-all interview. After dodging the press for years, she’s now ready to spill the secrets of her glamorous career, but she only allows one little-known journalist named Monique Grant to do the interview. Reading like a Hollywood exposé, you’ll have to remind yourself Reid’s characters aren’t real. Even better, you can turn book club into movie night, because “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is set for a future Netflix adaptation.
10. “The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise” by Colleen Oakley
Tanner Quimby isn’t the most motivated 21-year-old, but life takes money. To continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games all day, she takes the opportunity to become a caregiver for Louise, an older woman with a daughter who worries too much. Though the two start off their arrangement happily ignoring each other, Tanner notices odd things about Louise. Like the fact Louise suddenly appears in Tanner’s room at 1 a.m. demanding to leave town immediately right after news breaks about one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history. This lighthearted novel hasn’t been released yet, but you can expect it on bookstore shelves and electronic versions starting in March 2023.
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