Remember how the Internet freaked out a couple years back about Esquire magazine’s list of books all men should read (and then last year Lit Hub published the clever 80 Books No Woman Should Read)? Now there’s a new list from Esquire: 80 Books Every Person Should Read. “What can we say?” the magazine explains, “We messed up. Our list of 80 Books Every Man Should Read, published several years ago, was rightfully called out for its lack of diversity in both authors and titles. So we invited eight female literary powerhouses, from Michiko Kakutani to Anna Holmes to Roxane Gay, to help us create a new list.” Nice save.
The world loves a list, especially when the calendar flips from one year to the next. One of the most creative lists we’ve seen lately is a fill-in-the-blank aspirational list created by the blogger known as The Modern Mrs. Darcy. You pick a book to fit each of 12 categories, ranging from “a book published this year” to “a book you previously abandoned,” then get to reading. One of our Instagram followers posted her version here:

Suckers for lists that we are, the avid readers who work here are back to making monthly lists of our favorites. Meanwhile, don’t miss Ann’s latest recommendations here and here (she absolutely insists you read When Breath Becomes Air). Our current reads:
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First Editions Club — January Selection
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ParnassusNext — January Selection
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Parnassus Book Club
February — Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar Classics Book Club – The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford Are you a member of our store book club? Would you like to be? Parnassus Book Club meetings are free and open to anyone. Buy the book, read along, and join the discussion! |
“It’s All About the Book”
More thoughts on reading from Kathy Schultenover, Parnassus Book Clubs Manager:
I’m not doing a year-end / best-of list. But I did take a year-end survey of all 178 members of the Parnassus Book Clubs to ask them 1.) their favorite book we’ve read, and 2.) their favorite meeting we held. In a year with some great reads and with author-led sessions by Nickolas Butler (Shotgun Lovesongs), Lily King (Euphoria), and James Scott (The Kept), it was not an easy choice. But overwhelmingly the vote went to Nickolas Butler for Shotgun Lovesongs as the favorite book and favorite meeting. The vote for best classic we read went to Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, but people liked the discussions around To Kill a Mockingbird best. Many left extra comments in the survey about the book club such as: “the discussions helped me process what I read,” “these are books I might not have known about without the book club,” “grateful to have a place to talk about what I read,” “it’s good to have new perspectives on a book.” — and my favorite comment: “Book club has added extra years to my life!” I hope that you can say the same about your club, and that in 2016 you’ll check out the Parnassus book club selections. — Kathy |
![]() Want more? Catch our monthly Bookmark column in Nashville Arts Magazine each month. Wondering what your neighbors are reading? Don’t miss the Music City Word Beat in the Nashville Scene for the best-selling and highest-circulating books in town! Parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone who knows a kid or teen reader: Check out the amazing authors and books for young readers honored with ALA Youth Media Awards! |