Bookmark the Blog

Irish Authors Reading List

March 01, 2021 Bookmark, Themed Book Lists

Trinity College, Dublin. Photo by j zamora on Unsplash

Spend your St. Patrick’s Day with one of the books on our contemporary Irish authors reading list!

March brings readers the opportunity to celebrate Irish culture, especially its literature! Independent publishers like Tramp Press bring Irish and international voices to the page, and the Ennis Book Club Festival gathers readers together every year. Indie bookstores like The Gutter Bookshop and No Alibis serve their local communities (and ship). And you don’t have to look far to find the acclaimed novels, memoir, and YA titles from Irish authors that have been making news and gaining awards.

read more

Learning to Live Together: A Good Neighborhood

February 24, 2021 Bookmark, Featured Books

Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

Meet the neighbors and bear witness to a tragedy in A Good Neighborhood, the provocative new novel from Therese Anne Fowler.

Welcome to Oak Knoll. Old brick homes, stately trees, residents who know one another. Like Valerie Alston-Holt and her son Xavier, a talented classical guitar player. Life hasn’t always been easy since the loss of her husband. But Valerie has persisted, guided by the presence of the historic oak in her backyard. And Xavier will be heading to San Francisco in the fall to study music.

But the arrival of Brad Whitman,

read more

The February Spotlight Group Is…

February 01, 2021 Bookmark, Spotlight Book Groups

Reading Group Choices Spotlight Book Group February 2021

February 2021 Spotlight: Virtual Beach Book Club

Our February 2021 Spotlight is a “wine group with a book problem” from Florida!

We formed a book club in Pensacola Beach, Florida, that moved to virtual meetings during the time of confinement. We had canceled our meeting last March due to the virus, but since then we meet each month, because my group of lovely ladies was missing each other. I suggested a virtual book club meeting to discuss our book (Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty) as well as share a glass (or two or three) of wine.

read more

Past Meets Present: The Witch of Eye

January 29, 2021 Bookmark, Featured Books

One of our recommended books is The Witch of Eye by Kathryn Nuernberger

Tales of witches give insight into modern-day struggles, empowerment, and how to navigate our lives in Kathryn Nuernberger’s collection of essays The Witch of Eye.

Denounced and interrogated, tortured and burned. Kathyrn Nuernberger recounts and investigates the stories of witches, women persecuted for being something other than what their world demanded. The essays accomplish what essays do best. They dive into these lives to see what the past can reveal about us and our world today. Or as the author says: “I wonder about … what in each of us is a little bit witch.”

Crones and Cunning Women

Known by many names,

read more

Books Inspired by Austen

January 15, 2021 Bookmark, Themed Book Lists

Discover novels, memoir, YA and more inspired by the timeless novels of Jane Austen!

More than 200 years after they first appeared, the novels of Jane Austen continue to inspire writers and readers. From historical fiction (and mystery!) that features the original characters to plots updated to our times, from memoir about the lasting impact of her work to a children’s book parody — the legacy of Austen continues to find new life on the page. Enjoy these picks for your next group meeting, or just for your next personal Austen read!

The Jane Austen Society

by Natalie Jenner

One hundred and fifty years ago,

read more

The January Spotlight Group Is…

January 06, 2021 Bookmark, Spotlight Book Groups

January 2021 Spotlight: The Telltale Book Club

The members of our January 2021 Spotlight come mostly from the nursing profession and receive themed bookmarks every month!

The Telltale Book Club started meeting in July 2019 with a phenomenal group of women from the Oklahoma City area. We’re an interesting group as many of us are Labor and Delivery/Postpartum nurses. We average 15 participants in every discussion and we meet on Tuesdays every four weeks.

Our very first book discussion was The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. After that initial meeting, our monthly book has been chosen by vote.

read more