The Library
Explore our book selections from The Book Swap Podcast. Click on the book titles under each cover image to read the descriptions.
-
by Kelly Barnhill
Alex Green is a young girl in the world much like ours, except for a seminal event: the mass disappearance of thousands of wives and mothers in 1955. This wonderful and imaginative speculative novel explores what it means to be a woman in the world, back then and even now. A beautifully written novel that would spark fascinating book club discussions. Cassandra describes it as a cross between Harry Potter books and Lessons in Chemistry. It’s that good!!
Recommended by Johannah Blackman Kiley
-
by Monica Wood
There’s a reason why this novel has become a big word-of-mouth hit with book clubs across the country. It’s a charming tale about second chances and the power of literature. The story centers on three main characters, Harriet, a retired English teacher running a prison book club, Violet, one of the young inmates, and Frank, a widower and handyman. Their unlikely friendships will captivate readers and reveal human’s capacity for redemption.
Recommended by Amanda Tobier
-
by John Williams
This book is truly one of the Great American Novels. William Stoner, a poor boy from a small Missouri farm, goes to university to study agriculture. Instead he discovers Shakespeare, awakening a passion for literature, and he decides to become an English professor. This deeply powerful novel follows the quiet course of Stoner's life and his unyielding fortitude and integrity in the face of unrelenting personal and professional disappointments. It's exquisitely written and beautifully renders the best principles of the American ethos in its portrait of Stoner's small quotidien life. This is one of Cassandra's all-time favorites
-
By Suzanne Rindell
A fascinating piece of historical fiction about the sacrifices required to be successful in the late 1950s book publishing scene in New York City. The novel follows three twenty-somethings, a son of a famous publisher, a Midwestern transplant and a talented black writer, who meet in Greenwich Village while chasing their professional dreams and navigating class, race, love and ambition. It’s a captivating morality tale and a vivid portrait of a time of great societal change.
-
By Caroline Lea
This juicy romp of a story reveals one key inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It’s 1816 and Shelley, 18-years-of-age, has fled to the Lake Geneva villa of poet Lord Byron with her love Percy Bysshe Shelley and her stepsister Claire. During their stay, everyone competes to see who can write the scariest ghost story. The group dynamics take a dark turn, sparking jealousy, rage and ultimately a literary masterpiece.
-
by Tan Twan Eng
In the 1920s, Somerset Maugham, the famous British novelist, travels to Penang (modern-day Malaysia) with his male lover. There he befriends ex-pat Lesley Hamlyn who slowly begins to trust the writer and share some scandalous secrets from her past that ultimately inspire Maugham's later works of fiction. Based on true events, this novel explores themes of race, sexuality, love, friendship, and politics under colonial rule. Beautifully written with a fully immersive feeling of time and place.
Recommended by Ellen Stein
-
By Ronan Hession
A charming and quirky story about two thirtysomething males who still live with their parents in a Dublin suburb. They’re trying to get more out of life without making any major changes to their daily existence. Their journey is full of sly laughs, tender romance and wise observations about what it means to really love someone well. The book was a finalist for the Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year in 2019.
-
By Alice McDermott
This lyrical short novel tells the riveting tale of a doomed teenage romance in the suburbs of Long Island through the lens of a 10-year-old girl and neighbor. It’s the early 1960s and everyone in the community has strong feelings about Sheryl and Rick falling in love. Critics raved and compared McDermott's writing to Updike and Cheever. That Night was a Finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
-
By Shirley Hazzard
A debut novella by an acclaimed Australian author who started writing in the late 1960s and is currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Hazzard writes with lovely precision about all kinds of human behavior. In the Evening of the Holiday, she focuses on how it feels to fall in love and inevitably lose that love. Even better, the romance is vividly set in the beautiful Italian countryside during the summer months.
-
By Loretta Rothschild
It’s best not to reveal too much about this deeply engrossing page turner. Let’s just say that it begins with a woman celebrating the holidays in Paris with her husband and daughter. All seems perfect except for the fact that the husband is growing weary of his wife’s obsession with having another child. This book is a love story, a thriller, and a morality play. Reviewer Plum Sykes called it the darkest beach read imaginable.
-
By Meg Rosoff
A charming, comic tale about a New Yorker’s search for happiness and fulfillment. Jonathan Trefoil’s life is a mess until he’s asked to look out for his brother’s dogs, a border collie and a cocker spaniel. It’s a sharp look at the specific pitfalls of being young, aimless and lost in a big city. And the dogs, Dante and Sissy, are written with sly, realistic personalities. Dog lovers should get this book immediately.
-
By Sigrid Nunez
Ok, this book, did win a major title—the National Book Award for Fiction in 2018--but if you have never read the author’s signature mix of stream-of-consciousness, memoir and literary meditations, it’s so worth checking out. In this book, the unnamed narrator is grieving the loss of her lifelong best friend and mentor but also burdened with caring for that friend’s Great Dane. A magical read to see how these two creatures grieve and bond.
Episode 4: What to Read This Summer
-
By Gabriel Sherman
The subtitle says it all…How the epic fight to control the last great media dynasty broke a family—and the world. Sherman, an award-winning journalist, has been covering the Murdoch family since 2008. He offers a rich, fascinating look at the battle Rupert Murdoch fought to break the secret trust controlling his empire to give his company solely to his conservative firstborn son instead of all his children. It’s a juicy real life Shakespearean saga. Recommended by Pinar Gurler
-
By Nelio Biedermann
A critically acclaimed saga by a young Swiss author that tracks the rise, fall and displacement of an aristocratic Hungarian dynasty. It begins at the turn of the 20th century, when a young boy with translucent blue eyes is born on a rural summer estate. The novel has a gothic, magical quality as well as sweeping historical detail. It’s been compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Recommended by Pinar Gurler
-
By Leo Tolstoy
The last novel written by the renowned Russian author used to be as popular as Anna Karenina and War and Peace. It’s about Dmitri, a nobleman, who is seeking redemption for a crime he committed years earlier. A young, orphaned woman is kicked off his aunt’s estate after Dmitri assaults and impregnates her. Ten years later, he finds himself on a jury where she is on trial for murder. The book focuses on his mental and moral struggles as he attempts to help her. Recommended by Pinar Gurler
-
By George Packer
A riveting dystopian novel about an unnamed empire whose residents are descending into ferocious hateful factions after years of peaceful co-existence. The story is dramatically told through the eyes of Dr. Hugo Rustin, a surgeon, who is starting to feel increasingly estranged from his wife and teenage daughter. This is an incredibly smart look at what can happen to human connection when a society falls apart.
Recommended by Pinar Gurler
-
By John Lanchester
“Every successful marriage has its own private language.” That’s the first line of this darkly comic tale about love, trust and revenge. The action begins when a very popular and racy Netflix
show includes intimate details from the seemingly happy marriage of a pair of baby boomers. So how exactly did the ambitious millennial television writer know their secrets? The answer is a twisty and an engrossing tale of generational misunderstanding and resentment.
-
By Patmeena Sabit
A haunting and addictive novel that reads like true crime. It follows a refugee couple from Afghanistan who settle in Northern Virginia and raise four kids. Their story of success is questioned, however, when a tragedy occurs. Neighbors, friends and the public weigh in on why the catastrophe happened and who is really to blame. It’s part mystery, part immigrant story and has been hailed as one of the best written books of 2026.
Recommended by Pinar Gurler
-
By Edith Wharton
This delectable story is one of Wharton’s lesser-known books. It’s about Susy and Nick, a socially acceptable but poor couple who decide to marry for convenience so they can sponge off their rich friends in Post World War II Europe. Apparently, newlyweds were very popular house guests back then! They make a pact to divorce if either one can find a more suitable (i.e. rich) mate. Many call this book a funnier version of House of Mirth.
-
By Xochitl Gonzalez
An entertaining and thought-provoking reimagining of The Great Gatsby set in gentrifying Brooklyn in the spring of 2007. Alicia, the narrator, falls under the spell of La Garza, an up-and coming fashion designer who throws epic house parties in Fort Greene. Alicia questions the life she planned to live and instead becomes entangled in La Garza’s romantic hopes and complicated past. It’s a sharp look at the dark side of the American Dream.
-
By Elizabeth Bowen
A forgotten classic from the early 20th century. This debut novel from 1927 centers on a group of wealthy British tourists on holiday at a fancy hotel on the Italian Riviera. Sydney Warren, the main character, perplexes those around her because of her seeming disinterest in marriage and fascination with Mrs. Kerr, a worldly widow. The book boasts an array of delightful minor characters and is ideal for Jane Austen fans.
Episode 5: War, What Is It Good For?
-
By Agop J. Hacikyan
A harrowing piece of historical fiction about a family separated during the 1915 Armenian genocide and a father’s search for his wife and son. A beautiful, sweeping epic saga with a deep sense of time and place much like War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo and Gone With the Wind.
Recommended by Cassandra Berger
-
A philosophical thriller about a retired, haunted war photographer living alone in a Spanish coastal tower. When an unexpected visitor arrives claiming the photographer ruined his life and declaring his intention of killing him, the photographer is forced to re-examine his life and his life’s work.
Recommended by Cassandra Berger
-
By Baroness Orczy
Episode 6: Bookstore Discoveries From Japan
-
by Riku Onda
A huge Japanese bestseller that has also been made into a movie, this tender novel follows four young contestants over two weeks of a prestigious international piano competition. The book contains exquisite descriptions of their musical performances and explores themes such as how does one judge art, can beauty be ranked, music as a force of nature, and finding meaning in one’s life. A beautiful book full of hope and joy.
-
By Yoko Ogawa
In 1972, twelve-year old Tomoko is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and her eccentric family. They live in a huge 17-room mansion with gardens and an old zoo replete with a pygmy hippopotamus, Pochiko, the beloved family pet. Tomoko and her thirteen-year old cousin, Mina, spend a magical year together navigating first crushes, going mad over the Japanese Olympic volleyball team, and trying to unlock the many adult secrets swirling all around them. This delightfully amusing novel masterfully captures the bitter-sweet passing of halcyon days. An incredibly charming read.
-
by Sayaka Murata
Thirty-six year old Keiko has worked at a convenience store ever since graduating from university… and loves it. She has no desire to find a “better” job, much less get married and have kids much to her friends’ and family’s chagrin. A smart and endearing look at what it means to march to the beat of your own drum in a society that prizes conformity. A quick, entertaining read.
-
Cozy Healing Books
The iyashikei genre emerged in Japan in the 1990s as a response to a culture previously focused on hyper-achievent. Iyashikei (“healing”) instead focuses on a deep appreciation of beauty, emotional renewal, connection to nature and finding meaning rather than pursuing the trappings of success. This genre has become immensely popular in Japan and now internationally – you’ll see many of these books highlighted at your local bookstore. Light, easy reads that leave you feeling uplifted.
-
Cozy Healing Books
The iyashikei genre emerged in Japan in the 1990s as a response to a culture previously focused on hyper-achievent. Iyashikei (“healing”) instead focuses on a deep appreciation of beauty, emotional renewal, connection to nature and finding meaning rather than pursuing the trappings of success. This genre has become immensely popular in Japan and now internationally – you’ll see many of these books highlighted at your local bookstore. Light, easy reads that leave you feeling uplifted.
-
Cozy Healing Books
The iyashikei genre emerged in Japan in the 1990s as a response to a culture previously focused on hyper-achievent. Iyashikei (“healing”) instead focuses on a deep appreciation of beauty, emotional renewal, connection to nature and finding meaning rather than pursuing the trappings of success. This genre has become immensely popular in Japan and now internationally – you’ll see many of these books highlighted at your local bookstore. Light, easy reads that leave you feeling uplifted.
-
Cozy Healing Books
The iyashikei genre emerged in Japan in the 1990s as a response to a culture previously focused on hyper-achievent. Iyashikei (“healing”) instead focuses on a deep appreciation of beauty, emotional renewal, connection to nature and finding meaning rather than pursuing the trappings of success. This genre has become immensely popular in Japan and now internationally – you’ll see many of these books highlighted at your local bookstore. Light, easy reads that leave you feeling uplifted.
Episode 7: Shakespeare
-
By Edward St. Aubyn
This smart retelling of King Lear is filled with family drama, power struggles and corporate intrigue. The Lear figure is a powerful media mogul who has been locked away in a sanatorium
by his two eldest daughters. Will his youngest daughter come to his rescue before he goes mad? It’s incredibly entertaining, funny and ideal for anyone who loved the television show Succession. It’s also part of Hogarth Press's Shakespeare Project.
-
By James Ijames
A modern-day adaptation of Hamlet that’s set at a raucous family barbecue in the deep south. Juicy, a young gay black man, must decide whether to avenge his Father’s death after a confrontation with his ghost. This text is actually a play and winner of a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2022. It’s thought-provoking, hilarious and truly joyful.
-
By Caroline Myss
Publishers Weekly has called Myss one of the “hottest new voices in the alternative health/spirituality scene.” In this book, she shows how one’s health and vitality are influenced by our beliefs, emotional wounds and inner voice. Myss shows how to build on the ancient wisdom of Hindu, Christian and Kaballah traditions to develop one’s own latent intuition and attain spiritual growth. The book is deeply informative and life-changing.
Recommended by Taylor Hosking
-
By Megan Hellerer
The author, who is a former Google executive and the founder of Coaching for Underfilled Overachievers, topples the myth about professional success and offers a radical guide to getting rid of burnout and unfulfillment. Her advice helps readers transform their careers and create a life filled with genuine purpose and authenticity.
-
By James Clear
As the subtitle says, this book offers easy and proven ways to break bad habits and get 1% better every day. The author explains four laws of behavioral change and shows how small, incremental changes every day can ensure readers obtain their goals. The book has sold over 20 million copies around the world and has been praised for its effectiveness.
-
By Mona Awad
A darkly funny book about Miranda Fitch, a theatre professor trying to put on a production of All’s Well That Ends Well, considered by some to be Shakespeare’s most problematic play. Miranda is recovering from a broken heart, suffering from chronic pain and fighting with the students, who would prefer to stage Macbeth instead. What happens next is surreal, witchy and very entertaining.
Recomendations from The Book Swap Community
coming soon!