The Book Club Picks of June 2023, From Roxane Gay’s to Reese’s
Is this the year of book clubs? It feels like it, with how many great book clubs there are to join and how many excellent books they are picking. Even if you just follow along, it’s a great place to find your next read – or an excuse to toss more titles onto your TBR list – and many of the book clubs do author chats, giveaways, and fun things for readers.
For June 2023, we once again have two book clubs who picked the same book — one of the best of this year in my opinion — and then two other book clubs also picked the same book as each other for an extra fun twist this month. Plus, Sapph-Lit gives nonfiction and fiction readers each an option.
There’s a YA romance, a blockbuster backlist book for readers that need a nudge to finally get to their TBR, a fun sapphic historical romance, and a family drama with dark magic!
And that’s not all! There’s also a thriller with a return home element, a funny summer book, and a novel that asks what would you change if you got a chance to go back? Definitely something for different kind of readers to pick from.
The Audacious Book Club in 2023
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
About the book club: Author Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist, Ayiti, The Banks) selects a monthly book with the goal of “Authentic and necessary perspectives from writers who fearlessly share their stories.”
What Roxane Gay said about the book: “This is the quintessential ‘unreliable narrator’ novel. In Yellowface, RF Kuang writes of friendship, competition, the banal yet mercenary ways of publishing, and the lengths one woman is willing to go, the extent to which she will lie to others and herself, to experience a taste of the success she so desperately craves.”
Follow Roxane Gay on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Subtle Asian Book Club
This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang
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: If you’re a fan of YA romcoms and the fake dating trope, this is the pick for you this month!
Follow Subtle Asian Book Club on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Discord
Sapph-Lit
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
About the book club: Born from TikTok, Sapph-Lit is a safe space book club for sapphic women and nonbinary readers to come together and chat books, life, and offer support.
Sapph-Lit picked TWO books for June! I’ll link to the individual Instagram posts for each title where you can find more info about the books, including listed content warnings.
Nonfiction: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler. See their Instagram post for more info.
Fiction: Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst. See their Instaram post for more info.
Mocha Girls Read
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
About the book club: Mocha Girls Read is a monthly book club of Black women who love to read in the Los Angeles area.
About the book: If you have yet to read this blockbuster author, and her extensive backlist, jump in with her page-turner about a reclusive Hollywood icon who has certainly lived a life and is now ready to tell her story…
Follow Mocha Girls read on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, MeetUp, Goodreads, Pinterest
Good Morning America‘s GMA Book Club
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
About the book club: Read along with Good Morning America Book Club which aims to “showcase book picks from a wide range of compelling authors.”
What GMA said about the book: “This is a story about family, secrets, legacies of power, a good little dog, and of course, magic.”
AND “This month, we are also teaming up with Little Free Library to give out free copies in Times Square and at 150 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Since 2009, more than 300 million books have been shared in Little Free Libraries across the world. Click here to find a copy of Ink Blood Sister Scribe at a Little Free Library location near you.”
Amor en Páginas: The Latinx Romance Buddy Read
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera
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: A fun, sapphic historical romance that kicks off with Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, who is soon to be married off, deciding it’ll be her last summer of freedom and she better not waste it…
Follow Amor en Páginas on social media: Instagram
Matzah Book Soup: A Jewish Own Voices Book Club for All
The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis
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: “We are huge fans of a summer thriller, so we’re super excited to announce that our June pick is THE CHATEAU by Jaclyn Goldis! This book is filled with suspense, twists, turns, and most importantly JEWISH REP!
We can’t wait to chat about this one with our special guest Jaclyn on SUNDAY, JULY 2nd @ 12 PM EST! We hope to see you all there.”
Follow Matzah Book Soup on social media: Instagram, Facebook
TODAY Book Club, #ReadWithJenna
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
About the book club: Jenna Bush Hager — current co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna — independently chooses a book each month that she personally loves. (“Jenna was not paid to mention these items and is unaffiliated with the authors and publishers“)
What Jenna said about the book: “This novel is perfect for summer — it’s full of humor (if you’ve read Steven’s other novel, The Guncle, you know what I mean) and centered around a powerful love story. It’s an ode to the incredible nature of friendship that will make you truly grateful for those long-standing friends in your own life! Find a beach or a park and get reading!”
Follow Read With Jenna on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Read With Jenna Goodreads group
#ReadWithMC: Marie Claire’s Virtual Monthly Book Club
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
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: “…a cutting story about a struggling white writer who steals her dead Asian friend’s manuscript, publishes it as her own, and grapples with the repercussions.” And you can read an excerpt!
Amerie’s Book Club
INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs
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: “Emma Törzs crafts an exciting, immersive story with Ink Blood Sister Scribe, which explores family, legacy, estrangement, and forgiveness within the context of magical books, money, glamour, and — if there aren’t enough fascinating elements — the Antarctic. Though dark in its themes, there is a coziness in the story’s execution that made me relish my time within its pages.”
Follow Amerie’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, YouTube
Reese’s Book Club
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
About the book club: Every month, Reese Witherspoon picks a book for Reese’s Book Club that centers a woman in its story.
What Reese said about the book: “This super charming and witty novel is about main character Cassie who is stuck in a time loop and trying to fix the 3rd worst day of her life ⏱️♾️ You may THINK you know what’s going on… but keep reading!! 👀”
Follow Reese’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube
And if you’re curious what book clubs have previously picked, here’s a roundup for March, April, and May 2023.
