Many seniors love a good book club. Book clubs give you a chance to connect socially with others, which is vitally important for your mental and physical health (1). Books also give you the opportunity to learn new things, discover new perspectives, and open your mind to new experiences. Discussing books with others can give you added insight and enjoyment. So, if you need tips on your next book club read, check out these top book club picks and recommendations for seniors.
Top Book Club Picks for Seniors: Fun Fiction
Sometimes you just want a fun read. Though these picks are far from frivolous, they’ll leave you feeling happy and inspired.
Liane Moriarty’s Three Wishes
Moriarty’s debut novel Three Wishes is less well-known than (now an HBO series) Big Little Lies, but it doesn’t disappoint. This lively novel follows the lives of three hilarious and incredibly relatable women who happen to also be triplets. It is witty, funny, and suspenseful, yet also deeply real. These female characters come to life and feel like they might step right off the page into your local coffee shop. Your book group will have a great time discussing comparisons with their own sibling relationships, significant others, parents, and more.
Jojo Moye’s Someone Else’s Shoes
This is a fun, unique read that explores how fashion can change your state of mind–and maybe even your life! Unlike Moye’s previously bestseller Me Before You, Someone Else’s Shoes is not a tearjerker. It’s witty, deep, and exciting, with relatable characters and a happy ending. As a book club pick, you’ll have a great time talking about the role money, status–and, of course, shoes–have throughout your life.
Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures
Remarkably Bright Creatures is a very unique take on what it means to get older, featuring a highly unexpected main character. It’s beautifully written, includes interesting facts about marine biology, and slowly explores a lifelong mystery for 70-year-old Tova Sullivan. Seniors might enjoy relating to the challenges and changes age can bring. It features a diverse cast of senior citizens, including those who are single, childless, have suffered loss, married, divorced, considering senior living, living with adult children, and more. You’ll have a lot to talk about with your fellow book club seniors.
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library is a gripping read from masterful author Matt Haig. Although this novel centers around suicidal ideation, it’s a surprisingly joyful and hopeful read. It’s a good jumping-off point for discussions about what constitutes a life well lived, and how things you may regret throughout your life might actually be the things that make you exactly who you were meant to be.
Ruth Hogan’s The Keeper of Lost Things
A unique take on life after loss and divorce, The Keeper of Lost Things is a great read for anyone who has ever lost anything–which is to say, anyone. It will also resonate with seniors who have collected sentimental objects, as they play a special role in this novel. You’ll enjoy having discussions about your own treasured items, and how the things we lose and the things we keep influence our lives.
Top Book Club Books for Seniors: New Perspectives
These book club suggestions will provide you with new perspectives on minority groups, feminism, racial issues, social issues, and more.
Jodi Picoult’s Mad Honey
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult is a must-read for everyone. It will give you invaluable insights on issues of gender and how it feels to be perceived differently from how you feel inside. It’s also a gripping, though tragic, mystery. The book resolves satisfactorily, and is educational without feeling preachy. You’ll also learn new things about bees and beekeeping, which can be a fascinating hobby.
Mad Honey is a great book club pick for seniors because it’s likely to provoke an emotional response in almost anyone. You may disagree with fellow book club members, which should provide lively discussion and an opportunity to learn from others.
Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things
This is another great novel by Jodi Picoult, who is known for her sensitive and insightful handling of minority issues. Small Great Things centers around privilege, power, and race, while also being a compelling story with multi-dimensional characters who feel incredibly real. It addresses issues people of color often face in a way that doesn’t condemn or lecture the reader, but rather enlightens them to perspectives they may not have considered before.
Because it is so enlightening and real, and makes you think in new ways, it makes a good book club novel. Your book club will have plenty of topics for discussion and lots of important conversations.
Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry
Lessons in Chemistry is set in 1960’s California. It follows the troubled life of an aspiring female scientist who also ends up an unmarried single mother. It does a great job considering feminism, how the role of women in the workplace has changed, and how far we still have to go. This book raises important questions about workplace discrimination, the strength of women, the role of male superiors, entertainment, parenting, and more. Main character Elizabeth Zott offers a refreshingly blunt, unselfconscious view of the world through a chemist’s eyes.
Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network
This heartbreakingly beautiful novel follows a young American woman in 1947 as she discovers the incredible truth about European female spies in World War I–with a surprising personal connection. Based on true stories of the role of women in a tragic war, your book club will learn new things about our history. You will also appreciate the strength of these female protagonists. It’s a great way to explore feminism in its early days. We will note a content warning for physical and sexual abuse in this novel, as one might expect in a novel about real women during WWI. However, it is explored in a blunt and truthful way.
If you’re looking for your next book, Stellar Living hopes you enjoy these top book club picks for seniors! Need to find a book club? Why not create one! Invite your senior living community neighbors to get together and discuss your next favorite novel.
