Our BookshelvesWe don’t review books, we share gems that we have found. Originally, we reviewed books based on their discussion potential, but now it’s more about the inspiration they spark, and the connections they can make. Have a book that you’d like to share and pass along? Tell us why you picked up the book, why you kept reading and who you’d pass it to next.
Workhorse
Why I picked it up? I found it through The New York Times’ book review, snagged by the headline, “The Last Gasp of Magazine Glamour as seen from the Bottom Rung.”
Author: Caroline Palmer
Published: 2025
Black Cake
“Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapers her island home under
suspicion of murder.”
Author: Charmaine Wilkerson
Published: 2022
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
All I can say is this book demands to be picked off the shelf at your local library or bookstore. With its bright yellow cover and the intriguing tagline “a novel of food and murder,” Butter by Asako Yuzuki immediately caught my attention.
Author: Asako Yuzuki
Published: 2017
The Wedding People
Although I would classify The Wedding People as a summer read, there are deeper themes in the book than the usual page-turner. The setting - Newport, RI and the wealthy young bride marrying an older doctor set a glamorous scene.
The Vacationers
The Vacationers is the perfect holiday book to accompany a summer sojurn. The story chronicles the Mallorca visit of the Post family. As luck would have it Sylvia and Jim Post are in the midst of a mid-marriage/life crisis brought upon by Jim's dalliance with an intern at work.
A Double Life
I read A Double Life in one day. Granted not everyone has a day free, but it’s that kind of page turner and you will find yourself fitting in time to read whenever you can. Loosely based on a true story — the Lord Lucan murder case from 1974, Flynn’s character Claire is contemplating re-engaging in the hunt for her father who disappeared decades ago.
Author: Flynn Berry
Published: 2019