Literary Fiction Book Club

 

The Literary Fiction Book Club has been meeting at Towne since the mid-2010s and is led by longtime Towne customer Kathy. The Literary Fiction Book Club reads exclusively fiction but across a variety of subgenres and most of the club’s selections have won prestigious literary awards and some have been New York Times and Indie Bestsellers. Selections are voted on by members of the group as a whole.

Literary Fiction Book Club meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7pm.

Upcoming Meetings and Selections

Thursday, October 12, 2023: Trust by Hernan Diaz

Previous Selections

Thursday, September 14, 2023: Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett

Thursday, August 10, 2023: Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Thursday, July 13, 2023: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

Thursday, June 8, 2023: The Promise by Damon Galgut

Thursday, May 11, 2023: Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

 April 2023: The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier 

 February 2023: I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart

 January 2023: Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah

December 2022: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

November 2022: Saints at the River by Ron Rash

August 2022: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
September 2022: Let Him Go by Larry Watson
July 2022: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
June 2022: Hired Man by Aminatta Forna
May 2022: Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames
April 2022: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
March 2022: Close Range by Annie Proulx
February 2022: Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
November 2021: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
October 2021: Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
September 2021: Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
August 2021: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Ship Fever: Stories By Andrea Barrett Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781324036012
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - September 20th, 2022

1996 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.


Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner) By Hernan Diaz Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593420324
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - May 2nd, 2023

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2022
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE


Montana 1948 By Larry Watson Cover Image
$14.00
ISBN: 9781571310613
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Milkweed Editions - May 25th, 2007

The tragic tale of a Montana family ripped apart by scandal and murder: "a significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West" (Washington Post).


Harlem Shuffle: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525567271
Availability: Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Anchor - August 9th, 2022

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, this gloriously entertaining novel is “fast-paced, keen-eyed and very funny ... about race, power and the history of Harlem all disguised as a thrill-ride crime novel" (San Francisco Chronicle).


The Promise: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner) By Damon Galgut Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781609457440
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Europa Editions - March 15th, 2022

WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE


Crossroads: A Novel By Jonathan Franzen Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781250858702
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - October 4th, 2022

Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads


Staff Pick Badge
The Anomaly: A Novel By Hervé Le Tellier, Adriana Hunter (Translated by) Cover Image
By Hervé Le Tellier, Adriana Hunter (Translated by)
$16.99
ISBN: 9781635421699
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Other Press - November 23rd, 2021

A New York Times bestseller and a "Best Thriller of the Year"

Winner of the Goncourt Prize and now an international phenomenon, this dizzying, whip-smart novel blends crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller as it plumbs the mysteries surrounding a Paris-New York flight.


I Will Die in a Foreign Land By Kalani Pickhart Cover Image
$18.95
ISBN: 9781953387301
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Two Dollar Radio - May 10th, 2022

* 2022 Young Lions Fiction Award, Winner.
* A BookBrowse "20 Best Books of 2022"

* VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, Longlist.
* An ABA "Indie Next List" pick for November 2021.
* "A Best Book of 2021" --New York Public Library, Cosmopolitan, Independent Book Review


Gravel Heart: By the Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature By Abdulrazak Gurnah Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781639730018
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - October 12th, 2021

From the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, a powerful story of exile, migration, and betrayal.


The Sentence: A Novel By Louise Erdrich Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9780062671134
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - September 6th, 2022

"Dazzling. . . . A hard-won love letter to readers and to booksellers, as well as a compelling story about how we cope with pain and fear, injustice and illness. One good way is to press a beloved book into another's hands. Read The Sentence and then do just that."—USA Today, Four Stars


Saints at the River: A Novel By Ron Rash Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780312424916
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - July 1st, 2005

From a major voice in Southern literature comes award-winning author Ron Rash's Saints at the River, a novel about a town divided by the aftermath of a tragic accident--and the woman caught in the middle.


Let Him Go By Larry Watson Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781571311030
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Milkweed Editions - September 2nd, 2014

Now a Major Motion Picture from Focus Features, Starring Kevin Costner and Diane Lane

The celebrated author of Montana 1948 returns to the American West in this riveting tale of familial love and its unexpected consequences.


Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick By Rumaan Alam Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062667649
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - November 23rd, 2021

Soon to be a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon. Written for the Screen and Directed by Sam Esmail. Executive Producers Barack and Michelle Obama, Tonia Davis, Daniel M. Stillman, Nick Krishnamurthy, Rumaan Alam


Manhattan Beach: A Novel By Jennifer Egan Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781476716749
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner - June 5th, 2018

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A New York Times Notable Book

Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

The daring and magnificent novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author.

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, Esquire, Vogue, The Washington Post, The Guardian,


The Hired Man By Aminatta Forna Cover Image
$15.00
ISBN: 9780802121929
Availability: Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Grove Press - October 14th, 2014

"Forna is a born storyteller. . . . Not since Remains of the Day has an author so skillfully revealed the way history's layers are often invisible to all but its participants. . . . Gorgeous."--John Freeman, The Boston Globe


The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna: A Novel By Juliet Grames Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062862839
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - April 28th, 2020

From Calabria to Connecticut: a sweeping family saga about sisterhood, secrets, Italian immigration, the American dream, and one woman's tenacious fight against her own fate


Klara and the Sun: A novel (Vintage International) By Kazuo Ishiguro Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593311295
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - March 1st, 2022

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press).


Close Range: Wyoming Stories By Annie Proulx Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780684852225
Availability: Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Scribner - February 10th, 2000

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning and bestselling author of The Shipping News and Accordion Crimes comes one of the most celebrated short story collections of our time.

Annie Proulx's masterful language and fierce love of Wyoming are evident in this collection of stories about loneliness, quick violence, and wrong kinds of love.


Migrations: A Novel By Charlotte McConaghy Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250204035
Availability: Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Flatiron Books - July 6th, 2021

* INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER *

"Visceral and haunting" (New York Times Book Review) · "Hopeful" (Washington Post) · "Powerful" (Los Angeles Times) · "Thrilling" (TIME) · "Tantalizingly beautiful" (Elle) · "Suspenseful, atmospheric" (Vogue) · "Aching and poignant" (Guardian)
· "Gripping" (The Economist)


The Night Watchman: Pulitzer Prize Winning Fiction By Louise Erdrich Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780062671196
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - March 23rd, 2021

WINNER OF THE 2021 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WASHINGTON POST, NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, KIRKUS, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR


The Song of Achilles: A Novel By Madeline Miller Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062060624
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - August 28th, 2012

A New York Times Bestseller

“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art….A book I could not put down.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House


Sharks in the Time of Saviors: A Novel By Kawai Strong Washburn Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781250787316
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - March 2nd, 2021

WINNER OF THE 2020 PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT NOVEL.


Interior Chinatown: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) By Charles Yu Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780307948472
Availability: Not In Stock - Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Vintage - November 17th, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • “A shattering and darkly comic send-up of racial stereotyping in Hollywood” (Vanity Fair) and a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play.