Mary Boleyn comes to the court of King Henry VIII, where she falls for the dashing king, and begins to enjoy her growing role as unofficial queen, however, she soon realizes she is merely a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to turn towards her best friend and rival, her sister, Anne.

Liz says:

“The court of King Henry VIII is the perfect setting for scandal and intrigue, romance and lurid affairs. If you like a good soap opera, you’ll love this.”

Recreates the slaying of the Clutter family of Kansas, and the capture, trial, and execution of their murderers.

Liz says:

“This groundbreaking book could be called a documentary novel or a work of creative non-fiction. It absolutely raises the level of crime reportage to literary genius as it is written with gripping details, masterful pacing and multi-dimensional characters. You will feel deep sorrow, fear and anger.”

Anju and Sudha, cousins in an upper-caste Calcutta family, grow up together, bonded by fate and heart, but their lives take opposite turns when they are urged into arranged marriages, until tragedy brings them back together again.

Liz says:

“Beautifully written book about family, loyalty, and cultural pressures. This is one of the group’s favorites”

Rachel Kalama, forcibly removed from her idyllic Honolulu home in the 1890s when it is discovered she has leprosy, grows up in the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka’i where she forms a family of friends, and meets the man who will one day become her husband.

Liz says:

“This is the only book I was not able to read with the group due to being uncomfortably pregnant with my 3rd child. I have to read it at some point because it is almost unanimously the favorite book of the group.”

Ninety-year-old Jacob Jankowski finds himself haunted by memories of his past in the circus and the freaks, exotic animals, and other people he encountered as a performer.

Liz says:

“Alternating between scenes from the circus set in the Depression Era and current day in Jacob’s nursing home, this book has elements of intrigue, history and delves into the topic of aging.”

Perfect also for young adults.

Clare and Henry, deeply in love, try desperately to maintain normal lives even though he has been diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition in which his genetic clock periodically resets, pulling him through time to the past or future.

Liz says:

“If you can buy into the time travel premise you will be rewarded greatly by a story filled with love, hope and hopelessness. For those from or familiar with Chicago, you will appreciate the setting. This is one of my personal favorites!”

Translation of: Sombra del viento. In 1945 Spain, the young son of an antique-book dealer searches for more books by Julian Carax, an author he has recently discovered, and finds that everything Carax has ever written has been destroyed–and that his search has put his friends and family in danger.

Liz says:

“This story transports you to another time and place and takes you on a journey following the mystery of Julian Carax and his mysterious writings. The story is historically interesting and is also a coming of age story.”

Overweight and nerdy Oscar lives with his Dominican American mother and sister in New Jersey and dreams of becoming a renowned author and finding true love, but unfortunately, a family curse stands in the way of his wishes.

Liz says:

“This is a bit hard to get into but it’s well worth the wait. The reader is purposely meant to feel like an outsider, mimicking the immigrant experience. We don’t even know who the narrator is until well into the book and Diaz uses Spanish and Spanglish words and terms that are unfamiliar. Ultimately, however, we very much get into Oscar’s head and sense the enormity of his personal angst and utter sense of loneliness. Mixed in with all of this is a sense of humor giving the book some levity.”

Tells the parallel stories of Daniel Burnham, the main architect of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and serial killer Henry H. Holmes, discussing the challenges Burnham faced in creating the hugely successful White City, and looking at how Holmes used the opportunities afforded by the fair to lure victims to their deaths.

Liz says:

“This is perhaps one of the best examples of narrative non-fiction I’ve ever read. Larson masterfully weaves fact (including many direct quotes) with dialogue and atmospheric descriptions which bring to life the city of Chicago and the fascinating characters which abound. While some people prefer the chapters that provide the architectural history of the fair, others prefer the descriptions of Holmes’ murderous ways. I actually loved both! (In this vein, I also recommend Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Caleb Carr’s The Alienist).”