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It’s been another long year, and ending it with a book club pick sounds like a pretty good choice. Especially since these December book club picks offer a wide range of options, from genre to mood. The book clubs themselves are all unique, and while all offer remote options—allowing you to participate as much or as little as you’d like—some also host in-person events. Plus, many have chats with the author. There’s plenty to explore and tons of great books, and clubs, to dive into.
You can end the year reading a sapphic Christmas romance, a historical novel based on a real Chinese physician, a poet’s essay/memoir collection that deserves all the awards, historical fiction following two timelines 800 years apart, a timely essay collection, a Palestinian poet’s collection, a pop culture essay collection, a novel centering Russian ballet, a cozy winter romance with a Hanukkah festival, a popular thriller author’s new fantasy adventure, an Irish novel with an adaptation starring Cillian Murphy, a beautiful poetry collection, and a graphic nonfiction by John Lewis. Enjoy!
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar
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 pick, join in on discussions on social media, and watch videos of their live author interviews.
About the book: If you’re a fan of lyrical historical fiction with past and present interweaving storylines—800 years apart!— this is your book club this month.
Follow Subtle Asian Book Club on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Discord
Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha
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: “Beautiful and utterly devastating, Mosab Abu Toha’s poetry collection documents and explores the genocide currently unfolding in historical Palestine. In the near future, when such destruction is studied, read, and discussed, Forest of Noise will exist as a testament, a monument, and a legacy.”
Follow Amerie’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, YouTube
City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim
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: “For our December @ReesesBookClub pick, we’re exploring the fierce and beautiful world of ballet with City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim (@juhea_writes)! 🩰📖 In this powerful story, Natalia faces a choice: return to the demanding world of Russian dance that nearly broke her or walk away for good. This story left me thinking about the ways we overcome setbacks and redefine what truly matters. Listen to it on @AppleBooks, our official audiobook partner, all month long! ✨🎧”
Follow Reese’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube
Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King
About the book cub: Hosted by Traci Thomas, The Stacks is a podcast that chats all about books, and there’s a monthly book club! The book chosen for the month is discussed on the podcast the last week of the month with a selected special guest.
What The Stacks Book Club said about the book: “#TheStacksBookClub selection for December is Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer by Rax King. This essay collection is a sharp, funny, and heartfelt celebration of the pop culture that often gets dismissed as “lowbrow” or “uncool.” Through witty and poignant reflections, King explores how our guilty pleasures—from chain restaurants to reality TV—can hold deep emotional meaning and shape who we are. Be sure to listen on December 4th to find out our guest, and then tune in on December 25th (yes, Christmas) for the TACKY episode.”
Follow The Stacks on social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
About the book club: Lillianne Leight and Amanda Spivack created this book club with a focus on Jewish books and characters “with varying relationships to Judaism” that welcomes all readers—Jewish and non.
What Matzah Book Soup said about the book: “We’re so excited to be getting into the Holiday spirit this month with our December pick, Love You a Latke by @AmandaPanitch! It feels like the perfect time of year for a cozy romance, and we hope you’ll read along with us. We’ll be meeting via zoom with Amanda Elliot to chat about the book on December 26th @ 8 PM EST via zoom!”
Follow Matzah Book Soup on social media: Instagram, Facebook
The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall
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: “🎁 December🎁 The Last One by bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall is this month’s #GMABookClub pick! The action-packed novel novel blends fantasy and adventure, following Kai as she navigates a dangerous and mysterious world. 📖 Kai wakes in a desolate land, surrounded by sickness and monstrous beasts, with no memory of how she got there. Her only hope lies in reaching the Sea of Devour, but to do so, she reluctantly accepts the help of a skilled—and infuriating—village blacksmith.”
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
About the book club: Oprah’s book club has taken on different forms over decades, starting in 1996 on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She’s still book clubbing, and this month she picked her 103rd title!
What Oprah said about the book: “Our next Oprah’s Book Club selection is: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Set in the 1980s, this award-winning tale tells the story of an Irish coal merchant and father who must choose between protecting his own and standing up for the powerless. But there’s also more good news. For every monthly book club pick, @oprah will sit down with the author for a brand new podcast titled, “Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by @Starbucks.” Our goal: Great books. Great coffee. Great Conversation. And the first one is available for your viewing pleasure now—tap the link in our bio to watch it!”
Follow Oprah’s Book Club on social media: Instagram, Twitter
Run by John Lewis
Looking for more options for your book club? Check out December’s Best Book Club Books and The Best Books Coming Out in December.