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Phone-In Book Club Series

Join the Talking Book Program Book Club for discussions, reviews, and more all about books available in the TBP library.

The Book Club is currently a phone-in format. TBP patrons receive a phone number and passcode and join via conference call. The only technology you need to join the Book Club is a telephone! Please contact a Reader's Advisory Librarian at 1-800-252-9605 or at tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov with any questions or to RSVP.

When you are ordering a title for TBP Book Club, let us know so we can get the title out to you as soon as possible. All selected titles are also available for download from BARD. Whether ordering or downloading, please let us know if you plan on joining our book club discussion.

Check this page often to read all about upcoming Book Club dates and titles! Subscribe to the TBP blog to receive Book Club and other informative posts via email. 

See the previous titles our Book Club has read on our Previous Book Club Titles page. 

UPCOMING BOOK CLUB TITLES

* * Titles and Dates Subject to Change * *
 

May 19 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

RULES FOR VISITING by Jessica Francis Kane (DB 95255; BR 22927)

When May Attaway is granted leave from her job as a university gardener, she decides to try to reconnect with friends she has neglected.  One by one, she seeks out four of them, and her outward quest for connection also becomes an inward journey of self-discovery. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

BONUS SUMMER READING PROGRAM BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION

June 23 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

GULF: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN SEA by Jack E. Davis (DB 88197)

A history of the Gulf of Mexico, extending from the Pleistocene age until the twenty-first century.  Discusses the marine environment, its role in human society, and many of the individuals whose lives were intertwined with the Gulf.  2018 Pulitzer Prize for History. 2017.

2022 Book Club Selections

** Titles & Dates Subject to Change **

January 27 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

TIME IT NEVER RAINED by Elmer Kelton

A cantankerous, independent-minded Texan, Charlie Flagg, fights to save his medium-sized ranch in Rio Seco during a drought.  His problems are compounded by ineffectual federal aid programs and difficulties with Mexican ranch workers.  Some strong language.  1973.  DB 49217; LB 03803

March 22 (Tuesday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

FINDING CHIKA: A LITTLE GIRL, AN EARTHQUAKE, AND THE MAKING OF A FAMILY by Mitch Albom

An inspirational biography of Chika Jeune, a Haitian decimated Haiti in 2010. Describes her life at an orphanage, her mysterious medical struggles, and the author’s fight to find a cure for her after taking her into his household. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2019. DB 97729; LB 12661

May 19 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

RULES FOR VISITING by Jessica Francis Kane (DB 95255; BR 22927)

When May Attaway is granted leave from her job as a university gardener, she decides to try to reconnect with friends she has neglected.  One by one, she seeks out four of them, and her outward quest for connection also becomes an inward journey of self-discovery. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2019. DB 95255; BR 22927

BONUS SUMMER READING PROGRAM BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION

June 23 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

GULF: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN SEA by Jack E. Davis (DB 88197)

A history of the Gulf of Mexico, extending from the Pleistocene age until the twenty-first century. Discusses the marine environment, its role in human society, and many of the individuals whose lives were intertwined with the Gulf. 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History. 2017. DB 88197

July 19 (Tuesday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

GREENLIGHTS by Matthew McConaughey (DB 101312)

Memoir from Academy Award-winning actor in films including Dazed and Confused and Dallas Buyers Club shares his experiences and his philosophy on life. He describes "greenlights" as the times when the universe gives us permission to try new things. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2020. DB 101312

September 22 (Thursday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (DB 103929)

In 1906, Belle da Costa Greene was hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society, but she is African American passing as white. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2021. DB 103929

November 15 (Tuesday), 7 - 8 p.m. (CDT)

WORLD OF WONDERS: IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS, AND OTHER ASTONISHMENTS by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (DB 100702; BR 23339)

Poet shares twenty-eight essays exploring the impact of plants and animals on her perceptions of the world. In "Catalpa Tree," she reflects on growing up brown in a predominantly white town and the racism her mother experienced. Other species include the narwhal, axolotl, corpse flower, dragon fruit, and southern cassowary. Bestseller. 2020. DB 100702; BR 23339