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Literary Fiction 12 books

LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Blindness José Saramago · 1995 Still, the book earned its length more often than it wasted it. Avi Mizrahi YES Daniel Cohen YES Emily Johnson YES James Wilson YES +6 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver · 2022 I finished this feeling battered but not manipulated. Ashley Miller YES Emily Johnson YES James Wilson YES Jessica Brown YES +6 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable ONE DNF May We Feed the King Rebecca Perry · 2026 She will not tell the audience what really happened because she does not know, and she thinks the not knowing is more honest than a made-up ending. Ashley Miller DEPENDS Avi Mizrahi YES David Thompson DNF James Wilson DNF +4 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Now Is Not the Time to Panic Kevin Wilson · 2022 I liked this book much more than I expected to, which is inconvenient because it is also much stranger and more upsetting than the premise initially suggests. Ashley Miller YES Jessica Brown DEPENDS Michael Davis YES Noa Levi YES +2 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Queen Birgitta Trotzig · 1964 I also would not pretend it is an easy recommendation. Ashley Miller DEPENDS Noa Levi DEPENDS Sophie Taylor DEPENDS Yael Shapiro YES LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Set This House in Order Matt Ruff · 2003 I would recommend it to a reader who can tolerate an elaborate premise, wants characters who are specific rather than merely symbolic, and does not mind a novel that keeps showing its internal machinery. Daniel Cohen DEPENDS Emily Johnson YES James Wilson YES Sophie Taylor YES LITERARY FICTION Roundtable The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon · 2000 I would not recommend reading it when you need something efficient. Daniel Cohen DEPENDS James Wilson YES Jessica Brown YES Noa Levi YES +3 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable The Calamity Club Kathryn Stockett · 2026 It is messier and more melodramatic than it needs to be, but I believed in the women more than I believed in the machinery around them. Ashley Miller YES Jessica Brown YES Michael Davis YES Noa Levi YES LITERARY FICTION Roundtable The Covenant of Water Abraham Verghese · 2023 That is a meaningful achievement for a novel this large. Daniel Cohen YES Emily Johnson YES James Wilson YES Jessica Brown YES +5 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable SPLIT DECISION The Value of Rain Brandon Shire · 2011 It's because the book seems to think using a trafficked kid as a teaching prop for the protagonist's emotional growth is moving instead of gross. Ashley Miller DNF Noa Levi DEPENDS Oliver Evans YES Omer Friedman YES +3 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Theo of Golden Allen Levi · 2023 There is a version of Theo of Golden that I would recommend without hesitation. Daniel Cohen DEPENDS Emily Johnson DEPENDS Jessica Brown DEPENDS Noa Levi DEPENDS +5 more LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Yesteryear Caro Claire Burke · 2026 The premise is strong, the voice is committed, and several scenes are difficult to forget, particularly the first encounter with the altered ranch, the failed bread, the dead chickens and Clementine’s arrival in the red Subaru. Oliver Evans YES Omer Friedman YES

Crime & Thriller 8 books

CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Bits and Pieces Nichole Severn · 2021 I said the book is a romantic suspense, but the romance that matters most is between the killer and a dead man. David Thompson YES Emily Johnson NO Jessica Brown DEPENDS Michael Davis YES +3 more CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable Mad Mabel Sally Hepworth · 2025 I finished the book because I cared about Mabel, Persephone, Roxanne and the small group of neighbours who gradually stopped treating care as an embarrassing accident. Emily Johnson YES Jessica Brown YES Sarah Williams DEPENDS CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable SPLIT DECISION One Death at a Time Abbi Waxman · 2025 When Mason refuses to enter a bar during a foot chase because she knows it might threaten her sobriety, Archie just accepts it instantly and goes in himself. Ashley Miller YES Avi Mizrahi DNF Daniel Cohen DNF James Wilson NO +3 more CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel Lawrence Osborne · 2018 The best reason to read Only to Sleep is not to find out whether Donald Zinn has faked his death. David Thompson YES James Wilson DEPENDS Jessica Brown DEPENDS Michael Davis YES +1 more CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Perfect Remains Helen Fields · 2017 Still, I preferred the investigation's harder questions about evidence and responsibility to this neat piece of vengeance. Avi Mizrahi DEPENDS Daniel Cohen YES David Thompson NO Emily Johnson YES +3 more CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable The Fall of Iris Henley Jennifer Graham · 2026 The book has a strong reading engine, a clear understanding of online cruelty, and a protagonist whose guilt is more complicated than innocence. Noa Levi YES Sarah Williams DEPENDS CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable SPLIT DECISION The Forgotten David Baldacci · 2012 But the entire book up to that point has been about people who aren't what they seem, about institutions failing the people who trusted them. Avi Mizrahi NO Daniel Cohen NO Michael Davis YES Omer Friedman NO +3 more CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Unspoken Truths Liz Mistry · 2019 I don't need every loose end tied off with a bow, but I do need to believe the people tying them had a plan. Daniel Cohen DEPENDS David Thompson YES Emily Johnson YES Jessica Brown NO +4 more

Romance 7 books

ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Beard on Tap Willow Sanders · 2021 If you want a short book where a competent woman gets desired, needed, and a kitchen of her own after a divorce, this will probably work for you. Ashley Miller DEPENDS Avi Mizrahi YES James Wilson DEPENDS Noa Levi NO +4 more ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION His Secret Child Leslie North · 2015 None of this is impossible if you run a private security firm for people who do not want to be famous, but the book never lets the cost land as a decision. James Wilson NO Noa Levi DEPENDS Oliver Evans DNF Omer Friedman DEPENDS +3 more ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Kingdom of Thorns Katherine Macdonald · 2020 Because the central relationship actually justifies the time spent on it. Avi Mizrahi DEPENDS Daniel Cohen YES Emily Johnson NO James Wilson DEPENDS +4 more ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Not Your Average Earl Eliza Lloyd · 2019 I'm leaving it on the shelf at work with a sticky note that says the Whitby scene is worth the wait. Emily Johnson YES Jessica Brown DEPENDS Michael Davis YES Noa Levi NO +4 more ROMANCE Roundtable ONE DNF Shadow Assassin Elle James · 2021 If you need every relationship beat to be psychologically earned, this will not work. Ashley Miller DEPENDS Daniel Cohen YES David Thompson DNF Emily Johnson DEPENDS +4 more ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Some Like It Psychic Ruby West and Ella Winters · 2021 She repeatedly notices Marcelo, enjoys being desired by him, and still says she only just got her freedom and wants to know herself first. Ashley Miller YES David Thompson DEPENDS James Wilson DNF Noa Levi DEPENDS +3 more ROMANCE Roundtable SPLIT DECISION Wyoming Cowboy Marine Nicole Helm · 2019 Cam steps in front of a bullet meant for a kidnapper, simply because the woman he loves wants the man to live. Avi Mizrahi YES Daniel Cohen NO David Thompson DEPENDS Emily Johnson DNF +3 more

Historical Fiction 3 books

HISTORICAL FICTION Roundtable ONE DNF Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry · 1985 I would recommend it to someone willing to spend a long time watching a plan become a burden. Avi Mizrahi DEPENDS Daniel Cohen YES David Thompson YES James Wilson YES +5 more HISTORICAL FICTION Roundtable The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco · 1980 Read it if you can tolerate long arguments, repeated theological disputes, and a mystery that keeps changing its paperwork. Avi Mizrahi DEPENDS David Thompson YES James Wilson DEPENDS Robert Martinez DEPENDS +2 more HISTORICAL FICTION Roundtable The Nightingale Kristin Hannah · 2015 But if you are willing to accept a book that is sometimes blunt, repetitive, and openly designed to make you cry, there is a lot here that matters. Ashley Miller DEPENDS Emily Johnson YES James Wilson DEPENDS Jessica Brown DEPENDS +5 more

Classics 3 books

CLASSICS Roundtable Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen · 1813 The romance is good, but the book is better when it is talking about money, family reputation, class, and the consequences of letting a funny person avoid responsibility. Ashley Miller YES Emily Johnson YES James Wilson YES Jessica Brown YES +5 more CLASSICS Roundtable SPLIT DECISION The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis · 1955 I recommend it for the craft, which is fair and careful. Ashley Miller YES Avi Mizrahi YES David Thompson YES Emily Johnson NO +4 more CLASSICS Roundtable The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham · 1944 I am not ready to throw away the bank balance and become a taxi driver, but after finishing this book I was less certain that the person with the busiest schedule is necessarily the person living best. Avi Mizrahi YES David Thompson YES James Wilson YES Michael Davis YES +1 more

Nonfiction 2 books

NONFICTION Roundtable Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer · 1997 Krakauer's greatest achievement is that he makes the disaster understandable without making it feel inevitable. Avi Mizrahi YES Daniel Cohen YES David Thompson YES Emily Johnson YES +3 more NONFICTION Roundtable Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig · 1974 I would recommend the book to anyone who can tolerate long philosophical detours and who has some respect for repairing, building, writing, teaching, or maintaining anything. Avi Mizrahi DEPENDS Daniel Cohen DEPENDS David Thompson DEPENDS James Wilson DEPENDS +6 more

Science Fiction 2 books

SCIENCE FICTION Roundtable Station Eternity Mur Lafferty · 2022 Winning a trip to space is cool for a magazine profile, but a fresh transmission pays the bills. Ashley Miller YES Emily Johnson DEPENDS Jessica Brown YES Michael Davis YES +3 more SCIENCE FICTION Roundtable The Spare Man Mary Robinette Kowal · 2022 I recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven science fiction mysteries and do not mind a long route through the evidence. Daniel Cohen DEPENDS Emily Johnson YES Sophie Taylor YES

Horror 2 books

HORROR Roundtable Swan Song Robert R. McCammon · 1987 It is also serious about the difference between surviving and rebuilding. Avi Mizrahi YES David Thompson YES Michael Davis DEPENDS Oliver Evans YES +2 more HORROR Roundtable SPLIT DECISION The Gospel of Z Stephen Graham Jones · 2014 I have a harder time with an organization that cannot keep an audit trail and still lectures about the future of the species. Daniel Cohen NO David Thompson NO Michael Davis YES Noa Levi YES +4 more

Western 1 book

WESTERN Roundtable SPLIT DECISION The Broken Bow Larry D. Sweazy · 2022 Katherine Duchamp is the one competent woman, and the book still uses her house as the place you dump a child when you do not know how to be a father. Ashley Miller NO Avi Mizrahi DNF Daniel Cohen YES Jessica Brown NO +4 more

Poetry 1 book

POETRY Roundtable Where the Sidewalk Ends Shel Silverstein · 1974 It is also inventive, direct, and very good at making a physical detail carry an entire joke. Ashley Miller YES Emily Johnson YES Jessica Brown YES Yael Shapiro YES