‘Indy’ Book Club 2021

In Partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library

Calling all book worms! We are hosting another Reading Challenge for 2021. We are challenging you to read one book per month that fits into a specified theme. Download this handy worksheet and keep track of the books you read throughout the year that fulfill our challenge. Every month, we will feature our book of the month – a book on that month’s theme that we are reading as a book club and encourage you to read with us. Each month, we will host virtual book discussions where we chat about the chosen book of the month. We’ve partnered with the Santa Barbara Public Library, which will carry extra copies of the Indy Book Club picks, and join us for the monthly book discussions.

To find out more about the Indy Book Club, keep an eye on the print issue and this page, as we will be announcing more details as they unfold. Get started by picking up this month’s pick and joining our Goodreads group!

Still want more bookish content? Sign up for All Booked! our bi-monthly newsletter exclusively for book lovers.

| 2021 Reading Challenge | 2021 Book Picks |

2021 Book Selections

November: Books Written by Indigenous Authors

Our book of the month is An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

November Book Discussion: Wednesday, December 1, 6pm, Location: Municipal Winemakers, 22 Anacapa St.

Further Reading Suggestions:

Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla, and ebook from Hoopla and Libby.

Terra Nullius, by Claire G. Coleman
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Hoopla.

Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla, and ebook from Libby.

Too Much Lip, by Melissa Lucashenko
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library.

October: Horror

Our book of the month is Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Read SBPL Librarian Molly Wetta’s review for the book. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

October Book Discussion: Wednesday, November 3, 6pm, Location: Municipal Winemakers, 22 Anacapa St.

Further Reading Suggestions:

172 Hours on the Moon, by Johan Harstad
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library and audiobook from Hoopla.

The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla or Libby, and ebook from Hoopla or Libby.

September: Books Written by Latinx Authors

Our book of the month is Dominicana by Angie Cruz. Read Caitlin Fitch’s review for the book. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

September Book Discussion: Wednesday, October 6, 6pm, on the patio @ Municipal Winemakers, 22 Anacapa St.

Further Reading Suggestions:

Signs Preceding the End of the World, by Yuri Herrara
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Libby.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree, by Ingrid Rojas Contraras
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Furia, by Yamile Saied Méndez
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla or Libby, and ebook from Hoopla or Libby.

August: Books in Translation

Our book of the month is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. Read Librarian Devon Cahill’s review for the book. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Hoopla or Libby.

August Book Discussion: Wednesday, September 8, 6pm, on the patio @ Municipal Winemakers, 22 Anacapa St.

Further Reading Suggestions:

The Memory Police, by Yoko Ogawa
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Libby.

Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, by Shokoofeh Azar
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla, and ebook from Hoopla or Libby.

Hurricane Season, by Fernanda Melchor
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Libby.

Breasts and Eggs, by Mieko Kawakami
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla, and ebook from Hoopla or Libby.

July: Thrillers

Our book of the month is Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

July Book Club Discussion: Wednesday, August 11 @ 6 p.m. Municipal Winemakers

Further Reading Suggestions:

An Anonymous Girl, by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla or Libby, and ebook from Libby.

The Other People, by C.J. Tudor
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

When No One is Watching, by Alyssa Cole
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Libby, and ebook from Libby.

June: LGBTQ+

Our book of the month is Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

June Book Club Discussion: Thursday, July 1 @ 12 p.m. Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara Courthouse

Further Reading Suggestions:

One Last Stop, by Casey McQuinston
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, and ebook from Libby.

The Fixed Stars, by Molly Wizenberg
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Hoopla and Libby.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Libby.

Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Libby, and ebook on Libby.

May: Nature Writing

Our book of the month is Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller. Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

May Book Club Discussion: Thursday, June 3 @ 12 p.m. Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara Courthouse

Further Reading Suggestions:

Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla and Libby, and ebook from Hoopla and Libby

Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone, by Juli Berwald
Available in ebook from Libby.

Overstory, by Richard Powers
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Libby. The Santa Barbara Public Library also has this title available in Bookclub in a Bag.

Underland, by Robert Macfarlane
Available in print from the Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Libby.

April: Poetry

Our book of the month is Nature Poem by Tommy Pico.
Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Libby.

April Book Club Discussion: Thursday, May 6 @ 6 p.m. Live on Zoom
Register Here – Registration is required before the event start time

Further Reading Suggestions:

Land Sparing, by Gabriella Klein
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library. Gabriella Klein is a local author.

There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, by Morgan Parker
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Libby.

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls, by Naomi Shihab Nye
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Hoopla and Libby.

March: Memoirs & Biographies

Our book of the month is The Trauma Cleaner: One Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death Decay and Disaster, by Sarah Krasnostein
Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla, or read the ebook on Libby.

March Book Club Discussion: Thursday, April 1 @ 6 p.m. Live on Zoom

Further Reading Suggestions:

In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Libby.

Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Hoopla and Libby.

Big Friendship, by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook on Libby.

February: Books Written by Black Women

Our book of the month is Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla or Libby, or read the ebook on Hoopla or Libby.

February Book Club Discussion: Thursday, March 4 @ 6 p.m. Live on Zoom
Register Here! – registration is required before the event start time

Further Reading Suggestions:

On the Come Up, by Angie Thomas
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Hoopla and Libby.

Conjure Women, by Afia Atakora
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library and ebook from Libby.

American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
Available in Print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook on Hoopla and Libby, and ebook on Hoopla and Libby.

Thick and Other Essays, by Tressie McMillan Cottom
Available in ebook from Libby

January: Feel-Good Books

Our book of the month is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers.
Borrow a physical copy from the Santa Barbara Public Library, listen to the audiobook on Hoopla, or read the ebook on Hoopla or Libby.

January Book Club Discussion: Thursday, February 4 @ 6 p.m. Live on Zoom
Register Here!

Further Reading Suggestions:

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by T.J. Klune
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Hoopla and Libby, and ebook from Hoopla and Libby.

The Bookshop on the Corner, by Jenny Colgan
Available on audiobook from Hoopla and Libby, and ebook from Hoopla and Libby.

The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Available in print from Santa Barbara Public Library, audiobook from Libby, and ebook from Libby.