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!
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2021 Book Selections
January: Feel-Good Books
Our book of the month is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers
Further Reading Suggestions:
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by T.J. Klune
Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
The Bookshop on the Corner, by Jenny Colgan
The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
2020 Book Selections
December: Fantasy
Our book of the month is Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
Further Reading Suggestions:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James
Vita Nostra, by Marina Dyachenko
The Queens of Innis Lear, by Tessa Gratton
The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
November: Books About Food
Our book of the month is With the Fire On High, by Elizabeth Acevedo. Read our full review.
Further Reading Suggestions:
Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir, by Kwame Onwuachi
Number One Chinese Restaurant, by Lillian Li
October: Mystery / True Crime
Our book of the month is The Cutting Season, by Attica Locke
Further Reading Suggestions:
One of Us is Lying, by Karen McManus
Evil Under the Sun, by Agatha Christie
American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI, by Kate Winkler Dawson
September: Science Fiction
Our book of the month is The City We Became, by N.K. Jemisin
Further Reading Suggestions:
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K Le Guin
This is How You Lose a Time War, by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler
Warcross, by Marie Lu
August: Historical Fiction / History
Our book of the month is The Moor’s Account, by Laila Lalami
Further Reading Suggestions:
The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson
She Would Be King, by Wayetu Moore
July: Books About Animals
Our book of the month is The Bees, by Laline Paull.
Further Reading Suggestions:
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
The Moon by Whale Light, by Diane Ackerman
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
June: LGBTQ+
Our book of the month is Cantoras: A Novel, by Carolina de Robertis.
Further Reading Suggestions:
The Lost Coast, by Amy Rose Capetta
Red, White and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston
The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
May: Young Adult
Our book of the month is Sadie, by Courtney Summers.
Further Reading Suggestions:
The Astonishing Color of After, Emily X.R. Pan
Michigan vs. The Boys, Carrie S. Allen
Wilder Girls, Rory Power
April: Journalism/ Investigative Reporting
Our book of the month is She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey.
Further Reading Suggestions:
Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou
Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
American Fire, by Monica Hesse
March: Retellings
Our book of the month is Boy, Snow, Bird, by Helen Oyeyemi.
Further Reading Suggestions:
The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma
Circe, by Madeline Miller
Six-Gun Snow White, by Catherynne M. Valente
February: Black History Month
Our book of the month is Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi.
Further Reading Suggestions:
On The Come Up, by Angie Thomas
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
Faster Than Light, by Marilyn Nelson
Citizen, by Claudia Rankine
January: Memoirs
Our book of the month is Know My Name, by Chanel Miller.
Further Reading Suggestions:
Monsoon Mansion, by Cinelle Barnes
The Yellow House, by Sarah M. Broom
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church, by Megan Phelps-Roper
