By now, you probably know how much I love reading but what I love even more is talking about books with other people. When I first moved to Geneva, I tried joining a book club but I couldn’t find a group that felt right for me. So earlier this year, I decided to shoot my shot and posted something on Instagram to see if anyone would be interested in joining a book club with me. To my surprise, many of my friends responded positively and I created a group for us which for lack of a better name, I called The Book Club. We have had quite a few new people joining along the way and it’s been everything I was hoping for.
From the start, I knew I wanted to focus on books written by women, championing stories and characters brought to life by their unique perspectives and creativity.
In 2024, we read 9 wonderful books, traveling from India to Cyprus, all with inspiring protagonists we could not help but root for.
The first book we read was “The Vulnerables” by Sigrid Nunez. A beautiful book where a female narrator stuck in New York in the middle of the pandemic reflects upon what it means to be alive and our connection to others. While the thoughts of the protagonists felt difficult to keep up with at times, we all agreed that this book was full of little nuggets of wisdom along the way and also a read that would be appreciated by any aspiring author.
In March, we read the “Witches of Vardo” by Anya Bergman, an emotional story set in 1662 at the heart of the witch trials in Scandinavia. At the time suspected witches were sent to a remote island north of Norway named Vardo to be sentenced, which is what inspired this book. I have read a few novels about witch trials before but I had never heard of the trials that happened in Scandinavia so it felt like both reading a story and learning some important elements of history. (Herstory?).
Our next book was “Sea bean” by Sally Huband, our only non-fiction book of the year. The story follows Sally as she moves to the archipelago of Shetland and starts looking for treasures on its windswept beaches. Part-memoir, part-nature writing, this book reminded me to pay attention to nature and listen to its wisdom. It is a book about self-discovery, belonging, grief and so much more.
In July, we read “Really good actually” by Monica Helsey. I was really excited to read this one as it was written by one of the former writers of Schitt’s Creek, one of my absolute favourite series. The book tells the story of 29-year-old Maggie who is trying to figure out her new life as a young divorcee. She is sweet, messy but most of all extremely relatable. A great fun,light read for the summer.
Then we read “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin which I think is one of the best novels I have read recently. People tend to be slightly skeptical when they find out that it is a book about video games but they are quickly won over by its three amazing protagonists. Everyone in the group absolutely loved to read the story of Sam, Sadie and Marx as they navigate successes and losses in the world of video games and beyond.
In September, we read “Hello beautiful” by Ann Napolitano which I could probably describe as a modern inspiration of Little Women as we follow the lives of the four Padavano sisters, each very different from the others. It is a story of belonging, loyalty and unconditional love that I still think about often. It was also probably the book that created the most discussions in the group, debating the questionable choices made by some of the characters.
The next book we read was by one of my absolute favourite authors - “The island of missing trees” by Elif Shafak. By the time I had finished the book, I was ready to hop on a flight to Cyprus and sign up for a cooking class. Narrated by a fig tree, it is the story of Ada, a young woman, whose only connection to her family’s history and her own identity is the tree that her father brought back from his native island of Cyprus.
In November, we read “The Bandit Queens” by Parini Shroff which was another brilliant read. If revenge by women who have been wronged by the men in their lives was a literary niche, this book would probably be the poster story. Geeta’s husband disappeared five years ago and everyone believes she killed him. Now the other women in the village are asking her to help them get rid of their no-good husbands too and things start to get complicated in the most entertaining way.
Finally we ended the year with “The mad women’s ball” by Victoria Mas, a short 200-page book which was perfect for the busy month of December. It is a historical novel about the women who were institutionalised at the Salpetriere hospital in Paris in the 19th century. Their fault? Their father, uncle or husband had no more use for them. It is the kind of story that makes your blood boil, a story of betrayal, defiance but most importantly one of sisterhood.
I have loved every single one of these books and having the opportunity to discuss them with other enthusiastic readers made it even better. I already can’t wait to renew this experience next year.
PS: if you would like to join the book club in 2025, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Love,
