I’ll suggest In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. The former is a story of friendship and love with a mystery twist. The latter is a lyrical novel inspired by a plague town that quarantined itself in the 1600s. IMHO, it’s beautifully written but on good reads a lot of people hate the ending.
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Wish I had some recommendations my last two books - demon Copperfield and still working on The Covenant of water would be hard to get now
So I thought I would post this link best of 2022 NpR- perhaps something helpful in this list ?
I also read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and didn’t love it. Not a hard veto, but I won’t be voting for it.
I recently read Independence, by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, and really enjoyed it. It’s about three sisters and their lives during the partition of India and Pakistan. That’s an event I know next to nothing about, so I found it very interesting. Well written, too. I’d like to add that to the list.
Also, a wonderful memoir by Javier Zamora called Solito. The author migrated illegally from El Salvador when he was 9 years old, with no family with him. He writes about his entire trip, including the anticipation leading up to it. The writing is wonderful and the story is amazing. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’m nominating it. It’s nonfiction but an amazing story.
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Thanks, @MMRose! I’ll add In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. And while I love the idea of an older title – so much easier to get – we just read a Geraldine Brooks novel (Horse). We do repeat authors, but usually not so soon, so I’ll leave that one off for now.
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A friend just read In Five Years and recommended it also.
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I’ve read three of the eight books on @jerseysouthmomchess’ link. I loved The Hacienda and have been thinking about reading it again. If we want something different this would be a good one and a good choice for an Oct. discussion (shades of Rebecca but not)
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Okay, I took off a few of the outliers that I didn’t think would generate any votes this round (as no one has mentioned them) and narrowed it down to six titles. Here they are (in alphabetical order by author’s name):
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Independence by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Solito by Javier Zamora
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
I left on Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow because I know there’s still interest and I’m sure it would make for a good discussion, but this will probably be its last appearance, simply because so many people have already read it (Caraid, VeryHappy, Ansmom, CBBBlinker, gardenstategal, MMRose, and TonyGrace, to name a few who have said that on either this thread or our last one).
Give me a minute and I’ll post the RCV link for voting.
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Here is the link to vote:
It’s quite a disparate selection of books–which is great! Let’s see if we come up with a clear winner.
I’ll leave the voting open for a little while because I think @mathmom might still be on vacation without internet access.
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FYI, what you see as “Winner” right after you submit your ballot ain’t necessarily so. It changes continually as people vote. So the more votes, the better, to get accurate results!
Since we’re all about transparency here 
, this is the ever-changing results link: Election Results
It’s fun to watch the bars change, but remember the winner isn’t determined until all the votes are in and the race is called. Still lots of time left!
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I just voted. I am laughing because not one of the books are at my library. I voted by which was the cheapest one to purchase.
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Uh oh, in reviewing the books I realized that I read In Five Years and didn’t like it at all. I did love Tomorrow and would happily read it again.
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My daughter read Solito for a college course and highly recommends. I have it on my in person book club list as a possibility when I host. We usually try to match at least some of the food with the book - so I may pick something easier when the time comes 
I also was not a big fan of Five Years - viewed more of a beach read vs a book club/discussion read. Hacianda would be a stretch read for me - as not really my genre. Look forward to seeing the final vote. I have read the other choices and would be nice to read everyone’s thoughts on those books too.
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I love the election technology that @Mary13 has found.
And we didn’t even Dominion or Smartmatic to run it!
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Peter Dickinson. Who also happened to be married to another favorite author of mine Robin McKinley. (He passed away, she’s still around.)
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I’m finally back where there’s internet every night! Thought I’d add my comments if it makes any difference.
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Have we read anything this gothic yet? I just started learning Spanish earlier this year, so I’m kind of attracted to things set in Spanish speaking countries, even if they are written in English.
Independence by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
I love reading about India, but a lot of comments about the (sadly all too true) violence that was part of India’s independence.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
I read and don’t want to reread. It would probably make a fun discussion though.
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
I’m intrigued, will put it on my TBR list.
Solito by Javier Zamora
This is my first choice because one, I don’t think we’ve read any South American authors and two, I don’t think we’ve tried reading a memoir, and three, I am terrible about reading non fiction on my own.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
I’ll be reading this sooner or later whether or not we read it here.
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I love Robin McKinley’s Beauty. So much love and warmth in the retelling of the fairy tale. I think I’m due for a re-reading soon!
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Well, that was a bit of a wild ride – every time I looked, the order of popularity had changed–but the election is over (15 voters) and the winner is Independence by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni. Election Results. I’ll start a new thread.
Independence is off the beaten path – only 672 reviews on Amazon (as opposed to, for example, 56,235 reviews of runner-up In Five Years). That suits me fine – the popular stuff I can read quickly on my own, but the more challenging works I like to read with you all. @VeryHappy, how did you come across the book?
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I’m usually happy with whatever book the group chooses here, so I’m fine with the poll results. Plus, I’m pretty sure I never would have read this book on my own. I’ve read “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” and “The Marriage Portrait” for my RL Book Club. I loved both of them – although if pressed, I’d say the latter wasn’t quite as good as “Hamnet.”
For my Books on the Beach group I’m currently reading “The Sweetness of Water” and “The Maid.” Then I really need to buckle down to read “The Covenant of Water” for my RL Club meeting in September.
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Yay—I just put my name in the queue and am 2nd for a physical book from our public library. The preview and reviews sound quite promising. I know very little about India so it should be very interesting. I could have gotten an ebook now but I prefer waiting for a physical book.
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I haven’t been physically inside my local library for years, but they have a copy! And it’s going to be nearly impossible to get online. A small adventure awaits me tomorrow.
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