Indy Mom’s Book Club 2023 Recap

Another year of reading is in the books (pun intended)! The Indy Mom’s Book Club is wrapping up our third year together, and I’m going to recap everything we read and what we have planned so far for 2024.

In case you’re new to the IM Book Club, here’s a little info on how we choose what we read each month. First, we curate a list of books we think the group will be interested in reading together. We love to pull suggestions from the group as well. Once we narrow down the list, the group casts their vote for their top choice(s). We announce the final selections in groups of three so we have time to pick a monthly host to lead each discussion. We meet on the last Wednesday of the month at Liter House in Broadripple.

Let’s get to the 2023 recap!

January: The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir

The first book of the year was a good one. The Book of Essie was recommended by one of our long-time book club members and one I had read back when it was released in 2018. I didn’t know anyone else who had read it before, so I was excited to re-read it and discuss it with the group. You can’t read this book without immediately thinking about the Duggar family and the show “19 Kids and Counting.” Esther Ann Hicks, Essie, is the youngest child of the Hicks family. They have a popular reality show that follows the evangelical family and their daily life. Essie ends up pregnant, and they have an emergency meeting on how the show plans to handle the situation on such a public platform. Secrets and deception take control, and this book made for a great discussion!

February: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun is Also a Star is a young adult contemporary novel about love at first sight and following your heart. Natasha and Daniel meet on a busy NYC street. Natasha believes in science and facts but never fate. Daniel always does what is expected, and after meeting Natasha, he believes fate has something extraordinary in store. Natasha knows nothing can happen. Her family is about to be deported to Jamaica, and falling in love isn’t in the cards. We follow these two over the course of the day, and you can’t help but fall in love with the characters. This lovely story was a crowd favorite and an absolute delight to read.

March: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

This was another re-read for me, and I love books that involve time travel, so discussing it with the group was a lot of fun. Alice is about to turn forty years old, and she’s living a pretty good life, except for one thing: her dad’s health is declining. The next day, she wakes up and finds herself reliving her sixteenth birthday. Being jolted back in time is quite a shock, but even more so is seeing the younger, lively version of her father. Traveling in time has Alice reflecting on her life as we find ourselves in the middle of a different kind of love story.

April: Screaming on the Inside by Jessica Grose

This was our first nonfiction book of the year and the first one that really dealt with motherhood more directly than anything else we have ever read. I’m going to be really honest here: most of us didn’t like this book overall, but my goodness, we had a fantastic discussion about it! As I was writing this, I went back to my bookshelf and picked up my copy, and instantly recalled how much conversation this book sparked. I don’t remember us disliking how the author presented this material so much as how it’s impossible it is to meet society’s standards around not just motherhood, but womanhood as well. Overall, I was so glad we read this one together.

May: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

What book club hasn’t read Remarkably Bright Creatures yet? The hype is huge on this one, especially being endorsed by Jenna Bush-Hager from the Today Show. Tova began working the night shift at an aquarium after her husband passed away. There, she talks to Marcellus, the giant Pacific octopus, while she performs her cleaning duties. Marcellus is the shining star of the novel, as we get to hear from his perspective (which is great on audio). Marcellus also tries to help Tova uncover the mysterious disappearance of her son over thirty years ago. This book is about coping, recovery, moving forward, and friendship. No surprise here; this was another favorite from almost every member of the group!

June: The Secret Book of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry

Twenty years after WWII, Hazel discovers a rare book that takes her on a journey to discover what happened to her sister, Flora, after she disappeared at only five years old. Somewhat mixed reviews of this book from the group, but overall, most of us enjoyed this story. I am usually not one who picks up WWII historical fiction, but I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend giving it a read.

July: Choose You Own Book – Featured Author, Katherine Center

This was the first of two ‘choose your own book’ months we decided to do this year. We tried the idea back in 2022 and decided we liked it enough to do it again. The theme for this meeting was to feature author Katherine Center. During July, Wild Geese Bookshop hosted Katherine for her newest book release, Hello Stranger. A few of us were able to go, and it was such a good time! The group read several titles from her catalog, including Things You Save in a Fire, How to Walk Away, Happiness for Beginners, The Bodyguard, The Lost Husband and What You Wish For. The crowd favorite was The Bodyguard. I chose Happiness for Beginners and very much enjoyed it.

August: Wordslut by Amanda Montell

Another nonfiction made for a great discussion! Amanda Montell, reporter and feminist linguist, deconstructs language—from insults, cursing, gossip, and catcalling to grammar and pronunciation patterns in her book, Wordslut. This book was packed with a ton of interesting information, and even though we were reading about history, science, language, and politics, I never once got bored or overwhelmed. I will say, try this one on audio; the experience is even better that way.

September: None of This is True by Lisa Jewell & Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle

September was a double feature month. For our ladies that love a thriller, we finally got one in for you. But for those that don’t, we had you covered with a contemporary novel. None of This is True was well-paced and had us questioning what to believe with some very unlikable characters. The Museum of Ordinary People was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. A collection of ordinary yet sentimental objects is looked after and cared for in a warehouse known as The Museum of Ordinary People. Some read one book, some read both, but we all had a great time at this meeting.

October: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

The Wishing Game is described as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but with books or, simply, a children’s book for adults. It was fun, light, and imaginative. It made me wish the Clock Island series was real. Overall, it probably wasn’t the most prolific book we’ve ever read, but most of us enjoyed it.

November/December: Choose Your Own Book

As I’m writing this, we still have a few days until our final meeting of the year. With the holidays, we decided to have another choose your own book month. We are all so busy this time of year we are just happy that we can commit time to read and meet up with our fellow IM Book Club members. I don’t know what everyone is planning to share, but I do know how much I treasure this group of women and our common love of literature.

Coming up in 2024

In January we will be reading Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. I’m really looking forward to this one. It has been on my TBR (to be read) list since it was released but I didn’t get around to it. February is going to be a choose your own book but with a focus on celebrating Black Authors for Black History Month. In March, we will be reading Happiness Falls by Angie Kim.

If you’re interested in joining us, everything you need to know is on our Facebook group page.

Happy Reading!