From 2017-2019, the American Library Association's Book Club Central program provided resources to book clubs and book picks from honorary chair Sarah Jessica Parker. Check out her picks below!
Heartland
by Sarah Smarsh
Selected November 2018
“I’m honored to announce the newest selection for Book Club Central, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh. Ms. Smarsh writes with authority and urgency about the entrenched deprivation of overlooked Americans born into poverty across the country. Her straightforward, empathetic storytelling is motivated by a deeply-saturated love for her family and Kansas home and brings readers into the heart of what it means to live with brokenness and resilience every day. I look forward to sharing this important book with all of you at your libraries.” ―Sarah Jessica Parker
Published by Scribner (visit website)
She Would Be King
by Wayétu Moore
Selected September 2018
“This novel dazzles with beauty and transcendent, transformative humanity. Through the stories of Gbessa, June Dey, and Norman Aragon, Wayétu Moore illuminates what it means to be of and from places that are both faraway and inescapably familiar. I treasured every moment I spent in the pages of this book, and I’m thrilled to be able share it with all of you.” —Sarah Jessica Parker
Published by Graywolf Press (visit website)
Anatomy of a Miracle
by Jonathan Miles
Selected March 2018
"Jonathan Miles is a great American storyteller, a writer to celebrate with a new novel easily devoured. His tender, life-affirming Anatomy of a Miracle follows paraplegic veteran Cameron Harris and his sister Tanya after Cameron suddenly regains the ability to walk. The story in these pages is astoundingly joyous and deeply humane, and I can’t wait to share it with you all as the new selection for Book Club Central." —Sarah Jessica Parker
Published by Hogarth, an imprint of Penguin Random House (visit website)
Stay with Me
by Ayobami Adebayo
Selected December 2017
“Stay with Me is a wise and deeply humane debut novel that unpeels the layers of politics in a marriage from the inside. Ayobami Adebayo tells the story of Akin, Yejide, and their families – a powerfully affecting tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal – with both savagery and heart. I can’t wait for readers everywhere to read and enjoy this novel as our third selection for Book Club Central.” —Sarah Jessica Parker
Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House (view website)
Exit West
by Mohsin Hamid
Selected October 2017
“Mohsin Hamid's Exit West gives a deeply real, beautiful, intricate, and electrifying look at what it means to be an immigrant right now. This tale of two people forced from their homeland and searching for a home elsewhere is transporting and illuminating. I was swept away by this gorgeous, otherworldly novel and I'm so excited to offer it as our second selection for Book Club Central, as I'm convinced every reader will feel the same.” —Sarah Jessica Parker
Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House (visit website)
No One Is Coming to Save Us
by Stephanie Powell Watts
Selected June 2017
No One Is Coming to Save Us is a revelatory debut from an insightful voice: with echoes of The Great Gatsby it is an arresting and powerful novel about an extended African American family and their colliding visions of the American Dream. In evocative prose, Stephanie Powell Watts has crafted a full and stunning portrait that combines a universally resonant story with an intimate glimpse into the hearts of one family.
Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins (view website)