The Bookshelf
our backlist
2026
January - Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney (271)
Bonus book - Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price (270)
2025
December - No Holly for Miss Quinn by Miss Read (269) (Christmas Party)
November - Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder (268)
Bonus book - A Long Shadow by Charles Todd (267)
Retreat Books - Lady Susan by Jane Austen (266) and
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (265)
October - Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (264)
Bonus book - A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd (263)
September - Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey (262) (Dinner Party)
August - Celine by Peter Heller (261)
Bonus book - A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd (260)
July - The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (259)
Bonus book - Watchers of Time by Charles Todd (258)
June - The Lido by Libby Page (aka Mornings with Rosemary) (257) (Picnic)
May - Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan (256)
Bonus book - Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd (255)
April - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (254)
Bonus book - Search the Dark by Charles Todd (253)
March - Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley (252) (Tea Party)
February - Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (251)
Bonus book - Wings of Fire by Charles Todd (250)
January The Address Book by Deirdre Mask (249)
Bonus book - A Test of Wills by Charles Todd (248)
2024
December - Mythos by Stephan Fry (247) (Christmas Party)
*November - Whisper on the Night Wind by Adam Shoalts (246)
Bonus book - Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (245)
October -The Tempest by William Shakespeare (244)
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart (243)
Bonus book - Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher (242)
September - Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter (241) (Dinner Party)
August - Ben Hur by Lew Wallace (240)
Bonus book - Deadly Education (239)
July - The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (238)
Bonus book - Storm Front by Jim Butcher (237)
June - Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (236) (Picnic)
May - Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare (235)
Bonus book - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (234)
*April - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (233)
Bonus book - Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb (232)
March - Magpie Murders by Anthony Horawitz (tea party) (231)
*February - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (230)
Bonus book - Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede (229)
*January - Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs (228)
Bonus book - The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (227)
2023
December - Greenglass House by Kate Milford (226) (Christmas Party)
*November - The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson (225)
October - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (224)
Bonus book - House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (223)
September- All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith (222) (Dinner Party)
*August - Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (221)
Bonus book - The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (220)
*July - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (219)
Bonus book - Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey (218)
*June - Lovely War by Julie Berry (217) (Picnic)
May -Moloka’i by Alan Brennert (216)
Bonus book - A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (215)
April - Phantastes by George MacDonald (214)
Bonus book - Finding Nouf by Zoe Farraris (213)
*March - Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry (212) (Tea Party)
*February -Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard (211)
Bonus book - Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham (210)
*January - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (209)
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (208)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (207)
2022
December - 44 Scotland Street by A M Smith (Christmas party) (206)
Bonus book: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (205)
November - Island of the Lost by Joan Druett (204)
October - 8 Tales of Terror by Edgar Allan Poe (bonfire) (203)
September - The Madness Of Crowds by Penny (dinner party) (202)
*August - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (201)
Bonus book: All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (200)
July - Longitude by Dava Sobel (199)
Bonus book: A Better Man by Louise Penny (198)
June - Silas Marner by George Elliot (197)
Bonus book: Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (196) (Picnic)
May - Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar (195)
Bonus book: Glass Houses by Louise Penny (194)
*April - The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (tea party) (193)
March - Oedius Rex by Sophocles (192)
Oedius at Colonus by Sophocles (191)
Antigone by Sophocles (190) (Tea Party)
Bonus book: The Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (189)
*February - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (188)
Bonus book: The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (187)
January - An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis (186)
bonus book: The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (185)
2021
December 2021: The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson (184)
*The Falcon Thief by Joshua Hammer (183) (Christmas Party)
*November 2021: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (182)
bonus book: How the Light Gets in by Lousie Penny (181)
October 2021: True Grit by Charles Portis (180)
bonus book: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (179)
Sept 2021: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber (178) (Dinner Party)
*August 2021: The Lost Man by Jane Harper (177)
bonus book: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (176)
*July 2021: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (175)
bonus book: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (174)
*June 2021: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (173)
bonus book: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (172)
May 2021: The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi (171)
bonus book: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (170)
*April 2021:
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry (169)
March 2021
: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (168)
bonus book: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (167) (Tea Party)
February 2021
: Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (166)
bonus book:
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (165)
*January 2021: Still Life by Louise Penny (164)
2020
December 2020: Mother Tongue by Christine Gilbert (163) (Christmas Party)
*November 2020: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (162)
October 2020: What the Wind Knows by A Harmon (Ireland) (161)
September 2020: Circe by Madeline Miller (Greece) (160) (Dinner Party)
August 2020: Elephant Company by V C Croke (Burma) (159)
July 2020: Radio Shangra La by Lisa Napoli (Bhutan) (158)
June 2020: Pavilion of Woman by Pearl S Buck (China) (157)
*May 2020: Endurance by Scott Kelly (space) (156)
April 2020: The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill (Laos) (155)
March 2020: West With The Night by Beryl Markham (Kenya) (154) (Tea Party)
*February 2020: The Black Tulip by A Dumas (Netherlands) (153)
January 2020: Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (Scotland) (152)
2019
December 2019: Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal (Pakistan) (151) (Christmas Party)
November 2019: Dracula by Bram Stoker (Transylvania) (150)
*October 2019: (book flight) Out of the Silent Planet,
Perelandra, and
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (Space) (147, 148,149)
September 2019: My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss (Germany) (146) (Dinner Party)
August 2019: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (Rwanda)(145)
*July 2019: The Underground Girls of Kabul by J Nordberg (Afghanistan)(144)
*June 2019: Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy (Canada)(143)
May 2019: Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton (Cuba) (142)
*April 2019: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (South Africa) (141)
*March 2019: The Clockmakers Daughter by K Morton (England) (140) (Tea Party)
*February 2019: Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy by Sigrid Undset (Norway) (139)
*January 2019: Sky Burial by Xinran (Tibet) (136)
2018
*December 2018: Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall (global) (135)
November 2018: The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall (India) (134)
*October 2018: (book flight)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (France) (133)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (132)
A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead (131)
September 2018: Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr (Italy) (130) (Dinner Party)
*August 2018: Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston (Antarctica) (129)
July 2018: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Marra (Chechnya) (128)
*June 2018: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Brazil) (127)
*May 2018: The Promise by Chaim Potok (USA) (126)
*April 2018: A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri (Iran) (125)
*March 2018: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Australia) (124) (Tea Party)
*February 2018: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Iceland) (123)
January 2018: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (global) (122)
2017
*November 2017: At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider (121)
October 2017: (book flight)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (120)
Charlotte Bronte: a Fiery Heart by Claire Harman (119)
The Mad Woman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell (118)
September 2017: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (117) (Dinner Party)
*August 2017: Lost in Shangri-la by Mitchell Zuckoff (116)
July 2017: A Midsummer Nights Dream by Shakespeare (115)
*June 2017: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (114)
*May 2017: My Antonia by Willa Cather (113)
*April 2017: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (112)
March 2017: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (111)
*February 2017: The Year Of Living Danishly by Helen Russell (110)
*January 2017: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (109)
2016
December 2016: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (108)
November 2016: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (107)
October 2016: (book flight) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (100-106)
September 2016: My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme (99) (Dinner Party)
August 2016: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (98)
July 2016: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (97)
June 2016: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (96)
May 2016: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (95)
*April 2016: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (94)
*March 2016: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (93)
*February 2016: Boys in the Boat by Daniel James (92)
*January 2016: The Lake House by Kate Morton (91)
2015
December 2015: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (90)
*November 2015: The Martian by Andy Weir (89)
October 2015: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (88)
September 2015: (Book Flight)
The Great Bridge by David McCullough (87)
*Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (86)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (85)
August 2015: The Princess Bride by William Goldman (84)
July 2015: Possession by A. S. Byatt (83)
June 2015: Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (82)
May 2015: Heidi by Johanna Spyri (81)
April 2015: Friday The Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman (80)
*March 2015: The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway (79)
February 2015: A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving (78)
*January 2015: Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (77)
2014
December 2014: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (76)
*November 2014: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (75)
October 2014: (Book Flight)
Eiffel’s Tower by Jill Jonnes (74)
The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Flinn (73)
and choose one:
Hunchback of Notre Dame,
World at Night,
Missing Italian Girl,
or Paris Wife (72)
September 2014: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (71)
*August 2014: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith (70)
July 2014: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (69)
*June 2014: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Earle Stegner (68)
May 2014: The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (67)
April 2014: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (66)
March 2014: The War of Art & Do the Work by Steven Pressfield (64 & 65)
February 2014: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (63)
*January 2014: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (62)
2013
December 2013: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (61)
November 2013: It’s Not About the Tapas by Polly Evans (60)
October 2013: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (59)
*September 2013: Bread & Wine by Shanna Niquest (58)
August 2013: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (57)
July 2013: Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss (56)
*June 2013: A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (55)
May 2013: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (54)
*April 2013: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (53)
March 2013: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (52)
*February 2013: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (51)
January 2013: The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (50)
2012
December 2012: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (49)
November 2012: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (48)
October 2012: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Smith (47)
September 2012: Ivanhoe by Walter Scott (46)
*August 2012: A Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (45)
July 2012: Nature by Emerson (44)
Walking by Thoreau (43)
*June 2012: Les Mis by Victor Hugo (42)
May 2012: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle (41)
*April 2012: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (40)
*March 2012: Emma by Jane Austen (39)
February 2012: Happy To Be Here by Garrison Keillor (38)
*January 2012: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (37)
2011
December 2011: A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle (36)
*November 2011: Velma Still Cooks In Leeway by Vinita Hampton Wright (35)
*October 2011: Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (34)
September 2011: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (33)
August 2011: A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel (32)
*July 2011: Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (31)
May 2011: Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (30)
April 2011: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (29)
*March 2011: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (28)
*February 2011: The Chosen by Chiam Potok (27)
*January 2011: The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (26)
2010
December 2010: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (25)
*November 2010: The Basket of Flowers by Christoph von Schmid (24)
*October 2010: Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (23)
*September 2010: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (22)
*August 2010: Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton (21)
*July 2010: Shane by Jack Schaefer (20)
June 2010: The Sunny Side by A.A. Milne (19)
May 2010: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (18)
April 2010: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (17)
March 2010: Muslims Christians & Jesus by Carl Medearis (16)
Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims by Christine Mallouhi (15)
*February 2010: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (14)
2009
December 2009: The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse (13)
*November 2009: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (12)
*October 2009: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (11)
*August 2009: My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (10)
June 2009: Susanna Wesley by Arnold A. Dallimore (9)
May 2009: The Shack by William P. Young (8)
*April 2009: Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (7)
*February 2009: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (6)
2008
*December 2008: The Rest of God by Mark Buckanan (5)
*November 2008: Persuasion by Jane Austen (4)
September 2008: Monday the Rabbi Took Off by Harry Kemelman (3)
July 2008: Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis (2)
May 2008: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver (1)
* These turned out to be great books for discussion for our group.