My book club recommends these top ten selections. In the past twenty-five years, we have read hundreds of books, but it wasn’t until about five years ago that we started rating them on a scale of one to ten. The following books were ranked highly by everyone.

What we look for in a book is interest and enjoyment, plus the content to spark a good discussion. Learning something new about the world is a bonus.

How do we choose our books? We consult lists of bestsellers and awards, read reviews, and take recommendations from friends. According to a recent survey, almost half of all books read in Canada are chosen because of a suggestion from a friend. (And this is why I beg you to recommend my novels to your friends if you haven’t already done so).

1. My Book Club Recommends: Rebecca

An oldie but a goodie, this classic 1938 novel has been made into a movie again. A young woman marries a wealthy widower before discovering that both he and his creepy housekeeper are haunted by the memory of his late first wife. As always, I urge you to read the book first!

Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier, book cover still from movie of woman standing on rock overlooking ocean, moody red and green swirl of colours.

2. My Book Club Recommends: A Spool of Blue Thread

From a much-loved Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this novel spans several generations of the same family, their quirky and eccentric members seen through the eyes of their mother and grandmother.

A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler, book cover illustration of young couple speeding down the road in an open vintage blue convertible.

3. My Book Club Recommends: Ordinary Grace

The summer of 1961 should have been another ordinary summer for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum, but then tragedy strikes. Told from Frank’s perspective forty years later, this is a poignant coming-of-age story with an element of mystery.

Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger, book cover illustration shows arched railway bridge against a moody yellow and green sky.

4. My Book Club Recommends: The Nightingale

This Second World War historical novel tells the story of how two French sisters, one of whom is a rebellious teenager, take very different paths to survive life in their German-occupied homeland.

The Nightingale, by Kristin Hanna, book cover illustration of yellow nightingale in a rose bush superimposed against a dark blue sky with a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower.

5. My Book Club Recommends: Stones From the River

Another novel set during the Second World War, this one describes how an anti-Nazi German father and daughter hide Jews in their basement. What makes the story even more extraordinary is that the daughter is a Little Person.

6. My Book Club Recommends: Remarkable Creatures

In 1810, a young woman named Mary Anning has an aptitude for collecting ancient marine fossils on the beaches of southern England. In the face of male criticism, she finds a kindred spirit in another woman, a prickly middle-aged spinster who shares her passion for fossils.

Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier, book cover illustration of a red wooden chest filled with brown and golden ammonites.

7. My Book Club Recommends: The Light Between Oceans

Australia, 1926: A childless lighthouse keeper and his wife stationed on a tiny isolated island receive an unexpected gift when a boat washes ashore, bearing a healthy baby girl. How they handle the situation causes all kinds of complications.

The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman, book cover illustration shows photograph of sad-faced man and woman with their foreheads pressed together.

8. My Book Club Recommends: Moon of the Crusted Snow

We found lots to talk about after reading this futuristic novel: how Indigenous bands live today, how social customs break down in a time of crisis, and whether any of us could survive life in a world without technology.

Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice, book cover illustration of snowy fields and a red station wagon stuck in the ditch.

9. My Book Club Recommends: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

A retired gentleman suddenly decides to walk six hundred miles from one English town to another. Each character whom he meets along the way unlocks past memories and leads him to reconcile his losses and regrets.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce, book cover illustration has plain yellow background with a pair of tattered shoes, and a crow.

10. My Book Club Recommends: They Left Us Everything

One of my personal favourites, this non-fiction memoir describes how the author spent an entire year cleaning out her family home in Ontario after her mother dies. It’s an experience that almost everyone has faced, or will face. They Left Us Everything, by Plum Johnson, book cover illustration of four vintage women's one-piece bathing suits hanging on a clothesline.

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In My Mailbox

Not everyone uses email, folks! About once a month I receive cards and lovely handwritten letters like this one from a reader in Medicine Hat, Alberta. I won’t share her name, but here’s the first of a two-page letter. I have a special binder where I keep printouts of all my emails, PLUS beautiful cards and letters like this one. That’s why I have my physical mailing address on my website, and you can find it here: Elinor’s Address.

Handwritten letter to author Elinor Florence, blue ink on white notepaper, beginning with the words "Dear Elinor."

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Friends, please feel free to forward or share this list with your own reading buddies.

I will leave you with this quote from author George R. R. Martin (whose novels later became the series Game of Thrones): “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Affectionately, Elinor

Bestselling Historical Fiction Author

My Book Club Recommends