It’s always an exciting day when Bonny and Carole and I announce the next Read With Us title . . . and today’s the day!

Our next Read With Us selection is  . . .
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Over the years, Read With Us has evolved into a current-contemporary-fiction kind of book group. We usually choose to read prize-nominated books; those current, kinda “buzzy” books that our blog readers tend to want to read. And we plan to continue in that direction in the future.

But last year, we thought it might be fun to, once a year, select a more “classic” contemporary fiction book to read . . . prize winners from the recent past that maybe you read and wouldn’t mind reading again — or that you missed reading the first time around. We launched this idea last winter when we selected Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News. It was a popular choice with our readers, so we’ve decided to choose another “contemporary classic” for this winter’s read.

The Poisonwood Bible was first published in 1998 to great acclaim. Nominated and short-listed for several presigious awards – including the Pulitzer, the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize), and the PEN/Faulkner, the Poisonwood Bible was selected as an Oprah Book in 1999. It’s a great book group kind of book — there’s so much to discuss. It’s also a book that stands up well to re-reading — so if you read it years ago, you’ll probably not mind reading it again. And . . . if you haven’t read it, well. Here’s your chance!

Back in 1998, the Los Angeles Times Book Review had this to say about The Poisonwood Bible . . .

“A powerful new epic . . . [Author Barbara Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty.”

We’ll be talking more about the book and providing additional background information over the next month. Then . . . mark your calendars for our blog book discussions/Zoom discussion on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 (7:00 pm Eastern time).

Please be sure to visit the newly-updated Read With Us resource page for more information about the book and our discussion.

We hope you’ll be excited to go back in time . . . and read The Poisonwood Bible with us.

C’mon along!
Read With Us this winter!