The world is a vast place, filled with opportunities for adventure, connection, and fresh experiences. Now if only we could do it whenever we wanted! But alas, life and all its responsibilities often get in the way. If you’re experiencing a bit of wanderlust, we’ve got a more convenient solution for you: bring your yonder yearnings to book club! Take your pick from the below pairings to match the kind of adventure you’re craving and make a meeting out of it — no checked bags or cramped legroom necessary.
Trips that Change You
My Year Abroad
by Chang-Rae Lee
“The trip of a lifetime” is a phrase we hear thrown around with relative abandon. As much as we absolutely adore a fantastic journey abroad, how often are these trips so mind-blowing that they are, actually, life changing? In My Year Abroad, Chang-Rae Lee’s epic tale of a young man brought along from America to Asia under the wing of an eccentric Chinese-American entrepreneur, we’re granted a first-class seat on exactly that kind of experience. Your book club will appreciate all the deeper questions of class, stereotypes, globalism, relationships — all set against a richly satirical backdrop.
For your book club meeting, serve up a platter of these finger-friendly egg rolls. They’re just the thing from the gastronomical intersection of China and America to keep your book friends fed while you tear through all your feels to do with the novel. What to pour? This absolutely exciting — and yet still so elegant — gin and green tea sour.
Trips that Bond You
The Jetsetters
by Amanda Eyre Ward
Family vacations can run the gamut from absolutely fabulous to absolutely fraught — and occasionally quite funny. Amanda Eyre Ward’s tale of a mother who wins a trip for herself and her three adult children aboard the cruise ship Splendido Marveloso cleverly covers all three possible outcomes, and then some. Sea-surrounded setting aside, her offspring alone provides entertainment to rival even the most ambitious at-sea dinner show spectacles, as their ship sales from European port to European port.
For your book club menu, might we suggest a cruise ship classic with this bite-size approach to chicken cordon bleu? After all, when at sea! And while we’re at it, we’re going to bypass the buffet’s bloody mary bar and instead recommend you pour a slightly salty and savory white wine, like this Assyrtiko from Kir-Yianni. It’s perfectly fresh — and perfectly primed for sipping as you sit outside, under the stars (surrounding saltwater optional).
Trips that Soothe Your Soul
One Italian Summer
by Rebecca Serle
You know those trips that call to you at those moments in your life where you need something to center you, something to offer you comfort in the form of independent adventure? That’s just the type of trip taken by Katy in the tender and imaginative novel One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. This trip is a bit more complex, though, as Katy had originally planned to take it with her mom — and best friend — Carol. Following Carol’s unexpected death, Katy is left rudderless and reeling. She takes a deep breath and embarks on the trip to Positano. Once there, she finds more than salt air and a stunning vista; she finds her mother, seemingly alive and decades younger.
This novel will bring your book club some lofty highs, some deep-felt lows, and all the feels in between. It will also bring you all some of the richest coastal Italian atmosphere you could possibly hope for. Lean in by whipping up a decadent and yet simple pasta al limone. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, saute some shrimp alongside it. And while an Aperol Spritz would absolutely be appropriate here, we instead recommend you pour your book-loving friends a glass of this Suavia Soave Classico. It’ll be the thing that rounds out the full immersive experience.
Trips that Thrill You
The Talented Mr. Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith
We’re sticking to Italy for book clubs that love a good thriller. Head back to the Amalfi coast, but this time do it with a cast of elite twenty-somethings and the young man who attempts to gain entry into their tightly held world in Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 classic, The Talented Mr. Ripley. Whether you’ve seen the film or not, the novel offers the most subtle as well as the most astounding twists and turns, sure to keep your group hanging on like mad to every page. First in Italy and later in France, this novel will provide a fabulous tour of the Mediterranean coast in all its mid-century glamour.
For a fancier-than-usual dinner with the book club, we’re taking a cue from a meal had by Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf, courtesy of Dickie’s girlfriend, Marge, with braised chicken thighs and artichokes. And while gin martinis soak many of the scenes throughout the book, here too we’ll switch to wine. Try this fruit-forward Fleur de Mer Rosé from Provence. It’s exactly the thing we’d expect Tom to come to appreciate by novel’s end.
Trips that Ground You
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
We don’t read a ton of young adult fiction, but when we do, we want it to be exactly like Dear Haiti, Love Alaine, by sisters Maika and Maritza Moulite. Meet ambitious college senior Alaine, as she embarks on a trip to her family’s homeland: Haiti. She arranges to stay with her aunt, taking a job at her aunt’s nonprofit, as she seeks to understand her own roots. What follows is a gorgeously done epistolary-esque report on what she did and what she learned. This book is a prime pick for book club thanks to its sophisticated and absolutely delightful approach to a Caribbean-set coming-of-age tale.
For this book club pick, you’ll want to — of course — whip up a little something Haitian, like the classic Soup Joumou, courtesy of Nadege Fleurimond via Food & Wine. Try this Baron Edmond de Rothschild Aguaribay Malbec for its bold and fruit forward approach. It will stand up well to the flavors of the soup, without overpowering it even a bit. Once you open it, toast to another excellent work of young adult fiction to add to the canon of coming-of-age gems.