For an elegant affair involving Shakespeare…

Vinegar Girl: The Taming of the Shrew Retold by Anne Tyler

In this offbeat comedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Tyler reimagines The Taming of the Shrew for today. Kate Battista’s eccentric scientist father has cooked up an outrageous plan to prevent his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, from being deported – but it relies on his forthright and strong-willed daughter being, well, less forthright and strong-willed than usual. Our reviewer promises that this modern update of one of Shakespeare’s most troublesome plays is ‘enormously good fun’.

For drinks down at the pub…

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Jake and his girlfriend are on a drive to visit his parents at their remote farm. From the very beginning, his girlfriend is having doubts about their relationship, and then, after dinner, things begin to get worryingly strange. A series of tiny clues sprinkled through the relentlessly paced narrative culminate in a haunting twist on the final page – one that will have your whole book club talking.

For a meeting that will raise more questions than answers…

Negroland by Margo Jefferson

The daughter of a successful paediatrician and a fashionable socialite, Margo Jefferson spent her childhood among Chicago’s black elite. She calls this society Negroland: ‘a small region of Negro America where residents were sheltered by a certain amount of privilege and plenty’. With privilege came expectation, and in this memoir, Jefferson charts the twists and turns of a life informed by psychological and moral contradictions.

For book clubs who like to read prize winners…

Sergio Y. by Alexandre Vidal Porto (translated by Alex Ladd)

This novel from Alexandre Vidal Porto was first published in Brazil as Sergio Y. Vai à America (Sergio Y. Goes to America), and was named the winner of the Paraná Literary Prize. Now available in English, our reviewer declares it ’a must-read’. The story reads like a detective tale (a therapist investigates the unexpected death of a former patient), and explores gender, identity and migration (prior to the death, the former patient, Sergio, had moved from São Paulo to New York and was living as a woman, Sandra).

For a dinner party with a classical music soundtrack…

Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison

Zoë Morrison’s debut novel is a powerful depiction of the transformative power of music, and the devastating impact of domestic violence. When Alice Murray’s mother recognises her young daughter’s talent for music, she sends her away from their home in rural Australia to a boarding school in England. As Alice develops her craft into early adulthood, she meets the charming Edward, who becomes her husband and, chillingly, her keeper as well. Only in her later years is Alice able to regain control of her life and through music.

For book clubs who long to be transported back in time…

The Muse by Jessie Burton

Jessie Burton follows up her breakout debut novel of 2014, The Miniaturist, with yet another bold and gripping historical fiction. The Muse is the story two young women – Odelle Bastien in London 1967, and Olive Schloss in Spain 1936 – and the mysterious painting that ties their lives together. (If your book club particularly loves reads set in the world of art, you can find more suggestions here.)

For a politically charged discussion…

Notes on an Exodus by Richard Flanagan

In January of this year, Man Booker Prize-winning author Richard Flanagan and Archibald Prize-winning artist Ben Quilty travelled to Lebanon, Greece, and Serbia to follow the river that is the exodus of our age – that of refugees from Syria. In this short and powerful work, Flanagan’s ‘notes’ and Quilty’s sketches bear witness to the remarkable people they met on this journey.

For a feast with lots of people and opinions…

Ruins by Rajith Savanadasa

In the bustling streets, overcrowded hospitals and glittering nightclubs of Colombo, five family members find their bonds stretched to breaking point in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war. As the five leave Colombo to travel to an ancient city, the generations collide and long-held prejudices are revealed. Our reviewer describes Savanadasa’s debut as ‘a sweeping family saga that looks at class, wealth, gender, intergenerational conflict, cultural conflict, politics’ – so you will have much to discuss.