For those of you who are part of a book club or thinking of starting one, a very good place to get book picks is to look at the book club selections on a publisher’s websites. They usually have special interviews and offer a discussion guide.  

This morning, Algonquin books club caught my attention.

Algonquin, located in Chapel Hill, NC, is an independent publisher of literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. It is a division of Workman Publishing, Inc.

They have 25 titles in their 2012 book club selection, ”whose power to provoke discussion makes them ideal choices for book clubs.”

Throughout the year, they highlight four of the titles to be part of a dynamic literary event which will include a webcast of a conversation between the author of the book and another notable writer.

This month’s book event is “Silver Sparrow” by Tayari Jones. Here is the book description from her website:

With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, “My father, James Witherspoon is a bigamist,” Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and the teenage girls caught in the middle.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s families– the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered. As Jones explores the backstories of her rich and flawed characters, she also reveals the joy, and the destruction, they brought to each other’s lives.

At the heart of it all are the two girls whose lives are at stake, and like the best writers, Jones portrays the fragility of her characters with raw authenticity as they seek love, demand attention, and try to imagine themselves as women.”

There will be a live webcast on June 19, 2012 at 7:00 pm where author Judy Blume will interview Tayari Jones about “Silver Sparrow.” You can go back and read previous book club events, including one with Stephen King and Lauren Grodstein, here.

One cool feature, if you are a member of a book club and are reading one of Algonquin’s books, you can submit a request for one of their authors to call in or Skype with your book club.

And one last Alognquin tidbit, they have 7 e-books on sale during the month of June for $1.99 each. Click here for their Lucky 7 Cool Summer Reads.