Book Of The Month Club Announces November 2015 Selections

The Book of the Month Club released its November 2015 selections, which include a collection of snarky short stories; a “wacky” memoir; stories of shaming in the internet age; a modern fantasy and some witch history.

Each title was picked by one of the group’s four regular expert judges and this month’s guest judge, Time Magazine’s Joel Stein.

Here are the November selections, with an excerpt from each judge’s review.

“Barbara the Slut and Other People” by Lauren Holmes

“What’s especially fresh is Holmes’ ability to take the vernacular of youth and pop culture and use it to underscore what a slog life can be, and then make the reader laugh at the absurdity of it all, which is why somehow we come away feeling hopeful and alive.”

- Leigh Harbor, books editor, Oprah Magazine

“Home is Burning: A Memoir” by Dan Marshall

“From one of life’s cruelest inevitabilities—losing a parent—Dan Marshall has fashioned a remarkable memoir. This wacky, profane family will open your eyes, make you laugh and cry, and win your heart.”

- Kim Hubbard, books editor, People Magazine

“So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” by Jon Ronson

“Ronson visits with lots of people whose lives were ruined when they became social media’s Villain Of The Week, including Justine Sacco, the publicist I’ve felt a lingering guilt about ever since I was too afraid to write a column defending the harmless AIDS joke she tweeted that ended her career and, I learned, her dating life.”

- Joel Stein, columnist, Time Magazine

“The Watchmaker of Filigree Street” by Natasha Pulley

“Magical mechanical inventions—like an octopus who steals socks, tiny golden birds that spray the sky with fireworks, and vines that turn dead trees into living things—help to weave magic and fantasy through a through a story that’s set in a real place at a real time.”

- Nina Sankovitch, author

“The Witches Salem, 1692” by Stacey Schiff

“Like me, you will have to throw out much of what you thought you knew about the notorious witch trials. According to Schiff there is more misinformation about this American tragedy than actual facts.”

- Patrik Henry Bass, editorial projects director, Essence Magazine

Currently, the four judges plus a guest judge each select one book, released on the first of each month, one of which is included in a user’s membership.

The books ship by the sixth, and readers can go online to talk about them with other users in discussion forums.

• For more information and to become a member, check out Book of the Month here

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