The Official Book Club Guide The Binding

An essential tool for all reading groups – a detailed guide to exciting debut novel, The Binding!

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE Proclaimed as “truly spellbinding,” a “great fable” that “functions as transporting romance” by the Guardian, the runaway #1 international bestseller "A rich, gothic entertainment that explores what books have trapped inside them and reminds us of the power of storytelling. Spellbinding.” — TRACY CHEVALIER Imagine you could erase grief. Imagine you could remove pain. Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret. Forever. Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder—a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice amongst their small community, but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse. For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman’s watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there’s something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored. But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends—and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten. An unforgettable novel of enchantment, mystery, memory, and forbidden love, The Binding is a beautiful homage to the allure and life-changing power of books—and a reminder to us all that knowledge can be its own kind of magic.

“An intensely readable novel of the complexity of family ties . . . Dot Jackson is a true Southern voice, a master storyteller and an Appalachian treasure” (Dori Sanders, author of Clover and Her Own Place). Early one morning in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele spontaneously packs a suitcase, gathers up her son and daughter, and drives away in her abusive and dissolute husband’s brand-new Auburn Phaeton automobile leaving her privileged life in Charleston behind. It is the beginning of a journey of enlightenment that leads Mary “Sen” to the mountains and mysteries of Appalachia where she will learn unexpected family secrets, create a new life for herself and her children, and finally experience love and happiness before tragedy will once again test her. Written by Pulitzer Prize–nominated author, Dot Jackson has spun a story that will captivate readers looking for an entertaining saga of self-discovery, family, love, loss, and redemption. “Refuge is a wonderful story about the need to find one’s place in the world—and the price paid to remain there. With her narrative gift and keen ear for Appalachian speech, Dot Jackson gives her readers a beautifully rendered portrait of a lost time and place.” —Ron Rash, author of Serena and The Cove

A dead body, a large inheritance from an ex-boyfriend, a scam netting three-quarters of a million dollars, and a love attraction throw Suzie Tuft’s serene writing life into chaos. Textbook writer, Suzie Tuft, discovers a body near her rural home and learns he was an attorney from the estate of her deceased ex-boyfriend, who bequeathed her a small fortune. Suzie’s life is thrown into chaos when she is threatened by the ex’s crazy live-in girlfriend and his unsavory friends looking to recover nearly a million dollars from a con they executed him. Fortunately, Suzie has her book club friends to help her unravel the mystery, all while falling in love with the handsome detective investigating the murder. A Book Club’s Guide to Murder & Mayhem is the first book in A Suzie Tuft Mystery series in which a textbook writer recruits her book club friends to help find the killer of the victim she found near her rural home.

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK “Chandler Baker, queen of the feminist thriller, has delivered once again! The Husbands is a poignant exploration of what it would take for women to have it all." —Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Good Sister To what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband? Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too... but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder? When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women—a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author—with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread. But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network Chandler Baker's The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared—and what it may take to get there. “Utterly engrossing and thoroughly timely, The Husbands is both a gripping, well-crafted mystery and an insightful critique of motherhood and marriage in the modern age--working mothers everywhere will feel seen in the best possible way.” —Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Marriage

The handmade books presented here are meant to spark outings and offer creative ways for you to explore your personal style and interests: Make treasure hunts even more special with a personalized Treasure Hunt Collection Bag and Notebook. Take notes at the beach with a Waterproof Book made with Tyvek pages. Make a canvas-covered Camping Songbook to take with you to the campsite. In this collection of twenty Japanese bookbinding projects, traditional techniques meet contemporary style, from easy-to-fold accordion books to the intricate Japanese stab-stitch bindings. Book artist Erin Zamrzla makes bookbinding easy and unintimidating. Her clear step-by-step instructions make even the more complicated stitches easy to re-create. Information on the basics of bookbinding—including terminology, tools, and techniques—is included, and many projects encourage the creative use of ordinary and recycled materials. The projects are: Everyday Outings • Grocery List Pad • Lunch Box Notes • Necklace Book • Cross-Stitch Cover • Write Your Own Story Journal Outdoor Play • Treasure Hunt Collection Bag and Notebook • Little League Score Book • Waterproof Book • Bicycle Book • Texture Collector Nature Excursions • Observation Journal • Leaf and Flower Press • Fishing Log • Stargazing Log • Camping Songbook Road Trips • Tiny Tickets Memorabilia Book • Photo Notes • Notes from the Road Postcard Book • Fold-Out Map Booklet • Things to Check Out