The 11 page-turners L.A. book club members can't stop talking about

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Set us as preferred Nearly every week, I pass a colleague in the office who taunts me with four words: “Count of Monte Cristo, Count of Monte Cristo,” as he shakes his head.He’s disappointed his favorite book didn’t make the cut of our 101 best book club picks list, which served as the 2026 LA Times Festival of Books curtain-raiser.

I don’t mind the barb.There’s nothing more exciting than an impassioned reader — even when they’re wrong.

I’m all for rallying around a book or author and debating their merits like it’s a sporting match.Our book lists, after all, aren’t meant to be final verdicts.

They’re invitations to read more (and, maybe, better).Reading ListIf you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.To compile our expansive list we surveyed more than 200 bookish luminaries — along with a few zealous book club members.Our readers had their own ideas for their top book club picks, many of which we deeply considered.

Here you’ll find some of our worthy Los Angeles Times reader selections.“Fahrenheit 451” by Raymond Bradbury“A favorite book my book group read and discussed is ‘Farenheit 451.’ It was fascinating to see what the past thought the future might bring,” reader Margaret Hardy writes of the 20th century classic.“In terms of technology and control by the government we are seeing today what Bradbury was thinking about in 1953.

We felt that the future was found in the past.It was a chilling read.” Equally chilling is that the book often shows up on banned books lists — not unlike in its narrative.

Books From romance and memoirs to mystery and fantasy, here are the 101 best book club picks, according to a survey of more than 200 authors, publishers, journalists and book club fans.“Homego...