Read With Us: It's a New Book!

And it's a good one!

We're thrilled to announce the Read With Us summer selection: John of John by Douglas Stuart.

Sometimes our Read With Us books become favorites. Sometimes they challenge me. Sometimes they leave me thinking for days after I've finished the last page. I'm hoping our next selection will do exactly that for you, too.

If Stuart's name sounds familiar, it's because he won the Booker Prize for Shuggie Bain and followed it with Young Mungo, both of which we've read. His novels are known for unforgettable characters, beautiful writing, and enormous compassion for people who are often overlooked.

At its heart, John of John asks questions about family, identity, love, and the complicated ways we inherit both strengths and wounds from the people who came before us. Stuart has a remarkable ability to write characters who feel completely real, flawed, vulnerable, funny, and resilient all at once. Even when difficult things happen, there's a generosity in his writing that keeps me turning the pages. 

At first glance, this may not seem like the kind of book that announces itself with a big, dramatic premise. Instead, it invites us into the lives of some ordinary men and asks us to pay close attention, to memory, family, identity, faith, the stories we inherit about ourselves, and what it means to become your own person.  

Whether this book becomes a new favorite or simply gives you something interesting to think about, I hope you'll bring your thoughts to our Zoom discussion. I'm always curious to hear what everyone thinks, because you almost always see things in different and interesting ways.

The hardcover and audiobook versions have a manageable hold queue at my libraries, so I hope that is also the case for you. I started listening to the audiobook, narrated by Lorne Macfadyen in a wonderful (but still understandable brogue) but decided that I also needed to read it with my eyes, so I bought the Kindle version for $14.99.  

Kym, Carole, and I will be talking about the book, giving additional information, and doing promotional posts throughout July. Discussion day for John of John is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 7:00 pm Eastern time, so mark your calendars. We'll ask questions on our blogs that day and then host the always educational and illuminating Zoom discussion. I think this is my favorite Douglas Stuart novel so far, and one that is also very discussable, so I hope you'll Read With Us!