'Olive Kitteridge' by Elizabeth Strout is a novel similar to The Nod Book CLub's March 2026 pick, The Correspondent

'Olive Kitteridge' by Elizabeth Strout

About: Olive Kitteridge might be described by some as a battle axe or as brilliantly pushy, by others as the kindest person they had ever met. Olive herself has always been certain that she is 100% correct about everything - although, lately, her certitude has been shaken. This indomitable character appears at the centre of these narratives that comprise Olive Kitteridge. In each of them, we watch Olive, a retired schoolteacher, as she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life and the lives of those around her - always with brutal honesty, if sometimes painfully. Olive will make you laugh, nod in recognition, as well as wince in pain or shed a tear or two. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and her own son, tyrannised by Olive's overbearing sensitivities. The reader comes away, amazed by this author's ability to conjure this formidable heroine and her deep humanity that infiltrates every page.

Similar_Reads_1_3_3fc11f8486-fhdmgxvqiwpsycr-16x9.jpg

Similar_Reads_1_3_3fc11f8486-fhdmgxvqiwpsycr-1x1.jpg

Similar_Reads_1_3_3fc11f8486-fhdmgxvqiwpsycr-3x2.jpg

Similar_Reads_1_3_3fc11f8486-fhdmgxvqiwpsycr-3x4.jpg

Similar_Reads_1_3_3fc11f8486-fhdmgxvqiwpsycr-4x3.jpg

medium_Similar Reads 1 3.jpg

small_Similar Reads 1 3.jpg

thumbnail_Similar Reads 1 3.jpg

Olive Kitteridge Reads 1 3.jpg

About: Every day Iona, a larger-than-life magazine advice columnist, travels the ten stops from Hampton Court to Waterloo Station by train, accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Every day she sees the same people, whom she knows only by nickname: Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm and Terribly-Lonely-Teenager. Of course, they never speak. Seasoned commuters never do.Then one morning, the man she calls Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader chokes on a grape right in front of her. He’d have died were it not for the timely intervention of Sanjay, a nurse, who gives him the Heimlich maneuver.This single event starts a chain reaction, and an eclectic group of people with almost nothing in common except their commute discover that a chance encounter can blossom into much more. It turns out that talking to strangers can teach you about the world around you--and even more about yourself.

Similar_Reads_2_3_11b45670bb-xkxmsavclkbavow-16x9.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_3_11b45670bb-xkxmsavclkbavow-1x1.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_3_11b45670bb-xkxmsavclkbavow-3x2.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_3_11b45670bb-xkxmsavclkbavow-3x4.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_3_11b45670bb-xkxmsavclkbavow-4x3.jpg

medium_Similar Reads 2 3.jpg

small_Similar Reads 2 3.jpg

thumbnail_Similar Reads 2 3.jpg

'Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting' by Clare Pooley

‘The Correspondent’ is Virginia Evans’s first novel—and also her eighth

About: Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.&nbsp;Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Frame_33_5_4bf6fee901-xxollysneqfnyek-16x9.jpg

Frame_33_5_4bf6fee901-xxollysneqfnyek-1x1.jpg

Frame_33_5_4bf6fee901-xxollysneqfnyek-3x2.jpg

Frame_33_5_4bf6fee901-xxollysneqfnyek-3x4.jpg

Frame_33_5_4bf6fee901-xxollysneqfnyek-4x3.jpg

medium_Frame 33 (5).jpg

small_Frame 33 (5).jpg

thumbnail_Frame 33 (5).jpg

The Correspondent Virginia Evans 33 (5).jpg

'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans

About: There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.

Similar_Reads_2_2_f3f525b01e-ggioibxgczrpmck-16x9.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_2_f3f525b01e-ggioibxgczrpmck-1x1.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_2_f3f525b01e-ggioibxgczrpmck-3x2.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_2_f3f525b01e-ggioibxgczrpmck-3x4.jpg

Similar_Reads_2_2_f3f525b01e-ggioibxgczrpmck-4x3.jpg

medium_Similar Reads 2 2.jpg

small_Similar Reads 2 2.jpg

thumbnail_Similar Reads 2 2.jpg

Say You'll Remember Me by abby Jimenez Reads 2 2.jpg

'Say You'll Remember Me' by Abby Jimenez

About: Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents — his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Similar_Reads_3_2_280fe020b1-gcjeodgtbtpxvgk-16x9.jpg

Similar_Reads_3_2_280fe020b1-gcjeodgtbtpxvgk-1x1.jpg

Similar_Reads_3_2_280fe020b1-gcjeodgtbtpxvgk-3x2.jpg

Similar_Reads_3_2_280fe020b1-gcjeodgtbtpxvgk-3x4.jpg

Similar_Reads_3_2_280fe020b1-gcjeodgtbtpxvgk-4x3.jpg

medium_Similar Reads 3 2.jpg

small_Similar Reads 3 2.jpg

thumbnail_Similar Reads 3 2.jpg

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren Reads 3 2.jpg

'The Paradise Problem' by Christina Lauren

Why ‘One Golden Summer’ is the perfect pick this February

About: Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.

Monthly_Releases_5_1_139dc89498-hjrhvjzbybwwcqm-16x9.jpg

Monthly_Releases_5_1_139dc89498-hjrhvjzbybwwcqm-1x1.jpg

Monthly_Releases_5_1_139dc89498-hjrhvjzbybwwcqm-3x2.jpg

Monthly_Releases_5_1_139dc89498-hjrhvjzbybwwcqm-3x4.jpg

Monthly_Releases_5_1_139dc89498-hjrhvjzbybwwcqm-4x3.jpg

medium_Monthly Releases 5 1.jpg

small_Monthly Releases 5 1.jpg

thumbnail_Monthly Releases 5 1.jpg

Monthly Releases 5 1.jpg

'One Golden Summer' by Carley Fortune

A virtual literary hangout where we handpick one unputdownable book every month

The Names

About: In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register the birth of her son. Her husband, Gordon, respected in the community but a controlling presence at home, intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and name the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates....Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of their lives, shaped by Cora's last-minute choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities for autonomy and healing.

'The Names' by Florence Knapp 33.jpg

'The Names' by Florence Knapp

large_Book club FINAL.jpg

medium_Book club FINAL.jpg

small_Book club FINAL.jpg

thumbnail_Book club FINAL.jpg

Book club FINAL.jpg

Join our Instagram channel to discuss the book of the month as we read it. From every-thought-you-had-while-reading to the author's notes, there's a lot going on here. 

Want to be a member of The Nod Book Club?

For book recs that will make you ditch your TBR, sign up for our newsletter.

The Nod Book Club 

YT cut_v2.00_08_45_03.Still001.jpg

Kiran Desai in conversation with Sonam Kapoor for The Nod Book Club

Getting Kiran Desai and Sonam Kapoor in a room to talk about 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny' (and then some) was pure magic. There was laughter, goosebumps, a few misty eyes—and everything in between. We couldn’t have dreamed up a better duo to kick off The Nod Book Club’s very first event.