Between Two Books

Here is BCR’s review of Between Two Books and the breakdown of the ratings above.

Selection Details

For most book clubs, especially successful major book clubs, the selection details are among the most known and consistent factors of the books the club reads.

Selector

English singer and songwriter, Florence Welch of the indie rock band, Florence and the Machine, primarily selects the books for this club. However, throughout the club’s history, Florence has had several friends choose books for her club as well. Among these alternate selectors are fellow musicians Nick Cave and Fiona Apple, film directors and screenwriters Emma Forrest and Greta Gerwig and authors Sally Rooney and Hera Lindsay Bird.

Theme

The theme of Between Two Books is unknown. If we had to pick one word to describe this club’s picks it would be eclectic. Of the other Top 5 Book Clubs, Between Two Books has the most in common with Our Shared Shelf when it comes to books and author selection.

Book selections for Between Two Books are really inconsistent. It is the most inconsistent we have seen in a major book club. Historically, this club has selected an average of 4-5 books per year. Currently, this club only selects one, or maybe two books per year.

BCR’s frequency rating for this book club is not based on intervals but on inconsistency. If the intervals were more consistent, the rating would be higher. The frequency and regularity of book selection are important to membership engagement and overall club success. 

Notification

As we often find, when book selections are inconsistent, notifications tend to be inconsistent too. This is the case with Between Two Books. Determining if a book has been selected as a club read requires quite a bit of effort, especially for casual followers. 

Reading lists for Between Two Books can be found on two websites. However, these lists are not kept up-to-date. The last update to either list was over 3 years ago. At least 5 selections have been made since then.

More recent selection announcements can be found on Facebook and Instagram. However, these accounts also make vague posts about books. Many posts to these pages seem to be about any book being read by those posting. Little context is provided which makes it unclear to followers when a post is a club pick.

Book Details

For most book clubs, the book details of selections are less intentional and less known than the selection details. However, book details can be important underlying elements that influence members, readership and the success of a club overall.

Availability

Since this book club’s picks are not typically mainstream, they can be harder to find. Be prepared to purchase books from this club or borrow hard copies from the library. Many picks from Between Two Books cannot be found digitally to buy or borrow. However, when you do find them in the digital collections of your library they are usually available right away which is great.

Format

Much like their availability, the format of picks from Between Two Books is often limited. Most can be found in print. However, ebook and audiobook versions of these picks are harder to find. Especially if you’re looking to borrow rather than buy.

Length

The shortest Between Two Books pick is 28 pages (Hera Lindsay Bird’s Pamper Me to Hell & Back). The longest pick is 796 pages (Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch). Between Two Books selections average a length of 263 pages. While on the shorter side, this is a good average page count in our opinion. However, the size of the picks widely varies from one to the next. For example, one pick could be under 200 pages followed by a pick twice as big around 400 pages. That book could be followed by one that is half the size at just over 200 pages and then the next pick is over triple the size at almost 800 pages.

If the selections are infrequent enough the larger sizes could be manageable. At the same time, a member could quickly read a small book and then wait months for the next pick only to feel potentially overwhelmed by a book pick that is practically four times larger. Especially if they don’t know how long they may have to read it until the next pick. These two inconsistencies combined would most likely contribute to reduced membership or a decrease in membership engagement.

Rating

BCR considers a rating of 3 or higher as a good rating. On Goodreads, all of Between Two Books picks have a rating over 3. These club picks have an average rating of 3.89. The highest rating is 4.61 and the lowest rating is 3.21. In our opinion, these are good ratings.

Genre

The genres of Oprah’s Book Club picks are somewhat diverse. The top five genres are Nonfiction, Fiction, Memoir, Contemporary, and Literary Fiction. While these are all relatively generic categories, readers will find that the subject matter across these genres within this book club varies quite a bit.

Year Published

The majority of books selected for Between Two Books tend to be more modern. Most publish dates are between 2010 and 2022. The oldest book this club has picked was published in 1876. This is the oldest published date among the Top 5 Book Clubs.

Authors

For most book clubs, author selections are likely less intentional than the club’s selection details but perhaps given more consideration than book details. Often we find authors to be a subtle but important element that can influence book selections. Author selection can paint a picture of and guide the intentions and direction of a book club. 

Favorites

Between Two Books appears to have a few favorite authors. This may or may not be intentional. The following authors have been selected twice:

• Hera Lindsay Bird
• Patti Smith
• Yrsa Daley-Ward