November BUTS Book Club

Name: November BUTS Book Club
Start: 2025-11-18T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-11-18T20:00:00-06:00
Location: The Mayor Bar

Schedule

Tue Nov 18 2025 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

The Mayor Bar | Birmingham, AL

Here are the next books so you can plan ahead:
November: Heartwood by Amity Gaige
December: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Heartnett
January: Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
February: The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
March: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
April: Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman
Location of November book club: The Mayor Bar
We'll decide the next book club locations as we go, and we take requests.:)
Reviews of Heartwood:
"[T]he best thriller of 2025 . . . A knock-out of a book, perfect for fans of Liz Moore’s God of the Woods."
—THE BOSTON GLOBE
"A novelistic cousin to Strayed’s best-selling 2012 memoir of tackling the Pacific Crest Trail after her mother’s death, it’s the story of three woodsy women each lost in her own wilderness, and the gnarled roots between mothers and daughters."
—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“Gaige’s ability to introduce suspense and build it continuously, page after page, is astonishing…. [A] complex, thrilling work.”
—MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
“A terrifically moving and tense thriller…genius.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST
"Satisfying... Ms. Gaige’s restrained style and psychological acuity ensure that Heartwood never takes the obvious road."
—WALL STREET JOURNAL
"A crackling adventure story, a meditation on the fraught human connection to nature, and a subtle examination of the rocky relationships between mothers and daughters that shape the lives of its women characters, the novel tightens its grip as it moves toward uncovering its central mysteries."
—BOOKLIST, Starred Review
“A winning portrait of a woman, and community, in peril.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Unputdownable.”
—REAL SIMPLE
"Multifaceted characters and poetic prose enhance Gaige’s tender meditations on aging and mother-daughter relationships."
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Heartwood will keep you guessing the whole way through. Just as importantly, it will keep you emotionally invested. I didn't want it to end."
—LIZ MOORE, New York Times bestselling author of God of the Woods
"Heartwood by Amity Gaige is a literary mystery so subtle in its construction set against the beauty and ruggedness of the Maine wilderness. An interwoven story of mothers and daughters, of the nature of relationships and how they can sustain us and sometimes test us. With a remarkable cast of characters, a setting so real and a story so expertly told, Heartwood is a marvel."
—AMANDA PETERS, author of The Berry Pickers
"Heartwood is mind-bogglingly good, and I tore through it despite my best intentions to savor every page. It's got such a brilliant, enthralling momentum. It's eerie and beautiful and fascinating—a book about survival against every existential threat, about connection despite every force tearing us asunder. I will be pressing it into everybody's hands."
—CATHERINE NEWMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich
"Heartwood is that rare unicorn of a book: A gripping page-turner of great beauty and insight. Amity Gaige’s latest is a story about survival and resilience, but also about the bonds between mothers and daughters—a book that is at once intimate and expansive. I couldn’t put it down even as it tore my heart apart."
—JANELLE BROWN, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Things & Watch Me Disappear
“I can’t recall the last time I’ve been so dazzled by a novel. Heartwood is a literary thriller of the highest order. Amity Gaige's writing is both eloquent and authoritative. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST-READ. You will thank me.”
—ELIN HILDERBRAND, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Couple and Swan Song
"Heartwood is a masterfully multi-layered novel—at once a propulsive, nail-biting missing person thriller, an inspiring wilderness survival tale, and a deeply moving exploration of the complexities of mother-daughter bonds. With eloquence, insight, and grace, Amity Gaige uses gorgeous prose and the perfect structure to create one of the most emotionally satisfying and heartwarming stories I’ve read in a long time. I loved this book."
—ANGIE KIM, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek
"Heartwood is a gem of a thousand facets—suspenseful, transporting, tender, and ultimately soul-mending, a novel as curious about birds and moss as it is about the innermost hearts of mothers and daughters. I read it at lightning speed, and now I treasure how the woods of this book persist in my mind."
—MEGHA MAJUMDAR, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
“Heartwood is a riveting wilderness suspense novel: a missing person quest rendered in agile, extraordinary prose by a novelist at the height of her powers. I found it nearly impossible to put down.”
—JENNIFER EGAN, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Candy House
"Heartwood by Amity Gaige shines as a gritty, evocative and heart-stopping wilderness thriller. Yet this journey into the harshness of nature and the horror of being lost, is also a beautifully crafted eulogy to human survival and an ode to the power of the spirit as it echoes between the generations. An unforgettable treat from first page to last.”
—JANICE HALLETT, bestselling author of The Twyford Code