Welcome to the Boston Area Swarthmore Alumni Book Group. Our group has been around since 1998 and serves Boston-area alumni of Swarthmore College, as well as parents, friends, spouses, and other assorted folks. As those in the class of 1983 can tell you, you need not have graduated in the Amphitheater in order to attend our meetings.

Books for 2024-25

Our books for the next year come from the staff at The Atlantic, who assembled a list of 136 American novels considered to be the most significant of the past 100 years. We pared that list down to ten 21st century novels and chose the following books to read.

The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, 2015 (416 pp) Read for September

A Visit From the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan, 2010 (288 pp.)

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen, 2001 (568 pp.)

Open City, Teju Cole, 2011 (259 pp.)

The Round House, Louise Erdrich, 2012 (336 pp.)

The Sellout, Paul Beatty, 2015 (304 pp.)

No One Is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood, 2021 (224 pp.)

Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff, 2015 (400 pp.)

Veronica, Mary Gaitskill, 2005 (274 pp.)

Caramelo, Sandra Cisneros, 2002 (449 pp.)