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Alumni > Connect >

Spartan Book Club

Spartan Book Club

Connect with Spartans and friends in a vibrant online community united by a love of reading. Join engaging discussions on a variety of topics — from the comfort of your own space. It’s easy to participate; simply borrow the book from your library or purchase a copy.

With a new book selection every two months and the flexibility to join or skip sessions as you like, this offers a fun, low-pressure way to stay connected with and inspired by fellow Spartans.

Join the Club
SBC-26-Oct-250x300

Current Book: “How to Say Babylon” by Safiya Sinclair - “The book grabs the reader because of the beauty of its words, but it sticks because of the thorniness and complexity of its ideas.” —The Washington Post

About the Club

There are no meetings — participate whenever and wherever it’s convenient for you! As long as you have internet access, you can join the discussion. See the details below to learn more about how the program works.

How it Works
  • This is a flexible, online forum moderated by the professionally managed book club organization, PBC Guru.
  • Discussions, networking and questions take place in a private forum, with weekly emails guiding the conversation.
  • Members can join discussions, share insights and participate by borrowing or purchasing the book.
  • A new book is selected every two months through a group vote, but participation is optional.
  • Even if you’ve read the book before, engaging with the Spartan community offers fresh perspectives and meaningful discussions.

Are you a Spartan Author?

We’d love to hear from you! We’re compiling a list of Spartan authors and their book(s) to share. To provide your information, email Elizabeth Wheeler.

In fairness to all Spartan authors, please understand that we currently do not plan to feature any Spartan authors as a book club selection.

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Join the Club
2026 Reading Schedule
  • Jan. 2–March 6: “A Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Deb Miller Landau
  • March 13–May 15: “How to Read a Book” by Monica Wood
  • May 22–July 24: “Custodians of Wonder” by Eliot Stein
  • July 31–Oct. 2: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
  • Oct. 9–Dec. 11:  “How to Say Babylon” by Safiya Sinclair

Have a suggestion for a book you'd like us to consider reading? Email Elizabeth Wheeler. Our preferred genres are fiction, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, biography and history.

About the Current Book

Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. Safiya’s mother gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. Safiya’s rebellion against her father’s rules set her on an inevitable collision course with him.

“How to Say Babylon” is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.

“The book grabs the reader because of the beauty of its words, but it sticks because of the thorniness and complexity of its ideas.”—The Washington Post

Safiya Sinclair is a Jamaican-born writer and the award-winning author of the memoir “How to Say Babylon” and poetry collection “Cannibal.” Her work has received widespread critical acclaim, including the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Guggenheim fellowship, and she is an associate professor of creative writing at Arizona State University.

Books Read to Date

2025

  • “James" by Percival Everett
  • “The Mango Tree" by Annabelle Tometich
  • “The Berry Pickers” by Amanda Peters
  • “Birding to Change the World” by Trish O'Kane
  • “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy 

2024

  • “The Lost City of the Monkey God” by Douglas Preston
  • “By Her Own Design” by Piper Huguley
  • “We Should Not Be Friends” by Will Schwalbe
  • “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver
  • “The Ride of Her Life” by Elizabeth Letts

2023

  • “The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams
  • “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks
  • “The Last Green Valley” by Mark Sullivan
  • “Fellowship Point” by Alice Elliott Dark
  • “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger

2022

  • “ArtCurious” by Jennifer Dasal
  • “The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi
  • “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles
  • “The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream” by Dean Jobb
  • “The Plot” by Jean Hanff Korelitz

2021

  • “A Woman of No Importance” by Sonia Purnell
  • “Beartown” by Fredrick Backman
  • “Long Bright River” by Liz Moore
  • “Hidden Valley Road” by Robert Kolker
  • “American Spy” by Lauren Wilkinson