Maximize Your Reading: The Art of Book Pairing

Book Club, Book Recommendations 6 Minutes

I don’t have as much time to read as I would like. Then again, who does?

I will never be one of those people who posts a perfectly filtered photo with my smiling face next to the stack of 150+ books I managed to finish in one year, but that’s okay! I’ve come to accept the fact that, as with so many other things in life, quality is more important than quantity. 

My monthly book club typically chooses one book or genre to read each month. I typically set a goal to finish 2-3 books a month (sometimes I only make it through one if it’s a chonker, and other times I may manage to squeeze in 4 if I’m lucky!). 

WHAT IS A BOOK PAIRING?

A system I use to help keep me on track to read at least a couple of books a month is what I like to call “book pairing.”

I try to read the book we selected for book club, plus something else related to it. It may be a book by the same author, in the same genre, about a similar topic, with strong female protagonists, etc. 

This system has allowed me to finish more books because it’s a manageable goal. Two a month sounds much more do-able than reading xxx in a year. In the past, I may have only been able to finish one book a month, but now I can usually get in at least 2, if not more.

I often find that reading two books with some similarities leads to better understanding of both texts on my part, as well as richer conversations about the books.

HOW TO FIND PAIRINGS

Finding book pairings is half the fun!

Like many bibliophiles, my TBR shelf is a little out of control. I am also blessed with a great local library and access to a bookstore pretty close to my house, so I usually have no problem getting my hands on something to read.

I try to arrange my TBR shelf in a way that makes it easy to find book pairings. I group books together that are by the same author. I also group books from similar genres.

You can find book pairings by researching books about a certain topic or from a certain genre, or looking for “if you loved this, try this” recommendations. 

Browse shelves at the library or bookstore for books by the same author. 

Curators will often group books together by theme, which makes it super easy to find pairing options.

It’s also great to try this with a friend. Each of you chooses a book for the pairing, reads it, and then you swap. This can help build in some accountability, too, because you know someone else is waiting on you to finish so they can read it.

THIS MONTH’S PAIRING

For our April meeting, my book club read The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. I decided to tag on The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

On the surface, these books have some obvious similarities. Both are historical fiction, though The Personal Librarian is based on the life of Belle da Costa Greene, who was J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian for many years.  

BOOK #1:  THE HOUSE OF EVE

The House of Eve takes place in Philadelphia in the 1940s-1950s and tells the story of two remarkable young women from very different situations and how their lives intersect. 

Ruby is a Black 15 year-old who is hard at work towards achieving her dream of being the first in her family to attend college despite the many obstacles in her way. She soon finds herself in a forbidden romance, which soon leads her to make an incredibly difficult choice. 

Meanwhile, Eleanor is in love with William, a medical student from a prominent and very wealthy Black family in Washington, DC. She struggles to fit in with his family, trying to win over their approval, but then she too faces a heartbreak that will strain her marriage and lead her to bear a devastating secret.

BOOK #2:  THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN

The Personal Librarian takes place from 1905-1927 mostly in New York. It details the incredible story of Belle da Costa Greene, a fair-skinned Black woman who changed her name, hid her identity, rose through the ranks, and eventually became the head librarian of J. P. Morgan’s library. For years, she was in charge of the library’s extensive art and manuscript collection, traveling the world to visit art galleries and renowned collections, negotiating purchases to build Morgan’s collection into one of the most highly respected in the world. She also attended social events with the Morgans, Astors, Carnegies, and Vanderbilts, with no one discovering the secret that she was actually a Black woman. 

MY REVIEWS

I thoroughly enjoyed both books and found they had many things in common beyond the obvious (both were historical fiction, both centered around Black female protagonists, and both took place in the first half of the 20th century). 

I also found it interesting to compare the women’s varying perspectives and experiences. 

Ruby was a poor, Black teenager looking to rise above her circumstances despite the numerous obstacles in her path.

Eleanor was a Black woman who married into a successful Black family and moved in circles with the other elite, wealthy Black families of Washington, DC. Yet she, too, faced heartbreaking challenges.

Belle, despite her father’s success as the first Black Harvard graduate, hid her connection to him. She used a different name and explained her complexion was inherited from a Portuguese grandmother. Despite the challenges she could have faced, she rose to the upper echelons of wealthy American white society in the early 1900s by passing as white. Her outward success hid the inner turmoil she faced as a result of denying her true identity and navigating a world dominated by wealthy, white men as a single Black woman.

OTHER PAIRING IDEAS

When ruminating on your TBR list, I hope you’ll consider giving book pairings a try.

Here are some other pairings I’ve read in the past, to help get you started (Full disclosure- I am an Amazon Associate, so I earn a small commission on purchases made using links in this post):

Do you have other book pairing recommendations? Feel free to share in the comments!

Unknown's avatar

Published by Amy Bellamy, Author

Published

Leave a comment