BLR Book Club

Join us for a shared reading experience.

The first BLR Book Club pick is Fire Exit by Morgan Talty. Starting April 16th and over the following seven weeks, we’ll read this compelling book together—slowly, thoughtfully, and deeply—making space to reflect on its themes, language, and emotional resonance. Each week, a BLR editor will post commentary and discussion prompts to guide our conversation and invite your reflections.

If you’d like to connect with fellow readers, you’re invited to join the BLR Book Club Facebook group, where members and editors share insights, questions, and discoveries along the way. (If you are not yet signed up for BLR’s newsletter, we invite you to do so here, and you’ll get weekly reminders.)

At the end of the reading period, BLR will host a live online conversation with the author, where you’ll have the opportunity to ask your questions.

It’s a chance to read more intentionally, engage in meaningful dialogue, and experience literature not alone, but in community.

What To Expect

Every Thursday through the end of May, on this page and in the BLR Book Club’s Facebook group, we’ll post commentary on a portion of the book—e.g., interesting lines, related information, questions to think about. Don’t worry about reading on schedule! Read ahead or catch up later—your choice.

The Facebook group will be the place to start or join a discussion: How are you liking the book so far? What kinds of things are you noticing? Do you like the characters—why or why not? Meet fellow readers and share book recommendations!

Our live online event with Morgan Talty will take place on Thursday, June 11. You will have the chance to virtually meet other readers, enjoy a lively conversation, and ask questions directly of the author. You will also have the opportunity to submit author questions by Thursday, June 4.

Weekly Commentary

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 6

Every week, we will be discussing a section of FIRE EXIT, the first pick of BLR’s Book Club. This week, Louise’s recriminations against Charles grow more severe. Meanwhile, his worry about Elizabeth drives him into the thick of the nor’easter.

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 5

Every week, we will be discussing a section of FIRE EXIT, the first pick of BLR’s Book Club. This week, history, illness, and identity weave their way through the story.

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 4

Every week, we will be discussing a section of FIRE EXIT, the first pick of BLR’s Book Club. This week, Charles is visited by his childhood friend Gizos.

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 3

Every week, we will be discussing a section of FIRE EXIT, the first pick of BLR’s Book Club. This week, we get an up-close look at what it’s like to care for a loved one with dementia.

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 2

Every week, we will be discussing a section of FIRE EXIT, the first pick of BLR’s Book Club. This week, we learn more about Charles’ past, including a pivotal event in his youth.

BLR Book Club | “Fire Exit” Week 1

Our first BLR Book Club pick is FIRE EXIT, a novel by Morgan Talty. Named a Best Book of the Year by TIME, The New Yorker, ELLE, NPR, and Harper’s Bazaar, Fire Exit is available on BLR’s Bookshop page, where a portion of every purchase goes to supporting our programming. About Fire Exit From the…

Announcing the BLR Book Club pick

We’re excited to announce our first pick for the BLR Book Club: Fire Exit, a novel by Morgan Talty. Named a Best Book of the Year by TIME, The New Yorker, ELLE, NPR, and Harper’s Bazaar, Fire Exit is available on BLR’s Bookshop page, where a portion of every purchase goes to support community-building and…

Facilitator

Doris W. Cheng is a Taiwanese American writer and editor based in the New York City area. She is the author of a fiction chapbook, Earthling (Word West Press, 2021), and her work appears in Boston Review, Shenandoah, New Orleans Review, Witness, The Normal School, The Southampton Review, and other literary magazines. She serves as Associate Fiction Editor for Bellevue Literary Review.