January 2021

 

 Our next meeting will be held on Friday, January 22. Donna will be bringing the books, and Mae will facilitate.

This month we will be reading Daugher of a Daughter of a Queen, by Sarah Bird.

The library blurb says, ""The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the first woman to ever serve in the US Army "Here's the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my Mama never let me forget it." Missouri, 1864 Powerful, epic, and compelling..."

This book was published in 2018, but there seem to be a lot of copies in the library.  398 pages

December 2020

 

Our next meeting will be December 18th, 2020 - not the fourth Friday, but the third. However it is still a full month since the November meeting. 

Fran will lead the discussion and Mae will be bringing book selections

We will be reading and discussing Ireland, by Frank Delaney. 

Publishers weekly said this about it: 

BBC reporter Delaney's fictionalized history of his native country, an Irish bestseller, is a sprawling, riveting read, a book of stories melding into a novel wrapped up in an Irish history text."

Don't wait too long to start - it is 559 pages.   

November 2020

 

This month, we will be reading Carnegie's Maid, by Marie Benedict. Publisher's Weekly tells us this about the novel: 

Andrew Carnegie's impetus to take up philanthropy is explored in this excellent historical novel. Benedict (The Other Einstein) begins with Carnegie's letter to himself from December 1868, in which he pledges most of his fortune "for benevolent purposes." The story then turns to farmer's daughter Clara Kelley, who travels in steerage from Ireland; upon landing in Philadelphia in 1863, she is mistaken for an identically named fellow passenger who has died during the passage. Desperate to improve her family's fortune, she assumes the other Clara's place as a lady's maid to the formidable Margaret Carnegie, mother to brothers Andrew and Tom. 

Denise will lead the discussion and host the Zoom meeting. Fran will be bringing our next book selections.  

We will meet on Friday, November 20, 2020 at 7:00PM. Note that this is the THIRD Friday, due to Thanksgiving.

October 2020

 In honor of Halloween, this month, we will be reading Wind Through the Keyhole, by Stephen King. 

This is Book 8 of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The Contra Costa County Library website summarizes this book: 

Sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape shifter, a "skin man," Roland Deschain takes charge of Bill Streeter, a brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast's most recent slaughter. Roland, himself only a teenager, calms the boy by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother used to read to him at bedtime, "The Wind through the Keyhole."

There appear to be audio books, e-books, and physical books available from the county library.  

We will meet on October 23rd at 7:00PM.  

September, 2020

Our next meeting will be Friday, September 25, 2020.   Rachel will bring the book selections, and Lisa will facilitate the discussion.  

We will be reading On the Road, by Jack Kerouac.  The Contra Costa Library listing of this book says 

Few novels have had as profound an impact as On the Road, and Kerouac's vision continues to inspire: three generations of writers, musicians, artists, and poets cite their discovery of On the Road as the event that "set them free."

On the Road was published in 1957.  

July 2020

Our next meeting will be Friday, July 24,2020.  Kim will be bringing books. Lisa will bring snacks if we actually meet in person. Otherwise she will bring virtual snacks. 

This month we will be reading Delta Wedding, by Eudora Welty

336 pages - published in 1946

The library website tells us this: 

“From one of the most treasured American writers, winner of a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize, comes Delta Wedding, a vivid and charming portrait of Southern life. Set in 1923, the story is centered on the Fairchilds, a big and clamorous family, who live on a plantation in the Mississippi delta. They are in the midst of planning their daughter’s wedding when a nine-year-old relative, Laura McRaven, whose mother has just died, comes to visit.
 
Drama leads to drama, revelation to revelation, in a novel that is “nothing short of wonderful” (The New Yorker). The result is a sometimes-riotous view of a Southern family, and the parentless child who learns to become one of them.”

CCCLibrary:  4 copies available; no kindle; no audio  

Used:  $1.25 (+ $4 shipping);  Kindle:  $10.16

June 2020

Our meeting in June will be on Friday, June 26th. 

This month, we will be reading The Whip: Inspired by the story of Charley Parkhurst, by Karen Kondazian.  This book has won a number of awards, including Best Western, 2013 International Book Awards, 2013 National Indie Excellence Awards, The 2012 USA Best Book Awards,  2013 Global Ebook Awards.  

A quote from Amazon:  THE WHIP is inspired by the true story of a woman, Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst (1812-1879) who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man.
As a young woman in Rhode Island, she fell in love with a runaway slave and had his child. The destruction of her family drove her west to California, dressed as a man, to track the killer. Charley became a renowned stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo. She killed a famous outlaw, had a secret love affair, and lived with a housekeeper who, unaware of her true sex, fell in love with her. Charley was the first woman to vote in America (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville, California.


Kim will bring the food [snicker]
Sheila will bring next month's books
Donna will facilitate
At this time, we will plan to meet online, and if things change, we will come up with an alternate meeting plan.  

April 2020

Well, within 24 hours of our meeting, it was apparent that we would have to meet online again. So, here's a reminder

Next meeting:  April 24th,  7:00PM 

(see email for Zoom instructions)

We are reading The Bookshop of Yesterdays, by Amy Meyerson

One sentence summary:  A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self–discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness, and a love of reading.

I think that Mae is  bringing the books, Fran will facilitate, and either Donna or Mae will bring virtual snacks - I have lost track of exactly how their swap worked.. 

Happy Anniversary!!  20 years ago on Friday, we met for the first time!!