October 2024

 

This month, we will be reading The Heaven and earth Grocery Store, by James McBride. This book was published in August, 2023 and is a New York Times Notable book bestseller. We previously read this author's book The Color of Water.  

Publisher's Weekly says "National Book Award winner McBride (Deacon King Kong) tells a vibrant tale of Chicken Hill, a working-class neighborhood of Jewish, Black, and European immigrant families in Pottstown, Pa., where the 1972 discovery of a human skeleton unearths events that took place several decades earlier."

Amazon (probably through AI) tells us that "customers find the story compelling, awesome, and magical. They appreciate the rich characters and diverse cast..."

It happens that right now (9/27/24) there are ten copies currently available at Contra Costa County Library, so order your copy NOW!! 

In October, don't forget that we are meeting at Denise's house. She will send us the address and any other needed information closer to the event - October 26th, 11:00am. We will have lunch. 

Sheila will bring book selections, and Mae will lead our discussion. 

See y'all there!!

September, 2024

 

Our book this month is Where Coyotes Howl, by Sandra Dallas. 

Publisher's Weekly says "Dallas (Little Souls) delivers a sprawling and immersive story of homesteaders carving out a life in Wyoming. Seeking adventure, 23-year-old Ellen Webster leaves her Iowa home in 1916 to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in the small town of Wallace, imagining a Wild West adventure of bronco riding, cowboys, and pine-covered mountains...Well-rounded characters, convincing period details, and a sumptuous setting make this sing. Readers will be hooked."

There are audiobooks, ebooks and physical books currently available in the Contra Costa Library

We will be meeting on Friday, September 27th, 2024, at the "usual place", at 5:30pm.  Fran will lead the discussion, and Mae will bring the book selections. See you there!!

August 2024

 

This month, we will be reading Legacy, by James A Michener. This appears to be one of his shorter books, at only 176 pages, and apparently includes the U.S. Constitution at the end. This book was first published in 1987.   

Contra Costa Library description says "In this sweeping novel inspired by the Iran-Contra affair, master storyteller James A. Michener conjures the triumphs and tragedies of one family and their dynamic role in the history of the United States and its founding document. "

  

We will be meeting on August 23rd at the "usual" place.  

Fran will be bringing our book selections, and Denise will lead our discussion. 

Also, add to your calendar - in October, we will be meeting Saturday, October 26th, at Denise's house, address to be supplied later. 

July 2024

This month we will read The Song of Hartgrove Hall, by Natasha Solomons.  Lisa's notes about this book says this:"Wow - can she weave a story. Love, betrayal, redemption. Composer's life woven between no and then. Great read." 

Get your copy now!!  Written in 2015  383 pages. 

This month, Lisa will Facilitate and Denise will bring the book selections. 

We will meet on July 26th.

May 2024

This month, we will be reading The Widows, by Jess Montgomery. 

The Publisher's Weekly says "Montgomery's deeply felt debut, set in hardscrabble Appalachian Ohio coal-mining country in 1925, centers on two determined women on opposite sides of the law..."

We will be meeting  Friday, May 24th, at 5:30PM.  NOTE THS TIME CHANGE!!  We plan to meet at 5:30pm in the future. 

Donna will lead our discussion and Kim will bring book selections for June. 

April 2024 - our 24th Anniversary

This month is our 24th anniversary as a book group.  This is our 286th book! 

We will be reading Peach Blossom Spring, by Melissa Fu. 

Here is a very brief introduction to the book from the Contra Costa Library:

 "Spanning eight decades, Fu's poignant debut opens in 1938, as recently widowed Meilin and her three-year-old son, Renshu, flee their home in the Hunan Province of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. "

The good news is that there are plenty of copies available in the Contra Costa County Library. 

We will be meeting on the fourth Friday, April 26th, at the usual location. Sheila will facilitate the discussion, and Donna will bring books for selection for May. 

March 2024

 

This is our 285th book!  We will be reading The Flicker of Old Dreams, by Susan Henderson. There are four copies currently availably in the Contra Costa County Library system.   

The plot is summarized as: "Finding fulfillment in her job as an embalmer in her father's small town mortuary, outsider Mary bonds with a villainized local who was blamed for a fatal accident twenty years earlier, a friendship that compels her to consider what might happen if she were to leave their fading community."

A library website review says "An evocative and poignant novel which breaths with a well-developed sense of place. The main character is interesting and unusual (in all the best ways) and her emotional awakening through the story is touching." 

We will be meeting on the Fourth Friday, March 22, 2024, at the usual location. Mae will lead the meeting, Sheila will bring the books for April selection. 

See you there!!

February 2024

This month, we will once again meet on the 4th Friday - February 23rd. Same time, same place. 

We are reading Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Library summary of the plot:  "For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium-and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance 30 years ago"

Take note - copies are difficult to get from the Contra Costa Library. Check other libraries you might have access to, or purchase from your favorite bookseller.  Start finding your copy TODAY!!! 

Denise will lead our discussion and Mae will bring book selections for March. 

See you there!!