November 2026

We will meet early in November because Thanksgiving interrupts the 4th Friday. So we will be meeting on Friday, November 20, 2026, same bat time, same bat place, same bat dinner.  Lisa will bring book selections and Kim will facilitate our discussion.

We will be reading At the Edge of the Orchard, by Tracy Chevalier. Publisher's weekly notes that this author's eighth novel "...is a compelling showcase of 19th-century American pioneering spirit in which a family from Connecticut struggles to establish an apple orchard in the swamplands of Ohio. James Goodenough can trace his family and his beloved Golden Pippin apples back to England, though he seeks his own future away from his family's farm. "

At the time of our choice, there were 7 copies in the Contra Costa Library, as well as audiobooks and ebooks. 

Read on!!

October 2026

Our next meeting will be Friday, October  23, 2026.  We are reading Isola, by Allegra Goodman. It is amazing that there are 17 copies available on the shelf in the Contra Costa Library right now. Place your copy on hold!!  

Publisher's Weekly summarizes this book: "Goodman delivers an engrossing if overlong account of French noblewoman Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval (1515--1542), who lived to tell the tale of her solitary exile on an island off the coast of New France."

We will meet at the same place, same time, and a light meal will be served.  

Kim will be bringing book selections for November and Mae will lead our discussion. 

September 2026

We will be meeting on Friday, September 25th. Mae will be bringing book selections, and Fran will facilitate our discussion.

We will be reading The Great Divide, by Cristina Herníquez.  This novel tells the stories of migrant laborers, locals, and others affected by the Panama Canal construction in 1907.  

There are currently four copies available from Contra Costa County Library, and the ebook is available through Hoopla.

August 2026

 This month, we are reading Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather.  This book was written in 1927, about a priest who comes to New Mexico in `1851, when this area was new to the United States. The online description says "American by law, but Mexican and Indian in custom."

We meet on Friday, August 21st, the usual place, the usual time (5:30pm).  Fran will be bringing books to read in September. 

July 2026

 

This month we will meet on Friday, July 24th. Sheila will bring book selections, and Denise will lead the discussion. 

We are reading Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett. 

Ann Patchett's domestic tale, a stolen kiss at a christening party in the 1960s leads to a new blended family of six stepsiblings whom the novel follows over 50 years.  

When, in her twenties, one of those stepsiblings begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another. Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak.

This will be the sixth Ann Patchett novel (of ten that she has written) that we have read as a group.

June 2026

This month, we will be reading Typewriter Beach, by Meg Waite Clayton.  Contra Costa Library describes it as 

"Set in Carmel-by-the-Sea and in 1950s Hollywood-in the days of the studio system and McCarthy-era scaremongering about an America "riddled with communists and homosexuals"-Typewriter Beach is the unforgettable story of an unlikely friendship between an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock's new star."

There are copies available in audio, digital, and physical books through Contra Costa Library (and Hoopla too!).

We will be meeting on June 26th.  Denise will provide our book selections and Kim will lead our discussion.  

May 2026

We will meet next on Friday, April 24th, 2026. Same place, Same time. Mae will facilitate and Kim will bring our book choices. 

This month, we will be reading Orbital, by Samantha Harvey.  It is a snapshot of one day in the lives of six women and men on one of the last space station missions.  This book has a lot of accolades: 

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024

**New York Times Book Review Book Club Pick**

**Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show Book Club Pick**

Winner of the 2024 Hawthornden Prize

Shortlisted for the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction

Shortlisted for the 2024 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction

Shortlisted for the 2024 Climate Fiction Prize

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024

And surprisingly, there seem to be plenty of both digital and physical books available through the Contra Costa County Library.  

April 2026

This month, we will be reading I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith.  This book, her first novel, was originally published in 1948. One library reader described it as "A quirky fun read about an eccentric British family." Another said "Set in 1930s England, a quirky family lives in a dilapidated castle. Narrator Cassandra relates the happenings when 2 Americans move into the area. Coming of age, fun and funny characters, surprising insights about England and human nature. Charming." 

This book was named One of BBC's 100 Novels that Shaped Our World.

Our meeting is scheduled for April 24th. Mae will be bringing our book selections, and Lisa will lead our discussion. 

5:30PM, the usual location. 

March 2026

Our March meeting will be on March 27th at 5:30PM. 

This month, we will be reading What you are looking for is in the library, by Michiko Aoyama (translation by Alison Watts). The Contra Costa Library summary says this: "What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. "  300 pages

Fran will lead our discussion and either Kim or Lisa (substituting if Kim is out of town in April) will bring our book selections for next month. 

There are currently two physical copies available in Contra Costa Library - place your holds now!!

February 2026

Our next meeting will be on Friday, February 27th at 5:30pm. Denise will lead our discussion, and Fran will bring the book selections. As usual - we will meet at Sheila's and a light supper will be provided. 

This month we are reading The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty. This book was written in 2013 and is her fifth novel. Publisher's Weekly said this about the book: "Australian author Moriarty, in her fifth novel (after The Hypnotist's Love Story), puts three women in an impossible situation and doesn't cut them any slack. "

Audiobooks, e-Books, and five physical books are currently available at the Contra Costa County Library. 

Best Books of 2025

 Fran compiled a list of the best books she read in 2025. I have received SO MANY of these lists in email from people I don't actually know, so it is at least refreshing to hear from someone we have read 304 books with, right?  Here is the list, which she labels as the Best of the books she read this year. 

There is no particular order.

• My Beloved by Jan Karon
• West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge
• Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
• Memorial Days, by Geraldine Brooks
• True North, by Andrew J Graff
• God of the Woods, by Liz North
• Boxcar Librarian, by Brianna Labustes
• We All Live Here, by Jojo Moyes
• Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
• When the Moon Hits Your Eye, by John Scalzi
• Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler
• A Short Walk Through a Wide World, by Douglas Westerbeke
• Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson
• Phoenix Pencil Company, by Allison King
• Heartwood, by Amity Garge
• California Dreamers, by Amy Mason Doan
• Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
• The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore, by Anika Fajardo

January 2026

This month, we will be reading House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende. Our very first book was Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, and we have read four of her books in our 25+ years as a book group. House of the Spirits was her first book, and it has been called "one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century."

This book is 448 pages in length, a little longer than we usually read, but keep in mind that this is a l-o-n-g month for us, with five weeks between our meetings. 

There aren't a lot of copies in the Contra Costa Library (currently 3 of 6 are available), so get your copy now, and give yourself some time to read it. 

Our next meeting is Friday, January 23rd. Sheila will lead the discussion, and Denise will bring our book selections. 

December 2025

 Our last book of the year, December 2025, will be Awake in the Floating City, by Susanna Kwan. This is her debut novel about two of the last people living in a flooded San Francisco of the future. There are copies available in the Contra Costa Library, and in Libby. 

Note that this month, we will NOT be meeting on the fourth Friday, but before Christmas, on December 19th. Same place - Sheila's, and same time - 5:30pm. We look forward to the Spode Christmas plates on the table, and hopefully a pleasant dinner.

Next month's books will be brought by Sheila, and Mae will lead the discussion. 

November 2025

This month, we will be reading the classic Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck.  This book was first published in 1939, and Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this book.  Contra Costa County Library commentary includes this: 

Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads, driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into haves and have-nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.

Good news! There are 6 copies currently available in the Contra Costa Library and audio books available through Hoopla.  

Our next meeting will be November 21st, with Lisa facilitating the discussion, and Mae bringing the books. Light supper at Sheila's house at the usual time. 

TAKE NOTE!!!  The December meeting has been moved to December 19th. 

October 2025

Our October meeting will be on Friday, October 24th, which is the Fourth Friday. 

Lisa will be bringing book selections, and Kim will facilitate our meeting. 

We will be reading If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home by Now,: Why We Traded the Commuting Life for a Little House on the Prairie by Christopher Ingraham. Note that Contra Costa County Library has no copies of this book -- However there are many many copies in LINK+.  Order your copy TODAY!!!  Mine arrived within a week, but it is never a good idea to wait too long.  Note: there are e-books and audio books available.

Our book this month is nonfiction, and this summary is adapted from the book jacket: 

Chris and Briana Ingraham were having a difficult time making ends meet as they tried to raise their twin boys in the East Coast suburbs. When he stumbled upon a ranking of America's 3,000+ counties from ugliest to most scenic, he scrolled to the bottom of the list and wrote the words "The absolute worst place to live in America is (drumroll please) ... Red Lake County, Minn." The story went viral, and the residents of Red Lake County challenged him to actually visit their community. Here he tells of experiencing the intensity and power of small-town gossip, his struggles to find a decent cup of coffee, winters with temperatures dropping to forty below zero, and some truths about small-town life that the coastal media usually miss.

As usual, the meeting will be at Sheila's house, and a light dinner will be served. 

By the way, the books we did NOT select were  The Dollhouse, Fiona Davis and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Abbi Waxman

September 2025

 This month, we will be reading The Museum of Ordinary People, by Mike Gayle. Kirkus says,"In this 'pure, unadulterated feel-good' and warmhearted novel, an old set of encyclopedias leads a young woman to a curious museum and one profoundly moving lesson: that every life is an extraordinary life. " 

The Libby description adds "Inspired by an abandoned box of mementos, The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant novel about memory and loss, the things we leave behind, and the future we create for ourselves."

There are still copies available on library shelves in the Contra Costa County Library System. 

We will meet on the Fourth Friday - September 26, back at Sheila's house for a light dinner. Fran will lead the discussion from the head of the table.  Kim has selected books from which to choose October books - Sheila will present those books for Kim. 

August 2025

Our next meeting will be August 22, 2025, at the usual 5:30pm. Show up at Sheila's house and we will have a light dinner.  

This month, we will be reading Twist, by Colum McCann. This novel is about an Irish journalist who is assigned to report on the complex work of repairing the underwater cables that carry the word's information.  This is a 2025 book, and to our amazement, there are eight copies available right now in the Contra Costa Library. Fran already has her copy, Denise bought hers because she wanted to read it so desperately, and Sheila already has one on hold. So place your hold - TODAY!!! 

We have some complications in the book group schedule, so take note... 

Fran will bring the books next month (August) Kim will be out of town for the September meeting but will send the books for selection. After that, Lisa will bring books in October, Mae in November, and Sheila in December.  And of course, after bringing the books, that person leads the discussion the following month. 

July 2025

We will be meeting on Friday, July 25th, at the now usual time of 5:30PM. We will continue to meet at Sheila's house, with a light dinner provided. 

This month, we are reading How It All Began, by Penelope Lively. Penelope Lively has written over 18 books for children and over 15 titles for adults. This book, written in 2011, is her 12th novel. This book explores the far-reaching effect of happenstance, as individual circumstances shift, lives change, and the known is perceived in an altogether new light.. 

A diverse cast of richly embroidered acquaintances and strangers find their lives irrevocably altered by a specific event, which many of them haven't even heard about. It is sort of a book illustrating the six degrees of separation.

While there are three copies in the Contra Costa Library, they are all currently checked out, and there are holds on them. However, there are other options. There are 42 LINK+ libraries that own this book. Order the book NOW if you choose to use LINK+.  Also, AbeBooks has over 25 copies at $3.78 with free shipping - a very affordable option. You can find them HERE.   Whatever you do, be sure to get the correct book, by Penelope Lively - there are a number of books out there with the same title.

Also, note that this is our THREE HUNDREDTH (300th) book!!! 

Because Donna will not be joining us next month, Denise has volunteered to bring books instead. So Denise will bring the books and Sheila will lead the discussion.  

June 2025

This month we will be meeting on June 27th, 2025 at 5:30pm. Note that we will meet at Sheila's house.

Mae will lead the discussion, and Sheila will bring book selections for July.

We will be reading The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan. "Amy Tan brings together selections from nine personal journals filled with sketches and handwritten notes of naive observations about birds spotted in her northern California. This is the second Amy Tan book we have read.

There are 3 copies currently available in the Contra Costa Library, and a number more will be due in the next week. Place your holds now!!

May 2025

Next month we meet on the 5th Friday, May 30th
We are reading Bright Lights Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
Review off Amazon:

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

Fran leads, Mae brings books

See you all next month!