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.