Book Club
We were fortunate to be invited in 1997 to join a long-standing book discussion, which has been meeting monthly (most months) since 1977. It was organized (founded?) by Judy's dad Chuck Coenen, and friend Jim Martin.
Each person selects a book in turn, researching the author and leading the discussion. Meetings rotate from house to house. The expectation is that enough books be available in the library systems so we don't have to purchase each book, AND that the selector has already read the book before proposing it.
(Both of these "rules" are occassionally ignored, at the risk of receiving raucous rebukes from the rest of the group.) Another thing sure to solicit sneers is selecting a long book. (More than 400 pages?)
There is an occasionally (rarely?) updated blog with links to online resources for some of the books we have discussed.
Here's a compilation of readings, by year, for the 21st Century. (Let me know if you see any mistakes or omissions... I'll catch up eventually.) The current pick is at the bottom of this page.
-->> See the readings for the 20th Century.
In 2017 we celebrated 40 YEARS of book discussion. A brochure was created to mark the occasion, which you may read in PDF form.
| YYYY-MM | Book Author | Presenter @ Host | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Psychic Warrior: The True Story of America's Foremost Psychic Spy and the Cover-Up of the CIA's Top-Secret Stargate Program David Morehouse | Judy @ Martins | ||
| 2001-03 | The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles | Ruth @ Fishmans | ||
| 2001-04 | Ninety-Three Victor Hugo | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2001-06 | Poinsonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver | Rick @ Baumanns | ||
| 2001-07 | Trial of Scorates I.F. Stone | Larry @ Scotts | ||
| 2001-09 | The Hours Michael Cunningham | Maryellen @ Coenen | ||
| 2001-10 | The American Henry James | Grina @ Wattmans | ||
| 2001-12 | Wheat That Springeth Green J.F. Powers | Jean @ Grina | ||
| 2002-01 | A Rumor of War Philip Caputo | Phil @ Fishmans | ||
| 2002-02 | The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy | Sheila @ Baumans | ||
| 2002-03 | My Son's Story Nadine Gordimer | Carol @ Martins | ||
| 2002-04 | No Great Mischief Alistair McLeod | Ruth @ Scott | ||
| 2002-05 | Passage to India E.M. Forster | Jim M. @ Coenen | ||
| 2002-07 | Rainlight Alison McGhee | Maryellen @ Wattmans | ||
| 2002-08 | The Underpainter Jane Urquart | Judy @ | ||
| 2002-09 | Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation Joseph Ellis | Rick @ Baumans | ||
| 2002-11 | How Proust Can Change Your Life Alain De Botton | Larry @ Fishmans | ||
| 2002-12 | The Voyage Philip Caputo | Phil @ Coenen | ||
| 2003-01 | Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Dai Sijie | Sheila @ Scott | ||
| 2003-02 | Not Without Laughter Langston Hughes | Mary @ Martins | ||
| 2003-03 | Prodigal Summer Barbara Kingsolver | Carol @ Wattmans | ||
| 2003-04 | My Other Life Paul Theroux | Theo @ Fishmans | ||
| 2003-06 | Dreams of My Russian Summers Andrei Makine | Ruth @ Baumans | ||
| 2003-07 | What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response Bernard Lewis | Jim @ | ||
| 2003-09 | Three Junes Julia Glass | Judy @ | ||
| 2003-10 | Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett | Rick @ Carol | ||
| 2003-11 | The Spartans Paul Cartledge | Larry @ Theo | ||
| 2004-01 | Sailing Around the World Billy Collins | Maryellen @ Wattmans | ||
| 2004-02 | Life of Pi Yann Martel | Phil @ Baumanns | ||
| 2004-03 | Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri | Sheila @ | ||
| 2004-04 | On the Road Jack Kerouac | Mary @ Fishmans | ||
| 2004-05 | The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown | Theo @ Martins | ||
| 2004-06 | Mill on the Floss George Eliot | Ruth @ | ||
| 2004-07 | Five Quarters of the Orange Joanne Harris | Theo @ Wattmans | ||
| 2004-08 | We've Got to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver | Jim @ | ||
| 2004-10 | Secret Life of Bees Sue Kidd | Judy @ | ||
| 2004-11 | Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy Frances Mayes | Rick @ Baumanns | ||
| 2004-12 | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou | Maryellen @ Grina | ||
| 2005-01 | The Plague Albert Camus | Larry @ Martins | ||
| 2005-02 | Disgrace J.M. Goetzee | Sheila @ Wattmans | ||
| 2005-03 | Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer Steven Millhauser | Phil @ Coenen | ||
| 2005-04 | The Riders Tim Winton | Mary @ Baumanns | ||
| 2005-05 | Beethoven's Hair Russell Martin | Theo @ Fishmans | ||
| 2005-06 | The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini | Carol @ Coenen | ||
| 2005-07 | Friend of My Youth Alice Munro | Ruth @ Martins | ||
| 2005-08 | Henderson, the Rain King Saul Bellow | Jim @ Theo | ||
| 2005-09 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith | Judy @ Fishmans | ||
| 2005-10 | Selected short stories Edgar Allen Poe, O. Henry | Rick @ Baumanns | ||
| 2005-11 | Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Jared Diamond | Larry @ Wattmans | ||
| 2005-12 | In Cold Blood Truman Capote | Maryellen @ Grina | ||
| 2006-01 | Atonement Ian McEwan | Sheila @ Baumanns | Joined: Burck / Pearson | |
| 2006-02 | The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship David Halberstam | Phil @ Coenen | ||
| 2006-03 | The House of Mirth Edith Wharton | Mary @ Fishmans | ||
| 2006-04 | Heir to the Glimmering World Cynthia Ozick | Ruth @ Martins | ||
| 2006-05 | The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason Sam Harris | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2006-06 | Frankenstein Mary Shelley | Rick @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2006-07 | On Liberty John Stuart Mill | Larry @ Martins | ||
| 2006-09 | A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Robert Olen Butler | Maryellen @ Fishmans | ||
| 2006-10 | The Perfect Storm Sebastian Junger | Bob @ Baumann | ||
| 2006-12 | Forever Ours Janis Amatuzio | Yvonne @ Grina | ||
| 2007-01 | @ Burck/Pearson | |||
| 2007-02 | The Sea John Banville | Sheila @ Martin | ||
| 2007-03 | The Unconsoled Kazuo Ishiguro | Phil @ Wattman | ||
| 2007-05 | Legends of the Fall Jim Harrison | Ruth @ Baumann | ||
| 2007-06 | American Pastoral Philip Roth | Jim @ Fishman | ||
| 2007-07 | Water for Elephants Sara Gruen | Maryellen @ Grina | ||
| 2007-08 | Hard Times Charles Dickens | Larry @ Martin | ||
| 2007-09 | The Guns of August Barbara Tuchman | Bob @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2007-10 | The Painted Drum Louise Erdrich | Yvonne @ Coenen/Dahle | ||
| 2007-11 | The Killer Angels Michael Shaara | Phil @ Wattman | ||
| 2007-12 | The Final Solution: A Story of Detection Michael Chabon | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2008-01 | Final Payments Mary Gordon | @ Fishman | ||
| 2008-02 | The Bastard of Istanbul Elif Shafak | @ Grina | ||
| 2008-03 | Independence Day Richard Ford | @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2008-04 | The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2008-05 | Stolen Lives Malika Oufkir | @ Fishman | ||
| 2008-06 | Suite Française Irène Némirovsky | @ Coenen/Dahle | ||
| 2008-07 | The Jungle Upton Sinclair | Larry @ Martin | ||
| 2008-09 | Negro President: Jefferson and the Slave Power Garry Wills | Bob @ Wattman | ||
| 2008-10 | ??? | Yvonne @ Baumann | ||
| 2008-11 | The Road Cormac Mccarthy | Phil @ Grina | ||
| 2008-12 | March Geraldine Brooks | Sheila @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2009-01 | Germinal Emile Zola | Mary @ Grina | ||
| 2009-02 | The Gathering Anne Enright | Ruth @ Wattman | ||
| 2009-03 | The Second Coming Walker Percy | Jim @ Baumann | ||
| 2009-05 | Love, again : a novel Doris Lessing | Judy @ Grina | ||
| 2009-06 | Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world Jack Weatherford | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2009-07 | Haroun and The Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie | Mary @ ?? | ||
| 2009-08 | Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Walter Isaacson | Larry @ Wattman | ||
| 2009-09 | The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History John Barry | Bob @ Fishman | ||
| 2009-10 | Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Adichie | Yvonne @ Baumann | ||
| 2009-11 | The Art of Seeing Cammie McGovern | Sheila @ Grina | ||
| 2009-12 | 84 Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff | (all) @ | ||
| 2010-01 | The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz | Phil @ | ||
| 2010-04 | A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Mark Twain | Jim @ Martins | ||
| 2010-06 | The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon | Ruth @ Fishman | ||
| 2010-07 | Empire Falls Richard Russo | Theo @ Baumann | ||
| 2010-08 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams | Rick @ Grina | ||
| 2010-09 | The Cellist of Sarajevo Steven Galloway | Judy @ Burck-Pearson | ||
| 2010-10 | Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann | Maryellen @ Coenen | ||
| 2010-12 | ??? [moved to January] | |||
| 2011-01 | Homage to Catalonia George Orwell | Larry @ Wattman | ||
| 2011-02 | Soldiers' Pay William Faulkner | Phil @ Baumann | ||
| 2011-03 | A Woman In Jerusalem A.B. Yehoshua | Phil @ | ||
| 2011-04 | Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert | Bob @ Martin | ||
| 2011-05 | I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother Allison Pearson | Yvonne @ Grina | ||
| 2011-06 | Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout | Mary @ Burck-Pearson | ||
| 2011-07 | The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers | Ruth @ | ||
| 2011-08 | Spooner Pete Dexter | Jim @ Theo | ||
| 2011-09 | Loving Frank Nancy Horan | Theo @ Fishman | ||
| 2011-10 | ??? | ??? | ||
| 2011-11 | Pnin Vladimir Nabokov | Judy @ | ||
| 2011-12 | Into AfricaThe Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone Martin Dugard | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2012-01 | The House of Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne | Maryellen @ Grina | ||
| 2012-01 | It Can't Happen Here Sinclair Lewis | Larry @ Wattman | ||
| 2012-04 | Every Man Dies Alone Hans Fallada | Phil @ Fishman | ||
| 2012-04 | Tinkers Paul Harding | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2012-06 | My Life in France Julia Child | Mary @ Martin | ||
| 2012-07 | No Great Mischief Alistair MacLeod | Ruth @ Grina | ||
| 2012-08 | Little Big Man Thomas Berger | Jim @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2012-09 | Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese | Theo @ Fishman | ||
| 2012-11 | Matterhorn Karl Marlantes | Bob @ Baumann | ||
| 2012-12 | The Patrick Melrose Novels Edward St. Aubyn | Yvonne @ Wattman | ||
| 2013-01 | Away Amy Bloom | Sheila @ Martins | ||
| 2013-02 | A Lesson Before Dying Ernest Gaines | Phil @ Fishman | ||
| 2013-03 | The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes | Ruth @ Grina | ||
| 2013-04 | Bone by Bone Peter Matthiessen | Jim @ Baumann | ||
| 2013-05 | True Grit Charles Portis | Rick @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2013-06 | A Place Where the Sea Remembers Sandra Benitez | Judy @ Coenen | ||
| 2013-07 | The Lotus Eaters Tatijana Soli | Mary @ Wattman | ||
| 2013-08 | The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath | Maryellen @ Martin | ||
| 2013-09 | Tomcat in Love Tim O'Brien | Theo @ Fishman | ||
| 2013-10 | Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy | ??? @ Grina | ||
| 2013-11 | The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson | ??? @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2013-12 | Peace Like A River Leif Enger | Yvonne @ Martin | ||
| 2014-01 | A Hologram for the King Dave Eggers | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2014-02 | The Imperfectionists Tom Rachman | Phil @ Fishman | ||
| 2014-04 | Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell | ??? @ Martin | ||
| 2014-05 | Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2014-06 | Tenth of December George Saunders | Ruth @ Wattman | ||
| 2014-07 | The Round House Louise Erdich | Judy @ Baumann | ||
| 2014-08 | Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Gregory Maguire | Rick @ Fishman | ||
| 2014-09 | Call of the Wild Jack London | Maryellen @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2014-10 | Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse | Larry @ Grina | ||
| 2014-11 | The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie | Yvonne @ Martin | ||
| 2014-12 | The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson Mark Twain | Bob @ Martin | ||
| 2015-01 | In the Lake of the Woods Tim O'Brien | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2015-02 | In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin Erik Larson | Phil @ Wattman | ||
| 2015-03 | This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald | Ruth @ Fishman | ||
| 2015-04 | Lush Life Richard Price | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2015-05 | All the Names Jose Saramago | Judy @ Burck-Pearson | ||
| 2015-06 | To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee | Theo @ Wattman | ||
| 2015-07 | Lexicon Max Barry | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2015-08 | When Paris Went Dark Ronald Rossbottom | Mary @ Theo | ||
| 2015-10 | Ordinary Grace William Kent Krueger | Maryellen @ Fishman | ||
| 2015-11 | The Castle Franz Kafka | Larry @ ??? | ||
| 2015-12 | All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr | Jim @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2016-01 | In Reach Pamela Carter Joern | Ruth @ n/a | ||
| 2016-02 | Euphoria Lilly King | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2016-03 | The Boys In the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Daniel James Brown | Phil @ Fishman | ||
| 2016-04 | Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2016-06 | St. Maybe Anne Tyler | Judy @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2016-07 | Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Yvonne @ Grina | ||
| 2016-08 | From a Crooked Rib Nuruddin Farah | Bob @ Wattman | ||
| 2016-09 | The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway | Mary @ Fishman | ||
| 2016-10 | The Alchemist Paulo Coelho | Maryellen @ ??? | ||
| 2016-11 | Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow | Jim @ ??? | ||
| 2016-12 | An Unneccessary Woman Rabih Alameddine | ??? @ ??? | ||
| 2017-01 | Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel Maria Semple | Sheila @ Fishman | ||
| 2017-02 | Babbitt Sinclair Lewis | Larry @ Wattman | ||
| 2017-04 | In Paradise Peter Matthiesen | Phil @ Grina | ||
| 2017-05 | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer | Mary @ Martin | ||
| 2017-06 | Civilization: The West and the Rest Niall Ferguson | Rick @ Baumann | ||
| 2017-07 | News of the World Paulette Jiles | Judy @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2017-08 | The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Heinrich Böll | Yvonne @ Fishmann | ||
| 2017-09 | Dead Wake: the last crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson | Theo @ Grina | ||
| 2017-10 | 40th Anniversary Party | ALL @ Wattman | ||
| 2017-11 | And Then All Hell Broke Loose Richard Engle | Maryellen @ Martin | ||
| 2017-12 | Strangers in Their Own Land Arlie Russell Hochschild | Bob @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2018-01 | History of Wolves Emily Fridlund | Phil @ Baumann | ||
| 2018-02 | Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky | Larry @ Martin | ||
| 2018-03 | Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead | Mary @ Wattman | ||
| 2018-04 | Manhatten Beach Emily Fridlund | Sheila @ Grina | ||
| 2018-06 | Libra Don DeLillo | Jim @ Fishmann | ||
| 2018-07 | Snow Orhan Pamuk | Ruth @ Burck-Pearson | ||
| 2018-08 | The Garden of Evening Mists Tan Twan Eng | Judy @ Fishmann | ||
| 2018-09 | Eventide Kent Haruf | Rick @ Grina | ||
| 2018-10 | Plainsong Kent Haruf | Theo @ Bauman | ||
| 2018-11 | Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Books 1 & 2 William L. Shirer | Bob @ Burck/Pearson | ||
| 2018-12 | The Bear Wiliam Faulkner | Phil @ Baumann | ||
| 2019-01 | The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character Thomas Hardy | Larry @ Wattman | ||
| 2019-02 | CANCELLED | |||
| 2019-03 | Judas Amos Oz | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2019-04 | CANCELLED | |||
| 2019-05 | The Ministry of Special Cases Nathan Englander | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2019-06 | The Burgess Boys Elizabeth Strout | Yvonne @ Fishmann | ||
| 2019-07 | The Swerve Stephen Greenblatt | Maryellen @ Burck-Pearson | Left: Ruth (dies) | |
| 2019-08 | Prague Winter Madeline Albright | Mary @ Martin | ||
| 2019-09 | 2 Books of Angelou, essays Maya Angelou | Judy @ Grina | ||
| 2019-10 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis | Rick @ Martin | ||
| 2019-11 | H is for Hawk MacDonald | Bob @ Fischmann | ||
| 2019-12 | Go Down Moses William Faulkner | Phil @ Grina | ||
| 2020-01 | The Oddysey Homer | Larry @ Baumann | ||
| 2020-02 | Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston | Maryellen @ Wattman | ||
| 2020-03 | (Caneclled by Social Distancing) COVID-19 | |||
| 2020-04 | A Man Called Ove Fredrick Backman | Mary @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-05 | The Winter Soldier Daniel Mason | Sheila @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-06 | Dream Country Shannon Gibney | Yvonne @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-07 | Moby Dick Herman Melville | Jim & Bob @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-08 | Born a Crime Trevor Noah | Theo @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-10 | Little Bee Chris Cleave | Rick @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-11 | Animal Dreams Barbara Kingsolver | Judy @ ZOOM | ||
| 2020-12 | The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz Erik Larson | Bob @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-01 | A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles | Phil @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-02 | The Turn of the Screw Henry James | Larry @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-03 | The Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad | Maryellen @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-04 | Have You Seen Luis Velez? Catherine Ryan Hyde | Mary @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-05 | There There Tommy Orange | Sheila @ Martin | ||
| 2021-06 | A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway | Sheila @ Martin | ||
| 2021-07 | Apeirogon Colum McCann | Jim @ Fischman | ||
| 2021-08 | The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates | Judy @ Martin | ||
| 2021-09 | CANCELLED - | - | ||
| 2021-10 | Benediction Kent Haruf | Rick @ Grina | ||
| 2021-11 | Two Years Before the Mast Richard Henry Dana Jr. | Bob @ ZOOM | ||
| 2021-12 | Welcome to Hard Times E. L. Doctorow | Phil @ Burck-Pearson | ||
| 2022-01 | Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure Donald Kladstrup and Petie Kladstrup | Mary @ Wattman | ||
| 2022-02 | Beartown Fredrik Backman | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2022-03 | Anxious People Fredrik Backman | Judy @ Martin | ||
| 2022-04 | Lincoln Highway Amor Towles | Judy @ Wattman | ||
| 2022-05 | The Iliad Homer | Larry @ ??? | ||
| 2022-06 | Wintering Peter Guey | ??? @ Baumann | ||
| 2022-08 | How Civil Wars Start Barbara Walter | Phil @ Martin | ||
| 2022-09 | The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafrón | Judy @ Baumann | ||
| 2022-10 | Anxious People Fredrik Backman | Mary @ Fishman | ||
| 2022-11 | State of Wonder Ann Patchett | ??? @ ??? | ||
| 2023-01 | Bel Canto Ann Patchett | Judy @ Grina | ||
| 2023-02 | The Lost Girls of Paris Pam Genoff | Mary @ Wattman | ||
| 2023-03 | Feast of the Goat Mario Vargas Llosa | Jim @ Grina | ||
| 2023-04 | Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel | Yvonne @ Rob | ||
| 2023-05 | A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr. | Rick @ Jim | ||
| 2023-06The Faraway Nearby | Rebecca Solnit Bob @ Fishman | Jun-23 | Left: | |
| 2023-07 | New Yorker Stories | Sheila @ Baumann | ||
| 2023-08 | Max Perkins: Editor of Genius A. Scott Berg | Maryellen @ Wattman | ||
| 2023-09 | The Beautiful and Damned F. Scott Fitzgerald | Larry @ Baumann | ||
| n/a | Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann | Mary @ n/a |