2024 |
April 21st (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Sarah and Nou's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Nou)
- Harlem Shuffle (Colson Whitehead)
- Companion book(s):
- Readers' Choice of sorts; something by James Baldwin; or something from the Harlem Renaissance.
|
January 21st (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Michael)
- The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (Laurence Sterne)
- Companion book(s):
- Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (Jerome K. Jerome)
|
2023 |
December 15th (Sunday)
@ 5:30 (Potluck dinner at Leith & Rob's) |
- The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club: in person once again!!! There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Readings of poetry and other literary forms will not be discouraged...
|
| October 29th (Sunday) @ 4:00; pot-luck supper, with Joette and Fred offering to host |
- Primary book: (proposed by Leith)
- Milkman (Anna Burns)
- Companion book(s):
- Readers' Choice of sorts; something by an Irish writer, northern or otherwise. Two main suggestions: Edna O'Brien; William Trevor.
|
| August 4th (NB: Friday!!!) @ 4:00; pot-luck supper, with Larrie and Heather offering to host |
- Primary book: (proposed by Larrie)
- Angle of Repose (Wallace Stegner)
- Companion book(s):
- My First Summer in the Sierra (John Muir)
Among Friends (MFK Fisher)
|
| May 27th & 28th (Saturday & Sunday). Possible weekend at Leith and Rob's Gibsons ashram and honky-tonk, with the meeting itself to occur on the 28th |
- Primary book: (proposed by Joette)
- The Weight of Ink (Rachel Kadish)
- Companion book(s):
- Restoration (Rose Tremain)
|
March 26th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Jean)
- My Name is Lucy Barton (Elizabeth Strout)
- Companion book(s):
- Women Talking (Miriam Toews)
or, if you have difficulty locating a copy:
Anything is Possible or Oh William! (Elizabeth Strout), or something by Anne Tyler
|
January 29th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Fred)
- Mrs. Osmond (John Banville)
- Companion book(s):
- The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James)
|
2022 |
November 27th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Larrie and Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Sarah)
- Fathers and Sons (Ivan Turgenev)
- Companion book(s):
- Something by a Ukrainian author. Suggestions include: something by Nikolai Gogol (Taras Bulba; Dead Souls, or some of his short stories); Mesopotamia (Serhiy Zhadan); Grey Bees (Andrey Kurkov)
|
September 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Rob)
- Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest (Suzanne Simard)
- Companion book(s):
- Readers' Choice of sorts; one or both of: The Overstory (Richard Powers); and/or The Man Who Planted Trees (Jean Giono)
|
June 18th (Saturday)
@ 4:00; pot-luck supper at Jean & Michael's (with optional Zoom) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Nou)
- Pachinko (Min Jin Lee)
- Companion book:
- The Island of Sea Women (Lisa See)
|
April 24th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 via Zoom |
- Primary book: (proposed by Michael)
- Ulysses (James Joyce)
- Companion book:
- The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)
|
February 13th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 via Zoom |
- Primary book: (proposed by Leith)
- Girl, Woman, Other (Bernardine Evaristo)
- Companion book:
- Washington Black (Esi Edugyan)
|
2021
|
December 21st (Sunday)
@ 6:00 (Potluck dinner at Leith & Rob's?) |
- The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club: in person once again!!! There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! It is entirely possible that the equinox will be celebrated as well! And poetry will not be discouraged...
|
November 14th or November 28th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; format and location (real or virtual) TBA |
- Primary book: (proposed by Larrie)
- Dune (Frank Herbert)
- Companion book:
- Readers' Choice: something with a "desert" theme. Suggestions: Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey); Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven (Barry Lopez); Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T. E. Lawrence); The Songlines (Bruce Chatwin); Wind, Sand and Stars (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry); Beau Geste (P. C. Wren); For the Time Being (Annie Dillard)
|
September 19th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; Pot-luck supper at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Joette)
- How to Pronounce Knife (Souvankham Thammavongsa)
- Companion book:
- Five Little Indians (Michelle Good)
|
July 25th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; 3D meeting in Nou and Sarah's back yard |
- Primary book: (proposed by Jean)
- Consent (Annabel Lyon)
- Companion book:
- Love and Salt Water (Ethel Wilson); with her Swamp Angel recommended from those who want more.
|
May 23rd (Sunday)
@ 4:00; probably via Zoom |
- Primary book: (proposed by Fred)
- The Sea (John Banville)
- Companion book:
- Readers' Choice: something connected to Ireland. Suggestions: Beatlebone (Kevin Barry); Actress (Anne Enright); At Swim-Two-Birds (Flann O'Brien); Conversations With Friends (Sally Rooney); something by Seamus Heaney; also this resource at Goodreads.
|
March 21st (Sunday)
@ 4:00; via Zoom |
- Primary book: (proposed by Sarah)
- The Lying Life of Adults (Elena Ferrante)
- Companion book:
- Readers' Choice: something connected to Italy. Suggestions: Don't Move (Margaret Mazzantini); The Moon and the Bonfire (Cesare Pavese); Christ Stopped at Eboli Carlo Levi); also this resource at Goodreads.
|
January 17th (Sunday)
@ 4:00; via Zoom |
- Primary book: (proposed by Rob)
- Unquiet (Linn Ullmann)
- Companion book:
- Changing (Liv Ullmann)
|
2020
|
December 20th (Sunday)
@ 6:00 (Zoom-based potluck dinner!?) |
- A special Covid version of the annual Christmas Gathering of the book club; this year: with added Zoom! There is no assigned reading for this gathering! Though apart, we will indulge in virtual versions of the usual seasonal hijinks, possible even sing Christmas carols; eggnog for those who've got it! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
November 15th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (Likely to be held via Zoom) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Nou)
- How the South Won the Civil War (Heather Cox Richardson)
- Companion book:
- Readers' Choice: something related to the American Civil War. Suggestions: Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell); All True Not a Lie In It (Alix Hawley); The Good Lord Bird (James McBride); and If the South Had Won the Civil War (MacKinlay Kantor). There's also this resource: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/civil-war
|
September 20th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (Possible outdoor gathering, socially distant) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Michael)
- The Beginning of Spring (Penelope Fitzgerald)
- Companion book:
- The Russian Album (Michael Ignatieff)
|
July 19th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (Outdoor gathering chez Nou & Sarah, socially distant) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Leith)
- Lampedusa (Steven Price)
- Companion book:
- The Leopard (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa)
- Optional addition:
- The Leopard (1963 film by Luchino Visconti)
|
May 31st (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (held virtually, via Zoom) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Larrie)
- The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (Oscar Hijuelos)
- Companion book:
- Reader's choice: something Cuban (some possibilities here)
|
March 29th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (held virtually, via Skype) |
- Primary book: (proposed by Joette)
- Akin (Emma Donoghue)
- Companion book:
- French Exit (Patrick deWitt)
|
January 12th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Jean)
- The Sympathizer (Viet Thanh Nguyen)
- Companion book:
- Mãn (Kim Thúy)
|
2019
|
December 22nd (Sunday)
@ 6:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Leith & Rob's |
- The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club. There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
November 10th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Fred)
- The Folded Earth (Anuradha Roy)
- Companion book:
- The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (Arundhati Roy)
|
September 8th (Sunday)
@ 5:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Sarah)
- The Island at the Center of the World (Russell Shorto)
- Companion book:
- Open City (Teju Cole)
|
July 7th (Sunday)
@ 5:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Leith & Rob's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Rob)
- Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
- Companion book:
- Readers' Choice. Suggestions: I've Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter (David Chariandy); Open City (Teju Cole)
|
April 19th (Friday)
@ 6:30 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Nou)
- Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
- Companion book:
- Something by James Baldwin
|
February 10th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Michael)
- Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
- Companion book:
- Flaubert's Parrot (Julian Barnes)
- Optional tertiary books:
- Lady Chatterley's Lover (D. H. Lawrence)
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
|
2018
|
December 18th (Tuesday)
@ 6:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Leith & Rob's |
- The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club. There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
October 28th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Leith)
- All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
- Companion book:
- Swing Time (Zadie Smith)
|
September 3rd (Monday)
@ 11:00 AM (Pot-luck brunch); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Larrie)
- Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
- Companion book:
- Orlando (Virginia Woolf)
|
July 8th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Leith & Rob's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Joette)
- The Dancehall Years: A West Coast Saga from Bowen Island, 1939 (Joan Haggerty)
- Companion book:
- Summer reading, so make it up as you go along! Some suggestions that connect—in one way or another—with the setting of, or topics in, the primary book:
1) Gently to Nagasaki (Joy Kogawa)
2) Love and Salt Water (Ethel Wilson)
3) Sointula (Bill Gaston)
4) Intertidal Life (Audrey Thomas)
5) Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (Brian Brett)
6) The Three Pleasures (Terry Watada)
|
May 13th (Sunday)
@ 3:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Jean)
- The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy (Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson)
- Companion book:
- One (or both) of the following:
1) You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (Sherman Alexie)
2) Birdie (Tracey Lindberg)
|
March 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Fred)
- Family Matters (Rohinton Mistry)
- Companion book:
- One (or both) of the following:
1) Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Katherine Boo)
2) Freedom at Midnight (Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre)
|
January 14th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Sarah)
- A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)
- Companion book:
- The Painter of Battles (Arturo Perez-Reverte)
|
2017
|
December 8th (Friday)
@ 6:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Leith & Rob's |
- The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club. There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
November 19th (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (Pot-luck brunch); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Rob)
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Philip K. Dick)
- Companion book:
- A non-fiction work on the topic of A.I.; for example:
1) Superintelligence (Nick Bostrom)
2) The Singularity Is Near (Ray Kurzweil)
3) Rise of the Robots (Martin Ford)
|
September 10th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Nou)
- The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science (Will Storr)
- Companion book:
- Father and Son (Edmund Gosse)
|
June 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Michael)
- The Places in Between (Rory Stewart)
- Companion book:
- Either of these two books (which also relate to Afghanistan):
1) A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (Eric Newby)
2) Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail From Istanbul to India (Rory MacLean
|
March 26th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Leith)
- Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Madeleine Thien)
- Companion book:
- A memoir related to the Chinese Cultural Revolution; for example:
1) Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (Jung Chang)
2) The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Ji Xianlin)
3) Chinese Whispers (Jan Wong)
|
January 15th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book: (proposed by Larrie)
- From Time to Time (Jack Finney)
- Companion book:
- Reader's Choice of another "time travel"-themed book. Possibilities include
1) The Time Machine (H. G. Wells)
2) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Mark Twain)
3) film versions of the above
4)
Time Travel: A History (James Gleick)
5) something from this list
|
2016
|
| December 11th (Sunday) @ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Leith & Rob's |
- There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
| November 13th (Sunday) @ a time to be determined (Pot-luck); at Fred and Joette's |
- Primary book (proposed by Joette):
- A God in Ruins (Kate Atkinson)
- Companion book:
- Reader's Choice among either
1) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2) The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
3) The Emigrants by W. G. Sebald
|
| September 11th (Sunday) @ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book (proposed by Jean):
- Amity (Nasreen Pejvack)
- Companion book:
- The Cellist of Sarajevo (Steven Galloway)
|
| June 19th (Sunday) @ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book (proposed by Fred):
- The Illegal (Lawrence Hill)
- Companion book:
- The Meursault Investigation (Kamel Daoud)
- Optional tertiary book:
- L'Étranger (Albert Camus)
|
| April 17th (Sunday) @ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book (proposed by Sarah):
- A Death in the Family (Karl Ove Knausgaard)
- Companion book:
- My Brilliant Friend (Elena Ferrante)
|
| January 31st (Sunday) @ 4:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book (proposed by Rob):
- This Changes Everything (Naomi Klein)
- Companion book:
- The Stone Gods (Jeanette Winterson)
|
2015
|
| December 21st (Monday) @ 5:00 (Pot-luck supper); at Leith & Rob's |
- There is no assigned reading for this gathering! The usual seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! Bonus: the possibility of washing dishes!!! Poetry will not be discouraged...
|
| November 8th (Sunday) @ 11:00 (Pot-luck brunch); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book (proposed by Nou):
- A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Mohammed Hanif)
- Companion book:
- Cockroach (Rawi Hage)
|
| August 30th (Sunday) @ 11:30 (Pot-luck brunch); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book (proposed by Leith):
- The Circle (Dave Eggers)
- Companion book:
- Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
|
June 14th (Sunday)
@ 11:30 AM (Pot-luck brunch); at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book (proposed by Michael):
- Tender is the Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
- Companion book:
- Save Me the Waltz (Zelda Fitzgerald)
|
March 29th (Sunday)
@ 11:30 AM (Pot-luck brunch); at Larrie & Heather's |
- Primary book:
- Us Conductors (Sean Michaels)
- Companion book:
- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
|
January 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred and Joette's |
- Primary book:
- Quartet For the End of Time (Johanna Skibsrud)
- Companion book:
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot)
|
2014
|
December 14th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's |
There is no assigned reading for this gathering! Seasonal hijinks, the threat of Christmas carols; maybe even eggnog! If we're not vigilant, the conversation may accidentally drift towards the literary: so be warned!
|
October 19th (Sunday)
@ 3:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Leith & Rob's |
- Primary book:
- Sweet Tooth (Ian McEwan)
- Companion book:
- if I understood the collective decision, we decided to make this one a Reader's Choice among either
1) an espionage-related book (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was mentioned; as wa "The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad); or
2) a food-related book (My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme was mentioned); or
3) a dental-related book (we've already done White Teeth by Zadie Smith,but I suppose there's still White Fang by Jack London, or Dracula; among others...)
|
August 10th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- A Tale For the Time Being (Ruth Ozeki)
- Companion book:
- For the Time Being (Annie Dillard)
|
May 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book:
- The Pure Gold Baby (Margaret Drabble)
- Companion book:
- Rosemary's Baby (Ira Levin)
|
March 16th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie's |
- Primary book:
- Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish (David Rakoff)
- Companion book:
- Nothing To Be Afraid Of (Julian Barnes)
- Optional tertiary book:
- Mortality (Christopher Hitchens)
|
January 19th (Sunday)
@ 11:00 AM (Pot-luck lunch); at Michael & Jean's (shifted from Larrie's at the last minute) |
- Primary book:
- The War of the Worlds (H. G. Wells)
- Companion book:
- The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin)
|
2013
|
November 17th (Sunday)
@ 12:00 noon (Pot-luck brunch); at Fred and Joette's |
- Primary book:
- The Autobiography of Mark Twain (Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens)
- Companion book:
- Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (Stephen Leacock)
|
September 8th (Sunday)
@ 11:00 AM (Pot-luck brunch); at Leith and Rob's |
- Primary book:
- Austerlitz (W. G. Sebald)
- Companion book:
- The Hare With Amber Eyes (Edmund de Waal)
|
June 16th (Sunday, and Bloomsday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book:
- Telegraph Avenue (Michael Chabon)
- Companion book:
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Joan Didion)
|
April 14th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
- Companion book:
- Reader's choice: something by Haruki Murakami
|
January 27th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Larrie's |
- Primary book:
- Let the Great World Spin (Colum McCann)
- Companion book:
- Cosmopolis (Don Delillo)
|
2012
|
December 9th (Sunday)
@ 2:00 PM (Festive pot-luck gathering); at Leith & Rob's. |
- There is no assigned reading for this gathering! Seasonal hijinks, with the threat of Balderdash lending an air of anxiety to the proceedings... We may even talk wistfully of the years when we had enough energy and inspiration to hold our annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup."
|
November 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred and Joette's. |
- Primary book:
- Two Lives (Vikram Seth)
- Companion book:
- Running In the Family (Michael Ondaatje)
|
September 16th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou and Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury)
- Companion book:
- Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
|
June 17th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Jean and Michael's. |
- Primary book:
- Arthur & George (Julian Barnes)
- Companion book:
- Franny and Zooey (J. D. Salinger)
|
April 15th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred and Joette's. |
- Primary book:
- Anthill (E. O. Wilson)
- Companion book (one of the following):
- Naturalist (E. O. Wilson)
The Tiger (John Vaillant)
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (Oliver Sacks)
|
February 5th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); no host has yet been named. |
- Primary book:
- American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
- Companion book:
- The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)
And if you've read this already, choose another title from the Canongate
Myth series.
|
2011
|
December 18th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Festive pot-luck dinner); at Leith & Rob's. |
- There is no assigned reading for this gathering! But members are
encouraged to help revive the tradition of the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" by composing limericks, haiku,
and other forms of doggerel, inspired by any of the books we read
in the preceding year.
|
November 20th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Leith & Rob's. |
- Primary book:
- The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow)
- Companion book:
- A Sport and a Pastime (James Salter)
|
September 25th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's. |
- Primary book:
- A Summons to Memphis (Peter Taylor)
- Companion book:
- Readers' choice: a southern author
|
June 5th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Jean & Michael's. |
- Primary book:
- Travels with my Aunt (Graham Greene)
- Companion book:
- Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis)
|
April 17th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Nou & Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- The Yacoubian Building (Alaa Al-Aswany)
- Companion book:
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery)
|
February 27th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (Pot-luck dinner); at Fred & Joette's. |
- Primary book:
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Michael
Chabon)
- Companion book:
- The Fortress of Solitude (Jonathan Lethem)
|
2010
|
December 19th (Sunday)
@ 3:00 PM (Christmas version of the traditional pot-luck dinner); at Larrie and
Suzanne's. |
- Primary book:
- Hons and Rebels (Jessica
Mitford)
- Companion book:
- Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Members are encouraged to help revive the tradition of the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" |
October 24th (Sunday)
@ 4:30 PM (pot-luck dinner); at Nou and Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (Chris
Hedges)
- Companion book:
- Salamander (Thomas Wharton)
|
May 23rd (Sunday)
@ 4:30 PM (pot-luck dinner); at Leith and Rob's. |
- Primary book:
- Nikolski (Nicolas Dickner)
- Companion book:
- The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant (Michel Tremblay)
|
March 28th (Sunday)
@ 4:30 PM (pot-luck dinner); at Larrie and Suzanne's. |
- Primary book:
- The Go-Between (L. P.
Hartley)
- Companion book:
- Loving (Henry Green)
|
January 17th (Sunday)
@ 5:00 PM (pot-luck dinner); at Nou and Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth (Margaret Atwood)
- Companion book:
- The Gift (Lewis Hyde)
|
2009
|
December 20th (Saturday)
@ 5:30 PM (sit-down dinner);
@ Jean and Michael's |
The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club – where
members are encouraged to keep the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" tradition alive. |
October 25th
(Sunday @ 4:00pm);
pot-luck dinner @ Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Gods Behaving Badly (Marie Phillips)
- Companion book:
- The Queen and I (Sue Townsend)
|
August 30th
(Saturday @ 4:00pm);
pot-luck picnic at little Cates Park |
- Primary book:
- The Botany of Desire (Michael Pollan)
- Companion book:
- Much Depends On Dinner (Margaret Visser)
|
May 31st
(Sunday @ 4:00pm);
pot-luck dinner @ Larrie and Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- Oleander, Jacaranda (Penelope Lively)
- Companion book:
- The Innocent Traveller (Ethel Wilson)
|
March 28th
(Saturday @ 5:30pm);
pot-luck dinner @ Leith and Rob's |
- Primary book:
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz)
- Companion book:
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Mohsin Hamid)
|
February 7th
(Saturday @ 5:30pm);
pot-luck dinner @ Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- The Gathering (Anne Enright)
- Companion book:
- How The Irish Saved Civilization (Thomas Cahill)
|
2008
|
December 27th (Saturday)
@ 6:30 PM (appies and dinner);
@ Fred and Joette's |
The annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club – where
members (supplemented this year by several other
invited guests) are encouraged to keep the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" tradition alive. |
November 23rd
(Sunday @ 4:00pm);
pot-luck dinner @ Larrie and Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
- Companion book:
- Reader's choice
|
September 13th
(Saturday @ 7:00pm);
dinner out @ Café Kathmandu |
- Primary book:
- The Inheritance of Loss (Kiran Desai)
- Companion book:
- Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found (Suketu Mehta)
|
May 11th (Sunday)
@ 12:00 (pot-luck lunch);
@ Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book:
- The Recording Angel (Evan Eisenberg)
- Companion book:
- This Is Your Brain On Music (Daniel Levitin)
|
March 2nd (Sunday)
@ 12:00 noon (pot-luck lunch);
@ Leith and Rob's |
- Primary book:
- The Moviegoer (Walker Percy)
- Companion book:
- Suttree (Cormac McCarthy)
|
January 13th (Sunday)
@ 12:00 noon (pot-luck lunch);
@ Larrie and Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- Soucouyant (David Chariandy)
- Companion book:
- The Serpent and the Rainbow (Wade Davis)
and, for those looking for something additional to read, The
Farming of Bones (Edwidge Danticat) has been approved by the membership as suitable.
|
2007
|
December 14th (Friday)
@ 7:00 PM (pot-luck dinner);
@ Fred and Joette's |
The (slightly pre-Christmas) annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of the book club – where members
are encouraged to help revive the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" |
October 21st (Sunday)
@ 11:00 AM (pot-luck brunch);
@ Leith and Rob's Vancouver residence |
- Primary book:
- Cuba Libre (Elmore Leonard)
- Companion book:
- Scoop (Evelyn Waugh)
|
August 19th (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (pot-luck brunch);
@ Fred and Joette's |
- Primary book:
- The Bastard of Istanbul (Elif Shafak)
- Companion book:
- The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
|
June 3rd (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (pot-luck brunch);
@ Leith and Rob's Vancouver residence |
- Primary book:
- To the Wedding (John Berger)
- Companion book(s):
- Race Against Time: The 2005 Massey Lectures (Stephen Lewis)
and/or
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
|
April 1st (Sunday)
@ 10:00 AM (pot-luck brunch);
@ Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Heat (Bill Buford)
- Companion book(s):
- Kitchen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain)
and/or
Stanley Park (Timothy Taylor)
|
January 21st (Sunday)
@ 11:00 AM (pot-luck brunch);
@ Leith and Rob's |
- Primary book:
- Suite Française (Irene Nemirovsky)
- Companion book:
- Paris 1919 (Margaret MacMillan)
- Rebel "Musical Sub Club" faction's selection:
- One Long Tune: The Life And Music of Lenny Breau (Ron
Forbes-Roberts, Gene Lees)
|
2006
|
December 29th (Friday)
@ 8:00 PM (Grown Ups; desserts, coffee, sweet wines);
@ Larrie & Suzanne's |
The (slightly post-Christmas) annual Special Edition
Christmas Gathering of
the book club – where several members breathed new life
into the annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup" |
November 26th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM (pot-luck dinner);
@ Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book:
- My Family and Other Animals (Gerald Durrell)
- Companion book:
- Justine (Lawrence Durrell)
|
September 24th (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (brunch);
@ Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Volkswagen Blues (Jacques Poulin)
- Companion book:
- The Bean Trees (Barbara Kingsolver)
Plus a chance to talk about other books that
caught your eyes over the summer...
|
June 4th (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (brunch);
@ Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book:
- The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)
- Companion book:
- Maps For Lost Lovers (Nadeem Aslam)
|
March 26th (Sunday)
@ 10:30 AM (brunch);
@ Nou and Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- The Magus (John Fowles)
- Companion book:
- A "reader's choice" / wild card pick, something
Greek- or Mediterranean- related. A
general preference for something
non-fiction, but this will not be strictly
enforced. Suggestions include:
Lawrence Durrell: Reflections on a Marine
Venus (Rhodes)
Lawrence Durrell: Bitter Lemons (Cyprus)
Lawrence Durrell: Prospero's Cell (Corfu)
Henry Miller: The Colossus of Maroussi
Nikos Kazantzakis: Zorba the Greek
Nikos Kazantzakis: Freedom and Death (Crete)
Patrick Leigh Fermor: Roumeli (northern Greece)
Patrick Leigh Fermor: Mani (southern Peloponnese)
Karen Connelly: One Room in a Castle (Spain, France, Greece)
|
January 8th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
@ Leith and Rob's |
- Primary book:
- White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
- Companion book:
- The Polished Hoe (Austin Clarke)
|
2005
|
December 11th (Sunday)
@ Fred and Joette's. |
The annual Special Edition Christmas Gathering of
the book club – including a somewhat bedraggled version of the
annual "Literary
Limerick Reading Roundup".
|
October 16th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou and Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- The Fortunate Pilgrim (Mario Puzo)
- Companion book:
- The Navigator of New York (Wayne Johnston)
Feel free to supplement these two with other books on the immigrant
experience in New York (eg: Call
it Sleep by Henry Roth), or Canada (eg: Lives
of the Saints by
Nino Ricci)
|
August 14th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie and Suzanne's. |
- Primary book:
- Bel Canto (Ann Patchett)
- Companion book:
- Your choice of one of Isabel Allende's books...
|
June 19th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Jean and Michael's. |
- Primary book:
- There Is A Season: A Memoir in a Garden (Patrick Lane)
- Companion book:
- Addicted: Notes From The Belly Of The Beast (Ed: Lorna Crozier)
|
April 3rd (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou and Sarah's. |
- Primary book:
- The Quiet American (Graham Greene)
- Companion book:
- Stupid White Men (Michael Moore)
- Optional additional book:
- The Ugly American (William Lederer, Eugene Burdick)
|
January 30th (Sunday)
@ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie and Suzanne's. |
- Primary book:
- The Old Curiosity Shop (Charles Dickens)
- Companion book:
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
|
2004
|
December 19th (Sunday)
4:00 PM or so.
Pot Luck supper at Leith & Rob's |
The annual Special Edition Christmas Gathering of
the book club (including the annual "Literary Limerick Reading Roundup")
The (scanty, but satisfying) offerings from this year's LLRR are available
here. |
November 14th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Fred & Joette & Aaron's new place |
- Primary book:
- The Cunning Man (Robertson Davies)
- Companion book:
- In the Skin of a Lion (Michael Ondaatje) or
Clara Callan (Richard B. Wright)
|
September 26th (Sunday) @ 4:00 PM.
Picnic format at Cates Park |
- Primary book:
- The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
- Companion book:
- So What (John Szwed)
- Optional additional book:
- Farewell My Lovely (Raymond Chandler)
|
June 20th (Sunday) @ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at
Larrie and Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- Pattern Recognition (William Gibson)
- Companion book:
- No Logo (Naomi Klein)
- Optional additional book:
- Neuromancer (William Gibson)
|
April 25th (Sunday) @ 4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Fred and Joette's |
This time we're experimenting by reading on and about a theme,
rather than picking specific primary/secondary books. The theme this time:
the expatriate experience in Morocco (Paul Bowles, Jane Bowles, William
S. Burroughs, etc, etc).
A reading list has been compiled and can be read here (40k
PDF). |
February 8th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Jean and Michael's |
- Primary book:
- Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Azar Nafisi)
- Companion book:
- Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
- Optional additional book:
- Lo's Diary (Pia Pera)
|
2003
|
|
December 12th (Tuesday)
6:00 PM or so.
Pot Luck supper at
Leith & Rob's
|
The annual Special Edition Christmas Gathering of the book club
(including the annual "Literary Limerick Reading Roundup")
Response to the LLRP was down a bit from the previous year. Read the
2003 offerings, now online. |
November 30th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie & Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- No Great Mischief (Alastair Macleod)
- Companion book:
- The Peppered Moth (Margaret Drabble)
|
September 7th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou & Sarah's
(postponed from June 8th) |
- Primary book:
- Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
- Companion book:
- Desolation Angels (Jack Kerouac)
|
April 13th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie & Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks)
- Companion book:
- The Plague (Albert Camus)
|
|
February 2nd (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Michael & Jean's
Bring some book ideas/suggestions for the Master Book List.
|
- Primary book:
- The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (Roddy Doyle)
- Companion book:
- Last Orders (Graham Swift)
|
2002
|
|
December 15th (Sunday)
5:30 PM or so.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie & Suzanne's
|
The annual Special Edition Christmas Gathering of the book club
(including the "Literary Limerick Reading Roundup")
The response to the LLRP was overwhelming this year. The year
2002 offerings are now online for your perusal.
|
November 24th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book:
- A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
- Companion book:
- The Passion (Jeanette Winterson)
|
September 22nd (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Pilgrim (Timothy Findley)
- Companion book:
- The Living (Annie Dillard)
|
May 5th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Leith & Rob's |
- Primary book:
- Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource (Marq de Villiers)
- Companion book:
- Prodigal Summer (Barbara Kingsolver)
|
March 3rd (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Jean & Michael's |
- Primary book:
- Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
- Companion book - one of:
- Burger's Daughter (Nadine Gordimer)
Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee)
|
January 4th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou & Sarah's |
- Primary book:
- Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (V. S. Naipaul)
- Companion book:
- Glass Palace (Amitav Ghosh)
|
|
December 23rd (Sunday)
8:00 PM (to allow for children to be settled,
and sitters briefed before departure).
Finger food and desserts at Leith & Rob's
|
The now-more-or-less-annual Christmas-Season Reading Event
Bring 1 or 2 favorite pieces (selections of poetry or prose) to share.
A suggestion was made (by someone who shall remain nameless) that
we should each write one or more short poems (limeric or haiku) relating
to one of the selected books from this past year...
Here are the year 2001 offerings.
|
2001
|
November 4th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Fred & Joette's |
- Primary book:
- East, West (Salman Rushdie)
- Companion book:
- Kim (Rudyard Kipling)
|
September 16th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Larrie & Suzanne's |
- Primary book:
- When We Were Orphans (Kazuo Ishiguro)
- Companion book:
- Anil's Ghost (Michael Ondaatje)
|
July 8th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Leith & Rob's place |
- Primary book:
- Perfume (Patrick Suskind)
- Companion book:
- Blindness (Jose Saramago)
|
May 13th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Jean & Michael's place |
- Primary book:
- The Progress of Love (Alice Munro)
- Companion book:
- What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Raymond Carver)
|
March 11th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Leith & Rob's place |
- Primary book:
- Swann's Way (Marcel Proust)
- Companion book:
- How Proust Can Change Your Life (Alain De Botton)
|
January 7th (Sunday).
Pot Luck brunch at Larrie & Suzanne's new place |
- Primary book:
- The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
|
2000
|
October 29th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper at Nou & Sarah's new place |
- Primary book:
- The Sixteen Pleasures (Robert Helenga)
- Companion book:
- Under the Tuscan Sun (Frances Mayes)
|
August 13th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper chez Jean & Michael |
- Primary book:
- The Underpainter (Jane Urquhart)
- Companion book:
- An Equal Music (Vikram Seth)
|
June 21st (Wednesday)
7:00 PM
Chez
Nou and Sarah. |
- Primary book:
- A Feeling For The Organism: The Life And Work Of Barbara McClintock
(Evelyn Fox Keller)
- Companion book:
- A Scientific Romance (Ronald Wright)
|
April 16th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper chez Fred & Joette |
- Primary book:
- Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift)
- Companion book:
- Titus Groan (Mervyn Peake)
|
March 5th (Sunday)
4:00 PM.
Pot Luck supper chez Jean & Michael |
- Primary book:
- Underworld (Don DeLillo)
- Companion book:
- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Ken Kesey)
|
|
January 16th (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- Jack Maggs (Peter Carey)
- Companion book:
- Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
|
1999
|
|
November 22th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
- Companion book:
- Notes From the Underground (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
|
|
September 19th (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Professor and the Madman (Simon Winchester)
- Companion book:
- Birdy (William Wharton)
|
|
July 12th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Memoirs of a Geisha : a novel (Arthur S. Golden)
- Companion book:
- Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (Fatima Mernissi)
|
|
May 17th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Odyssey (Homer, in the Robert Fagles translation)
- Companion book:
- Barney's Version (Mordecai Richler)
|
|
March 8th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Stones From The River (Ursula Hegi)
- Companion book:
- The Tin Drum (Gunter Grass)
|
|
January 3rd (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
- Companion book:
- As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (Laurie Lee)
|
1998
|
|
November 9th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Cold Mountain (Charles Frazier)
- Companion book:
- Return of the Native (Thomas Hardy)
|
|
September 20th (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Englishman’s Boy (Guy Vanderhaeghe)
- Companion book:
- Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
- Optional additional book(s):
- Wolf Willow (Wallace Stegner)
Who Has Seen The Wind (W. O. Mitchell)
As For Me And My House (Sinclair Ross)
The Perfection of the Morning (Sharon Butala)
|
|
July 7th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Really the Blues (Mezz Mezzrow)
- Companion book:
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
- Optional additional book(s):
- Coming Through Slaughter (Michael Ondaatje)
|
|
May 11th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Palace of Desire (Naguib Mahfouz)
- Companion book:
- Lemprière’s Dictionary (Lawrence Norfolk)
|
|
March 9th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Fall On Your Knees (Ann-Marie McDonald)
- Companion book:
- Random Passage (Bernice Morgan)
|
|
January 4th (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Jade Peony (Wayson Choy)
- Companion book:
- Red China Blues (Jan Wong)
|
1997
|
|
November 3rd (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- City of Glass (Paul Auster)
- Companion book:
- The Unconscious Civilization (John Ralston Saul)
|
|
September 7th (Sunday)
|
- Primary book:
- The Cure For Death By Lightning (Gail Anderson-Dargatz)
- Companion book:
- Regeneration (Pat Barker)
|
|
July 7th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Alias Grace (Margaret Atwood)
- Companion book:
- The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
|
|
May 5th (Monday)
|
- Primary book:
- Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Louis de Bernières)
- Companion book:
- Fugitive Pieces (Anne Michaels)
|
