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DateTitle (click links for blog write-ups)AuthorTopic/GenreCategoryCommentsHost
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11/11/2026FrankensteinMary ShelleyGothic novel, ethics of scienceFiction
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10/13/2026
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9/10/2026Monk and Robot: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, A Prayer for the Crown-ShyBecky ChambersMeaning of lifepost-utopian science fictionSmith reads selection. (Two novellas, also available separately)
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8/12/2026Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated TwinsBarbara DemickAdoption, ChinaNon fiction
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7/14/2026The Heaven and Earth Grocery StoreJames McBrideSocial history, Jews and African AmericansHistorical fiction(Zoom meeting)
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6/20/2026The Murder of Roger AckroydAgatha ChristieMurder MysteryPlayTheater outing in Orinda, featuring Maya Rath ’82 in the cast.-
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5/13/2026The Chinese GrooveKathryn MaChinese immigrant experienceFictionSet in San Francisco(Zoom meeting)
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4/14/2026All Fours: A NovelMiranda JulyMiddle-aged woman's quest for intimacy/sexual explorationFictionAuthor is daugher of Smithie Lindy Hough(Zoom meeting)
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3/10/2026North WoodsDaniel MasonNew EnglandHistorical fictionThe story of a single house in New England over the course of several centuriesDeebie
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2/11/2026Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about OurselvesFrans de WaalAnimal emotionsNon fiction(Zoom meeting)
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1/13/2026JamesPercival EverettAmerican slavery, Mississippi RiverFictionRetelling of Mark Twain's Huckberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. 2025 Pulitzer Prize, 2024 National Book Award(Zoom meeting)
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12/11/2025Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetrySherrill L.
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11/12/2025Orbital: A NovelSamantha HarveySpace, impact of human activity on earthFiction2024 Booker Prize(Zoom meeting)
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10/14/2025HamnetMaggie O'FarrellShakespeare, grief at loss of childHistorical fictionReimagines the life of William Shakespeare's family, focusing on the death of their 11-year-old son(Zoom meeting)
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9/11/2025Balancing Act: Mountains, Family, Career Betsy WhiteWomen's studies, human rights, and mountaineeringMemoirBook club member Betsy White's memoirBetsy
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8/13/2025Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather CancelLoretta J. RossCommunication strategies, social justiceNon fictionSmith reads selection(Zoom meeting)
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7/8/2025This Tender LandWilliam Kent KruegerMississippi River, Depression era life, Native American boarding schoolsFiction (Zoom meeting)
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6/14/2025Murder on the Orient ExpressAgatha ChristieMurder MysteryPlayTheater outing in Orinda, featuring Pat Wright in the cast.-
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5/14/2025Bad Indians: A Tribal MemoirDeborah MirandaNative American experienceMemoirBetsy W.
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4/8/2025The GiverLois LowryYoung adult, dystopian fantasyFictionJennie Abbingsole recommended, and joined from Amherst!(Zoom meeting)
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3/13/2025The Thursday Murder ClubRichard OsmanMysteryFiction (Zoom meeting)
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2/13/2025Demon CopperheadBarbara KingsolverAppalachia, Opioid CrisisFictionChapter-by-chapter retelling of Dicken's David Copperfield set in modern day Appalachia. 2023 Pulitzer Prize (shared with Trust)Deebie S.
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1/14/2025Hijab Butch BluesLamya HMuslim immigrant experience, coming of age queerMemoir(Zoom meeting)
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12/12/2024Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryNancy S.
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11/13/2024The SentenceLouise ErdrichNative American culture, bookstores, ghosts Fiction(Zoom meeting)
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10/8/2024The Scarlet Sisters: Sex, Suffrage, and
Scandal in the Gilded Age		Myra MacPhersonSocial history, women's rightsNonfiction(Zoom meeting)
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9/12/2024World of Wonders: In Praise of
Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other
Astonishments		Aimee NezhukumatathilNature, memoirEssays, memoirSmith Reads selectionBetsy W.
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8/14/2024All the Light We Cannot SeeAnthony DoerrHistorical fiction, WWIIFiction(Zoom meeting)
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7/16/2024Their Eyes Were Watching GodZora Neale HurstenAfrican American experienceFictionPreviously read in 2003(Zoom meeting)
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6/23/2024Spider's WebAgatha ChristieMurder MysteryPlayTheater outing in Orinda, featuring Pat Wright in the cast.-
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5/7/2024The Ohlone WayMalcolm MargolinLocal history, Native American cultureNonfiction(Zoom meeting)
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4/9/2024TrustHernan DiazFinance, novel-within-a-novel, historicalFiction2023 Pulitzer Prize (shared with Demon Copperhead)(Zoom meeting)
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3/14/2024The PearlJohn SteinbeckFolklore, colonialism, social classFiction30th anniversary readSherrill L.
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2/13/2024An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around UsEd YongScience, animal sensesNonfictionMaggie S.
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1/19/2024Betty Wales, FreshmanMargaret WardeHistorical, college lifeFictionSmithie author(Zoom meeting)
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12/14/2023Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryDeebie S.
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11/8/2023The Ride of Her LifeElizabeth LettsTravel, mortalityNonfiction(Zoom meeting)
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10/10/2023SolitoJavier ZamoraImmigration, communityMemoir(Zoom meeting)
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9/14/2023The Book of DelightsRoss GayEssaysMemoirSmith Reads selection(Zoom meeting)
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8/9/2023Are You There God? It's Me, MargaretJudy BlumePuberty, religionFiction(Zoom meeting)
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7/11/2023NightcrawlingLeila MottleyOakland, exploitationFictionSmithie author(Zoom meeting)
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6/17/2023"Gypsy" at Woodminster Theater-Vaudeville, family-Theater outing-
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5/10/2023Braiding SweetgrassRobin Wall KimmererBiology, Native AmericanNonfictionNancy S. and Zoom
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4/11/2023Wuthering HeightsEmily BronteRevengeFiction(Zoom meeting)
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3/9/2023The Secret Lives of Church LadiesDeesha PhilyawSexuality, short storiesFictionSherrill L. and Zoom
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2/8/2023The Elephant WhispererLawrence AnthonyElephantsMemoir(Zoom meeting)
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1/10/2023This Is HappinessNiall WilliamsIrelandFiction(Zoom meeting)
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12/8/2022Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryBetsy W. and Zoom
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11/9/2022In the Shadow of the MountainSilvia Vasquez-LavadoTrauma, mountaineeringMemoirHazel W. and Zoom
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10/11/2022My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's SorryFredrick BackmanFamily historyFictionBetsy W. and Zoom
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9/8/2022The Book of Form and EmptinessRuth OzekiFamily, sanity, librariesFictionSmith Reads selectionDeebie S. and Zoom
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8/6/2022Summer outing to "Hella Feminist" at OMCA-----
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7/12/2022My Life in FranceJulia ChildFrance, cookingMemoirSmithie authorCharmaine D. and Zoom
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6/9/2022The Orphan KeeperCamron WrightAdoption, IndiaFictionBarbara B. and Zoom
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5/11/2022Band of SistersLauren WilligWWI, humanitarianismFictionSmith historySherrill L. and Zoom
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4/12/2022The Undocumented AmericansKarla Cornejo VillavicencioImmigration, communityNonfictionNancy S. and Zoom
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3/10/2022Conjure WomenAfia AtakoraFreed people, superstitionFiction(Zoom meeting)
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2/9/2022The Night WatchmanLouise ErdrichNative Americans, communityFiction(Zoom meeting)
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1/11/2022The FriendSigrid NunezNew York, writingFiction(Zoom meeting)
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12/9/2021Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryBetsy W. and Zoom
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11/10/2021Say NothingPatrick Radden KeefeIreland, historyNonfiction(Zoom meeting)
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10/12/2021Mrs. DallowayVirginia WoolfLondon, societyFiction(Zoom meeting)
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9/9/2021Exit WestMohsin HamidRefugees, datingFictionSmith Reads selection(Zoom meeting)
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8/11/2021Paris in the Present TenseMark HelprinParis, memoryFiction(Zoom meeting)
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7/13/2021On Earth We're Briefly GorgeousOcean VuongFamily, warFictionCharmaine D. and Zoom
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6/10/2021Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The DeadOlga TokarczukAnimal rights, murder, astrologyFiction(Zoom meeting)
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5/12/2021Lincoln in the BardoGeorge SaundersAbraham Lincoln, ghosts, afterlifeFiction(Zoom meeting)
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4/13/2021A Woman of No ImportanceSonia PurnellWWII, spies, woman heroesBiography(Zoom meeting)
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3/11/2021When No One Is WatchingAlyssa ColeGentrification, BrooklynThriller(Zoom meeting)
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2/10/2021Little Fires EverywhereCeleste NgFamily, art, adoptionFiction(Zoom meeting)
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1/12/2021Born a CrimeTrevor NoahHumor, race, familyMemoir(Zoom meeting)
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12/10/2020Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetry(Zoom meeting)
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11/11/2020The New Jim CrowMichelle AlexanderMass incarceration, racial justiceNonfiction(Zoom meeting)
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10/6/2020Black Is the BodyEmily BernardFamily, BlacknessMemoir(Zoom meeting)
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9/10/2020EducatedTara WestoverSurvivalismMemoirSmith Reads selection(Zoom meeting)
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8/5/2020A Gentleman in MoscowAmor TowlesRussia, aristocracy, (hotel) arrestFiction(Zoom meeting)
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7/7/2020CommencementJ. Courtney SullivanSmith, friendshipFictionSmithie author(Zoom meeting)
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6/11/2020The PowerNaomi AldermanFeminismScience fiction(Zoom meeting)
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5/6/2020The OverstoryRichard PowersTreesFiction(Zoom meeting)
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4/7/2020None---Social gathering on Zoom due to onset of COVID-19 pandemic(Zoom meeting)
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3/12/2020There, ThereTommy OrangeNative American stories and cultureFictionBetsy W.
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2/5/2020BelovedToni MorrisonTrauma, slavery, familiesFictionToni Morrison had recently diedBev F.
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1/7/2020Children Playing Before a Statue of HerculesVariousShort storiesShort stories selected by David SedarisNancy S.
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12/12/2019Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryRuth M.
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11/6/2019In the DarkroomSusan FaludiBiography, transgender, HungaryMemoirDeebie S.
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10/8/2019CirceMadeline MillerGreek mythsFictionNancy S.
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9/12/2019How Culture Shapes the Climate Change DebateAndrew J. HoffmanClimate change, scienceNonfictionSmith Reads selectionMary Ann C.
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8/7/2019MilkmanAnna BurnsPolitical conference, gender violenceFictionCatherine C.
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7/9/2019The Left Hand of DarknessUrsula K. LeGuinGender and societyScience fictionCharmaine D.
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6/8/2019A Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam ShakespearePlaySummer Theater Outing at CalShakes-
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5/8/2019Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonClassics, class satireFictionNancy S.
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4/9/2019A Tale for the Time BeingRuth OzekiFamily historyPrevious Smith Reads selectionMary S.
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3/7/2019Sing, Unburied, SingJesmyn WardThe effects of racism on familiesFiction25th anniversary meetingSherrill L.
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2/6/2019A Pearl In The StormTori Murden McClureRowing, love, adventureMemoirSmithie authorNancy S.
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1/15/2019Being MortalAtul GawandeMedicine, deathNon-fictionBetsy W.
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12/13/2018Poetry night: bring a poem to shareVariousPoetryPoetryRuth M.
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11/7/201848 Peaks: Hiking and Healing in the White MountainsCheryl SuchorsHiking, cancerMemoirGuest authorPat W.
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10/9/2018My AntoniaWilla CatherFrontier lifeFiction100th anniversary of the book's publicationBetsy W.
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9/13/2018From Krakow to Berkeley: Coming out of Hiding, An Immigrant’s Search for Identity and BelongingAnna RabkinWorld War II, local politicsMemoirGuest authorNancy S.