December 12, 2018

After a late lunch we moved to Bev's house for dessert, yummy tiarimisu, and to allow more time together. We planned our next year's calendar and, following tradition, read "Twas the Last Night Before Christmas while passing gifts. Lovely fun!

November 14, 2018

Due to a last minute mishap, we met in a local Chinese restaurant to enjoy an extraordinary dinner and each other's company. Our conversations varied from the discussion of last month's book, to Thanksgiving plans, to politics, to the horrific fires and to any and everything else under the sun.  One thing for sure is you don't have to worry about silence at our gatherings!

As Carol noted, "We had so much fun and laughter. The laughter was so important, especially with all that is going on that is so negative and heavy."

 
After looking in vain for a short book to read during busy December, we resigned ourselves to revisiting an old favorite, Christmas on Jane Street. 

October 17, 2018

We had what can only be described as a marathon meeting, starting early and ending late! So much to talk about! And so many goodies to consume.

We talked several times about our last month's book, Crazy Rich Asians. We had issues with the excessive consumerism and level of manipulation and kept coming back to discuss it again and again. Interesting...

 Our next month's book is in an entirely different vein, The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. It should be a good read!

September 19, 2018

It's only been just over a month, but so much as happened in that time that our evening was alive with sharing. What a lively gathering! We discussed our book, And Then There Were None, and caught up on each others' lives while enjoying our delicious potluck dinner. Another wonderful evening!

Our book for next month will be Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan at Carol's house. 

Later in June 2018

While our group respects tradition, we're not so tied to it that we can't adapt when we want to. Case in point: against tradition, we didn't choose a book to read between May and June, deciding instead to read whatever we'd like. Over the summer we've never chosen a book, seeing this as our free time. Well, we chose differently this year!

 

Meeting one morning in June to celebrate the opening of Penngrove Market, we decided to assign the book Still Life by Louise Penny to read for our August get-together. And a good choice it is! Now off to celebrate summer!

June 4, 2018

As is our June tradition, we gathered at the Beach House to enjoy an extended time together now that school is over and we're free to dally. What a joy of have more time to talk! Our day, though breezy, was bright and sunny, the ocean doing its best to distract us from our conversations. In an extraordinary move, we decided at our May meeting, just a couple of weeks previous, not to assign a book to read but to enjoy the freedom to choose whatever we wanted.

We had many things to celebrate, first and foremost Lucienne's retirement after 26 years of teaching. Cinnabar just lost another good one! The champagne flowed as we celebrated this achievement.

Also being celebrated was the highly anticipated opening of Penngrove Market and the joyful arrival of yet more grand babies!

Onto games! Barbara brought out Cards Against Humanity for the 2nd month in a row. 

And once again we roared at the inappropriate humor. 

We really shouldn't laugh this hard! We might queef!

Learn a new word and use it!!!

April 18, 2018

Talking with dear friends monthly about the joys and sorrows of life is absolutely the best part of our book club. We share the good news of new grandchildren (Lucienne join our ranks a new grandmother!) and the sorrows of the illnesses of loved ones. Indulging in delicious appetizers and wine (or Diet Coke, as preferred), a scrumptious dinner and then relaxing for dessert in front of a newly refurbished fireplace, how can it get better?

The enjoyment of reading our book of last month, The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid, was discussed and a new book for next month, The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig, was chosen. 

March 14, 2018

I missed this evening's gathering but, thanks to friends with cameras, I am happy to report it was another festive and merry event!

I imagine there was a lively discussion about this month's book, Big Little Lies, if my internal rumblings while reading had a similar effect on everyone else. To change moods entirely our book for next month is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Novel by Bill Byson.

 

And the evening celebrated our lovely host's birthday. 

 

Looking forward to next month!

February 17, 2018

Unfortunately the camera stayed on the counter and no pictures were taken of our latest gathering. We spent a good long time discussing our book, The Handmaid's Tale. We commented it was the longest book discussion we'd had in years. There was interesting dissension in our opinions but everyone was heard and our discussion had depth.

More or less continuing in the same vein, our next book is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. It should be another riveting discussion!

Our Even More Extensive Book List, January 2018

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons
Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
Patty Jean's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
All True Travels and Adventures of Liddia Newton by Jane Smiley
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Women of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
Traveling Mercies by Annie Lamontt
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K Rowlings
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher, Ph.D.
Redemption Song by Bertice Berry
The Wedding by Dorothy West
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Drowning Rita by Christina Schwarz
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The Devil's Dream by Lee Smith
Earth Abides by George Stewart
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories by Sarah Orne Jewett
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Liar's Club by Mary Karr
Daughter of Fortune by Isabella Allende
Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp, Wanda Urbanska
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Picher
The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Case Histories: A Novel by Kate Atkinson
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring
My Life in France by Julia Child
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
The Wild Trees by Richard Preston
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Plain Truth by Jodi Piccault
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama
It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Julie And Julia by Julie Powell
Olive Kitterridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Jarrettsville by Cornelia Nixon
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
See You Everywhere by Julia Glass
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Raising Jake by Charlie Carillo
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Prayers For Sale by Sandra Dallas
20 Years Younger by Bob Greene
Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Holes by Louis Sachar
La Cucina by Lily Prior
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Straight White Male by Gerald W. Haslam
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing up Small in Moorland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Time Traveler's Wife by Aubrey Niffenegger
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Giovanni's Light by Phyllis Theroux
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward
Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
California Uncovered: Stories For The 21st Century by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Editor), et al
How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller  
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Faithful Place by Tana French
Major Pedigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay
Unbroken by Laura Hillenband
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
How High the Moon by Sandra Kring
The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Caribou Island by David Vann
In An Instant by Lee and Bob Woodward
Straight Man by Richard Russo
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Steadman
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Persia Cafe by Melany Neilson
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Redfield Farm by Judith Coopey
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
Night Gardening by E.L. Swann
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
Go With The Flo by Judith Dechesere-Boyle
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout 
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Life after life by Kate Atkinson
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George 
Lottery by Patricia Wood
Radical Remission by Kelly Turner
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman 
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson 
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Shanghai Diary by Ursula Bacon 
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Secret Wife by Gill Paul
The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood 
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid:A Novel by Bill Bryson
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Still Life by Louise Penny
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan 
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn 
Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp, Wanda Urbanska  
Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig
Our current book is Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman

January 17, 2018

What a treat to have us all around the table enjoying each other's company and a delicious meal. We had all enjoyed reading our book, The Secret Wife, and catching up on all the news of our busy lives.

Our next month's book is The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood.

San Francisco Field Trip January 7, 2018

What fun!!! Just being together is a celebration, but this day was even more fun than we'd imagined.

 We traveled by SmartTrain, a first for many of us, from downtown Petaluma to San Rafael, took a bus to the Larkspur Landing and, the last leg, the ferry to San Francisco.

Arriving at the Ferry Building, we shopped briefly then enjoyed a luxurious lunch.

Still smiling, we ferried back to Larkspur Landing to reverse our morning's travel. Another fun adventure with the YaYas!