October 2020

This month we discussed Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This was another that had mixed reviews. About half the group had never read the book before and although not everyone loved it, we had a great time discussing it.

The books for 2021 Silicon Valley Reads have been selected and the theme is "Connections". Check out this San Jose Mercury News article and get started! https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/10/silicon-valley-reads-explores-what-keeps-us-connected/

Book recommendations this month:
Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber
The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes by Zachary D. Carter
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

Upcoming book selections:
November 21
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

December 17
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

September 2020

This month we discussed The City we Became by N. K. Jemisin. Opinions on this one were mixed from "couldn't get into it" to "great read". I highly recommend listening to the audio version because the narrator is amazing.

There were lots of book recommendations this month:
The End is Always Near by Dan Carlin
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
The Fate of Rome by Kyle Harper
Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik
One by One by Ruth Ware
Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #1) by Louise Penny
Clay, the History and Evolution of Humankind's Relationship with Earth's Most Primal Element by Suzanne Staubach

Upcoming book selections:
October 17
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
November 21
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

August 2020

I have missed posting for the last couple of months. But remember to look at the list of past books to catch up with what we have been reading. We continue to meet by Zoom and this month we discussed Circe by Madeline Miller. This was definitely a book that everyone enjoyed. As pointed out by one member, it is a retelling of the Greek myths from a woman's perspective. Even if you aren't familiar with all of the myths woven into the narrative, it is a great story.

Upcoming book selections:
September 19
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

October 17
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

May 2020

Apologies for not posting last month. We did meet and discuss The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes in April by Zoom hosted by the Alviso Library. Thanks so much for the support. May was also a Zoom meeting and we discussed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. The consensus opinion was that it was a fun read with some deeper than expected topics explored. The meetings will continue to be virtual for the next several months so pull up your comfy chair, dig in to the following and join us for the discussion.

June 20
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

July 18
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

August 15
Circe by Madeline Miller

March 2020

With the shelter in place order we experimented with an on-line discussion using Zoom. All things considered it was a great success. I think everyone who had read The Library Book enjoyed it for both the history and the mystery. We also discussed what sort of writerly devices we like or don't like. We will likely be doing an on-line meeting for April so if you are new and want to join post a comment and we will help you join in the discussion.

April 13
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes

May 16
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

February 2020

We had a lively discussion about The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung as well as a wide range of other topics this month. I know most of us go home with more ideas of what to read next than we came in with! The book selections for March and April are:

March 14
The Library Book by Susan Orlean

April 13
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes

Next Up for the Alviso Book Club

February 15
The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung

March 14
The Library Book by Susan Orlean