January 2025

Recently Read Books

The book discussion group operates without a designated leader, and books are selected by its members. Before the pandemic, the group met in members’ living rooms but have continued by Zoom. Recent books read by the group include: 

• The Travelling Cat Chronicles
  • Hiro Arikawa
  • Set in Japan, the cat, Nana, and his owner, Satoru, take off on a trip to visit friends but Nana is unaware of the real purpose of the mission.

   

• Yellow House
  • Sarah M. Broom
  • This is a memoir of home and family set in New Orleans, before and after Hurricane Katrina.

   

• One Drop: my father’s hidden life
  • Bliss Broyard
  • The daughter of writer Anatole Broyard tells of the search for family history after she and her brother learn as a young adults of their African American roots, a secret her father never shared with them.

   

• Indelicacy
  • Amina Cain
  • A cleaner in a museum, who is captivated by the art, marries a wealthy patron and finds that the life of privilege is more complicated than she expected.

            Indelicacy can be purchased at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California.
  

   

• Lilac Girls: A Novel
  • Martha Hall Kelly
  • In this World War II story of resistance three women, an American, a Pole, and a German, are brought together in treacherous circumstances.

   

• The Rules Do Not Apply
  • Ariel Levy
  • Levy, a notable writer, tells of love and loss as she gives up the comfortable life in her search for adventure.

   

• Born a Crime
  • Trevor Noah
  • The host of “The Daily Show” writes of his life growing up in South Africa

   

• Becoming
  • Michelle Obama
  • A memoir by the former First Lady

   

• Still Life with Breadcrumbs
  • Anna Quindlen
  • A photography career in decline, Rebecca finds love and many layers of life when out from behind the camera.

   

• Nothing to See Here
  • Kevin Wilson
  • An unlikely friendship between Lillian and Madison leads to Lillian’s caring for Madison’s two step-children, who spontaneously combust when agitated