Members:

Walt BentleyDoug BowesJohn Colbert
Jody GravesLew GriswoldSteve Harrell
Frank LinikBrian NewtonGeorge Pilling
Dale RowdenWarren SargentSandy Sherriffs
Doug SniderGeorge SwardScott Timmons

Former Members
Don Stone


Books:

Title – author – date of meeting – short synopsis – person who chose the book or where we met

  1. Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen E. Ambrose  September 2014 Jody 
  2. In Search of King Solomon’s Mines: A Modern Adventurer’s Quest for Gold and History in the Land of the Queen of Sheba by Tahir Shah. ¿Jan-Feb. 2015? 20th century adventurer finds a map to immense riches and follows it on a wild travel through Ethiopia.– met at Pillings
  3. The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti March 10, 2015 Cheese in Spain – met at Newton’s
  4. All The Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr April 21 2015 Blind French girl and German boy meet in occupied France. Met at Dale’s house
  5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. June 2015 at Lew’s.
  6. The Martian by Andy Weir Guy stuck alone on the red planet figures out how to get home. Jody
  7. The Men Who United the States: America’s Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible by Simon Winchester. September 2015?  Hosted by Doug.
  8. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Fictionalized account of the life of abolitionist Sarah Grimke, her sister Nina, and their family slave named Handful. Hosted by Steve
  9. H is for hawk by Helen MacDonald December 1 2015 Woman in mourning for her father flies Goshawks in England. Met at Don’s house.
  10. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough Feb. 9 2016 Two brothers decide to take off. Met at Newton’s
  11. The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko March 2016 Speeding through the Grand Canyon with oars met at Jody’s
  12. Dear Leader – my escape from North Korea by Jang Jin-sung. March 2016 Jody.
  13. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Met at Dale’s?
  14. Lab girl by Hope Jahren Sept. 13 2016 Botanist professional and personal adventures – met at Steve’s.
  15. Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger 10/18/16 met at Colbert’s
  16. American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin 12/6/16 Patty Hearst story met at Newtons
  17. The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee 1/24/17
  18. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance.  March 7 2017 Excuses for people to vote for Trump. Met at Colbert’s
  19. A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman. April 18th 2017 Grumpy old man meets new neighbors. Met at Lew’s
  20. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towls. Overqualified waiter fools the reds. Jody. Hosted by Steve.
  21. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. It actually was a railroad underground. George
  22. Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Resa Aslan. 9/25/17 History surrounding Jesus. Met at Walt’s
  23. Chickenhawk by Robert Mason Nov. 13 2017 Helicopter pilot in Vietnam. 11/13/17 Met at Doug’s
  24. Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo. Life and justice in the Arkansas Delta. George selected met at Jody’s
  25. Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward. Ghosts return to haunt dysfunctional family. Met at John’s
  26. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre and John le Carré. March 2018 British class system causes problems for intelligence. March 2018 Met at Walt’s 
  27. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The battle of Gettysburg. May 2018. Met at Jody’s.
  28. Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover. Woman escapes her Idaho upbringing sort of. June 26, 2018 at Steve’s.
  29. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan. September 2018 Met at George’s
  30. Red Notice , Bill Browder. American financier runs afoul of Putin. Met at John’s September 25, 2018
  31. The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels by Jon Meacham. Lessons in history say we have survived it before. Jody’s October 30, 2018
  32. White Fang by Jack London. No meeting.
  33. The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Vietnam with the French.Walt’s 12/11/18
  34. The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores by Diana Marcum Lew’s with author 1/16/19
  35. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Timothy Egan. Doug’s Feb. 19 2019
  36. The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu Borderlands angst.  George’s 3/26/19
  37. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Resourceful recluse gets away with murder. Steve’s 4/23/19 
  38. The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet by Jim Robbins. Cloning the oldest. Walt’s 6/11/19
  39. The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. George P. 8/19
  40. Franciscan Frontiersmen: How Three Adventurers Charted the West by Robert A Kittle. John’s in Los Osos with author. 9/14/19
  41. Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company That Addicted America, Beth Macy. The opioid crisis is huge. Sandy’s 10/30/19
  42. Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Re-imagining Life, Louise Aronson. Get yourself a good gerontologist – now! Lew’s 12/17/19
  43. The Log from the Sea of Cortez, John Steinbeck. Steinbeck the scientist with his friend Richter, a scientist. Doug’s 1/16/20
  44. News of the World, Paulette Jiles . 70 year-old civilizes 11 year-old white Indian captive. Home of George S. 2/26/20
  45. The Overstory, Richard Powers. Tree stories. Steve’s 4/1/20
  46. Blowout, Rachel Maddow. Big oil rules the world. It’s even worse than you thought. Sandy’s 5/13/20
  47. Last Bus to Wisdom, Ivan Doig. Eleven year old cowboy has adventures. Walt hosts 6/24/20
  48. The Splendid and the Vile, Eric Larson. Churchill and WWII personalized. Brian hosts 8/12/20
  49. A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold. George P. hosts (virtual) 9/23/20.
  50. A Branch of the Sky: Fifty Years of Adventure, Tragedy, and Restoration in the Sierra Nevada, Steven R. Sorensen. Testosterone fueled adventures in SEKI for and against the Park Service. Lew hosts 11/11/20. Joined by author (zoom)
  51. Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride, Daniel James Brown. Jody hosts 12/16/20
  52. Braiding Sweetgass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. By Robin Wall Kimmerer. Doug hosts 2/3/21
  53. Apeirogon by Colum McCann. George S hosts 3/17/21 Fathers of daughters killed in conflict try for peace in Israel/Palestine.
  54. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, by Bill Gates. Steve hosts 4/28/21
  55. Robert E Lee and Me by Ty Seidule. subtitled A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause. Lee the traitor exposed. Sandy hosts 6/8/21
  56. Life on a Little Known Planet by Howard Ensign Evans. Bugs, bugs and more bugs. Walt hosts 7/29/21
  57. No One Cares About Crazy People by Ron Powers. The tragedy that is Schizophrenia. Brian hosts 9/15/21
  58. A Matter of Semantics: A Young Officer’s Decision: Duty or Loyalty in the Vietnam War by Frank Linik . Second Lieutenant has second thoughts. George P hosts 10/26/21. Joined by author (zoom)
  59. The Heart of California – Exploring the San Joaquin Valley, by Aaron Gilbreath. Cruise the valley floor. Lew hosts 12/6/21
  60. The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience, by J.S. Holliday. Slow oxen to California. Jody hosts 1/19/22
  61. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Mcintyre. Russian spy escapes to boring British life. Frank hosts 3/9/22
  62. The Sun is a Compass, by Caroline Van Hemert. Woman on epic journey takes husband along. Doug S. hosts 4/20/22
  63. The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich. Preserving a way of life, maybe. George S. hosts 5/24/22
  64. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, by Patrick Radden Keefe. Philanthropic coverup. Doug B. hosts 7/6/22
  65. The Premonition by Michael Lewis. It took a woman to see it coming; men did not listen. John hosts 8/10/22
  66. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Just desserts for characters on an epic journey. Steve hosts 9/21/22
  67. The Jealous Kind by Burke, James Lee. Scott hosts. 11/2/22
  68. Forgotten Heroes by Sandy Ware. Sandy hosts. 1/4/23
  69. If…..Then by Jill LePore. Warren hosts. 2/15/23
  70. The Flag, The Cross, and the Station Wagon, by Bill McKibben. Walt hosts. 3/22/23
  71. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, by Nikole Hannah-Jones. George P. hosts 5/3/23.
  72. Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness, by Guy MacLean Rogers. Brian hosts 6/14/23.
  73. The High Sierra A Love Story, by Kim Stanley Robinson. Lew hosts. 7/24/23. Joined by author (zoom)
  74. Road to Surrender, by Evan Thomas. Jody hosts. 8/31/23
  75. The Disappeared, by C.J. Box. Frank hosts. 10/11/23
  76. Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana. Doug S. hosts 11/29/23
  77. The Ministry for the Future: A Novel, by Kim Stanley Robinson. George S. hosts 1/24/24
  78. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, by David Grann. Doug B. hosts. 3/6/24
  79. Going Infinite, by Michael Lewis. John hosts. 5/1/24
  80. Steve hosts.
  81. Scott hosts.
from Zoom with author