BOOK DISCUSSION
To get you started on your summer reading here are the selections for book discussions next year! Thanks to all who suggested books. The dates and discussants will be in the 24/25 SWC Yearbook. We look forward to having all interested SWC members join us for discussions.
Carol Cotton, Co-Chair
Fran Nelson, Co-Chair
Jeni Flynn, Leah Gilbert, Donna Kolkey,
Ellen Rosenstein, Arliss Willis, Ciji Ware,
October 17, 2024 at 4 p.m.
Shelby Van Meter, discussant
Hotel Silence by an Icelandic author, Audur Ava Olafsdottir.
A short, wistful tale of redemption and self-discovery by Icelandic author Audur Ava Olafsdottir. Hotel Silence is lyrically written with touches of dark humor and rich characterizations. Thought-provoking and utterly beguiling.
November 21, 2024 at 4 p.m
Arliss Willis, discussant
The House of Doors, Tan Twan Eng
A spellbinding historical fiction about love and betrayal, colonialism and revolution, storytelling and redemption. Named a best book of the year by the New Yorker.
January 16, 2025 at 4 p.m.
Julie Carlson, discussant
Open Throat , Henry Hoke
Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling, unlike anything you’ve ever read, in the completely original voice of a lonely and loveable mountain lion living beneath LA’s Hollywood sign. Inspired by P-22, the real-life puma who lived in LA’s Griffith Park. One of The New York Times’ 10 Best California Books of 2023. Open Throat is an unforgettable love letter to wild. –Kirkus Reviews
February 20, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Ciji Ware, discussant
How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Life
Like Everyone Else, Michael Gates Gill (Sausalito author) A memoir which chronicles Gates’ journey from a high-level advertising executive with J. Walter Thompson to a barista at Starbucks.
April 17, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Carol Cotton, discussant
The Women, Hannah Kristin
A book about Frankie McGrath and her enlistment as a surgical nurse in the Vietnam War in 1966 coming from her privileged upbringing in Coronado, CA. While focused on the experience of women in the Vietnam War, The Women reflects on how women were dismissed by history as having never served in the war.