San Francisco Sacramento Book Club

For April 2007: When Jesus Came to Harvard

2007-04-03T21:14:00.001-07:00

The next book selection is by Scott.

For April, we are reading When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today.

The next meeting is at Scott and Brian's place, with Scott, Brian and Yara hosting a brunch.

More information to follow.

For March 2007: Kingdom of Shadows

2007-02-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Correction!

We are actually reading Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst for March. It's short; you can read it.

Brunch, Sunday, March 18 at Cecillia's, starting at 11:30 a.m.

For March 2007: The World at Night by Alan Furst

2007-02-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Yoko for the hospitality and the yummy chicken meal!

For March, the selection is The World at Night: A Novel by Alan Furst.

This book is Cecillia's selection (with Yara's counsel) and the next meeting will be at Cecillia's place, date to be confirmed by e-mail. Happy reading!

Technorati : Alan Furst, World at Night

Cha Cha Cha!

2007-01-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture from our last "meeting" on January 13, 2007.

For February: Covering by Kenji Yoshino

2007-01-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Cha Cha Cha in the Mission was a lot of fun, despite the best efforts of the staff to be inconsiderate and inhospitable.

Brian's pick for February is Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights by Yale Law professor Kenji Yoshino. It's one of the shorter works we've read thus far, but if you still don't have time, you can download a short guest lecture he gave at the Georgetown University Law Center that addresses most of his points. The link to the podcast on iTunes is here.

We're meeting at Yoko's (a.k.a "the 'hood") this time. Flak jackets optional (we'll explain at the next meeting).

Technorati : Covering, Kenji Yoshino, Yale Law School, civil rights

For January 2007: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

2006-12-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

For January, we are reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith, selected by Sumi. It's now in paperback! Use the link to buy the book.

Can you believe it's almost 2007?

Technorati : On Beauty, Zadie Smith

For October 2006: Palace Walk by Naguib Mafouz

2006-09-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sumi for the yummy dinner tonight!

The next book, selected by Yoko, is Palace Walk by Naguib Mafouz.

I am sure Terry Gross interviewed him at some point, so we'll have to find it on NPR's website.

Some Book Club Members (July 2006)

2006-07-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

For September 2006: The Essence of Style

2006-07-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Having implemented a new process for selecting the book of the month, our next book for summer is

The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour

by Professor Joan deJean of Penn. Click on the link or the cover to buy the book.

Here's a link to the NPR interview with Joan deJean.

Technorati : Essence of Style, Joan deJean

For July 2006: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

2006-06-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

A light selection for July 2006: Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

For June: Classic Science Fiction!

2006-05-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

For June, we have picked Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Click on the picture or the link to buy the book.

For May 2006: Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman

2006-04-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

The next selection for the book club is Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman. Please use the link if you are planning to buy your book from Amazon.

More links and research to come . . .

Technorati : Bart Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus

For March: In Cold Blood

2006-02-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Our next book is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

For those of you commuting with iPods, it's also available from Audible in a 14 hour unabridged version.

Technorati : In Cold Blood, Truman Capote

Links for Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

2006-02-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

We're reading Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Here are some useful links about the book and the author.

NPR links:

NPR story on Lolita's 50th anniversary, with some discussion by Azar Nafisi.
NPR reading by Azar Nafisi for "This I Believe," unrelated to Reading Lolita.
NPR "Weekend Edition" 2003 interview with Azar Nafisi.
Fresh Air interview with Azar Nafisi (April 2003).

For February 2006: Reading Lolita in Tehran

2006-01-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Many thanks to Yoko for her hospitality this month, and for sharing the secret of succulent flank steak.

The next book, for February 2006, is Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Click on the link to buy the book and earn pizza money for the club!

Andy, in case you can join us at Vicky and Lee's, here is the link to the NPR interview with the author from September 2005. There are several other interviews on NPR as well.

Here are some additional links:
A link to some Reading Group website for the book.
A website that has further links to reviews in major publications.
The publisher's website with description, reviews and reading group questions.

If you want to read ahead, March's selection is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Technorati : Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran

For January 2006: The Lost Painting

2005-12-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

The next book is The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece. Click on the link to order through Amazon.com and earn pizza money for the book group!

The book is on The New York Times' Top 10 List for 2005. There was also a November 2005 review by Bruce Handy in the Times.

The date for the next meeting is January 22, 2006 (!) at Yoko's.

Technorati : caravaggio, lost painting

Runner up books

2005-12-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I just wanted to document the runner up list from our November meeting:

Never Let Me Go
On Beauty
White Teeth
Portrait of Dorian Grey
Tale of Two Cities
Freakanomics
Devil in the White City
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Snow

Scott

For November/December: The Kite Runner

2005-11-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

By acclamation, the next book is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Click on the picture or the link to buy the book.

We will be meeting at Yoko's house on December 11.

Links for Assassination Vacation

2005-10-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Some links on the book:

Sarah Vowell reads from her book on NPR: May 10, 2005
SF Chronicle review
NY Times review
Salon.com

For October: Assassination Vacation

2005-09-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sumi for hosting this past meeting.

Our next book is Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.

The proposed date is Sunday, October 30, at Fred's place.

The Namesake for Sept. 18, 2005

2005-09-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Our title for this month is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Here is a link to the publisher's book club page, with interviews, discussion questions, etc.: Link.

Other links:
Fresh Air Interview with Terry Gross (Sept. 2003)
All Things Considered Interview with Melissa Block (Aug. 2003)
Lehrer News Hour Interview (Oct. 2003)
Salon.com Review (Sept. 2003)

We are meeting on Sunday, September 18 at Sumi's house.

August Candidates

2005-07-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here are the nominations for our August get-together: (Click the links below for more information)

The Dogs of Babel (nominated by Andy)

The Lovely Bones (nominated by Lee)

Assassination Vacation (nominated by Lee)

The Russian Debutante's Handbook (nominated by Sumi)

Chain of Command (nominated by Sumi)

The Namesake (nominated by Sumi)

Freakonomics (nominated by Scott)

Don't Think of an Elephant (nominated by Brian)

Disney War (nominated by Brian)

What's the Matter with Kansas?

2005-04-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the book Andy is suggesting for the next book selection: What's the Matter with Kansas?

NPR Link for Andy

2005-03-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a 2002 NPR interview with the author of Life of Pi, Yann Martel: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=878087.

Runners Up

2005-03-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the other books we considered for the next book:

Next Selection: Life of Pi

2005-03-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

The first book club meeting was held on March 12 about Blink.

The next book is Life of Pi. Click on the link to connect to Amazon and purchase the book!

We haven't set a date or location for the next meeting.

Implicit Association Test

2005-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the implicit association test that's referred to in Blink: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/.

About Blink

2005-02-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of links on Blink that I've found:

NPR:

Interview with Malcolm Gladwell by David Kipen (1/12/2005)
Interview with Malcolm Gladwell (1/12/2005)
Talk of the Nation article (1/11/2005)

Newspapers:

SF Chronicle review (1/30/2005)
NY Times review by David Brooks (1/16/2005)

Online:

Metacritic (what critics are saying)
Salon

First Book -- Blink!

2005-02-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

Our first book is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, who also wrote The Tipping Point. If you use the link to buy the book, we can get a rebate on the book price that we can use to buy pizza or something.

Use this link to buy Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

Brian