Join the CUMC Book Club at the Monday, March 23rd meeting as we discuss the book, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin,
the best-selling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow;
and now a film starring Lucy Hale & Kunal Nayyar.
A.J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over—and see everything anew.
“This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love – love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory.” Filled with interesting characters, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny depictions of
book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to book lovers everywhere… (more)
The Book Club meets every 4th Monday 12:30 – 2:00pm
from September through June on the Campbell UMC Campus – in the Fireside Room. Feel free to bring your lunch! You can also attend via zoom if you’d like and are unable to attend in person!
At each session’s first meeting in September, everyone brings books that we recommend to the group for the upcoming session. We then have the difficult task of selecting only 7 or 8 (as we often read a Silicon Valley Reads selection during February)! ALL readers & book-worms are welcome!
You can also see the complete lists (with descriptions) of member recommendations for the following sessions: 2024-2025, 2023-2024, 2022-2023, 2021-2022, 2020-2021, 2019-2020, 2018-19, 2017-18, and 2016-17.
(These lists/descriptions include books suggested, but not selected for that particular session – good ideas for further reading).
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Book choices include biographies/memoirs, histories, fiction, and soul-enriching experiences.
We’ve learned about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the way west with Lewis and Clark, stories of courage, adventure, and tragedy, and even how such enterprises as the US Post Office created America and how the “space race” brought about our 21st-Century technologies!
We enjoy new titles and discover fascinating new worlds as introduced to us by fellow readers.
We attempt to select books that are available at local library systems such as the
San Jose Public Library, Santa Clara Cty Library (incls Campbell) and others.
(Audio and eBooks are readily available now too via the Libby app).
We usually include one of the Silicon Valley Reads books for our February selection.
Come and join this book-oriented small group that enjoys reading and learning together.
Everyone is Welcome!
————————— Upcoming Months’ Meetings/Selections —————————
(Upcoming Titles fall under this section, then move to previous selections after the meetings.)
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March 2026 – The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
Meeting: March 23rd, 2026 – in the Fireside Room
A NYT Bestseller by the Author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow; Now a film starring Lucy Hale & Kunal Nayyar
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over—and see everything anew. “This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love–love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory.” —Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the joy of connecting people and books. A. J. Fikry, the cantankerous owner of Island Books, is despondent after losing his beloved wife and witnessing the ever-declining number of sales at his small, quirky bookstore. In short order, he loses all patience with the new Knightly Press sales rep, his prized rare edition of Tamerlane is stolen, and someone leaves a baby at his store. That baby immediately steals A. J.’s heart and unleashes a dramatic transformation.
Suddenly, the picture-book section is overflowing with new titles, and the bookstore becomes home to a burgeoning number of book clubs. With business on the uptick and love in his heart, A. J. finds himself becoming an essential new part of his longtime community, going so far as to woo the aforementioned sales rep (who loves drinking Queequeg cocktails at the Pequod Restaurant). Filled with interesting characters, a deep knowledge of bookselling, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny depictions of book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to book lovers everywhere.
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April 2026 – The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science by Dava Sobel
Meeting: April 27th, 2026 – in the Fireside Room
The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Galileo’s Daughter crafts a luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory who were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own
“Even now, nearly a century after her death, Marie Curie remains the only female scientist most people can name,” writes Dava Sobel at the opening of her shining portrait of the sole Nobel laureate decorated in two separate fields of science—Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre and Chemistry by herself in 1911. And yet, Sobel makes clear, as brilliant and creative as she was in the laboratory, Marie Curie was equally passionate outside it. Grieving Pierre’s untimely death in 1906, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne; devotedly raised two brilliant daughters; drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I; befriended Albert Einstein and other luminaries of twentieth-century physics; won support from two U.S. presidents; and inspired generations of young women the world over to pursue science as a way of life.
As Sobel did so memorably in her portrait of Galileo through the prism of his daughter, she approaches Marie Curie from a unique angle, narrating her remarkable life of discovery and fame alongside the women who became her legacy—from France’s Marguerite Perey, who discovered the element francium, and Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch, to Mme. Curie’s elder daughter, Irène, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For decades the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings that probed new theories about the interior of the atom, Marie Curie traveled far and wide, despite constant illness, to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. Her two triumphant tours of the United States won her admirers for her modesty even as she was mobbed at every stop; her daughters, in Ève’s later recollection, “discovered all at once what the retiring woman with whom they had always lived meant to the world.”
With the consummate skill that made bestsellers of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, and the appreciation for women in science at the heart of her most recent The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel has crafted a radiant biography and a masterpiece of storytelling, illuminating the life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time.
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May 2026 – James: A Novel by Percival Everett
Meeting: 3rd Monday, May 18th, 2026 (4th Mon is holiday) – in the Fireside Room
From the “literary icon,” Pulitzer Prize Winner, and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, a brilliant, action-packed re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.
Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
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June 2026 – Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr
Meeting: June 22nd, 2026 – in the Fireside Room
Winner of the Agatha Award; the first Anna Pigeon Novel.
The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr’s award-winning series—park ranger Anna Pigeon—has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery genre. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness—and finding murder instead…
Patrolling the remote West Texas back country, Anna’s first job as a national park ranger is marred by violence she thought she had left behind: the brutal death of a fellow ranger. When the cause of death is chalked up to a mountain lion attack, Anna’s rage knows no bounds. It’s up to her to save the protected cats from the politics and prejudices of the locals—and prove the kill was the work of a species far less rare…
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——————————— Previous Months’ Selections ———————————
(Titles fall under this section as we meet & complete the books.)
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February 2026 – Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future by Jason Stanley
Meeting: February 23rd, 2026 – in the Fireside Room
Normally each February, we read one of the Silicon Valley Reads books. This year we decided to read one of our member’s suggestions, altho we’ll also add an SVR book if members wish to. The 2026 Silicon Valley Reads theme is Bridges to Belonging.
From the bestselling author of How Fascism Works, a global call to action that tells us “why the past is a frontline in the struggle for a future free of fascism” (Jeff Sharlet, New York Times bestselling author) as it reveals the far right’s efforts to rewrite history and undo a century of progress on race, gender, sexuality, and class.
In the United States, democracy is under attack by an authoritarian movement that has found fertile ground among the country’s conservative politicians and voters, but similar movements have found homes in the hearts and minds of people around the globe. To understand the shape, form, and stakes of this assault, we must go back to extract lessons from our past.
In authoritarian countries, critical examination of those nations’ history and traditions is discouraged if not an outright danger to those who do it. And it is no accident that local and global institutions of education have become a battleground, where learning and efforts to upend a hierarchical status quo can be put to end by coercion and threats of violence. Democracies entrust schools and universities to preserve a common memory of positive change, generated by protests, social movements, and rebellions. The authoritarian right must erase this history, and, along with it, the very practice of critical inquiry that has so often been the engine of future progress.
In Erasing History, Yale professor of philosophy Jason Stanley exposes the true danger of the authoritarian right’s attacks on education, identifies their key tactics and funders, and traces their intellectual roots. He illustrates how fears of a fascist future have metastasized, from hypothetical threat to present reality. And with his “urgent, piercing, and altogether brilliant” (Johnathan M. Metzl, author of What We’ve Become) insight, he illustrates that hearts and minds are won in our schools and universities—places that democratic societies across the world are now ill-prepared to defend against the fascist assault currently underway.
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January 2026 – God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Meeting: January 26th, 2025 – in the Fireside Room
Accolades: NYT Notable Books of 2024 & NYT Best Thriller/Crime Novel of 2024,
People Magazine’s #1 Book of the Year, NPRs Books We Love 2024,
Time Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide. Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
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December 2025 – NO MEETING – Enjoy the holidays and your families – start the next book! 😉
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November 2025 – Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television by Todd Berdum
Meeting: November 24th, 2025 – in the Fireside Room
An illuminating biography of Desi Arnaz, the visionary, trailblazing Cuban American who revolutionized television and brought laughter to millions as Lucille Ball’s beloved husband on I Love Lucy, leaving a remarkable legacy that continues to influence American culture today.
Desi Arnaz is a name that resonates with fans of classic television, but few understand the depth of his contributions to the entertainment industry. In Desi Arnaz, Todd S. Purdum offers a captivating biography that dives into the groundbreaking Latino artist and businessman known to millions as Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy. Beyond his iconic role, Arnaz was a pioneering entrepreneur who fundamentally transformed the television landscape.
His journey from Cuban aristocracy to world-class entertainer is remarkable. After losing everything during the 1933 Cuban revolution, Arnaz reinvented himself in pre-World War II Miami, tapping into the rising demand for Latin music. By twenty, he had formed his own band and sparked the conga dance craze in America. Behind the scenes, he revolutionized television production by filming I Love Lucy before a live studio audience with synchronized cameras, a model that remains a sitcom gold standard today.
Despite being underestimated due to his accent and origins, Arnaz’s legacy is monumental. Purdum’s biography, enriched with unpublished materials and interviews, reveals the man behind the legend and highlights his enduring contributions to pop culture and television. This book is a must-read biography about innovation, resilience and the relentless drive of a man who changed TV forever.
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October 2025 – My Friends: A Novel by Fredrik Backman
Meeting: October 27th, 2025 – in the Fireside Room
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.
Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.
Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art. Audible available 448 pages
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September 2025 – We’ll decide the books for the upcoming session
Meeting: September 22nd, 2025 – in the Fireside Room
Join us for the first meeting of the 2025-2026 Session and
bring your recommendations! ALL readers & book-worms are welcome!
At each session’s first meeting in September, everyone brings books that we recommend to the group for the upcoming session.
We then have the difficult task of selecting only 7 or 8
(as we usually read the Silicon Valley Reads selection(s) during February)!
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*Book selections from the 2024-2025 session have moved here.
See more of previous years’ book selections.