The SLORAM Book Club meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 2PM at Mt. Carmel Church, 1701 Fredericks Street, SLO. Books reviewed by the Club are read & recommended by Members. The books always elicit observations and critiques that are interesting & informative. The Club discussion has a round-the-table format.
June 23
“The First American” by H. W. Brands. Presented by Bill Woodson. USA’s 250th anniversary is here. Get in the mood by reading a great biography of Benjamin Franklin. It was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Franklin was something else. Here are some of the hats he wore simultaneously: journalist, father, inventor, provocateur, moralist, ladies’ man, diplomat, propagandist, revolutionary, tinkerer and humorist. The author brings to life one of the most delightful, bawdy, brilliant, original, and important figures in American history.
July 28
“The Fish That Ate the Whale” by Rich Cohen. Presented by Bernie Troy.
The fascinating untold tale of Samuel Zemurray, the self-made banana mogul who went from penniless roadside banana peddler to kingmaker and capitalist revolutionary.
A Best Book of the Year by San Francisco Chronicle and The Times-Picayune.
August 25
“Becoming Earth, How the Planet came to Life” by Ferris Jabr. Presented by Bob Zdenek. A journey through the hidden workings of our planetary symphony—its players, its instruments, and the music of life—and an invitation to reexamine our place in it.
September 22 “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. Presented by Susan Heinemann. A novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers. A New York Times “Readers’ Choice: Best Books of the 21st Century” pick.
October 27 “The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California” by Mark Arax. Presented by Bob Zdenek. The author is from a family of Central Valley farmers. He has watched the battles over water lurch from drought to flood and back again….and it is still going on. As Mark Twain said: Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting. An Amazon Editor’s pick.