NIght Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry (Italian Eatery-Travail)

We found the restaurant food excellent and the service very good, not counting the food spilled in the cleanup. Our book was quite disappointing.  It purported to be a story of two friends looking for a runaway young daughter, but the plot was confusing, the characters unlikable, and the ending hard to understand.  We gave it one of our lowest ratings ever.  Our next book is In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, and we'll meet on August 12.  Other books considered: Hillbilly Elegy by Vance and Wild Dark Shore by McConaghy.  We also chose our following book: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien.

Serviceberry by Kimmerer and March on Washington by James (Mill Valley Kitchen)

Great restaurant experience with a quiet table, good service and fine food. Our books, however, got mixed but mostly favorable reviews.  The Serviceberry was a paean to communitarianism with a hope that, as a culture, we can create the circle of life represented by the serviceberry's role in the natural world. The March on Washington was bogged down at the beginning by detailing the almost day-by-day efforts of A. Philip Randolph to organize a massive demonstration for civil rights before and during WWII.  We found the author's story-telling skills to be weak.

Our next book is Kevin Barry's Night Boat to Tangier.  Other titles considerted were Moore, The God of the Woods, Backman, My Friends, and Snyder, On Tyranny.  Peter is up next to suggest books.  We'll meet on July 1.

Martyr! by Keveh Akbar (Minnesota Valley Country Club)

Max reserved a table for us at his country club. Situated in a private room with views of the links, it was comfortable and quiet and provided us with excellent food and service.  The book got a mixed welcome: some thought it meandering and confusing while others appreciated the writing and the author's search for meaning in death. We chose two books for next time (May 28) because they are short and easy reads: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and The March on Washington by William Jones.  Don will suggest the next book.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Dick's house)

Over home-cooked lasagne, we had an excellent discussion of the McBride book and talked about many other topics as well (e.g., politics and movies).  Max participated via Zoom which was a much better experience than the last time we tried. Most of us considered the book one of the best reads ever, stressing the author's insights, mixed backgrounds, and story telling abilities. Our next book is Akbar's Martyr!, an immigrant tale.  Other titles considered were The Overstory by Richard Powers and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (it turned out that we had already read the latter and we agreed to put different Vonnegut title on the list in the future.). Peter is next in line to suggest the following book; we'll meet on April 23.

The Dragon from Chicago by Pamela Toler (Ron's Condo)

Toler's book traces the life of Sigrid Schultz, one of the pioneering female foreign war correspondents of the 20th century.  With unusual drive and talent, she covered the rise of the Nazis in Germany, worming her way into the personal lives of Goering and other pals of Hitler.  Our dinner at Ron's condo was homemade and delicious; our virtual connection with out-of-town members was only partially successful. Our next book is James McBride, The Heaven and Earth GroceryStore.  We also considered Ann Patchett's Bel Canto and Louise Erdrich's Night Watchman.  We plan to meet next time on Wednesday, March 5, and the next person to offer new book titles is Don.