The Jo-Mama Book Club

Another day I'll explain the Jo-Mama Book Club, but for now I'll just list the books we read this year:

January:  The Quiet American by Graham Greene (because of our trip to Vietnam)

March:  The Emperor of Maladies:  A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Makherjee  (We also looked into flights for Germany and got an urgent call from Mom.)  I also had the chance to hear the author read at Booksmith and even talk to him--about what?  The play Wit?

April:  Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster  & the manuscript by Lia Smith, a friend, colleague, and really good writer--146 pages

May:  Being Wrong by Katherine Schulz (while Nancy Pelosi was speaking a the Ocean Campus--Ram Stadium--at the graduation there) 

June:  Howard's End by E.M. Forster--also saw the video of the movie.
Discussed and read sections.  Read David Lodge's intro in Jonathan's edition.

Jennifer Egan:  A Visit from the Goon Squad.

August:  The Invisible Gorilla by Chabris & Simons

Still Alice by Lisa Genova & Small World by Martin Suter--both pertaining to Alzheimer's, a concern we had because of Mom, of course.  Jutta and Andreas told us about Small World back in June, but it didn't arrive in time for Jonathan to read it.

August:  One Day by David Nicolls  (better than the movie, unlike Sarah's Key, which wasn't as good as the movie because of the voice of the narrator)

September:  Interpreter of maladies by Jhumpa Ludriri

--Jonathan was here.  We saw Mom, who was having a hard day, after Max Christensen's memorial service.  We discussed this at home and continued discussing it at the Ananda Fuara Restaurant before seeing Heart of a Soldier at the War Memorial opera House.


November:  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith--We read this,  following Mom's death, because she had loved it.
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December:  Netherland by Joseph O'Neill  We discussed this--though not in great depth--here at home in San Francisco while Jonathan was visiting for Christmas vacation.