Join in the discussion, open to all who read the assigned book, 

no club to join. Usually 11:45 on last Sunday.

Meeting on Zoom

CPC Book Group 2026

JANUARY 25 - TRUST by Hernan Dias. This 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, is structured in four contrasting parts, offering multiple perspectives on the lives of a wealthy New York financier, Andrew Bevel, and his wife, Mildred. Pages 416

FEBRUARY 22 - A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE by Sonia Purnell This is a biography of Virginia Hall who worked for the UK’s Special Operation Executive (SOE)then the Office of Strategic Services (OSS forerunner of the CIA) in occupied France in World War II. It’s a gripping and thrilling story of risking her life constantly while facing down sexism with both organizations and the French Resistance. Pages 368

MARCH 29 - PLAYGROUND by Richard Powers the story uses the concept of “play” in games, evolution and AI to reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature, contrasting the drive to win with playing to keep playing. 400 pages

APRIL 26 – MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND by Helen Simonson is a contemporary comedy of manners and a cross-cultural story et in a picturesque, but prejudiced, English village. Explored are themes of tradition, family duty, social change, and the possibility of finding happiness later in life. 370 pages

MAY 31 – THE COUNTERFEIT COUNTESS by Elizabeth V. White and Joanna Sliwa tells the true story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg, a Jewish mathematician who survived World War II and saved thousands of lives by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat. 336

pages

June 28 – THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE by Louise Erdrich tells the story of a year in the life of seven-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas (Little Frog) on Madeline Island in the 1840s, detailing her Anishinaabe family's traditions, connection to nature, and resilience as they

face challenges like illness (smallpox) and the growing presence of white settlers, emphasizing themes of survival, cultural identity, courage, and the importance of family and community. 244 pages

July – no meeting. Enjoy your vacation or start reading optional book if it comes out in paperback. 

AUGUST 30 – THE BLESSING WAY by Tony Hillerman first novel, published in 1970, introducing Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn as he investigates a murder with supernatural elements, specifically a "Wolf-Witch," on the Navajo Reservation, blending crime fiction with mysticism and Navajo culture. Pages 300

SEPTEMBER 27 - REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt is about an elderly widow and an intelligent giant Pacific octopus, focusing on friendship and uncovering past mysteries. 369 pages

OCTOBER 25 – A MAN OF IRON is a biography about President Grover Cleveland, exploring his unique, principled, yet contradictory two term presidency, pages 384

NOVEMBER 29 – RECITATIF by Toni Morrison is her only short story about two poor girls who room together in a state shelter when they’re 8 and then run into each other years later. One girl is white, the other black, but Morrison deliberately, masterfully obfuscates which is which. (I haven’t heard obfuscates used since I left school)

OPTIONAL READ

THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY BY Kiran Desai a sweeping story of love and family, exploring themes of alienation, tradition, and modernity as two young people navigate life between India and America. Pages 688. 2025 publication date