RLC Literary Evening Recap

September 2026

Below is a summary of the books that each member shared

Spencer - The Odyssey - film - 2026 - Christopher Nolan, fillmmaker. The Odyssey - translated by Robert Fagles pub. 1997. The Odyssey - Hear What Homer’s Odyssey Sounded Like When Sung in the Original Ancient Greek. OpenCulture.com in History, Literature, Music July 29th, 2026 Interesting to note the changes in “truth telling” in the process of Odysseus’s telling of his journey.

Marcy - Listening to audio books while driving. Judge Stone: A Novel - by James Patterson and Viola Davis pub. 2026 The trial of a doctor that performed an abortion for a young pregnant woman in Alabama, dealing with the extreme pressures on the judge, cultural and political. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness - by Michael Pollan pub. 2026 Nonfiction, by a science writer. Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life.

Gary - Audio books Twist: A Novel - by Colum McCann pub. 2025 A writer gets a gig to write about a ship that repairs undersea communication cables. A story about the hidden world deep under the ocean, and the fascinating shipboard relationships that ensue. Writing is terrific.

Sarah - Imagine A Woman in Love with Herself: Embracing Your Wisdom and Wholeness - by Patricia Lynn Rilley pub. 1999 Based on the 20 stanzas of her poem, Imagine a Woman, the book investigates empowering women with opportunities for personal growth and professional enhancement. On Our Knees: Loving Your Life Even When You Hate What’s Happening - by Regena Thomashauer pub. 2026 For the author, a reckoning—with loss, with darkness, with the goddess, and with herself—in the most daring, most intimate, and most essential book of her life.

Cassandra - World Travel: An Irreverent Guide - by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever pub. 2024 A life of experience is collected into an entertaining, practical, fun and frank travel guide that gives readers an introduction to some of his favorite places—in his own words. Such a gravity about him that people gravitate to him. Anthony Bourdain Remembered: A New York Times Bestseller and Moving Tribute—-Memories from Friends, Chefs, and Fans by CNN A moving and insightful collection of quotes, memories, and images celebrating the life of Anthony Bourdain Trudeau & Doonesbury: A Biography: The Cartoonist Who Turned the News into Art - by Joshua Kendall pub. 2026 Biographer Joshua Kendall tells the story of the cartoonist and what drove him to put pen to paper. And he shows the changing world it reflected; Doonesbury began appearing in papers nationwide in 1970, and big events, from Watergate to the war in Vietnam, fueled its popularity and its significance.

Susan - The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka - by Ernst Pawel pub. 1984 Pawel, a wonderful writer, is always lucid, quick to catch the subtlest ironies in the unfolding of history. Of course Kafka's life itself was a great irony, as he only achieved wide recognition after his death and after he thought his novels had been destroyed. Kafka epitomized the conflict between the emotional creative mind and the rational cognitive mind. The cultural, racial and political conflict of the time reflected in the man, he wrote nightmarish stories about anxiety isolation and oppressive bureaucracy. The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring - by Richard Preston pub. 2007 Pioneering exploration of the redwood canopies by a small group of dedicated amateur naturalists and botanists, previously thought impossible to climb. Preston’s account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative.

Tod - The Rest of Our Lives: A Novel - by Ben Markovits pub. 2025 A story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story. A triumphantly life-affirming road trip novel about marriage, middle-age, and a man at a crossroads in his life. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood - by Trevor Noah pub. 2026 “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire

Mary - The Ghost of Marlow House by Bobbi Holmes pub. 2014 Haunting Danielle series book I of 39. The popular paranormal cozy mystery series; collection centered on a young woman who inherits a historic estate and discovers it is occupied by a charismatic, long-dead resident. The overarching narrative balances lighthearted small-town drama, clean romance, and amateur detective work. Light fun reading. Most recent in the series pub. 2026.

Nathan - Being Mortal by Atul Gawande pub. 2017 Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Here he examines its ultimate limitations and failures―in his own practices as well as others'―as life draws to a close. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end. Did I Ever Tell You?: A Memoir by Genevieve Kingston pub. 2024 Did I Ever Tell You? reads like a novel but is an unforgettable true story. Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston was just eleven years old when her mother passed away, leaving behind a chest filled with gifts and letters to celebrate the milestones of Gwen’s life and each of her birthdays until age thirty. This transformative memoir is a moving coming-of age story and an “extraordinary testament to the power of love over death.” (Sarah Ruhl)