Book Drives San Francisco

August meeting - Universality by Natasha Brown

In August, we'll be discussing *Universality* by Natasha Brown, which was longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. "Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar. A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers. Through a voyeuristic lens, Universality focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean. The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown’s Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away." https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/an-extract-from-universality-by-natasha-brown

East Bay Women's Book Club August Meetup: Yesteryear

Hello, fellow female readers -- The book for the August Meetup is Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke For those of you who are new, I will send out the address to my house by Monday, August 17. Looking forward to gathering together and discussing the book. Bonnie

Book 91: Endling by Maria Reva

I heard a review of this book on Fresh Air https://www.npr.org/2025/06/23/nx-s1-5440259/endling-review-maria-reva-ukraine *Starting out as a straightforward story about a Ukrainian biologist, this witty, shape-shifting book turns into something trickier and more interesting.* This sounds like the kind of book I love -- Martha \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **How it works:** We’ll meet at a local brewery for some drinks and conversation. Finishing the book is not a requirement to attend—as long as you don't mind spoilers! We’ll have an unstructured, informal discussion of the book and the themes that the book brings up. We hope to see you there! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- Set in Ukraine, an eccentric scientist breeding rare snails crosses paths with sisters posing as members of the marriage industry to find their activist mother. As Russia invades, they embark on a wild journey with kidnapped bachelors and a last-of-its-kind snail. This darkly comic novel explores survival, love, and hope in times of encroaching darkness. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, NPR, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, THE GUARDIAN, LIBRARY JOURNAL “Startling and ambitious.”—New York Times • “Virtuosic.”—NPR, Fresh Air • “Brilliant and heart-stopping.”—Los Angeles Times Ukraine, 2022. Yeva is a loner and a maverick scientist who lives out of her mobile lab.She scours the country’s forests and valleys, trying and failing to breed rare snails, while her relatives urge her to settle down and finally start a family of her own. What they don’t know: Yeva already dates plenty of men—not for love, but to fund her work—entertaining Westerners who come to Ukraine on guided romance tours believing they’ll find docile brides untainted by feminism and modernity. Nastia and her sister, Solomiya, are also entangled in the booming marriage industry, posing as a hopeful bride and her translator while secretly searching for their missing mother, who vanished after years of fierce activism against the romance tours. Together they embark across hundreds of miles: three angry women, a truckful of kidnapped bachelors, and Lefty, a last-of-his-kind snail with one final shot at perpetuating his species. But their plans come to a screeching halt when Russia invades. In a stunningly ambitious and achingly raw metafictional spiral, Endling brilliantly balances horror and comedy, drawing on Reva’s own experiences as a Ukrainian expat tracking her family’s delicate dance of survival behind enemy lines. As fiction and reality collide on the page, Reva probes the hard truths of war: What stories must we tell ourselves to survive? To carry on with the routines of life under military occupation? And for those of us watching from over-seas: Can our sense of normalcy and security ever be restored, or have they always been a fragile illusion? Endling is a tour de force from an author who weaves a story of love, loss, humor, and devastation that only she can tell.

Book, Coffee, Chit Chat, etc. (Wednesday Edition)

ATTENTION: We are now meeting in person again! Please follow current recommendations around mask usage to keep everyone safe. Masks are always welcome and accepted, no matter the current regulations. If you'd like to meet online check out our meeting on the first Wednesday of every month. It's that time again! Let's chit chat about the books we exchanged last time and welcome newcomers bringing their first book. If you've been before you know the deal, otherwise just bring a book to share and expect to say both a few words about it and why you want to share it.

Rambler Readers August Meeting

**NOTE: We are trying something new for our San Jose locations to avoid traffic. This meeting will be on a SUNDAY afternoon.** Location: Sneha's house in San Jose. Attendees will receive an email with the address several days prior to the meeting. Potluck, Sneha will provide a main dish, we provide everything else. This month's book selection: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman About the book: You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what. Future Books: Sept: SRK Oct: MB Nov: MR Dec: MT

(4th Saturday Richmond District Edition). Books, Coffee, Chit Chat

Bring what you’re reading and we’ll have an interesting group conversation (novels, non-fiction, essays, poetry, romance, cookbooks, science fiction & fantasy, etc.) This “4th Saturday Richmond District Edition” is designed to accommodate the overflow from Emily’s 2nd Saturday Richmond District Book Chat. If you are not able to attend Emily’s Group, then please feel free to join this 4th Saturday version. We meet in the back patio of Bazaar Café (lovely place). If it rains, we’ll meet inside the Café.

August Book Club

August Book Club: The Employees by Olga Ravn

Sátántangó by László Krasznahorkai

Discuss Sátántangó by László Krasznahorkai

The Poet Empress @ Caffe Greco

Come enjoy a snack at Caffe Greco and discuss our August read! Our book for August is The Poet Empress by Shen Tao. Hope to see you there!

August 2026 Bookclub Discussion: At the Edge of the Haight — Katherine Seligman

# 📚 Our August Book Has Been Chosen! Thanks to everyone who voted! Our next **Books & Brew** read is: ## 🌉 *At the Edge of the Haight* — Katherine Seligman Grab a copy, start reading, and join us for a great conversation! ### About the Book Twenty-year-old Maddy Donaldo has built a life for herself on the streets of San Francisco, finding family, routine, and survival in the hidden corners of Golden Gate Park. But when she witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy—and the killer sees her—her world is turned upside down. As police, grieving parents, and her own estranged family search for answers, Maddy must decide whether to continue hiding from the world or risk letting herself be found. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing San Francisco, *At the Edge of the Haight* explores homelessness, belonging, community, and the difficult choices that shape our lives. ────────── 📸 Follow us on Instagram **@booksandbrew_oakland** for meetup photos, book announcements, and future events.

August’s Book: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

Join us to discuss The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, a 2026 Hugo Awards finalist in the Best Novel category!