THE SAVVY BOOK CLUB
Read what the Savvys read.
In my novels, seven friends meet every month for wine and a good book. The real Savvy Book Club grew out of theirs. Once a month on Zoom, readers gather for an hour to discuss the books the Savvys read.
WHAT WE READ
Women history overlooked
Our books are almost all about women who accomplished something remarkable and were overlooked anyway. We’ve read about Julia Child’s years in the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA, a whole side of her nobody knows. About Ann Lowe, who designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress, yet whose name was unknown because she was Black. About the Tiffany Girls, the women who actually cut the stained glass. (That one started a good argument: who’s the artist, the person who drew the design, or the one who made the window?)
We talk about the craft, too: how a book is built, why it works, even a cover that doesn’t fit its story.
How it works
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When
One Thursday a month, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom.
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What
A reading list for each semester. (I’m a professor still at heart.)
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Before we meet
About a week ahead, I send a few questions to think about. Guidelines, not rules; the conversation finds its own way.
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Come when you can
Some people don’t finish the book before we meet. That’s okay. They come for the conversation and the connection.
ON THE CALENDAR
This season
Thursday, November 19
By Her Own Design, Piper Huguley
Thursday, December 17
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
January and February
[to be announced]
Earlier this fall: The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club (Martha Hall Kelly), Band of Sisters (Lauren Willig), Last Call at the Savoy (Brisa Carleton).
WHO WE ARE
From all over
We’re readers from Georgia to California, Michigan, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina. We’re all over, and yet we are a group. Reading the same book and coming together to talk about it is a community. Some book clubs end up talking less about the books, but for me the books are what help us think and learn. The social is important too. It’s got to be both.
THE SAVVYS’ SHELF
The Savvys’ reading list
The list in the back of Wedding Plans is the Savvys’ own, and our club has read most of it:
The Secret War of Julia Child, Diana Chambers
The Vintner’s Daughter, Kristen Harnisch
The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club, Faith Hogan
The Summer Book Club, Susan Mallery
The Last Dress from Paris, Jade Beer
The Widow Clicquot, Tilar Mazzeo
I Promise You This, Patricia Sands
The Hot Flash Club, Nancy Thayer
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, Susan Wiggs
SOMETHING TO SIP
The Savvy pour
Sometimes a book comes with something to sip. For Last Call at the Savoy it was the Hanky Panky, created by Ada “Coley” Coleman, head bartender at the Savoy’s American Bar. For the wines the Savvys pour, my husband is the real expert.
The Hanky Panky
1½ oz dry gin, 1½ oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Fernet-Branca. Stir with ice, strain into a chilled glass, garnish with an orange twist.
ONCE A MONTH ON ZOOM
Join us.
You’ll get the reading list, the questions and the Zoom link. Joining the book club also brings you my newsletter, so you’ll be among the first to hear about new books and events. Unsubscribe from either anytime.
“I realized that I wanted to join this group to discuss their book choices and spend time with them!” Cindy, review of Wedding Plans