Books & Brew 2026 Survey

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro - From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, carefully watches the behavior of browsing customers and passersby, hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. This book offers a look at how AI might play a role in our future, and explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

Dr. No, by Percival Everett - In this satirical novel, math professor Wala Kitu—an expert in "nothing"—is drawn into a villain’s absurd plot to steal a shoebox of nothing from Fort Knox and erase a town. As he navigates espionage, philosophy, and buried American injustices, Kitu must outwit a wannabe Bond villain seeking revenge through the power of…nothing.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury - Firemen don’t put fires out in this world where books are forbidden—they set them. Guy Montag works tirelessly to incinerate any books hidden in people’s homes, until he meets a solitary late-night pedestrian who is quietly nonconformist. Montag’s suppressed doubts begin to surface, and he decides to fight to preserve the hidden world of printed knowledge that still survives.

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown, by Heather B. Moore - When 26-year-old Dolly arrives in San Francisco in 1895 for a yearlong post teaching sewing skills to young Chinese women, she learns about a powerful human trafficking organization and becomes involved in efforts to stop them and help girls and women escape slavery and forced prostitution.

Sweet Thursday, by John Steinbeck – This standalone sequel to Cannery Row returns to the weedy lots, junk heaps, and flophouses of Monterey in the years after WWII. We meet the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears—from a marine biologist returning from the war, to the new headmistress of the local brothel, to a bum struggling with his own demons.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, by Kirsten Miller - In a small Georgia town, a battle over banned books erupts when, unbeknownst to her, a local crusader’s lending library is filled with the very titles she wants to ban. As people secretly read the controversial books, lives begin to change—sparking rebellion, unexpected alliances, and a showdown in a heated mayoral race.

The Great Divide, by Cristina Henríquez - The Great Divide follows intersecting lives during the construction of the Panama Canal: a fisherman and his son at odds, a determined Barbadian teen seeking work, and a scientist battling malaria. Amid ambition and hardship, their paths cross in a sweeping story of resilience, sacrifice, and the overlooked people who shaped history.

Noir, by Christopher Moore - This zany noir is set on the mean streets of post-World War II San Francisco, complete with a suspicious flying object, plane crash, and vanished blonde. The motley cast of characters includes a hapless bartender, his Chinese sidekick, a doll with sharp angles and dangerous curves, a tight-lipped Air Force general, a wisecracking waif, and a black mamba named Petey

Thornhedge, by T. Kingfisher – Raised by fairies, Toadling returns to the human world to offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Centuries later, a knight arrives to break a thorny curse—but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold. The classic Sleeping Beauty story is reimagined in this Hugo Award-winning novella

Blue Latitudes, by Tony Horwitz - In an exhilarating, humorous, and insightful tale of historic adventure, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author retraces Captain James Cook's three epic voyages of discovery. Signing on as a working crewman aboard a replica of Cook's vessel, Horwitz experiences the thrill and terror of sailing a tall ship, as he vividly recounts Cook's voyages and the exotic scenes the captain encountered. Discovering Cook's embattled legacy in the present day, he also explores Cook the man: an impoverished farmboy who broke through the barriers of his class and time to become the greatest navigator in British history.

The Seed Keeper, by Diane Wilson - This haunting novel spanning several generations follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.

Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich - Set on a North Dakota Ojibwe reservation, this is a multi-generational portrait of strong men and women from two families caught in an unforgettable dance of anger and desire and a revelation of the healing power of love medicine.

Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank - A nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, bringing instant death for millions, and initiating a nightmare of hunger, sickness, and brutality. For one small Florida town, miraculously spared, the struggle is only just beginning, as the isolated survivors—men and women of all ages and races—find the courage to come together and confront the harrowing darkness

In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan - When grumpy, nerdy Elliot falls into magic land, he’s appalled by the dearth of technology and the levels of fitness involved in swinging swords around. He’s a little enchanted by the elves and mermaids. Despite his aversion to war, work, and most people, he finds that two unlikely ideas, friendship and world peace, may actually be possible.

Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang - White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel that satirizes the publishing industry and grapples with questions of appropriation and the terrifying alienation of social media.

Replaceable You, by Mary Roach - This rollicking exploration of the quest to re-create the impossible complexities of human anatomy examines the fascinating, often bizarre world of medical innovation aimed at repairing or replacing parts of the human body. Roach investigates the science, ethics, and stories behind modern medicine’s quest to rebuild us.

Books & Brew 2026

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* 1. Help us choose our books for 2026! Please select your top 10 choices from the following. (Click on the hyperlinked titles for more info about each book.)

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* 2. A little bit about you...

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* 3. What would be your ideal time and day to attend a book club?

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* 4. What would be your ideal book club meeting location?

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* 5. What kind of books are you interested in reading and discussing in a book club? (Check all that apply.)