Anita Felicelli

Julian Brave NoiseCat discusses We Survived the Night.

Susan Straight, Gustavo Arellano, and John Freeman gathered to discuss the California Book Club’s June selection, Mecca.

In this newsletter, we introduce the special guest who will talk with author Susan Straight and host John Freeman about Mecca.

Celebrate Pride with 18 striking works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from some of California’s most compelling LGBTQ+ voices.

Author Dagoberto Gilb, special guest Héctor Tobar, and host John Freeman gathered to discuss The Flowers, the California Book Club’s May selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce Héctor Tobar as the special guest to discuss The Flowers with its author, Dagoberto Gilb, and California Book Club host John Freeman.

Whether you’re new to AAPI literature or looking to go deeper, these 20 books, spanning memoir, fiction, graphic novels, and more, are essential reading all year long.

In this newsletter, we introduce our summer-quarter books: American Midnight, The Library Book, and Native Country of the Heart.

Author Robert Hass, special guest Jesse Nathan, and host John Freeman gathered to discuss Hass’s Praise, the California Book Club’s April selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce Jesse Nathan as the special guest in conversation about Praise with this month’s CBC author, Robert Haas, and host John Freeman.

Joshua Wheeler reimagines his ranching family’s stories in The High Heaven.

In her forthcoming book, Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, the novelist returns to women’s lives, curiosity—and horses.

Janet Fitch, Dylan Landis, and host John Freeman discussed White Oleander, the California Book Club’s March selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce Dylan Landis as the special guest in conversation with Janet Fitch and John Freeman about White Oleander.

In Young Man in a Hurry, Governor Gavin Newsom provides a California story that focuses on defining himself.

Greg Sarris, Lisa See, and John Freeman discussed Grand Avenue, the California Book Club’s February selection, and storytelling.

In this newsletter, we introduce Lisa See as the special guest in conversation with author Greg Sarris and California Book Club host John Freeman.

In this newsletter, we introduce the three books that make up the California Book Club’s choices for April, May, and June.

Bringing a fresh set of eyes to seven classic works.

From timely social histories to joyful writer memoirs, here are some highlights from this year’s book reviews.

A biotech prodigy, a charismatic predator, and a pirate-obsessed notebook collide in a sharp, unsettling tale of consent and revenge.

Automatic Noodle author Annalee Newitz discusses robots and world-building.

Author Lisa See, special guest Michael Luo, and host John Freeman had an illuminating conversation about the California Book Club’s December selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce special guest Michael Luo, who will be in conversation about On Gold Mountain with Lisa See and host John Freeman at this week’s California Book Club gathering.

Author Ada Limón, special guest Matthew Zapruder, and host John Freeman gathered to discuss Startlement: New and Selected Poems, the California Book Club’s November selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce Matthew Zapruder as the special guest to discuss Startlement: New and Selected Poems with Ada Limón and John Freeman at this week’s California Book Club gathering.

In this newsletter, we introduce our California Book Club lineup for the winter quarter.

Critic and poet John Freeman and special guest host Walter Mosley had an illuminating conversation about literature and California Rewritten, the California Book Club’s October selection.

In this newsletter, we announce that Walter Mosley is the special guest host in conversation with author John Freeman about California Rewritten, the California Book Club’s October selection.

Angela Flournoy discusses how her second novel, The Wilderness, came to be.

Author Amy Tan, special guest John Muir Laws, and host John Freeman engaged in a rousing and profound discussion of the California Book Club’s September selection.

In this newsletter, we introduce John Muir Laws as the special guest to discuss The Backyard Bird Chronicles with author Amy Tan and host John Freeman.

Joanna Howard discusses her new novel, Porthole; research into auteurs; and enchanted spaces.

In conversation with Anita Felicelli, the beloved author discusses bird-watching, writing, and how nature journaling helped her rediscover purpose and emotional truth.

Cartoonist Adrian Tomine sat down with California Book Club host John Freeman and special guest David L. Ulin for a candid and insightful conversation about the CBC’s August selection, Shortcomings.

In this week’s newsletter, we announce that David L. Ulin will be the special guest to discuss Shortcomings with author Adrian Tomine and host John Freeman.

In this newsletter, we introduce the California Book Club’s autumn selections: a collection of literary criticism, a poet’s new and selected poems, and a family history.

Rosanna Xia, the author of California Against the Sea, the July California Book Club selection, sat down for an engaging conversation with host John Freeman and special guest Marthine Satris.

In this newsletter, we announce that Marthine Satris will be the special guest to discuss the California Book Club’s July selection, California Against the Sea, with its author, Rosanna Xia, and CBC host John Freeman.

Nishant Batsha’s sophomore novel, A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart, uses historical practices to investigate questions of ambition and love in the early part of the 20th century.

Colorado novelist Evanthia Bromiley discusses Crown, childhood poverty, and resilience.

Caro De Robertis shares the process behind their latest book, So Many Stars.

Author Manjula Martin, special guest Susan Orlean, and host John Freeman convened for a rich discussion of the California Book Club’s June selection, The Last Fire Season.

In this newsletter, we introduce journalist Susan Orlean as the special guest to discuss The Last Fire Season, the California Book Club’s June selection, with the author and host John Freeman.

In this newsletter, we cover our California Book Club lineup for July, August, and September.

Author Claire Vaye Watkins, special guest Karen Russell, and host John Freeman discussed Watkins’s stunning debut novel, Gold Fame Citrus, the May California Book Club selection.

In this newsletter, we announce that Karen Russell is the special guest to discuss Gold Fame Citrus, the May California Book Club selection, with author Claire Vaye Watkins and host John Freeman.

Author Ishmael Reed, host John Freeman, and special guest Justin Desmangles gathered with members to discuss the April California Book Club selection.

In this newsletter, we announce that Justin Desmangles will join the California Book Club gathering to discuss Mumbo Jumbo, the April selection.

Rachel Kushner’s The Mars Room explores poverty, justice, and mass incarceration through the eyes of a woman in a California prison.

Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero captures the dark, alienated lives of wealthy, disaffected Los Angeles youth in 1980s California.

Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown blends metafiction and satire to explore Asian American identity and Hollywood stereotypes.

Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon defines San Francisco noir with its dark streets, sharp cynicism, and iconic detective Sam Spade.

Héctor Tobar’s The Barbarian Nurseries explores identity, immigration, and class divides in multicultural Los Angeles with sharp insight.

Author Rita Bullwinkel, special guest Lucy Corin, and host John Freeman gathered to discuss the California Book Club’s March selection.

Author Eowyn Ivey discusses writing and researching her third magic realist novel set in Alaska, Black Woods, Blue Sky.

In this newsletter, we announce Lucy Corin as the special guest to discuss Headshot, the California Book Club’s March selection.

In this week’s newsletter, we introduce fiction writer Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, the special guest joining author Manuel Muñoz and host John Freeman at the California Book Club to discuss The Consequences.

Joshua Mohr harnesses punk energy in the first installment of a saga based in gentrified West Oakland and Norway.

In this newsletter, we introduce the California Book Club’s next picks: a classic experimental novel, a dystopian novel, and a book that combines the personal with natural history.

Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, special guests Don McKellar and Rumaan Alam, and host John Freeman engaged in a rousing discussion of The Sympathizer, voice, adaptation, and belonging.

In Reading the Waves, Lidia Yuknavitch rewrites her life.

Two special guests, Don McKellar and Rumaan Alam, will join the California Book Club to discuss The Sympathizer with host John Freeman and the author.

In this newsletter, we recommend Rachel Khong’s second novel and introduce special guest Mimi Lok, who will join the California Book Club’s December 12 meeting to talk about Goodbye, Vitamin.