Sebastopol moms' book club still reading after 20 years

A group of moms from Sebastopol first started a book group more than 20 years ago, when all of them had children in the third grade at Apple Blossom Elementary School. Now, the women are in their 50s and 60s and those third-graders are thirty-somethings.

“Since we have been reading for so many years, it really runs the gamut of genre,” said Deborah Paggi of Sebastopol, a self-described “literary nerd” who works for Scholastic Books. “We particularly like historical fiction, nonfiction, memoir, contemporary fictions and the classics.”

Each fall, the club selects a classic to read and goes on an annual retreat, renting a house, playing games and discussing classics that range from “The Grapes of Wrath” to “Alice in Wonderland” and even Nancy Drew.

“We’ve been to the coast and to the mountains, and for our 10th year we went to Sedona,” Paggi said. “We are currently reading ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ for our upcoming November retreat.”

The club has given up on deciding on a name, but food and wine are always a complement to the conversation. Once in a while, they coordinate the menu with the book they are reading.

The group meets on the third Thursday of each month, and the meeting host decides on the book about a month in advance. “We want to read what’s contemporary and hot,” Paggi said. “We currently have one member living in Berlin, Germany, and she’s here in the summer.”

Here’s what they’ve been reading this year:

“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doer - This book is why we love to read. It’s superbly crafted and breathtakingly unforgettable. At the onset of World War I, a young blind girl and her father escape from Paris to a picturesque seaside village in France. But when her father disappears, she and her reclusive uncle must create a way to survive the ravages of war while hiding a valuable secret. It’s a stunningly brilliant and heart-pounding portrayal of how war affects all ages, especially children.

“The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert - This will change the way you think about Gilbert, who is mostly known for writing “Eat, Pray Love.” She has the writing chops and displays them with considerable and unflinching abandon. The novel portrays Alma Whittaker, a young woman in the 19th century whose life is what Jane Austen could only dream about.

“Evidence of Things Unseen” by Marianne Wiggins - This lovely, engrossing tale wraps itself around a love story while traveling through the menace of World War II. The stage is set in a small mountain town in Tennessee. The story magnifies the effects of some modern inventions during this era, and how these seemingly localized wonders affected the world itself.

“Into the Forest” by Jean Hegland - A provocative narration about the relationship between two sisters who are coming of age at the same time they are losing both of their parents. A world they knew has caught itself on a destructive course, throwing its inhabitants into chaos. Written by a Healdsburg author, the story takes place in Northern California amongst the redwoods. “Into the Forest” was released as a movie in September, starring Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood.

“The Gold Finch” by Donna Tartt - This novel depicts the evolution of a young man who is surrounded by characters who give him life and to push him towards destruction at the same time. We watch as his life takes him back and forth across the U.S., sailing through some incredible experiences. The story is filled with delightful clichés that serve as the seasoning for the meat of the book.

Does your book club have an interesting reading list? If so, send it to staff writer Diane Peterson at diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. Follow her on Twitter @dianepete56.