Novel Lovers of Sonoma County, CA

Novel Lovers of Sonoma County, CA (originally Novel Lovers of Sebastopol) is a book discussion group where we talk in depth about contemporary literary fiction. We’ve been meeting since February 6, 2011! We really discuss our chosen novels for 1.5 hours. We assume that you’ve read the entire book carefully and are eager to talk about it. We’re friendly and welcoming – not stodgy at all -- but we do take our book discussions seriously!

We read contemporary novels that have received critical acclaim and/or won literary awards. We try to schedule a few books ahead so you can get the book and plan your time.  To participate in this process, comment on our message board, especially the  current Book Recommendations thread.

Please RSVP “yes” when you know for sure that you’ll be there, and please change your RSVP if your plans change. Don’t RSVP “yes” if you mean “maybe,” and please don’t be a no-show. As a courtesy to the wait list and to me, change your RSVP if you can't attend, even at the last minute.

Each time I announce a book, the RSVP list fills quickly, and we often have wait lists. Almost everyone does get in (people's plans change, emergencies and illnesses happen, etc.), so if you're on the wait list, read the book. If you get in, even as late as the day of the meeting, you'll be ready.

We’re now charging dues to cover Joan's Meetup organizer fees and paid Zoom subscription. The fee is small: just $10 each quarter, $40/year, or $30/year when paid in advance.

Here’s how it works:
1.     If you wish to join or remain a member and attend our online meetings, send Joan $10 for the current quarter. Message organizer Joan Price or email directly joan[atsign]joanprice[dot]com. for payment options.
2.     Your dues payment entitles you to “all you can eat” – as many of our discussions of novels and short stories as you wish to attend.
3.     Only dues paying members may sign up for meetings.
4.     If you love our group but it’s a hardship to pay, just let me know and you’ll be exempt from the dues.

Questions? Message organizer Joan Price or email directly joan[atsign]joanprice[dot]com.

Due to the pandemic, we moved our meetings online in March 2020. Here's what we're doing now:
* Novels: During the pandemic, we're still reading one novel a month, meeting online for 1.5 hours. We schedule two meetings on each novel to keep attendance 12 or fewer.
* Short Story Group: In addition to our contemporary novels, we created a short story spin-off group that met monthly before the pandemic. After we started taking our meetings online, we switched the short story group from monthly to every other week: one story, one hour. We have a core group and we're open to new members who want to discuss short stories in depth.