Greater Sacramento Women's Book Club

MIDTOWN August 2026 — The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore

Wed, Aug 19 · 6:30 PM PDT

Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St, Sacramento, CA, US

📖 Why this book? 📖

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S NOTABLE
BOOKS OF 2024
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLER OF
2024
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF
2024
PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF NPR'S "BOOKS WE LOVE" 2024
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S "100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024"
"A long novel that at first is hard to put down. By page 200, impossible." —
Stephen King

"Extraordinary... Reminds me of Donna Tartt's 1992 debut, The Secret History... / was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air." - Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air,
NPR
"This expertly paced thriller …..has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries. " —
The New Yorker

"Riveting from page one to the last breathless word." - Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions For You
"Brilliant, riveting.. an epic mystery, a family saga and a survival guide... loved this book." - Miranda Cowley Heller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace

Hard to find a book? Suggest a title or use Zip Books at your local library.

💠 What can I expect? 💠

We will meet in-person after hours in Time Tested Books. Front door will be unlocked, and staff will point the way.

💬 We catch up socially;
🧊 we recommend a book or author, and
📕 we start our book discussion at 7pm.

👜 WHAT DO I BRING? 👜

◾️A snack or drink to share
◾️$5 (cash or Venmo *8913)
◾️And you could bring your book 😄

✴️ Event Fee Details ✴️

The $5 is split between our access to this Meetup platform and our access to the meeting location.

You can venmo me (https://venmo.com/u/Rebecca-Bon *8913) or bring cash.

However❕We would never want you to miss a book club discussion because of the $5, so please message me if you have any concerns

(Heads up: Time-Tested Books can run a bit warm after hot downtown days like these. 😅)

Thanks, and see you all soon!

📚 ** BOOK SUMMARY ** 📚

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing.

Barbara isn't just any thirteen-year-old: she's the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region's residents. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara's older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore's multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore's most ambitious and wide-reach-ing novel yet.

GRANITE BAY August 2026 — The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore

Thu, Aug 20 · 6:00 PM PDT

Raley's, 6845 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay, CA, 6845 Douglas Blvd. (Corner of Douglas & Auburn-Folsom Rd), Granite Bay, CA, US

📖 Why this book? 📖

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES' NOTABLE
BOOKS OF 2024
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLER OF
2024
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF
2024
PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF NPR'S "BOOKS WE LOVE" 2024
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S "100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024"
"A long novel that at first is hard to put down. By page 200, impossible." —
Stephen King

"Extraordinary... Reminds me of Donna Tartt's 1992 debut, The Secret History... / was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air." - Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air,
NPR
"This expertly paced thriller …..has the kineticism of a well-crafted miniseries. " —
The New Yorker

"Riveting from page one to the last breathless word." - Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions For You
"Brilliant, riveting.. an epic mystery, a family saga and a survival guide... loved this book." - Miranda Cowley Heller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace

Hard to find a book? Suggest a title or use Zip Books at your local library.

💠 What can I expect? 💠

We will meet in-person in the ‘Gather Room’ at the back left of the store.

💬 We catch up socially;
🧊 we recommend a book or author, and
📕 we start our book discussion at 6:30pm.

👜 WHAT DO I BRING? 👜

◾️A Raley’s snack or bev to share
◾️$5 (cash or Venmo *8913)
◾️And you could bring your book 😄

✴️ Event Fee Details ✴️

The $5 is split between our access to this Meetup platform and our access to the meeting location.

You can venmo me (https://venmo.com/u/Rebecca-Bon *8913) or bring cash.

However❕We would never want you to miss a book club discussion because of the $5, so please message me if you have any concerns

(Heads up: Time-Tested Books can run a bit warm after hot downtown days like these. 😅)

Thanks, and see you all soon!

📚 ** BOOK SUMMARY ** 📚

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing.

Barbara isn't just any thirteen-year-old: she's the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region's residents. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara's older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore's multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore's most ambitious and wide-reach-ing novel yet.

MIDTOWN September 2026 — Nightcrawling, by Leila Mottley

Wed, Sep 16 · 6:30 PM PDT

Time Tested Books, 1114 21st St, Sacramento, CA, US

📖 Why this book? 📖

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A DAZZLING NOVEL ABOUT A YOUNG BLACK WOMAN WHO WALKS THE STREETS OF OAKLAND AND STUMBLES HEADLONG INTO THE FAILURE OF ITS JUSTICE SYSTEM. THIS DEBUT OF A BLAZINGLY ORIGINAL VOICE

"BURSTS AT THE SEAMS OF EVERY PAGE AND SWALLOWS YOU WHOLE" (TOMMY ORANGE, AUTHOR OF THERE THERE).
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORKER, THE WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, TIME, GOODREADS

REVIEWS

• Library Journal * Publisher's Weekly
  AudioFile Magazine
  AWARDS
  Audie Award Nominee

Hard to find a book? Suggest a title or use Zip Books at your local library.

💠 What can I expect? 💠

We will meet in-person after hours in Time Tested Books. Front door will be unlocked, and staff will point the way.

💬 We catch up socially;
🧊 we recommend a book or author, and
📕 we start our book discussion at 7pm.

👜 WHAT DO I BRING? 👜

◾️A snack or drink to share
◾️$5 (cash or Venmo *8913)
◾️And you could bring your book 😄

✴️ Event Fee Details ✴️

The $5 is split between our access to this Meetup platform and our access to the meeting location.

You can venmo me (https://venmo.com/u/Rebecca-Bon *8913) or bring cash.

However❕We would never want you to miss a book club discussion because of the $5, so please message me if you have any concerns

(Heads up: Time-Tested Books can run a bit warm after hot downtown days like these. 😅)

Thanks, and see you all soon!

📚 ** BOOK SUMMARY ** 📚

Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi.

Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison

But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent — which has more than doubled — and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling.
Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.

Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.

GRANITE BAY September 2026 — Nightcrawling, by Leila Mottley

Thu, Sep 17 · 6:00 PM PDT

Raley's, 6845 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay, CA, 6845 Douglas Blvd. (Corner of Douglas & Auburn-Folsom Rd), Granite Bay, CA, US

📖 Why this book? 📖

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A DAZZLING NOVEL ABOUT A YOUNG BLACK WOMAN WHO WALKS THE STREETS OF OAKLAND AND STUMBLES HEADLONG INTO THE FAILURE OF ITS JUSTICE SYSTEM. THIS DEBUT OF A BLAZINGLY ORIGINAL VOICE

"BURSTS AT THE SEAMS OF EVERY PAGE AND SWALLOWS YOU WHOLE" (TOMMY ORANGE, AUTHOR OF THERE THERE).
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORKER, THE WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, TIME, GOODREADS

REVIEWS

• Library Journal * Publisher's Weekly
  AudioFile Magazine
  AWARDS
  Audie Award Nominee

Hard to find a book? Suggest a title or use Zip Books at your local library.

💠 What can I expect? 💠

We will meet in-person in the ‘Gather Room’ at the back left of the store.

💬 We catch up socially;
🧊 we recommend a book or author, and
📕 we start our book discussion at 6:30pm.

👜 WHAT DO I BRING? 👜

◾️A Raley’s snack or bev to share
◾️$5 (cash or Venmo *8913)
◾️And you could bring your book 😄

✴️ Event Fee Details ✴️

The $5 is split between our access to this Meetup platform and our access to the meeting location.

You can venmo me (https://venmo.com/u/Rebecca-Bon *8913) or bring cash.

However❕We would never want you to miss a book club discussion because of the $5, so please message me if you have any concerns

(Heads up: Time-Tested Books can run a bit warm after hot downtown days like these. 😅)

Thanks, and see you all soon!

📚 ** BOOK SUMMARY ** 📚

Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi.

Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison

But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent — which has more than doubled — and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling.
Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.

Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.