July 2024 — The Guncle, by Steven Rowley

📆 Calendar Note: this month’s meeting is NOT the third Wednesday as it usually is — please notice this is a one-time move to the last Wednesday of the month. Hope you can make it! ☀️

📖 Why this book? 📖

Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor
National Bestseller • Wall Street Journal
Bestseller • USA Today Bestseller
An NPR Book of the Year
Finalist for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards

From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.

[It’s July, and we’re in the mood for a summer read. The Guncle hits the mark, but it has surprising emotional depth along with its Palm Springs setting. —Rebecca]

Published May 25, 2021

Hard to find a copy? Use Zip Books at your local library

💠 What can I expect? 💠

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

We catch up socially for the first 30 minutes and then start discussing the book promptly at 7pm.

👜 WHAT DO I BRING? 👜

◾️A snack to share (whatever you like!)
◾️$7 (cash or venmo, details below)
◾️And you could bring your book 😄

✴️ Event Details ✴️

Time Tested Books is keeping the store open after hours for our group. To cover the store's overhead, there is a $7 donation per person. You can venmo me (https://venmo.com/u/Rebecca-Bon) or bring cash.

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

Thanks, and see you all soon!

📚 ** BOOK SUMMARY ** 📚

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting — even if temporary — isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we've come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.