Novel Reading

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

Join us for an exciting evening of fun, laughter, and learning at our Indoor Pickleball Play & Learn event! No experience? No problem! Whether you've never picked up a paddle or you're just looking to have a blast, this event is for you. All you need is a pair of non-marking sneakers (to keep the courts and your knees in tip-top shape) and a spirit ready for some social fun. If you have paddles, feel free to bring them along. Event schedule: **30-minute Introduction:** Get checked in to the facilty, learn the basics of pickleball and get ready to play! **1 Hour of Court Time:** Get on the court with 6 players per court - 4 will play while 2 observe, learn & rotate in every few minutes. **30-Minute Decompress & Social Time:** Wind down at the onsite restaurant & bar, where you can refuel, hydrate, and be social! This is all about having a good time, making friends, and enjoying the game. So come prepared to laugh, learn, and maybe even discover your new favorite sport! Don't miss the chance to dive into the world of pickleball - bring your friends or come solo - everyone is welcome! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. We can't wait to see you there! We'll reconfirm RSVP's again before the event to avoid no-shows and allow those on the waitlist an opportunity to join. **WAITLIST:** Meetup does not allow a waitlist for paid events. If this event fills and you are interested in adding your name to the waitlist, please send host a message through the app. We look forward to a fantastic night filled with strategy, skill and socializing!

Weekly Bible study currently reading through the Gospel of Luke. We meet at Teaism in Penn Quarter. You can find us in the downstairs seating area!

We’re still working to get more people into these Meetups, but our goal is to give PlayYourCourt members a few social tennis outings each week in addition to your practice sessions and Challenge League matches. These Meetups are co-ed, super laid back, and all skill levels are welcome. Post your skill level and a suggested court in the comments section so we can round up as many players as we can for some tennis fun! Also, if you’re looking to meet new practice partners or play some matches and you aren’t already in the PlayYourCourt Community, you can go here to see what we’re all about and sign up: https://www.playyourcourt.com/tennis-community/washington-dc/meetup/ If you love tennis, we’d love to have you! Be sure and watch the quick video that explains how everything works. Happy hitting! - Scott

Alexandria Pints & Pawns is now part of the Chess on Tap community! If you have a travel chess set and/or clock, please bring them so we can be sure to accommodate everyone. If not, feel free to come anyway!

We’re excited to continue building AI in Practice with our monthly social! 🎉 Each month, we’ll host an informal happy hour and dinner at Upside on Moore in Rosslyn. Come join fellow AI builders, professionals, and curious minds for a relaxed evening of conversation, connection, and community. Whether you’re working on AI systems, advising on responsible adoption, or just interested in how AI is shaping law, compliance, finance, healthcare, defense, software, mission-driven organizations, or public service — this is a chance to meet like-minded people and help shape what this community becomes. 🍸 Drinks and food are available for purchase at the venue. 🤝 No formal agenda — just introductions, networking, and sharing what excites us about AI in practice. We’re so grateful for the early enthusiasm, and we look forward to seeing you each month as this community grows! **Date, Time & Location** 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM Tuesday 14 April 2026 Upside on Moore 1831 Moore Street Arlington, VA 22209

**CHILL N CHESS/CHECKERS** Come play!! Classic, clock, social. From novice to grandmaster. We play both chess and [American Pool Checkers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pool_Checkers) (not your kindergarten checkers!). Come chill with us, get your mind in the game. We offer Blunder Support Groups ;) ‍♂️ **How’s your week?** Did you hang a queen? Fork yourself? Promote to *rook* instead of queen? > **Don’t worry—we’ve all been there.** > (Literally. We meet weekly. Bring snacks.) **Parking/transit:** Street parking. Also there are private parking lots in Adams Morgan. For public transportation: Five city blocks away from Columbia Heights Metro stop. Same block for bus stops: D60 and D6X on 16th St. A 7 minute walk from the C51 bus stop and same block for D72 bus stops on Columbia. We limit spots to 10 players on meetup in order to maintain space for everyone -our regulars and players from other signups

This meeting will be dedicated to talking about three Novellas: “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Gabriel García Márquez “By Night in Chile” by Roberto Bolaño “The Invention of Morel” by Adolfo Casares We will be meeting in the National Portrait Gallery Atrium. To stay up to date with events and discuss meetings or books, you can join our Whatsapp group. Please message me to get added.

***Venue Notes:*** *The venue will be updated by EOD April 15 when we can get a better sense of the weather. We will either be at the Garden in Del Ray (100% outdoor venue) or La Madeleine in Kingstowne.* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221289749-this-american-woman **Award-winning comedian Zarna Garg turns her astonishing life story into a hilarious memoir, spilling all the chai on her wild ride from escaping an arranged marriage and homelessness in India to carving her own path in America and launching a dazzling second act in midlife.** **“A deeply honest and hilarious book about how you always win if you bet on yourself.”—Amy Poehler** Throughout Zarna’s whole childhood in India, everyone called her “so American” just for reading the newspaper, having deep thoughts, and talking back to anyone over the age of thirty. When Zarna’s dad tried to marry her off at age fourteen, Zarna fled—first to the streets of Mumbai and ultimately to the glittering paradise of Akron, Ohio, where she got to become American for real. On Zarna’s very American quest to find herself and her calling, she threw herself wholeheartedly into roles like dog-bite lawyer, crazy perfectionist stay-at-home mom, Indian matchmaker, prizewinning screenwriter, and more. It wasn’t until a dare led her to a stand-up comedy open mic that Zarna finally found her spiritual getting paid cold hard cash for her big fat mouth. And as Zarna discovered, after surviving the brutal streets of Mumbai, the cutthroat world of stand-up comedy is nothing. *This American Woman* is an exuberant story of fighting for your right to determine your own destiny and triumphing beyond what you ever dreamed was possible. Zarna’s mantra becomes a call to It’s never too late. If Zarna can do it, you can, too.

We will meet outside as long as the weather is nice. If not, we will move inside. Look out for a comment the morning of each meeting with our exact location. As we are meeting in person, please remember to bring something to read as we usually spend some time sharing our current reads and/or reading when meeting in person. As a reminder, there is no assigned reading; please bring whatever you are currently working on. This group is super casual, sometimes we read and sometimes we talk the whole time. **** NO SHOW POLICY: Due to the high number of members on the waitlist recently we are having to reinstate our no-show policy. If you sign up and no-show to 2 events you will be removed from the group. Reminders are provided weekly to change your RSVP to allow those on the waitlist a chance to come to the meet-up, no 3rd chances with be given. Please be considerate to your fellow members. Thank you! I look forward to reading you!

Note: RSVPs for this meetup opens when our previous one ends. For April, we will be reading Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. The Hardcover runs 165 pages. It was published in 2025. The GoodReads blurb is **A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.** Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past. Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, *Three Days in June* is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

13. The Free Play of the Mind /452 end p. 511. 59 pages.

* We meet inside Zazzy * Bring something to read, as we often take some time at the beginning telling each other about what we're currently reading. * I have a favor to ask of you. To offset the cost of Meetup fees (\~$200 a year), I kindly request that you consider a small donation to my my [Pledge account](https://www.meetup.com/a-different-type-of-book-club-arlington/#pledge). 😊 **NOTE: NO DISCUSSION OF POLITICS: 12/31/21 UPDATE** For the sake of polite company, moving forward, we will avoid the discussion of politics at meetings of the book club. Please let me know if you have any questions. **NON-ATTENDANCE / NO-SHOW POLICY** If you have said that you will attend this event, but no longer are able to attend, please kindly update your status to "Not Attending" so that someone on the waitlist is able to RSVP. **Because this Meetup group is popular, and typically has a waitlist, effective immediately, I'm instituting a two-event no-show policy. If you RSVP as "Attending" but do not show at two events, you will be removed from this Meetup group.** We look forward to seeing you! Best, Jay

Join us for lunch/tea at Asterisk Supper Club to discuss our May book "Under the Oak Tree" by Suji Kim Lady Maximilian is the daughter of the powerful Duke Croyso, but she is rarely allowed outside her family’s sprawling castle for fear that her stutter will tarnish their noble name. When she is forced to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight caught in one of her father’s schemes, Maxi doesn’t dare hope for happiness, let alone love. Her stumbling communication and his gruff manner sour their relationship before it can begin, and Riftan leaves without a word the morning after their vows are exchanged. Now, three years after their disastrous wedding night, Riftan has returned as a war hero. To Maxi’s surprise, despite rumors that he was offered marriage to Princess Agnes, a beautiful and renowned sorceress, Riftan still wants Maxi for his wife. And when he comes to claim her, his longing becomes a desire that bewilders Maxi, even as she is overcome by the scorching heat that Riftan’s presence ignites within her. As she learns to navigate the intricacies of her new life, Maxi will find herself and her courage, and discover that she is anything but powerless.

Welcome, readers! Our April read is **_Martyr!_ by Kaveh Akbar.** The story follows a young Iranian American poet grappling with grief, addiction, and the aching question of what makes a life meaningful. Drawn into an unexpected friendship with a terminally ill artist, he begins to confront faith, love, and the seduction of self-destruction. Lyrical, darkly funny, and emotionally piercing, the novel wrestles with beauty and despair in equal measure. It’s a story about longing—to be seen, to be forgiven, and to matter. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖

**Our April novel is: *The Hong Kong Widow* by Kristen Loesch** **This month’s novel blends gothic atmosphere with historical fiction and chilling horror, set against the haunting backdrop of China. The book is 368 pages in print and 10 hours and 42 minutes on audiobook.** In 1950s Hong Kong, Mei is a young refugee of the Chinese Communist revolution struggling to put her past in Shanghai behind her. When she receives a shocking invitation—to take part in a competition in one of the city's most notorious haunted houses, pitting six spirit mediums against one another in a series of six séances over six nights, until a single winner emerges—she has every reason to refuse. Except that the hostess, a former Shanghainese silent film star, is none other than the wife of the man who once destroyed Mei’s entire life. It is promised the winner will receive a fortune, but there is only one prize Mei wants: revenge. Decades later, the final night of that competition has become an infamous urban legend: The police were called to the scene of a brutal massacre but found no evidence, dismissing it as a collective hallucination. Mei knows what she saw, but now someone else is convinced they know what she did. She must uncover the truth about the last night she ever spent in that house—even if the ghosts of her past are waiting for her there. . . .

This month we’ll be reading Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Feel free to come even if you don’t finish the book!

Let’s meet and share our thoughts about Carson McCullers’ novella, The Ballad of The Sad Café.

We’ll be having a game night! Bring a game, snack, drink or just yourself!

Join us for our April Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *[Stop Me if You've Heard This One](https://www.kristenarnettwriter.com/stopmeifyouveheardthisone)* by [Kristen Arnett](https://www.kristenarnettwriter.com/about) in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.