Novel Reading

This meeting will be dedicated to talking about the entirety of "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon Due to recent high popularity of our meetings, we will be having a temporary moratorium new members until a level of member cultivation has occurred. We estimate this will end around July 1st. 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 Discord group. Please message me to get added.

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!

📚 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 a discussion of ***The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet* by John Green.** Here's the summary: The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale. Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book. **Let’s meet at Caboose Commons in Fairfax to enjoy some good discussion and meet new friends.**

Hey Chapter Twoers, let's close out the long weekend with a delicious dinner at Zinnia in Silver Spring. We'll be eating in the main dining room. Look forward to seeing you!

This Oddball Adventure is set in Palestine during World War I. British forces have dueled the Germans and Turks to a standstill, and the commanders are looking for a way to break the deadlock. An Australian Light Horse regiment is brought into the fray, but their mounts represent both an advantage and a vulnerability: water is scarce, with many of the sources controlled by the enemy. If the Aussies advance and can’t secure a copious source of water for the horses, the result will be a catastrophe. ■ Title — *The Lighthorsemen* ■ Director — Simon Wincer ■ Cast — Peter Phelps, Nick Waters, John Larking ■ Rating — PG ■ ©1987 \| 2h 11m \| Drama\, History\, War

This is the sign you've been waiting for. Come write with us Sunday at 7:30 am at Kaldi's Social House in Arlington. Kaldi's opens at 7. Grab a coffee and join the group! We generally have 10 to 14 writers attend each week, and new folks are welcome to drop in anytime. Intros start at 7:30 am. We will write for one hour. After writing, feel free to debrief, share thoughts or get advice. Our meetups are a safe space for writers to work on their craft. No one will read or critique your writing. Kaldi's Social House website: https://www.kaldissocialhouse.net/ \* Resource \* Many thanks to Justin for putting together a shared file of resource discussed at the meetings. Feel free to add to it! [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LONNjZvsO5hEXM7NsBnWCgy3GgPgjAbQxE0lPxp7hc/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LONNjZvsO5hEXM7NsBnWCgy3GgPgjAbQxE0lPxp7hc/edit?usp=sharing)

Open gaming at Panera! New players welcome. We have many games on hand or you can bring your own. We are happy to teach or learn one of yours.

*Betrayal at House on the Hill* is a popular horror-themed board game where 3-6 players explore a haunted mansion, building the map as they go, until a "Haunt" event turns one player into a traitor, flipping the game from cooperative to asymmetric, one-vs-many gameplay with different win conditions for the traitor and heroes. The current version is the 3rd Edition, featuring updated art, characters, and rules for 50 different scenarios (Haunts).

Join us for the Brazil Vs Norway Game at 2 silos! 📍Address: 9925 Discovery Blvd, Manassas, VA 20109 🕒Time: Kickoff is at 4pm, but we will meet at 3:30pm to get situated and place our orders. 2 Silos has great food and drink options as well! Menu [here](https://2silosbrewing.com/tap-list). 🚗Parking lot available outside. if anyone can offer a ride to folks or if you need to carpool, post your comment below in the comments section! ⚽️Come watch the game, grab a beer and bites and enjoy the soccer match and make new friends! See you there! ⚽️

So many ladies in our community are currently navigating romantic transitions, heartbreaks, endings, disappointments, or emotional resets. Instead of isolating through it, I thought it might be beautiful to create space to process it together. Join us for an evening of good food, music, conversation, and supportive community with women who understand how heavy these seasons can feel. This won’t be a sad “sit in silence” kind of gathering think warmth, honesty, laughter, reflection, and reminding ourselves that endings can also be beginnings. We’ll likely include: ✨ journaling + reflection prompts ✨ symbolic release/letting go activities ✨ comforting food & drinks ✨ music and soft vibes ✨ and maybe even a piñata for dramatic effect because healing can be playful too You do not need to share your story if you don’t want to. Come exactly as you are. Sometimes community is the medicine.

Join us for our weekly riichi mahjong meetup! It is highly encouraged to make a purchase of food or drink at the Whole Foods while playing there. We play on the second floor of the Whole Foods in a bar area called The High Point, There is parking for $5 on the weekends at The Boro Garage B. Do not use the whole foods parking lot since it gets up to $25.

Come join us to discuss our July pick "Tusk Love" by Thea Guanzon! Book description: A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars. “A true delight of a book! Spicy and heartfelt—this one is a winner all around.”—Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure. Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack. Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise. Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance. Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role’s Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.

**Our July novel is: *Listen for the Lie* by Amy Tintera** **This month’s novel was named one of the best books of 2024. It’s a domestic thriller with crime, mystery, and murder, told from women’s perspectives. The story includes a detective, an unreliable narrator, and plenty of suspense. The book is 352 pages in print and 9 hours and 18 minutes on audiobook.** What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter? After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it. The truth is out there, if we just listen.

This month we’ll be reading Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. Feel free to attend even if you don’t finish the book!

You might check out the [Columbus Book Festival](https://www.columbusbookfestival.org/) the weekend prior! Celebrating Pride Month and Juneteenth [Columbus library link to book](https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3366564) We're going some place new! (to us) Location: [Tupelo Honey](https://tupelohoneycafe.com/) 1678 W. Lane Ave., · Columbus, US [Menu](https://tupelohoneycafe.com/columbus/menu/) Book summary: A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence

Let’s meet and discuss John Updike's Rabbit, Run, the first in his series of four novels following the life, hopes, and disappointments of former local basketball star, Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, as he fitfully confronts and evades adulthood.