About us
!!! SCAM WARNING TO AUTHORS !!!
WE ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EMAIL ACCOUNT:
This is a SCAM EMAIL ACCOUNT: **womensbookclubwinesnacks@gmail.com**
The above address is NOT US, NOR OUR EMAIL.
IT IS A SCAM. PLEASE REPORT TO GOOGLE IF YOU RECEIVE A SCAM FROM THE EMAIL LISTED ABOVE.
WE WILL NEVER EMAIL ANYONE AND ASK FOR MONEY FOR ANY REASON.
All of our books are suggested by members and voted on by our members.
We NEVER contact authors, publishers, or the like.
WHAT WE ARE ABOUT
This Meet Up is for Women of any age interested in a social book discussion. The women in this group seek deep meaning, expanding ideas, and social connection through book conversations. As we are in transition and trying to determine whether our members prefer in-person or virtual, we meet in person on the third Wednesday evening of each month (referred to as Book Discussion 1 ) at Palermo Restaurant, 791 Auzerais Ave., San José, CA 95126. We have a virtual option on the fourth Thursday of each month (referred to as Online Book Discussion 2 ) for those who prefer virtual, live out of the area, or do not make it off the waitlist for the in-person meet-up. Please check the event page for the Zoom link. We invite you to listen to or read the book in any media format that is convenient for you. Occasionally, we may also post opportunities to volunteer in the community or other bonus events that our members are interested in. Get ready for light-hearted and open-minded conversation. Cheers to your next page turned!
A NOTE ON COST
There is no required cost to join or attend our meet-up. We do ask those who feel they can if you might consider sponsoring a month of meet-up costs at $14.99 or a month of Zoom costs at $13.05 per month. This allows us to offer our Meet-Up events without a registration cost charged to members for each event attended. Please message Michelle Lee Walters if you are able to sponsor one of these options for a month**.** We thank you for your support & help in keeping this meeting accessible.
A NOTE ON COMMUNICATION
The gals who lead Women's Book Club, Wine, and Snacks are donating their time, energy, and knowledge for fun and for free. We appreciate all they do to keep us up and running, which is a lot more time, energy, and wisdom than you may think. Meet Up is paid to keep the software of this application, whether on the web, your phone, or tablet, running smoothly. Unfortunately, we cannot access your private contact information through your Meet-Up profile. We message our members through Meet Up. When you can not find our emails, you may want to search your email for: [WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com](mailto:WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com). Our emails from Meet Up may be in your spam folder. If you have issues receiving emails or are unsure how to access something, please reach out to Meet-Up as they are the sole providers of this platform and the only ones who can help you work out kinks in their system. If you believe you just need some help navigating the web page or application, please message or speak with one of our volunteer leaders. We would be happy to help if you can make time for us outside the meeting. We want this to be accessible and fun for you and we are willing to make time to be sure the process is smooth for you.
A NOTE ON BOOK CHOICES
All the books we read are suggested and selected as a group. Feel free to message any organizers (Michelle, Jean, Sarah, Nicole, Christine, or Lucy) with your book suggestions for our next poll. Unfortunately, as of August 31, 2021, Meet Up has taken away the Poll function. You will receive a message by email through Women's Book Club Wine and Snacks to vote on our poll through an online poll service that is to be determined. Please check your email spam frequently if your Meet Up messages are not landing in your Inbox.
A NOTE ON THE TYPES OF BOOKS WE READ
We are not necessarily a fiction-only book club. We are a book club that relies on its members to suggest books and vote on which books they would like to read for the next five months through a poll. As the founder of this group, I have put a handful of nonfiction books on the poll, and the members do not vote for them. We rely on what the majority votes for. Hopefully, those of us who would like some nonfiction reads will suggest and vote for those suggestions.
If you have suggestions for books that you would like the group to read, feel free to share them with any of the organizers. However, please note that if your suggestions were received after the poll was published or if our poll leaders realized these books had been read or voted on in past polls, they may not make the list. But you should suggest them again anyway if you want the group to reread a past selection or if your suggestion was not taken the first time around. It has happened that the poll managers put a book on the poll again after it was suggested multiple times, even the ones we have already read.
A NOTE ON VIRTUAL VS IN-PERSON MEETINGS:
We have decided that as long as we have an ongoing interest in people registering for both our in-person meetings, which are labeled Book Discussion 1, and our virtual meetings, labeled Book Discussion 2, we will continue to offer both options every month for each book.
A NOTE ON NO-SHOWS
If you have reserved a spot for a meeting and cannot make it, we request you unreserve yourself or send a note to one of the organizers. If you give no notice and are a no-show, you will be flagged & after three no-shows, you will be removed from the group. We ask for this courtesy so those on the waitlist can join in your absence.
Last updated: July 25, 2024, by MLW.;
Author warning created Nov. 21, 2025 by MLW
Upcoming events
6
Book Discussion 1: (in person) The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tuskiyama
Palermo Italian Restaurant, 791 Auzerais Ave, San Jose, CA, USOur September book:
The Samurai's Garden
by Gail Tuskiyama----------------------------------------
Summary:
"The Samurai's Garden" is historical fiction and takes place in the late 1930s during the Japanese invasion of China.
Twenty-year-old Chinese painter Stephen is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese village to recover from tuberculosis. He is cared for by Matsu, a housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also spiritual insight.
Matsu is devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world. Stephen learns to appreciate Matsu's generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu's soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.
The author, Gail Tsukiyama, is half-Chinese and half-Japanese; her mother was from Hong Kong and her father was from Hawaii. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has said her primary cultural influence growing up was the Chinese culture.
Sources:
Amazon - The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
The Talon - Q&A with Writers Week Featured Writer Gail Tsukiyama
----------------------------------------Announcements: Book Recommendations are in! The poll has been announced!!! Please cast your vote, as the polls will be closing at the end of the day on Friday, September 18 th, 2026. The next poll or any announcements will be emailed from: WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com. Feel free to search for this email, as MeetUp emails tend to land in SPAM or SOCIAL mailboxes.
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Donations: If you would like to make a small contribution to support our costs, please email Michelle at Luvshell1@gmail.com for donation information.
We are all Volunteers: Note that no one makes a profit; donations are strictly used to cover our costs.
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Join us at this IN-PERSON event.
The restaurant details are typically located in the right-hand corner of your screen on this meetup event page.
If you can't attend, consider joining us to discuss the same book at the online meetup we call "Book Discussion 2". We also encourage you to join both Book Discussion 1 (in-person) & Book Discussion 2 (virtual) and treat yourself to the full experience of ideas and discussion. Details are in a separate meetup event.
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16 attendees
Poetry Gathering. The optional Sept. prompt: Nostalgia or Duality
First Congregational Church of San Jose, 1980 Hamilton Ave, San Jose, CA, USWELCOME!
We are so glad you found us!Women's Book Club Wine and Snacks presents:
A cross promotional Event from Multicultural Women's Poetry Group:
September Poetry MeetUP
Suggested September Theme:
Nostalgia or Duality_______________________________
QUICK LOOK:
Join us for an inspiring evening where women of all experience levels gather to read, listen, share, and connect through poetry. We are also a social community group that enjoys connection with one another and learning about the lives we each live day to day and how we got to where we are. Whether you share an original piece, read a favorite poem, or simply enjoy the conversation, you'll find a welcoming community that celebrates creativity, connection, and the power of words._______________________________
IT'S IN THE DETAILS
_______________________________
What to bring:
BRING any poetry you would like to share aloud. This month, we have a suggested theme, which is just an invitation and not a requirement; any poetry may be shared. You are free to bring your own non-alcoholic beverage or snack. The group voted not to provide these items, but each could bring their own._______________________________
Inspiration:
We will post poetry writing prompts for the month that may inspire your first poem or your billionth poem. Poetry that is funny, based on true stories, word play, emotional, dim or bright, rhyming or not, long or short…. Give it a go._______________________________
Our Theme this month:
Nostalgia or Duality:
The transition into a new season may inspire us to reflect on life's duality, as nature depicts this all around us. It is the in-between stage of transformation that nature inspires, with dualities like warmth to crisp autumn air. Or explore the nostalgia of years once lived or remembered, such as falling back into school and what the first day was like, but really anything that your heart or mind feels nostalgic about._______________________________
What we will do:
Each person who wishes reads their selection. We will then open it up for supportive discussion from the “I” & “and” perspectives of those who had the privilege of hearing the reading. Following everyone's share, the reader will have the opportunity to share any thoughts about their piece, such as why they chose it or what inspired them to write it. Each person shares one poem, and we would like to give everyone who wishes a chance to speak. If you don't want to speak, you are free to respond with the word "Pass"._______________________________
Donation:
We will never email anyone for any monetary payment or contribution.Your presence is the best donation you can make.
If you are able, we are asking for a 2$ donation for
every person who registers.Contact Michelle Lee Walters here on MeetUp if you have any difficulty.
Venmo handle is: @luvshell1
Last 4 digits are: 4328All donations go directly to supporting the costs of running this MeetUp.
We trust that our members will donate as they are able.
If cost is ever a concern, please reach out - we truly value your presence over your dollar._______________________________
Event Reminders:
Meetup will always send reminders before the event. Occasionally, the leaders will send reminders to your email via Meetup. Some of us receive our MeetUp emails in our Spam folder. If this is the case for you, our direct emails from hosts through Meetup will come from ** WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com ** so you can use this to search for messages._______________________________
What to share in the discussion:
Share anything you feel comfortable offering - your thoughts, feelings, questions, personal connections, memories, or insights about the poem, its author, or its history. Our goal is a warm, supportive conversation that explores how the poetry moves us. This is not a critique group; it's a space to encourage and celebrate everyone who shares their words._______________________________
Experience, connection, sharing, and being moved by the power of community through whimsical activities, deep conversation, volunteering, engagement in the arts, and you.
"Come as You Are & Just Join US!"
1 attendeeBook Discussion 2: (Virtual) The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tuskiyama
·OnlineOnlineOur September book:
The Samurai's Garden
by Gail Tuskiyama----------------------------------------
Summary:
(Copied and posted from Judy A.'s Summary in Book Discussion 1.)
"The Samurai's Garden" is a work of historical fiction set in the late 1930s during the Japanese invasion of China.
Twenty-year-old Chinese painter Stephen is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese village to recover from tuberculosis. He is cared for by Matsu, a housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength but also spiritual insight.
Matsu is devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world. Stephen learns to appreciate Matsu's generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu's soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.
The author, Gail Tsukiyama, is half-Chinese and half-Japanese; her mother was from Hong Kong and her father was from Hawaii. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has said her primary cultural influence was Chinese culture.Sources:
Amazon - The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
The Talon - Q&A with Writers Week Featured Writer Gail Tsukiyama----------------------------------------
Announcements: Book Recommendations requested. Feel free to message Jean O. or other leaders with your suggestions. We just completed the POLL. The next poll or any announcements will be emailed from the email address: WomensBookClubWineAndSnacks-announce@messages.meetup.com. Feel free to search for this email, as MeetUp emails tend to land in SPAM or SOCIAL mailboxes.
----------------------------------------
Donations: If you would like to make a small contribution to support our costs, please email Michelle at Luvshell1@gmail.com for donation information.
We are all Volunteers: Note that no one makes a profit; donations are strictly used to cover our costs.
----------------------------------------
Join us at this IN-PERSON event.
The restaurant details are typically located in the right-hand corner of your screen on this meetup event page.
If you can't attend, consider joining us to discuss the same book at the online meetup we call "Book Discussion 2". We also encourage you to join both Book Discussion 1 (in-person) & Book Discussion 2 (virtual) and treat yourself to the full experience of ideas and discussion. Details are in a separate meetup event.
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ZOOM HTML
Meeting ID: 854 9235 1708
Passcode: 67458110 attendees
Past events
209
