The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, October 21.
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Hello, fellow bookworms!
I’m one of those people who resists the end of summer for as long as I can, but the autumn coziness has finally seeped its way into my house and made me start to savor reading on the couch with a blanket and a hot drink (instead of a cold one!).
This week, I’m bringing you a collection of books that may encourage you to broaden your perspectives. We all have biases and cemented viewpoints — whether they’re as extreme as the paranoia surrounding the Red Scare, as subtly pervasive as baked-in gender roles, or as seemingly simple as “Dogs don’t talk.” However, these three books challenge the characters’ worldviews and introduce them to different perspectives, and they left me feeling encouraged to open my eyes and see where unexpected lessons might be hiding.
Speaking of, on Tuesday, November 4, UCSB Arts & Lectures brings us political commentator and New York Times columnist Ezra Klein to discuss his 2025 release, Abundance, an examination of the limitations placed on “truly ambitious projects” in the United States and where we all may be negatively affected from this failure to act. Klein and his coauthor, Derek Thompson, instead propose a bold new agenda that better allocates resources and serves the American people. Klein will speak at the Arlington Theatre on Tuesday, November 4, 7:30 p.m. Click here for more information and tickets.
Dog on Earth by JD Miller
It’s a simple premise: a journalist on a “late-career sabbatical” suddenly begins to have profound, insightful thoughts that he believes are coming from conversations with his dog, Elmo. Together, the two of them discover things about the people and animals around them, the world, existence itself, and each other through their conversations and their escapades around the neighborhood — from rescuing an elderly neighbor to matchmaking to investigating a mystery. Anyone who’s had a dog can attest to how much they can teach us, even at the most unexpected of times, and the imprint they leave on our lives and our hearts.
I normally don’t go for any kind of “magical realism,” if this truly qualifies, but Dog on Earth charmed me from the first chapter; unlike others of the genre, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Despite Elmo’s penchant for using “biblical verbs” and occasionally pretentious manner, the overall tone remains refreshingly tongue-in-cheek as well as genuinely touching.
I found myself laughing out loud and tearing up at different parts of the book, and though the discussions between the main character (nicknamed “Muddy”) and Elmo range in topic from religion to reincarnation, the hubris of mankind, and just about everything in between, it all remains comfortingly grounded. Whether or not Elmo is truly speaking through some cosmic frequency that Muddy has become recently tuned into, or whether it is all a figment of Muddy’s bored mind seeking stimulation, you as the reader can be the judge, but the wisdom holds true. I’ll be keeping an ear cocked for any lessons my stray cat friend might have to share with me.
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
A women-only boardinghouse in 1950 Washington, D.C., Briarwood House is the sort of place where the residents keep to themselves. But when the enigmatic Grace Marsh moves in and starts a Thursday-night dinner club, the women of the house, as well as the lonely children of the miserly landlady, find themselves drawing closer, forming bonds, and combining their strengths to conquer each other’s problems, find their niche, and create a community. But when secrets from the past come calling, fueled by the tinderbox of the McCarthy-era Communism fears, and result in an act of shocking violence, the occupants of Briarwood House must confront their biases, make a choice, and decide where their true loyalties lie.
This is a book to savor. As the book turns its spotlight from character to character — from Bea, the baseball-loving tomboy; to Fliss, the former nurse struggling with motherhood; to Reka, the elderly, crotchety Hungarian immigrant with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue; to Pete, the landlady’s teenage son who shoulders more than someone his age should — Kate Quinn does such a marvelous job at spinning the details of each character’s life and personality that it’s impossible not to be drawn into each one’s story. They feel so intimately real that even with a larger cast, it’s easy to keep the characters straight and appreciate their strengths, flaws, and the unique bonds they have with each other. Quinn also paints a compelling picture of the paranoia of the Red Scare, which feels all too relevant to today’s times, and the way the women respond to and unconsciously adopt the attitudes of their time. The Briar Club absolutely wowed me, and I’ll definitely be picking up another of Quinn’s books in the future.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
Housewives Margaret, Bitsy, and Viv appear to have it all, despite their conflicting feelings of dissatisfaction. What more could a woman possibly want in 1960s Virginia other than marriage and children? When the charismatic and brash Charlotte moves into the neighborhood and suggests Betty Friedan’s new book The Feminine Mystique for their book club, each of them finds herself affected by the book in different ways — prompting Margaret to discover a love of writing, Viv to reinvigorate her stalled career, and Bitsy to truly examine the state of her marriage. In a time and place that ties women so tightly to family and children, their book club, lovingly nicknamed “The Bettys,” becomes more than a book club but a true community and a circle of support, making a space for themselves where they can thrive.
Though I was fascinated by Betty Friedan’s famous book as a millennial woman, I was intrigued to get to examine it, even through a fictional lens, in the context it was originally intended for: the postwar women told that the only way to be happy was to be a housewife, after they or their mothers had served their country in the coveralls of Rosie. I wish The Book Club for Troublesome Women had dared to push the envelope even further than it did — the main characters, while all charming and relatable in their own ways, are all white, middle-class married women, though there is some mention of the struggles that women of color and those with less economic means faced at the time. Despite that, Bostwick still manages to paint a vivid portrait of the historical context of the time, as well as hit home with the message that women are stronger together, and that we should never underestimate ourselves or each other.
—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com
FROM OUR PAGES
We’ve had some great author visits and interviews recently, so don’t miss out. Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more atIndependent.com.
“Love, Betrayal, and Revenge in the McCarthy Era | ‘Red Summer’” by Leslie Dinaberg
“Talk on California’s Wildfire Crisis Kicks Off IHC Public Series at UC” by Keith Hamm
“Author Alexis Okeowo on ‘Air Time’ from UCSB Arts & Lectures” by Charles Donelan
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Creator’s Club: Raíces y Sueños Edition
Wednesday, October 22, 2 p.m. | Eastside Library
Godmothers Gather: YA Book Club: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Thursday, October 23, 3:30 p.m. | Godmothers
Godmothers Gather: Courtney Adamo
Thursday, October 23, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
S.B. Reads Kickoff
Friday, October 24, 5 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Book Reading and Signing: Sandy Pearl
Saturday, October 25, 3 p.m. | Tecolote Book Shop
Solvang Library’s Book Club … at the Museum!
Saturday, October 25, 3:30 p.m. | California Nature Art Museum
Godmothers Gather: Laura Brown & Kristina O’Neill
Saturday, October 25, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Book Talk and Signing: Zack Reed
Saturday, October 25, sunset | ITH Santa Barbara Beach Hostel
S.B. Reads: Memory Pocket Altar Workshop
Sunday, October 26, 10 a.m. | S.B. Central Library
Author Talk and Signing: Scott Ellsworth
Sunday, October 26, 3 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Bilingual Songs & Stories for Kids
Tuesday, October 28, 11 a.m. | Eastside Library
Montecito Book Club
Tuesday, October 28, 2 p.m. | Montecito Library
S.B. Reads: Creator’s Club
Wednesday, October 29, 2 p.m. | Eastside Library
S.B. Reads: Memory Pocket Altar Workshop
Thursday, October 30, 5 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Free Storytime & Book Signing with Julie Dillemuth
Saturday, November 1, 10 a.m. | Dean: A Coffee Shop
Writers’ Workshop
Saturday, November 1, 12:30 p.m. | Goleta Community Center
S.B. Reads: Relax & Craft for Teens
Saturday, November 1, 3 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Stephen P. Huyler Presents Transformed by India: A Life
Sunday, November 2, 2:30 p.m. | S.B. Museum of Art
Godmothers Gather: Brené Brown
Sunday, November 2, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
S.B. Reads: Stained Glass Part I
Monday, November 3, 5 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
S.B. SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by area authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that are either written by a Santa Barbara author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us.
Connectability: Mastering Relationship Building in Business, Sales, and Beyond by Fredric Steck
A Night in the Vine by Patricia Mahon
Queen Behina and the Power of Holy Geometry by Fleurie Leclercq
Same Bag, Different Bunk: My Life Inside American Hostels by Zack Reed
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “S.B. Spotlight.”
Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*
Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:
Saving Ourselves from Big Car by David Obst; review by Brian Tanguay
What Nails It by Greil Marcus; review by George Yatchisin
*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).
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