The Mission
Welcome to Trent’s Book Club! Each month, we read a book and then come to this book club to (1) discuss the book and (2) to hang out with friends. All are welcome.
Attendees of the book club can generally be classified into four categories:
- The scholar has thoroughly read the book and wants to have an in-depth discussion about their opinions and analyses.
- The student has read enough of the book to understand the general idea and wants to have a broad discussion.
- The busybody couldn’t find the time to read the book, but really wanted to. They’ve read the sparknotes and want to learn more about what happened in the book.
- The homie just wants to hang out and enjoy the vibes.
We all strive to be the scholar, but sometimes we can’t quite get there. That’s ok. Consider which category you fall into before each meeting and be respectful of those in other categories. Meetings will prioritize discussion of the book, but other topics are welcome.
Book Selection
“One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind. In order to read what is good one must make it a condition never to read what is bad; for life is short, and both time and strength limited.” - Arthur Schopenhauer
There is one rule for book selection: the book must be good. As Arthur said, nobody wants to spend their time slogging through a bad book. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a book is bad ahead of time, but we try our best. Books will be selected based on member suggestions and discussion at each meeting. Here’s what we’ve read so far:
| Date | Author | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| In progress | Emily Habeck | Shark Heart | 2023 |
| 07/22/2025 | Alexander Sammartino | Last Acts | 2024 |
| 06/04/2025 | Jeff VanderMeer | Annihilation | 2014 |
| 04/22/2025 | Joan Didion | Play It as It Lays | 1970 |
| 03/09/2025 | Elena Ferrante | My Brilliant Friend | 2012 |
| 01/25/2025 | - | Book exchange round-up | - |
| 12/07/2024 | Stephen King | Carrie | 1974 |
| 10/19/2024 | Olga Tokarczuk | Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead | 2009 |
| 08/27/2024 | Junot Diaz | The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | 2007 |
| 07/10/2024 | Elif Shafak | 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World | 2019 |
| 06/07/2024 | Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone | This Is How You Lose the Time War | 2020 |
| 03/23/2024 | Milan Kundera | The Unbearable Lightness of Being | 1984 |
| 02/02/2024 | Daniel J. Brown | The Boys in the Boat | 2013 |
| 12/12/2023 | George Saunders | Lincoln in the Bardo | 2017 |
| 11/03/2023 | Ottessa Moshfegh | My Year of Rest and Relaxation | 2018 |
| 10/03/2023 | James M. Cain | The Postman Always Rings Twice | 1934 |
| 09/08/2023 | Colson Whitehead | The Underground Railroad | 2016 |
| 08/04/2023 | Kazuo Ishiguro | Never Let Me Go | 2005 |
| 07/03/2023 | Shelby Van Pelt | Remarkably Bright Creatures | 2022 |
Meeting Schedule
The group aims to meet monthly - the exact date is specified before each meeting. We meet at varying places in the Seattle area and are always looking for hosts!
Contact and Updates
Book club information is disseminated by email and text message. To join, send Trent your name, phone number, and email address via text or email.
Trent’s Personal Favorites
I like to read other books too. Here are some of my personal favorites:
| Author | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Garcia Marquez | One Hundred Years of Solitude | 1967 |
| Herman Hesse | The Glass Bead Game | 1943 |
| Benjamin Labatut | When We Cease to Understand the World | 2020 |
| Haruki Murakami | Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World | 1985 |
| Carl Sagan | The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark | 1995 |
| George Saunders | CivilWarLand in Bad Decline | 1996 |