Hi everyone, here is the info for our February read followed by a brief summary of our January read, The Cold Millions.

Our February read is the mystery One By One written by Ruth Ware; and our February meeting will take place from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. next Friday, February 12, 2021

If you’ve previously signed up for a book club meeting, and thus I have your email, you should receive an email with the Zoom link for our February gathering today (2/3/2021).

If you’re new to the Adult Book Club and would like to sign up for the February meeting, click on the following link to do so and after you sign up you’ll receive the email with the Zoom link.

Adult Book Club Online: “One by One” by Ruth Ware

January Book Club Notes:

The Adult Book Club meeting for January was held via Zoom from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 8, 2021.

Book of the Month: The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

The Cold Millions opens in 1909 and relays the story of 16-year-old Rye Dolan who has been orphaned and, as the story opens, has been traveling & working across the northwestern United States with his older brother Gig; the pair are currently living in a boarding house in Spokane, Washington.

Gig Dolan, an idealist and ardent proponent of labor unions and the rights of workers is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. Gig likes to migrant life of going from town to town working, while Rye would prefer to settle in one town and build a life in one location.

Gig is set to speak at a protest and has forbidden Rye to accompany him. Rye follows Gig to the protest anyway, where it is apparent to the reader, right off the bat, that the police and the owners of the local mining company are determined to squash the civil protest and the protesters by violence; completely ignoring the first amendment rights of the workers. Several speakers briefly stand up on soapboxes to give speeches and are forcibly pulled down and arrested by the police including both Gig and Rye. Both the Dolans are incarcerated and the conditions in the local jail are abysmal. Rye is released after a few days, once it is discovered he is underage, while Gig is held as a union ring-leader for months. When Rye is released from jail he is met by a lawyer working with the IWW Union and taken to meet one the IWW’s fiercest supporters, the charismatic Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Flynn wants him to come on her upcoming speaking tour and relay his experiences of being mistreated by the police with an emphasis on the fact that he is underage.

Rye has quite the adventure traveling with Flynn and if you throw in an unscrupulous detective or two, a kind boarding house proprietor who can’t remember names, a car crash and the connection Rye makes with the family of a fellow worker and union supporter named Jules you have the basic outline of a well told story.

The majority opinion of the book club attendees was that Jess Walter is a terrific writer; and The Cold Millions is a great read if a tad dark around the edges.

Have a great day,

Linda Reimer, SSCL