Hi everyone, the May book club for adults gathering is this Friday, May 8, 2026.

We’ll be meeting at the library at 3:00 p.m. and discussing the book Travels With George by Nathaniel Philbrick; copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk if anyone needs a copy. If you’d like to attend the gathering from home, let me know and I’ll send you the Zoom link.

And looking forward to June, as usual we’ll be meeting the second Friday of the month – in June that is Friday, June 12, from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

And our June Reads is My Name Is Emilia del Valle: A Novel by Isabel Allende and Frances Riddle; and here the Booklist review of the novel:

Allende has created many addictive sagas about the extended del Valle family and their intersections with history and one another. The eponymous Emilia, Allende’s addition to this notable clan, is one adventurous, gutsy woman. The illegitimate daughter of a Chilean aristocrat and the Irish novice nun he seduced, Emilia grows up in San Francisco with her loving stepfather’s support, intrepidly working around gender restrictions. After penning dime novels pseudonymously, she becomes a human-interest columnist for the Daily Examiner and wangles an assignment as international correspondent for the impending Chilean Civil War of 1891, under her own byline. Emilia’s first meeting with her long-lost father in Santiago is quite moving, and her time with the canteen girls who accompany President Balmaceda’s army echoes with their unsung courage. Allende expertly navigates through the violent chaos of battle and how it affects Emilia, whose romantic relationships also showcase her character growth. Fans of Allende’s now-classic Daughter of Fortune (1999) and Portrait in Sepia (2000) will particularly welcome this offering, which is replete with Allende’s customary poetic storytelling.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Allende fans are legion and her continuation the del Valle family saga will inspire many requests.

Copies of our June read may also be picked up at the Circulation Desk at any time. 

Have a great day!

Linda Reimer, SSCL