The University Friends Circle Book Club usually meets on the first Thursday of the month at 3:30 p.m., in room 170 of the UC Merced Downtown Campus Center ("DCC"), located at the corner of 18th & N. The March 2025 meeting will be on Thursday, March 6th.
Common Interest Committee Co-Chairs Pauline Cuchna (samnilla@sbcglobal.net) and Beth Kirchhoff (bethkirchhoff72@gmail.com) invite all UFC members to join them for robust discussion each month. Book Club members rotate responsibility for book selection. All UFC members are welcome!
The February book selection to read prior to the March 6th meeting is The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn.
This month, we'll read a "thrilling and powerful" (Amazon) novel about female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era, evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America. This novel was a winner of the Goodreads Choice Award on goodreads.com.
Titles read the past academic year:
- January 2025: The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar
- December 2024: An American Beauty by Shana Abé
- November 2024: The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers and The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah
- October 2024: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
- September 2024: Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan
- Summer 2024: A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan
