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 May 2025 meeting will be on Thursday, May 1st.
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 April book selection to read prior to the May 1st meeting is State of Wonder by Ann Pratchett.
It is the story of pharmacologist Marina Singh, who journeys to Brazil to bring back information about seemingly miraculous drug research being conducted there by her former teacher, Dr. Annick Swenson. (Wikipedia) Critics called it "Thrilling, disturbing and moving in equal measures." (Kirkus Reviews)
Titles read the past academic year:
- March 2025: Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, MD
- February 2025: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
- 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
