The University Friends Circle Book Club usually meets on the first Thursday of the month at 3:30 p.m., at the UC Merced on Main building at the corner of Main Street and M, in downtown Merced. The May 2026 meeting will be on Thursday, May 7th.
Book Club leaders Martha (french412@yahoo.com) and Barbara invite all UFC members to join them for robust discussion each month. Book Club members rotate responsibility for book selection during the academic year. All UFC members are welcome at any time!
The April book selection to be discussed May 7th is The Beach House by Jenny Hale.
The Beach House by Jenny Hale is a heartwarming, romantic novel about Melanie Simpson, who inherits a crumbling beach house from her grandmother and returns to her childhood town to restore it, finding love and uncovering family secrets with the help of a local contractor, Josh Claiborne, through a series of hidden letters. The book is described as an emotional page-turner, blending themes of grief, new beginnings, and romance in a coastal setting (Google AI).
Titles read so far this academic year:
- March 2026: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
- February 2026: Apples Never Fall by Lian Moriarty
- January 2026: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
- December 2025: Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah
- November 2025: Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
- October 2025: My Friends by Fredrik Backman
- September 2025: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
