Mojave Desert Sanctuary by Gary J. George
I can’t think of a better way of enjoying the first day of 2018 than by coming to my place for a Desert Book Club meeting at 7pm. We will be reading *Mojave Desert Sanctuary* by Gary J. George which is the third in his series of mysteries set in the Mojave desert around the fascinating town of Smoke Tree. This book features an intelligent and beautiful Japanese Vegas show girl, wise guys from Chicago and ranch hands from the Mojave Preserve with the cool factor of 1961 to make it even better. I can’t wait to read the other books in the series.
We will be meeting at my house, 63452 Winters Rd. in North Joshua Tree. From down town JT, turn North on Sunburst, right on Golden, left on Border, keep your eyes out for Pole and Del Oro signs and turn right on Winters, with the street sign on the left hand side of the road and the Book Club sign on your right. Drive one mile and I’ll be on the left with the reflective orange triangle on a post and another Book Club sign. See you at 7pm on January 1st. I’ll have the wood burning stove all warmed up for you!
—Kip
Every month from October 2014 until March 2020, Kip’s Desert Book Club gathered on the first Monday of the month at 7:00 pm in the home of a different resident of the Morongo Basin to discuss a book that in one way or another touches on the theme of “desert”.
Since the start of the pandemic, Kip has been hard at work making renovations to the kitchen and bathrooms at Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center, where he is the board President, and keeping their monthly USDA food drive alive. During this time, Kip’s Desert Book Club had largely been on pause, with the exception of a few virtual meetings. These virtual gatherings allowed us to welcome the participation of book club fans from beyond our local region.
Sixty-six books, more than seven years, and one pandemic later, Kip has decided to step back from being the primary book club organizer and join the rest of us as readers. Kip, we thank you for all the wonderful and eclectic desert books you’ve chosen over the years, as well as the unforgettable stories and knowledge you continue to share (if you know, you know!)
So, we are excited to announce that beginning in January 2022, our in-person book club will resume as the Desert Research Library Book Club (or DRL Book Club, for short). Each month, a member of the current Desert Research Library Artist Cohort will select a book from the library as that month’s book club selection.
