Running Barefoot by Susan Lang
We at the Desert Book Club have been reading Susan Lang’s superlative ultra local desert novels for for the last five years. Let’s kick off the sixth year of Book Club by welcoming Susan at 7:00pm on Monday, October 7th at the Palms in Wonder Valley. Her latest work is a memoir, Running Barefoot. I read it in one sitting, cover to cover, then I cried… I expect it will affect you deeply as well. Susan will be bringing books to purchase and sign and might even read us a few passages.
To get to the Palms, take Hwy. 62 to downtown 29 Palms and go north at the light on Adobe Rd. Turn right at the light on Amboy Rd then drive about 12 miles into the heart of Wonder Valley and the Palms will be on your right at 83131 Amboy Rd. Remember to bring a flashlight so you can walk across the highway to the Sibley’s Wonderland Bookstore. It’s the only place I know of where you pay for your books at a bar!
I am also excited to announce that author Kathy Goss will be traveling from her home town of Darwin to join us for the Nov. 4th Book Club. She will be talking about her book Darwoon Dyreez and bringing a full audio visual presentation.
See you at the Palms, and don’t forget the snacks and drinks!
—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.
