Summer of Hate by Chris Kraus at The Palms
Welcome to Kip’s Desert Book Club! The first Monday of the month we meet at about 7pm at various locations around the Morongo Basin to eat snacks, drink cocktails, discuss a book, and grouse about the condition of our washboard roads. You don’t need to read the book to show up, the important thing is that you bring tasty snacks and beverages. The book titles will be announced at the previous meeting and will be available on Amazon, possibly Kindle, and in my Little Free Library box planted in the driveway of my house, 63452 Winters Rd. 1 mile East of Border, on the left hand side. Look for the orange reflective triangle with LFL in the center. If you have questions, want to suggest a book, or want to host a meeting, contact me at kipfjeld at earthlink.net.
The first book selected is Summer of Hate by Chris Kraus. Published in 2012, this is a 251 page desert whirlwind that has a discussable topic on almost every page. It starts with a BDSM relationship, morphs into desert real estate, then delves to the depths of the criminal justice system. We will be meeting at The Palms roadhouse at 83131 Amboy Road in Wonder Valley at 7pm on Monday, October 6, 2014. The Sibleys have graciously offered to open up the bar for us on their day off, but we may stagger across Amboy Road at some point and continue our session at the Wonderland bookstore with a Coleman lantern for light, if the weather cooperates. Hope to see you in beautiful Wonder Valley!
Monday, October 6, 2014, 7PM
The Palms
83131 Amboy Road
Wonder Valley, CA
See Book Club homepage for more information on this monthly gathering
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.
