The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
Strap on your crash helmet and get ready for a motorcycle trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats with Rachel Kushner in her novel The Flamethrowers. This is but one aspect of this well written book, spanning the New York art scene of the 1970’s to the battlefields of WW1. I predict we will have much to talk about when we meet in Landers at Colin and Amy’s place at 7:00 pm on June 4th.
From Yucca Valley, drive north on Old Woman Springs road and turn right on Reche Rd. and look for the Book Club sign on your right at 56221 Reche Rd. There will be plenty of parking on Arneal Rd. right next door. From JT, you might think about avoiding the Yucca traffic and go north on Sunburst from Hwy. 62, right on Golden, left on Border, and then left on Reche. 56221 Reche Rd is on your left, after you pass the elementary school and there will be plenty of parking on Arneal Rd. Remember to bring your folding chairs, Cinzano, and your Italian racing motorcycles!
For July, dust off your copy of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Can you believe that this is the 50th anniversary of this desert classic?—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.
