The Joshua Tree by Robert Cabot
Bernard Leibov has once again invited the Desert Book Club to meet at his warm and cozy BOXO House. Please join us on December 5th at 7:00 pm to discuss Robert Cabot’s book, The Joshua Tree. This is a unique novel in that it is written in the form of poetry, which I realize could be off-putting for many readers. I challenge everyone to stick with it and see if it grows on you and possibly becomes enjoyable after a while. Cabot spent quite a bit of time with the famous Bill Keyes and his family, so see if this book doesn’t deepen our understanding of this local character. My thinking is that between the content and the form of this work, we should be in for a lively discussion.
The BOXO House address is 62732 Sullivan Rd. Joshua Tree, CA, but don’t bother to GPS yourself there, it will end in tears. Simply turn south on Whitefeather Rd. off of Hwy. 62, drive past the hospital and turn right on the second dirt road when you see the BOXO sign. Bernard’s house will be the second driveway on the left with the Book Club sign in front. Bring a folding chair if you have one so we are sure to have enough seating and try to park around back near the garage if you can. See you there and don’t forget to bring some delicious snacks and drinks! —Kip
Books to look forward to include: The Rope by Nevada Barr at Kip’s in January and The Temptation of St. Anthony by Flaubert at Mother House in February.
Monday, December 5th at 7pm
BOXO House
62732 Sullivan Rd. Joshua Tree, CA
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.
