Dunedin Boat Club upcoming events

Book Club Meeting on July 8, 2026 (07/08/2026)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Our host is Stacy Muellers.

Our book is "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: A Novel," by Marianne Cronin.

Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Though she has been told she’s dying, she still has plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.

As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years. Though their days are dwindling, both are determined to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Lenni’s doting palliative care nurse and Father Arthur, the hospital’s patient chaplain, Lenni and Margot devise a plan to create one hundred paintings showcasing the stories of the century they have lived—stories of love and loss, of courage and kindness, of unexpected tenderness and pure joy. Though the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.

Book Club Meeting on Aug. 12, 2026 (08/12/2026)

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Our host is Mary Kolb.

Our book is "God of the Woods: A Novel," by Liz Moore.

Early morning, August 1975: A camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, the story delves into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.

Book Club Meeting on Sept. 9, 2026 (09/09/2026)

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Our host is TBD.

Our book is "Theo of Golden: A Novel," by Allen Levi.

One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn’t explain much about where he came from or why he’s there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person’s story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, this is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.

Book Club Meeting on Oct. 14, 2026 (10/14/2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Our host is TBD.

Our book is "Code Name Hélène: A Novel," by Ariel Lawhorn.

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for a Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name—a code name.

Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, the novel follows Nancy’s transformation from journalist to one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, known for her ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and her ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied forces. But with power comes notoriety, and no matter how careful Nancy is to protect her identity, the risk of exposure is great—for herself and for those she loves. This gripping story about a daring socialite spy chronicles the true wartime exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name.

Book Club Meeting on Nov. 11, 2026 (11/11/2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Our host is TBD.

Our book is "The Correspondent," by Virginia Evans.

This is a story about the power of finding solace in literature and a connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Book Club Meeting on Dec. 9, 2026 (12/09/2026)

Thu, 10 Dec 2026 00:00:00 GMT

For this month's meeting we gather together to share fellowship and the joy of the season. There is no book selected.

Our host is TBD.

For our holiday gift exchange we each bring a small gift, or perhaps a re-gift, a thrift store treasure or something funny. (It's not an exchange of generic items worth a certain amount.)

Place the gift in a brown paper grocery bag and staple or tape it shut so it's surprise to whomever chooses it. We each take a number and pick a bag in turn or take someone else's gift if we like it better! It's always great fun!

You are invited to bring an appetizer or holiday treat and/or a bottle of wine to share.

Book Club Meeting on January 13, 2027 (01/13/2027)

Thu, 14 Jan 2027 00:00:00 GMT

Our host is TBD.

Our book is "All the Colors of the Dark," by Chris Whitaker.

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, this is a story about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.