Since 2011, I have held a mid-winter event titled Books & Bottles, the casual evening filled with good friends, silly prizes, tasty food and plenty of drink features a main-event activity each year, the exchanging of an admired book. It has become a much loved party and a great time to gather with folks in person in the middle of a long, cold season of low temps to catch up have some laughs and share books we love with each other. The past two years, due to Covid, the event occurred virtually. This year we were happy to gather together again, live and in person.
However, we’d always imagined the event to be a little extra special when we reached its 10th year. So instead we called the actual 10th year Number 9.5. For the actual 11th year we titled it Number 9.6. Which meant for this most recent gathering we titled it the 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (it only took us 12 years to get here)!
For those who were there and those who were not, here is a list of the books which were offered featuring a live link to Goodreads.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Life is so Good - George Dawson, Richard Glaubman
The Seed Keeper - Diane Wilson
Whole - T. Colin Campbel
Hero of the Empire - Candice Millard
Vacationland - Sarah Stonich
The Phantom God - John C. Wathey
She Said - Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple - Emilie Raffa
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
The Sentence - Louise Erdich
Still Life - Louise Penny
Rural Studio at Twenty - Andrew Freear
Murder on the Red River - Marcie R. Rendon
On Bullshit - Harry G. Frankfurt
On Truth - Harry G. Frankfurt