Rainy Day Readers at St. Paul's Church
Our Rainy Day Readers book club was started in 2014 at St. Paul's Church. We meet monthly to enjoy a lively discussion on a thought-provoking range of books from classics to new releases, from non-fiction to fiction, from Sonoma County to the world, uncovering historical, social, and theological insights with every read.
We invite you to join us! To view upcoming featured books, and the time and location of our next gathering, view our calendar here. Or peruse the list of books we've enjoyed listed below to find your next read.
Current Book Selection
The Grey Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn
by Karen M. Price
As usual, we had a wonderful time discussing our last read, Theo of Golden. What an enchanting story it is. So many unexpected happenings around every corner. Theo, an 86 year old "exquisitely dressed man," has moved himself into the town of Golden, Georgia for reasons the reader will not understand right away. Allen Levi takes his time introducing us to the inhabitants of the town as well as Theo. The main focus of the book becomes the local coffee shop. An artist has filled the walls of the space with portraits he has made of the residents of Golden. Theo is enchanted. He decides these portraits ought to be given to the individuals portrayed. This is how we, the readers, get to know the people of Golden and Theo, this most unusual man! We heartily recommend this book to all! It is well written and well crafted. Some of us found ourselves not wanting it to end!
Our next read, The Gray Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn by Karen M. Price, has been recommended by one of our own members. They were on a trip up north and learned of both the woman and the book at Christ Church, Eureka. Two of our Scottish Pilgrims attend church up there and they told them of this wonderful woman and the outreach ministries she has created.
Here is the description from Amazon:
Touched by tragedy, Betty Chinn brings hope to those who have fallen on hard times. Left homeless as a child in China, Chinn became mute. When she came to America, she found both her voice and her mission, aiding those without shelter on our own shores.
She worked tirelessly to establish homeless shelters and to feed thousands in her community. As a child, she was separated from her family and exposed to the worst of humanity. Despite these monstrous conditions, she journeyed from fear to forgiveness and became a beacon of hope for those most vulnerable and an inspiration for all.
Betty Chinn was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Barack Obama for her tireless work.
It will be available at Levin & Co. in two weeks. It is also available on Amazon but does not appear to be available in the Library collection.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, Dec 1st at 7:00 - 8:30. See our calendar for the most up-to-date location information.
Books We've Enjoyed
A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
A Story Like the Wind, Laurens Van Der Post
A Tale For the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Rachel Held Evans
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
An Unfinished Love Story, Doris Kerns Goodwin
At the Water’s Edge, Sara Gruen
Becoming, Michelle Obama
Born A Crime, Trevor Noah
Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown
Cutting For Stone, Abraham Verghese
Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, Nina Tottenberg
Dusty Roads: Meet the Hidden Figure Who Really Ignited the Women's Movement, Elaine Rock
Educated, Tara Westover
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly
Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance
Historical Travels Through Sonoma County, John Crevelli (TBA)
Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, Kristin Kobes du Mez
James, Percival Everett
Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
Lying Awake, Mark Salzman
News of the World, Paulette Jiles
Our Southern Home, Waights Taylor Jr.
Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen
Polio & Me, Ken Dalton
Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt
Roxy, Reincarnated, John Linker
Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen
So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
Sunflowers, Sheramy Bundrick
Tattoos on the Heart, Greg Boyle
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
The Awakened Brain, Lisa Miller, PhD
The Book of Hope, Dr. Jane Goodall
The Book of Joy, Bishop Desmond Tutu & the Dalai Lama
The Book of Longings, Sue Monk Kidd
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson
The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese
The Dearly Beloved, Cara Wall
The Dog That Talked to God, Jim Kraus
The Gray Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn, Karen M. Price
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, James McBride
The Last Bus to Wisdom, Ivan Doig
The Lemon Tree, Sandy Tolan
The Library Book, Susan Orlean
The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles
The Once and Future King, T.H. White
The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene
The Reason I Jump, Naoki Higashida
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old, Hendrik Groen
The Soul of an Octopus, Sy Montgomery
The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage, Richard Rohr
The Woman Behind the Collar, Joy Carroll Wallis
The Women, Kristin Hannah
Theo of Golden, Alan Levi
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Under the Overpass : A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America, Mike Yankowski
West with Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge
When God Shows Up, Craig Douglas Claudin
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
Wind, Sand and Stars, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Zealot, Reza Aslan
Updated on October 13, 2026
