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
Theo of Golden by Alan Levi
Our last read, An Unfinished Love Story, was so very timely. Doris Kearns Goodwin gave us a front row seat to her relationship and marriage to Richard Goodwin as well as a seat in the Kennedy/Johnson White House. All of us were on the planet during the 60's but still young enough to not understand all the intricacies and details of the political machine. It was heartwarming to learn of JFK's relationships with his staff, a behind the scenes view of the JFK asassination, the shift in power as LBJ took the oath of President, and in 1968, the assassinations of MLK, RFK and all of its implications.
The core of the story is the "unpacking" of Dick's saved paperwork, 100 boxes worth, saved and stored for over 30 years. His speeches, his personal notes to various individuals, and even a piece of a bat from a demonstration he participated in. Your Rainy Day Readers highly recommend this book to you all!
Our next book comes highly recommended from many varied sources. We have chosen Theo of Golden by Alan Levi. Here is the blurb from Amazon. There is also an interview with the author included on the info page.
“[A] word-of-mouth smash hit.” —The New York Times
“A treasure.” —Hoda Kotb
“To Kill a Mockingbird for this generation.” —The Dallas Morning News
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, Theo of Golden 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.
Levin & Co will have copies in paperback on our shelf, which is now located behind the register. It is also available in the Library. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 6th at 7:00 pm, see our calendar for the meeting location.
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 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 August 11, 2026
