On July 11 the book group will meet at a potluck luncheon hosted by Cynthia Johnson starting at 1 pm to discuss The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Women of the fellowship are invited. Please R.S.V.P. at cbjohnson@itol.com

The following is from a review by Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times (April 21, 2012). “The Art of Fielding” concerns Henry Skrimshander, an unremarkable physical specimen who, thanks to a fictional baseball handbook and a kind of innate precociousness, becomes a prized shortstop at the fictional Midwestern Westish College. But his errant throw soon injures another player, causing a chain reaction that makes Henry question his own talent and sense of self. The novel is populated with light and whimsical characters — including his gay roommate Owen Dunne and the larger-than-life university president, the avowed straight bachelor Guert Affenlight who finds himself pining for a man — as a campus novel’s themes of lost innocence play out against a backdrop of the diamond.”

The following month we will read and discuss The Echomaker by Richard Powers, at a meeting hosted by Jamie Hanreddy.