Southwest Book Club

This afternoon book club meets at the Southwest Branch on the 4th Wednesday* of each month during the spring and fall seasons (club will not meet in January, over the summer, or in December). *Please note the November meeting is the third Wednesday of the month (November 18th) due to its proximity to the Thanksgiving holiday. This month, we will be discussing West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.