Shelf Indulgence: A Book Discussion Group of AAUW North Dallas
The Evening Book Discussion group meets on the 4th Tuesday of every other month at Sweet Basil Italian Restaurant, 17610 Midway Road at Trinity Mills, Carrollton. We gather at 6:30 p.m. in a room separated from the rest of the dining areas. We order from the menu and begin discussion at 7 p.m. Reading the book is not a requirement for attending as you will surely learn from the other participants. Everyone is welcome.
The Saturday Morning discussion group meets twice a year at the Eggs Up Grill, 3427 Trinity Mills Rd in Carrollton. This group also meets in a room separated from the rest of the café. We order from the menu and begin discussion at 9:30 a.m.
2026 Reading Selections for Shelf Indulgence:
Jan. 20 The Tears of Yesteryear, Julie Tulba
Tues. 6:30 p.m. Sweet Basil Italian Restaurant
17610 Midway Road, Dallas 75287
Discussion Leader: Heather McDonald
“In the first decade of the 20th century, nearly 10 million immigrants journeyed to America in search of a better life. Thousands settled in Homestead, Pennsylvania, a city where the skies were always black, the steel mills were always roaring, and life was bleak and harsh. One of them, Ewa Piekos, an orphan girl of 15 from Poland, wants simply to be loved and to feel like she is not alone. On the voyage to America, Ewa’s beloved sister dies, throwing her into an emotional tailspin. It’s only after arriving at Ellis Island that Ewa learns the real reason she was brought to the Land of Golden Opportunity. This secret is almost as crushing to her as the moment her sister died. From the time she arrives at Ellis Island, Ewa’s life is never an easy one. It is filled with heartache and loss. But her life in America enables her to plant roots which eventually grow with the family she establishes there.
Mar. 24 First: Sandra Day O’Connor, Sandra Day O’Connor
Tues. 6:30 p.m. Sweet Basil Italian Restaurant
17610 Midway Road, Dallas 75287
Discussion Leader: Beth Dunlap
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings—doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
May 19 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Sklott
Tues. 6:30 p.m. Sweet Basil Italian Restaurant
17610 Midway Road, Dallas 75287
Discussion Leader: Kari Gould
“Heartbreaking and powerful, unsettling yet compelling, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a richly textured story of the hidden costs of scientific progress. Deftly weaving together history, journalism and biography, Rebecca Skloot’s sensitive account tells of the enduring, deeply personal sacrifice of this African American woman and her family and, at long last, restores a human face to the cell line that propelled 20th century biomedicine. A stunning illustration of how race, gender and disease intersect to produce a unique form of social vulnerability, this is a poignant, necessary and brilliant book.”—Alondra Nelson, Columbia University; editor of Technicolor: Race, Technology and Everyday Life
July 18 The Women, Kristin Hannah
Sat. 9:30 a.m. Eggs Up Grill
3427 Trinity Mills Rd, # 900, Carrollton
Discussion Leader: Sara Wood
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.