Book Society

Creating a special escape filled with books & wine in the heart of the East Bay.

11/10/2026

Our Book & W**e Boxes have been making the rounds this season, and we’re a little starstruck ✨

A huge thank-you to NYT Wirecutter , Camille Styles , Christina Mueller and Mandy Jackson-Beverly of The Bookshop Podcast for including us. Each box pairs a great book with four w**es and our Page & Pour Companion, so the gift becomes an experience, not just a thing to unwrap.

There’s a box for every reader on your list, and snag yours (link in bio) before word gets out even more. 🎁

**e

11/09/2026

What a weekend!🥂

On Friday evening the lounge filled up for a book launch party. On Saturday, a long table ran down the middle of the shop for an intimate Friendsgiving dinner party: Book Society’s bookish dinner party menu, perfectly paired w**e selected and poured by our Somm, and the kind of space that invites the conversation to keep going well past dessert.

Thank you to our hosts UC Berkeley School of Law Professor Saira Mohamed and Nupoor Desai for letting us be part of your celebrations.

If you’ve been looking for a place to gather that feels truly storied, the shop is yours to book for whatever you’re dreaming up.

Holiday dates are limited, so DM us and let’s plan something special!

11/06/2026

A little heads-up on our hours this weekend 📚🍷

Tonight (Fri 11/6): We open at noon as usual, then are closed 4:30–8pm for a private celebration. Doors reopen at 8 and we’ll pour until 10pm.

Tomorrow (Sat 11/7): Open until 4pm, then closed for the rest of the evening for another special event.

Two very special gatherings are happening under our roof this weekend, and we can’t wait to share the recaps. Until then, plan your visits accordingly. Come early for a browse and a glass, or slip in late tonight for a nightcap among the shelves.

Cheers!

11/06/2026

There’s nothing quite like a bookstore full of warm spices and even warmer conversation 🍛

Rachel Gurjar joined us to celebrate East to East, looking absolutely gorgeous in traditional Indian dress, while guests noshed on bites straight from the book. Amisha Gurbani of Amisha Gurbani led a wonderful conversation about Rachel’s journey from Mumbai to New York and all the behind-the-scenes of making the book. We came away with ingredient shopping tips, ideas for a Thanksgiving menu built from her recipes, and a list of where to find the best Indian food in NYC for our next trip.

Thank you, Rachel and Amisha, for such a delicious evening, and thank you to everyone who came hungry and curious. Come grab your copy of East to East, just in time to plan your Diwali (or Thanksgiving) table 🪔

Chronicle Books

11/04/2026

Last night we found a little calm amid the storm, both the rain outside and the election-night frenzy everywhere else 🌧️

Sky Nelson-Isaacs and Joan Blades led a Finding Synchronicity conversation that felt more like a living room than a lecture. Sky used science, as only a physics teacher can, to help us think through opposing forces and how connection forms between them. Paired with his SEW framework and Joan’s Living Room Conversations practice, it gave us real tools for staying open and receptive to people and ideas, especially the ones that challenge us. It was community and conversation at its best.

Thank you, Sky and Joan, for such a generous evening, and thank you to everyone who came out in the rain to spend the night in good company.

And if you’re craving more good company, we’re back at it tonight with Rachel Gurjar and Amisha Gurbani for East to East 🍛

Sky | Synchronicity Educator Joan Blades Living Room Conversations Rachel Gurjar Amisha Gurbani

11/03/2026

While it’s not normally good news to hear the sound of rain in a bookstore, yesterday morning was an exception 🌧️

Gaby Castro of Song Pine and Stone | Gaby Castro 🔔🌲💎 led a gorgeous sound bath for Sunday in the Stacks, filling the shop with waves of sound while everyone settled in among the shelves. By the end, the whole room had gone soft and still, the best kind of quiet a bookstore can hold.

Thank you, Gaby, for such a beautiful practice, and thank you to everyone who rolled out a mat with us this morning.

The next Sunday in the Stacks will be Sunday, December 6, when we’ll enjoy a little “holiday pause” gentle yoga practice. Grab your spot here 🌿 tinyurl.com/holidaypauseyoga

11/01/2026

November’s Book & W**e Pairings are here! It’s book award season, and while everyone else is busy applauding the winners, we’re raising a glass to the ones that got away 🥈📚🍷

This month’s theme is “The Almosts”: brilliant books that made the shortlist for a major prize — the Booker, the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, the Edgar — but didn’t quite make the winners circle. They made it that far for a reason, though, and we think they’ve earned a spot on your TBR stack.

And all the w**es are contenders in their own right.

Here’s this month’s shelf:
➡️ Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler + Quelle Riesling (non-alcoholic)
➡️ The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert + Dr. Corvers-Kauter R3 Rheingau Riesling “Remastered” 2018
➡️ Hot Milk by Deborah Levy + Inazio Urruzola Txakolina Blanc 2025
➡️ Heartland by Sarah Smarsh + Marangona Chiaretto Riviera del Garda Classico 2025
➡️ Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh + Mommessin Les Grandes Mises Fleurie 2023
➡️ The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter + The Vinum Chianti DOCG 2024
➡️ Swamplandia! by Karen Russell + Castello di Neive Dolcetto d’Alba Basarin 2020
➡️ The Zero by Jess Walter + Invei Petit Verdot Dry 2023

Penguin Random House Bloomsbury Books US Simon & Schuster Harper Books W**ebow Kevin Wenck Oliver McCrum W**es revelw**e

**e **ePairing

10/31/2026

The w**e fairies are finally making their appearance! 🧚‍♀️ We’re suited up, wands at the ready, because tonight’s the night we swap out October’s w**es and conjure up something new for November.

Before they vanish, come say goodbye to the October lineup with one last glass. And while you’re here, take a chance on our Blind Date with a BOO-k display. Each one is wrapped up and waiting with just a few hints to go on. No peeking, no tricks, only treats (well, maybe a few chills) 🎃

Come on by today. Costumes are encouraged but totally optional, and we’d love to celebrate the spookiest day of the year with you 🍷

10/30/2026

We’re kicking off November in true Book Society style, with a week full of sound, good conversation, and very good food. Here’s what’s coming up 🍂

🧘‍♀️Sunday in the Stacks: Sound Bath — Sun, Nov 1. Gaby Castro of Song Pine and Stone | Gaby Castro 🔔🌲💎 fills the shop with the slow, shimmering resonance of sound bowls while you lie back among the books. A spot just opened up! First to claim it gets the mat.

🗳️Finding Synchronicity: An Election Night Living Room Conversation — Tue, Nov 3, 6–8 pm. Election night is better spent in a room than in a feed. Physicist and author Sky | Synchronicity Educator (The Synchronicity Path) joins Berkeley neighbor Joan Blades Blades, mediator and co-founder of Living Room Conversations , for an interactive evening on staying curious when everything pulls us toward taking sides. All viewpoints welcome, w**e included.

🍽️A Life Between Cultures: Rachel Gurjar on East to East — Wed, Nov 4. Rachel, a former Bon Appétit food editor and ABC Kitchen alum, shared familiar dishes through a Mumbai pantry in her debut cookbook, part recipes and part love letter to building a life between two cultures. She’ll be in conversation with Amisha Gurbani of Amisha Gurbani (author of Mumbai Modern), with bites from the book, Q&A, and book signing.

Get the details + tickets for them all here: www.booksociety.social/event-list

10/28/2026

What a night in Prythian! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our sold out ACOTAR Book 6 Release Party! Your costumes were truly next level, the games got predictably competitive, the bubbles kept flowing, and a few lucky winners went home with prizes. We’re still smiling.

We loved it so much that we’re doing it again, or at least a version of it, in January for the release of book 7. Tickets are live now. Grab yours fast - it’s selling out even faster than the last one!

🎟️ tinyurl.com/ACOTAR7ReleaseParty

Missed the party but need book 6 in your hands? We have copies waiting for you in the shop.

And once you’ve turned the last page, we can’t wait to talk about it at our November book club. It’s sold out, but join the waitlist: seats do open up, and you’ll be the first to hear about what’s next. Here’s a hint: the SJM Book Club is coming in the new year, so you’ll never have to wait long between gatherings to talk about all things Sarah J. Maas. 🌹

Click here for book club details and the waitlist: tinyurl.com/ACOTAR6BookClub

Sarah J. Maas Bloomsbury Publishing

Address

Berkeley, CA

Website

http://www.booksociety.social/

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