06/19/2026
Join us Thursday, July 16th at 6:00pm for our next book club led by Amy Irvine and hosted by Paonia Literary Project. We’ll be reading and discussing “Open Throat,” by Henry Hoke.
“I am excited to share one of my favorite newer novels, told from the point-of-view of P-22, the mountain lion who gained notoriety for boldly crossing two of LA’s most daunting freeways to find a new territory. In the ten years that P-22 lived in Griffith Park, in the foothills above Los Angeles, he faced isolation, considerable human interface, as well as drought, fire and famine. Henry Hoke, a NY-based flash fiction writer seems entirely the wrong person to tell the story of a wild predator in the West, but he’s done his homework and imagines the lion’s life with humor, empathy, audacity and irreverent playfulness—while considering the sobering constraints on the animal’s life. When I consider how cultures across the world help us understand ourselves and our relationship to the natural world through animal stories—Coyote scatters the stars, Grandmother Spider weaves the world—I think that the author has done us a great service, in telling P-22’s tale from a daring non-human perspective.” - Amy Irvine Amy Irvine
We have 18 spots available for July book club. Email us at [email protected] or stop by the store to register. You can purchase and order the book through the store, bring a library book, or read on your device. We’re just glad to see you!
