UMRA Book Club I

The UMRA Book Club has been meeting regularly since March of 2011. We meet at 2 p.m. on the third Friday of every month at the 1666 Coffman Building on Larpenteur Avenue near the St. Paul Campus. Presently we are meeting online via Zoom.

We are eclectic readers, our books being from all time periods, fiction and nonfiction, and from various genres. We plan our book schedule for the coming year at our December meeting. 

See all 
UMRA events.

Contact Pat Tollefson for more information ([email protected]). A list of all the books we have read is available from Pat as well. 

The UMRA Book Club I is full at the present with a short waiting list. Contact us to get on the wait list. Or see Book Club II.

For Book Notes in addition to those from Book Club I (below), see the Book Notes page.

Upcoming Events


The Frozen River, book cover
Event date:

The UMRA Book Club will discuss The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon when it meets via Zoom on May 16.


The Great River, book cover
Event date:

The UMRA Book Club will discuss The Great River by Boyce Upton when it meets via Zoom on June 20.  

Book Notes


Random Family, book cover
Event date:
Author Adrian Nicole LeBlanc spent 10 years hanging out in the Bronx with one loosely defined family, while she tracked its fate. Most UMRA Book Club members thought LeBlanc’s “unflinching documentary” provided more questions than answers.

Good night, Irene, book cover
Event date:
Luis Alberto Urrea’s historical novel about the Red Cross Clubmobile women who served in Europe during World War II is based on the experiences of his mother, who joined the service in 1943.