The Book Trotters, a neighborhood reading and discussion group formed nearly three years ago and comprised of members from Lakewood and the M-Streets, held its first meeting of the new year at Brian’s Wine (3111 Monticello Avenue) on Monday evening.

The January book selection was “San Francisco Noir.” Members were given the choice of selecting a story from one of three books of the title.

“All books are a collection of short stories; one book is about films noir set in San Francisco (for example: ‘Vertigo,’ ‘Dark Passage,’ and ‘Dirty Harry’). A second is a collection of modern day noir short stories set in San Francisco. The third book is a collection of noir excerpts/short stories about San Francisco from ‘classic writers’ (Jack London, Mark Twain),” January book club hostess Pam Thomas said.

“Thomas set the tone for the discussion by reading a short article about a Dashiell Hammett tour that is offered in San Francisco, and concluded that the city is still the home to noir,” said Kathy Harris, co-founder of the Book Trotters.

“Noir” is the French word often associated with the genre of crimeliteraturefeaturingtough,cynicalcharactersandbleaksettings.

As is tradition with the book club, a food theme is selected based on the book.

“After enjoying San Francisco treats including sourdough bread bruschetta, egg rolls, and Ghirardelli chocolates, the ladies began their lively discussion,” said Harris. “Some of the individual definitions of noir included ‘suffering done with style,’ ‘stories with lose-lose situations,’ and ‘social commentary on the underbelly of life,’” Harris added.

The meeting ended with the group reminiscing about their own travels to the city by the bay.