Watch: ‘Why We Swim’ live chat with Bonnie Tsui and Lynne Cox

Watch Bonnie Tsui, author of “Why We Swim,” in conversation with reporter James Rainey at the Los Angeles Times Book Club’s virtual meetup at 7 p.m. July 28.

Long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox, author of “Swimming to Antarctica,” also will join the book talk, which will be livestreamed on the L.A. Times Facebook page. Or tune in on YouTube or Twitter.

Part memoir and part travelogue, Tsui’s new book glides from the California coast to Iceland’s swim culture to the “Chinese Hawaii” of the South China Sea.

When you immerse yourself in water, Tsui says, you experience an “existential shift.” “You quite literally change the way you are in the world. It’s not about swimming a mile or pushing yourself; it’s about a change in perspective. And don’t we need that now? Isn’t it wonderful to be able to do that?”

The L.A. Times Book Club celebrated its first birthday in June, hosting a forum with Walter Thompson-Hernández and “The Compton Cowboys.” Every month the community book club brings Times readers together to share the same book and then join a live conversation with the author.

The book club has welcomed authors such as bestselling nonfiction writer Susan Orlean, journalist Ronan Farrow, Oscar winner Julie Andrews, crime writer Michael Connelly, former Los Angeles poet laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, poet and novelist Ocean Vuong and Homeboy Industries founder Gregory Boyle.

As the pandemic shut down in-person events, the book club pivoted to virtual meetups that allow guest authors and readers to connect from home. L.A. Times Book Club events are livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and then hosted at latimes.com for viewing after the event.