I have not been to any events like you described since I got sober. I know what my book club group was like....no way could I go to one now and stay sober. I am not sure if I could tell you the name of more than a few books we actually read.
To EndGame's point, my recovery is do or die, it really is, so everything else has to run second to that goal. It will never get easier to get sober, I have a stack of invites on the kitchen counter that I need to RSVP to, but I don't believe I am going to most of them this fall.
It is one season, maybe one year out of what I hope will be a long and healthy life. Everything I do now I run through a sober sieve in my mind. I have realized I am not a masochist, right now I do not have enough under my belt to feel resentful or tempted. The more time I put between myself and the bottle and the more I focus on my recovery the better shot I have. I think something that is a common feeling among us is "just this one time" and quick fix mentality. Getting sober means really changing the bones of our life, then the window dressing will fall into place.
If your book club is anything like my old book club I would urge you to really think this one through. I know you mentioned that things are difficult at home right now, is there any other trip you could take that wouldn't be so tempting?