Events and Programs

Join Us for Book Discussions

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Book Discussion of The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elizabeth Robinson
Olivia Hunt is unemployed, living alone, and working on the fourth draft or her suicide note when she gets a call that lets her know what real trouble is. Madeline, her younger sister, the annoyingly happy one who married the hometown guy while Olivia set out to conquer Hollywood, is in trouble. Pulled home for the first time in years, Olivia gets a painful dose of real life as she tries to help her sister, keep her parents from running off the rails, and reconnect with the boyfriend she left without a word but might still be the love of her life. And, of course, the movie she's been trying to put before cameras for years heats up just as she leaves town.
Tuesday, June 24, 7:00 PM at Pinney Branch

Book Discussion of Philosophy Made Simple by Robert Hellenga
Rudy Harrington, an avocado dealer in Chicago, is ready for a new life. Rudy leaves home and heads for a part of the world where he knows scarcely a soul. But he has a guide: a slender book one of his daughters gave him called Philosophy Made Simple. But no amount of philosophy can prepare Rudy for the surprises that emerge.
Thursday, June 26, 1:00 PM at Sequoya Branch

Book Discussion of Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Join us for an informal discussion of Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Copies of the book are available at the Meadowridge reference desk. Register online or call 288-6160.
Wednesday, July 2, 6:30 PM at Meadowridge Branch

Alicia Ashman Senior Book Group Discusses Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Join us for discussions of a variety of recent fiction and non-fiction books. Copies of the next title are available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.
Thursday, July 3, 2:30 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
Join us for discussions of a wide range of titles. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion, with additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.
Tuesday, July 8, 7:00 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Mondays Can Be Murder: Alicia Ashman Mystery Book Group Discusses The Celtic Riddle by Lyn Hamilton
Join us for discussions of mystery and suspense titles. Share information of recently read mysteries. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.
Monday, July 14, 10:00 AM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini follows up his best selling novel, The Kite Runner, with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. Afghanistanians Mariam and Laila are born a generation apart but are brought together by war and fate. Together they endure the dangers surrounding them and discover the power of both love and sacrifice. This is a story of survival in the face of what seems to be insurmountable odds. It is a modern history (1964-2003) of Afghanistan told eloquently through the eyes of two indomitable women.
Wednesday, July 16, 6:00 PM at Hawthorne Branch

Book Discussion of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A charming and thought provoking graphic novel about a young girl's upbringing in Iran. Join us for discussion and dessert. (Persepolis II continues the story, and we'll touch on it as well.)
Wednesday, July 16, 7:00 PM at Central Library

Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Group Reads The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente

Join us in a discussion of a book in the science fiction/fantasy genre; be willing to share other recent reads in the field. This month we will be reading The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional titles available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Wednesday, July 16, 7:00 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
"After Joe Goffman's 'Bush Falls' becomes a runaway bestseller, he never expects to go back to his small Connecticut hometown and face the outrage generated by the dark secrets his autobiographical novel reveals. But when his father suffers a life-threatening stroke, return the unhappy and unfulfilled Joe does, to meet head-on the antipathy waiting for him... the novel skillfully illustrates the tenderness and difficulties of first love and friendship." -- Publishers Weekly
Saturday, July 19, 1:30 PM at South Madison Branch

Book Discussion of The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

With the action firmly grounded on the inner-city street of Washington, D.C., Pelecanos focuses on three cops--one retired, the legendary detective T.C. Cook; another, Dan ("Doc") Holiday, forced to quit under a morals cloud; and a third, Gus Ramone, soldiering on in the dogged effort to be "good police." The three worked together 15 years ago on a still-unsolved case involving a series of murdered teenagers. Now, with another teenager murdered--his body found, as were those of the previous victims, in one of the city's community gardens--the old case has resurfaced, and the three cops find themselves thrown together, each hoping to excise their very different personal demons.

Tuesday, July 22, 7:00 PM at Pinney Branch

Book Discussion of The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
The Abstinence Teacher exposes the powerful emotions that run beneath the surface of modern American family life and explores the complex spiritual and sexual lives of ordinary people. Elegantly written, it is characterized by the distinctive mix of satire and compassion that have animated Perrotta's previous novels.
Thursday, July 24, 1:00 PM at Sequoya Branch

Book Discussion of Welcome to the Great Mysterious by Lorna Landvik

Join us for an informal discussion of Welcome to the Great Mysterious, by Lorna Landvik. Copies of the book are available at the Meadowridge reference desk. Register online or call 288-6160.

Wednesday, August 6, 6:30 PM at Meadowridge Branch

Mondays Can Be Murder: Alicia Ashman Mystery Book Group Discusses The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman

Join us for discussions of mystery and suspense titles. This month we will be reading The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman. Come and share information about recently read mysteries. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Monday, August 11, 10:00 AM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Join us for discussions of a wide range of titles. This month we will be reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Tuesday, August 12, 7:00 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Alicia Ashman Senior Book Group Discusses Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

Join us for discussions of a variety of recent fiction and non-fiction books. This month we will be reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Copies of the next title are available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Thursday, August 14, 2:30 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Author Alan Weisman adds a dash of fiction to his science to address the despairing problem of the earth's health. In narrative nonfiction at its finest, he poses the question of humanity's impact on the planet: he asks us to envision our Earth without us. This is a study of what would happen to earth if the human presence was removed. How long before water damage, the sun, or hungry critters would start breaking it down? What would happen to our cities, farms, and oceans or the animals that remained? Or the billions of tons of plastic we'd leave behind?

Wednesday, August 20, 6:00 PM at Hawthorne Branch

Book Discussion of In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien

"John and Kathy Wade, whose marriage has been built on mutual deception, visit a Minnesota lake to try to sort things out, a difficult process made more so by Kathy's sudden disappearance." - Novelist.

Saturday, August 16, 1:20 PM at South Madison Branch

Book Discussion of Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen Bloom

A secular Jew and journalism professor explores his own identity as a Jew and the culture clash that erupts in a nearby Iowa town when a Lubavitch group from Brooklyn establishes a Kosher slaughterhouse there.

Wednesday, August 20, 7:00 PM at Central Library

Book Discussion of Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

Our 13-year-old narrator, Jason Taylor, lives in Worcestershire's Black Swan Green with his sister and parents. Jason suffers from a stammer, and in order to keep above the bottom rung of the social ladder, he must go to extravagant lengths to avoid using stammer words (some days those that start with n, other days, s). And he must live in the wake of his brilliant sister and mediate between his parents. The anxieties and excitements of boyhood are captured extraordinarily well here.

Tuesday, August 26, 7:00 PM at Pinney Branch

Book Discussion of The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert

"I had a cousin, Randall, killed on Iwo Jima. Have I told you?" So begins Walbert's beautiful and heartbreaking novel about a young woman, Ellen, coming of age in the shadow of World War II. Moving back and forth through time and place, Walbert recreates a world touched by the shadows of war and a society in which women fit their desires into prescribed roles.

Thursday, August 28, 1:00 PM at Sequoya Branch

Book Discussion of Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner

Join us for an informal discussion of Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner. Copies of the book are available at the Meadowridge reference desk. Register online or call 288-6160.

Wednesday, September 3, 6:30 PM at Meadowridge Branch

Alicia Ashman Senior Book Group Discusses The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Join us for discussions of a variety of recent fiction and non-fiction books. This month we will be reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. Copies of the next title are available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Thursday, September 4, 2:30 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Mondays Can Be Murder: Alicia Ashman Mystery Book Group Discusses Black Out by John Lawton

Join us for discussions of mystery and suspense titles. This month we will be reading Black Out by John Lawton. Come and share information about recently read mysteries. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Monday, September 8, 10:00 AM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Author Ingeborg Casey Discusses The Heart Moves in a Circular Direction

Author Ingeborg Casey will discuss her book, The Heart Moves in a Circular Direction.  Visit her website for more information. Call 288-6160 to register.

Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 PM at Meadowridge Branch

Book Discussion of Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Join us for discussions of a wide range of titles. This month we will be reading Brick Lane by Monica Ali. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional copies available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Tuesday, September 9, 7:00 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta

Ruth Ramsey is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school. Her daughter's soccer coach, Tim Mason, is a born-again-Christian that sees Ruth and her sex education classes as a target. Tim's church doesn't approve of Ruth's teaching style and Ruth doesn't appreciate the church's mission to take its message outside its doors. Instinctively mistrusting each other, both become adversaries in a small-town culture war.

Wednesday, September 17, 6:00 PM at Hawthorne Branch

Book Discussion of The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked by David Benjamin

The author's 1950s childhood in Tomah, Wisconsin is recounted with humor and warmth.

Wednesday, September 17, 7:00 PM at Central Library

Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Group Discusses Prey by Michael Crichton

Join us in a discussion of a book in the science fiction/fantasy genre; be willing to share other recent reads in the field. This month we will be reading Prey by Michael Crichton. Copies of the next title will be available at each discussion; additional titles available at the reference desk while supplies last.

Wednesday, September 17, 7:00 PM at Alicia Ashman Branch

Book Discussion of Falling Man by Don Delillo

"There have been a number of novels written in the past years about 9/11 that have attempted to come to grips with what that horrible day means to us...The novel's searing opening pages follow lawyer Keith Neudecker, who has just emerged from the World Trade Center, as he makes his way up the street, fighting raining debris and 'seismic tides of smoke.' It's not until he's almost there that he realizes where he's heading--the apartment of his ex-wife and son. And over the succeeding months, we are made privy to the family's reactions to that heartbreaking day." - Booklist.

Saturday, September 20, 1:30 PM at South Madison Branch