Every month Madison Public Library hosts a variety of book discussions and each of them warmly welcomes newcomers. So if you're someone who loves to talk books and want to join in, here are the groups who are meeting and the titles they'll discuss for July.
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NewBridge Book Group - Wednesday, July 2, 10-11 am - Meeting offsite or via Zoom. Check with the Lakeview Library for details.
Plainsong by Kent Haruf - In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl is pregnant and alone, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known. From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together.
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Mystery Book Group - Wednesday, July 2, 7-8 pm - Sequoya Library
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak - Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He's even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she's marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
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Thursday Book Club - Thursday, July 3, 2-3 pm - Alicia Ashman Library
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore - In 1975, Barbara Van Laar vanishes from her family’s Adirondack summer camp, fourteen years after her brother similarly disappeared, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds, unveiling the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow.
Lakeview Book Group - Thursday, July 3, 6:30-8 pm - Lakeview Library
Potpourri Discussion - Read anything that you like and come to discuss with the group.
Central Book Group - Wednesday, July 15, 7-8:30 pm - Central Library
Title tbd - Call the Central Library at 608-266-6350.
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Third* Thursday Book Discussion - Thursday, July 17, 2-3 pm - Sequoya Library
Swift River by Essie Chambers - In 1987, the only Black person in all Swift River after her Pop disappeared seven years ago, Diamond Newberry, receiving a letter from a relative she's never met, is introduced to two generations of African American Newberry women, gaining a sense of her place in the world and in her family.
*This month's discussion will take place on the fourth Thursday, due to the Juneteenth holiday on the third Thursday.
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Mystery Book Group - Thursday, July 17, 5:30-6:30 pm - Lakeview Library
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
*This month's discussion will take place on the fourth Thursday, due to the Juneteenth holiday on the third Thursday.
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Goodman South Madison Book Club - Saturday, July 19, 1:30-3 pm - Goodman South Madison Library
The Mothers by Brit Bennett - This novel is a surprising story about young love, a big secret in a small community--and the things that ultimately haunt us most. Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett's mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition.
Most libraries will have copies of the books available onsite for checkout if you'd like to pick up a copy, read it, and join a discussion.