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 November.
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NewBridge Book Group - November 5, 10-11 am - Meeting offsite or via Zoom. Check with the Lakeview Library for details.
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell - In 1904, in a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution between three Zambian families (black, white, brown) as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond.
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Mystery Book Group - Wednesday, November 5, 7-8 pm - Sequoya Library
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation's capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship. Grace's weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?
Thursday Book Club - UW-Madison's Go Big Read - Thursday, November 6, 2-3 pm - Alicia Ashman Library
James by Percival Everett - A retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man who runs away to avoid being sold and separated from his family. As Jim and Huck journey down the Mississippi River, familiar events unfold—but this time, Jim’s strength, intelligence, and compassion take center stage. With sharp humor and powerful insight, Everett gives new life to a classic story, making James a standout work of modern American literature.
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Lakeview Book Group - Thursday, November 6, 6:30-8 pm - Lakeview Library
Northwoods by Amy Pease - Working for his mother, the sheriff of an idyllic Midwestern resort town, Eli North, when the body of a teenage boy is found in the lake, is drawn into an investigation related to America's opioid epidemic that becomes much more than just a hunt for a killer.
Book Discussion of UW-Madison's Go Big Read - Monday, November 10, 5-6 pm - Meadowridge Library
James by Percival Everett - A retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man who runs away to avoid being sold and separated from his family. As Jim and Huck journey down the Mississippi River, familiar events unfold—but this time, Jim’s strength, intelligence, and compassion take center stage. With sharp humor and powerful insight, Everett gives new life to a classic story, making James a standout work of modern American literature.
Youth Graphic Novel Club - Tuesday, November 11, 4-4:45 pm - Meadowridge Library
Join us on the 2nd Tuesday of every month for Youth Graphic Novel Club at Meadowridge! Each month we will discuss a different graphic novel. No reservations required. Geared towards 3rd - 5th grade.
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Goodman South Madison Book Club - Saturday, November 15, 1-3 pm - Goodman South Madison Library
On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci - The memoir by the doctor who became a beacon of hope for millions through the COVID pandemic, and whose six-decade career in high-level public service put him in the room with seven presidents.
The National Legacy of Slavery: Wisconsin's History as a Mississippi River State - Monday, November 17, 5:30-7:30 pm - Central Library
In collaboration with Madison Public Library, the Go Big Read program is hosting a panel to explore Wisconsin’s history as a state along the Mississippi River. In particular, the panel will interrogate Wisconsin’s history related to slavery. The enslavement of African and African American people is not just a regional legacy within the United States–it is a national legacy. During this panel, we will examine Wisconsin’s culpability in the nation’s history of slavery as well as opposition and support among Wisconsinites for the institutions of slavery. Moreover, we will discuss how the 2025-2026 Go Big Read, James, is in conversation with Wisconsin’s history.
TexTITLES: Conversations on Fiber and Cloth + Author Visit - Wednesday, November 19, 6-7:30 pm - Pinney Library
Text+Titles = TexTITLES: Conversations Around How Textiles Connect Us - Textitles is a free monthly discussion group for readings, watchings, and listenings (books, films, and podcasts) on textile and fiber art with a focus on historical, social, economic, and environmental concerns related to fibers, fabrics, makers/artists, techniques, use, value, and more. This discussion group is facilitated and sponsored by the Textile Arts Center of Madison with a different topic to read, view, or listen to, typically on your own before the discussion.
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Central Book Group - Wednesday, November 19, 7-8:30 pm - Central Library
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer - The author reflects on the practice of harvesting serviceberries and the concept of reciprocity central to Indigenous wisdom. She contrasts this with the dominant economic system rooted in scarcity, competition, and resource hoarding. Kimmerer highlights how the serviceberry tree, by sharing its abundance with its ecosystem, embodies a model of interdependence and mutual support. This ethic of reciprocity, she argues, shows us that true wealth arises from relationships, not self-sufficiency, and encourages us to reimagine our values in a way that nurtures both people and the planet.
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Third Thursday Book Group - Thursday, November 20, 2-3 pm - Sequoya Library
The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee - Presenting revelatory and exhilarating stories of scientists, doctors, and the patients whose lives may be saved by their work, the author draws on his own experience as a researcher, doctor, and prolific reader to explore how the discovery of cells created a new kind of medicine based on the therapeutic manipulation of cells.
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Mystery Book Group - Thursday, November 20, 5:30-7 pm - Lakeview Library
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy - When Saint Sebastian’s School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and their surrounding New Orleans community are thrust into chaos. Patience is a virtue, but punk rocker turned nun Sister Holiday isn’t satisfied to just wait around for officials to return her home and sanctuary to its former peace, instead deciding to unveil the mysterious attacker herself. Her investigation leads her down a twisty path of suspicion and secrets, turning her against colleagues, students, and even fellow Sisters along the way. And to piece together the clues of this high-stakes mystery, she must at last reckon with the sins of her own past.
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.