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 September.
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NewBridge Book Group - Wednesday, October 1, 10-11 am - Meeting offsite or via Zoom. Check with the Lakeview Library for details.
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson - Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakota people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato - where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited. On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home.
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Mystery Book Group - Wednesday, October 1, 7-8 pm - Sequoya Library
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes - Maya was a high school senior when her best friend Aubrey mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man, Frank, they'd been hanging around with all summer. Seven years later, Maya is just managing to move on; she lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is finally kicking the secret Klonopin habit that's allowed her to cope with what happened all those years ago. But her past comes back to haunt her when she discovers a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over in a diner sitting across from none other than Frank.
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Thursday Book Club - Thursday, October 2, 2-3 pm - Alicia Ashman Library
There There by Tommy Orange - Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. As we learn the reasons that each person is attending--some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent--momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything.
Lakeview Book Group - Thursday, October 2, 6:30-8 pm - Lakeview Library
Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein - This is the story of what happens to an industrial town in the American heartland when its main factory shuts down—but it’s not the familiar tale. Most observers record the immediate shock of vanished jobs, but few stay around long enough to notice what happens next when a community with a can-do spirit tries to pick itself up.
Book Discussion of UW-Madison's Go Big Read - Saturday October 11, 1:30-3 pm - Pinney 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, October 14, 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. Call 608-288-6160 or stop in at Meadowridge to discover the October title.
Central Book Group - Wednesday, October 15, 7-8:30 pm - Central Library
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - A mystery set in a Washington DC boardinghouse for women during the McCarthy era.
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Third Thursday Book Group - Thursday, October 16, 2-3 pm - Sequoya Library
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich - Human time, deep time, Red River time, the half-life of herbicides and pesticides, and the elegance of time represented in fracking core samples from unimaginable depths, is set against the speed of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009.
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Mystery Book Group - Thursday, October 16, 5:30-7 pm - Lakeview Library
A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley - Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can't resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.
Book Discussion of UW-Madison's Go Big Read - Saturday October 28, 7-8 pm - Sequoya 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.
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.