Adult Book Discussion Group

Corporate Memphis-style drawing of a group of adults sitting around a coffee table conversing

Join us monthly in the Library Community Room for an hour of lively book discussion. Our book discussion group is an informal gathering of adults with a respectful, congenial, and inquisitive atmosphere.

At the start of the meeting, each member presents their observations and overall impression of the book. If they wish, they can rate the book from zero to five, with five being the highest and most favorable rating. Afterwards, as time allows, members engage in a more thorough and wide-ranging discussion of the book.

Everyone is given an opportunity to participate in the discussion; however, participation is not a requirement. Listeners are welcome!

Adult Book Discussion Group takes place in the Library Community Room at 7:00 PM on the first Thursday of each month unless otherwise noted.

Upcoming book to be discussed

May 1

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

"How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute?

Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family's one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own. In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks, How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it? A science teacher with a passion for honest investigation, Thatcher Greenwood finds himself under siege: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting work just published by Charles Darwin. His young bride and social-climbing mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his worries that their elegant house is unsound. In a village ostensibly founded as a benevolent Utopia, Thatcher wants only to honor his duties, but his friendships with a woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor threaten to draw him into a vendetta with the town's powerful men.

Unsheltered is the compulsively readable story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it."

Previous Discussions

April 3

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

"Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs confront their pasts in this powerful story about how rebellion ages, influence corrupts, habits turn to addictions, lifelong friendships fluctuate and turn, and how art and music have the power to redeem."

March 6

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

"A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government."

Cover of Crow Talk showing sole person in boat on lake, mountain behind shore, birds in sky

February 6

Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

" Ornithology grad student Frankie O'Neill retreats to her family's remote lakeside cabin, seeking solitude and guidance in the aftermath of her father's death and the abrupt dissolution of her studies. There are few cottages there, and most should be unoccupied, a fact Frankie knows since her father, Jack, was caretaker for those wealthy Seattle residents who "roughed it" for short summer respites. But Frankie's reverie is shattered when a young couple arrives with their precocious son. She wants to keep her distance, but that becomes difficult once five-year-old Aiden runs away from his parents and takes refuge in Frankie's cottage. Aiden's recent behavioral difficulties have frustrated his family, and his mother, Irish ex-pat musician Anne, interprets Aiden's silence and withdrawal as a rebuke for the emotional distance she imposed after her dearest friend's death. When Frankie rescues an injured baby crow, the bird's rehabilitation provides the catalyst for a journey of restoration for herself, Aiden, and Anne. With great compassion and keen appreciation, Garvin (The Music of Bees, 2021) gently applies the wisdom found in this simple act of caring to help a marriage mend, a friendship blossom, and a child heal. A stunning affirmation of nature's power to soothe and rejuvenate. " Starred review, (2024) Booklist.