Book Club
Events
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Tuesday Night Book Club: The Emperor of Gladness
Join us for a discussion of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, a luminous and deeply compassionate novel about chosen family, survival, and the quiet forces that bind people together. Set in the postindustrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, the story follows nineteen-year-old Hai, who, on the brink of despair forms an unexpected bond…
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Monday Morning Book Club: The Glass Chateau
Join us for a discussion of The Glass Chateau by Stephen Kiernan, a moving novel of hope, healing, and the redemptive power of art set in post–World War II France. In the aftermath of the war, Asher, a former Resistance assassin haunted by loss and guilt, wanders through a devastated country searching for purpose. His…
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Monday Morning Book Club: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
Join us for a discussion of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All by Eliezer Yudkowsky, an urgent and provocative examination of the existential risks posed by artificial intelligence. Drawing on decades of research into machine intelligence and alignment, Yudkowsky argues that the global race to create superhuman AI…
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Tuesday Night Book Club: The Frozen River
Join us for a discussion of The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, a gripping historical mystery inspired by the real life of 18th-century midwife Martha Ballard. Set in Maine in 1789, the novel begins when a man is discovered frozen in the Kennebec River and Martha is called upon to determine the cause of death.…
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Exhibitionists Book Club: St. Lucy’s Home for Girl’s Raised by Wolves
When Karen Russel's debut short story collection fell onto our collective psyches in 2006, it made some lasting alterations to the landscape of literature. A singularly weird and raucous vision. Come with us as we check in on it on its twentieth anniversary and reflect with it in conjunction with Shelburne Museum's exhibit of On…
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Philosophy Book Club: The Second Sex
This month our coterie of lay philosophers is tackling a classic work of feminist theory, Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. Won't you join us? Copies available at the first-floor circulation desk.
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Monday Morning Book Club: Blood of Flowers
Join us for a discussion of The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, a richly imagined historical novel set in 17th-century Persia. The story follows a gifted young carpet weaver whose life is upended after her father’s death leaves her and her mother without a dowry. Traveling to Isfahan to work as servants in the…
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Tuesday Night Book Club: All the Colors of the Dark
Join us for a discussion of All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, a sweeping novel that blends suspense, mystery, and an unforgettable love story. Set in 1975 in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, the story unfolds during a time of national upheaval as a series of disappearances casts a shadow…
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Monday Morning Book Club: Master Slave Husband Wife
Join us for a discussion of Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. This gripping true story recounts the extraordinary escape of Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved couple who fled Georgia in 1848 through a daring disguise—Ellen posing as a white, disabled slaveholder and William as her enslaved servant. Traveling…
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Tuesday Night Book Club: My Beloved World
Join us for a discussion of My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor, a candid and inspiring memoir by the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Justice Sotomayor traces her journey from a Bronx housing project to the nation’s highest court, reflecting on a childhood shaped by loss, resilience, and a fierce…