This month we are discussing Presidents Taylor and Fillmore.

Options for reading :

We will combine Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore as they cover a single Presidential term. One option is to read the short American Presidents series books for each Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower and Millard Fillmore by Paul Finkleman. Another is the University of Kansas Press book The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor & Millard Fillmore by Elbert B. Smith

The Presidential Book Group, recently concluded its first journey, reading biographies of every American president from Washington to Trump.

If you want to embark on the journey, now is your chance! The group will start anew on January 22, beginning with “Washington: A Life” by famed biographer Ron Chernow.  In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

Please contact facilitator Hilary Caws-Elwitt for updated meeting info.

This month's selection is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. 

About the book: 

A popular bestseller since its publication in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great page-turning thrillers of all time. Set against the tumultuous years of the post-Napoleonic era, Alexandre Dumas’s grand historical romance recounts the swashbuckling adventures of Edmond Dantès, a dashing young sailor falsely accused of treason. The story of his long imprisonment, dramatic escape, and carefully wrought revenge offers up a vision of France that has become immortal. As Robert Louis Stevenson declared, “I do not believe there is another volume extant where you can breathe the same unmingled atmosphere of romance.”

The Great Books discussion is structured so that the evening’s selected reading is discussed in a think tank environment with the intention of gaining insight from other readers that one would not have by reading alone. The seminar facilitator asks questions of the participants about the reading selection and helps the discussion stay focused. Our main goal is to have fun and take many interpretations from the group in order to enjoy a greater understanding of a selected reading.

Discussions are open to everyone and free of charge.  For a list of past and future discussion books and to contact the group visit, http://mail.salticid.com/mailman/listinfo/forbes_great_books_salticid.com.

About the facilitator:

Hilary Caws-Elwitt has her BA in English & American Literature from Harvard, MLS from University of Arizona, and ran Susquehanna County Reads for its first 4 years. But mostly she loves reading and discussing the books!

This month's selection is When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole. 

About the book: 

Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning"

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community's past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block'her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other'or themselves'long enough to find out before they too disappear?

The Mystery Book Discussion Group meets monthly for a casual discussion. New members are always welcome. Pick up a copy of this month's discussion book at the library. Email Maureen Carney, the facilitator, for updated virtual meeting info.

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

Respectful, queer/LGBT-friendly, easy-going bunch who want an excuse to get out more and talk about books. And have some snacks. Meetings take place on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. You can reach our group at paradisecityreaders@gmail.com. 

This month's discussion will be about Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. 

About the book: 

They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. 

The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge—on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.

Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman—injured by a powerful man—is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.

Anyone interested in Science Fiction or Fantasy is welcome. Although we focus on this month’s selection, we will discuss any topics related to Science Fiction or Fantasy, books or movies.

This month's discussion will cover The Peripheral by William Gibson

About the book: 

Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she’s trying to avoid. Her brother Burton lives on money from the Veterans Administration, for neurological damage suffered in the Marines’ elite Haptic Recon unit. Flynne earns what she can by assembling product at the local 3D printshop. She made more as a combat scout in an online game, playing for a rich man, but she’s had to let the shooter games go.Wilf Netherton lives in London, seventy-some years later, on the far side of decades of slow-motion apocalypse. Things are pretty good now, for the haves, and there aren’t many have-nots left. Wilf, a high-powered publicist and celebrity-minder, fancies himself a romantic misfit, in a society where reaching into the past is just another hobby. Burton’s been moonlighting online, secretly working security in some game prototype, a virtual world that looks vaguely like London, but a lot weirder. He’s got Flynne taking over shifts, promised her the game’s not a shooter. Still, the crime she witnesses there is plenty bad.Flynne and Wilf are about to meet one another. Her world will be altered utterly, irrevocably, and Wilf’s, for all its decadence and power, will learn that some of these third-world types from the past can be badass.

We'll be reading Just Like You by Nick Hornsby 

Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Lucy used to handle her adult romantic life according to the script she’d been handed. She met a guy just like herself: same age, same background, same hopes and dreams; they got married and started a family. Too bad he made her miserable. Now, two decades later, she’s a nearly divorced, forty-one-year-old schoolteacher with two school-aged sons, and there is no script anymore. So when she meets Joseph, she isn’t exactly looking for love—she’s more in the market for a babysitter. Joseph is twenty-two, living at home with his mother, and working several jobs, including the butcher counter where he and Lucy meet. It’s not a match anyone one could have predicted. He’s of a different class, a different culture, and a different generation. But sometimes it turns out that the person who can make you happiest is the one you least expect, though it can take some maneuvering to see it through. Just Like You is a brilliantly observed, tender, but also brutally funny new novel that gets to the heart of what it means to fall surprisingly and headlong in love with the best possible person—someone you didn’t see coming.

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

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We'll be reading . . . Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

Join us to do a craft based on Cranky Chicken: Party Animals by Katherine Battersby! We will meet in the community room. Books are available in the children's department to check out. Please email jcornick@forbeslibrary.org with any questions. 

Join us in an analysis and discussion of Palmiro Togliatti's 'Lectures on Fascism' and find out what book we're going to be breaking down together next!

Presented by WMCPUSA

Please contact facilitator Hilary Caws-Elwitt for updated meeting info.

The Nature and Environment Book Club is devoted to the best of nature writing and environmental reporting with discussions on the second Wednesday of each month. Readers and writers interested in books ranging from such classics as Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek to topical reportage like Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction will want to join the conversation.

This month's book is Crossings by Ben Goldfarb. 

An eye-opening and witty account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from an award-winning author. Some 40 million miles of roadways encircle the earth, but we tend to regard them only as infrastructure for human convenience. In Crossings, Ben Goldfarb delves into the new science of road ecology to explore how roads have transformed our world. Millions of animals are killed by cars each day in the US alone, and roads fragment wildlife populations into inbred clusters, disrupt migration for creatures from antelope to salmon, allow invasive plants to spread and even bend the arc of evolution itself. But road ecologists are also seeking innovative solutions: Goldfarb meets with conservationists building bridges for mountain lions andtunnels for toads, engineers deconstructing logging roads, and citizens working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon cities. A sweeping, spirited and timely investigation into how humans have altered the natural world, Crossings also shows us how to create a better future for all living beings.

This month's book is Honor by Thrity Umrigar. 

About the book: 

In this riveting and immersive novel, bestselling author Thrity Umrigar tells the story of two couples and the sometimes dangerous and heartbreaking challenges of love across a cultural divide.   Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past. While Meena’s fate hangs in the balance, Smita tries in every way she can to right the scales. She also finds herself increasingly drawn to Mohan, an Indian man she meets while on assignment. But the dual love stories of Honor are as different as the cultures of Meena and Smita themselves: Smita realizes she has the freedom to enter into a casual affair, knowing she can decide later how much it means to her. In this tender and evocative novel about love, hope, familial devotion, betrayal, and sacrifice, Thrity Umrigar shows us two courageous women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.  

This is a hybrid meeting -- so you can either join us on Zoom or in the Watson Room this month!

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This month we will discuss: Our Work Is Everywhere by Syan Rose

 You can request this title from our catalog. 

About the book: 

Over the past ten years, we have witnessed the rise of queer and trans communities that have defied and challenged those who have historically opposed them. Through bold, symbolic imagery and surrealist, overlapping landscapes, queer illustrator and curator Syan Rose shines a light on the faces and voices of these diverse, amorphous, messy, real and imagined queer and trans communities. In their own words, queer and trans organizers, artists, healers, comrades, and leaders speak honestly and authentically about their own experiences with power, love, pain, and magic to create a textured and nuanced portrait of queer and trans realities in America. The many themes include Black femme mental health, Pacific Islander authorship, fat queer performance art, disability and healthcare practice, sex worker activism, and much more. Accompanying the narratives are Rose’s startling and sinuous images that brings these leaders’ words to visual life. Our Work Is Everywhere is a graphic nonfiction book that underscores the brilliance and passion of queer and trans resistance.Includes a foreword by Lambda Literary Award-winning author and activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, author of Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice.

We strive to learn more about the world outside our own bubbles. We read both nonfiction and fiction on timely topics and in our discussions try to challenge our own assumptions without judging one another.

Join us on Zoom! 

We will be hosting a hybrid meeting, so you can also attend in person in the Watson Room at Forbes. 

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Join us for a discussion of Teju Cole's 2011 novel, Open City. Cole will be speaking at Amherst College's LitFest 2025 on Saturday, March 1 (registration required).

Copies of the book will be available to borrow at the Reference Desk in February. 

About the book: "In Teju Cole’s Open City, Julius, a young Nigerian-German psychiatrist living in New York, wanders the city. For Julius, “the walks [meet] a need: they [are] a release from the tightly regulated mental environment of work….Every decision—where to turn left, how long to remain lost in thought…—[is] inconsequential, and [is] for that reason a reminder of freedom.” For readers, Julius’ meandering serves as a platform for meditations on history, art, human suffering, race, and culture, and the cumulative effect is anything but inconsequential. To call Open City a novel is like calling the White House a house: although it’s structured around a protagonist, it is driven by perceptiveness, the agility with which it moves from one idea to another, and its humanity." (Review by The Common)

About the author: Teju Cole is the Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing at Harvard. He was the photography critic for The New York Times Magazine from 2015 to 2019 (a position he originated). In both writing and photography, Cole combines his eye for beauty with his capacity to perceive human and civic truth. Cole is also the author of the essay collections Black Paper and Known and Strange Things, the novella Every Day Is for the Thief and the novel Open City, which won the New York City Book Award for Fiction, Germany’s Internationaler Literaturpreis and the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for Fiction. His newest book is the 2024 novel Tremor.

The Presidential Book Group is reading in chronological order and this month we are on Franklin Pierce

 In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

Please contact facilitator Hilary Caws-Elwitt for updated meeting info.

This month's selection is The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard

About the book: 

"The Transit of Venus tells the story of two orphan sisters, Caroline and Grace Bell, as they leave Australia to start a new life in postwar England. What happens to these young women--seduction and abandonment, marriage and widowhood, love and betrayal--becomes as moving and wonderful and yet as predestined as the transits of the planets themselves"--

The Great Books discussion is structured so that the evening’s selected reading is discussed in a think tank environment with the intention of gaining insight from other readers that one would not have by reading alone. The seminar facilitator asks questions of the participants about the reading selection and helps the discussion stay focused. Our main goal is to have fun and take many interpretations from the group in order to enjoy a greater understanding of a selected reading.

Discussions are open to everyone and free of charge.  For a list of past and future discussion books and to contact the group visit, http://mail.salticid.com/mailman/listinfo/forbes_great_books_salticid.com.

About the facilitator:

Hilary Caws-Elwitt has her BA in English & American Literature from Harvard, MLS from University of Arizona, and ran Susquehanna County Reads for its first 4 years. But mostly she loves reading and discussing the books!

This month's selection is . . . 

About the book: 

The Mystery Book Discussion Group meets monthly for a casual discussion. New members are always welcome. Pick up a copy of this month's discussion book at the library. Email Maureen Carney, the facilitator, for updated virtual meeting info.

Join us on Zoom to discuss Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy! Email sjohnson@forbeslibrary.org to register and get the Zoom link.

About the book: "Mallory Marsh's true feelings come out in her sci-fi web comic, but when it goes viral, classmates recognize the unflattering characters, leading Mallory to reckon with her lies, in a story about identity and friendship." -provided by the publisher

Starred review from School Library Journal!

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

Join us for a discussion of the 2019 time-travel adventure The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz.

Respectful, queer/LGBT-friendly, easy-going bunch who want an excuse to get out more and talk about books. And have some snacks. Meetings take place on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. You can reach our group at paradisecityreaders@gmail.com. 

This month's discussion will be about: Gone with the Mind by Mark Leyner

About the book: Leyner gives a reading in the food court of a New Jersey shopping mall. The "audience" consists of Mark's mother and some stray Panda Express employees, who ask a handful of questions. The action takes place entirely at the food court, but the territory covered in these pages has no bounds. A joyride of autobiography, cultural critique, DIY philosophy, biopolitics, video games, demagoguery, and the most intimate confessions, Gone with the Mind is both a soulful reckoning with mortality and the tender story of the relationship between a complicated mother and an even more complicated son. At once nostalgic and acidic, deeply humane, and completely surreal, Gone with the Mind is a work of pure, hilarious genius.

Anyone interested in Science Fiction or Fantasy is welcome. Although we focus on this month’s selection, we will discuss any topics related to Science Fiction or Fantasy, books or movies.

This month's discussion will cover Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

About the book: Malachi Constant, "the richest man in America," gives up his indulgent lifestyle to follow an urgent calling to probe the depths of space. He participates in a Martian invasion of Earth, mates with the wife of an astronaut adrift on the tides of time, and follows the lure of the "Sirens of Titan."

We'll be reading The End of Drum Time by Hanna Pylväinen. Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

An epic love story in the vein of Cold Mountain and The Great Circle, about a young reindeer herder and a minister’s daughter in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle. In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone. By chance, he meets Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa, and their blossoming infatuation grows into something that ultimately crosses borders—of cultures, of beliefs, and of political divides—as Willa follows the herders on their arduous annual migration north to the sea.Gorgeously written and sweeping in scope, Hanna Pylväinen's The End of Drum-Time immerses readers in a world lit by the northern lights, steeped in age-old rituals, and guided by passions that transcend place and time.

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

Join us in celebrating the accomplishments and understanding the struggle of Communist Women, this month, through the analysis and discussion of selections from 'Half the World' compiled by Bennett Shoop and find out what book we're going to be breaking down together next!

Presented by WMCPUSA

Please contact facilitator Hilary Caws-Elwitt for updated meeting info and to join the mailing list.

The Nature and Environment Book Club is devoted to the best of nature writing and environmental reporting with discussions on the second Wednesday of each month. Readers and writers interested in books ranging from such classics as Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek to topical reportage like Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction will want to join the conversation.

This month's book is The Darkness Manifesto by Johan Eklöf.

How much light is too much light? Satellite pictures show our planet as a brightly glowing orb, and in our era of constant illumination, light pollution has become a major issue. The world’s flora and fauna have evolved to operate in the natural cycle of day and night. But in the last 150 years, we have extended our day—and in doing so have forced out the inhabitants of the night and disrupted the circadian rhythms necessary to sustain all living things, including ourselves. In this “well-researched and surprisingly lyrical” (The New Statesman, UK) book, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf urges us to appreciate natural darkness, its creatures, and its unique benefits. He ponders the beauties of the night sky, traces the errant paths of light-drunk moths and the swift dives of keen-eyed owls, and shows us the bioluminescent creatures of the deepest oceans. As a devoted friend of the night, Eklöf reveals the startling domino effect of diminishing darkness: insects, dumbfounded by streetlamps, failing to reproduce; birds blinded and bewildered by artificial lights; and bats starving as they wait in vain for insects that only come out in the dark. For humans, light-induced sleep disturbances impact our hormones and weight, and can contribute to mental health problems like chronic stress and depression. The streetlamps, floodlights, and neon signs of cities are altering entire ecosystems, and scientists are only just beginning to understand their long-term effects. The light bulb—long the symbol of progress and development—needs to be turned off. “Urgent…vivid…eye-opening” (Publishers Weekly), and ultimately encouraging, The Darkness Manifesto outlines simple steps that we can take to benefit ourselves and the planet. In order to ensure a bright future, we must embrace the darkness.

Please contact facilitator Hilary Caws-Elwitt for updated meeting info.

This month's selection is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. 

About the book: 

It was a dark and stormy night.

Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet.

The Great Books discussion is structured so that the evening’s selected reading is discussed in a think tank environment with the intention of gaining insight from other readers that one would not have by reading alone. The seminar facilitator asks questions of the participants about the reading selection and helps the discussion stay focused. Our main goal is to have fun and take many interpretations from the group in order to enjoy a greater understanding of a selected reading.

Discussions are open to everyone and free of charge.  For a list of past and future discussion books and to contact the group visit, http://mail.salticid.com/mailman/listinfo/forbes_great_books_salticid.com.

About the facilitator:

Hilary Caws-Elwitt has her BA in English & American Literature from Harvard, MLS from University of Arizona, and ran Susquehanna County Reads for its first 4 years. But mostly she loves reading and discussing the books!

This month's book is Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. You can request a copy of the book from the library catalog. 

About the book: 

Let Us Descend describes a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. A journey that is as beautifully rendered as it is heart wrenching, the novel is “[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours” (NPR). Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Annis leads readers through the descent, hers is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation. From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this “[s]earing and lyrical…raw, transcendent, and ultimately hopeful” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land—the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet.

This is a hyrbid meeting -- so you can either join us on Zoom or in the Watson Room this month!

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This month we will discuss Solito by Javier Zamora.

 You can request this title from our catalog. 

About the book:

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”  Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks. At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family. A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

We strive to learn more about the world outside our own bubbles. We read both nonfiction and fiction on timely topics and in our discussions try to challenge our own assumptions without judging one another.

Join us on Zoom! 

We will be hosting a hybrid meeting, so you can also attend in person in the Watson Room at Forbes. 

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 936 2007 0920
Passcode: 340325
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The Presidential Book Group is reading in chronological order and this month we are on James Buchanan. 

 In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

This month's selection is . . . 

About the book: 

The Mystery Book Discussion Group meets monthly for a casual discussion. New members are always welcome. Pick up a copy of this month's discussion book at the library. Email Maureen Carney, the facilitator, for updated virtual meeting info.

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

Anyone interested in Science Fiction or Fantasy is welcome. Although we focus on this month’s selection, we will discuss any topics related to Science Fiction or Fantasy, books or movies.

This month's discussion will cover . . . 

About the book: 

We'll be reading . . . Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

The Presidential Book Group, recently concluded its first journey, reading biographies of every American president from Washington to Trump.

If you want to embark on the journey, now is your chance! The group will start anew on January 22, beginning with “Washington: A Life” by famed biographer Ron Chernow.  In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

Anyone interested in Science Fiction or Fantasy is welcome. Although we focus on this month’s selection, we will discuss any topics related to Science Fiction or Fantasy, books or movies.

This month's discussion will cover . . . 

About the book: 

We'll be reading . . . Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

The Presidential Book Group is reading in chronological order and this month we are on Andrew Johnson.  

In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

Anyone interested in Science Fiction or Fantasy is welcome. Although we focus on this month’s selection, we will discuss any topics related to Science Fiction or Fantasy, books or movies.

This month's discussion will cover . . . 

About the book: 

We'll be reading . . . Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!

The Presidential Book Group is reading in chronological order and this month we are on Ulysses S. Grant 

 In this group you will deepen your understanding of the American presidency as we trace the history of the presidency, beginning with George Washington, and watching how American democracy evolved in ways the Founders never anticipated. We'll follow how presidents, both celebrated and forgotten, grappled with slavery, economics, executive power and America's role in the world. In doing so, we'll broaden our knowledge of Coolidge and where his presidency fits in the American story. 

The group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 PM EST, which you can attend in person in the Coolidge Museum or on Zoom. Discussions will be facilitated by Bill Scher, vice president of the museum’s Standing Committee.

Email Coolidge@forbeslibrary.org to join the email list or for more information.

Bring your own book--or borrow one from our collection--and read alongside neighbors and friends. Gather at 6:30pm for a group welcome, then settle in for an hour of quiet reading, followed by (optional) sharing and socializing. You might just discover your new favorite book!

This Silent Book Club chapter meets on the last Tuesday of each month in the Reading Room. All are welcome to come read in community with us, no library card needed!

We'll be reading . . . Request a copy of this book by placing a hold. 

About the book: 

Literary minded discussion. Open to new members. Join us in person or join via Zoom!