Book Clubs
Graphic Novel Book Club
Select Thursdays at 7 PM
Virtual, registration required.
Note: These programs will not be recorded.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
February 12: Register Here
The Reddest Rose: Romantic Love from the Ancient Greeks to Reality TV by Liv Stromquist
The deceptively simple through-line is the question: Why does Leonardo DiCaprio date an endless string of 20-something models? Her answer — in the form of this collection of well-researched, humorous essays — tracks how philosophers and artists, from the Ancient Greeks to Beyoncé, conceptualized romantic love.
March 12: Register Here
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood
Offred is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships. Provocative, startling, and prophetic, The Handmaid’s Tale has long been a global phenomenon. With this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s modern classic, beautifully realized by artist Renee Nault, the terrifying reality of Gilead has been brought to vivid life like never before.
April 9: Register Here
We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen
Lori wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She’s thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when They arrive.
Books and Brews Book Club
Select Wednesdays at 7 PM
In-person at Juan Murphy’s, located at 796 Main Street, Poughkeepsie.
No registration required.
February 18:
Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler & Jonathan Jennings.
Butler’s most celebrated, critically acclaimed work tells the story of Dana, a young black woman who is suddenly and inexplicably transported from her home in 1970s California to the pre-Civil War South. Adapted by celebrated academics and comics artists Damian Duffy and John Jennings, this graphic novel powerfully renders Butler’s mysterious and moving story, which spans racial and gender divides in the antebellum South through the 20th century.
March 18:
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict.
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J.P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection. But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white–her complexion is dark because she is Black.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to–for the protection of her family and her legacy–to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
April 15:
44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith.
Welcome to 44 Scotland Street, home to some of Edinburgh’s most colorful characters. Love triangles, a lost painting, intriguing new friends, and an encounter with a famous Scottish crime writer are just a few of the ingredients that add to this delightful and witty portrait of Edinburgh society, first published as a serial in The Scotsman newspaper.
Mystery Mondays Book Club
Select Mondays at 11 AM
Boardman Road Branch Library
No registration required.
No meeting in December.
February 23:
State of Terror by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny
March 30:
Join us in discussing Death in Brittany by Jean Luc Bannalec.
April 27:
Join us in discussing The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.