Events Calendar / Book Discussion

Main Library Book Discussion: The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston thumbnail Photo

Main Library Book Discussion: The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

The Main Library Book Discussion meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Books chosen are generally literary fiction or narrative nonfiction. Participants take turns leading the discussion. This discussion currently meets online via Zoom. Register here: https://bit.ly/fpl-adultbookdiscussion.

May Book Discussion: The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

  • "Frederick Fifewas born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is, at age eighty-two, there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from, and he's broke and on the brink of eviction. But Fred’s luck changes when he's mistaken for Bernard Greer, a missing resident at the local nursing home, and takes his place. Now Fred has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his look-alike Bernard never turns up. 

    Denise Simms is stuck breathing the same disappointing air again and again. A middle-aged mom and caregiver at Bernard's facility, her crumbling marriage and daughter's health concerns are suffocating her joy for life. Wounded by her two-faced husband, she vows never to let a man deceive her again.

    As Fred walks in Bernard’s shoes, he leaves a trail of kindness behind him, fueling Denise's suspicions about his true identity. When unexpected truths are revealed, Fred and Denise rediscover their sense of purpose and learn how to return a broken life to mint condition. 

    Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a hilarious, feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family."
McAuliffe Book Discussion (Evening): Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer thumbnail Photo

McAuliffe Book Discussion (Evening): Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

The McAuliffe Branch hosts two book discussion groups to discuss various fiction and nonfiction, as well as contemporary and classic literature. You can join us anytime to discuss one particular book or become a regular. Register here: https://bit.ly/mca-bookdiscussions

May McAuliffe Book Discussion (Evening): Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

  • "Pan's life used to be very small. Work in her dad's body shop, sneak out with her friend Tara to go dancing, and watch the skies for freighter ships. It didn't even matter that Tara was a princess... until one day it very much did matter, and Pan had to say goodbye forever. Years later, when a charismatic pair of off-world gladiators show up on her doorstep, she finds that life may not be as small as she thought. On the run and off the galactic grid, Pan discovers the astonishing secrets of her neo-medieval world... and the intoxicating possibility of burning it all down."
Sci-Fi Book Discussion: The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin thumbnail Photo

Sci-Fi Book Discussion: The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin

The Sci-Fi Book Discussion reads and discusses both classic and contemporary science fiction, covering subgenres such as speculative fiction, alternate history, and apocalyptic. This discussion meets the second Wednesday of the month, from 7-8 pm. This group is hybrid, meeting at the Main Library and streaming to Zoom. Register here: https://bit.ly/fpl-scifidiscussion
 

May Sci-Fi Book Discussion: The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin

  • "The Dispossessed is the spellbinding story of anarchist Shevek, the “galactically famous scientist,” who single-handedly attempts to reunite two planets cut off from each other by centuries of distrust."
     
McAuliffe Book Discussion (Morning): The Giver by Lois Lowry thumbnail Photo

McAuliffe Book Discussion (Morning): The Giver by Lois Lowry

The McAuliffe Branch hosts two book discussion groups to discuss various fiction and nonfiction, as well as contemporary and classic literature. You can join us anytime to discuss one particular book or become a regular. Register here: https://bit.ly/mca-bookdiscussions

May McAuliffe Book Discussion (Morning): The Giver by Lois Lowry

  • "Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.

    Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?

    Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.

    The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time."

Queer Reads: Gender queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe thumbnail Photo

Queer Reads: Gender queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

The Queer Reads Book Discussion celebrates queer authors, books, and themes. This discussion meets in person every third Tuesday of the month and alternates between the McAuliffe Branch Library and the Main Library. Register here: https://bit.ly/fpl-queerbookdiscussion

May Queer Reads Discussion: Gender queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

  • "In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.

    Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere."