BIAGB Book Club
Bring your lunch and your love of reading to this midday book club. Each month, we discuss a different book in a welcoming and relaxed environment. From bestselling fiction to compelling non-fiction, there’s always something new to explore. For a complete list of the books we've read, click here.
For more information, please contact: reference@chathamlib.org
When: Third Wednesday of each month at 12:00 PM
Where: Library Conference Room
March 18
Brave the Wild River
The riveting tale of two pioneering botanists and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. Brave the Wild River is a spellbinding adventure of two women who risked their lives to make an unprecedented botanical survey of a defining landscape in the American West, at a time when human influences had begun to change it forever.
April 15
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
May 20
THE RIVER OF DOUBT: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
This book chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing expedition into the uncharted Amazon rainforest after his presidency. Facing deadly rapids, disease, and near starvation, the journey reveals both the physical dangers of exploration and Roosevelt’s resilience at one of the lowest points of his life.
Hooked On Books
Whether you’re into contemporary fiction, historical drama, or page-turning mysteries, Hooked on Books is perfect for readers who enjoy a wide variety of genres. Join us for lively evening discussions that dive deep into each month’s featured title. For a complete list of the books we've read, click here.
For more information, please contact: reference@chathamlib.org
When: Second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM
Where: Library Conference Room
March 11
Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Clara Kelley is not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman has vanished, and pretending to be her just might save Clara. But serving as a lady's maid in the household of Andrew Carnegie requires skills she doesn't have. What Clara does have is a resolve as strong as Pittsburgh steel coupled with an uncanny understanding of business. But Clara can't let her guard down, as revealing her past might ruin her future -- and her family's.
April 8
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
As a child, Helen Macdonald was determined to become a falconer. She learned the arcane terminology and read all the classic books. But when her father dies and she is knocked sideways by grief, she becomes obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She buys goshawk Mabel and takes her home. Then she fills the freezer with hawk food and unplugs the phone, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this wildest of animals.
May 13
The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers
Before mastering the art of French cooking, Julia Child found herself trading in secrets in World War II Asia. Single and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America's first espionage agency, years before cookbooks or Paris. Julia transforms from ambitious blue blood to file clerk, to head of the secret File Registry at the Office of Strategic Services. The wartime journey takes her to the frontlines of Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge – and love with mapmaker Paul Child.
Outer Edge
Explore new worlds and daring adventures with Outer Edge, our book club dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and horror lovers. From epic space operas to magical realms, we celebrate the imagination in every form. For a complete list of the books we've read, click here.
For more information, please contact: kclardy@chathamlib.org.
When: Third Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM
Where: Library Galleries B&C
March 19
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure," confesses the AI narrator of this fast-paced SF adventure. After hacking its own governor module and overriding its programming, security droid "Murderbot" ends up saving lives instead of ending them -- but only because letting all the humans die would interfere with its favorite activity: binge-watching some 35,000 hours' worth of entertainment media. All Systems Red's snarky protagonist and suspenseful, action-packed plot should have readers eagerly anticipating future installments of the Murderbot Diaries.
April 16
Wool by Hugh Howey
This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.
May 21
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Once upon a time... Toadling, a changeling child, was tasked with guarding a sleeping princess in a bramble-covered castle.And then... two centuries after Toadling begins her solitary vigil, a knight arrives at the castle to break a curse that should not be broken