Book Discussions

This group meets monthly at the library. Books are available at the library approximately one month before the discussion date. All are welcome to join. Groups may be meeting remotely; contact the book group coordinator to find out the plan for their upcoming discussion.

Discussions are on Thursdays at 7:00 pm.

​​​​​​​2024

​​​​​​​January 18:  The Third Victim, by Phillip Margolin
February 15:  The Man in the Queue, by Josephine Tey
March 21:  Iron Lake, by William Kent Krueger
April 18:  Wild Justice, by Phillip Margolin
May 16:  The Late Show, by Michael Connelly
June 20:  The Sacred Bridge, by Anne Hillerman
July 18:The Life We Bury, by Allen Eskens
August 15:Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire, by Ruth Downie
September 19: A Borrowing of Bones, by Paula Munier
October 17: The Bookseller (Hugo Marston #1), by Mark Pryor
November 21: Murder as a Fine Art, by David Morrell
No meeting in December.

​​​​​​​2025

​​​​​​​January 16:  A Gentleman’s Murder, by Christopher Huang
February 20:  Slow Horses, by Mick Herron
March 20:  The Holdout, by Graham Moore
April 17:  Tale of Hilltop Farm (Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter #1), by Susan Wittig Albert
May 15:  Billy Boyle, by James Benn
June 19:  Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan #1), by Kathy Reichs
July 17: Faded Coat of Blue, by Owen Parry

Mystery book group coordinator: Maureen Parent, 802-434-2055, msparent@ gmavt.net

This group meets monthly at the library. Books are available at the library approximately one month before the discussion date. All are welcome to join. Groups may be meeting remotely; contact the book group coordinator to find out the plan for their upcoming discussion.

Discussions are on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm.

2025

January 14: Under the Whispering Door, by T.J. Klune
February 11: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
March 11: Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, by Soraya L. Chemaly
April 8: My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier

2024

January 9:  Ask Again, Yes, by Mary Beth Keane
February 13:  Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid
March 12:  The Mercies, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
April 9:  Atlas of the Human Heart, by Brene Brown
May 14:  The Music of Bees, by Eileen Garvin
June 11:  The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
July 9:  Goodnight, Irene, by Luis Alberto Urrea
August 13: A Woman is No Man, by Etaf Rum
September 10: Walking Home: Trail Stories, by Celia Ryker
October 8: Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
November 12: Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
December 10: Before the Coffee Gets Old, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Book group coordinator: Gwen Landis, 802-434-5012, gwennie1972@ yahoo.com

A collaboration between the Richmond Climate Action Committee and the library, this group discusses books that focus on climate and environmental issues and stories.

Books discussed so far:

• Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson (November 2022)
• We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast, by Jonathan Safran Foer (February 2023)
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer (May 2023)
• The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, by Amitav Ghosh (November 2023)
• The Heat Will Kill You First, by Jeff Goodell (February 2024)
• The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth, by Elizabeth Rush (May 2024)

Next Discussion:

Playing God in the Meadow, by Martha Leb Molnar

November 13 at 6:30pm

Join us to discuss Playing God in the Meadow, an engaging memoir by Vermont author Martha Leb Molnar.
We’ll be talking about invasive species, including how we scientifically and emotionally approach them. As always, we’ll also discuss how climate change is affecting the lands and species around us.

About the Book:
After decades of fantasizing and saving, of working multiple jobs and embracing frugality in the midst of Manhattan, Martha Leb Molnar and her husband had found their parcel of land. Determined to turn an overgrown and unproductive Vermont apple orchard into a thriving and beautiful landscape, they decided to restore this patch of land to a pristine meadow and build a safe haven for their family and nearby wildlife.

Once they cleared the gnarled and dying trees away, Molnar was forced to wage war on the invasive species that had sprung up around the property. Propelled by the heated debates surrounding non-native species and her own complicated family history and migration, she was driven to research the Vermont landscape, turning to scientific literature, experts in botany and environmental science, and locals who have long tended the land in search of answers. At turns funny, thoughtful, and conversational, Playing God in the Meadow follows this big city transplant as she learns to make peace with rural life and an evolving landscape that she cannot entirely control.