What makes a book a “classic”? The writer Italo Calvino defined them this way: "A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers." In that spirit, the Classics Book Club reads and discusses novels that have become beloved over the years, whether they're well-known staples or under-the-radar gems. We’ll read one classic or modern classic book  and engage in a lively discussion about the text in person at the Library!

For September and October, Classics Book Club is trying something new! We're reading two books—one classic and one just published—that are in conversation with each other. Ann Patchett's latest novel, Tom Lake, explores the slipperiness of memory, moving back and forth between two Michigan-set summers nearly 30 years apart to show the way the past can seep into the present. In 1988, Lara was a young aspiring actor rehearsing for a summer stock production of the play Our Town, on the verge of a big career break. In 2020, in lockdown with her daughters on the family cherry farm, Lara tells them her stories from that hot 1988 summer that she spent immersed in Our Town, reliving the past through her memories of young love, ambition, and heartbreak.

For our next meeting on September 20th, Classics Book Club will read Thornton Wilder's timeless play Our Town. Then, for our meeting on October 25th, we will read Tom Lake and discuss the role that Our Town plays in the book and the way that a contemporary novel can celebrate, update, or question a classic text.

Register here for the September 20th meeting and contact the library so we can reserve you a copy of the play! If you're planning to come to the October meeting discussing Tom Lake, be sure to register here so that you can receive a new copy of the book for you to keep! Refreshments will be served.

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