Book Groups at the Library
Virtual, International Murder Mystery—we have something for everyone. Interested in starting a new book group? Let us know!
Virtual Book Club
This online book club meets on the third Saturday of the month at 4:00 p.m.
October 18: Someone Else’s Bucket List
by Amy T Matthews
My dying wish is for you to finish my bucket list. I refuse to die without knowing this list will be completed. And I refuse to die without knowing my family will be okay . . .
Jodie Boyd is a shy and anxious twenty-something, completely unsure what to do with her life. Her older sister, Bree, is an adventurous, globe-trotting, hugely successful Instagram influencer with more than a million followers. She’s the most alive person Jodie knows—up until Bree’s unfathomable, untimely death from Leukemia. The Boyds are devastated, not to mention overwhelmed with medical debt. But Bree thought of everything—and soon, Jodie is shocked by a new post on her sister’s Instagram feed.
The first of many Bree recorded in secret, the post foretells a jaw-dropping challenge for Jodie: to complete Bree’s very public bucket list. From “Fly over Antarctica,” to “Perform a walk-on cameo in a Broadway musical,” if Jodie does it—and keeps all Bree’s followers—a corporate sponsor will pay off the staggering medical debt. If she gains followers, the Boyds won’t be the only ones to benefit. It’s crazy. It’s terrifying. It’s impossible, immoral even, to refuse. So, despite the whole world watching, Jodie plunges in, never imagining that in death, her sister will teach her how to live, and that the last item on the list—“Fall in love”—may just prove to be the easiest.
2025 Book Club Selections
October 18: Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T Matthews
November 15: Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
December 20: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
You can request a book, or ebook from the Mid-Hudson library system. Please call the library with any questions: 845-657-2482
International Murder Mystery Book Club
This book club meets in person at the library on the 3rd Monday of each month at 2 p.m., led by Henrietta Shannon.
October 20:
Strange Sally Diamond
by Liz Nugent - England
Reclusive Sally Diamond is thrust into the media spotlight when she tries to incinerate her dead father, causing widespread outrage. Now she’s the center of attention, not only from hungry reporters and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she does not remember. As she begins to discover the repressed memories of her horrific early childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, big decisions, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say.
But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world, and why does he call her Mary? And why does her new neighbor seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged in this “truly incredible reading experience” (Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
2025 Book Club Selections
October 20: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent - England
November 17: Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill - Laos
December 15: Hold Your Breath China by Qiu Xialong - China
Defending Democracy Book Club
In-person book club meeting the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m., led by author David Corbett.
October 7: The Project: How Project 2025 is Reshaping America by David A. Graham
So, what is Project 2025, exactly? Who wrote it, and what does it mean for everyday Americans, across the political spectrum, now and in the years to come?
Project 2025 is the intellectual blueprint for the new administration, Graham argues, and its tenets should not be legible only to policy wonks. Authoritative yet highly accessible, The Project demystifies it for those whose lives it will affect most.
2025
October 7: The Project: How Project 2025 is Reshaping America by David A. Graham
November 4: Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson
December 2: Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow
2026
January: No group meeting this month
February 3: The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
March 3: Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Destroying America by Barbara McQuade
April 7: Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal by George Packer
May 5: Who Is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service edited by Michael Lewis
Reading Away Our Teens
This new in-person teen book club will meet monthly on Thursdays from 5:00 - 6:00 pm at the Olive Free Library. It’s led by Jenny Albright, for teens ages 13 - 19. The book for the first meeting on November 6th will be Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Book selection for the rest of 2025 and 2026 will be discussed at the first meeting.
November 6: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
2025 (First Thursday)
November 6: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
December 4: TBD
2026 (Forth Thursday)
January 22: TBD
February 26: TBD
March 26: TBD
April 23: TBD
May 28: TBD
June 25: TBD