Upcoming Book Discussions
New members are welcome to join any book group without registering. For assistance or to get a copy of a book, please visit the Customer Service Desk or call (812) 944-8464.
Dusting Off the Classics
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
New Albany Central Library Auditorium or online via Zoom
Been meaning to read more of the classics? Want to revisit books you haven’t read since you were in school? What is a “classic” anyway? Join us to read and discuss a different classic book each month. This event is hosted with a hybrid model– come to the library Auditorium if you prefer in person events, but we’ll email you a link to join the discussion on Zoom. Print copies of the books are available at the Upper Customer Service desk.
This month:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.
Read it on OverDrive or Hoopla, or pick up a copy at the library in the 4 weeks prior to the meeting.
Dusting Off the Classics is presented in partnership with Christopher Proctor, a faculty librarian at IU Southeast
Monday Mystery Book Club
Monday, December 15, 2025
6:00 – 7:00 PM
New Albany Central Library Applegate Meeting Room
Do you love a good mystery? Join us for a lively discussion of a different mystery book each month. From cozy mysteries to detective novels to thrillers, chat about your prime suspects, the crime, characters, and more. You do not have to finish the book before you come, but be warned: spoilers lie ahead. Print copies of the books are available at the Upper Customer Service desk or you can listen or read on OverDrive.
This month:
Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji
“Philadelphia, 1875: It is the start of term at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lydia Weston, professor and anatomist, is immersed in teaching her students in the lecture hall and hospital. When the body of a patient, Anna Ward, is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the young chambermaid’s death is deemed a suicide. But Lydia is suspicious and she is soon brought into the police investigation.
Aided by a diary filled with cryptic passages of poetry, Lydia discovers more about the young woman she thought she knew. Through her skill at the autopsy table and her clinical acumen, Lydia draws nearer the truth. Soon a terrible secret, long hidden, will be revealed. But Lydia must act quickly, before she becomes the next target of those who wished to silence Anna.”
Read Between the Spines Book Group
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
5:30 – 6:45 PM
Galena Digital Branch
6954 Hwy 150
Read great books and make new friends at this new book discussion at the Galena Digital Branch. Print copies of the book will be available at the Galena Digital Branch.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Though her sisters are keen on finding men to marry, Elizabeth Bennet would rather wait for someone she loves – certainly not someone like Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, whom she finds to be smug and judgmental, in contrast to the charming George Wickham. But soon Elizabeth learns that her first impressions may not have been correct, and the quiet, genteel Mr. Darcy might be her true love after all.
The book is available to listen or read on OverDrive.
Reading the Rainbow
Wednesday, January 21, 2025
6:00 – 7:00 PM
IUS Southeast Library or via Zoom
4201 Grant Line Rd, New Albany, IN 47150
Join us to discuss an LGBTQ+ themed book each month. This discussion is open to all adults; members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies are welcome. Print copies of the books are available at the Floyd County Library Upper Customer Service Desk and at the IU Southeast Library. If you’d like to attend online via Zoom, register at the link below to receive the Zoom link.
For content warnings, check out the book’s page on StoryGraph and scroll to the bottom
#BookTalk
Thursday, January 8, 2026
6:00 – 7:00 PM
New Albany Central Library
Applegate Room
Do you love reading and talking about books? Join us to discuss a recently popular title each month! We meet in person at the Central Branch of the Floyd County Library (180 W. Spring Street.) You can pick up a print copy of the book at the Upper Customer Service Desk, or download an eBook from the Indiana Digital Library. Don’t miss this opportunity to share your thoughts and insights with other readers.
This month:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
If you could go back, who would you want to meet? In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee–the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.
A More Perfect Union
Currently on hiatus - stay tuned for more information!
After the April 28 meeting, More Perfect Union will be taking a hiatus. Please stay tuned for more information about this book group.
Book group description: In this book club for adults, we dive into different civic topics as we strive to be part of a "more perfect union". Topics will vary, but we aim for a neighborly discussion as we unpack some of the issues facing us as a society today. Print copies of the book are available at the Upper Customer Service Desk. This book group offers a free copy of the book to keep, while supplies last.