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, September 2, 2025
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:
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert’s acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert’s masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history.
The library will have copies available in the preceding month, or you can listen or read on OverDrive or Hoopla.
Monday Mystery Book Club
Monday, September 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 or Hoopla.
This month:
The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan
“Three couples. Two bodies. One secret.
Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.
The women arrive for a girls’ night ahead of their husbands. There’s ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together, until her husband died suddenly.
But what they hoped would be a relaxing break soon turns to horror. Upon arrival at Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control. Betrayal can come in many forms.
This group has kept each other’s secrets for far too long.”
Read Between the Spines Book Group
Tuesday, September 23, 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. The book is available to listen or read on OverDrive or Hoopla.
This month:
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship. This first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.
Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between two women.
Reading the Rainbow
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
6:00 – 7:00 PM
IU Southeast Library or online via Zoom
4201 Grant Line Rd.
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.
The book is also available on ebook / audiobook from the Indiana Digital Library, as well as from Hoopla (ebook / audiobook).
This month:
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
(For content warnings, check out the book’s page on StoryGraph and scroll to the bottom)
Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society.
And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio.
Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio-and a chance at a forbidden love?
#BookTalk
Thursday, September 4, 2025
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:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
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.