The Community Library Book Club is hosted the first Wednesday of every other month and led by a diverse range of library staff. Books cover all genres from new fiction to classics to nonfiction, young adult, graphic novels, and everything in between. February's selection is "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating" by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. The discussion will be led by programs and education director Martha Williams. In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris—a common woodland snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own place in the world. Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, offering a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small animal. This short book is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a ...

Books can take years to write, months to query, and from the point of sale to a publisher, another two years to publish. A story can take a year to write, another year to polish, six months to hear back about, and another six months to a year to come out in print or online. In those early years, how does one keep going when the horizon seems so indefinite? How do you know if you’re going in the right direction, how does one learn to edit themselves, and when do you know when a story is done? And how do you find your people along the way? Writing is long, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. Join us for a discussion with Jemimah Wei, current Writer-in-Residence at the Hemingway House, on building a writing life and routine, seeking community, and persisting through the drafts. Jemimah Wei is the author of "The Original Daughter" (Doubleday Books, 2025). Born and raised in Singapore, she is now based between Singapore and the United States. She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and Felipe P. De Alba Fellow at Columbia University, where she earned her MFA. A recipient of awards ...

Join your local libraries for the closing of the 2025 Winter Read, featuring keynote speaker Jenny Tinghui Zhang, a Chinese-American writer and author of the internationally bestselling novel "Four Treasures of the Sky," which has been translated into 12 languages and short and longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize, the Dublin Literary Award, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Jenny's work has appeared in The Cut, The New York Times, Texas Highways, and The Rumpus, among others. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree and has received support from Yaddo, Kundiman, VONA/Voices, Tin House, and the University of Wyoming, where she completed her MFA. Her second novel Superfan is forthcoming from Flatiron Books in 2026. Registration recommended to save your seat. A book signing will follow. Help us close us the 2025 community-wide read!