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Book Groups
LIBRARY-SPONSORED BOOK GROUPS/MATERIALS:
— Book Club in a Bag!
— BookTalks at Bethany Branch
— BookTalks at South Branch — 
— B.Y.O.B(ooks) Club — (at both the downtown and Walt Branch libraries)
— Just Desserts Mystery Discussion Group
— Let’s Get Books Together — An LGBTQ Book Group
— The Nebraska Heritage Book Club
— Once Upon a Crime – True Crime BookTalks —
NON-LIBRARY BOOK GROUPS:
— “Great Books Reading and Discussion Group” (currently on hiatus)
— National Book Clubs (Oprah, Reese’s Book Club, etc.)
— Non-Library Book Clubs
BookTalks and Book Discussion Groups
In addition to our Preschool Storytimes and various youth-related book discussion activities, the Lincoln City Libraries offers several Book Talk and Book Discussion Groups for adult readers as well. All of the groups listed below are free and open to the public…simply drop in at one of our gatherings, or call the branch location where the meeting is taking place if you have additional questions!
— Mysteries discussed 
— Romance fiction discussed 
— Science Fiction discussed 
— Western fiction discussed
[ BOOKLIST ] — Online Booklist Available, as either a web page or PDF! [ PODCAST ] — Podcast Recording Available!
For more information on any of these book groups, contact the branch or location where the group meets. You can also view some booklists from past Book Talks.
>>> Submit your own community Book Discussion Group information! <<<
Book Club in a Bag!
Book Clubs and organizations now have the ability to check out the current year’s One Book – One Lincoln finalists , in a special format. For each title, the Book Club in a Bag will contain 10 copies of that book as well as some starter discussion questions. Book Club in a Bag selections will be able to be checked out for 8 weeks but with no renewals. You can find out what titles are available in the Book Club in a Bag program by searching in the library catalog under Subject: Book Club in a Bag. New titles will be added to this service on an annual basis.
Subscribe to the monthly Book Club Choices Booklist Newsletter, via the form below, to receive excellent reading suggestions for book groups in your e-mail each month.
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Subscribe to the Book Club Choices Booklist newsletter.
BookTalks at Bethany
Bethany Branch
1810 North Cotner Blvd.
Every Friday Morning, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
441-8550
Bethany BookTalks welcomes everyone for a morning of good books. Since 2001, speakers have presented a group of books, sometimes with a theme and sometimes not. These informal presentations allow for good conversation as well. The Bethany BookTalk group meets every Friday morning, beginning at 10:30 A.M., unless otherwise noted. Approximately 15-20 regular attendees.
Would you like to receive updates about the library BookTalk groups in your e-mail, such as announcements of upcoming talk themes, schedule changes and/or notices about new booktalk booklists on the BookGuide site? Visit our Sign-Up page, fill out our simple form, and you’ll start receiving book group alerts with the next message that is sent!
Date Program Description January 6, 2023
Book Share — No presenter — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members January 13, 2023
Book Share — No presenter — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members January 20, 2023
Book Share — No presenter — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members January 27, 2023
Book Share — No presenter — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members February 3, 2023
Donna’s Recent Reads — Donna G., former staff member in the libraries’ Virtual Services Department, is today’s guest presenter. February 10, 2023
Women in the West — Meredith M., former curator of the Heritage Room of Nebraska authors, is today’s guest presenter. [ BOOKLIST ] February 17, 2023
A Wedding and a Murder — Marcy G. from the South and Gere Branch Libraries, is today’s presenter February 24, 2023
How to Find Out About New Music TItles at the Lincoln City Libraries/Polley Music Library — Scott S., from the Polley Music Library, at the downtown Bennett Martin Public Library, is today’s presenter. [ BOOKLIST ]
March 3, 2023
Ways to Love a Book — Leeanne D., from the Gere Branch Library, is today’s presenter. [ BOOKLIST ] March 10, 2023
Karrie and Steph’s Awesome Booktalk — Karrie S. and Steph E., from the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries, are today’s presenters. [ BOOKLIST ] March 17, 2023
Books With an Animal Theme — Jodi R., of the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries, is today’s presenter. [ BOOKLIST ] March 24, 2023
Books by Nebraska Authors — Diane W., curator of the Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, is today’s presenter. [ BOOKLIST ]
March 31, 2023
Book Share — No presenter — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members April 7, 2023
T.B.A. — Debbie A., former staff member at the Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries, is today’s guest presenter April 14, 2023
Biographies and Memoirs — Jen J., from the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown, is today’s presenter.
April 21, 2023
Scott’s Recent Reads — Scott C., from the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown, and manager of the libraries’ BookGuide readers advisory pages, is today’s presenter. April 28, 2023
T.B.A. — Laurie J., from the Gere Branch Library, is today’s presenter.
May 5, 2023
Susan’s Selections — Susan S., Teen specialist at the Eiseley Branch Library, is today’s presenter.
May 12, 2023
T.B.A. — Lincoln City Libraries’ Director Ryan Wieber is today’s presenter.
May 19, 2023
T.B.A. — Maddie O., from the Eiseley Branch Library, is today’s presenter.
May 26, 2023
T.B.A. — Hilary U., from the Gere and South Branch Libraries, is today’s presenter. June 2, 2023
Book Share — No presenters until September/Summer Reading Begins — bring your favorite recent reads to share with fellow group members
For examples of some of the titles/themes talked about at previous Bethany BookTalk meetings, and for booklists of titles discussed at past BookTalks, check out our Book Group Archives webpage!
BookTalks at South
South Branch
2675 South St. (27th & South)
441-8570
South BookTalks welcomes everyone for a weekly evening book chat opportunity, starting in September 2021. Patterned after the successful Bethany and Gere BookTalk programs, guest speakers will present a talk on a group of books, sometimes with a theme and sometimes not. These informal presentations allow for good conversation as well. The South Branch BookTalks group is taking a hiatus during the Winter/Spring 2023 booktalks season.
Would you like to receive updates about the BookTalk groups in your e-mail, such as announcements of upcoming talk themes, schedule changes and/or notices about new booktalk booklists on the BookGuide site? Visit our Sign-Up page, fill out our simple form, and you’ll start receiving book group alerts with the next message that is sent!
Date Program Description ON HIATUS
The South Branch BookTalks Group is taking this Winter/Spring 2023 season off — check out the Bethany BookTalks Group above!
For examples of some of the titles/themes talked about at previous South BookTalk meetings, and for booklists of titles discussed at past BookTalks, check out our Book Group Archives webpage!
B.Y.O.B(ooks). Club
Bennett Martin Public Library
136 S. 14th St. (4th Floor Auditorium)
Third Wednesday of Every Month, starting January 2022, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
441-8530 (Public Service Desk at Bennett Martin Public Library downtown)
Would you like to gather with fellow book-lovers to discuss whatever you’ve been reading and enjoying lately, without the pressure of assigned reading?
The B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Books) Club is designed with you in mind. Based loosely on the concept of “literary salons” of days gone by, the idea behind this group is that it will appeal to readers who want to talk about what they’ve read or listened to, but who don’t necessarily want to be “told” what to read, or who don’t feel like they have the time to read something assigned in addition to everything else that’s already on your “to be read” list.
Each meeting will be “themed”, so participants can select a title to talk about that matches the monthly theme. You don’t actually have to bring the book with you.
Would you like to receive updates about the various library-sponsored book groups, in your e-mail, such as announcements of upcoming talk themes, schedule changes and/or notices about new booktalk booklists on the BookGuide site? Visit our E-mail Group Sign-Up page, fill out our simple form, and you’ll start receiving book group alerts with the next message that is sent!
Date Program Description January 18, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptation [ BOOKLIST ]
February 15, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book That Made You Blush [ BOOKLIST ] March 15, 2023
Reading Prompt — Favorite Pandemic Book [ BOOKLIST ] April 18, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book From the Decade When You Were Born
May 17, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book You Had to Read, But Wished You Didn’t
June 21, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Book About Friendship
July 19, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book Starring an Animal
August 16, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Graphic Novel
For examples of some of the titles/themes talked about at previous B.Y.O.B(ooks). Club meetings, and for booklists of titles discussed at past meetings, check out our Bring Your Own Books Clubs – Archive webpage!
B.Y.O.B(ooks). Club
Walt Branch Library
6701 S. 14th St.
Third Thursday of Every Month, starting February 2022, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
441-4460
Would you like to gather with fellow book-lovers to discuss whatever you’ve been reading and enjoying lately, without the pressure of assigned reading?
The B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Books) Club is designed with you in mind. Based loosely on the concept of “literary salons” of days gone by, the idea behind this group is that it will appeal to readers who want to talk about what they’ve read or listened to, but who don’t necessarily want to be “told” what to read, or who don’t feel like they have the time to read something assigned in addition to everything else that’s already on your “to be read” list.
Each meeting will be “themed”, so participants can select a title to talk about that matches the monthly theme. You don’t actually have to bring the book with you.
Would you like to receive updates about the various library-sponsored book groups, in your e-mail, such as announcements of upcoming talk themes, schedule changes and/or notices about new booktalk booklists on the BookGuide site? Visit our E-mail Group Sign-Up page, fill out our simple form, and you’ll start receiving book group alerts with the next message that is sent!
Date Program Description January 19, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptation [ BOOKLIST ]
February 16, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book That Made You Blush — This meeting was cancelled due to the libraries being closed for a winter snowstorm
March 16, 2023
Reading Prompt — Favorite Pandemic Book [ BOOKLIST ] April 19, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book From the Decade When You Were Born
May 18, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book You Had to Read, But Wished You Didn’t
June 15, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Book About Friendship
July 20, 2023
Reading Prompt — A Book Starring an Animal
August 17, 2023
Reading Prompt — Your Favorite Graphic Novel
For examples of some of the titles/themes talked about at previous B.Y.O.B(ooks). Club meetings, and for booklists of titles discussed at past meetings, check out our Bring Your Own Books Clubs – Archive webpage!
Just Desserts
Bennett Martin Public Library
136 S. 14th St. (4th Floor Auditorium)
Last Thursday of Every Month, January through October, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
441-8530 (Public Service Desk at Bennett Martin Public Library downtown)
The Just Desserts discussion group, focusing exclusively on Mystery Fiction, meets monthly at the Bennett Martin Public Library, downtown. This group meets the last Thursday evening of each month, January through October, 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. (socializing 6:30-6:45 — book discussion starts at 6:45)
A specific mystery novel (or author) is selected in advance for discussion during each meeting, although general discussion about mystery fiction may follow the discussion of the selected title. Since our theme is “Death and Desserts,” (i.e. The murderer got their “just desserts”), any and all participants are encouraged to bring a dessert (cookies, cake, pie, tarts, brownies, bars, cream puffs, etc.) to share with the other group members. (Decaf Coffee and juice will be provided.)
If you’d like to join us, or you would like to be added to an e-mail notification list for news about this group, you can e-mail us to let us know of your interest, at: the BookGuide e-mail address (BookGuide@lincoln.ne.gov), or fill out our sign-up form at our E-mail Group Signups page. To see a list of the mysteries discussed by the Just Desserts group in the past, visit our Just Desserts archives page…or you can print out a list of the titles discussed in the first ten years of Just Desserts. If you missed one of our past meetings and would like to contribute your own opinion about one of the books we discussed, visit the Just Desserts Blog, and leave a comment on one of the book entries!
In April 2023, for the first time in Just Desserts’ 17-year history, we are revisiting a book that we’ve used for group discussion before — but the book was used back at our 18th meeting in October 2007, and most of the current participants in Just Desserts were not with the group back then. This book is also the selected title for the 2023 One Book – One Nebraska statewide reading program, so this month’s Just Desserts discussion will also be an official One Book – One Nebraska discussion at the same time!
The book we’ll be reading and discussing for this month is a classic mystery by Nebraska’s own Mignon Eberhart — often called “America’s Agatha Christie.” The title is The Mystery of Hunting’s End, a traditional “locked room mystery.”
The Sand Hills of Nebraska, where Mignon G. Eberhart lived as a newlywed, inspired the setting of this 1930 chiller. Smack in the middle of the rolling desolation is Hunting’s End, a weekend lodge owned by the rich Kingery family. To that place socialite Matil Kingery invites a strange collection of guests — the same people who were at the lodge when her father died of “heart failure” exactly five years ago. She intends to find out which one of them murdered him. Posing as another guest is the dapper young detective, Lance O’Leary. At his recommendation, Matil has engaged Nurse Sarah Keate to care for Aunt Lucy Kingery at Hunting’s End — not a pleasant assignment as it turns out. Gathered at the lodge, Matil’s guests are shut off from the outside by a November snowstorm. Nurse Keate is the same sharp-eyed, stiletto-tongued, strong-stomached Nightingale and sleuth who established Mignon Eberhart as a mainstay of the golden age of detective fiction.
The Mystery of Hunting’s End is available in the following editions: 1998 Reprint from UNL’s Bison Books imprint | Original 1930 edition in the library’s Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors (the library has purchased a total of 10 copies of this book — far fewer than we usually use for Just Desserts discussion, so if some participants could read it in advance that will free up copies for everyone to find one!)
Discuss The Mystery of Hunting’s End on this 2007 post in the Just Desserts Blog!
Continuing our annual tradition, which started in 2013, our May meeting will be a “Series Share” night! Because the libraries have volumes in so many brand-new mystery series constantly being added to the collection, most of which we don’t get in large quantities of copies, we’re not assigning any specific authors or titles this month. Instead — we encourage all attendees to sample a new “mystery”, “suspense” or “thriller” series, which launched in the past few years (2020 to 2023). Come to Just Desserts prepared to give a nutshell description of the series, the protagonist, the setting, the writing style, etc., and what your opinion is of that series — thumbs up or thumbs down. Extra points if it is a brand-new series, or a less-well-known author!
Attendees at Just Desserts are always looking for great new series to try out…our track record has been that this “series share” opportunity gives us all a lot of new authors to explore!
Note: Because of the unusual nature of this month’s discussion, we can’t guarantee that we’ll get to our traditional “Round Robin” at the end of the meeting — we hope to, but the discussion of “Series Shares” may take more time than anticipated!
In June, the Just Desserts group will be reading and discussing the 2022 best-seller from British thriller/psychological suspense author, Alice Feeney. Alice has been publishing roughly one book per year since her debut with Sometimes I Lie in 2017, all to good reviews. Daisy Darker offers a very obvious nod to the best-selling mystery novel of all time, and has shown up on most of the “Best of the Year” lists for 2022.
Here’s the plot description of Daisy Darker from the jacket blurb:
“Daisy Darker is an all-consuming tale of psychological suspense with a spectacular twist from the internationally bestselling author Alice Feeney, inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.
Isolated on their private island in Cornwall, the Darker family have come together for the first time in over a decade. When the tide comes in, they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again. Nothing – because one of the family is a killer . . .
As the leaves of autumn fall, Daisy Darker arrives at her grandmother’s house for eightieth birthday celebrations. Seaglass, the Darker’s ancestral home, is a crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island.
Every member of the family has their secrets. Nana, alone for so long. Daisy’s absent father, Frank. Her cold-hearted mother, Nancy. Her siblings, Rose and Lily, and her niece, Trixie, full of questions and without a father of her own. Daisy has never had an easy relationship with her family, but some secrets are much darker than others. This will be a gathering that some of them won’t remember.
Alice Feeney online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Daisy Darker page on publisher’s website
Daisy Darker is available in the following formats: Regular Print (22) | Large Type (5) | Book-on-CD (5) | E-book from Overdrive (8) | Downloadable Audio from Overdrive (8)
In July, the Just Desserts group will be reading and discussing the latest best-seller from American mystery/suspense author, Deanna Raybourn, who published a variety of both series and stand-alone novels since 2006. Deanna’s mystery output so far has involved several historical mystery series, but our selected title, Killers of a Certain Age, is a contemporary stand-alone thriller, with both biting wit and nerve-wracking action.
Here’s the plot description of Killers of a Certain Age from the jacket blurb:
“Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. But now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates their real-world resourcefulness in an age of technology.
When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.
To get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman — and a killer — of a certain age.”
Deanna Raybourn online: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Mastadon
Killers of a Certain Age page on publisher’s website
Killers of a Certain Age is available in the following formats: Regular Print (14) | E-book from Overdrive (6) | Downloadable Audio from Overdrive (8)
For our August 2023 meeting, Just Desserts group members are encouraged to read any of the first three novels in British author Richard Osman’s “Thursday Murder Club” series (a fourth is due out in September 2023). This series has turned into a smash success story since the first volume was released in 2020, and many Just Desserts participants have already sampled it…but this will be our first opportunity to discuss the entire series as a whole group.
So…anyone wishing to participate in the August meeting is encouraged to read ANY one or more of these three novels, and we will discuss all three of them in broad general terms at our meeting, with everyone given an opportunity to say which book(s) they read and what their opinion about it/them is.
Here are the brief descriptions of all three novels — hotlinks should take you to all available formats in the libraries’ online catalog (which include print, E-book and E-audiobook):
The Thursday Murder Club (2020) – “In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the ‘Thursday Murder Club’ find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?”
The Man Who Died Twice (2021) – “It’s the following Thursday. Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He’s made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life. As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus? But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can the ‘Thursday Murder Club’ find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?”
The Bullet That Missed (2022) – “It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal. Except trouble is never far away where the ‘Thursday Murder Club’ are concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers. Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill…or be killed. As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?”
In September, the Just Desserts group will be reading and discussing one of the best-reviewed suspense novels of 2022 — All Good People Here, by Ashley Flowers.
Here’s the plot description of All Good People Here from the jacket blurb:
“You can’t ever know for sure what happens behind closed doors.
Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January–and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist. But she’s always been haunted by the feeling that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice.
When Margot returns home to help care for her uncle after he is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, she feels like she’s walked into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembers — genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under circumstances eerily similar to January’s. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and to solve January’s murder once and for all.
But the police, Natalie’s family, the townspeople — they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could January’s killer still be out there? Is it the same person who took Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night twenty years ago?
Twisty, chilling, and intense, All Good People Here is a searing tale that asks: What are your neighbors capable of when they think no one is watching?”
Ashley Flowers online: Website | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
All Good People Here page on publisher’s website
All Good People Here is available in the following formats: Regular Print (25) | E-book from Overdrive (12) | Downloadable Audio from Overdrive (12)
As we have traditionally done, for several years, our October meeting — our final meeting of the year — will be our once-a-year opportunity to look back at a classic mystery/suspense/thriller writer. For October 2023, that assigned author will be revealed later in the year — but we try to alternate between male and female authors each year, so this year it will be a male author.
Let’s Get Books Together!
Gere Branch — Meeting Room #2
2400 South 56th Street
Last Wednesday of Every Month, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
441-8560
The Gere Branch Library is pleased to be the new official meeting spot for Let’s Get Books Together: An LGBTQ+ Book Club!
The group will meet the last Wednesday evening of every month, 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m., in Meeting Room #2, for the discussion of books with themes relevant to the LGBTQ+ community in Nebraska. In addition to book discussion and socializing, the group will also serve as a source of support and safety for all members. A specific novel, story collection or non-fiction title is selected in advance for discussion during each meeting, although general discussion about LGBTQ+ literature may follow the discussion of the selected title.
LGBT Book Club is welcoming of all age groups, and any member of the public who can respect the safe space we are trying to create for our local LGBTQ community.
Visit the archive of past Let’s Get Books Together! selections.
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 — 6:30-7:45 p.m. <<<<< Our Next Discussion!!
There is no specific title assigned for discussion at the April 2023 meeting — in honor of National Poetry Month, participants are encouraged to read and share some appropriately-themed poetry during this month’s meeting.
This month’s Let’s Get Books Together meeting will also be shared via Zoom online. Zoom Login: Coming Soon!
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 — 6:30-7:45 p.m.
The title for discussion at the May meeting is Megan Giddings’ 2022 novel, The Women Could Fly.
This month’s Let’s Get Books Together meeting will also be shared via Zoom online. Zoom Login: Coming Soon!
Here’s the description from our catalog:
“Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times–a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.
Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother’s disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behavior raises suspicions and a woman–especially a Black woman–can find herself on trial for witchcraft.
But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of 30 — or enroll in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At 28, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honor one last request from her mother’s will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time. In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face–and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them.”
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 — 6:30-7:45 p.m.
There is no assigned reading for discussion at the June 2023 meeting — This is a Stonewall Book Award book talk — group host Lane will go over the top 10 adult fiction titles and award winners of the Barbara Gittings Adult Fiction Literature Award.
See the Stonewall Book Award page here on BookGuide!
This month’s Let’s Get Books Together meeting will also be shared via Zoom online. Zoom Login: Coming Soon!
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 — 6:30-7:45 p.m.
There is no specific individual title assigned for discussion at the July 2023 meeting — this month’s theme is Super Queeros – all things super heroes!
This month’s Let’s Get Books Together meeting will also be shared via Zoom online. Zoom Login: Coming Soon!
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 — 6:30-7:45 p.m.
There is no specific individual title assigned for discussion at the August 2023 meeting — this month’s theme is LGBTQ Graphic Novels.
You may find some titles worth considering on the A Day Full of Graphic Novels booklist here on BookGuide!
This month’s Let’s Get Books Together meeting will also be shared via Zoom online. Zoom Login: Coming Soon!
The Nebraska Heritage Book Club
Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors (host)
Bennett Martin Public Library (meetings take place in 4th floor Conference Room)
4th Friday of Every Month (see descriptions for exceptions), Noon-1:00 p.m.
136 S. 14th St.
441-8516 (Heritage Room phone #) or heritage@lincoln.ne.gov (e-mail)
The Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library is pleased to be the new official host of the The Nebraska Heritage Book Club (formerly The Nebraska History Book Club)!
For several years, this group met at the Nebraska History Museum (15th & “P”). This group was formed to discuss books about Nebraska history, highlighting the books on the Nebraska150books.org booklist. Everyone is welcome. Come when you can!
This group has now relocated their monthly meetings from the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors, on the 3rd floor of the downtown library, to the 4th floor Conference Room at Bennett Martin Public Library. The group meets on the 4th Friday of every month, from Noon to 1:00 p.m., for the discussion of books by Nebraska authors or with a Nebraska history theme. A specific novel, story collection or non-fiction title is selected in advance for discussion during each meeting.
Visit the archive of past Nebraska Heritage Book Club selections.
Friday, April 28, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m. <<<<< Our Next Discussion!!
Author Carolyn Zeisset will be with the group to show a Powerpoint presentation and discuss her book Then the Rules Changed. Lana Novak has arranged this.
Here’s the description from the introduction to this 2021 book:
“Whenever he thought he understood things, they turned completely upside down.” Isaac knows who he is and what he wants. Then the czar changes the rules, and he must leave everything to emigrate to a country that is nothing like he imagined, face fears of being snatched away, and learn a new way of living and of being himself.”
NOTE: You can read this youth picture book in the Heritage Room, check out one of the libraries’ two circulating copies, or purchase a copy at Francie & Finch, the Germans from Russia Museum, and on Amazon.
Friday, May 26, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m.
The title for discussion at the May meeting is Nebraska POW Camps: A History of World War II Prisoners in the Heartland by Melisssa Amateis Marsh.
Here’s the description of this 2014 book:
“During World War II, thousands of Axis prisoners of war were held throughout Nebraska in base camps that included Fort Robinson, Camp Scottsbluff and Camp Atlanta. Many Nebraskans did not view the POWs as “evil Nazis.” To them, they were ordinary men and very human. And while their stay was not entirely free from conflict, many former captives returned to the Cornhusker State to begin new lives after the cessation of hostilities. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and Nebraska residents, as well as archival research, Melissa Marsh delves into the neglected history of Nebraska’s POW camps.”
Friday, June 23, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m.
The title for discussion at the June meeting is The Never Event: Exposing the Largest Outbreak of Hepatitis C in American Healthcare History by Evelyn V. McKnight and Travis T. Bennington.
Here’s the description of this 2008 book:
“In the small, farming community of Fremont, Nebraska, townspeople eagerly welcomed an acclaimed doctor as the first full-time oncologist at the new, local cancer treatment center. But the fanfare soon turned into a nightmare. During chemotherapy treatments, 857 patients who were already waging the fights of their lives against cancer were inexplicably exposed to the deadly, blood-borne hepatitis C virus. At least ninety-nine of them contracted the lethal illness. The horror was unprecedented as this was the largest healthcare-transmitted outbreak of hepatitis C in American history, and remains so to this date. A Never Event — a term used to describe a preventable medical tragedy – is a searing account of the health challenges these patients encountered and their quest for justice, as well as the painstaking investigation to uncover the source of the outbreak. It s a story of recklessness, deception and betrayal by the person these patients should have been able to trust the most: their physician, a man who, when the outbreak was discovered, fled the US for his native country in the Middle East. Written by a survivor of the tragedy and an attorney who represented many of the victims, A Never Event is a wake-up call to medical and legal communities nationwide.”
Author Evelyn McKnight will be with us to discuss her book.
Friday, July 28, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m.
The title for discussion at the May meeting is Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens.
Here’s the description of this 2021 book:
“Twelve million years ago, rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America. They would gather at nearby watering holes — eating, drinking, and trying not to become someone else’s lunch. But one day, in what we now know as Nebraska, everything changed. The explosion of a supervolcano a thousand miles away sent a blanket of ash that buried these animals for millennia.
Until 1953, when a seventeen-year-old farm worker made an unbelievable discovery.
Rhinos in Nebraska tells the story of the Ashfall Fossil Beds, where more than two hundred perfectly preserved fossils have been found. Step into the past with author Alison Pearce Stevens and uncover the mysteries of Ashfall.”
Friday, August 25, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m.
The title for discussion at the August meeting is Private Way by Ladette Randolph.
Here’s the description of this 2022 book:
“In 2015, when cyberbullies disrupt her life in Southern California, Vivi Marx decides to cut her cord with the internet and take her life offline for a year. She flees to the one place where she felt safe as a child–with her grandmother in Lincoln, Nebraska. Never mind that her grandmother is long dead and she doesn’t know anyone else in the state. Even before she meets her new neighbors on Fieldcrest Drive, Vivi knows she’s made a terrible mistake, but every plan she makes to leave is foiled. Despite her efforts to outrun it, trouble follows her to Nebraska, just not in the ways she’d feared. With the help of her neighbors, Willa Cather’s novels, and her own imagination, Vivi finds something she hadn’t known she was searching for.”
Friday, September 22, 2023 — Noon-1:00 p.m.
The title for discussion at the September meeting is The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon G. Eberhart.
Here’s the description of this 1930 book:
“The Sand Hills of Nebraska, where Mignon G. Eberhart lived as a newlywed, inspired the setting of this 1930 chiller. Smack in the middle of the rolling desolation is Hunting’s End, a weekend lodge owned by the rich Kingery family. To that place socialite Matil Kingery invites a strange collection of guests–the same people who were at the lodge when her father died of “heart failure” exactly five years ago. She intends to find out which one of them murdered him.
Posing as another guest is the dapper young detective Lance O’Leary. At his recommendation Matil has engaged Nurse Sarah Keate to care for Aunt Lucy Kingery at Hunting’s End–not a pleasant assignment, as it turns out. Gathered at the lodge, Matil’s guests are shut off from the outside by a November snowstorm. A collie named Jericho mopes around, and a stray cat seems to herald new, clearly unnatural deaths. What a trap to spring on people used to good wine and fresh-cut flowers at dinner!
Nurse Keate is the same sharp-eyed, stiletto-tongued, strong-stomached Nightingale and sleuth who was introduced in The Patient in Room 18 and While the Patient Slept (available in a Bison Books edition). She helped establish Mignon G. Eberhart as a mainstay of the golden age of detective fiction.”
See our Nebraska Author Mignon G. Eberhart page here on BookGuide!
Unknown future date
The title for discussion at the (??) meeting is Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar’s You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism.
Here’s the description from the introduction to this 2021 book:
” Writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers Amber Ruffin writes with her sister Lacey Lamar with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism. Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin lives in New York, where she is no one’s First Black Friend and everyone is, as she puts it, “stark raving normal.” But Amber’s sister Lacey? She’s still living in their home state of Nebraska, and trust us, you’ll never believe what happened to Lacey. From racist donut shops to strangers putting their whole hand in her hair, from being mistaken for a prostitute to being mistaken for Harriet Tubman, Lacey is a lightning rod for hilariously ridiculous yet all-too-real anecdotes. She’s the perfect mix of polite, beautiful, petite, and Black that apparently makes people think “I can say whatever I want to this woman.” And now, Amber and Lacey share these entertainingly horrifying stories through their laugh-out-loud sisterly banter. Painfully relatable or shockingly eye-opening (depending on how often you have personally been followed by security at department stores), this book tackles modern-day racism with the perfect balance of levity and gravity.”
Once Upon a Crime — True Crime BookTalks
Eiseley Branch
1530 Superior Street
2nd Tuesday of Every Month, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
441-4250
Do you enjoy reading about true crime narratives and local mysteries? Are some of your favorite authors Ann Rule, Truman Capote, Jon Krakauer and Joe McGinniss? Did you love The Devil in the White City, Helter Skelter, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Mindhunter or Zodiac? Then this is the book group for you! Starting in the Fall of 2021, on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, join other “true crime” afficionados for a BooksTalk-style presentation. There will not be assigned reading for this program. Instead, once each month, Gere and South Branch staff members Wyatt, Hillary or Maddie will regale you with tales of murder, thievery and other “true crimes” on an assigned topic, and attendees will be invited to share what they have enjoyed in that reading area.
Join us for all things criminal the second Tuesday of every month at Gere to discuss our current crime obsessions. Bring your favorite stories to share and get sentenced to FUN. So join us, on the Second Tuesday of each month, in the evening from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and indulge your darker reading interests.
Would you like to receive updates about the Bethany and South book groups, the Once Upon a Crime group, the Let’s Get Books Together group, or the Just Desserts group, in your e-mail, such as announcements of upcoming talk themes, schedule changes and/or notices about new booktalk booklists on the BookGuide site? Visit our E-mail Group Sign-Up page, fill out our simple form, and you’ll start receiving book group alerts with the next message that is sent!
Date Program Description September 14, 2021
And You Thought Your Copay was Bad: Medical Crimes — Hillary U. will be tonight’s main presenter. [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] October 12, 2021
Cornhusker Crimes: Nebraska Crime Stories — Maddie O. will be tonight’s main presenter. [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] November 9, 2021
Want to Skip the Holidays? Fake Your Death — Wyatt P. will be tonight’s main presenter. [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] December 14, 2021
Open Crime Share — no presentation tonight, attendees are encourage to come and share their own recent “true crime” reads.
January 11, 2022
Cancelled February 8, 2022
Marriage and Murder: Crimes of Passion — This month’s meeting was held on Zoom. [ No handout prepared for this online meeting ] March 8, 2022
Forget the Luck of the Irish – March Madness: Irish Crimes — [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] April 12, 2022
Blood Red Carpet: Hollywood Crimes [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
May 10, 2022
All in the (Manson) Family: Cult Crimes [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] June 14, 2022
To Err is Human, But to Arr is Pirate: Pirate Crimes [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
July 12, 2022
With Friends Like These: Friends Who Kill [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
August 9, 2022
Satanic Panic [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
September 13, 2022
Campus Crimes: Crimes on School Campuses [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
October 11, 2022
Serial Killers [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
November 8, 2022
No meeting in November due to it falling on Election Day
December 13, 2022
Crimes of the Jazz Age [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
January 10, 2023
True Crime and Indigenous Justice [ See this month’s Booklist handout ]
February 14, 2023
Crimes of Passion, Part 2
March 14, 2023
Wicked Women with guest presenter Jen J. [ See this month’s Booklist handout ] April 11, 2023
National Park Crimes
May 9, 2023
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories Behind Movie Crimes
National Book Clubs
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The Oprah Book Club |
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Reese’s Book Club at Hello Sunshine |
Plus these no-longer-active National Book Clubs:
- ALA Book Club Central (2017-2019)
- The Masterpiece Theatre Book and Film Club (2002-2011)
- Read This! with Good Morning America
- Reading With Ripa ( Kelly Ripa of Live With Regis & Kelly )
- The Real Simple Book Club (2008-2014)
- The Today Show
- USA Today
Reading and Writing Nebraska [R 028.9 Kru], by Mel Krutz (for The Nebraska Center for the Book) is available for public use in the reference room at the Bennett Martin Public Library (14th & “N” St.), as well as the Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors. This newly-compiled 2004 volume lists over 60 additional book discussion groups in the Lincoln area, with address, telephone and e-mail contact information for each group. Many listings also give a description of the types of materials dicussed by each group, and their meeting frequency.If you’ve got a book group that’s open to the general public, free-of-charge, and you’d like to be included in our list of local Book Discussion Groups here, please visit our Book Groups Survey page and fill out a brief form giving us some information about your group.
Aldersgate Book Club
Where We Meet: Aldersgate United Methodist Church
8320 South St.
Members volunteer to host a meeting at their home or at the church in the Fellowship Hall. The host provides a dessert/snack and drinks. Contact the Church Office for details about location of upcoming meetings. Contact the group (see below) to inquire about joining them!
When We Meet: Monthly — The daytime group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. The evening group meets at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month Group Contact: Contact the church office to learn more about what we’re reading, 402-489-1510; [e-mail inquiry form] e-mail: aldersgatelinc@gmail.com [website] We Discuss: A mix of fiction and non-fiction. Group Description: We enjoy discussing books that we can compare to our own experiences. Other Notes: We usually read the One Book – One Lincoln nominees. We have also recently read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall-Smith, Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Boisterous Women, Wine & Books – Lincoln Chapter
When and Where We Meet: Monthly — times, dates and locations seem to vary — group no longer active on Meetup.com but they do have a current Facebook group page. Group Contact: This group’s organizer is Nia M. The Facebook group page is private but the group itself is public. We Discuss: Upcoming titles for discussion: Group Description: Formed via online meeting organization site Meetup.com in December of 2019. Here is a book club for women in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska and pretty much as far as you are willing to drive to Lincoln! We are a group of friendly and boisterous women who love reading all types of books, having fun, and drinking an assortment of beverages. If you’re in the area and looking to meet new women, make friends, talk about the newest authors you’ve found, etc. then check us out. We read a combination of books including Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy and Science Fiction novels, NY Times Bestsellers, Dystopian novels, and more. If there’s something you want to read we’re always interested to hear about it!
Some examples of past books this group has read and discussed include: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; Because We Are Bad by Lily Bailey; The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls; The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton; With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo; The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore; In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado; The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware; Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott; Hunger: A Memoir (of My Body) by Roxane Gay; Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter; Wool by Hugh Howey.
Cliffhangers Book Club
Where We Meet: Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso
1624 South St.When We Meet: Monthly — 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., the third Saturday of every month, starting in the Spring of 2018 Group Contact: Erin Bauer – austengirl72@gmail.com — click here for the group’s Facebook group page We Discuss: Group Description: Love heart-pounding suspense and page turners you can’t put down? Enjoy books with twists and turns that keep you guessing? Then this is the book club for you! Join us for coffee or tea as we discuss bestselling thriller and suspense novels, new and old. Other Notes: Upcoming Discussions: Dec 15 2018 – Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent; Jan 19 2019 – The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn; Feb 16 2019 – Force of Nature by Jane Harper; Mar 16 2019 – You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott; Apr 20 2019 – The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson; May 18 2019 – Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewel; Jun 15 2019 – Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson.
Past Discussions: Apr 21 2018 – The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson, May 19 2018 – Bird Box by Josh Malerman; Jun 16 2018 – The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware; Jul 21 2018 – The Dry by Jane Harper; Aug 18 2018 – It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell; Sep 22 2018 – The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters; Oct 20 2018 – The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault; Nov 17 2018 – Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.
Read, Meet & Eat Book Club
When and Where We Meet: Monthly — times, dates and locations seem to vary — check the group’s Meetup.com page for the most up-to-date information Group Contact: This group’s organizer is Emily. The group is closed, but you can ask to join at their Meetup.com profile page. We Discuss: Upcoming titles for discussion: Group Description: Formed via online meeting organization site Meetup.com in August 2016, Read, Meet & Eat started a book group as part of their activities in 2016. This is a book club for anybody interested in reading books and meeting new people over a burger and a beer. All books are welcome as are all people. Come join us for an intellectual discussion (or not!) on the book of the month we jointly choose. Visit the site (via links above) for additional information. Some examples of past books this group has read and discussed include: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro; Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis; The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead; Exit West by Mohsin Hamid; Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng; Lab Girl by Hope Jahren; Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley; American Pain by John Temple; Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan; An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving; Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover; A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Feb 2019)
Something Different
When and Where We Meet: Monthly — We meet the first Thursday of every month, at 9:30 a.m. at the 52nd & “O” St. Barnes & Noble. Group Contact: This group’s organizer is Phyllis, and she can be reached by phone at 402-483-2601 or by e-mail. We Discuss: Upcoming titles for discussion: May 2018: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann; June 2018: Lonesome Dreamer by Timothy G. Anderson (Anderson will be attending this meeting to meet readers); July 2018: Where’d You Go, Bernadette?; August 2018: The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone. Group Description: We’re a book club that believes in reading “Something Different” for every monthly meeting. Over the past 12 years, we’ve read fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies, mysteries, historical fiction, current best sellers – basically, anything that interests us. One of our recent additions has been the selection of a “companion” book for the monthly choice. This book is roughly connected to the main selection, either to add insight to the topic under discussion; or an understanding of the historical time period; or an additional glimpse of the subject matter. For the complete, extensive, list of what this group has read and discussed, dating back to 2002, check out their official web site.
Star Base Andromeda: Lincoln’s Science Fiction Club
When and Where We Meet:
See Star Base Andromeda’s Book Discussions page for current schedule and title information (website currently inactive though group continues to meet on Zoom during COVID-19).
Group Contact: Scott Clark, email: starbaseandromeda@yahoo.com
We Discuss: Upcoming Titles for Discussion: [unknown]
We exclusively discuss Science Fiction and Fantasy literature, with occasional dips into Horror. We alternate between established “classics” of these genres (pre-1980), and works by prominent contemporary authors (1980s to the present).
Group Description: This general-interest Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror club meets weekly Tuesday night meetings, and occasional Sunday afternoon events. We have a Book Discussion night approximately every six weeks. Membership in the club is not necessary to participate in Book Discussions, and guests are always welcome. Books we’ve discussed since we began having “Book Discussion” meetings include: 1999: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke; I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. 2000: Neuromancer by William Gibson; The Parafaith War by L.E. Modesitt; Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein; Marrow by Robert Reed. 2001: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury; Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes; FlashForward by Robert Sawyer; Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement. 2002: The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson; Newton’s Cannon by J. Gregory Keyes; Tangled Up in Blue by Joan D. Vinge; Interstellar Pig by William Sleator; At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft; The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Leguin; Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear. 2003: Lincoln’s Dreams by Connie Willis; The Dying Earth by Jack Vance; Perdido Street Station by China Mieville; The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester; Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds; Unicorn Variations by Roger Zelazny. 2004: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold; Protector by Larry Niven; Coraline by Neil Gaiman; City by Clifford Simak; Rats and Gargoyles by Mary Gentle. 2005: The Crossroads of Time by Andre Norton, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. 2006: The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold, collection Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories by Jane Yolen, The Long Tomorrow, by Leigh Brackett, the anthology Beyond Singularity, The Big Time by Fritz Leiber. 2007: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker, Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick, The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, The Humanoids, by Jack Williamson, Accelerando by Charles Stross, More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. 2008: There Will Be Dragons by John Ringo, The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison, “Farewell to the Master” by Harry Bates (the story which became the film The Day the Earth Stood Still), Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson, Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr. (Alice Sheldon), Fledgling by Octavia Butler, Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watership Down by Richard Adams. 2009: Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter’s Run by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham, Minority Report by Philip K. Dick, Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E. van Vogt, Undertow by Elizabeth Bear, What Mad Universe by Fredric Brown. 2010: Declare by Tim Powers, The Best of Cordwainer Smith by Cordwainer Smith, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon, The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, Time and Again by Jack Finney, The Practice Effect by David Brin, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. 2011: World War Z by Max Brooks, Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, The Dervish House by Ian McDonald, Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, Timescape by Gregory Benford, The Skylark of Space by E.E. “Doc” Smith, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. 2012: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer, A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick, Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, Player of Games by Iain M. Banks, Non-Stop (a.k.a. Starship) by Brian Aldiss, The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar, The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper and Among Others by Jo Walton. 2013: A Case of Conscience by James Blish; The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi; The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle; Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh; The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle; Spin by Robert Charles Wilson; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne; Redshirts by John Scalzi; Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One: 1929-1964 edited by Robert Silverberg (Dec 2013 – our 100th book discussion!). 2014: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson, The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey; After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (Apr); Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad; Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro; 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke; Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie; Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson “Bob” Tucker; The Magicians by Lev Grossman; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. 2015: Beaker’s Dozen by Nancy Kress; The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell; The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick; Mort by Terry Pratchett; First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells; The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North; Make Room, Make Room by Harry Harrison; House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski; Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. 2016: Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge; The Chrysalids by John Wyndham; The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick; Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp; The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu; Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny; Planetfall by Emma Newman; The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner; Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King; Nerves by Lester Del Rey. 2017: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge; The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton; Transcendental by James Gunn; Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm; Blindsight by Peter Watts; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang; The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin; Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe. 2018: Dragon’s Egg by Robert L. Forward; Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer; The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson; Black Hole (a graphic novel) by Charles Burns. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess; Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey; Way Station by Clifford Simak; Ties of Power by Julie Czerneda; Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon.
Other Notes: Our format is that everyone participating in the discussion should have read the pre-selected book before the meeting. We try to have at least 3 to 4 books selected in advance. Please see Star Base Andromeda Web site for the current reading/discussion schedule, or our Book Discussions page for information about our past, present and upcoming selections. Approximately 5-15 regular attendees. Third Tuesday Mystery Book Club
Where We Meet: Braeda Fresh Express Cafe
4231 S. 33rd St. (33rd & Pioneers)
When We Meet: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Group Contact: Facebook Group page for the Lincoln Third Tuesday Mystery Book Club, restarted anew in March 2017. (Not to be confused with the earlier Third Tuesday Mystery Book Club of Lincoln FB group page, which is no longer active).
We Discuss: Upcoming titles for discussion include — [unknown].
Group Description: This group of mystery fans, which formerly met at Lee Booksellers, has continued since the demise of that Lincoln bookstore, enjoying mysteries and thrillers each month at the Braeda Fresh Express Cafe at 33rd and Pioneers Blvd.
Some of our past books for discussion: October: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick; November: The Killing Way by Tony Hays; December: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters; January 2011: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff; February 2011: The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe; March 2011: A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott; April 2011: The Murdered House by Pierre Mangan; May 17: The Sixth Lamentation by William Brodrick; Jun 21: Crazy Eights by Elizabeth Gunn; July 19: The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall; Aug 16: The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Ling. Oct 2011: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin; Dec 2011: Field of Blood by Denise Mina; Jan 2012: Jacquot and the Waterman by Martin O’Brien; Feb 2012: Hunting Ivory by Suzanne Arruda; [March through July 2012 information not available.]; Aug 2012: A Trust Betrayed by Candace Robb; Sep 2012: Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limon; Oct 2012: Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen.; Nov 2012: The Holy Thief by William Ryan; Dec 2012: Shoofly Pie by Tim Downs; Jan 2013: The Illusion of Murder by Carol McCleary; Feb 2013: Portello by Ruth Rendell; Mar 2013: The Bookseller by Mark Pryor; Apr 2013: The Instruments of Death by Imogen Robertson; May 2013: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton;Jun 2013: Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill. Sep 2013: The Hynpotist by Lars Kepler; Oct 2013: Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten; Nov 2013: Expats by Chris Pavone; Dec 2013: Death of a Red Heroine by Xiaulong Qui; Mar 2014: The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson; Apr 2014: Live by Night by Dennis Lehane; May 2014: Unpardonable Crime by Andrew Taylor; Jun 2014: Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus; Jul 2014: The Midwife’s Tale by Sam Thomas; Aug 2014: Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras by Michael Orenduft; Sep 2014: Raggedy Man by Clyde Curley; Oct 2014: Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes; Nov 2014: The Yard by Alex Grecian; Dec 2014: Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller; Jan 2015: A Murder at Rosemunde’s Gate by Susanna Calkins. Aug 2015: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo; Sep 2015: Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi; Aug 2016: Murder Most Malicious by Alyssa Maxwell; Sep 2016: Under Tower Peak by Bart Paul; Oct 2016: Language of the Dead by Stephen Kelly; Nov 2016: Lethal Investments by K.O. Dahl; Dec 2016: Bones of Contention by Jeanne Matthews; Jan 2017: Dinosaur Feather by Sissel-Jo Gazan; Feb 2017: Murder is a Fine Art by David Morrell, Mar 2017: Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Poetzsch, Apr 2017: Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell; May 2017: Collecting the Dead by Spencer Kope; Jun 2017: The Killing Kind by Chris Holm; Jul 2017: Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer; Aug 2017: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney; Sep 2017: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda; Oct 2017: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet; Nov 2017: The Anatomist’s Wife by Anne Lee Huber; Dec 2017: The Ex by Alafair Burke; Jan 2018: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn; Feb 2018: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware; Mar 2018: In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen; Apr 2018: The Zig-Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths; May 2018: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker; Jun 2018: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Non-Fiction); Jul 2018: Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett; Aug 2018: The Dry by Jane Harper; Sep 2018: Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson; Oct 2018: A Lady in the Smoke by Karen Odden.
Thursday Afternoon Book Group
Where We Meet: St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
8550 Pioneers Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68520 – Lower Fellowship Hall
When We Meet: 1:00-2:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (year-round) [website for St. Mark’s UMC] Group Contact: Dennis Hanneman, e-mail form at:
We Discuss: A mixture of fiction and non-fiction
Group Description: Thursday Afternoon Book Group picks a new book each month to read and discuss.
Other Notes: Titles are selected in advance for an entire year. Here are some 2016 selections: January 7: Gray Mountain by John Grisham; February 4: The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun; March 3: Death Zones & Darling Spies by Beverly D. Keever (a One Book One Nebraska selection); April 7: Wish You Well by David Baldacci; May 5: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (later announced as the One Book – One Lincoln selection); June 2: House Divided by Mike Lawson; July 7: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; August 4: Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger; September 1: Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac; October 6: At the Water’s Edge by Sarah Gruen; November 3: (unknown); December 1: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This group appears to have gone dormant.
Wednesday Morning Book Discussion Group
Where We Meet: St. Paul United Methodist Church
1144 “M” St. – Room 155/157When We Meet: 10:00 A.M. the 4th Wednesday of each month
(August through May, excluding December)
Group Contact: Judy Jensen, 420-6370 or jensenjkay(at)yahoo.com We Discuss: We read and discuss group selected fiction, non-fiction, biographies, a classic, a title authored by a Nebraskan and the One Book – One Lincoln winning title. We read 9 books per year. We strive to experience literature that will expand our horizons in learning about others in order that we can make a difference perhaps in our little corner of the world. Many of the titles we read can be found in the church’s library.
Group Description: We are a very enthusiastic small group, who love reading and discussing books with each other. Although we are sponsored by the church, we do not read only religious books (in fact very few) and our membership is not limited to church members. In fact, several are not, and I’m sure anyone would feel comfortable there.
Other Notes: Members select books for the upcoming year at a Spring meeting. Members come with lists of books they’re interested in, and the group selects from among those. Coffee and cookies are served at each meeting, and a little social and get acquainted time is allowed.
