Oak Lawn Public Library Meetup

First performed in 1773, this comedy still retains its appeal and is regularly produced. It is the story of a son of the upper class preferring women of the working class. “I chose this comedy to judge for myself if a 21st century person would still find it funny and relevant.” -- Kathy

19 year-old Ben Burns (Lucas Hedges) unexpectedly returns, from a drug rehab facility, to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Ben's mother, Holly (Julia Roberts), is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is tested as she does everything in her power to keep him safe.

Abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as an infant, Dublin charmer Mahony assumed all his life that his mother had simply given him up. But when he receives a tip one night at the bar suggesting that foul play may have led to the disappearance of his mother, he decides to return to the rural Irish village where he was born to learn what really happened twenty-six years earlier. “Elements of the supernatural appear in this mystery book set in rural Ireland. The Irish have a history of telling great horror and ghost stories and this seemed like an appropriate theme leading up to Halloween.” -- Meghan

It’s 2142 and Kin Stewart is a time-traveling secret agent, tasked by the UN time police to go back and stop criminals and mercenaries from trying to mess with the past for personal gain. When a mission goes wrong, he is stranded in the 90s, and left to start a whole new life. Eighteen years later, his rescue team arrives and he must leave everything he knows, including a wife and beloved daughter. As he tries to reconcile his pre and post 2142 life, he must decide what he wants from life and what would be best for those he cares about. “Time travel is one of those classic sci-fi themes that I never really get tired of and Mike Chen tackles it fabulously by mixing sci fi, family drama, and a bit of existential crisis. This book asks not only what you do when you’re a time traveling secret agent stuck in the past, but what happens when your rescue finally shows up 18 years later?” -- Natalie