Book Swap

\*English version down below\* ¿Te encanta leer pero te cuesta encontrar el tiempo o el lugar ideal? ¡Acompáñanos! No hay un libro obligatorio, ni presión por participar en debates. El objetivo es simplemente disfrutar de una hora de lectura compartida en un ambiente tranquilo. **¿Cómo funciona?** Es muy sencillo: traes el libro que estés leyendo actualmente (novela, ensayo, cómic o Kindle) y leemos juntos en silencio. Sin tareas, sin compromisos. **Agenda:** * **10:30 AM - 11:00 AM:** Bienvenida y presentaciones rápidas (¿qué estás leyendo?). * **11:00 AM - 12:00 PM:** Una hora de lectura en silencio (¡celulares en vibración!). * **12:00 PM en adelante:** Compartimos un poco de lo que leímos y nos conocemos un poco más En esta ocasión realizaremos un picnic durante la lectura. Te invitamos a que, de manera sustentable, lleves tu propio termo con café o agua, así como algún cojín para sentarte cómodamente. ¡Te esperamos! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Do you love reading but struggle to find the time or the right place? Join us! There’s no required book and no pressure to participate in discussions. The goal is simply to enjoy an hour of shared reading in a calm and relaxed atmosphere. How does it work? It’s very simple: bring the book you’re currently reading (novel, essay, comic, or Kindle) and we’ll read together in silence. No assignments, no commitments. Agenda: - **10:30 AM – 11:00 AM**: Welcome and quick introductions (what are you reading?) - **11:00 AM – 12:00 PM**: One hour of silent reading (phones on vibrate!) - **12:00 PM onwards**: We’ll share a bit about what we read and get to know each other On this occasion, we will have a picnic during the reading session. We invite you to be sustainable by bringing your own reusable cup or thermos with coffee or water, as well as a cushion for comfortable seating. We look forward to seeing you! | | | --- | |

Big Ohio Book Con "A convention for book lovers all over Ohio (and beyond)! Author panels, signings, bookish vendors, meet & greets, and more!" Featuring more than 100 authors, more than 50 bookish vendors, and plenty of exciting activities throughout the event! Travel with fellow book lovers or meet us at the event. Park for free at the Medina Convention Center, 735 Lafayette Rd., Medina, Ohio 44256, then hop aboard one of the free shuttles whenever you’re ready for your next bookish adventure! The convention spans three neighboring locations, giving you even more to explore and enjoy.

Welcome, readers! Our May read is **_Kindred_ by Octavia E. Butler.** The story follows Dana, a Black woman living in 1976 California, who is suddenly pulled back to a Maryland plantation before the Civil War. She learns her survival is tied to a white slaveholder’s son. Forced to move between centuries, she must endure the brutal realities of slavery while fighting to hold on to her identity. Tense, intimate, and unforgettable, Kindred explores how the past refuses to stay buried. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖

**Our June novel is: *The Eights* by Joanna Miller** **This month’s novel is set during World War I. It’s a 20th-century historical fiction story about friendship and war, with coming-of-age elements and a slightly haunted tone. The book is 384 pages in print and 10 hours and 9 minutes on audiobook.** Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its one-thousand-year history, Oxford University officially admits female students. Burning with dreams of equality, four young women move into neighboring rooms in Corridor 8. Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto—collectively known as The Eights—come from all walks of life, each driven by their own motives, each holding tight to their secrets, and are thrown into an unlikely, unshakable friendship. Dora was never meant to go to university, but, after losing both her brother and her fiancé on the battlefield, has arrived in their place. Politically-minded Beatrice, daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way - and some friends her own age. Otto was a nurse during the war but is excited to return to her socialite lifestyle in Oxford where she hopes to find distraction from the memories that haunt her. And finally Marianne, the quiet, clever daughter of a village pastor, who has a shocking secret she must hide from everyone, even her new friends, if she is to succeed. Among the historic spires, and in the long shadow of the Great War, the four women must navigate and support one another in a turbulent world in which misogyny is rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War don’t always remain dead.

[Columbus library link to book](https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3351321) Location: The Goat River South 219 S High St, Columbus, OH 43215 Street parking is free on Sundays [Menu](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/686d3ed16745133042482c5f/t/68ff654dbb03b96875430bde/1761568077220/all_brunch-20250311.pdf) Book summary: On a hot day in Bethlehem, a twelve-year-old Palestinian-American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgement will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother's response only intensifies a sense of shame: 'You exist too much,' she tells her daughter. Told in vignettes that flash between the U.S. and the Middle East--from New York to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine--Zaina Arafat's debut novel traces her protagonist's progress from blushing teen to sought-after DJ and aspiring writer.

Join us for Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn! Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the unsolved murder of a preteen girl and the disappearance of another. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story-and survive this homecoming.

The theme for May is Thriller. • The book we will be discussing is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. (determined by votes from April Book Club. Let me know if you'd like a free digital copy of the book) • This event will be at the main library. Feel free to come whether or not you've started or finished the book. • Small snacks will be provided. You're welcome to bring your own snacks & drinks too! Let me know if you’d like to volunteer to bring snacks or drinks for the group.