Gwinnett County Public Library Adult Programs

Learn more about chess in education and play a match with a chess master.

Meet Dr. Alexey Root, national master with a peak US Chess rating of 2260 and the 1989 U.S. Women's Chess Champion, as she discusses her latest book, United States Women's Chess Champions, 1937–2020, and plays 10 chess games simultaneously against library patrons on a first come, first to play basis!
There will be chess sets and boards available for casual play among attendees.

Learn more about how to self-publish your story.

This event is for aspiring authors and curious creatives who want to self-publish their story and ensure that it reaches their target audience. Self-publishing can seem like an overwhelming task, but with the right support and an effective marketing plan, it is possible!

This group isn't just about reading; it's about dynamic interactions that can reshape your business strategies. Join us for insightful discussions and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.

May's selection is Dare to Lead by Brené Brown.

New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline discusses her newest historical fiction novel, The Foursome, about two sisters in nineteenth-century North Carolina who married world-famous conjoined twins from Siam.

When Chang and Eng Bunker arrive in Wilkes County in 1839, they’re not just a curiosity—they’re a sensation. Everyone is eager to learn whether the salacious rumors about them are true. Within months, the twins have opened a general store, bought land, and begun building a plantation. Now, word has it, they’re looking for wives—and in a place that thrives on gossip and legacy, their ambitions set the community on edge.
Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of a once-prominent local family brought low by scandal, are drawn into their orbit. Bold, beautiful Addie sees in the twins’ fame a chance to reclaim her future. Sallie, quiet and observant, isn’t so sure. When the twins’ lives become entangled with theirs, they must navigate loyalty, longing, and identity in a world where everything—including race, class, and gender—is rigidly defined.
Spanning five decades and unfolding against the backdrop of a fractured nation hurtling toward war, The Foursome is both intimate and epic: a story of love and constraint, identity and reinvention. With piercing insight and emotional precision, Kline brings to life a forgotten chapter of American history and the complex, boundary-defying marriages at its center.

Christina Baker Kline is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including Orphan Train, The Exiles, and Please Don’t Lie (with Anne Burt). Published in more than 40 countries, her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among others, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, schools, and universities as “One Book” selections.