Library AF

I'm squarely in my nonfiction audiobook era and Cultish by Amanda Montell came as a recommendation that I simply had to move up in the queue. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the writing style, the presentation of info, and other forms of media we can consume if our interest has piqued.

"What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere."

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Sacramento Public Library and the American River Parkway Foundation are delighted to extend their collaboration and bring more book-based programming to the parkway in 2026.

The Silent Reading Group is designed to make space in our busy lives for reading and listening to books, meeting new people, and sharing a community space together. Bring the book currently holding your bookmark (or occupying your headphones) and spend some time enjoying your book and the outdoors. There will be time at the end of the silent reading session to chat with fellow readers and to explore the parkway at River Bend Park.

Parking info TBD

Other business:

• This program will take place outdoors. You are encouraged to wear clothing and footwear that provide some protection and bring what you need to feel comfortable (water, hat, sunscreen, etc.).
• Bring a chair or blanket if you have one! Some seating will be available onsite.

Our annual "Walk Around Midtown" theme will take us on a stroll through the beautiful McKinley Park while we discuss A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko. This is shelved under Summer Self Care in the Network of the National Library of Medicine's (NNLM) Reading Club and I can't wait to walk around one of Sacramento's favorite parks 👟🌼📚

Here are a few reminders about this meetup:

• Wear clothing that is easy to move around in and shoes that provide protection for your feet.
• Bring anything you might need to feel comfortable while outside (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottle, etc.).
• The designated meeting spot and walking route will be shared closer to the program date. Look for the clipboard that says "meetup" and for me with my nametag!

"A deeply moving account ever of walking the Grand Canyon, a highly dangerous, life-changing 750-mile trek.

The Grand Canyon is an American treasure, visited by more than 6 million people a year, many of whom are rendered speechless by its vast beauty, mystery, and complexity. Now, in A Walk in the Park, author Kevin Fedarko chronicles his year-long effort to find a 750-mile path along the length of the Grand Canyon, through a vertical wilderness suspended between the caprock along the rims of the abyss and the Colorado River, which flows along its bottom.

Consisting of countless cliffs and steep drops, plus immense stretches with almost no access to water, and the fact that not a single trail links its eastern doorway to its western terminus, this jewel of national parks is so challenging that when Fedarko departed fewer people had completed the journey in one single hike than had walked on the moon. The intensity of the effort required him to break his trip into several legs, each of which held staggering dangers and unexpected discoveries.

Accompanying Fedarko through this sublime yet perilous terrain is the award-winning photographer Peter McBride, who captures the stunning landscape in breathtaking photos. Together, they encounter long-lost Native American ruins, the remains of Old West prospectors' camps, present day tribal activists, and signs that commercial tourism is impinging on the park's remote wildness.

An epic adventure, action-packed survival tale, and a deep spiritual journey, A Walk in the Park gives us an unprecedented glimpse of the crown jewel of America's National an iconic landscape framed by ancient rock whose contours are recognized by all, but whose secrets and treasures are known to almost no one, and whose topography encompasses some of the harshest, least explored, most awe-inspiring terrain in the world."

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Sacramento Public Library and the American River Parkway Foundation are delighted to extend their collaboration and bring more book-based programming to the parkway in 2026.

I learned about nature journaling at a recent library conference and was thrilled to see how accessible and low stakes the activities were. We will have a brief introduction to nature journaling, do some warm-up exercises, spend some time journaling independently, followed by a wrap-up as a whole group. All materials will be provided.

Parking info TBD

Other business:

• This program will take place outdoors. You are encouraged to wear clothing and footwear that provide some protection and bring what you need to feel comfortable (water, hat, sunscreen, etc.).
• Bring a chair or blanket if you have one! Some seating will be available onsite.