Book Swap

Wild Ones: Annual Native Seed Swap January 10, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Join Wild Ones Columbus for their annual native seeds swap. If you have native seeds to share, please label them with the Latin name and common name. The seeds don’t need to be removed from the seed head if you aren’t sure how to do it, but remove as much stem as possible. Bringing seeds is not required. Bring bags or envelopes to store seeds. Inniswood Metro Gardens 940 S. Hempstead Rd. Westerville, OH 43081 Phone (614)895-6216 This event will be held in the Greenhouse/Multipurpose Building located near the east end of the parking lot. Click here to see the Inniswood map. If you have native seeds to share, label each species with this information: * Botanical Name * Common Name Species we will accept: * Species native to our ecoregion (8.2.4) - Best * Species native to Ohio and surrounding states - Good * Straight species only - no cultivars. The seeds don’t need to be removed from the seed head if you aren’t sure how to do it, but don’t leave much stem on the seed heads. Please email the list of species to Mary May so we can prepare information for attendees. You can bring the seeds on the day of the swap, or we can arrange to have them picked up beforehand - just let her know in the email. If you don’t have any seeds to bring, no worries. If you are new to native plants or didn't have time to collect seeds, there are ALWAYS plenty from those that do bring them! We love to see "newbies" at our seed exchange! Also, remember to bring something to put seeds in such as envelopes, paper bags or containers.

Join us at Easton Town Center for a casual evening of board gaming. Play from our library or bring one of your favorites to share. We usually bring along Catan, Ticket to Ride, Cascadia, etc... We'll be set up at the Donatos Pizza Party Room. It was free for us to reserve, but you may want to buy a drink or go in on a pizza. Why Easton? Although there aren't any board game stores / cafes here, it's a nice area. More importantly, this event coincides with LifeTime Fitness Parent's Night Out, so our kid will get babysat. If you happen to be a member of Lifetime you too can get free babysitting and play some games.

Let's grab some coffee/food and share a morning chat! The East Market has an ample parking lot and outdoor and indoor seating. Grab a cup of coffee from Winston's Coffee & Waffles or on your way to East Market and meet us on the second floor - table behind or east of the elevator. If the weather cooperates we will be meeting in the patio. Per what this group is about: "Everyone is welcome! International transplants to Columbus who want to improve language skills, Columbus residents who want to discuss international travel and culture, and anyone who enjoys getting together for good conversations."

Our January program is privileged to have Kristen Tregar as our speaker. Ms. Tregar is the co-author with John de Lancie (the actor who portrayed the character Q on Star Trek next generation) of a radio play depicting the events surrounding the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial. The trial decided the issue of some of the Dover school district board members attempting to insert creationism disguised as "intelligent design" into the 9th grade biology curriculum. She will discuss the trial and the process of writing the play. (Bob Leonhard has seen the play and it is riveting and tense). Ms. Tregar's bio is below: Kristen Tregar is a dramaturg, director, playwright, and theatre teacher. She earned her Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from the UC San Diego and UC Irvine joint program. In addition, she has a MS in Forensic Science from City University of New York- John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a MA in Educational Theatre from New York University- Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. In 2013, in collaboration with Irish colleagues, she founded *The Ireland Project*, an intercontinental devised theatre work with high school students in New York and Tallaght, Ireland. Her original short story "Far From Here" was recently published in *Stay Awhile Longer: More Scenes From Temecula Valley*. She has two rescued dogs (Kira and Harry) and she rides, competes, and foxhunts with her horses, Andromache and Baker Street Irregular. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia

Early-bird coffee and conversation at [Java Central Café and Roaster](https://javacentral.coffee/)**!**

I don't usually pick romance but I really wanted to do a Hanukkah book. It's a bit on the longer side but hopefully a quick read. The library only has 5 audiobooks so please try to remember to "release it" when you're done. Columbus libraries: [https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3503238](https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3503238) Location: The Goat Riversouth [219 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215](https://www.google.com/maps?q=219%20South%20High%20Street%2C%20Columbus%2C%20Ohio%2043215%2C%20United%20States) [Menu](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/686d3ed16745133042482c5f/t/68ff654dbb03b96875430bde/1761568077220/all_brunch-20250311.pdf) Book summary: Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach. But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not *Christmas*. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg. Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

We’ll be reading Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldtree this month! We recommend readingading “Bookshops and Bonedust” and “Legends and Lattes” before reading Brigands and Breadknives.

If you are interested in selecting investment choices for your 401(k) or other workplace savings plan, minimizing your income tax liability, or identifying the most effective investments for your brokerage account, we are the group for you. We are a local chapter of Bogleheads, whose investment strategy can be found here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy Or you can peruse the Boglehead forum here: https://www.bogleheads.org/index.php I look forward to seeing you there. Mark Vonder Haar

**Our January novel is: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan** **This month's featured novel is a 20th-century biographical fiction, coming-of-age, historical romance, women’s fiction, world literature, student biography, heartfelt, magic, and feel-good novel. The book is 311 pages in print and 7 hours and 8 minutes on audiobook.** 1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a seventeen-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it's just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a question: "Where did Narnia come from?" Despite her fear about approaching the famous author, who is a professor at her school, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with C. S. Lewis and his own brother Warnie, begging them for answers. Rather than directly telling her where Narnia came from, Lewis encourages Megs to form her own conclusion as he shares the little-known stories from his own life that led to his inspiration. As she takes these stories home to George, the little boy travels farther in his imagination than he ever could in real life. After holding so tightly to logic and reason, her brother's request leads Megs to absorb a more profound truth: "The way stories change us can't be explained. It can only be felt. Like love."

Join us for Slow Horses and a Book Exchange! In addition to our usual chat about the book, we’ll be exchanging books. Bring two books you’re willing to part with and we’ll exhange books. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- Welcome to the thrilling and unnervingly prescient world of the slow horses. This team of MI5 agents is united by one common bond: They've screwed up royally and will do anything to redeem themselves. This special tenth-anniversary deluxe edition of a modern classic includes a foreword by the author, discussion questions for book clubs, and an exclusive short story featuring the slow horses. London, England: Slough House is where washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what's left of their failed careers. The "slow horses," as they're called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated there. Maybe they botched an Op so badly they can't be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle-not unusual in this line of work. One thing they have in common, though, is they want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there-even if it means having to collaborate with one another. When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, the slow horses see an opportunity to redeem themselves. But is the victim really who he appears to be?

For January, we’re reading Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. For fans of Flight Behavior and Station Eleven, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world's last birds--and her own final chance for redemption. Franny Stone has always been a wanderer. By following the ocean's tides and the birds that soar above, she can forget the losses that have haunted her life. But when the wild she loves begins to disappear, Franny can no longer wander without a destination. She arrives in remote Greenland with one purpose: to find the world's last flock of Arctic terns and track their final migration. She convinces Ennis Malone, captain of the Saghani, to take her onboard, winning over his eccentric crew with promises that the birds will lead them to fish. As the Saghani fights its way south, Franny's dark history begins to unspool. Battered by night terrors, accumulating a pile of unsent letters, and obsessed with pursuing the terns at any cost, Franny is full of secrets. When her quest threatens the safety of the entire crew, Franny must ask herself what she is really running toward--and running from. Propelled by a narrator as fierce and fragile as the terns she is following, Charlotte McConaghy's Migrations is both an ode to our threatened world and a breathtaking page-turner about the lengths we will go for the people we love.

Join us for our January Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *Can't Spell Treason Without Tea* by Rebecca Thorne in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

Come and join our lively Japanese language meetup, where Japanese language learners and native speakers come together to learn, play, and connect. We’ll practice through fun games and interactive conversation in a relaxed, welcoming environment. Whether you’re just starting out, more advanced, or a native speaker who enjoys helping others, everyone is encouraged to join and participate. After the library we'll take a leisurely walk together to get food/drinks. There are many options around including North Market Bridge Park. It's a perfect opportunity to continue our conversations and enjoy each other's company over a meal.