Book Swap

New (old) location - La Madeleine at 500 King St! Hope to see you there

Love audiobooks and nature? Looking to connect with fellow book lovers? Come **Book It Around** with us! Shake off the Sunday Scaries and welcome Daylight Savings Time with an audiobook stroll around wooded Roosevelt Island. Walk a lap or more of the Island, depending on your pace, then join the group for warm drinks! We'll start a bit later than usual to ease into the "spring forward" shift. Monthly audiobook walks are FREE and held in accessible public spaces around the D.C. Metro area. These \~ 90 minute walks are often followed by a social gathering -- book swap, picnic, indie bookstore private shopping, etc. Get a little dose of nature, read a few chapters, and make a bookish new friend! All ages, fitness levels, and identities welcome. If the event listing says "full," ignore that, come anyway, and bring a friend -- the more the merrier! Questions? Email bookitaround AT gmail DOT com

Join us to discuss Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend, by Rebecca Romney. We will be meeting in the food court, look for the table top sign with our group name. The book discussion will begin promptly at 3. If you’d like to purchase food/beverage, please plan on arriving early to do so.

This is part 2 of our discussion series on Infinite Jest. Participation in part 1 is not a requirement, anyone is welcome to join in. This meeting will be dedicated to talking about the first 620 pages of Infinite Jest. We will be reading up until "(Mid November, YDAU) - WYYY Engineer goes sunning" We will also be discussing 2 of David Foster Wallaces essays. These are "Shipping Out" (aka A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again) and "Tense Present". They are not mandatory but reading these is highly encouraged. Feel free to read ahead but the discussion will only cover up until this point. This will be the second of four meetings planned for Infinite Jest. These meetings will be scheduled monthly. Each meeting will cover roughly 250 pages. We will be meeting in the National Portrait Gallery Atrium. To stay up to date with events and discuss meetings or books, you can join our Whatsapp group. Please message me to get added.

We will meet outside as long as the weather is nice. If not, we will move inside. Look out for a comment the morning of each meeting with our exact location. As we are meeting in person, please remember to bring something to read as we usually spend some time sharing our current reads and/or reading when meeting in person. As a reminder, there is no assigned reading; please bring whatever you are currently working on. This group is super casual, sometimes we read and sometimes we talk the whole time. **** NO SHOW POLICY: Due to the high number of members on the waitlist recently we are having to reinstate our no-show policy. If you sign up and no-show to 2 events you will be removed from the group. Reminders are provided weekly to change your RSVP to allow those on the waitlist a chance to come to the meet-up, no 3rd chances with be given. Please be considerate to your fellow members. Thank you! I look forward to reading you!

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

Come the whole time or if you just spend 30 minutes. All are welcome. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own coloring supplies but, if you don't have any, I will have plenty and am happy to share! (coloring books, colored pencils, and markers). Part of the mission of this group is to provide us an opportunity to check out AND SUPPORT local businesses. So, please don't bring any outside food/drinks and, while purchasing something isn't at all a REQUIREMENT to participate in the event, I do strongly encourage you to try something from the vendor :) I look forward to seeing and meeting you there! ***\*\*DISCLAIMER*\*\*** Photos may be taken during the event to be shared here on Meetup so feel free to let me know if you'd like to be excluded from them.

Greetings from the capital! Every Saturday at 7:30 PM, people from all walks of life — students, diplomats, travelers, locals — gather to unwind and connect. [[Click this whatsapp groupchat link to join](https://chat.whatsapp.com/GNKKoBtgiU73RYeypZoN6y)] Our age range is mostly 20s to 30s. If you enjoy discussing culture, politics, travel, or just want to practice a new language, this group is for you. A perfect blend of diversity and dialogue, right in the heart of D.C.

Put a spring in your step and march into spring with your fellow autistics at Cleveland Park Library! Conveniently located at 3310 Connecticut Ave. NW just blocks from Cleveland Park Metro on the Red Line in Washington, DC, the library is in the safe and walkable Cleveland Park neighborhood. We will meet in Meeting Room 1, which is located on the first floor of the library. Food is prohibited, but covered drinks are permitted. I will be bringing my UNO card game and PowerPuff Girls board game. Feel free to bring games if you like, but it's not required. We typically go out to lunch afterwards at Fat Pete's, a BBQ place which also has salads, pizza, and other non-BBQ options. PJ, the owner, has personally told me to call him and let him know when we're coming so he can sit us in a sensory-friendly space. If PJ says the place is too noisy, there are many other restaurants in Cleveland Park. Fat Pete's is located at 3407 Connecticut Ave. NW in Washington, DC, just across the street and a block away from the library. If you're running late or get lost, please call or text me at 202-802-3238.

Many popular movies about flying machines bear the title “Drones,” but this isn’t one of them. No, this is a little-known gem about love in the workplace possibly leading to the destruction of planet Earth. Witty writing, solid acting, and slick direction all work together in this movie like bees in a hive, which coincidentally is the point of the title. The cubicle-bound employees of a vast corporation attend to their various tasks, each contributing to the productivity of the whole. But wait – is one of these workers not like the others? And if so, what is this person’s true agenda? When the answers to these questions arrive, the story gets hilariously crazy. The R rating is earned strictly by occasional rude language in this dialogue-driven production, and bluntly your host thinks PG-13 would have been sufficient. ■ Title — *Drones* ■ Director — Amber Benson, Adam Busch ■ Cast — Angela Bettis, Jonathan M. Woodward, Samm Levine ■ Rated R for language ■ ©2010 \| 1h 38m \| Comedy\, Fantasy ■ Distributed by Quiver Entertainment

This will be the first ever Book Club Meet up for this group! * We will be discussing Dating After the End of the World by Jeneva Rose (if you would like a free EPUB copy of this book to read on kindle, message me & I can send you the ebook) * ***Changed the book from Daggermouth due to it being independently published and hard to find in print**** * Feel free to attend even if you haven't started or finished the book ◡̈ ! * Small snacks will be provided. You’re welcome to bring your own snacks & drinks too! * Even if the meetup event shows full, you are welcome to come. If you can no longer attend the event, no worries, just please try to update your status on meetup for it.

**Our March pick is *God of the Woods* by Liz Moore.** **This month’s novel is an award-winning literary mystery that blends family drama with psychological suspense. It explores women’s voices and relationships while delivering an exciting, eerie, and deeply suspenseful story. The book is 576 pages in print or 14 hours and 35 minutes on audiobook.** Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

Welcome, readers! Our March read is **_The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver._** The story follows Taylor Greer, a young woman from rural Kentucky who leaves home for the West, only to find herself unexpectedly becoming the guardian of an abused Native American toddler named Turtle. In Tucson, Arizona, they form a makeshift family with a diverse group of people, including Guatemalan refugees and a single mother, exploring themes of motherhood, community, belonging, and finding hope in hardship. The story blends humor with serious issues, creating a story about finding family in unexpected places. 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! 📖

Come join us for coffee at Matari Coffee to discuss our March book, "The Enchanted Greenhouse"! Book description: Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium. This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home. But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again. This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Join us for our March Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *The Manor of Dreams* by Christina Li in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

This month we’ll be ready The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. Feel free to come even if you don’t finish the bookk!

Columbus libraries: [https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3262835](https://cml.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S105C3262835) Location: [Knotty Pine Brewing](https://www.knottypinebrewing.net/) [Menu, scroll to the bottom](https://www.knottypinebrewing.net/menus-1) Book summary: Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a "louding voice" -- the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir. When Adunni runs away to the city, hoping to make a better life, she finds that the only other option before her is servitude to a wealthy family. As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless slave, Adunni is told, by words and deeds, that she is nothing. But while misfortunes might muffle her voice for a time, they cannot mute it. And when she realizes that she must stand up not only for herself, but for other girls, for the ones who came before her and were lost, and for the next girls, who will inevitably follow, she finds the resolve to speak, however she can--in a whisper, in song, in broken English--until she is heard