Martin Public Library Hosting Discussion Groups

The Friends of Martin Public Library book discussion group, “Let’s Talk about It,” has announced the schedule for the upcoming year.

The first discussion, which will take place on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the History and Genealogy Room of the library, will focus on banned or challenged books—from children’s books through teen and adult books—from any period of time.

Participants are asked to bring any banned or challenged book to the group and join in the lively discussion that is sure to follow since censorship issues have dominated recent news. Lists of banned and challenged books are readily available through an internet search.

This discussion is timely also because a week in September is typically designated as Banned Book Week, which was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. Discussions during this week highlight the value of free and open access to information.

The other eight monthly Friends of the Library discussions are scheduled as follows: October 27, highlighting Madeleine Albright’s “Fascism: A Warning” with leader Harriette Spiegel; November 17, focusing on “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” with UT Martin professor David Carithers serving as discussion leader; December 29, a favorite holiday story; January 26, 2023, “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee with Jim and Anna Clark serving as discussion leaders; February 23, “Run Rose Run” by Dolly Parton and James Patterson; March 30: “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens; April 27, any biography; and May 25, book recommendations for summer reading.

All discussions will be held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. on Thursday evenings at Martin Public Library. More details about each of the selected books and discussion leaders will be shared before each discussion. Books are available through the library.

All “Let’s Talk about It” discussions are free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Friends of the Library member Anna Clark (aclark8utm.edu), others in the FOL group, and staff members at MPL. Laura Plunk is the current president of the FOL group.