The Library’s After-Dark Book Club for adults usually meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm. We are currently meeting both at the Library and on Zoom in a hybrid format. This is subject to change so please check back for updates. For meeting dates and selected books, please see below or check out the Library’s events calendar and join us.
The After-Dark Book Club meets every month with the exception of December. In the Spring, members make suggestions and vote on the titles that will be discussed starting in September. At the monthly meetings, participants may pick up the next month’s book for discussion at the Circulation Desk. New members are welcome to join the After-Dark Book Club at any time. We hope you will join us!
The next meeting of the After-Dark Book Club will be on Thursday, February 6 2024 at 7:30 pm when we will discuss Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead. If you would like more information about the Book Club, or if you would like to join us, send an email to: library@pelhamlibrary.org.
Click on the cover to learn more about our current book:
September 2024 – August 2025
| September 5: | The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt |
| October 10: | The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride |
| November 7: | Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley |
| December 5: | Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman |
| January: | No Meeting |
| February 6: | Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead |
| March 6: | Code Girls by Liza Mundy |
| April 10: | March by Geraldine Brooks |
| May 1: | Yellowface by R.F. Kuang |
| June 5: | Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes |
| July 10: | The Women by Kristin Hannah |
| August 7: | The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft |
Previous Titles
We hope that the titles below give you a taste of the types of books our club members enjoy discussing. Looking for a good read? Please see our Book Club Recommendations featuring books we especially enjoyed.
September 2023 – June 2024
| September 7: | Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver |
| October 5: | West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge |
| November 2: | Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro |
| December: | No Meeting |
| January 4: | The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese |
| February 1: | The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris |
| March 7: | The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell |
| April 4: | Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt |
| May 2: | Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea |
| June 6: | Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See |
September 2022 – June 2023
| September 8: | Still Life by Sarah Winman |
| October 6: | Violeta by Isabel Allende |
| November 3: | The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin |
| December: | No Meeting |
| January 5: | The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish |
| February 2: | Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones |
| March 2: | The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan |
| April 13: | The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi |
| May 4: | This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub |
| June 1: | The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles |
September 2021 – August 2022
| September 9: | The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd |
| October 7: | The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali |
| November 4: | Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell |
| December 2: | Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate |
| January: | No meeting |
| February 3: | Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson |
| March 3: | Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict |
| April 7: | Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro |
| May 5: | The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom |
| June 2: | The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall |
| July 7: | The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner |
| August 11: | The Midnight Library by Matt Haig |
September 2020 – June 2021
| September 3: | The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates |
| October 1: | The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See |
| November 5: | The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid |
| December 3: | The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan |
| January: | No meeting |
| February 4: | The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai |
| March 4: | A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende |
| April 1: | Station Eleven by Emily Saint John Mandel |
| May 6: | The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia |
| June 3: | The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett |
September 2019 – June 2020
| September | The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure |
| October | Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight:
An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller |
| November | This House is Mine by Dorte Hansen |
| December | Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy,
Paternity and Love by Dani Shapiro |
| January | No meeting |
| February | The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob |
| March | News of the World by Paulette Jiles |
| April | The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Safak |
| May | White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht |
| June | Becoming by Michelle Obama |
| July | An American Marriage by Tayari Jones |
| August | Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama |
September 2018 – June 2019
| September | The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce |
| October | The Children Act by Ian McEwan |
| November | A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline |
| December | Less by Andrew Sean Greer |
| January | No meeting |
| February | Pachinko by Min Jin Lee |
| March | Songdogs by Colum McCann |
| April | Hero of the Empire: The Boer War,
a Daring Escape, and the Making of
Winston Churchill by Candice Millard |
| May | On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry |
| June | Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance |
Fall 2017 – Spring 2018
| September | A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman |
| October | The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig |
| November | Deafening by Frances Itani |
| December | The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore |
| January | No meeting |
| February | Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard |
| March | The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See |
| April | Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney |
| May | Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue |
| June | Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi |
Fall 2016 – Spring 2017
| September | Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave |
| October | No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod |
| November | The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd |
| December | Fire Shut Up in My Bones: A Memoir by Charles M. Blow |
| January | No meeting |
| February | The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher |
| March | Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa |
| April | Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt |
| May | Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta |
| June | The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith |
Fall – Spring 2016
| February | We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas |
| March | Stoner by John Williams |
| April | The History of Love by Nicole Krauss |
| May | Our Souls at Night: A Novel by Kent Haruf |
| June | Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson |
2015
| February | The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman |
| March | The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman |
| April | Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner |
| May | The Submission by Amy Waldman |
| June | Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks |
| September | All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr |
| October | Me Before You by JoJo Moyes |
| November | The Quiet American by Graham Greene |
| December | The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner |
2014
| February |
The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach |
| March |
Please Look After Mom, by Kyung-Sook Shin |
| April |
The Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjalian |
| May |
The Sense of Ending, by Julian Barnes |
| June |
Maine, by Courtney Sullivan |
| September |
Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese |
| October |
Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour,
by Lynne Olson |
| November |
The Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabelle Allende |
| December |
My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor |
2013
| February |
Wolf Totem, by Jiang Rong |
| March |
The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar |
| April |
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, by Anna Quindlen |
| May |
Next to Love, by Ellen Feldman |
| June |
Runaway, by Alice Munro |
| September |
Daughters of the Revolution, by Carolyn Cooke |
| October |
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley |
| November |
This is How You Lose Her, by Junot Diaz |
| December |
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, by Katherine Boo |
2012
| February |
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus |
| March |
The Privileges, by Jonathan Dee |
| April |
The Birth of Venus, by Sara Dunant (Also POETRY) |
| May |
Nine Stories, by J.D. Salinger |
| June |
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri |
| September |
People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks |
| October |
Cleopatra: A Life, by Stacy Schiff |
| November |
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi |
| December |
Paris Wife, by Paula McCain |
2011
| February |
Saving the World, by Julia Alvarez |
| March |
Who Occupies this House, by Kathleen Hill |
| April |
Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay |
| May |
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett |
| June |
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann |
| September |
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave |
| October |
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout |
| November |
Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon |
| December |
A Gesture Life, by Chang-Rae Lee |
2010
| February |
The Book Theif, by Markus Zusak |
| March |
Before You Know Kindness, by Chris Bohjalian |
| April |
A Backward Glance, by Edith Wharton |
| May |
Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy & Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett |
| June |
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert |
| September |
No Meeting |
| October |
South of Broad, by Pat Conroy |
| November |
The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb |
| December |
A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster |
2009
| February |
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo |
| March |
A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines (the Big Read) |
| April |
Nothing Like it in the World, by Stephen Ambrose |
| May |
Three Junes, by Julia Glass |
| June |
The Full Matilda, by David Haynes |
| September |
Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson |
| October |
No meeting |
| November |
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates |
| December |
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls |
2008
| February |
The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright |
| March |
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston |
| April |
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky |
| May |
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khalid Hosseini |
| June |
On the Road, by Jack Kerouac |
| September |
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez |
| October |
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen |
| November |
Say You’re One of Them, by Uwem Akpen |
| December |
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See |
2007
| February |
The Lighthouse, by P.D. James |
| March |
The Falls, by Joyce Carol Oates |
| April |
no meeting |
| May |
The Mayor of Lexington Avenue, by James Sheehan |
| June |
The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt |
| September |
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler |
| October |
no meeting |
| November |
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Jung Chang |
| December |
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards |
Thanks to our Book Club members, Joanne Davies, and Claudia Gisolfi for compiling this reading record.
