On Dec. 19th 2024, the Central Library Brown Baggers had their annual holiday potluck and selection meeting. The group was choosing titles to discuss for June 2025-May 2026.
The group has been reading and discussing books since Sept. 2008 so it was important for all, especially newer members, to know the Brown Baggers archive: list of all the titles/the archive of the books the Brown Baggers have read, also see the list in the Find It catalog.
The way the selection meeting works is members can either submit 3 titles in advance or bring 3 titles to suggest for the group to read. Members can “book talk” their recommendations to advocate that the group vote for their book. Then the members literally vote on the suggested titles. Votes are tallied with the top 10 titles selected. Library staff look at holdings, waiting lists, number of pages and subject matter to then schedule the books for the year.
- June 12th, 2025 The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- July 17th, 2025 Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
- August 21st, 2025 My Antonia by Willa Cather
- September 18th, 2025 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
- October 16th, 2025 That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones
- November 20th, 2025 I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- December 18th, 2025- Potluck and selection meeting
- January 15th, 2026 The Women by Kristin Hannah
- February 19th, 2026 James by Percival Everett
- March 19th 2026 Same Page Community Read
- April 16th, 2026 Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
- May 21st, 2026 The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin
Also see this list in the Find It catalog
Titles suggested, but not chosen, are also shared with the group in case members want to pursue those titles despite the vote!
We also enjoyed a potluck including hot soup and a variety of goodies!
Other suggested books:
- Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
- Clear by Carys Davies
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery
- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
- The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
- Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow
- Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
- The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
- In That Time: Michael O’Donnell and the Tragic Era of Vietnam by Daniel H. Weiss
- Symphony of Secrets by Brandan Slocumb
- Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead
- Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
- Absalom, Absalom! By William Faulkner
- Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz
- Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
- Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons