Book Groups
We love talking about books almost as much as we enjoy reading them. Our book groups cover a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction. Copies of the book in discussion are often available throughout the partnership.
Montana Racial Equity Project Book Club
- 4th Wednesday, 6–7:30pm
- Ellingson Conference Room on Level Three
This discussion group is facilitated by Chris Young-Greer, Education Initiative Lead for the Montana Racial Equity Project. The book club meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Ellingson Conference Room at the new library from 6-7:30pm. Reading selections include mainly nonfiction titles about social justice, equity, and issues affecting historically marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed individuals or communities. For more information on this lively and inspiring Book Club visit the Montana Racial Equity Project’s website or contact them at
Based on availability, you may be able to place holds on Book Club titles through the library’s online catalog, but will often need to purchase your own copy. Local bookstores Fact & Fiction in Missoula and Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton sell Book Club selections at a discount to participants.
Discussion Titles:
- January 25: The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang
- February 22: All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
- March 21: Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions by Francesca T. Royster. Special date and time – 6:30PM on Zoom only (one day early). The author will join us on Zoom so we’ll meet with the MTREP’s regular online group for March’s discussion. Registering in advance is required. Go to the MTREP’s calendar of events to register
- April 26: A Worthy Piece of Work: The Untold Story of Madeline Morgan and the Fight for Black History in Schools by Michael Hines.
- May 24: The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
2nd Wednesday Book Group
- 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm
- Blackfoot Room & Virtual Event
Discussion Titles:
2023
January 11, 2023 – Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent
February 8 – The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey
March 8 – The Committed, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
April 12 – *Miss Iceland, by Audur Ava Olafsdottir
May 10 – *To Siberia, by Per Petterson
June 14 – Wish You Were Here: A Novel, by Jodi Picoult
July 12 – The Five Wounds, by Kirstin Valdez Quade
* Book unavailable for purchase.
3rd Wednesday Book Group
- 3rd Wednesday, 6:30 pm
- Blackfoot Room
We read a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction titles, primarily from the Book Chat Bag collections of MPL and its Partner Libraries. This lively book discussion group is facilitated by a librarian. New members are always welcome! See calendar for upcoming titles.
Discussion Titles:
2023
- January – Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson
- February – The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
March – Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
April – Flight of the Sparrow : a novel of early America by Brown, Amy Belding
May – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
June – Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson
July – Oh William by Elizabeth Strout
August – The Midnight Library by Mat Haig
September – When Paris Sizzled by Mary Auliffe
October – Aviary Deidre McMamer
November – Hunger : a memoir of (my) body by Roxane Gay
December – The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Philipp Sendker
2024
January – Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
February – Paradise by Abduzazal Gurnah
Book Group Resources:
Novelist Plus: your one-stop shop for book club resources. Choose Quick Links/Book Club Resources.
Book Kits: make organizing your next book discussion easy.