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.
Racial Equity Book Club
- 4th Wednesday, 6–7:45 pm
- Cooper Room on Level Four
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 Cooper Room at the new library from 6-7:45PM. 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
MPL has a few copies available for check out but patrons may need to purchase their own books for this group. Local bookstores Fact & Fiction in Missoula and Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton sell Book Club selections at a discount to participants.
Discussion Titles:
- May 25: All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks AND Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard
- June 28: Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana by Abe Streep – Special meeting on Zoom the last Tuesday (instead of 4th Wednesday) with the author. Email Sarah at for the Zoom link to join.
- July: No meeting, summer break
- August 24: Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol AND Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard, and Jennifer Zivoin
2nd Wednesday Book Group
- 2nd Wednesday, 6:30 pm
- Virtual Event
Copies of titles are available (unless otherwise noted) for purchase at cost in the Friends Store located on the library’s first level. Titles also available for checkout from MPL or its Partner Libraries. Discussions facilitated by members on Zoom.
Discussion Titles:
2022
April 13 – The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
May 11 – *The Library Book by Susan Orlean
June 8 – Homeland Elegies: A Novel, by Ayad Akhtar
July 13 – Happy All the Time: A Novel, by Laurie Colwin
August 10 – The Bartender’s Tale, by Ivan Doig
September 14 – Send for Me, by Lauren Fox
October 12 – Squeeze Me, Carl Hiaasen
November 9 – The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules: A Novel, by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
December 14 – Lost in the City: Stories, by Edward P. Jones
* unavailable for purchase
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
3rd Wednesday Book Group
- 3rd Wednesday, 6:30 pm
- Virtual Event
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:
2022
January 19, 2022 – Issac’s Storm: A man, a time, and the deadliest hurricane in history by Erik Larson
- February – The Moor’s Account: a novel by Laila Lalami
- March – All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
- April – Woman From Denmark by Christine Frasier
- May – Defending Jacob: a novel by William Landay
- June – Sea People by Christina Thompson
- July – What We Carry: a memoir by Maya Shanbhag
- August – Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
- September – The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
- October – Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off
- November – Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet
- December – Zorrie by Laird Hunt
- January – Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson
- February – The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
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.