Dorset Library Book Clubs
The Dorset Library offers two options for book clubs. One, called the Book Club, focuses on fiction with an occasional non-fiction selection. It meets on the fourth Thursday of every month at 5pm. The second, called the Non-Fiction Book Club focuses on modern history and other nonfiction books chosen by participants. It meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 5pm. You will find good conversation and refreshments at each meeting! Call or email the Library to reserve any of the upcoming books.
The current non-fiction book is Ira Allen by J. Kevin Graffagnino.
The current fiction book is Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler.
Please note the March Book Club is a special author event on March 20th!
The upcoming fiction books for 2025:
March – Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler
April – Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzales James – Lisa
May – Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner – Anniken
June – James by Percival Everett – Roger
July – The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon – Kelly
August – The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager- Cathie
September – Table for Two (short stories) by Amor Towles – Linda
October – The Other Eden by Paul Harding – Karen
November – TBD
December – NO MEETING
Past books in 2025:
January – Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner – Terrie
February- This is Happiness by Niall Williams – Jennifer L
April 8th @ 5pm
Ira Allen by J. Kevin Graffagnino
Land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire builder, Ira Allen was a key figure on the Green Mountain frontier. In a remarkable Vermont pioneer generation that included such noteworthy leaders as Ethan Allen, Thomas Chittenden, Moses Robinson, Isaac Tichenor, and Stephen Row Bradley, Allen stood out for his extraordinary energy, vision, and accomplishments.
Allen helped create and sustain the independent State of Vermont; held such important state offices as treasurer, surveyor general, and member of the Governor’s Council; published hundreds of pages defending Vermont against a host of internal and external enemies; and represented Vermont in negotiations with the British Empire, other American states, and Congress.
J. Kevin Graffagnino’s biography ably details Ira Allen’s extraordinary life. As the first published examination of Allen’s career in nearly a century, this book shines new light on Allen and his prominent role in Vermont’s formative decades.
March 20th @ 5pm
Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler
One fall night, an innkeeper on a remote island in Nova Scotia watches an airplane plummet to the sea. As the search for survivors envelops the island, the mourning families gather at the inn, waiting for news of those they have lost. Here among strangers, they form an unusual community, struggling for comfort and consolation. A Taiwanese couple sets out fruit for their daughter’s ghost. A Bulgarian man plays piano in the dark, sending the music to his lost wife. Two Dutch teenagers rage against their parents’ death. An Iranian exile, mourning his niece, recites the Persian tales that carry the wisdom of centuries. At the center of this striking novel is Ana Gathreaux, an ornithologist who specializes in bird migration, and whose husband perished on the flight.
What unfolds is the story of how these families unite and disperse in the wake of the tragedy, and how their interweaving lives are ultimately transformed. Brad Kessler’s knowledge of the natural world, music, and myth enriches every page.