If you are looking for a book club to join, the New Ulm Public library has great options, including Mystery, Lit-Wits, and Poetry groups. But you don’t have to belong to a library sponsored book club to reap the benefits of the library–we’ll support your club, too! Use your library card to place a hold on a book club discussion kit and we’ll put it on the hold shelf at New Ulm or we’ll have it delivered to any Traverse de Sioux regional library. Each bag includes 8-12 copies of the title and a list of discussion questions.

Here is a list of newer Book Club Bags added to the New Ulm Public Library collection, all purchased based on patron feedback. If you are intrigued by these descriptions–provided by the publishers– contact the library to place a hold or go online to www.newulmlibrary.org. Better yet, stop by the library to browse the book club bag book shelf. If you have suggestions for book club titles, please let library staff know.

“Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt

“For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.”

“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus

“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with–of all things–her mind.”

“High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out” by Amanda Ripley

“The fascinating stories, global history, and dialogue from local politics Ripley includes keep the book moving at a brisk pace. Readers interested in conflict management and negotiation and the decision-making process will be intrigued as Ripley thoughtfully explains the intensities and nuances of conflict, and the crux of high conflict in any setting.”

“Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic” by Simon Winchester

“From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes–this is award winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.” An important question is raised: “What will the world be like if no one in it is wise?”

“Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond

“The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of Evicted re-imagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor.”

“All We Can Save” by editors by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine Wilkinson

“Two powerful phenomena are simultaneously unfolding on Earth: the rise of the climate movement and the rise of women and girls. The People’s Climate March and the Women’s March. School strikes for climate and the #MeToo movement. Rebellions against extinction and declarations that time’s up. More than concurrent, the two trends are deeply connected. This anthology is a collection and celebration of these diverse voices, asking critical questions and providing invaluable insight and solutions.”

“Let’s Talk about Hard Things: The Life-Changing Conversations That Connect Us” by Anna Sale

“Anna Sale brings us fascinating conversations that feel both intensely personal and widely universal, then shows us how to start having them in our own lives. You will laugh, cry, nod in recognition, and by the end, feel like no topic is off limits when it comes to creating meaningful connection.”

The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday – Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday – Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information on library events and hours, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Events.