Join us for a chat about A Northern Light in Provence, by Elizabeth Birkelund
“Big-hearted, whimsical, and enchanting.”—Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles.
A woman leaves her coastal Greenland village to translate the works of a renowned Provençal poet and finds her life irrevocably changed, in this tender and romantic novel set in a French village.
Ilse Erlund is a translator who lives in a house on stilts along the west coast of Greenland. Isolated and restless in her world by the sea, she convinces her publisher to pay for a trip to the country she has never visited but whose language she speaks fluently: France. Her mission is to translate the verses of Geoffrey “Po” Labaye, a charismatic poet known as “the last living troubadour of Provence.”
Upon arrival in the medieval hilltop village of Belle Rivière, Ilse falls under the spell of the Provençal way of life, captivated by the air, the sun, the vibrant spring colors, and the dulcet sounds of the dialect. Soon enough, Ilse is captivated by the poet, too, and she and Po develop a daily rhythm and warm camaraderie—which is disrupted by the arrival of the poet’s son, Frey. Though he has a fiancée back in Paris, Frey turns his attentions to Ilse, and suddenly she is forced to learn another language, one her translation skills have not prepared her to decode. Where—and with whom—does her future lie?
With an eye and ear attuned to the sensibilities of French life, Elizabeth Birkelund has created a love story about a woman forced to choose between the security of her quiet northern home and the possibility of the life of her dreams.
About the author: “Elizabeth graduated from the Hewitt School in New York City, from Brown University with honors in Comparative literature, and from the Radcliffe Publishing Program. After college, she worked for a literary agent and was a member of the editorial staff for a start-up magazine, European Travel and Life. She began her fifteen-year freelance writing career as a monthly personal finance columnist for Cosmopolitan magazine, and has written for over fifteen publications, including Glamour, Self, Working Woman, Victoria. Her first novel, The Dressmaker, was published by Henry Holt & Co. in 2006, with a paperback Picador publication in 2007. It has been published in England in two versions, in Germany and in Russia. Her novel, The Runaway Wife, will be published by Harper Collins in July. She lives in New York City”.
Thursday, March 26th @ 6:00 PM
Join us for a chat about The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham
From #1 bestselling author of The Perfect Couple, Elin Hilderbrand, and her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, deliver the irresistible, deliciously scandalous story of one drama-filled year at a New England boarding school.
It’s move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It’s a seventeen-spot jump—was there a typo? The dorms need to be renovated, their sports teams always come in last place, and let’s just say Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. On the other hand, the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef. And they do have fun—lots of parties and school dances, and a piano man plays in the student lounge every Monday night.
But just as the rarefied air of Tiffin is suffused with self-congratulation, the wheels begin to turn—and then they fall off the bus. One by one, scandalous blind items begin to appear on phones across Tiffin’s campus, thanks to a new app called ZipZap, and nobody is safe. From Davi Banerjee, international influencer and resident queen bee, to Simone Bergeron, the new and surprisingly young history teacher, to Charley Hicks, a transfer student who seems determined not to fit in, to Cordelia Spooner, Admissions Director with a somewhat idiosyncratic methodology—everyone has something to hide.
As if high school wasn’t dramatic enough … As the year unfolds, bonds are forged and broken, secrets are shared and exposed, and the lives of Tiffin’s students and staff are changed forever. The Academy is Elin Hilderbrand’s fresh, buzzy take on boarding school life, and a thrilling new direction from one of America’s most satisfying and popular storytellers.
About the author:
Elin Hilderbrand first discovered the magic of Nantucket in July 1993. Her recipe for a happy island life includes running, writing at the beach, picnics at Eel Point with her three children, and singing “Home, Sweet Home” at the Club Car piano bar. Here’s to Us is her seventeenth novel.
Thursday, April 30th @ 6:00 PM
Join us for a chat about The Measure by Nikki Erlick
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – The Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“A story of love and hope as interweaving characters display: how all moments, big and small, can measure a life. If you want joy, love, romance, and hope—read with us.” —Jenna Bush Hager
A luminous, spirit-lifting blockbuster of speculative fiction that asks: would you choose to find out the length of your life?
Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.
It seems like any other day. You wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and head out.
But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. The contents of this mysterious box tells you the exact number of years you will live.
From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?
As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge? This compelling book club fiction explores that very question.
The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.
Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is an ambitious, invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.
About the author:
Nikki Erlick is the author of The Measure, an instant New York Times bestseller and a Read with Jenna TODAY Show book club pick. The Measure has been translated into 24 languages worldwide. Her second novel, The Poppy Fields, will be published in June 2025. She graduated Harvard University Summa Cum Laude and was an editor of The Harvard Crimson. She earned her Master’s Degree in Global Thought from Columbia University.
Previous Book Club Chats:
Thursday, January 29th, 2026 @ 6:00 PM
Join us for a chat about My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
“The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.”
About the author:
“Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, The Winners, Anxious People, My Friends, and two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime, as well as one work of nonfiction, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @Backmansk.”
Thursday, December 18th, 2025 @ 6:00 PM
Book Club Holiday & Planning Party
Thursday, November 20th, 2025 @ 6:00 PM
Join us for author chat with Michael Burke on The Art of the Myth
What is it like to train as a whitewater guide? What special skills do you need to forage for fiddlehead ferns? What do a handful of Maine auction houses have in common? Why did a village suddenly form on a frozen lake? What is it like to devote a summer to attending county fairs? The Art of the Myth answers questions like these, and others, about life in Maine. A collection of essays on topics from sea kayaking to maple sugaring, from rural auctioneering to the “tallest lady in the world,” from the lost trains of the Allagash to winter camping, petroglyphs, and the history of hand-colored photographs, it is a work whose subject is whatever caught Michael Burke’s attention over a 35 year career of living in and writing about Maine.
About the Author
Michael D. Burke’s publications include the memoir/adventure, The Same River Twice (University of Arizona Press) and feature nonfiction and essays in Down East, Yankee, Islands, Outside, Boston Globe, The New York Times, Maine Décor, AMC Outdoors, The Sunday Times (South Africa), and other national publications. He is also a playwright, having won the 2018 Maine Literary Arts Award for “The Town Meets.” For more than 30 years he was a whitewater and wilderness river guide in Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, California, Arizona and Mexico, having made several first-descents by raft. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing and English at Colby College in Maine.
Thursday, October 23rd, 2025 @ 6:00 PM
Join us for the October Book Club Chat about Don’t Drop Dad with author Dena Polko. Books will be available for purchase at $20, with $3 of the cost being donated to the Library.
Angie Donatello, a wife and busy mom of two small children, is about to realize her dream of opening an Italian bakery in her quaint coastal village in Maine when her widowed father receives a life-altering diagnosis. She is determined to care for her dad and keep her opening on schedule, but even with the help of her supportive husband and two older sisters—a social-working nun and a corporate ladder climber—there just doesn’t seem to be enough time, wine, or cannoli to manage the competing demands and the emotional tsunamis threatening to pull her under.
Equipment delays, a kitchen fire, and an over-the-top class mom all further complicate Angie’s life, but she still seems to be holding things together…until she hosts her loud and lovable extended family for Christmas. During the traditional Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, somewhere between the calamari and the sfogliatella, her father’s very new and much younger girlfriend makes a startling announcement. Now, Angie not only needs to help her dad cope with his declining health but also needs to find a way to protect his heart—and his pockets—without losing her own shot at a lifelong dream.
About the Author
Dena Polko retired from her work as a speech-language pathologist when the pandemic hit to help take care of her grandchildren. When not rocking, feeding, chasing, or playing under blanket tents with her three grands, she writes, reads, and loves exploring Maine with her husband. Dena and Tom live on the coast of Maine and also enjoy time at “camp” (the Mainers’ term for a cottage on a lake) in the western Maine mountains.
For a suggested donation of only $5.00, the America 1776-2026 Calendars are now available! Limited quantities are available, stop by the Library to get yours while they last. The Calendars are also available at Skoolhouse Variety.
On Saturday, September 20, simply show your Maine library card at the entrance of any participating Maine state park and enjoy a day outdoors at no cost. For more information and a list of participating parks, visit the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Free admission applies to day-use at participating Maine State Parks and Historic Sites on Saturday, September 20, from 9:00 a.m. until closing.
The free admission does not apply to:
Acadia National Park Allagash Wilderness Waterway Baxter State Park Maine Wildlife Park Peacock Beach Scarborough Beach Swan Island Penobscot River Corridor Penobscot Narrows Observatory in Prospect
