When we decided to reach out to young professionals through the creation of a new book club that reads books focused on social issues, I don’t think we realized we’d be helping to build a group of friends, and expand our own knowledge.

Last night, the social issues book club met at the Barrel Room to discuss Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven. The discussion was lively and I think we all left feeling a connection. Many found the book to be difficult to read at times, challenging to follow, and generally upsetting (especially given the fact that many of us are mothers), but we all agreed that we are glad to have read the book and that if not for the group, we probably would not have picked it up to read. It's one of those “wow…really…how did I not know all of this before” books.

The group will meet at the Barrel Room again next month, November 28 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah. Want to join us? Contact me at ccooper@northcantonlibrary.org and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.

Similarly to what Stephanie said in her tweet last night (see photo), I have to say that starting this book club is one of the best things I’ve done since joining the North Canton Public Library team in May.