Our book selection for August is The Library Book by Susan Orlean. 

On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library.  The fire was disastrous:  it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours.  By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. 

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

What has your relationship with libraries been throughout your life?

Were you at all familiar with the Los Angeles library fire?

How would you describe the fire's impact on the community?

Libraries today are more than just a building filled with books.  How has your local library evolved?

The Library Book confronts the issue of street people patronizing the library.  Is this an issue in your hometown?  How do you feel about the L.A. library's involvement, handling of the issue and the notion of inclusion?

What was you initial impression of Harry Peak?  Did it change throughout the investigation?

The Library Book chronicles the history of the Los Angeles Public Library from its origins to the present day. How were the library's ups and downs reflective of the city's ups and downs?  Are libraries a fair barometer to judge the mood of a city or a town?

Let us know what you think of The Library Book!

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading Circe by Madeline Miller for the July book selection.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

Circe struggles to find a place for herself as a woman in a man's world.  What parts of her experience resonate with modern day challenges that women face?

Throughout the novel Circe draws distinctions between gods and mortals.  How does Glaucus change when he becomes a god?

How does her time with Daedalus affect Circe?

What is the significance of Circe's meeting with Trygon?  How does it impact her emotional journey?

Were you surprised when Telemachus refused Athena?  Why or why not?

Circe encounters several famous figures from Greek myth.  Were any of their portrayals surprising?

Circe's gift is transformation.  How does she transform from the beginning of the novel to the end?  Why does she ultimately choose the path she does?

Let us know how you liked Circe by Madeline Miller.