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Decorah Public Library is launching a new discussion group focused on short form media that will meet over the lunch hour. This group will discuss short stories, essays, poetry, and audio/visual materials from 12:15-1 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.  

“Quick Bites is designed to be as accessible as possible,” says Zach Row-Heyveld, Decorah Public Library Administrative Coordinator. “All of the materials are short, everything is available online, and there’s no commitment. Join whenever it works for you or whenever you’re interested in the stories or essays. We’ll read 2 or 3 things for each meeting, depending on length of materials and the theme of the meeting.” 

Quick Bites will be hosted in a hybrid format to allow participants to join from their desks at work, home, or the library’s public meeting room. Each month, links to the materials and Zoom meeting will be available on the library’s website and social media. 

For more information about Quick Bites, contact Zach Row-Heyveld at zrow-heyveld@decorahlibrary.org or by calling the library at 563-382-3717. 

Decorah Public Library staff are hosting seven book discussions in April. The groups are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested should call the library at 382-3717 to learn more or to reserve a book. Zoom links are available on the Library’s website or you can email ktorresdal@decorahlibrary.org to be added to any of the seven groups’ email distribution lists. Funds for multiple copy sets were generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.  

For more information, contact Tricia Crary (Friday Book Group), Zach Row-Heyveld (Cookbook and Quick Bites Groups) or Kristin Torresdal (Happy Hour, History, and Speculative Fiction Book Groups) at 563-382-3717.

The Happy Hour Book Group will hold a hybrid meeting Wed. April 13 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Charlotte McConaghy’s “Once There Were Wolves.” In-person attendees will meet in the lower-level public meeting room at the library and digital attendees will join via Zoom. Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing fourteen gray wolves into the remote Highlands. She hopes to heal not only the dying landscape, but Aggie, too, unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska. As the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will lay blame. Unable to accept her wolves could be responsible, Inti makes a reckless decision to protect them.  

The Cookbook Group will meet on Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. in the lower-level meeting room of the library to discuss “The Weekday Vegetarians,” Jenny Rosenstrach’s award winning cookbook. Featuring more than 100 recipes of comforting, family-friendly foods like Pizza Salad with White Beans, Mushroom-Leek Galette, and Squash and Black Bean Tacos. Jenny also offers key flavor hits that will make any tray of roasted vegetables or bowl of garlicky beans irresistible—great things to make and throw on your next meal, such as spiced Crispy Chickpeas (who needs croutons?), Pizza Dough Croutons (you need croutons!), and a sweet chile sauce that makes everything look good and taste amazing. The Weekday Vegetarians is loaded with practical tips, techniques, and food for thought, and Jenny is your sage guide to getting more meat-free meals into your weekly rotation.

Our first Quick Bites discussion in April will focus on two short stories that explore language, speaking, and what it means to be human. “Parakeets,” written by Kevin Brockmeier, is about a city where everyone sings except for a mute man who raises parakeets. It was the lead story in his 2008 collection The View From The Seventh Layer and was originally published in Granta magazine in 2007.  Brockmeier is the author of 8 books, including novels, short story collections, and two books for young readers. His most recent book is The Ghost Variations Text – https://granta.com/parakeets/ 

“The Great Silence,” written by Ted Chiang, was originally created as a subtitled script for a short film about the Arecibo Observatory and the Puerto Rican parrots whose habitats were destroyed to build the telescope. The 16-minute film, created by Puerto Rican visual artists Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, was a three-channel HD video installation that premiered at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico in 2014. Chiang’s full text was published in e-flux in 2015.  Film – https://vimeo.com/195588827 

We’re headed Southwest for the April 26 Quick Bites discussion with a short story by Claire Vaye Watkins and a poem or two by Jake Skeets. 

Claire Vaye Watkins has been credited with creating a new genre of fiction – Nevada Gothic. “Wasteland, Wasteland, Wasteland” is set in the shadow of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Depository and wrestles with how a community is supposed to deal with a threat that lasts for thousands of years. Claire Vaye Watkins’s award winning short story collection, Battleborn, was published in 2012 and was named one of the best books of the year by NPR and other publications. Since then she has published two novels, most recently I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness. Text – https://kenyonreview.org/kr-online-issue/2013-spring/selections/claire-vaye-watkins-342846/ 

Jake Skeets is Black Streak Wood, born for Water’s Edge, a Diné poet from New Mexico whose award winning collection Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers was published in 2019. His beautiful, visceral, searing poetry is deeply rooted in the landscape of the Navajo Nation and explores the history of violence “done to it, done on it, done for it.” Skeeks holds an MFA in poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Text – http://www.spilledmilkmagazine.com/issue08 

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will meet via Zoom Wed. April 20 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Kij Johnson’s “At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories.” Featuring seventeen stories from more than two decades of work, Kij Johnson’s debut collection of short fiction ranges from historical Japan (Sturgeon award winner “Fox Magic”) to metafictional explorations of story structure (“Story Kit”) and includes Nebula award winners “Spar” and “Ponies.” These stories feature cats, bees, wolves, dogs, and even that most capricious of animals: humans.  

The History Book Group will hold a hybrid meeting Thurs. April 21 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Thomas R. Martin’s “Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times.” In-person attendees will meet in the lower-level public meeting room at the library and digital attendees will join via Zoom. Thomas R. Martin brings to life Greek civilization from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century B.C.E. Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history.  

The Friday Book Group will hold a hybrid meeting Fri. April 22 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Natalie Baszile’s “Queen Sugar.” In-person attendees will meet in the lower-level public meeting room at the library and digital attendees will join via Zoom. Why exactly Charley Bordelon’s late father left her eight hundred sprawling acres of sugarcane land in rural Louisiana is as mysterious as it was generous. Recognizing this as a chance to start over, Charley and her eleven-year-old daughter, Micah, say good-bye to Los Angeles. They arrive just in time for growing season but no amount of planning can prepare Charley for a Louisiana that’s mired in the past: as her judgmental but big-hearted grandmother tells her, cane farming is always going to be a white man’s business. As the summer unfolds, Charley must balance the challenges of her farm with the demands of a homesick daughter, a bitter and troubled brother, and the startling desires of her own heart.  

Decorah Public Library staff are hosting six book discussions in March, including a new Speculative Fiction Novella Group. The groups are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested should call the library at 382-3717 to learn more or to reserve a book. Zoom links are available on the Library’s website or you can email ktorresdal@decorahlibrary.org to be added to any of the six groups’ email distribution lists. Funds for multiple copy sets were generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.

For more information, contact Tricia Crary (Friday Book Group), Zach Row-Heyveld (Cookbook Group) or Kristin Torresdal (Happy Hour, History, and Speculative Fiction Book Groups) at 563-382-3717.

The Happy Hour Book Group will meet via Zoom Wed. March 9 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s “Winter Counts.” Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop. As Virgil links the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity.

Cookbook Book Group will meet on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. in the lower-level meeting room of the library for the potluck and final discussion of Toni Tipton-Martin’s James Beard Award winning cookbook “Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking.” Cook along with pioneering figures in African American cuisine, from enslaved chefs to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 stories and recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking—deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration.

The History Book Group will meet via Zoom Thurs. March 17 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Andrea Pitzer’s “Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World.” Long before Bering or Amundsen, long before Franklin or Shackleton, there was William Barents—in many ways the greatest polar explorer of them all. In this narrative of the Far North, enriched by her own adventurous sojourns in the Arctic, Andrea Pitzer brings Barents’ three harrowing expeditions to vivid life—while giving fascinating insights into one of history’s most intrepid navigators.

The Friday Book Group will meet via Zoom Fri. March 18 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Christina Baker Kline’s “A Piece of the World.” To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best-known American paintings of the twentieth century.

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will meet via Zoom Wed. March 23 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Makiia Lucier’s “Year of the Reaper.” Before an ambush by enemy soldiers, Lord Cassia was an engineer’s apprentice on a mission entrusted by the king. But when plague sweeps over the land, leaving countless dead and devastating the kingdom, even Cas’ title cannot save him from a rotting prison cell and a merciless sickness. Three years later, Cas wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers. His castle has become a refuge for the royal court, and they have brought their enemies with them. When an assassin targets those closest to the queen, Cas is drawn into a search for a killer.

The Speculative Fiction Novella Group will meet on alternate months for half-hour meetings on Zoom following the Speculative Fiction Book Group. The first meeting will be held via Zoom Wed. March 23 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss Brandon Sanderson’s “The Emperor’s Soul.” Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead. Probing deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it.

Decorah Public Library staff are hosting five book discussions in February. The groups are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested should call the library at 382-3717 to learn more or to reserve a book. Zoom links are available on the Library’s website or you can email ktorresdal@decorahlibrary.org to be added to any of the five groups’ email distribution lists. Funds for multiple copy sets were generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.

For more information, contact Carmen Buss (Friday Book Group), Zach Row-Heyveld (Cookbook Group) or Kristin Torresdal (Happy Hour, History, and Speculative Fiction Book Groups) at 563-382-3717.

The Happy Hour Book Group will meet via Zoom Wed. Feb. 9 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Kawai Strong Washburn’s “Sharks in the Time of Saviors.” In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When sharks appear in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends. Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods—a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But this supposed divine favor eventually begins to drive the family apart.

Cookbook Book Group will meet on Thursday, February 10 at 7 p.m. to discuss Toni Tipton-Martin’s James Beard Award winning cookbook “Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking.” Cook along with pioneering figures in African American cuisine, from enslaved chefs to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 stories and recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking—deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration.

The History Book Group will meet via Zoom Thurs. Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Charles Spencer’s “Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I.” On August 18, 1648, with no relief from the siege in sight, the royalist garrison holding Colchester Castle surrendered and Oliver Cromwell’s army ended the rule of Charles I of England. Yet still, the king refused to accept he had lost the war. As France and other allies mobilized in support of Charles, a tribunal was hastily gathered and a death sentence was passed. On January 30, 1649, the King of England was executed. This is the account of the fifty-nine regicides, the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant.

The Friday Book Group will meet via Zoom Fri. Feb. 18 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Lyz Lenz’s “God Land.” In the wake of the 2016 election, Lyz Lenz watched as her country and her marriage were torn apart by the competing forces of faith and politics. A mother of two, a Christian, and a lifelong resident of middle America, Lenz was bewildered by the pain and loss around her—what was happening to faith in the heartland? Part journalism, part memoir, “God Land” is a journey into the heart of a deeply divided America. Lenz visits places of worship across the heartland and speaks to the everyday people who often struggle to keep their churches afloat.

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will meet via Zoom Wed. Feb. 23 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Tade Thompson’s “Far From the Light of Heaven.” The colony ship “Ragtime” docks in the Lagos system, having traveled light-years to bring one thousand sleeping souls to a new home among the stars. But when first mate Michelle Campion rouses, she discovers some of the sleepers will never wake. Answering Campion’s distress call, investigator Rasheed Fin is tasked with finding out who is responsible for these deaths. Soon a sinister mystery unfolds aboard the gigantic vessel, one that will have repercussions for the entire system—from the scheming politicians of Lagos station, to the colony planet Bloodroot, and even to Earth itself.