Join the Midway Woods Book Club in discussing The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray on Wednesday, February 15 at My Parents’ Basement 

Midway WoodS Book Club logo

The next book to read and discuss and meeting date and of the Midway Woods Book Club have both been selected – we’ll be meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15 at My Parents’ Basement, 22 N Avondale Rd, Avondale Estates, GA 30002, and will be reading The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

The Personal Librarian book cover art

The Personal Librarian is a fictionalized telling of the life and work of Belle da Costa Greene, the personal librarian to J. P. Morgan, as well as the first director of the Morgan Library & Museum. 

From Wikipedia, “The novel follows Belle da Costa Greene as she receives employment from J. P. Morgan and establishes herself in high society while disguising her true identity as a person of color in the early twentieth century. In her time working for J. P. Morgan, she became hugely successful as she purchased rare manuscripts to build Mr. Morgan’s collection. The novel also speaks to Belle’s personal life as she struggles with her identity and the historical context in which she lives.”

The Midway Woods Book Club meets regularly to discuss books of interest to the group. Book Club participants vote on which book to read next, and then meet up (virtually or, more recently, in person, at locations such as My Parents Basement in Avondale Estates) to discuss what they’ve read and enjoy each others’ company.

If you’d like to join the club, just send an email to midwaywoodscommunications@gmail.com and let us know you’d like to join! Just email us if you’d like to get in on the fun!

Among the books that the club has read and discussed in the past:

  • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
  • My Time Will Come: A Memoir of Crime, Punishment, Hope, and Redemption by Ian Manual.
  • Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason by Gina Frangello
  • Less by Andrew Sean Greer
  • Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
  • Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
  • Educated by Tara Westover
  • The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires: A Novel by Grady Hendrix
  • The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
  • Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile
  • Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethawey
  • Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

(“Midway Woods Book Club” graphic created using https://inkpx.com/word-art-generator)