The Happy Hour Book Group will meet at Rubaiyat on Wed. Feb. 12^th at 5:15 p.m. to discuss Jojo Moyes’ “The Giver of Stars.” Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England—but small-town Kentucky proves equally claustrophobic. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. She is joined by four other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky

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

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will meet Wed. Feb. 19^th at 5:15 p.m. on the 2^nd floor of the library to discuss Katherine Addison’s “The Goblin Emperor.” The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. He must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor, lest he lose his throne—or his life.

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

The History Book Group will meet at 6:00 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 20^th on the 2^nd floor of the library to discuss David Herbert Donald’s “Lincoln.” Donald depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. He chronicles Lincoln’s tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader.

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

The Friday Book Group will meet at 2:00 p.m. Fri. Feb. 21^st on the 2^nd floor of the library to discuss Sarah Smarsh’s “Heartland.” Sarah Smarsh was born a fifth generation Kansas wheat farmer on her paternal side and the product of generations of teen mothers on her maternal side. During her turbulent childhood in the 80s and 90s, the forces of cyclical poverty and the country’s changing economic policies solidified her family’s place among the working poor. Through her experiences, Smarsh challenges us to look more closely at the class divide in our country and examine the myths about people thought to be less because they earn less.

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