Exploring the best of the almost-best! 

2026’s book club celebrates books that were shortlisted for prestigious literary prizes. While they didn’t take home the top honor, these titles more than earn their spot on your reading list with their exceptional writing and unforgettable stories. 

We meet 1st Saturdays at 2pm at the library.  No registration needed.

October’s book is Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov 

An ingeniously constructed parody of detective fiction and learned commentary, Pale Fire offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures, at the center of which is a 999-line poem written by the literary genius John Shade just before his death. Surrounding the poem is a foreword and commentary by the demented scholar Charles Kinbote, who interweaves adoring literary analysis with the fantastical tale of an assassin from the land of Zembla in pursuit of a deposed king. Brilliantly constructed and wildly inventive, Vladimir Nabokov’s witty novel achieves that rarest of things in literature—perfect tragicomic balance. 

Shortlisted for the 1963 National Book Award. 

See all selections here.