Decorah Public Library staff are hosting five book discussions in November. 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 groups’ email distribution lists. Funds for multiple copy sets were generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.

The Friday Book Group will meet on the 2nd floor of the library Fri. Nov. 17 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss Kate Moore’s “The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women.” The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive—until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women’s cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America’s early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights that will echo for centuries to come.