Book Discussions: November 2025

Decorah Public Library staff are hosting five book discussions in November. All groups are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend. Anyone interested should call the library at 563-382-3717 to learn more or to reserve a copy of the book. To join any of the groups’ email distribution lists, contact ktorresdal@decorahlibrary.org. Multiple copy sets are generously provided by Friends of Decorah Public Library.

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

 

the world played chess book cover image

The World Played Chess

The Happy Hour Book Group will meet at Pulpit Rock Brewing Co. on Wednesday, November 5 at 5:15 p.m. (note date change) to discuss The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni. In 1979, recent graduate Vincent Bianco spends his last summer before college working construction with two Vietnam veterans. Decades later, as his own son heads to college, he reflects on how that summer’s hard lessons shaped his life, his choices, and his understanding of what it means to grow up.

 

 

 

 

Fall Of Civilizations book cover image

Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline

The History Book Group will meet on the second floor of the library on Thursday, November 20 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline by Paul Cooper. Based on the hit podcast with over 100 million downloads, Fall of Civilizations explores how powerful ancient societies rose, thrived, and eventually collapsed. Cooper takes readers from Mesopotamia and Byzantium to the Maya, Inca, and Aztecs, combining meticulous research with vivid storytelling to imagine what it was like to witness the fall of a world.  

 

 

 

 

Turtle House book cover image

The Turtle House

The Friday Book Group will meet on the second floor of the library on Friday, November 21 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill. Set between 1990s Texas and pre-WWII Japan, The Turtle House follows a granddaughter and her Japanese-born grandmother as they bond over shared secrets and a lost home. When family pressures threaten to separate them, they set out to reclaim the past and rediscover what it means to belong.

 

 

 

 

 

Bitter Apples

The Speculative Short Fiction Group will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, November 19 at 6:00 p.m. (note date change) to discuss Bitter Apples by Eric Raglin. Cursed Morsels Press presents tales of teacher horror from Corey Farrenkopf, Emma E. Murray, Cynthia Gómez, Christi Nogle, D. Matthew Urban, Eric Raglin, and Aurelius Raines II. These writers have worked in the profession, and while their stories are fictional, the darkness they explore is all too real. In Bitter Apples, you’ll find students’ ghosts haunting classrooms, desperate teachers joining cults, zombies plaguing underfunded schools, and more.

 

 

 

 

The Salvation Gambit

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will follow at approximately 6:30 p.m. via the same Zoom link to discuss The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrustkie. Murdock and her crew—mastermind Hark, fearless driver Bea, and charming rival Fitz—are known across the galaxy for flawless heists and impossible getaways. But when a job goes wrong, they’re captured by the Justice, a sentient warship that acts as judge, jury, and god to the criminals trapped inside it.

As the ship tries to recruit Murdock for her hacking skills and test her loyalty to Hark, tensions within the crew rise. With faith and survival on the line, Murdock must decide whether to follow her mentor—or outwit the Justice itself to save them all.

 

 

 

 

 


Posted: October 28, 2025