Book Discussions: October 2025

Decorah Public Library staff are hosting five book discussions in October. 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.

 

Atmosphere book cover image

Atmosphere

The Happy Hour Book Group will meet at Pulpit Rock Brewing Co. on Wednesday, October 1 at 5:15 p.m. (note date change) to discuss Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. In Atmospherethe author takes readers to the dawn of NASA’s space shuttle program, where physics professor Joan Goodwin seizes the chance to become one of the first women astronauts. Training alongside a diverse and driven group of candidates, Joan discovers unexpected friendship, love, and a new sense of purpose. But when their mission in 1984 takes a sudden, devastating turn, everything Joan thought she knew about her life—and the universe—changes forever. 

 

 

 

 

No Road Leading Back: An Improbably Escape from the Nazis and the Tangled Way We Tell the Story of the Holocaust

The History Book Group will meet on the second floor of the library on Thursday, October 16 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss No Road Leading Back: An Improbably Escape from the Nazis and the Tangled Way We Tell the Story of the Holocaust by Chris Heath No Road Leading Back recounts the astonishing escape of twelve Jewish prisoners in Ponar, Lithuania. Against impossible odds, they tunneled to freedom with their bare hands and spoons. Drawing on survivor accounts and hidden records, Heath revives this little-known chapter of Holocaust history and explores why such stories have so often been silenced—challenging us to confront the past with honesty and courage. 

 

 

The Women on Platform Two: A Novel of Ireland

The Friday Book Group will meet on the second floor of the library on Friday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss The Women on Platform Two: A Novel of Ireland by Laura Anthony. Set between 1960s Dublin and today, this powerful novel follows women whose lives are shaped by Ireland’s strict ban on contraception. Maura faces a violent marriage, Bernie risks her life with another pregnancy, and in 2023, Saoirse questions whether motherhood is right for her—unaware of the women who once fought to give her that choice. Inspired by true events, it’s a moving story of courage, friendship, and the fight for freedom. 

 

 

 

 

Murder By Memory

The Speculative Short Fiction Group will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, October 22 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss Murder By Memory by Olivia Waite. On the luxurious interstellar liner HMS Fairweather, death is never permanent—until now. Detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes in a borrowed body just as a murder reveals something worse: minds are being erased from the ship’s Library forever. With suspects ranging from her reckless nephew to a mysterious ex-lover, Dorothy must unravel a three-hundred-year-old conspiracy before more lives—and memories—are lost. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tainted Cup

The Speculative Fiction Book Group will follow at approximately 6:30 p.m. via the same Zoom link to discuss The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. When a high imperial officer is found dead with a tree erupting from his body, eccentric detective Ana Dolabra is called to investigate. Blindfolded yet brilliant, she unravels the impossible with the help of her magically altered assistant, Din Kol—who soon learns that solving the case may expose not only a plot against the Empire but also the secrets he’s desperate to keep.