All members and friends are invited to join us at the Wine Sellers, Saturday January 17 from 1 to 3 p.m., for an informal winter social. We will be celebrating the McDonough County Bicentennial year with a “blind date” as everyone attending will get a wrapped history, biography, or vintage book. Board members will provide appetizers. Drinks will be available for purchase. Feel free to bring a friend who might be interested in joining us.

Stock up on some good winter escape reading at our annual winter book specialty book sale, Saturday, February 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Library Annex, at 109 E. Jefferson St.This sale features fiction, mystery/action adventure, science fiction/fantasy, and classics plus media and all of the oversized books (cook books, art, history/biography, non fiction, etc.) Proceeds are invested in the Macomb Public Library.

Friends of Macomb Public Library made a $500.00 check donation this fall to MacArthur Early Childhood Center’s Reading Program Initiative.  Each student receives a book a month during the school year.  FOMPL is proud to support this important program for our young people.

Kate Joswick, Friends of the Library volunteer, has been submitting local book reviews to our regional newspapers since 2007.  She has had just under 1,000 reviews published and is eager to break the 1,000 mark!  The current, weekly column, “What Are You Reading,” appears in the Tuesday issues of the Community News Brief.  It is very popular and fulfills one of our organizational goals…to promote reading.  Approximately 175 adults and children have shared their opinions about books they have read.

We encourage you to submit your brief review of a book you have read to joswickkate@gmail.com.    Most reviews are five or six sentences long, but longer reviews are accepted.  Include the author, title, your name, and occupation when you submit.   This opens a wide world of potential good reads for so many readers.

The Page Tuner Book Club will meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Macomb Public Library Meeting Room. The public is invited to attend. There will be some duplicate copies of the book selected each month in the library. The following books have been selected for the 2025 year.

Jan. 14: The Women by Kristin Hannah (group discussion)

Feb. 11: One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Margaret Cronin (led by Sandy Shearer)

March 11: The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulis (Led by Mary Elizabeth Vos)

April 8:  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (A “One Book One Community” pick and discussion)

May 13: Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis (led by David Leath)

June 10: The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine by Alexander Vindman (led by Mickie Keehan)

July 8: The Names by Florence Knapp (led by TBD)

Aug. 12: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Led by Becky Parker)

Sept. 9: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (led by Alice Davenport)

Oct. 14: This is Happiness by Niall Williams (led by Cindy Amundsen)

Nov. 11: My Friends by Frederik Backman (Led by Diane Tichner)

Dec. 9: Page Turners Book Club will meet at 4:30 at the Wine Sellers to select next year’s books. New potential members are invited.

FRIENDSwinter2025-2026 newsletter