Open Book Club

A library-sponsored group open to everyone ages 18 or older! Take part when and where you want. Our goal is to read a wide variety of books and meet new people! We request that everyone be respectful of other's opinions. Want more information? Email us your questions!

Library Meetings

Join us on the 2nd Monday of the month at 6:30 pm for our Open Book Club meetings. We are currently meeting via Zoom due to COVID-19. If you can’t commit to every month that’s not a problem—just come when you can! 

OBC December


Online Discussions

Take part in the online component of our book club. People who are not able to join in face-to-face meeting times or who just want some more discussion can do so here!

How to Join

  1. You must have a Goodreads.com account to access the online group.
  2. Log into your Goodreads account and click on "Community" and "Groups." 
  3. Search for "Open Book Club at Kearney Public Library" and request to join the group.

Currently Reading: Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Discussion Meeting: Monday, December 14, 6:30pm via ZoomBeartown

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world. via Goodreads

Next Read: I Think You're Wrong, But I'm Listening by Sarah Steward Holland and Beth Silvers

Discussion Meeting: Monday, January 11, 6:30pm via ZoomI Think Youre Wrong But Im Listening

More than ever, politics seems driven by conflict and anger. People sitting together in pews every Sunday have started to feel like strangers, loved ones at the dinner table like enemies. Toxic political dialogue, hate-filled rants on social media, and agenda-driven news stories have become the new norm. It’s exhausting, and it’s too much.

In I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening), two working moms from opposite ends of the political spectrum contend that there is a better way. They believe that we can choose to respect the dignity of every person, choose to recognize that issues are nuanced and can’t be reduced to political talking points, choose to listen in order to understand, choose gentleness and patience.

Sarah from the left and Beth from the right invite those looking for something better than the status quo to pull up a chair and listen to the principles, insights, and practical tools they have learned hosting their fast-growing podcast Pantsuit Politics. As impossible as it might seem, people from opposing political perspectives truly can have calm, grace-­filled conversations with one another—by putting relationship before policy and understanding before argument.  Via Goodreads


Do you have titles to suggest? Email them to us!
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