Making Sense of the World Through Stories 

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single reader in possession of a tall TBR pile, must be in want of the company of other book nerds.” —Also Jane Austen, probably.

Want to know a secret? Being a librarian is the best. And one of the best parts of being a librarian is leading book clubs and hearing not just what readers thought about the books as a work of literature, but also what they MEANT to book club members. I am thrilled to hear where books found you, how they changed you, and who you shared the book with next. I love a gathering where people who loved the book and people who hated the book meet and the alchemy that happens when you hear another person explain why… and that why is the magic that changes you both.

If the last five years have taught me anything, it’s that humans need the company of other humans in a multitude of ways that we didn’t fully realize until it was gone. One of the most important ways is to help us make sense of the world and our place within it, to understand our story in the context of other stories, and to speak (or write) our existence into being through language. It’s something I have felt as a reader, even when I couldn’t articulate it. But when I became a professional reader and a book-slinger with the MLS to back it up, it was my great joy to translate that knowledge into the work I do with our community. 

I have books I turn to when I’m anxious (This Is Happiness), when I’m nostalgic (Eleanor & Park), or when I’m uncertain (Man's Search for Meaning).

Books I turn to when I want to visit a time I don’t belong to (Outlander), or a time I used to belong to but no longer do (The Big Orange Splot), or a time I hope is coming (How to Age Disgracefully), or a time I hope never does (Parable of the Sower).

Books I open when I need to feel a cool breeze on my face, looking up through changing leaves (Prodigal Summer) or when I want to visit crashing waves, my toes in warm sand (Circe).

Books I seek out to hear the voices of people I can only know through the pages (The Color Purple), whose lives are so different from mine, though their emotions are so often the same (The Joy Luck Club).

Those books can change over the years, but it’s always nice to know that when the night is dark and full of terrors, I can open up Winnie-the-Pooh and I know myself again. 

Perhaps you have those books, too, or perhaps you’re still looking for them. Wherever you are, we’re going to meet you there. 

Weaving Together a Stronger Community of Readers

Much like our cozy wee spider mascot this year, the folks in Readers’ Services are always looking to connect readers to the stories that enrich their lives, and to create webs of community to share those stories with. That’s the heart of Booktoberfest 2025, too. This is the fifth year we’ve hosted Booktoberfest for the adult readers of our community, and every year we are grateful, pleased, and proud to bring the community so many fun ways to connect with books and with other readers. I’ve seen it over and over for the last five years. Booktoberfest takes those interactions and multiplies them, weaving together our experiences and creating a stronger, more resilient community of readers, neighbors, and nerds.

Our kickoff this year features Ellen Jovin, opens a new window, author of Rebel With A Clause (and now documentary diva), who took a folding table around the United States and spent a few years striking up conversations about grammar with complete strangers. What starts with some trash talk about the Oxford Comma or ending a sentence with a preposition quickly becomes a laugh, a connection, shared stories about what we were taught and how it has shaped our understanding. When I saw this film and watched interviews with the ebullient Ellen, I knew she was giving us our theme for our fifth anniversary: connection.

Every year, we try to create a balance of old and new programming with the hope of offering something for everyone. For some people that’s bonding with new friends at your table at Book Club Speed Dating, opens a new window, sharing insights and comparing your book club's favorite reads this year. For some it’s donning a costume and toasting their new friends with a pint of LBC Oktoberfest after joining forces to solve a cipher and complete the Haunted Stacks, opens a new window scavenger hunt. I love watching strangers meet on a trivia team and proceed to blow each other away with the random book facts at Bookish Trivia, opens a new window, sharing high fives and racking up points. I love to watch people’s faces at the author events, as they are learning about a new book and sharing space with the person who wrote it, watching them get their book signed and be so happy to interact with the author.  

Every year, I watch people leave feeling less alone, laughter rising as they exit, cheeks aching from smiling. I like to know they are heading home, feeling connected to the people, places, and activities that make up their community. I love watching people make plans at the end of the night to meet up at the next Booktoberfest event, to be invited to someone’s book club, to be saying goodbye at the end of the event and getting a heartfelt “We have THE coolest library!” Yeah, man… we do. 

And I say with all sincerity, I hope to see you at Booktoberfest 2025, opens a new window. Not just because we worked so hard to bring these events to you, but because community only happens when we make it happen, and we need it more than ever.

—Polli Kenn is the Reader Services Coordinator at Lawrence Public Library.