Book Groups

We have two new book groups at the Library. Our First Monday Book Group, led by Leslie Battis, meets on the first Monday of every month at 6:00 p.m. Check the calendar for the next read.

If you are a foodie, our Cookbook Group is for you. Led by avid cookbook collector Barry Webber, the group meets monthly with each meeting focused on a different cookbook or regional cuisine. Participants make a dish using a favorite recipe from the chosen cookbook or cuisine and brings it to the Library for a potluck.

Mark Scarbrough
Beginning in 2010 with a small gathering in our Great Hall, Mark Scarbrough’s Norfolk Library Book Group (click here for more info) has grown to include dozens of people around the world, who attend on select Thursdays via Zoom.

Mark’s brilliance is evident in his selection of novels for which he provides an historical and cultural background. The group recently took a literary journey through Finland, which has fostered some of the most arresting, provocative, and artful novelists, from Tove Jansson to more contemporary writers. In 2024, the group read eight novels by four recent Nobel laureates (three French authors and one Zanzibar-UK author) to trace where they started and where they went. Each year, Mark selects a “long winter novel” to take the group through January and February.

The Book Group will be on hiatus in the fall 2025, while Mark attends to some health issues. He hopes to be back in January 2026.