Each year, we ask that you join a conversation with your neighbors. Our hope is that a shared reading experience will create a community dialogue, a sense of discovery, and build upon our strong foundation of lifelong learning together.
How to Participate
To get started, visit the the Adult Services desk to sign up, pick up a reading log, and select your swag. Fill out your reading log with the activities of your choice, and return it to the desk to pick up your finisher prize!
Make sure to grab a badge for each activity you take part in!
The Swag
Every Wilmette Reads participant gets to choose a Library Super User tote bag or super cozy winter hat when they sign up for Wilmette Reads.
Show your support for the library all over town, and you can decorate your items with badges you collect for completing Wilmette Reads activities! Items are available while supplies last; visit the Adult Services desk to get started! Participants are limited to one item of their choosing.
What We're Reading
This year, we are bringing you two titles, Merlin Sheldrake’s nonfiction Entangled Life, and An Yu’s novel Ghost Music. While a link between the two selections may be obvious at first, much like fungi's hidden network below the soil, there is an even deeper connection to be unearthed.
The natural world can sometimes feel like fantasy, unreal in the ways it defies all possibility. By pairing a nonfiction book with a novel, we are asking that you explore themes of connection and entangled lives through two lenses.
Book Discussions
Explore the connections and meaning in this year's selected Wilmette Reads titles with expert scholars. For those who would like to purchase a copy of our featured titles, please support our local independent bookstore, The Book Stall.
Ghost Music Book Discussion
Saturday, January 11, 11am-12pm, Auditorium
Join us to discuss Ghost Music with creative writing professor and author, Nami Mun.
Entangled Life Book Discussion
Wednesday, February 5, 7-8pm, Auditorium
Join us for a book discussion led by Matthew Nelsen, Research Scientist at The Field Museum of Natural History.
Participating Events
Pick out a badge for each of these events that you attend. For virtual programs, just pick out a badge at the Adult Services desk the next time you visit the library!
Mushroom Mania Cooking Program
Monday, January 6, 7-8pm, Adults, Virtual
Teen Take & Make: Needle-Felted Mushrooms
Pick up begins Friday, January 10, All day, Teens, Adult Services Desk
How to Paint Watercolor Mushrooms
Friday, January 17, 1:30-3pm, Adults, Auditorium
Introduction to Mushroom Identification
Wilmette Reads Finishing Party and Jazz Concert
Friday, February 7, 6-8pm, Adults, Auditorium
Join us starting at 6pm for light refreshments to celebrate Wilmette Reads 2025. At 7pm, enjoy a concert with pianist Chris White and his trio featuring jazz standards and popular songs.
Use this form to report books you've read. Mark a spot on your reading log for each review you submit!
Wilmette Reads is generously supported by The Friends of the Wilmette Public Library.