Smithfield Public Library

Call Directions

Smithfield Public Library Library

Our Reading Circle delved into the 1960’s with a review of ‘The Book Club for Troublesome Women’. Linda Smith gave a ver...
10/02/2026

Our Reading Circle delved into the 1960’s with a review of ‘The Book Club for Troublesome Women’. Linda Smith gave a very interesting and informative report about the book ‘The Feminine Mystique’ and Betty Friedan, which served as background for our selection. Most of our readers lived through the turbulent sixties, and could relate to the issues that the Betties (a nickname that the characters in Troublesome Women adopted as a nod to Betty Friedan) had dealt with. Our discussion was lively and stirred up many recollections about not only our experiences, but those of our mothers, as well. Most of our readers enjoyed the book and gave it an average score of 3.6 of four stars. Fran Rider and Rita Kennison hosted and served 1960’s fare of cocktail meatballs with rolls, cheesy topped cucumbers, veggie tray with California dip, and German chocolate cupcakes.
Our next book for discussion is Jenny Jackson’s ‘Pineapple Street’. It is described as ‘wickedly funny as it is generous and tender’. We are looking forward to digging into this novel on October 28 at our next Reading Circle meeting.

Our readers met on September 26 to discuss ‘The Paris Apartment’ by bestselling author Lucy Foley. Janet Daugherty led t...
08/29/2026

Our readers met on September 26 to discuss ‘The Paris Apartment’ by bestselling author Lucy Foley. Janet Daugherty led the talk and asked the members to tell which characters were their most and least liked. Most chose the protagonist Jess as a favorite, and several chose her brother as least-liked, although several other characters were selected. We awarded the story 3.7 out of four stars, but Janet shared that other readers from Amazon and Good Reads rated it lower (3.2 and 2.9, respectively).
Our hostesses Mary Kay Milliken and Janice Woods kept the refreshments in line with the Paris theme. The beautifully decorated table held croissants, mini quiches, fruit and cheese as well as Les palmier and lemon tea cookies.
Our next book for discussion will be ‘The Book Club for Troublesome Women’ by Marie Bostwick. We meet on the last Wednesday of the month at the Smithfield Library at 1:30.

Our readers met on July 29 to discuss Fiona Davis’s ‘The Lions of Fifth Avenue’. The story revolves around two generatio...
08/03/2026

Our readers met on July 29 to discuss Fiona Davis’s ‘The Lions of Fifth Avenue’. The story revolves around two generations of strong willed women whose families are caught up in thefts that take place in the New York Public Library. Katie Wyda led our discussion and added background information about the famed New York building, one of several that this author uses as settings for her books. Our readers awarded the novel 3.6 out of four stars. Most of our members stated that the storyline seemed a little contrived. All in all, though, we agreed that it was a good read.
We enjoyed refreshments of sandwiches, potato salad and cookies offered by hostesses Janet Dougherty and Judy Cowell.
Our next book will be Lucy Foley’s ‘The Paris Apartment’. Some of us remember reading this author’s work in another book club selection, ‘The Guest List’. We will meet on the last Wednesday of August to discuss this mystery, that reviewers have called ‘a clever cliff-hanger’.

Cathy Chabanik led the March Reading Circle in discussing Kristin Hannah’s ‘Magic Hour’. The book received a rating fro...
03/31/2026

Cathy Chabanik led the March Reading Circle in discussing Kristin Hannah’s ‘Magic Hour’. The book received a rating from the group of 3.7 of four stars. While most members awarded the maximum of four stars, others stated that they were put off by elements that were either unbelievable or overly romantic in what could have been a very good read. The story revolved around a feral child, and Cathy presented the group with some background of incidents of the discovery of real-life ‘raised by wolves’ individuals. Most in the group felt that the author did a good job of spinning a narrative that centered around the relationship between the protagonist and the child. Hosting this month were Fran Rider and Rita Kennison, who provided chipped ham sandwiches, pasta salad, pastries and chips. Our next meeting will take place on April 29. We will be discussing ‘The Chicken Sisters’ by KJ Dell’Antonia. Most who are familiar with reality TV will have background references to the premise of this story….a feud between two restaurants that plays out on national television. The Reading Circle members are looking forward to discussing this one. Will you read along?

Jeanne Fike led the discussion of Barbara Kingsolver’s multi-award winning novel, “Demon Copperhead “. Inspired by “Dav...
03/01/2026

Jeanne Fike led the discussion of Barbara Kingsolver’s multi-award winning novel, “Demon Copperhead “. Inspired by “David Copperfield”, this novel tackles some of society’s most troubling issues of poverty, opioid addiction, and the fails of the foster care system. We gave it 3.5 out of four stars (seven of ten members who finished the book awarded it four stars, and some stated that they would have gone to five if our scale allowed.) It evoked one of the club’s most emotional discussions.
To lighten the mood, we celebrated our librarian’s birthday and our book club’s twenty-second anniversary with cupcakes. Thanks to Mary Beth, we also had gifts for everyone! Janice Woods cohosted.
Janice also gave a report on the activities that are being organized in our county and community in celebration of our country’s two hundred fiftieth birthday. Smithfield Stepping Forward is planning an Easter Egg Hunt on Palm Sunday, and it will incorporate the character Fiona Fayette, who is the mascot for our countywide celebration. The Chamber of Commerce meets monthly to discuss how various communities can participate. Our Reading Circle is brainstorming ways to be involved.
We will meet again on March 25 when we will discuss Kristin Hannah’s ‘Magic Hour’. Won’t you read along?

Our book club’s annual Christmas party/discussion was held at the home of member Janice Woods and her husband Mike. Mike...
01/03/2026

Our book club’s annual Christmas party/discussion was held at the home of member Janice Woods and her husband Mike. Mike, as usual, outdid himself by providing the main course of pork and sauerkraut for our ‘feast’. Others in the group provided sides of cheesy potatoes, broccoli salad and cranberry jello salad, vegetables with dip, cookies and so much more.
We had a lively discussion about the book, ‘The Light We Lost’ by Jill Santopolo. We even took a quiz provided by Janet Daugherty that told us whether we were on ‘Team Darren’ or ‘Team Gabe’. We awarded the novel 3.3 out of four stars. Some were put off by the main character’s head over hills attraction to Gabe, while others found her devotion believable. Our next selection is ‘Demon Copperhead’ by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Kingsolver. Inspired by Charles Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’, it tells the story of young Damon, who is a lost boy and a victim of institutional poverty. He braves the perils of foster care, addiction, child labor in a system that abandons those who depend upon it. Our next meeting will take place on January 28 at 1:30 in the library.

At our November meeting, held December 3 due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, our Reading Circle members talked about ‘The D...
12/06/2025

At our November meeting, held December 3 due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, our Reading Circle members talked about ‘The Dictionary of Lost Words’ by Pip Williams. A novel that fictionalizes the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the story follows Esme, a motherless girl who begins collecting words while spending her early life in the Scriptorium with her father, a lexicographer. The story is set during the women's suffrage movement and World War I. Esme finds that many words that relate to the underserved and to women, specifically, are being discarded, so she begins to compile her own collection of forgotten words.
Our readers were divided on the merits of this book, with a few members expressing that they did not finish reading it. Others said that the story had a slow beginning, but it picked up the pace and held their interest afterward. Altogether, we rated it 3.25 stars out of four.
Our discussion was animated, and so were our readers. A special Santa’s helper provided gifts for everyone, and she, along with Kay Wyda served a great meal of subs, pistachio salad and cookies.
Our next meeting will take us away from the library to gather for our annual Christmas party. We will discuss Jill Santopolo’s ‘The Light We Lost’. It is described as ‘a new tearjerker’ and perfect for fans of ‘Me Before You’, which our readers enjoyed.

Address

14 Water Street
Smithfield, PA
15478

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+17245691777

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Smithfield Public Library posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category