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This month's book: The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallace Johnson Audience: Adults who are true crime fans. How to get the print book: Copies of the print book are set aside at the Main Library. Visit the Main Library Q&A Desk at 449 Broadway during service hours and a staff member can help you check out a copy. How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as an e-book and digital audiobook through the Libby app. How to register: Click the registration link below to register. We'll meet in the Rossi Room on the first floor of the Main Library. For more information, contact Amie at alemire@cambridgema.gov.

August selection: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride Reading Interests: We read mostly contemporary Fiction, with forays into non-fiction, older works and classics. Past selections include: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. How to get the print book: Copies of the book are set aside at the O'Connell Branch. Click here for O'Connell Branch Hours How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as a digital audio and e-book through Hoopla. This book group meets in person at the O'Connell Branch. No registration is needed. Drop-ins welcome. For more information contact the branch at 617-349-4019.

Let’s take a look at the events of the 1630s when speculators drove up the prices of tulip bulbs to dizzying heights. The development of Dutch flower painting and the phenomenon known as “tulipmania” share the same root causes in 17th century Netherlands; that is, an interest in objects of great appeal and rarity, whether just for their beauty or their scientific notoriety. But what was really happening and has it been overblown in history? We will discover where the practice of flower painting began for the Dutch, in response to the value of live flowers; a practice of painting beautiful still lives that continues today.

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Stephen Greenblatt—Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, a leading scholar of English Renaissance literature, and author of sixteen books, including the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award–winner The Swerve—to celebrate the paperback release of Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival, which released in hardcover in 2025 and received immense praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to the paperback release of Dark Renaissance, Greenblatt's first work Sir Walter Ralegh: The Renaissance Man and His Roles, originally published in 1973 and based on Greenblatt's dissertation, will be rereleased in paperback on September 1, 2026 with a new foreword from Greenblatt. Registration is required.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.

Looking for some basic computer or mobile device guidance? Want help using an online resource? Need someone to support navigating online job applications? Want information on low cost internet? Join us for our drop-in help hours between 10a.m. and 12p.m. No registration required. If you have any questions, please contact kmcquown@cambridgema.gov The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.