2025 Adult Reading Challenge

In a reading rut? Want to broaden your book choices?

Join the EMPL Readers Services 2025 Reading Challenge.

The reading challenge is a chance to shake up your reading habits and to explore all that The Reader Services Department offers by completing reading and non-reading challenges throughout the year. Those who participate will be invited to a party in January of 2026 where there will be prizes, refreshments, a book buzz, and a chance to share the titles read during the year. The Basic Reading Challenge consists of twelve, one for each month of the year. Complete the challenge within that month and get entered to win a prize. Unsure you can read a book a month? Don’t worry, there is a lot of flexibility in the challenge so you can participate no matter how much you read. Feeling ambitious? Complete our Extra Reading Challenges and/or our non-reading Bonus Challenges and increase your chance at winning our Grand Prize. You may read whatever you want as long as it meets the challenges. Not sure of what to read? We will have suggestions for you all through the year and a discussion forum online where you can get ideas or share what you are reading. Participate either online or by submitting your completed challenges in person at the library. Program is open to all with a Nassau Library Card.

Registration starts January 2nd online or in the library. For more information check out https://eastmeadow.info/books-reading/reader-services/ .

INSTRUCTIONS ON REGISTRATION

INSTRUCTIONS ON SUBMITTING READING CHALLENGES AND COMPLETING NON-READING CHALLENGES

To complete a challenge, please submit the title and author of book you read, the date completed, how it fits the challenge and rate the book on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. For nonreading challenges tell us the date completed and how you fulfilled the challenge.

For more information click on this link.

READING CHALLENGE GOODREADS PAGE – This is the place to discuss the reading challenges. You can recommend books, ask for suggestions or discuss the book you are reading for the challenge. If you are not a member of Goodreads you must create an account at goodreads.com . After joining, you will receive an e-mail asking you to verify your e-mail address – please do so by clicking the link provided. After you log into Goodreads, click on this link – EMPL Reading Challenge Page and select Join Group. You can also find our page by clicking on Community at the top of the Goodreads page. Select Groups and type EMPL in the seach box. Select EMPL Reader Services Reading Challenge 2025 and click Join Group.

For additional information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Feb 3 @ 7:00 PM - Author Kevin Wade

MEET THE AUTHOR – KEVIN WADE

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet Kevin Wade, who will join us to discuss his debut novel Johnny Careless. Wade has been a movie screenwriter and his credits include Working Girl (seven Academy Award nominations), True Colors, Mr. Baseball, Junior, Meet Joe Black, and Maid in Manhattan. He worked on the TV drama Blue Bloods as a writer, show runner, and executive producer. Wade will be signing copies of his book which will be for sale after the program.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

Police Chief Jeep Mullane has been bounced back home to Long Island's North Shore by a heartbreaking case that both earned him his NYPD detective's shield and burned him out of the Job. Now heading up a small local police department, he finds himself navigating the same geography he did growing up there as the son of an NYPD cop. Jeep is a "have-not" among the glittering "haves," a sharp-witted, down-to-earth man in a territory defined and ruled by multigenerational wealth and power and the daunting tribal codes and customs that come with it. When the corpse of Jeep's childhood friend Johnny Chambliss--born into privilege and known as "Johnny Careless" for his reckless, golden-boy antics--surfaces in the Bayville waters, past collides with present, and Jeep is pulled into a treacherous web. He is challenged by Johnny's wealthy and secretive family and his beautiful, enigmatic ex-wife as he untangles a knotted mystery fraught with theft, corrupt local moguls, and decades-old secrets, all while grappling with his own deep-seated grief for his lost pal.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Dec 16 @ 7 PM - Evening Discussion: Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

Join us on December 16 at 7:00 pm as we discuss Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati. Daughter of King Tyndareus of Sparta and Queen Leda, the sister of Helen, and ultimately the murderous Queen of Mycenae who killed her husband Agamemnon, Clytemnestra is one of the most notorious villainesses of the ancient world. What forged her into the legendary queen and complicated women she becomes? And what drives her to her infamous act?

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of Clytemnestra can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Discussion guide for Clytemnestra.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Dec 3 @ 6:30 PM - Author Lynda Cohen Loigman

MEET THE AUTHOR – LYNDA COHEN LOIGMAN

December 3 at 6:30 p.m.

Join us in conversation with Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Matchmaker’s Gift and The Two-Family House, when she visits our library to discuss her newest book, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. Lynda will be signing copies of her book which will be for sale after the program.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs–an active senior community in southern Florida–she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy–and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier. Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it's too late?

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was chosen as one of People’s Best Books of October!

Nov 26 @ 7 PM - Mystery Club - Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Join us on November 26 at 7:00 p.m. as we discuss The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. Alex is a young author who is invited to an exclusive writer’s retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell–they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate. But when one of the writers vanishes, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth–or suffer the same fate.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of The Writing Retreat can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Discussion guide for The Writing Retreat.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Oct 17 @ 6:30 PM - Book Launch: Marilyn Simon Rothstein

SPECIAL EVENT: BOOK LAUNCH FOR MARILYN SIMON ROTHSTEIN’S LATEST NOVEL: WHO LOVES YOU BEST

October 17, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.

We are honored to have Marilyn Simon Rothstein visit our library to launch her newest book, Who Loves You Best, which will be published October 15. Marilyn will be signing copies of her book which will be for sale after the program.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

A woman drops everything to spend more time with her grandchild, only to discover new truths about herself. For Jodi Wexler, a Florida doctor with a flourishing practice, only one thing’s missing: the chance to spend more time getting to know her eight-year-old granddaughter, Macallan. When Jodi’s restauranteur daughter asks her to watch Macallan in the Berkshires while she takes care of some business out of town, Jodi can’t say yes fast enough. Neither Jodi’s podiatric patients nor her just-fired, suddenly retired husband can keep her away. But when Jodi arrives, she discovers she’s not the only grandma at Lisa’s house. Lisa’s mother-in-law, Di—a hard-nosed real estate agent—has moved into the house. What’s more, there’s Grannie Annie, the twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend of Lisa’s oddball father-in-law. They’re not the only surprises. Lisa’s marriage is faltering even as her new restaurant is taking off. As the competition for Macallan’s attention among the three “grandmas” increases, Lisa drops a bomb about her life that changes everything. Under pressure, and determined to help her daughter, Jodi must choose her next step. Her decision surprises everyone—Jodi, most of all.

Oct 7 @ 7 PM - Evening Discussion: Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers

Join us on October 7 at 7:00 pm as we discuss The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers. Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina–the tobacco capital of the South–where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives. But she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t quite the carefree paradise that it seems. A trail of misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems, and although Maddie is quick to believe that this is a coincidence, she inadvertently uncovers evidence that suggests otherwise. Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco to survive, she doesn’t know who she can trust–and fears that exposing the truth may destroy the lives of the proud, strong women with whom she has forged strong bonds.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of The Tobacco Wives can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Discussion guide for The Tobacco Wives.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Oct 1 @ 6:30 PM - Meet the Author: Robert Silbering

Meet local author, Robert Silbering, who will be here to discuss his book, Law & Disorder: How a Kid from the Bronx Became America’s Top Drug Prosecutor. This is a book about the people who make the decisions on how cases are handled, the different units and bureaus in the prosecutor’s office, and takes the reader into “the room where it happens,” the place where decisions are made at the highest level and where policy is set. Written from a prosecutor’s standpoint, this book touches on the relevant and timely issues facing the country and law enforcement today.

Robert Silbering joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 1974. He was assigned to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office in 1984, where he was the Chief Assistant. He has worked as a consultant on film projects like Presumed Innocent, and television series like NYPD Blue. 

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

COPIES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE LIBRARY

Sept 24 @ 7 PM - Drive-In Movie - Phantom of the Rue Morgue

OUTDOOR MOVIE – DRIVE-IN STYLE! 

The Phantom of the Rue Morgue

September 24, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

Library Reading Garden

In case of inclement weather, the raindate will be September 30.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3. Space is limited.

Join film historian Keith Crocker and the Reader Services Department as we host an evening of horror inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Using a rare 16mm film print, Keith Crocker will show Phantom of the Rue Morgue from 1954, which is based on Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” This movie is truly a lost classic as it has never been released on DVD in the United States. This film will be shown in the library’s reading garden, drive-in style. When several women are found mutilated and murdered, the Paris police are baffled as to who the killer may be. All evidence points to Dupin, but soon it becomes apparent that it is someone (or something) stronger and deadlier than a human. Besides presenting the film, Keith Crocker will discuss other movies that have been adapted from Poe’s works. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show!

Sept 16 @ 7 PM - Mystery Club - How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Join us on September 16 at 7:00 p.m. as we discuss How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. An enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate…. Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of How to Solve Your Own Murder can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Discussion guide for How to Solve Your Own Murder.

August 5 @ 7 PM - Read 'N Share

Read ‘N Share – Read a good book recently? Talk about it with other book lovers! 

We will host our Summer Wrap-Up Read ‘N Share, on Zoom, to talk about the books that we read over the summer. We record your titles and make an annotated bibliography of all of the books we share, which will be available in September.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3. This is a Zoom only event. The Zoom link will be sent to all who have registered the morning of the event.

July 30 @ 7 PM - Evening Discussion: Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

Join us on July 30 at 7:00 pm as we discuss The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson. Placed in foster care in the wake of criminal allegations, Paula Vauss grows up to become a tough divorce attorney only to have her life thrown into chaos by an astonishing revelation and a cryptic message from the Hindu storyteller mother she has not seen in 15 years.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of The Opposite of Everyone can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Discussion guide for The Opposite of Everyone.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

July 16 @ 7 PM - Genealogy Records That Reveal Your Family’s Travels

By using examples from her own genealogical research projects, April Lynne Earle, will present on how to get started researching your immigrant ancestors and the wide variety of documents available to you regarding their travels; including ship manifests, naturalization records, and passports.

April Lynne Earle is a member of the Library Faculty at Farmingdale State College. In addition to her primary role as the cataloger, she provides reference service and information literacy instruction. She received both her Masters in Library Science and Master of Arts in Public History from St. John’s University; where she now teaches as an adjunct in their Library Science course on Genealogical Sources & Services. With over 30 years of genealogy research experience, her real joy is helping others discover their family history.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

July 10 @ 1:30 PM - Clash of the Titans

Join film historian Keith Crocker and the Reader Services Department for a showing of 1981’s Clash of the Titans, the last film to feature the brilliant stop-motion visual effects of Ray Harryhausen. This movie features the heroic adventures of Perseus, as he battles magic, monsters and ancient gods to rescue beautiful Andromeda. Keith Crocker will talk about the genuis of Ray Harryhausen, and how he brought to life some of the creatures in this film, such as Pegasus, Medusa, and the Kraken.

Register online by clicking on this link or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

CANCELLED - June 25 @ 1:30 PM - Life on the Mississippi by Rinker Buck

Join us on June 25 at 1:30 p.m. as we discuss Life on the Mississippi by Rinker Buck. A modern-day Huck Finn, Buck casts off down the river on the flatboat Patience accompanied by an eccentric crew of daring shipmates. Over the course of his voyage, Buck steers his fragile wooden craft through narrow channels dominated by massive cargo barges, rescues his first mate gone overboard, sails blindly through fog, breaks his ribs not once but twice, and camps every night on sandbars, remote islands, and steep levees. As he charts his own journey, he also delivers a richly satisfying work of history that brings to life a lost era.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of Life on the Mississippi can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

June 18 @ 7 PM - Mystery Club - Freefall by Jessica Barry

Join us on June 18 at 7:00 p.m. as we discuss Freefall by Jessica Barry. When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, Allison Carpenter survives – but the fight for her life is just beginning. Allison knows secrets that powerful men will kill to keep buried. If they know she’s alive, they will come for her. In Owl Creek, Maine, Maggie Carpenter learns that her only child is presumed dead, but with no body Maggie isn’t giving up hope. She doesn’t know anything about her daughter’s life now – not even that she was engaged to wealthy pharmaceutical CEO Ben Gardner. Can Maggie uncover the truth in time to save her daughter?

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of Freefall can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

June 10 - Adult Summer Reading Kickoff & Pub Quiz

The Reader Services Department of the East Meadow Public Library is thrilled to announce the kickoff of our 13th annual Adult Summer Reading Club on Monday, June 10th. The registration for our reading club will be held in the lobby from 10 am to 1pm, and also from 2 pm to 5 pm. After June 10th, you can either register online at our summer reading club website https://emlibny10.readsquared.com or with the Reader Services Department. Our reading club will provide members the opportunity to attend exciting book events along with a delightful party at the end of the program.

Our Adult Summer Reading Club Kickoff will end with a Pub Quiz Night in the Library at 7 pm. Pub Quizzes are popular trivia contests in the UK, and while we won’t be serving up alcohol, we will serve up a night of fun and tricky trivia around our theme Adventure Begins in Your Library. Bring your own team or meet new people by joining one that night. Register online for the pub quiz by clicking on this link.  Mocktails and light snacks will be served. Our lucky winners will receive these fabulous prizes!

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.

Click here for additional information on this special event.

May 18 @ 2 PM - Meet the Author: Colm Toibin

 MEET THE AUTHOR – COLM TOIBIN

May 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Join us for a conversation with beloved, bestselling author Colm Tóibín, in celebration of the release of his newest novel, Long Island. Colm will be signing copies of Long Island, A Guest at The Feast: Essays and Brooklyn, which will be for sale after the program. Prices including 10% discount and sales tax will be: Long Island $27.38, A Guest At The Feast $17.60, and Brooklyn $17.60. Cash, credit cards and Venmo will be accepted.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

If you are unable to attend in person, the event will be streamed, https://www.youtube.com/live/OioguCXiZ8s?si=mLknP52ZXNQTk9Aw .

The eBook version of Long Island can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Long Island is a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love, the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work twenty years later. Eilis is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children and Tony's parents, a huge extended family that lives and works, eats and plays together. It is the spring of 1976 and Eilis, now in her forties with two teenage children, has no one to rely on in this still-new country. Though her ties to Ireland remain stronger than those that hold her to her new land and home, she has not returned in decades.

Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick is Colm Tóibín’s Long Island! 

May 6 @ 7 PM - Evening Discussion: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Join us on May 6 at 7:00 pm as we discuss Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Leaving her home in post-World War II Ireland to work as a bookkeeper in Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey discovers a new romance in America with a charming blond Italian man before devastating news threatens her happiness.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

The eBook version of Brooklyn can be accessed through the Nassau Digital Doorway.

Discussion guide for Brooklyn.

SEE THE MOVIE! May 10, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Brooklyn (2015)

Directed by John Crowley, screenplay by Nick Hornby, starring Saoirse Ronan

No registration required.

Colm Toibin will be at EMPL on May 18 at 2 pm!

Join us for a conversation with beloved, bestselling author Colm Tóibín, in celebration of the release of his newest novel, Long Island, which is the sequel to Brooklyn.

Register online by clicking on this link, or by calling 516-794-2570, option 3.

For more information, please call the Reader Services Department at 516-794-2570 ext. 1236.