MLK Association and Westfield Library partner to begin new Book Group

(July 22, 2024) The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Westfield (MLK) and the Westfield Memorial Library are partnering to begin a new book discussion group, whose purpose is to read important books together as a community.

MLK and the Library will host a meet and greet on Tuesday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. to welcome all participants. Refreshments will be served, and registration is required as capacity is limited to 20 people.

The first book that the group has chosen to read is James by Percival Everett. Books will be available to borrow from the library or they can be purchased from the Town Bookstore at a 10% discount. Participants should read the book on their own schedule and pace between July and September. The first book discussion group will be on Monday, September 30 from 7:00-8:30p.m.

Chairperson Alexis Jemal explained that she always wanted to form a book group, and after she brought the idea to MLK President Liz Wolf, a book club committee was formed, and the first title was chosen. “The Book Club is a community builder,” she said. “It’s a place to be in community, have a place to gather and talk about the same thing and ideas.”

Liz Wolf, President of the MLK Association wrote in an email that …“ the Dr. King Association of Westfield is excited to start this book group as another way to build community and increase inclusion within our town. Part of our mission is to keep the memory and principles of Dr. King alive and to use education, outreach, and activism to keep racial and social justice in the minds of our community members, so this book group, we hope, will serve that mission.”

She indicated that James was chosen in part because it is a work of fiction and a different take on a story that many are familiar with, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Other choices during the year will most likely include the 2023 biography of Dr. King -- King, A Life by Johnathan Eig, which was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for biography.

Wolf also wrote that the organization welcomed all readers to join in reading James whether they read books on paper, electronically or by listening to them.

James is the retelling of Huckleberry Finn, from the point of view of the enslaved Jim. When he overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, Jim decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town.

As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

This instant New York Times bestseller is in development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg. Multiple sources have heaped praise upon it: It’s A Best Book of the Year of the Year so Far for 2024: The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, W Magazine, Bustle, LitHub; "Genius"—The Atlantic; "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune; "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe; and "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

Visit the library’s website at https://wmlnj.org/ to register, sign up for a library card, or learn more about the library’s resources. Library hours are Monday - Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street.