by Carlene Phillips ·
Friday, January 9, 2026
The Brown Bag Book Club at the library, which had been going since the late 1980s, was about to come to an end last fall. Susan Hardy, who had led the group since 2013, had moved away and could no longer travel to Harvard for the monthly discussions, held the third Wednesday of the month at noon.
Not wanting to see the end of what they knew was a popular program, librarians Constance McCormack, Jill Hayes, and Megan Balbresky stepped forward to organize and run the group. It’s nice to have three organizers, they agreed in a recent conversation; that way there’s always at least one of them to run the group.
It was former and longtime librarian Lisa Dagdigian who started the Brown Bag Book Club almost 40 years ago in the old library, and she still attends the meetings. At the time, there was a Great Books Club, but many people wanted an alternative with more variety, rather than just classics. Dagdigian said the club was named such because people did, in fact, bring their lunch to the meeting; most don’t anymore, but the librarians make coffee. Dagdigian couldn’t remember the very first book the group discussed, but she thinks it was one of Jane Austen’s. Ann Levison, editor of the Harvard Post, ran the discussions for the newly formed group. At her death in 2013, Hardy took over. Now the library offers monthly meetings of both book clubs. The Brown Bag does not meet during the summer, but there are one or two books to read over that time.
The three leaders said there are about 20 people on the Brown Bag Book Club’s email list, and usually five to 10 people attend a discussion, held in Volunteers Hall; in September the meeting was in the new library pavilion. A former resident, now living in Oregon, joins by Zoom, as does a more local member. Taking over from Hardy was relatively easy, said Balbresky, because most of the club’s members were familiar faces, being regular patrons of the library. She said it’s a comfortable group and welcoming to new people.
Each month the librarians preview two books, and the group chooses one to read for the following month. The library gets multiple copies of the book. McCormack said of course not everyone always likes the choice, and “we usually hear about it ahead of time.” Hayes added,“It’s fun when people didn’t like the book. There’s more discussion and you can learn a lot.” Usually people jump right in with ideas, but the librarians have a list of questions in case there’s a lull.
For the December meeting two short novels were selected, with themes appropriately suited to the season, but very different from one another in other aspects. “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan is set in 1985 Ireland in the days before Christmas and features a protagonist, Bill Furlong, who grows increasingly melancholy as he questions no less than his purpose in life. “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” is about a bookstore owner, a curmudgeon who gradually learns that books are a way of connecting with people and that community is the way out of grief and loneliness.
Seven people attended in person, and two members participated on Zoom. While most attendees liked both books, everyone preferred “Small Things Like These,” finding it well written, with every incident made real—“as though you’re right there,” someone suggested. Several people related to the setting in a small town, identifying with how everyone knows what’s going on in others’ lives and those who defy the community norms are harshly judged. Members were divided about the ending. Some felt it was too abrupt, that the reader wasn’t prepared for Furlong’s action. Others felt that every previous incident built to the moment of his decision. Either way, people saw Furlong as a brave man and inspiring in his answer to his own question, “Is there any point in being alive and not helping one another?”
Unlike “Small Things Like These” which focuses on one man, there are several characters in “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin, and the group enjoyed their varied and quirky personalities and the book’s humor throughout. Readers agreed that everything gets tied up a bit too neatly at the end of the book, but for most, the ending seemed suitable to the book’s theme that, despite sad events, joy can be found in human connections.
The book for discussion in January is “The Phoenix Crown,” written collaboratively by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang. It is historical fiction, set in San Francisco, and describes the 1906 earthquake and the ensuing fires that ravaged parts of the city. It shows the difficulty women had in achieving independence and recognition for their talents and the vicious prejudice against those living in Chinatown. The lives of four uniquely ambitious women become intertwined and during the earthquake, they suffer a common trauma. Years later they reunite to seek their retribution.
Those interested may get “The Phoenix Crown” at the library and join the discussion at noon on Jan. 21 in Volunteers Hall.