Being a part of a book club offers so much more than reading. Beyond the pages of the books, reading together is also a great way to connect, share opinions and broaden your horizons. Those are pretty great benefits, right? Imagine how much more impactful they would be if the book club included an entire community!
Montclair Public Library, in partnership with MFEE and MHS, will do just that with “Montclair Reads” as part of The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. The community-wide book club will take us on a collective journey through the pages of “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui.
Before she began to work on “The Best We Could Do” in 2005, Thi Bui had never drawn a comic in her life. Twelve years later, the debut graphic memoir would be released to widespread acclaim from critics and literary heavyweights alike. An American Book Award winner, a National Book Critics Circle finalist in autobiography, and an Eisner Award finalist in reality-based comics, Bui’s memoir traces her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Việt Nam in the 1970s and their effort to build new lives for themselves in America. Bui documents parental sacrifice, excavates family histories and grapples with the inherited struggles of displacement and diaspora.
The “Montclair Reads” kick-off event will be on Thursday, February 8, at 7 p.m. at MPL. You can pick up a free copy of “The Best We Could Do” and learn about the more than 25 upcoming events and programs—book discussions, classes, storytelling, movies, and more—inspired by this graphic novel throughout town.
“Montclair Reads” Events
Here are some of the events scheduled for “Montclair Reads,” but the list is expected to grow, so check back often!
February
Storytelling Improv for Social Change (adults)
Saturdays, Feb. 10-24, 1 p.m., Bellevue Avenue Branch
Through improvisational theater games, acting, movement, and vocal exercises, participants will learn Playback Storytelling Improv. An Adult School class
Storytelling through Podcasts (adults)
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 10:30 a.m., Main Library
Vietnamese Boat People will share the prompts they’ve developed to facilitate family storytelling for podcasts. An Adult School class.
East Side Mags Graphic Novel/Library Day (all ages)
Saturday, Feb. 17, East Side Mags
Get a 15% discount on purchases if you show your Montclair Public Library card. Discount is not applicable to items already marked down, already on sale, or supplies.
A Discussion of Storytelling and Graphic Novels
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., Watchung Booksellers
Professors Adam Rzepka and Jeffrey Gonzalez of Montclair State University will discuss the importance of graphic novels as a literary art form.
Family Storytelling Workshop
Saturday, Feb. 24, Montclair Art Museum
With Mary Amato
Comics Workshop (ages 8+)
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 4:30 p.m., Main Library
Cartoonist, illustrator, and teacher R. Sikoryak will teach participants how to make comics using a four-panel sequence.
Storytelling at Work: Indispensable Strategies to Get Your Point Across in Business (adults)
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m., Bellevue Avenue Branch
Learn how to advance in your career using storytelling techniques to describe history and projects. An Adult School class.
March
Film Screenings: The Immigrant Experience
Mondays, March 11-25 and April 15-22, 2 p.m., Main Library
Join to watch films that depict the immigrant experience in America. No registration.
March 11 – “In America” (2002)
March 18 – “The Namesake” (2006)
March 25 – “Brooklyn” (2015)
April 15 – “A Better Life” (2011)
April 22 – “Avalon” (1990)
Teen Book Club (ages 12-18)
Thursday, March 14, 4 p.m., Main Library
Join the monthly Teen Book Club. In March, you’ll be reading and discussing graphic novels.
Vietnamese Boat People Podcast Author Chat with Susan Lieu
Thursday, March 14, 6:30 p.m., Congregation Shomrei Emunah, 67 Park St.
Lieu, author of “The Manicurist’s Daughter,” will discuss her emotionally raw memoir about the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who searches for answers after a family tragedy.
MILL Tiny Art Show Painting Program
Friday, March 15, Main Library
Comics Workshop (ages 8+)
Tuesday, March 19, 4 p.m., Main Library
Join veteran comic artist and teacher Jamal Igle to learn how to make a one-page story about yourself to share with family and friends.
The Everything Book Club (adults)
Tuesday, March 19 at 1 p.m., Main Library OR
Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m., Zoom
Discuss “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui.
Teeny Tiny Art Party (ages 12-18)
Wednesday, March 20, 5 p.m., Main Library
Paint your own tiny 4in x 4in canvas. Your canvas will be displayed in the Library as part of our Tiny Art Show.
The AIDS Quilt as Memoir (ages 12-18)
Tuesday, March 26, 6 p.m., Main Library
View panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and discuss how communities honor identity with visual storytelling.
Bringing Your Story to Life: Storytelling Workshop with Montclair Film’s Duncan Miller (adults)
Saturday, March 30, 1:30 p.m., Main Library
April
Teen Advisory Board Tiny Art Program (TAB members)
Wednesday, April 3, Main Library
TAB members are invited to paint tiny canvases as part of the Library’s Tiny Art Show.
Many Voices of Montclair Oral History Project
Thursday, April 18, 11 a.m., Main Library
Executive Director Angelica Diggs of the Montclair History Center will lead an introductory workshop on how to conduct oral histories.
Poetry as Memoir: A Writing Workshop for Teens (ages 12-18)
Wednesday, April 24, 6 p.m., Main Library
Hear examples of memoir poems and then write your own.
“Nailed It” Film Screening
Monday, April 29, 2 p.m., Main Library
After it premiered on PBS in 2019, “Nailed It” became the highest-streamed film of the “America Reframed” series. Uncover the real history of the Vietnamese nail salon. Watch the trailer.
“Bolinao 52” Film Screening
Tuesday, April 30, 6 p.m., Main Library
This award-winning documentary tells the story of one boat that escaped Vietnam with 110 refugees on board. After 37 days at sea, only 52 survived. Watch the trailer.
May
Tiny Art Show
May TBD, Main Library
Open Book / Open Mind: “How to Baby” by Liana Finck (adults)
Saturday, May 18, 4 p.m., Main Library
A New Yorker cartoonist will discuss her hilarious illustrated memoir of parenthood.