Fireside Book Club - July 2026

Join us for Book Club!
Hosted by Fireside on the second Wednesday of the month.
We are an exploratory book club and aim to read many different genres. If you are looking to get out of your comfort zone, stop on by and join in our discussion!
Our Book Club Pick for the month is The Genius of Judy by Rachelle Bergstein for the genre 'biography'.
About the Book:
This "lively and important portrait of a true literary revolutionary" (Los Angeles Times) explores Judy Blume's life, work, and cultural impact, focusing on her most iconic--and controversial--young adult novels, from Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret to Blubber.
Everyone knows Judy Blume.
Her books have garnered her fans of all ages for decades and sold tens of millions of copies. But why were people so drawn to them? And why are we still talking about them now in the 21st century?
In The Genius of Judy, her remarkable story is revealed as never before, beginning with her as a mother of two searching for purpose in 1960s suburban New Jersey. The books she wrote starred regular children with genuine thoughts and problems. But behind those deceptively simple tales, Blume explored the pillars of the growing women's rights movement, in which girls and women were entitled to careers, bodily autonomy, fulfilling relationships, and even sexual pleasure. Blume wasn't trying to be a revolutionary--she just wanted to tell honest stories--but in doing so, she created a cohesive, culture-altering vision of modern adolescence.
Blume's bravery provoked backlash, making her the country's most-banned author in the mid-1980s. Thankfully, her works withstood those culture wars and it's no coincidence that Blume has resurfaced as a cultural touchstone now. Young girls are still cat-called, sex education curricula are getting dismissed as pornography, and entire shelves of libraries are being banned. As we face these challenges, it's only natural we look to Blume, the grand dame of so-called dirty books. This is the "ground-breaking" ( BookPage) story of how a housewife became an artist, and how generations of empowered fans are her legacy, today more than ever.
— – - Drops-ins and New Members welcome - – —