All Iowa Reads Book Discussion

The Marshalltown Public Library will be holding All Iowa Reads book discussions on July 11, 2023 at 2:00pm and 6:00pm in the Community Meeting Rooms.

How High We Go in the Dark  by Sequoia Nagamatsu is the All Iowa Reads book  for adults for 2023.  The book begins in 2030, when a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy.

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resilience of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe.

Established in 2003, the purpose of All Iowa Reads is to foster a sense of unity through reading. The program encourages Iowans statewide to come together in their communities to read and talk about a single book title in the same year.

Copies of How High We Go in the Dark can be picked up at the library’s Check Out Desk. eBook and downloadable audiobook copies of the book are available on Bridges and Hoopla.  The discussions are free and open to the public. Please contact the library at 641-754-5738 ext. 2 for more information.