Book clubs allow readers to build a sense of community by creating space to explore complex topics, unpack emotional reactions and situate stories in contexts beyond the pages of a single book. 

University Libraries’ Read Smart series, put on in partnership with Wake County Public Libraries, brings scholars into a book club-esque setting meant to allow readers to learn something while exploring timely and relevant books.

Marian Fragola, director of community engagement for University Libraries, started the series 12 years ago as a way to connect with the public library system and offer a casual space to come together through important books. 

“[Read Smart has] just been a really wonderful way to connect the scholarly life of the University with the broader community around books, which is such a personal, intimate thing anyway, because reading is such a solitary thing to do,” Fragola said. “To talk about a book with people brings it into that kind of community social realm. And that’s really special.” 

The series holds two to three discussion events per semester over Zoom facilitated by a faculty member, graduate student or alum who guides the discussion and brings their own expertise to the topic addressed by the book. Everyone is welcome regardless of whether they’ve read the book.

“We give a lot of flexibility to the facilitator,” Fragola said. “If it’s a book that has some sort of historical significance and they’re a historian, for example, they’ll sort of tell us about that period of history, but it’s really up to them. They often just post questions. And the nice thing is that sometimes people haven’t read the book, and that’s totally okay.”

Fragola said in selecting the books, she looks for high-quality, fun and entertaining reads that are time relevant and a manageable length, typically avoiding classics. The topics of the books have changed significantly over the years, morphing to keep up with the rapidly changing social climate.

“I think we’re talking a lot more about books that have sort of a social justice mission or intent,” Fragola said. “We’ve done some books about climate change that probably wouldn’t have done 10 years ago. We’ve done books about gender and identity that we might not have done 10 years ago. But I think our commitment to high-quality relevant books is unchanged.”

Griffin James, a NC State alum who graduated in 2020 with a degree in English, helped facilitate August’s event discussing Ocean Vuong’s debut novel “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” and said the care taken in ensuring broad diversity in the selections, particularly in the pride edition that has encompassed the past three Read Smart events, allows for deeper conversations.

“I really appreciate that the selections not only centered queer stories, but queer Vietnamese stories,” James said. “We have Jacob Tobaya with ‘Sissy’ the memoir, so we have celebrations of gender variety, and I really appreciate that the selections are very intentional, so that we can create a conversation that’s not rooted in a monolith.”

The discussions have stayed on Zoom even after many other events have returned to in-person formats which Fragola said gives participants an additional opportunity for connection. 

“Sometimes I think [Zoom] actually fosters even more intimacy because I think sometimes, especially if you’re not on camera, you can say things that would be meaningful to you that you might not want to say in a group of people that are sitting around talking about a book,” Fragola said. “So it’s actually worked well on Zoom, but I do miss, a little bit, being in [a] community with people’s actual physical beings.”

Ryan Vasconcellos, who graduated from NC State in 2022 with a degree in communication media, co-facilitated August’s event along with James and appreciated the deeper understanding of the novel he was able to gain through the facilitation experience. 

“Having discussion[s] with other people, and seeing how everyone was able to interpret the ending and everything that happened, it really helped me fully understand what was happening,” Vasconcellos said. “But also to just get other people’s ideas and feedback and how they experienced the book, it’s very interesting. I like seeing that.”

Fragola said she similarly appreciates the new depths of perspectives that arise throughout the discussions.

“Every single time we have a discussion, someone will say something that I didn’t think about before or share a perspective that I wouldn’t have known about,” Fragola said. “It just makes me appreciate the book more every single time that happens. So that’s always fun.”

Fragola said she was grateful to Wake County Public Libraries for their partnership and service to the community.

“​​I’d just like to appreciate the public libraries, because they have been on the front lines of doing book clubs forever,” Fragola said. “They’re a great partner, and I love working with them. They’re really the ones who are providing free books to the public day in and day out.”

To stay up to date with future Read Smart book selections and discussions, subscribe to the University Libraries newsletter at the bottom of the University Libraries news page.