A dynamic, liberal arts education, for free at the public library!  Huntington Public Library's Great Books Reading and Discussion Group meets once a month to discuss works from a curriculum designed and published by the Great Books Foundation, an independent, nonprofit educational organization established in 1947 by University of Chicago educators Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler. Its mission is “to empower readers of all ages to become more reflective and responsible thinkers.”  To register, please use the program code HMA302.  For more information, contact Tom Cohn at .

Monday, April 16, 2018 · 7:00pm to 9:00pm · Auditorium

Register using code HMA302
“Masks,” by George Santayana (1863-1952). Santayana was born in Spain, but raised in the United States. He was educated at Harvard where he later taught philosophy. He left teaching to live in Europe and devoted himself full time to writing. “Masks,” an essay that appears in his book Soliloquies in England and Other Soliloquies, is an exploration of the various disguises, or masks, that we all wear. “Among tragic masks may be counted all systems of philosophy and religion,” Santayana writes.

Monday, May 21, 2018 · 7:00pm to 9:00pm · Auditorium

Register using code HMA302
“Philosophy and Knowledge,” by Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) . This selection brings together several chapters from Russell’s 1912 book The Problems of Philosophy. It is an excellent summation of analytical philosophy, a school of thought for which Russell was a leading spokesperson. Through his long career, he wrote prolifically and did not shy away from controversy, whether over his advocacy of nonviolence or of sexual freedom.

Monday, June 25, 2018 · 7:00pm to 9:00pm · Auditorium

Register using code HMA302
“The Man Who Loved Islands,” by D.H. Lawrence (1885–1930) . Cathcart loves islands and moves from one to another. On his first island, where he is writing a book on flowers in Greek and Roman literature, he is cheated by his workers and must move. On the second island, he takes a lover, Flora, and feels compelled to flee from such a commitment. Finally, on his third island, he achieves a degree of personal contentment, yet must come to grips with raging natural elements. This story by Lawrence is an example of his later, more mystical style.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018 · 2:00 - 4:00 pm · Main Meeting Room

Register using code HMA165
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye.  Suffering at the hands of cruel family members and brutal school administrators, sensitive orphan Jane Steele murderously retaliates against her abusers by taking a job as a governess, in a serial killer re-imagining of “Jane Eyre.”  Registration required. Open to all.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 · 2:00 - 4:00 pm · Main Meeting Room

Register using code HMA165
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris.  Jack & Grace are never apart. When they are together, they are in their element. Grace’s friends are eager to have her for lunch but Grace knows she will never go. Why doesn’t she answer the phone? Why is she so slim? Why are there bars on the bedroom window? Perfect marriage or perfect lie?   Registration required. Open to all.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 · 2:00 - 4:00 pm · Main Meeting Room

Register using code HMA165
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee.  In the days of the Raj, a newly arrived Scotland Yard detective is confronted with the murder of a British official—in his mouth a note warning the British to leave India, or else... Calcutta, 1919. Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. He is immediately overwhelmed by the heady vibrancy of the tropical city, but with barely a moment to acclimatize or to deal with the ghosts that still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that threatens to destabilize a city already teetering on the brink of political insurgency. The body of a senior official has been found in a filthy sewer, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India, or else. Under tremendous pressure to solve the case before it erupts into increased violence on the streets, Wyndham and his two new colleagues—arrogant Inspector Digby and Sergeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID—embark on an investigation that will take them from the opulent mansions of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city. Masterfully evincing the sights, sounds, and smells of colonial Calcutta, A Rising Man is the start of an enticing new historical crime series.  Registration required. Open to all.

Monday, April 30, 2018· 6:00 pm · Station Small Meeting Room

Register using code HSA274
Neuromancer by William Gibson.  A 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It is one of the best-known works in the cyberpunk genre and the first novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award.[1] It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy. The novel tells the story of a washed-up computer hacker hired by a mysterious employer to pull off the ultimate hack.  Registration required.  HPL cardholders only.

Monday, May 21, 2018 · 6:00 pm · Station Small Meeting Room

Register using code HSA274
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. In the 25th century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself - a person's consciousness can be easily downloaded into a new body, making death nearly obsolete. Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly brutal. Resleeved into a new body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco), Kovacs is thrown into a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that buys and sells human existence. As a warrior-for-hire, he is called to help a far-flung planet's government put down a bloody revolution. But when a rogue pilot and a sleazy corporate fat cat offer him a lucrative role in a treacherous treasure hunt, he's only too happy to go AWOL with a band of resurrected soldiers of fortune. All that stands between them and the ancient alien spacecraft they mean to salvage are a massacred city bathed in deadly radiation, unleashed nanotechnology with a million ways to kill, and whatever surprises the highly advanced Martian race may have in store.  Registration required.  HPL cardholders only.

Monday, June 25, 2018 · 6:00 pm · Station Small Meeting Room

Register using code HSA274
The Alienist by Caleb Carr. The Alienist is the first foray into fiction by military and diplomatic historian Caleb Carr. This novel is set in 1896 at the advent of the psychological investigator. Dr. Kreizler is a psychologist who is often shunned by colleagues and polite society due to his unique views regarding the mentally ill. However, it is Kreizler Theodore Roosevelt, the police commissioner, turns to when a serial killer begins targeting New York's poor, immigrant children. With the help of his good friend, reporter John Schuyler Moore, a police secretary, and a pair of police detectives, Kreizler will use a psychological profile to track and catch the killer. The Alienist is a psychological thriller with a mix of true history that leaves the reader not only entertained, but fascinated by the rich detail drawn from reality.    Registration required.  HPL cardholders only.