Book Pairings: Classic & Contemporary - Adult Book Discussion

Book Pairings is back at the College Avenue Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library on Monday, November 9, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM. It's an adult book discussion that meets on the first Monday of every month, and for the second half of 2026, the whole cycle is built around pairing a classic novel with a contemporary one that explores similar themes. If you've been following along since the summer, you know the drill: two books, one conversation, and a good chunk of an afternoon spent talking through them.

For the November session, the pairing is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, which came out in 1999. It's a wide gap in years—nearly a century and a half—but both books center on a young woman dealing with a secret and the weight of a community's judgment. Hawthorne's classic is a staple of American literature, and Anderson's novel has become a modern touchstone for talking about trauma and silence. Seeing them side by side lets you pull the same threads across two very different eras.

If you're just joining in, you don't have to have read every pairing from the first half of the year to jump in here. Each session stands on its own, so you can start with this one and go from there. The discussion is open to adults, and since it's a library program, it's free to attend.

The College Avenue Branch is at 4180 North College Avenue, 46205. The meeting runs from 1:30 to 3:00 PM on Monday, November 9. If you have questions before you head over, you can call 317-275-4320.