Lives of Others: A Memoir Meet-up

Lives of Others: A Memoir Meet-up kicks off at the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library on Wednesday, October 21, at 3 PM. It's the start of a new memoir book club for adults run by the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the whole point is to dive into the life stories of resilient and inspiring people. The sessions center on group discussion, and there's space to share your own experiences along the way, so it's as much about the people in the room as the book on the table.

One thing that makes this a low-pressure way to get into a book club: reading the book beforehand is encouraged, but not required. You can drop in every month or just whenever you're available. After each session, the group decides together what to read the following month, so you'll have a say in where the club goes next. If you want to get ahead, the library keeps a limited number of copies of the month's title available to check out at the adult reference desk.

The venue itself has a bit of a story. The Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library opened in 1895 as the Germantown Branch in Vernon Hall. It became the Northwest Regional Library in 1978 as the third regional in the Free Library system, and was renamed in 2002 for Joseph E. Coleman, Philadelphia's first African-American City Council President, who served on Council for 20 years and held the presidency from 1980 to 1992. And if you've never been, keep an eye out for Regional Ricky, a life-size dragon sculpture by Stewart Paul that still lives in the building.

It's free to attend. The meet-up is at 68 West Chelten Avenue, at the corner of Greene Street and Chelten Avenue in Philadelphia, starting at 3 PM on Wednesday, October 21.