Book Group

Want a read on the progress women are making in society, on where they once stood or stand now in their centuries-long struggle for equal access and opportunity? “All you have to do,” Mallory O’Meara says, “is look into the bottom of a glass.” The Library’s latest FYI Book Club selection is Mallory O’Meara’s G...

Stanley Banks' Blue Beat Syncopation: Selected Poems 1977-2002 is a frank meditation on the Black experience in Kansas City at that time – with remarkable resonance today, addressing street violence, untimely death and “never-to-be dreams” while also celebrating resilience and finding ro...

Established as a general holiday in 2021, Juneteenth marks the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans on June 19, 1865, following the end of the Civil War. Celebrate this milestone in America's history by exploring book recommendations, films, and other resources that highlight the history of Black...

Pride Month in June commemorates the Stonewall riots in New York's Greenwich Village, which ignited the gay rights movement in the United States in 1969. The Library offers a collection of book recommendations, events, films, and other resources that celebrate LGBTQIA+ voices and experiences. &n...

The latest pick of the Library's FYI Book Group, in partnership with the Kansas City Star, is Hanif Abdurraqib's new book A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, a penetrating meditation on Black culture and creativity and its...

Passionate about pentameter? Really into rhyme and rhythm? Are you a stanza stan?  The Library can help you get well-versed during National Poetry Month with a collection of reading recommendations, special online events, book discussions, and more!