Bagels and Biographies Book Club

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
West Chicago Public Library District
Conference Room

Event Details

The Bagels and Biographies Book Club will be showcasing the best in biography, memoir, true crime, and non-fiction every month. Each last Monday morning of the month, we'll get together for a rollicking good time, discussing books and eating bagels for brunch. Contact the Adult Services Department for more information. Pick up your copy of the book at the main desk on the first floor. 

September's book will be The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel. In 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even in winter, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store food and water, to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothes, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed, but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of the why and how of his secluded life-- as well as the challenges he has faced returning to the world. A riveting story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.

Event Type(s): Adult