Anchorage Public Library has partnered with Science Friday to bring the Sci Fri Book Club to the science and reading enthusiasts in our community. The SciFri Book Club is a program created by Science Friday to bring people together around all things science reading – anything from sci-fi short stories to nonfiction science books to science articles from various publications to science-y poetry!
There’s lots of ways to participate: Read the book, join our community space, attend an event, or send a message on the SciFri VoxPop app.
This August, the SciFri Book Club will read Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle.
This is not only a narrative about space; it’s about the Moon’s subtle impact on everything from ancient tides to our current aspirations of returning to its surface. This story of Earth’s oldest companion reveals the Moon’s enduring influence. It’s helped shape our climate, affected animal migrations and plant movements, and inspired some of our earliest scientific discoveries… and science fiction. Boyle combines science, history, and culture to reveal how the Moon has shaped our lives on our planet.
Our Moon brings together a range of topics, including planetary science, evolution, human history, and more—and we’ll touch on these ideas throughout this Book Club season.
Get the Ebook or audiobook from the Alaska Digital Library. You can also get a copy from your local bookstore.
This Book Club season kicks off Friday, August 1, and you can read along with us! We’ll be (loosely) following this schedule, but all our readers are welcome to join us at their own pace:
- August 1-3: Introduction + Author Interview
- August 4-10: Chapters 1-3
- August 11-17: Chapters 4-8
- August 18-24: Chapters 9-12
- August 25-31: Final thoughts + Wrap-up
Plus, we’ll be hosting events throughout the month! Keep an eye out on our website or join our Book Club newsletter to be the first to know.
There are so many ways to dive in and participate! You can purchase a copy of the book (and support the author and SciFri), read an excerpt of the book, join the discussion in our online Book Club community, sign up for our email newsletter, or RSVP for our upcoming Book Club events. Check out all the details below.
Join the SciFri Book Club community forum here.
Book Club Meeting
Want to meet other SciFri Book Club members, talk about the book selection, and find more resources for deeper learning—all without leaving your home? Our community meeting is the place for you!
Our Moon
Thursday, August 28
4 PM | Zoom
This discussion meeting will focus on themes and topics featured in Our Moon. You’re welcome to join us no matter your reading progress—come chat with other science-interested folks about planetary science, evolution, human history, and more.
Upcoming Selections
- September: Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect what is Human in a World of Machines by Joy Buolamwini. Ebook and audiobook available from the Alaska Digital Library.
- October: Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations by Sam Kean.
- November: Why We Die: the New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan.
- December: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion by Sean Carroll.
