Spring has sprung. I can feel summer on its way and my Chautauqua state of mind warming up.
I feel the anticipation building when I look at our list of Brown Bag Book Talks starting week 1 with MJ Johnston returning to her favorite topic (and one on all our minds--AI) with The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Dr. Fei-Fei Li. Then week 3, Kate Mayberry from the BTG will teach us How to Read a Tree by Tristan Gooley, a skill I now realize I’ve always wanted.
In the Eventide schedule, I’m looking forward to week 7 when Chautauqua VP Amit Taneja will let us travel along on the trip he led to India and week 5 when Chris Flanders will share the history of the Bemus Point-Stowe Ferry which is still operating today. Go for a ride this year if you never have.
Among the 2026 CLSC books, I enjoyed Bog Queen: A Novel by Anna North, featuring the mystery of two bodies in a bog and a female archeologist who solves the mystery of their identities and Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls, a deeply moving and ultimately hopeful account of three generations of Chinese American women dealing with trauma and grief. This book won the Pulitzer Prize and appeared on all the lists of best books of the year.
And, of course, the amazing list of presenters and artists who are appearing this year.
It’s all coming—can’t you feel it? I’m ready.
Pat McDonald
AACLSC President
