Among other storytelling mediums, books offer an extraordinary immersive experience, comparable to the joy of traveling to a new destination or engaging with a friend. Despite the solitude of reading, the act of getting lost in a good book is an enduring force of imagination that brings communities together to discuss, debate, and delight in its wonder.
In the Distance by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Díaz isn’t just a good book, it’s a great book — and even better than that, it is the WestportREADS 2025 book selection.
The Westport Library is thrilled to announce this year’s selection and even more excited to welcome Diaz to the Trefz Forum on Thursday, February 13, for a conversation about his first novel, the story of a poor Swedish immigrant’s transformation into a legendary outlaw in the American West.
Limited copies of the book are available for borrowing now, with the full allotment of volumes arriving Friday, December 13. In the Distance is also available as a digital copy (e-book).
Part book club, part reading challenge — and more than anything, a season of literary revelry brought to life by the Library’s dynamic happenings — WestportREADS is a special community experience that is entirely its own. Created in 2002, this landmark event serves as an occasion to bond over a great book and is designed to deepen our community’s engagement in literature throughout Westport and across Fairfield County.
Each winter brings a new WestportREADS book selection, with unique events and programs that connect readers to the story — and each other — in thematically captivating ways. Throughout January and February, get ready to head out west and experience an unconventional hero’s journey in the age of the Gold Rush with book discussions, crafts for all ages, and other immersive events centered around In the Distance.
A lecture led by U.S. historian Kris Klein Hernández kicks off the WestportREADS festivities on Thursday, January 16, followed by a film series screening First Cow (2019), The Gold Rush (1925), and Meek’s Cutoff (2010) on Fridays, January 17 and 24, and February 7, respectively.
Discussion groups are recurring throughout January and February, with a Book Pub at Walrus Alley on February 4 offering a chance to meet new people, form connections, and unite in our shared love of reading. Take this opportunity to not only read a great book, but to engage with your community as well.
In the Distance was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award and the winner of the Saroyan International Prize, the Cabell Award, the Prix Page America, and the New American Voices Award, among other distinctions. It was also a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of the Year and one of Lit Hub’s 20 Best Novels of the Decade.
Much like his own journey growing up between Argentina and Sweden, and later settling down in New York, Díaz intended to subvert traditional stereotypes and story structures within the western genre.
Håkan Söderström, In the Distance’s protagonist, travels east in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing west. Driven back again and again, he meets naturalists, criminals, religious fanatics, swindlers, Indians, and lawmen, and his exploits turn him into a legend. In the Distance defies the conventions of historical fiction and genre, offering a probing look at the stereotypes that populate our past and a portrait of radical foreignness.
Diaz told The Paris Review, "The experience of foreignness has determined my entire life. I wanted to recreate that feeling. In doing so, I tried to transcend the obvious fact that the protagonist is a foreigner. I tried to make genre and even language itself feel foreign. But at the same time, this is a very American story, which makes us remember that foreignness is part of the American experience to begin with ... I couldn’t think of a better way to say what I think about this country — which I love despite its enormous flaws — than through this book."
Past WestportREADS selections include The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, Towards a More Perfect Union: Confronting Racism by Layla Saad, and Exit West by Moshin Hamid, among others.
For more past WestportREADS selections, and to learn more about the annual event, visit the WestportREADS homepage on The Westport Library website.
WestportREADS is supported through a generous bequest by the estate of Jerry A. Tishman.
Books may be our mainstay at The Westport Library, but we also carry a wide array of media offerings. From DVDs and Blu-rays, to board games, electronics, and other useful equipment, we’re committed to expanding our diverse media catalog — and now we even offer vinyl records and video games!
The vinyl collection is on display in the Hub near the Reference desk. Vinyl records can be taken out for 10 days, with an allowance of three records to be taken out at a time.
Currently, we carry classics like Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, as well as newer releases like Hozier’s Unreal Unearth and Beyonce’s Renaissance. With 100 records across nine genres — rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, jazz, folk, blues, country, and even local artists, including Verso Records: Volume One, a limited press compilation of emerging Connecticut and tri-state area artists recorded in the Library’s own Verso Studios — our collection offers something for everyone.
Whether you’re someone who appreciates classic media, a curious hobbyist, or you’re interested in hearing your recent favorites in a new (old) way, we’ve got you covered. Let us know which albums you’d like to see in our collection next!
For more information on vinyl records, check out our Collecting Vinyl Resource Guide.
For the audiophiles and media preservationists among our ranks, you can pair your favorite album with one of the Crosley Cruiser Turntables available in our Library of Things, and you’ve got everything you need for a listening party.
The Library of Things has much to offer in the media realm, including two Nintendo Switch consoles — and now we have Switch games available for borrowing as well, making The Westport Library your one-stop shop for gaming.
Our collection of games is on display by the Patron Services desk. Games can be taken out for one week; holds and renewals are not available at this time.
If interest grows, so will our collection. We currently have 50 games, including fan favorites like Mario Party, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and many more.
They're going fast — grab your must-plays before they're gone!
The Westport Library invites you to an illuminating initiative: Join us in utilizing one of our state-of-the-art 3D printers to create solar-powered lanterns for Open Doors, a homeless shelter in Norwalk.
Learn valuable skills and build community while providing a meaningful and practical lighting solution for unhoused individuals, improving their safety and well-being during nighttime hours.
This maker activity is free to attend and will take place on Sunday, November 10, from 1 to 2 pm in the Library’s Board Room (Room 210). Register to attend here. No experience is necessary to participate; 3D printing training sessions will be held at the Library over the next couple of weeks.
For children under 12, a caregiver must remain in the library during the program.
Created and designed by Staples High School students Rohan Sareen, a sophomore, and Shreyas Gorre, a senior, using the Library’s Ultimaker S5 and brand-new Bambu P1S 3D printer, these lanterns incorporate lights, wires, batteries, and solar panels for sustainable illumination.
“We came up with the idea when we wanted to use our engineering skills to help out our local community,” Sareen and Gorre said. “We immediately started to think about how we could 3D print essentials for people in need. After more research, we realized that the best way to help would be to give them something that they could use for a long time. This led us to build a 3D-printed, solar-powered lantern.”
In addition to learning more about 3D printing technology, this workshop will foster tactile and technical skills and provide an opportunity to collaborate with coaches and other volunteers in the Library’s MakerSpace during the assembly process, exploring circuitry, soldering, and other pivotal engineering skills — all while making a tangible difference in the community.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension — a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into... Westport, Connecticut.
Award-winning author and resident Twilight Zone expert Arlen Schumer presents Westport in The Twilight Zone: A Symposium, a four-day event series that will explore Westport’s unique place in the unsettling, cerebral, and often macabre world of The Twilight Zone — and celebrate 100 years of Twilight Zone creator and iconic 20th century broadcast voice Rod Serling.
Starting Thursday, September 26, and running through Sunday, September 29, The Westport Library will host screenings of landmark episodes and films inspired by Serling’s signature series, punctuated by insightful discussions of all aspects of his life and work — including facts you never knew about Westport’s critical role in The Twilight Zone.
Thursday and Friday night’s presentations are 6 to 9 pm, Saturday is 5 to 9 pm, and Sunday is 1 to 5 pm. Tickets for this event are free. Register to attend here. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in their best black and white Twilight Zone outfits — and enjoy black and white cookies throughout the symposium.
Schumer will spearhead the proceedings, along with fellow authors and Serling scholars Nick Parisi (Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination and America’s Twilight Zone: How Rod Serling Foreshadowed the Age of Trump) and Mark Dawidziak (Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone.)
Schumer’s intention for Westport in The Twilight Zone is to enlighten local attendees with thematic elements drawn from Serling’s own life, particularly regarding his time in Westport.
“Serling lived in Westport for three years during the mid-50s, when he won three Emmy Awards three years in a row,” Schumer said. “That creative clout enabled him to go out to Hollywood to create The Twilight Zone — and some of its greatest episodes might have been influenced by his time in Westport!”
Those episodes include ones like, “A Stop at Willoughby” and “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” which Schumer delved into in his new book, The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone. In it, Schumer described Westport’s influence in Serling’s alternate dimension as “traces of the town's suburban, commuter and pastoral elements, as well as its dark underbelly.”
Advanced hardcover copies are available for purchase through online registration or during the event prior to the book’s official date of publication on October 2, which marks the 65th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone’s debut.
Thursday, September 26, will kick off the symposium with “A Stop at Willoughby,” followed by the 1968 Burt Lancaster film, The Swimmer, based on John Cheever's 1964 New Yorker short story of the same name. The Swimmer was partially filmed in Westport.
Friday delivers “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” followed by “The Shelter,” its sister episode. The evening ends with a rare one-hour episode that was truly ahead of its time: “He’s Alive,” starring Dennis Hopper.
Saturday’s double feature is the Oscar-winning episode (Best Short Film) “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and the 1990 cult classic film Jacob’s Ladder, inspired by that same episode.
Sunday closes out the symposium in style with a pop-up art show of Staples High School students’ artworks, inspired by one of the most memorable Twilight Zone episodes, “Eye of the Beholder.” A screening of that same episode will precede another thematically similar one: “Number 12 Looks Just Like You,” complete with original commercials from its airdate in 1964. The 1975 film The Stepford Wives, also partially filmed in Westport, will tie it all together.
Westport? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity… and is a part of The Twilight Zone.
Stories come in many different forms, giving life to new ideas and fostering communities of visionaries. In conjunction with StoryFest 2024, The Westport Library will be showcasing two art mediums that have created such narratives.
The history, present, and future of cartooning and an album cover art retrospective headline the three new exhibits running from September 7 to December 10 in the Library’s Sheffer, South, and Jesup Galleries.
Celebrate the colorful history of cartooning in Fairfield County with Cartoon County: The Golden Age of Cartooning in Connecticut in the Sheffer Gallery and explore the medium’s current condition and its vision for the future with The State of Cartooning in the South Gallery. Curated by cartoonist and comics historian Brian Walker with help from the Library’s Exhibit Curator Carole Erger-Fass, these exhibits bring together working cartoonists and cartoon historians for an in-depth exploration of the genre.
An opening reception and accompanying keynote presentation by Walker will be held at the Library Tuesday, September 10, from 6 to 8 pm.
Cartoon County: The Golden Age of Cartooning in Connecticut will display works from The Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC), featuring more than 40 original cartoons by some of the area’s greats, including Dik Browne, Mel Casson, Stan Drake, John Cullen Murphy, Leonard Starr, Jack Tippit, and Mort Walker — whose graphics on the gallery’s walls derive from Walker’s 1980 book The Lexicon of Comicana, which will be reissued by New York Review Books in 2025.
Cullen Murphy, author and son of the cartoonist behind Prince Valiant and Big Ben Bolt, refers to the history of cartooning in Connecticut with fondness.
“For a period of about 50 years, right in the middle of the American Century, many of the nation’s top comic strip cartoonists, gag cartoonists, and magazine illustrators lived within a stone’s throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut,” he wrote in Cartoon County, “a bit of bohemia amid those men in their gray flannel suits.”
The State of Cartooning will display works by active members of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, including Greg, Brian, and Neal Walker, who carry the legacy of their father, Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey. Other featured artists include Ray Billingsley, Bob Englehart, Bill Janocha, Sean Kelly, Maria Scrivan, and more.
As it did in the spring, which featured an exhibit of cover art from selected jazz albums, the Jesup Gallery exhibit will focus on country music this fall. Drawn once more from the collection of American blues keyboardist and record producer Mark Naftalin and his wife, Ellen Naftalin, Art of the Album: Country will showcase the art of country music, with album covers dating from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Find adventure in your own backyard as The Westport Library celebrates the spirit of exploration with A Night at The Explorers Club!
Join Westport/Weston’s own Richard Wiese, president emeritus of The Explorers Club and host of the multi-Emmy-winning TV show Born to Explore, on Thursday, August 15, as he hosts an unforgettable evening alongside his colleagues and fellow explorers.
The performance runs 7 to 9 pm in the Library’s Trefz Forum. Tickets for this event are free. Register to attend here.
Accompanying Wiese on stage will be an extraordinary lineup of explorers, including Lhakpa Sherpa, who holds the record for the most Mt. Everest summits by a woman; Dr. Nina Lanza, principal investigator on the Mars Rover's ChemCam; and astronaut Richard Garriott, current president of The Explorers Club and a pioneer in private space exploration.
Also appearing will be a who’s who of notable world-class explorers: co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Morad Tahbaz; documentary filmmaker Brendan Hall; entrepreneur and founder of cultural preservation company Roots Studio, Rebecca Hui; and globally featured artist and writer James Prosek.
Since its inception, The Explorers Club has been dedicated to the mission of exploring land, sea, air, and space. Several of the club’s alumni have pioneered the “famous firsts” of 20th century exploration, including Matthew Henson and Robert Peary, the club's third president, who "discovered" the North Pole in 1909, followed by the discovery of the South Pole by member Roald Amundsen in 1911. Club members Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to summit Everest in 1953, and the lowest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench, was attained by Explorers Club Honorary President Don Walsh and Club Fellow Jacques Piccard in 1960. In addition, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins reached the moon in 1969 carrying The Explorers Club flag.
Since he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro at age 11, Wiese has circled the globe, capturing powerful images and living one adventure after another — from traveling with Bedouins in Africa to cross-country skiing to the North Pole. He also achieved the first ascent of an unclimbed mountain in Alaska and discovered 29 new life forms on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Growing up on Long Island’s north shore, Wiese recalls spending most of his time outside, fishing and exploring the woods. But even after journeying to all seven continents, tagging jaguars in the Yucatan jungles, leading expeditions to Australia’s Northern Territory, and participating in the largest medical expedition ever conducted on Mt. Everest, he still finds adventure anywhere — including the Westport and Weston area, where he now lives with his family.
Westport has served as Wiese’s home base since the inception of Born to Explore. Though its eight seasons traverse the globe, each episode was produced on Westport’s own Main Street. And Wiese has openly admired Connecticut’s accessibility to the Appalachian Trail, seeing a bald eagle swooping overhead while fishing with his sons on the Saugatuck River, and finding opportunities for adventure and exploration in the Nutmeg State.
"The world of exploration is a tapestry of diverse perspectives,” said Wiese, “each thread contributing to a richer understanding of our planet."
Wiese’s philosophy is as much about discovery of the natural world as it is about encouraging a positive understanding of the many distinctive cultures on earth. Throughout his career, Wiese has remained dedicated to uplifting voices from local communities around the world. He believes the most memorable aspect of any journey is not about reaching “the summit,” but the people you share your experiences with along the way.
“The moment you come to the Declaration of Independence, that every man has a right to life and liberty, an inalienable right, this case is decided. I ask nothing more on behalf of these unfortunate men, than this Declaration.” — John Quincy Adams, 1841 Amistad Case
On Sunday, August 11, The Westport Library is partnering with Southern Connecticut’s Rotary District 7980 and the Connecticut Lyric Opera to present Opus for Peace, an event series being launched with an abridged and narrated performance of Anthony Davis's powerful opera Amistad.
The performance runs 2-4 pm in the Library’s Trefz Forum. Tickets for this event are free. Register to attend here.
Sponsored by local Rotary clubs, including Mystic, Westport, Westport Sunrise, and District 7980, the Opus for Peace initiative aims to create an environment where dialogue, empathy, and artistic expression converge to uphold efforts toward peace and fostering a culture of unity and reconciliation that extends far beyond the Rotary community.
“Amistad” is the Spanish word for “friendship.” Dennis Wong, Rotarian peacebuilder of the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club, cited this as the inspiration for the Opus for Peace production of Amistad. One question fuels every decision behind the Rotary’s principles: “Will it build goodwill and better friendships?”
“We believe live performances are entertaining and fun ways to bring people together,” Wong said of the collaboration behind the production. “This partnership between The Westport Library and Rotarians achieves our shared purpose of serving our community.”
As an active member of the Rotary for almost 20 years, Wong hopes that this event, in conjunction with the rest of the Opus for Peace series, will build connections and inspire conviviality in everyone involved.
Based on the saga of the 1839 slave revolt aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad, Davis’s opera first took the stage at Chicago’s Lyric Opera in 1997. It incorporates elements of African mythology and musical genres including jazz, blues, and skat as a linguistic storytelling device to recount a pivotal fight for life and liberty. Amistad’s themes of social and racial justice still resonate deeply today, preserving a vital narrative that connects history with modernity — particularly in Connecticut, where much of the Amistad court case took place.
This abridged Amistad production is a collaboration with Harlem Opera Theater and Discovering Amistad. The production is part of a larger series of events spanning southern Connecticut throughout the year. It will culminate in a full production of Amistad to be performed across the state in May 2025.
Frank Zappa once said, “If you want an education, go to the library.” On Thursday, August 1, his proteges are taking his advice to heart, with Zappa tribute act Banned From Utopia and the Paul Green Rock Academy bringing the authentic Zappa experience to the Trefz Forum at The Westport Library.
Doors open at 6 pm and the show runs until 9 pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
Featuring Robert Martin, Ray White, and Scott Thunes, all former members of Zappa's touring band, Banned From Utopia has kept Zappa’s legacy alive since 1994, honoring his most intricate compositions and preserving the lively chaos of the signature Zappa show. After meeting the Paul Green Rock Academy and bonding over their mutual enthusiasm for the eccentric composer at the Zappanale festival in East Germany, the two bands decided to join forces and celebrate every era of Zappa’s music on their Summer 2024 We Love Zappa Tour.
Martin (vocals, keys, and brass), White (vocals and guitar), and Thunes (vocals and bass) played key roles in Zappa’s touring band from 1976 through 1988. After the loss of one of the most eclectic and influential figures in rock history, they channeled their knowledge, expertise, and love of Zappa’s genius into Banned From Utopia. With 25 years of touring under their belt, their ensemble now also includes colleagues Robbie “Seahag” Mangano (vocals and guitar), Jamie Kime (guitar), and Joel Taylor (drums) of fellow Zappa projects including Project/Object, Zappa Plays Zappa, and The Grandmothers of Invention.
The Paul Green Rock Academy (PGRA) is the latest music school from School of Rock founder Paul Green. Admission to the academy is audition-based and granted only to serious and ambitious young musicians looking to hone their skills under the guidance of the academy’s namesake. With an impressive portfolio of countless festivals, tours, and film productions, Green’s musical mastery is one to be rivaled. His students are no different — they’ve spent the last three years touring as the backing band for both Jon Anderson of YES and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers.
Green’s students have similarly described their teacher, affectionately, as “eccentric,” making his musical philosophy and teaching methods a perfect stylistic match for Banned From Utopia. Green incorporates his favorite artists from his youth into his curriculum, from REO Speedwagon to Smashing Pumpkins and everything in between — especially Zappa, whose works he refers to as “one-stop shopping for music education.”
Aside from the presence of modal theory, time signatures, and the innovative genre crossovers woven throughout Zappa’s discography, Green’s eyes were opened to the fun and conviviality of Zappa audiences when School of Rock served as the supporting act for Project/Object at the Trocadero in Philadelphia in 2002.
Over the years, that love and enthusiasm for Zappa’s music has only amplified among his fans. And now it’s coming to The Westport Library.
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Ed. note: Story published July 22 and updated July 24.
