Take a Chance Book Club: Anxious People
Expand your Reading Horizons!
Are you interested in joining a book club but not sure what you might like to read? We are a book club that reads and discusses a different genre each month. Take a chance with us! New members are always welcome.
Join us the second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Westover Library.
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED. By registering, you will receive event updates.
This month's genre is Humorous/Psychological Fiction and the book club selection is "Anxious People" by Fredrik Backman (special selection by book club members).
2025 Reading List
- Jan. 13: "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwab (Fantasy)
- Feb. 10: "All the Sinners Bleed" by S.A. Cosby (Thriller/Noir Fiction)
- Mar. 10: "Fourteen Days" by The Authors Guild (Collaborative Novel)
- Apr. 14: "North Woods: A Novel" by Daniel Mason (Historical Fiction)
- May 12: "House of Sticks" by Ly Tran (Memoir)
- June 9: "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" by Casey McQuiston (Young Adult)
- July 14: "The Mighty Red" by Louise Erdrich (Coming-of-Age Novel)
- Aug. 11: "Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum" by Antonia Hylton (Nonfiction/Social Welfare
- Sept. 15: "Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers" by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Cozy Mystery)
- Oct. 13: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Magical Realism/Romance)
- Nov. 10: "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir (Science Fiction)
- Dec. 8: Reader's Choice! And the winner is "Anxious People" by Fredrik Backman (Psychological Fiction/Humor)
A limited number of reserved print copies of the selected book will be available at Westover Library circulation desk approximately one month before the book club meeting. Books are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons are also encouraged to place holds on available print or digital copies.
For more information, please call the Westover Branch Library at 703-228-5260.
- Date:
- Monday, December 8, 2025
- Time:
- 6:30pm - 7:30pm
- Location:
- Longfellow Room
- Library:
- Westover Library
- Audience:
- Events for Adults Good for Adults Age 55+
- Categories:
- Book Discussion
- Calendar:
- Arlington Public Library
About the book: Taken hostage by a failed bank robber while attending an open house, eight anxiety-prone strangers--including a redemption-seeking bank director, two couples who would fix their marriages, and a plucky octogenarian--discover their unexpected common traits. Viewing an apartment normally doesn't turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that: a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the eight strangers begin opening up to one another. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.