Back to School at MCL
August 19, 2026
We’re Civic Connect Champions!
September 12, 2026
Your Fall Starts Here
Fall in Vermont isn’t just a season; it’s a feeling. The air gets sharper, the kitchen gets warmer, and the days start making a convincing case for staying in with a good book. At Manchester Community Library, we’re here to embrace all of it.
We asked our staff and our Manchester Historical Society neighbors one simple question: What’s on your fall bucket list? Our picks, recommendations, and favorite parts of fall are woven throughout this guide. We hope they inspire your own list and that you can find a piece from the MCL collection to make your experiences more rewarding this season.
When the weather gets colder, nothing is quite as comforting as grabbing a good book, a blanket, and maybe a cup of hot apple cider to wind down. Similarly, our list of recommendations this fall feels like a warm blanket.
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is Advancement and Communications Director Colleen’s comfort reread every fall.
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is best read as the leaves start to change, according to Youth Services Librarian Carson.
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge are Collection Development Librarian Carrie’s recommendations for getting lost in a good story.
- Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty is a thrilling new title that Facilities Manager Jennifer is looking forward to. (If you haven’t read it yet, Jennifer recommends starting with the first book, Big Little Lies)
- Joanne Fluke’s cozy mystery series is a great go-to for cold-weather comfort in Youth Services Assistant Karen’s house.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is always at the top of Assistant Director Paige’s cozy reread list.
- Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy reminds Manchester Historical Society’s Bethany of the quiet comfort of friendship in these colder months.
- R.F. Kuang’s new book, Taipei Story, is going to be Patron Experience Coordinator Emet’s perfect follow-up to the Between Two Worlds booklist. (Releases TODAY! Get excited for this one by reading her last book, Katabasis, while you wait to check out the new title)
Bethany is planning to take a peaceful walk in the woods. Carrie wants a long bike ride through Washington County, and Carson wants to go camping just one more time before the cold truly sets in. Our fall season is short and spectacular, and your Library card can help you make the most of it.
Find field guides, birding books, or hiking and trail resources:
Vermont nature writing:
Park Passes:
Start Here: AMC’s Best Day Hikes in Vermont by Jennifer Lamphere Roberts
Start Here: Reading the Mountains of Home by John Elder
You can find field guides, birding books, hiking and trail resources, and plenty of Vermont nature writing to take along on your fall adventures. As Colleen might tell you, birding is at its peak as migratory species pass through, so if you’re looking to get into the hobby, fall is the perfect time to do it. Vermont’s many State Parks are great places to fill your cup with outdoor joy, and your MCL card can get you there with our Vermont State Parks pass. While a handful of State Parks closed over this past Labor Day weekend, 35 parks will be open for another few weeks, so get to them while you still can!
Whether it’s apple picking (Karen & Emet), fall baking (Bethany), or finding the perfect apple cider donut (Advancement & Data Analysis Coordinator Daniel), apples seem to be on everyone’s mind this time of year. If your version of fall has a flavor, we can help you find the recipe. Our cookbook collection is deep, and our Read It and Eat Cookbook Club is featuring Every Season is Soup Season by Shelly Westerhausen Worcal in October, which feels just right for the season.
Check out next month’s “Read It and Eat” cookbook!
-Or- get a little more local with your soup with The New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker!
Open to new members! Email Karen at khuerta@mclvt.org to get more information about next month’s meeting, stop by the Help Desk, or simply show up to the meeting! All are welcome.
PLUS! Mark your calendar: MCL is hosting a wine tasting fundraiser with Nature’s Market on Friday, November 7. Think of it as a head start on finding the perfect bottle for your Thanksgiving table. We’d love to see you there.
Communications Coordinator Emily is already planning her pumpkin carving, and several of us have knitting projects we’ve been meaning to start since last fall. The library has pattern collections, craft guides, and art skill books to help you actually follow through with your creative projects this year.
“Sewing with Texture” streaming on Kanopy
Knit Wits – Fiber Crafting in Good Company | Mondays, 3 – 4:30 pm in the MCL Hunter Community Room
This fall, MCL and the Manchester Historical Society (MHS) are teaming up to explore the stories woven into our community’s past, and we mean that literally.
Threads of History is a six-part series tracing a single thread through Manchester’s history: from raw textiles to finished paper to the printed word. Supported in part by Vermont Humanities, programs begin on October 3rd and run through November 14. You’ll shred textiles while the Taconic String Quartet plays chamber music, learn about a Civil War-era quilt, discover the importance of Manchester’s paper mills, meet a master tailor who counted Duke Ellington among his friends, and trace 165 years of The Manchester Journal. Each event builds on the last, and you’re part of the story from the very first afternoon.
The series is inspired by this year’s Vermont Reads 2026 selection, Charity and Sylvia by Tillie Walden. The graphic novel tells the true story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, two seamstresses who lived as life partners for 44 years in the early 19th-century town of Weybridge, Vermont. Walden built the book from archival materials at the Henry Sheldon Museum in Middlebury, teaching herself to read Sylvia’s handwritten cursive journals along the way. The graphic novel and Threads of History share the same impulse: uncovering the lives and labor that shaped Vermont communities long before anyone thought to call it history. If you’re reading Charity and Sylvia this fall (we might have a few copies left to distribute at the Help Desk), Threads of History is the perfect companion experience.
MCL and MHS are also extending the Vermont Reads conversation through True Crime, Local Lore & Comic Art, a monthly zine workshop beginning Saturday, September 26 (4th Saturdays through June). If you enjoyed the Zines & Comics Bootcamp with Gretchen Hammell earlier this month, this is your next step: same creative energy, but rooted in Manchester’s own archives. If Tillie Walden can turn handwritten journals and faded silhouettes into a graphic biography, imagine what you can do with a newspaper clipping about a wrongful murder conviction.
And if your fall includes a genealogy project, MCL cardholders have free access to Ancestry.com through the Vermont State Archives.
We’d never skip this part. Emily’s pick for the season is The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and our staff has plenty more where that came from if horror is your thing – ask Julian about their favorite body horror books in translation. Looking for something you can listen to on a dark drive home? Browse our horror audiobooks on Libby for a hands-free scare.
What chilling experiences are you looking forward to this year? Assistant Director Paige is already plotting out her yearly garage-to-haunted-house transformation, and fall just wouldn’t be the same without the annual MCL Halloween Party, this year on Saturday, October 24. Don’t miss out on this shriekingly fun experience for the whole family!
Your Fall, Your Way
Jennifer wants to visit her mom in North Carolina. Bethany wants a nice walk in the woods. Daniel wants apple cider donuts. Whatever your version of fall looks like, Manchester Community Library has something that can make it more meaningful. We hope to see you this season. Everyone is welcome!
