Greene County Reads, the annual county-wide book discussion, will be held Friday, Sept. 9. This year’s selection is “The Butterfly Effect” by Rachel Mans McKenny.
Entomologist Greta Oto prefers the company of bugs over the company of people. She accepts a research gig in the rainforest, but returns home to Ames, IA, when she learns her brother has suffered an aneurysm. She soon realizes why she had been eager to leave Iowa. “The Butterfly Effect” is an unconventional tale of self-discovery, navigating relationships, and how sometimes it takes stepping outside of our comfort zone to find what we need the most.
Rachel Mans McKenny is a humorist, essayist, and fiction writer from Iowa. Her work can be found in The New York Times, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Elle Magazine, Electric Lit, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, and other publications. “The Butterfly Effect” is her first novel. She also co-hosts the literary matchmaking podcast Blind Date with a Book, as well as working at Iowa State University.
“The Butterfly Effect” was chosen to be 2022’s All Iowa Reads adult book selection, meaning there have been discussions across the state about this book. Mans McKenny has been busy visiting libraries to talk about her inspiration for the book and answer patron questions. The Greene County librarians are pleased that Greene County Reads is on the author’s schedule. Mans McKenny will attend the discussions in person.
Anyone who would like to participate is encouraged to check out a copy of the book from any of the six public libraries in Greene County. The Butterfly Effect is also available from the Bridges eLibrary.
Three libraries in Greene County will host the discussions. Anyone can attend at any of the three libraries, regardless of their “home” library. Discussions will be held at the Churdan public library at 9 am and the Rippey public library at 12:30 pm. The Scranton public library will host the last session at 3:30 pm. Registration is requested to plan for space.
All three discussions will be led by Jan Scharingson, retired East Greene high school English teacher. “It is always a privilege to have an author with us in person, so this year’s book discussion will have that added element. ‘The Butterfly Effect’ gives us a little glimpse into the world of academic research and how work and personal lives sometimes can create chaos for those involved. As readers we get to question why characters make choices we don’t always understand and we will be able to ask the author a lot of why questions. I am looking forward to this discussion,” said Scharingson.
Greene County Reads is an annual event sponsored by the Greene County Librarians Association. This is the 15th year for this county-wide book discussion. “’With The Butterfly Effect’ being set in Ames, there are many venues that our patrons will be able to recognize and relate to. Being able to have the author attend our discussions in person is amazing as well,” said Wendy Johnson, vice-president of GCLA and director of the Marchant Memorial Library in Scranton.
One of those Ames venues from the book is Reiman Gardens. “This year we are going to be giving away two tickets to Reiman Gardens at each book discussion,” said Jefferson library director Jane Millard.
The annual county-wide book discussions are free and open to the public. Greene County Reads is made possible by funding support from the Greene County board of supervisors. Light refreshments will be served. Persons who want more information or to register for one of the discussions can contact their local public library.
