West End
Neighborhood Library

Takeout service available Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Closed from 2 - 3 p.m.every day for sanitizing.
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Image of phone conversation from "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes"

Reading in the Round

A round robin reading of 'Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes'

Join us Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 12:30 p.m. as we take turns reading a-l-o-u-d this ironic short story by J. D.

Image of book cover for "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Book Club Pick 'o the Month

'Cold Sassy Tree' by Olive Ann Burns

The West End Fiction Book Club will meet Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 12:30 p.m. to discuss Cold Sassy Tree (1984) by Olive Ann Burns.  Copies are available at the library.  Please pick one up and join us!

Marquis-style text for "The Greatest Man in the World"

Film Screening and Discussion

"The Greatest Man in the World"

The library will sponsor a screening and discussion of "The Greatest Man in the World," from the American Short Story Collection as seen on PBS and adapted from the classic short story by James Thurber (1894-1961) in celebration of the DC Public Library's summer reading program.

Skeletons around a table

Let's Talk About Death

What is a Death Cafe?

At a Death Cafe, people, often strangers, gather to drink coffee and eat cake and discuss death, dying, and end-of-life issues.

Graphic illustration of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

Escape from the Ordinary . . .

'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' by James Thurber

Join us Tuesday, July 14, at 12:30 p.m. as we take turns reading aloud the classic American short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by cartoonist/author/playwright and celebrated wit James Thurber (1894-1961), and then as we discuss it afterward, in celebration of the DC Public Library's summer rea

Robinson Crusoe book cover

Book Club Pick o' the Month

'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe

The West End Fiction Book Club will meet Tuesday, July 21, at 12:30 p.m. to discuss Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, a classic tale of survival and adventure (published in 1719) and one whose everyman hero makes Robinson Crusoe a natural pick for the DC Public Library Summer Reading Program on the theme "Every Hero Has

Lost city of Z

True Tales of Adventure!

In the thick of it from your armchair

It seems that every time I'm about to start reading a novel, I come across a work of nonfiction so intriguing it elbows its way to the top of my reading list. My reading preferences of late remind me of a scene in the movie Sideways, in which the lead character, an aspiring author, discusses his novel with his friend's future in-law.

A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna

Loneliness in Words and Pictures

Complex emotions for kids

Loneliness, a complex and strong human emotion, finds a home in everyone: children and adults alike.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Picture Books for Adults

Catching up on children's literature

If you are an adult and you don't spend much time with children, it's probably been years since you've even thought about picture books. We all have our favorites from childhood, but as time goes on, so does the world of new children's literature. Here are a few recent books you won't regret spending some time with. They only take a couple minutes to read, and they're great mood enhancers - so don't be embarrassed to read them on Metro! 

Image of early book cover for "Babbitt" by Sinclair Lewis

Book Club Pick o' the Month

'Babbitt' by Sinclair Lewis

The West End Fiction Book Club will meet Tuesday, June 23 at 12:30 p.m. to discuss Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt (1922), largely a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, and a bestseller too that gave us the word "Babbitt" meaning "a person and esp.

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