By M. Diane McCormick 

The latest read for the Harrisburg Young Professionals Book Club is “Letters from the Red Farm,” by Elizabeth Emerson, the tale of a friendship that shaped Helen Keller’s life. 

As a premier business development organization in Harrisburg, HYP uses multiple outlets, including the book club, to help members build bonds and networks. 

“That’s another way we bring people together, to talk about thought-provoking literature,” said HYP Executive Director Meghan Bachmore. 

The Library supports the club in classic style by giving members a place to borrow the month’s book for free. 

“A lot of our members are interested in sustainability,” Bachmore said. “They don’t want to purchase hardcopy books and then have them sitting around.” 

Bachmore got a Kindle last Christmas and is well on her way to reading 25 books in 2024. 

What are you reading? 

I just finished “Only the Beautiful” by Susan Meissner. It takes place in Germany right before World War II. It’s about a girl who can hear colors, which was a very unknown condition back then. They would lock away anyone who was different, and they put her in a mental institute. It’s historical fiction, but they were really doing this back then.  

Before that, I read “My Berlin Kitchen” by Luisa Weiss. It’s a nice nonfiction book about a woman who ends up having a food blog and her journey to find herself as she was shipped between two countries, with her parents living in America and Germany. It ends with a love story and how food connects her to other people. I liked that each chapter ended with a recipe.  

I also read Fredrik Backman’s novella “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer. ” It was a sweet story about a family and the relationship between a boy, his father, and his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s.  

What is your favorite genre?  

I like historical fiction. I always feel more connected to the story because it might have happened to someone at that time.  

How does The Library’s work supporting the community align with HYP’s mission to keep talent in Harrisburg and the region? We want young families to see that the city is a great place to raise a family, and The Library offers so many resources for children. It’s a nice place to bring your kids.