by Clelia Sweeney

Speed Friending is the library program I find myself bringing up in conversation the most. I think any busy adult can relate to difficulty in making new friends, and finding social situations to make it happen. We have had great turnout to the two Speed Friending events we have held at the library so far. Come participate in our third on Saturday, September 28^th, from 2-4:30pm in the library’s Auditorium!

This month, we have a display on the second floor of the library highlighting friendship stories and non-fiction help for making social connections. Stories of romantic love are undeniably more common, but stories of friendship make for equally rich reading experiences. It also makes excellent television fodder: “The Golden Girls”, “New Girl”, “Sex and the City”, and “The Office” (in that case, more of a co-workers to friends story).

In “Love and Saffron”, an up-and-coming Los Angeles food writer sends a fan letter to a seasoned columnist in Seattle with a sachet of saffron enclosed. It is the beginning of a transformative friendship across state and generational lines, against the vivid backdrop of the 1960s. This vivacious epistolary novel from Kim Fay is a delight, with bonus recipes and culinary inspiration.

In “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, Gabrielle Zevin writes about the power of creative collaboration and companionship across decades. College friends Sam and Sadie bond over video game design and skyrocket to success alongside each other, bringing inevitable problems in their relationship. It was named one of the “New York Times” 100 Best Books of the 21^st Century and comes highly recommended.  

“Early Morning Riser” is a funny, moving novel about a woman who falls in love with the Casanova of a northern Michigan town. She runs into his ex-girlfriends everywhere, all amicably involved in his life and inescapable in a small community. It is not until a car accident changes her life for good that these unlikely connections become deeper and necessary. Katherine Heiny writes with humor and insight into what is means to form relationships with each other, romantic and platonic and everything in between.

It’s important for all of us to get out and socialize before the world freezes over in a few months. Fall is the perfect time to make new connections. I encourage you to give Speed Friending a try; you’ll be glad you did. There will be refreshments from Provisions and HyVee, excellent coffee from Morning Bell, and games to chat around afterwards.