Book Club

Living History Farms Book Club is free for members; please reserve your spot in advance.

Non-member fee is $5 per session, with a discount for booking the whole year.

Adult Book Club                Kids’ Book Club

Adult Book Club is FULL for 2024!

To be placed on a waitlist, you may fill out this form. For other questions, please email members@LHF.org.

When Winter Came: A Country Doctor’s Journey to Fight the Flu Pandemic of 1918

By Mary Beth Sartor Obermeyer

February 20  |  7 p.m.  |  Flynn Mansion (meet at Visitor Center)

A century before COVID-19, a doctor in tiny Titonka, Iowa, battled the worldwide influenza pandemic. Dr. Pierre Sartor settled his young family in Iowa just a few months before the influenza outbreak. He captured his experience of treating more than 1,000 patients in a document that his granddaughter discovered in a lockbox decades later.

The House of Lincoln

By Nancy Horan

April 16  |  7 p.m.  |  Flynn Mansion (meet at Visitor Center)

This historical novel tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s years in Springfield, Illinois, from the perspective of Ana Ferreira, a 14-year-old Portuguese immigrant who works in the Lincoln home. As a firsthand witness to the evolution of Lincoln’s views on equality and the Union, Ana recognizes how slavery contradicts the promise of freedom in her adopted country.

Caroline: Little House, Revisited

By Sarah Miller

June 18  |  7 p.m.  |  Flynn Mansion (meet at Visitor Center)

This novel authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust retells a familiar story through new eyes. Caroline Ingalls, known to the world as Ma, left her native Wisconsin in 1870 for a new life with her husband and daughters in Kansas. Her story captures the beauty of the frontier, the hardships of a frontier wife, and the untapped strength that Caroline discovers.

A Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid Rites & More

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

August 20  |  7 p.m.  |  Visitor Center

Learn about the legacy of quintessentially Iowa foods like sweet corn, breaded pork tenderloins, Maid-Rite sandwiches, RAGBRAI pie, ham balls, steak de Burgo, cinnamon rolls with chili, and of course food-on-a-stick! This bountiful history—including recipes—was written by a member of the Living History Farms Board of Directors.

The Man from the Train: Discovering America’s Most Elusive Serial Killer

By Bill James

October 15  |  7 p.m.  |  1900 Farm (meet at Murray Conference Center)

If you’re a true crime fan, this book should be on your list. Bill James analyzed a series of murders by bludgeoning between 1898 and 1912, including Iowa’s infamous Villisca axe murders. After sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, James believes he has identified the killer—and the reasons the crimes went unsolved.

A Christmas Gift (also published as The Melodeon)

By Glendon Swarthout

November 19  |  7 p.m.  |  Flynn Mansion

In the 1930s, a Michigan teenager and his grandfather want to donate an heirloom pump organ to their impoverished church. But on a stormy Christmas Eve, how will they get the instrument from their remote farm to town in time for Christmas morning services? This bestselling novella was made into a television movie titled “A Christmas To Remember” in 1978.

Note: This book is out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon under both titles.

Kids’ Book Club

Kids’ Book Club is recommended for kids in grades 4th-8th grade. An adult must attend with the participant.  The adult does not need a ticket.

Purchase Series              Purchase by Date

The Celts

By John Farrelly

June 15 | 9:30–11 a.m. | Flynn Mansion & Blacksmith (meet at Visitor Center)

This book in the “Deadly! Irish History” series takes a witty look at the Celts, who arrived in Ireland more than 2,500 years ago. Learn about their heroes, their warfare, and their art.

The Christmas Nisse

By Patrick Nielsen

July 20 | 9:30–11 a.m. | Tangen Home (meet at Visitor Center)

Enjoy a little Christmas in July with this Advent Calendar story. A cheeky Scandinavian Christmas nisse elf is sent to find out about English Christmas—and to create mischief!

Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders

By Joseph M. Marshall III

August 17 | 9:30–11 a.m. | 1700 Ioway Farm | (meet at Murray Conference Center)

An award-winning storyteller shares a lifetime of lessons passed on to him by his grandfather—timeless teachings that have been largely unheard outside Lakota culture.

For questions, please email members@LHF.org.