Thursday Night Book Club: West with Giraffes

Date and Time

• Thursday, Aug 13, 2026  6pm - 7pm

Location

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Details

Join the Library's longest running book club on the 2nd Thursday of every month to discuss a new book! This month, we are reading West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. Copies are available at the Downtown Information Desk.

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, please call 928-213-2330. Three days prior notice is requested.