Midtown-On a lovely summer day, it’s not uncommon for people to enjoy lunch together in the city center, walking in pairs or in groups of three.

In Middletown, people who go out for a walk may meet six people, strolling leisurely, talking and laughing. They share opinions, ask questions, meet new people and share their views on the world-all of which are triggered by a well-known title with a universal theme.

The brainchild of the librarian Christy Billings, these outings, book talks and walks were held from noon to 1:30 pm on Monday, and the group members left the Broad when they headed to the Connecticut River in Seaport Park Russell Library at 123 Street-about two miles round trip.

"On the road, people had wonderful conversations about what they were reading and life in general. This is a great way to start these face-to-face contacts that no longer happen frequently," said Billings, who saw it during his last outing. The train rumbling on the rusty trestle bridge across the river, with the Arigoni Bridge in the background.

She had never seen it before.

"This is what you really need to do: own a place that is not as formal as a library. I want to say that Christie has the pulse of Middletown. She is really involved," said Rolande Duprey, a community service librarian .

Participants park in the pavilion near the pedestrian bridge, Billings will distribute index cards, and reminders will stimulate thinking and sharing.

On Monday, the subject was Mitch Albom's "Tuesday with Morrie", a popular book in 1997 that sold 12 million copies. This is the story of a 37-year-old newspaper reporter Albom re-establishing contact with his university professor. They established a deep friendship within 14 weeks, which makes the fact that Morris Schwartz is in his 70s and is about to die even more sad.

The slogan for a walk talk is "Come and see what you will hear."

Reading is often a solitary practice, and the staff at Russell Library want to change this perception.

Billings said: "This is a face-to-face approach, you may never have been exposed to books."

"He started some difficult conversations," she said of Albom. "I like Morrie. He is really sincere. He said, "If you don't like your culture, don't follow it. "Most dying people don't talk about it. Not only did he put himself there, but he was very honest with the process."

This type of outreach is in line with the national trend of providing literary and art-related programs after get off work and in community locations where people already gather," Dupre said.

In fact, earlier this month, Billings hosted a combination of beer tasting and book review night.

The second edition of Books and Brews was held on August 9th at the Stubborn Brewery in the RM Keating Historic Enterprise Park on Johnson Street. The next book and beer on September 13 will explore "Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue. The gathering is held on the second Thursday of every month at 6pm

The fact that drinking is beneficial to the conversation is not lost in the souls who participate.

The theme of July is "Reading takes you anywhere", so Billings chose Eric Weiner's Geography of Bliss to read.

"This is the happiness of the whole world, you will be happy in the brewery," Billings said. Weiner even said on Twitter that he liked the idea, which made her very excited. "It's so cool to be connected. In the past, you couldn't do this at all."

"The trend of libraries is to respond to the needs of the community. This is the overall theme. Below this, well, if they don't plan to come to us"... (we join them), Duprey said. Many of these plans are carried out after get off work.

"People like to stay outside at night, they go to bars, restaurants or other places. It brings the library to people. This is an adult outreach. This is not about mobile books or something like that. This is actually for people Talk about books and understand that there are a lot of books there," Dupre said.

Ann Smith, responsible for library programming and community involvement, praised the honesty of the two characters in Albom's book.

Her discussion card read: "If Morrie is not dead, do you think Mickey will listen? Will the impending death automatically enable a person's voice to penetrate previously impenetrable places?

"Being honest with your friend is a real gift. If you don't know it is from the heart, a real friend will not say unpleasant or unfriendly words," she said.

"I think the imminent death is a door that allows people to talk," Smith said.

"When you get a deeper understanding of the basics, a lot of these are stripped away. That's why this book is so effective," Billings said.

Only she has read "Morrie" recently.

"Even if you haven't read this book, everyone can contribute because you have your own views on race relations or social justice or the subject of any book: everyone can provide something, whether with or without This book is related," Smith said.

Barbara Collins (Barbara Collins) is a frequent visitor to this sport: "I walk my dog, but my dog ​​likes to stop and smell," she said of her daily life.

On Monday, she shared a story with the group about the routine stress tests she performed in the doctor's office in her 40s.

"I walked for about 90 seconds, and they let me get out of the car. They took me to the emergency room."

It turns out that 90% of her heart is blocked. Collins said she had never thought of dying before that.

Weather permitting, a walking reservation meeting will be held every Monday from noon to 1 pm

The theme of September is "a little book with a lot to say". Upcoming conferences include Anna Quindlen’s “Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake” on September 10; Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” on September 17, and Ben Fountain’s “Billy” on September 24. Lynn's Halftime Walk".

For information, visit russelllibrary.org.

You can contact Chief Editor Cassandra Day at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com or Twitter @cassandrasdis.

Cassandra Day is an award-winning multimedia journalist and a resident of the north end of Middletown. He has covered almost every aspect of the city for more than two decades.