Furness Library's Book Talk Event

Tristan Barker

 March 7, 2026

Furness Library’s Book Talk Event

Tristan Barker, March 7, 2026

On March 4th, I had the opportunity to attend Furness Library’s student-led book talk.

The book talk focused on two books: “The Forty Rules of Love,” by Elif Shafak, and “The Fault In Our Stars,” by John Green. The discussion began with short summaries of the stories.

The Forty Rules of Love follows two intertwined storylines: the modern life of a girl named Ella; and a 13th century love story following a poet Rumi and his mentor, Shams. This book places a heavy emphasis on unity and love between all, regardless of religious or personal beliefs.

The Fault In Our Stars follows a love story of two terminally ill teens, who embark on a mission to find the author of their favorite book. While the story reflects the idea of ‘never meet your heroes,’ the story also blends the themes of romance and tragedy.

After the summaries of both books, the group moved into an open-ended discussion on the themes of romantic and spiritual love—which both stories relate to.

Each attendee was asked to answer philosophical questions such as: “what is your definition of love?”, “do you think love is a process of the mind, heart, or soul?”, and “is it okay to separate the art from the artists?”

One of my favorite responses was to the question “is romantic or spiritual love more important in life.” A fellow student responded with “I say spiritual love because to me, romantic love seems strictly limited to romantic partners and personal attraction… While spiritual love covers all kinds of love.” I wholeheartedly agreed with this point, as to me—spiritual love isn’t inherently based on attraction. It can apply to hobbies, friendships, faith, and many other parts of life. While it is unfair to say that it is ‘more’ important than romantic love, I do believe that spiritual love covers nearly all aspects of life.

Toward the end of the discussion, we created our own paper mâché flowers, and wrote on each petal what we love most in life. 

I really enjoyed this event. Even though I’m not usually someone who enjoys public discussions—I found myself freely contributing my thoughts and commenting on others throughout this book talk. The entire experience felt very relaxed and non-judgmental. The students leading the discussion were extremely good at ensuring everyone had the opportunity to make their voices heard and validated.  

Since my first experience with the library in August, it’s amazing to see how much it has transformed. This space went from an empty few shelves—to now fully functioning as a whole organized space. The atmosphere has completely shifted away from its former emptiness and turned into a welcoming and peaceful environment. The vibes of the staff, student-volunteers, and even the decor all positively contributed to the experience.

I would personally recommend those interested to reach out and attend the next event. This whole experience was extremely interesting—and even if you’re not the biggest fan of books, just learning about other people’s views and opinions feels rewarding in itself. Furness’ library has continuously shown itself as a place for connection—the entire welcoming community that surrounds both its staff and students has been an amazing thing to see, and I can’t wait for the future events and opportunities this space will provide for all of Furness!