The Robbins Science Book Group is a program of the Robbins Library in Arlington, Massachusetts. This web site is run by volunteers, not by the Arlington library.
The Group was begun in 2019. We generally meet every two months (we've skipped a meeting here or there) and we meet on the first Thursday of every other month, at 7pm.
• February 5, 2026 - Until the end of time: mind, matter, and our search for meaning in an evolving universe by Brian Greene (2020, 428pp) https://catalog.minlib.net/Record/.b38721909
• April 9, 2026* - The catalyst: RNA and the quest to unlock life's deepest secrets by Thomas Cech (2024, 290pp) https://catalog.minlib.net/Record/.b42552746 (*Note: This is the second Thursday of April, we weren't able to do our usual first Thursday in April 2026.)
• June 4, 2026 - The triumph of seeds: how grains, nuts, kernels, pulses, and pips, conquered the plant kingdom and shaped human history by Thor Hansen (2015, 227pp) https://catalog.minlib.net/Record/.b32232925
Feb. 1, 2024 - The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli (2018, 240pp)
April 4, 2024 - The Exceptions : Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the fight for women in science by Kate Zernike (2023, 409pp)
June 6, 2024 - Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions by Temple Grandin (2022, 340pp)
Aug. 1, 2024 - Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski (2017, 285pp)
Oct. 3, 2024 - The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of Dinosaurs to Us by Steve Brusatte (2022, 524pp)
Dec. 5, 2024 - The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast by Andrew Blum (2019, 204pp)
Feb. 6, 2025 - The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll (2016, 470pp)
April 3, 2025 - Transient and Strange: Notes on the Science of Life by Nell Greenfieldboyce (2024, 214pp)
June 5, 2025 - Otherlands, A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds by Thomas Halliday (2022, 384pp)
Aug. 7, 2025 - Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf (2017, 320pp)
Oct. 2, 2025 - Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (2020, 352pp)
Dec. 4, 2025 - The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science by Dava Sobol (2024, 318pp)
(use our Book Nomination Form to suggest books for future meetings!)
The volunteer co-leaders of the Group are Rebecca Gruber and Steve Rothman, and you can reach us at robbinssciencebookclub@gmail.com - feel free to send any questions you may have. If you are not currently receiving email from us with information about upcoming meetings, etc., please send an email to this address so that we can add you to our mailing list.
Books for the book group are provided by the Robbins Library and the associated MInuteman Library Network, so we only choose books for discussion if enough copies will be available for lending. Periodically we send out "survey forms" for members to choose from a selection of titles; the books that get the most votes are our future book club selections. We welcome nominations for science books to be considered for future surveys; please use our book Nomination Form.
Books Previously Read << see what we've read in the past
Book Nomination Form << please suggest books for consideration
Comments from Book Group Members << check for new comments!