Concord Reads 2025 | Concord Public Library Fdn.

Concord Reads 2025!

Concord Reads is a citywide literary event encouraging community members to read and discuss the same book. Celebrate the power of books in creating a stronger community!

This year's book is Where You’ll Find Me: Risk, Decisions, and the Last Climb of Kate Matrosova by Ty Gagne – available for checkout now at any Concord Public Library branch! (Audiobook and e-book, too!) The library has a full slate of FREE programs for adults and children coming up in April, including an author visit on Thursday, April 24. Programs take place at Concord Public Library and other locations; see details in program descriptions below. Please REGISTER for all programs individually through the CPL website (links in each program title below).

Where You’ll Find Me is the true story of mountaineer Kate Matrosova’s fatal climb during her attempt to complete a winter traverse of the Northern Presidential Range of the White Mountains in 2015. The book explores the motivations behind risk-taking in this infamously unpredictable environment, the science of survival, and the strategies and techniques of Search and Rescue personnel.

Sponsored by Concord Public Library Foundation and produced in partnership with Concord Public Library, Concord Reads is free of charge and open to all.

Concord Reads 2025 Event Schedule

Black Hawk Helicopter Tours – Registration required (free – click here)

Saturday, April 5 at 10:00am and 11:00am

New Hampshire Army Aviation Support Facility/26 Regional Drive

Black Hawk helicopters and their crew play a pivotal role in rescuing hikers who end up in danger in the White Mountains. Join us for this all-ages event at the Army Aviation Support Facility here in Concord to tour a Black Hawk helicopter with NH National Guard personnel and hear what goes into a typical rescue mission. There will be two tours, 10am and 11am. Registration is limited, so sign up early!

Search & Rescue in Northern NH – Registration required (free – click here)

Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00pm

City-Wide Community Center/14 Canterbury Road

Join retired NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer, Glen Lucas, for a discussion of his experiences in the wild, with a special focus on search and rescue (SAR) operations and the events surrounding the case of Kate Matrosova. Glen will also share details from his youth that led to his career choice, how being a Conservation Officer shaped his life, and some of the significant events from his career in the outdoors.

I Survived: Trivia and Survival Kit Time! (children’s program) – Registration required (free – click here)

Saturday, April 12 at 10:00am

Concord Public Library Auditorium

Are you a fan of the I Survived book and graphic novel series by Lauren Tarshis? If so, come test your knowledge with your friends at a low-key and fun trivia challenge. We will round out the event by making our very own mini survival kits!

The Mt. Washington Observatory Presents: The World’s Worst Weather – Registration required (free – click here)

Tuesday, April 15 at 6:00pm

Concord Public Library Auditorium

Why is Mount Washington called the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather”? This program will explore the unique life and work of the weather observers stationed on Mount Washington and learn why, for a mountain its size, Mount Washington hosts some of the worst weather on Earth.

Film Screening of Infinite Storm – Registration required (free – click here)

Tuesday, April 22 at 6:00pm

Concord Public Library Auditorium

Join us for a screening of the 2022 film, Infinite Storm, starring Naomi Watts. The film is based on a true story that documents Pam Bales’ daring 2010 rescue of a fellow hiker. On a solo hike, Bales ascends Mt. Washington, but turns back before reaching the summit as a huge blizzard approaches. On her way down, she encounters a lone, stranded man, and takes it upon herself to get them both down the mountain before nightfall arrives. The film is rated R with a running time of 1h37m.

Ty Gagne in Conversation – Registration required (free – click here)

Thursday, April 24, 6:30-8:30pm

BNH Stage/16 S. Main Street

For the final event of Concord Reads 2025, author Ty Gagne will join writer and backcountry expert Sally Manikian for a live conversation about the themes of Where You’ll Find Me. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own questions to add to the conversation. Event sponsor Gibson’s Bookstore will have all three of Ty Gagne’s books available for sale. Meet the author after the event and have him sign your copy!

About the author: Ty Gagne is the Chief Executive Officer of Primex, a NH risk management company. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Science from Granite State College. He is a member of the Leadership NH Class of 2013, and previously served on the Board of Trustees of the non-profit Mount Washington Observatory. Ty completed the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and holds the Associate in Risk Pool Management (ARPM) and the Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities (ARM-P) designations. Gagne is also the author of the books The Last Traverse; Tragedy and Resilience in the Winter Whites, and The Lions of Winter: Survival and Sacrifice on Mount Washington. His essays include “Emotional Rescue,” the true story of Pam Bales, who rescued a distressed hiker on Mount Washington, and “Weakness in Numbers: How a Hiking Partner Can Be Dangerous.”

About the moderator: Sally Manikian lives in the North Country of NH and works for The Conservation Fund as the NH and VT State Director, and fell in love with winter travel when she put on her first pair of snowshoes on a middle school trip to Sargent Center in Peterborough. From there, Sally pursued the extreme edge of winter through serving as the first female full-time winter caretaker at the Randolph Mountain Club’s Gray Knob cabin, located on the slopes of Mt Adams, where she fell in love with the raw beauty of alpine zone extremes. Sally’s current role at The Conservation Fund is working with state and federal agencies expanding existing public and conserved lands or establishing new ones. She is a contributor to Appalachia Journal and the editor of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Guide to Outdoor Leadership. Sally’s regional leadership has been featured in Northern Woodlands magazine as well as New Hampshire Public Radio. Home is the northern edge of the White Mountains, where she cares for and trains her team of professional racing sled dogs on land the Fund has conserved for public access and the big mountain landscapes where she still pursues her love for winter travel. Sally and the Shady Pines Sled Dogs (find them on instagram and facebook!) compete in, and sometimes win, 100 mile races in New England and beyond. Her favorite temperature range is -5 to 5F with winds no more than 20 MPH.

Past Concord Reads Programs

NOTE: When choosing a title, the committee considers many things, including if it appeals to a wide audience and resonates with the citizens of the Greater Concord, NH community; whether it appeals to all age groups from teens to older adults; whether the themes of the book are relevant to the times and community and lend to open and robust discussion; whether the themes of the book lend to library programming at all age levels; whether the book is available in a multitude of formats; and whether the themes of the book vary from years prior. If you would like to recommend a book for Concord Reads, please drop us a line at info@concordlibraryfoundation.org!

2024: Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

2020-2023: Concord Reads took an extended hiatus!

2019: Ghost of the Innocent Man by Benjamin Rachlin

2018: Following Atticus by Tom Ryan

2017: Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea by Steve Callahan

2016: When Books went to War by Molly Guptil Manning

2014-2015: The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

2013: Maxine Kumin's three books: Inside the Halo and Beyond, Where I Live: New & Selected Poems, 1990-2010,

Women, Animals & Vegetables: Essays & Stories.

2012: Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

2011: Outcasts United by Warren St. John

2010: Firoozeh Dumas’ two books Funny in Farsi and Laughing Without an Accent