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Thursday Afternoon Book Discussion

"Ghosts of Hiroshima" by Charles Pellegrino

2026-08-06 13:30:00 2026-08-06 14:30:00 America/New_York Thursday Afternoon Book Discussion Do you have afternoons available? Join us at the Library for some coffee, confections, and conversation about the titles chosen by fellow book club members! 📚 ☕ James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library - Beth Patridge Meeting Room

Thursday, August 06
1:30pm - 2:30pm

Add to Calendar 2026-08-06 13:30:00 2026-08-06 14:30:00 America/New_York Thursday Afternoon Book Discussion Do you have afternoons available? Join us at the Library for some coffee, confections, and conversation about the titles chosen by fellow book club members! 📚 ☕ James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library - Beth Patridge Meeting Room

James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library

Beth Patridge Meeting Room

Do you have afternoons available? Join us at the Library for some coffee, confections, and conversation about the titles chosen by fellow book club members! 📚 ☕

Plot: SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM ACADEMY AWARD–WINNING FILMMAKER JAMES CAMERON 

"No one recognized the flashes of bright light that filled the sky. Survivors described colors they couldn’t name. The blast wave that followed seemed to strike with no sound. In that silence came the dawn of atomic death for two hundred thousand souls. On August 6, 1945, twenty-nine-year-old naval engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi was on the last day of a business trip, looking forward to returning home to his wife and infant son, when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He survived the atomic blast and got on a train to Nagasaki, only to be bombed again. Jacob Beser, a Manhattan Project engineer, looked down on Hiroshima and saw the ground boiling. He refused to look at Nagasaki at all. Years afterward, he referred to what he witnessed as “the most bizarre and spectacular two events in the history of man’s inhumanity to man.” From that first millionth of a second, people began to die in previously unimaginable ways. Near Hiroshima’s hypocenter, teeth were scattered on the ground, speckles of incandescent blood were converted to carbon steel, a child’s marbles melted to blobs of molten glass. From the bombs were born radioactive substances that mimicked calcium in growing bones and which, ten years after, filled entire hospitals with a shocking nuclear weapons, more than anything else, were child-killers. Based on years of forensic archaeology combined with interviews of more than two hundred survivors and their families, Ghosts of Hiroshima is a you-are-there account of ordinary human beings thrust into extraordinary events, during which our modern civilization entered its most challenging phase—a nuclear adolescence that, unless we are very wise and learn from our past, we may not." (Goodreads.com)

đŸ—ŸRegister for book club reminders! 

📚 Copies of the book are provided by our Friends of Duncan Library, become a Friend today to support Library programs! https://www.friendsofduncanlibrary.org



James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library

kpayne@alexlibraryva.org
Phone: 703.746.1705
Fax: 703.746.1785
Branch manager
Kayla Selsky

Hours
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Mon, Jul 13 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, Jul 14 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, Jul 15 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, Jul 16 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, Jul 17 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Sat, Jul 18 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Sun, Jul 19 1:00PM to 5:00PM

About the branch

Parking: There is a small lot with 9 spaces.  On street parking is available.

Public Transit:

  • Metrorail: Yellow and Blue lines at Braddock Road (1.3 miles) and King Street Stations (1.5 miles)
  • Metrobus: A11, A12
  • DASH Bus: 33

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact jgregorio@alexlibraryva.org or call 703.746.1701 or TTY 703.746.1790.

Upcoming Events

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Tue, Jul 14, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
30-minute sessions designed for busy lives

Tue, Jul 14, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Build your own walkie-talkie and radio! Ages 8-12.
Registration is now closed

Tue, Jul 14, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Teen Area
Join DM John in a dino DnD adventure! Ages 13-18. Registration required.
Registration is now closed

Thu, Jul 16, 10:15am - 10:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room,Children's Area
Come join us for engaging stories that are worth gathering for. Great for toddlers and siblings. Ages 0-5. Tickets Required. Edades 0-5, se requieren boletos.

Thu, Jul 16, 11:15am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room,Children's Area
Come join us for engaging stories that are worth gathering for. Great for toddlers and siblings. Ages 0-5. Tickets Required. Edades 0-5, se requieren boletos.

Rescheduled
Thu, Jul 16, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
New date Tuesday, July 21, 4:00pm - 4:45pm
Build your own walkie-talkie and radio! Ages 8-12.

Sat, Jul 18, 10:30am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
All levels are welcome, to stretch, breathe and cultivate connections with body-heart-mind-spirit
This event is full

Sun, Jul 19, 1:15pm - 1:45pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Story Time! Fingerplay and songs for Ages 0-24 months. Tickets required De 0 a 24 meses. Sala de reuniones de Duncan Library. Se requieren boletos.

Mon, Jul 20, 10:15am - 10:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Mon, Jul 20, 11:15am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Mon, Jul 20, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Join us for an all-levels yoga class that invites you to connect with your body, build stability over time, and deepen your practice in a supportive, welcoming environment—no prior experience needed
This event is full

Tue, Jul 21, 4:00pm - 4:45pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Build your own walkie-talkie and radio! Ages 8-12.
This event is full

Tue, Jul 21, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Join DM John in a dino DnD adventure! Ages 13-18. Registration required.
This event is full

Thu, Jul 23, 10:15am - 10:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room,Children's Area
Come join us for engaging stories that are worth gathering for. Great for toddlers and siblings. Ages 0-5. Tickets Required. Edades 0-5, se requieren boletos.

Thu, Jul 23, 11:15am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room,Children's Area
Come join us for engaging stories that are worth gathering for. Great for toddlers and siblings. Ages 0-5. Tickets Required. Edades 0-5, se requieren boletos.

Thu, Jul 23, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Build your own robot! Ages 8-12.
This event is full

Fri, Jul 24, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Come talk books and do some bookish crafts!

Sat, Jul 25, 10:30am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
All levels are welcome, to stretch, breathe and cultivate connections with body-heart-mind-spirit
This event is full

Sun, Jul 26, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities for ages 3-6 actividades de ciencia, arte, ingeniería, tecnología, y matemåticas para niños 3-6

Mon, Jul 27, 10:15am - 10:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Mon, Jul 27, 11:15am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Rescheduled
Mon, Jul 27, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
New date Thursday, July 23, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Build your own robot! Ages 8-12.

Mon, Jul 27, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Join us for an all-levels yoga class that invites you to connect with your body, build stability over time, and deepen your practice in a supportive, welcoming environment—no prior experience needed
This event is full

Tue, Jul 28, 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
30-minute sessions designed for busy lives

Tue, Jul 28, 3:00pm - 3:45pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Yoga, literacy, and family fun! Registration required. (Ages 3-8) ÂĄYoga, alfabetizaciĂłn, y diversiĂłn familiar! Hay que registrarse. (Edades 3-8)
This event is full

Tue, Jul 28, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Join DM John in a dino DnD adventure! Ages 13-18. Registration required.
This event is full

Rescheduled
Wed, Jul 29, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
New date Friday, July 24, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Come talk books and do some bookish crafts!

Wed, Jul 29, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
"But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again..." (C.S. Lewis) Are you ready to create a tiny magical world inside a teacup?
This event is full

Sun, Aug 02, 1:15pm - 1:45pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Story Time! Fingerplay and songs for Ages 0-24 months. Tickets required De 0 a 24 meses. Sala de reuniones de Duncan Library. Se requieren boletos.

Sun, Aug 02, 2:00pm - 4:45pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Oddball Adventure series

Mon, Aug 03, 10:15am - 10:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Mon, Aug 03, 11:15am - 11:45am
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Wiggle, crawl and clap at Baby Time! (0-14 months) Tickets Required. 0-14 meses, se requieren boletos.

Mon, Aug 03, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
An interactive story time for kids of all abilities, especially those with sensory needs. Registration required. (Ages 2-8)

Mon, Aug 03, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Beth Patridge Meeting Room
Join us for an all-levels yoga class that invites you to connect with your body, build stability over time, and deepen your practice in a supportive, welcoming environment—no prior experience needed
This event is full