Vermont Reads at the Rockingham Free Public Library
The Rockingham Free Public Library is once again part of the Vermont Reads statewide reading program.
This year’s Vermont Reads book is The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. This winter the library will be hosting programs and sharing The Light Pirate with our patrons, community members, and partners.
We hope you will join us!
Vermonts Reads is a program sponsored by Vermont Humanities.
All programs will take place at the Rockingham Free Public Library and are free and open to the public.
Vermont Reads Book Discussion: The Light Pirate
December 4, 2025 at 6:00 pm
Join facilitator Eric Bye for a book discussion of this year’s Vermont Reads selection, The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton.
About the facilitator: Eric Bye has been active with Vermont Humanities since the ’90s. His M.A. is in French language and literature, and he has also done graduate studies in Spanish and German. A freelance certified translator, he has translated a hundred non-fiction books into English for several publishers. He is particularly devoted to 18th- and 19th-century American and European novels and history.
River Memories: Exploring Settlement Patterns on Waterways in Vermont
February 7, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Devastating recent rain events, including in July 2023 and 2024 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, have demonstrated that many communities in Vermont are vulnerable to damage from flooding. In this presentation historian Alan Berolzheimer examines how the development of settlement patterns over time have contributed to the problem of flooding in Vermont. Presentations will be adapted with town-specific content to the extent possible.
About the Presenter: Alan Berolzheimer has directed the book publishing program of the Vermont Historical Society since 1998. He is also the project historian and assistant director of The Flow of History, a Teaching American History program providing professional development activities to Vermont teachers. Alan received a Ph.D. in 20th-century U.S. History from the University of Virginia in 1996. He lives in Norwich.
Drawing Hidden Systems
February 28, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Have you ever wondered where electricity comes from, how the internet works, or how there’s (mostly) enough water for everyone all the time? Where did these systems come from, and how do they affect our challenges like inequality and climate change?
Join Vermont author and artist Dan Nott for a look at these questions and more as he discusses his new nonfiction graphic novel, Hidden Systems for this all-ages event. The talk will also include visual readings from Hidden Systems that focus on the electric grid and energy uses, lessons from comics history, and information for readers and aspiring cartoonists on how to get into reading and drawing comics.
About the presenter: Dan Nott is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator living in Vermont. Dan’s nonfiction work uses comics to explore and untangle complex topics, and create a basis for understanding current events. His debut nonfiction graphic novel, Hidden Systems (Random House Graphic, March 2023) was selected as an Indies Next and Indies Introduce pick by the American Booksellers Association.
He has released two comic books with the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS), This is What Democracy Looks Like: A Graphic Guide to Governance, and Freedom and Unity: A Graphic Guide to Civics and Democracy in Vermont. He teaches at CCS.