[photo credit: City of Pasadena]
Pasadena Now reported on January 13 that the library would host the same discussion on January 24, raising questions about whether the upcoming event represents a second discussion or a scheduling error.
Those interested should contact Hill Avenue Branch Library at (626) 744-7264 to confirm.
The virtual book group will meet via Zoom to discuss Akbar’s debut novel about a newly sober Iranian-American poet whose mother was believed killed when a U.S. Navy warship shot down Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988.
Everyone aboard the civilian airliner was killed.
Published in 2024, “Martyr!” earned National Book Award finalist status, won the Brooklyn Public Library Book Award for Fiction and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction.
The New York Times named it both a bestseller and one of the ten best books of 2024.
Akbar, born in Tehran in 1989 and raised in the United States, serves as associate professor and director of the undergraduate English and creative writing major at the University of Iowa.
He published two poetry collections before his debut novel.
Those wishing to participate must register in advance at CityOfPasadena.net/Library/Calendar and provide an email address to receive Zoom instructions.
Limited physical copies are available for checkout from Hill Avenue Branch Library.
The book is also available in ebook and audiobook formats through the Libby app.
PPL Online Book Group will run on Saturday, February 7, at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom.Hill Avenue Branch Library, 55 South Hill Avenue, in Pasadena. For more call (626) 744-7264 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D193762310.
