Join the 2025–26 CHASM & Ebling Library Book Club!
CHASM and Ebling Library are thrilled to launch a new book club for the 2025–26 academic year, open to all faculty, staff, and students in the School of Medicine and Public Health. This monthly club invites our community to read, reflect, and discuss a thoughtfully curated selection of books—each chosen to spark conversation around the human experience of health, healing, and belonging.
Our reading list draws from powerful voices across America—urban and rural, historical and contemporary—offering narratives that explore empathy, identity, justice, trauma, resilience, and the systems that shape our well-being. These stories invite us to step beyond the clinic and into the lived experiences that shape how we care and connect, cultivating skills as essential as any clinical tool.
Join us for as many or as few sessions as you’d like—there’s no pressure to attend every month. A limited number of books are available at no cost for SMPH students, staff, and faculty. Discounted copies are also available at select book stores. If you’re able to donate your book back after reading, we welcome it—your generosity helps sustain the club for future participants.
Let’s read together, grow together, and make space for the stories that shape compassionate care.
Contact us if you are interested in facilitating a future book discussion or being on the 2026-27 book club steering committee.
August: Blue Sky Through the Window of a Moving Car
Blue Sky Through the Window of a Moving Car by Jordan Bolton
A powerful and poetic collection of comics that explore deeply human emotions and experiences—both heart-warming and heart-breaking in equal measure.
🗓 First discussion date:
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM (via Zoom)
Sign up below, 20 people maximum, a waitlist is available
September: Saving Hearts and Killing Rats
In 1933, Wisconsin biochemist Karl Paul Link began investigating a mysterious cattle illness that caused uncontrollable bleeding, leading to the discovery of warfarin—a powerful rat poison and life-saving anticoagulant later used on President Eisenhower. This biography follows Link’s journey from his modest Indiana roots to his groundbreaking medical research at the University of Wisconsin. Brilliant and rebellious, Link was twice awarded the prestigious Lasker Award for his contributions to 20th-century medicine.
Discussion Date 9.22.2025
October: Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire
Funny Because It’s True tells the story of how a group of UW–Madison students created The Onion, transforming it from a local paper into a groundbreaking force in American satire. Author Christine Wenc, an original staffer, traces the publication’s evolution and its influence on shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Through interviews and firsthand insight, she reveals how The Onion reshaped both comedy and news. This is the untold story of a Midwest-born media revolution that changed how we laugh at the world.
Discussion Date 10.27.2025
Sign up: https://bit.ly/CHASMEBLING10272025
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Completed 2025-26 Events
When each book club wraps up, we’ll share the discussion questions here, plus details on how to check out the book and simple steps for hosting your own conversation.