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A Greenville book club, connected by friendship and their shared love for literature, hosted an author meet-and-greet and book signing Friday. The event, held at the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce, featured JoDee Neathery, who talked with guests about her latest novel, “A Kind of Hush.”

The club meets the last Thursday of every month and on Halloween night the group hosted Neathery to share insights and the inspiration for her writing. It was an intimate gathering, one that fostered friendships, both old and new, while cultivating the shared interests in reading of the club members who talked of books they had already enjoyed and those they looked forward to exploring together.

Gatherings focused around commonalities, like a shared love for sports, reading or baking, make space for the sense of community often found lacking in modern times. In a busy world, where social media offers a readily accessible but somewhat false feeling of connectedness, in-person events where shared interests foster easy conversation are a much-needed way for people to connect.

Lowndes County native, Josephine Bolling McCall, lives in Montgomery but returns to “the 4-5” often to engage in local events. Her book, “The Penalty for Success” tells the story of her father’s life and linching and inspires her advocacy work through The Elmore Bolling Initiative.

In October, the initiative held a series of events aimed at funding scholarships for Lowndes County students. One of those included a tour of historic sites in the area — the Lowndesboro School, Lowndes County Interpretive Center, Elmore Bolling Historic Site and others — emphasizing the fact that McCall’s connection to the area continues the work of building a community founded on unity and remembering the past to improve future outcomes.

The Luverne Public Library will host a book signing for Becky Horn Rogers on Nov. 15. Featuring her book, “Breaking Out of an Alabama Jail: Life of the Sheriff’s Daughter,” the event gives local residents an opportunity to talk with Rogers and learn more about her story. It is an opportunity to meet or reconnect with Rogers and share community memories of Luverne’s history.

Whether gatherings are planned around interests rooted in faith, sports, food, reading, outdoor adventures or anything else, they foster friendship, connection and community, aspects found at the heart of small-town life. It is encouraging to witness them taking place and to be a part of getting the word out.

We encourage community members to explore all that our local community has to offer by checking out our Community Calendar. To share news of your event, please email us at news@greenvilleadvocate.com.