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Longform Article Reading Club
Like a book club, but less commitment
 
Discuss a longform magazine or newspaper article with a group of longreads fans in this new monthly club from the Magazines and Newspapers Center. 
 
To participate, read the month's selection ahead of time, then join the discussion at the appointed time and location.  
 
The agenda of the meeting includes round-robin introductions, a forty-five minute discussion utilizing the shared inquiry method, and then a final twenty minutes to share any other thoughts the article brought up for you.  
 
See you at Ortega on the 28th! - Kelci
  
Upcoming Meetings and Selections
“Jenisha From Kentucky”
by Jenisha Wells
I came to New York sure of one thing—that no one could ever know my past.
The Atlantic, October 2023
  • Read on Flipster, a digital magazine platform (SFPL card required) 
  • Download the PDF 
Ortega Branch Library
Saturday, February 28, 2026
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
3223 Ortega Street
San Francisco, CA 94122 (map)

"The Dementia Paradox"
by Katie Engelhart
A bitter family dispute hinged on an impossible question: When cognitive decline changes people, should we respect their new desires?
New York Times Magazine, May 14, 2023
  • Read on ProQuest, a library database that provides access to the NYT Sunday Magazine (SFPL card required)
  • Read on the NYT website 
  • Download the PDF
Virtual Library 
Saturday, March 28, 2026
10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Register on Zoom 
 

"A Good Death"
by William Vollmann
It seems both rational and possible to minimize the likelihood of an unpleasant end. What then about a “good death?”
Harper’s, November 2010
  • Read on ProQuest, a library database that provides access to Harper's Magazine (SFPL card required) (this is a text-only version) 
  • Download the PDF
North Beach Branch Library
Saturday, April 25, 2026
10 - 11:30 a.m.
850 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133 (map)
 
 

Follow-Up From Last Month's Meeting
We discussed "The Last Words on the Bridge" in January. 

The article was by William Langewiesche, a trained pilot that specialized in investigating the mysteries of plane crashes, for which he was nominated for several awards--and won the 2002 National Magazine Award for Reporting for The Crash of EgyptAir 990. The New York Times described him as the "Steve McQueen of journalism" in their obituary of him. 
 
Some questions that were raised from the discussion included how common are maritime disasters and what was the previous worst disaster, that happened 30 years prior to the sinking of El Faro in 2015.
 
We could look for materials in the library catalog under the subject heading "Shipwrecks." 
 
The library database Statista also might be a good place to look. Keyword search maritime or maritime disasters. Here's an example of a graph:

Global insured losses caused by maritime disasters from 2007 to 2017




Thanks for reading!
Selections are curated by librarians in the Magazines and Newspapers Center. See all 2026 selections. 
 
We welcome your suggestions!
Guidelines:
- Around 10,000 words in length
- Strong sense of plot driving the narrative
- Any topic or genre
- Preference given to articles from periodicals the library subscribes to   
 
Have questions? 
Contact us by phone at (415) 557-4453 or email at mnc@sfpl.org

Magazines and Newspapers Center
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4400 https://sfpl.org/magsnews
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