Don't Just Read . . .

Looking for an opportunity to discuss the latest popular books with some of the smartest people around (your friends and North Carolina State University's most engaged scholars)?

NCSU Libraries and Wake County Public Libraries teamed up to make that easy with READ SMART, a series of informal discussions moderated by members of NC State's faculty.

READ SMART is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Friends of the Library of North Carolina State University . All discussions are held at the Cameron Village Regional Library , 1930 Clark Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27605. For more information, please call 919-513-3481.

Upcoming programs:

Read Smart Book Discussion and Author Visit - The Man Who Touched His Own Heart by Rob Dunn

Wednesday, June 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Rob Dunn, associate professor of biology at NC State and author of the book The Man Who Touched His Own Heart, will lead a discussion on his book.

The Man Who Touched His Own Heart tells the raucous, gory, mesmerizing story of the heart, from the first "explorers" who dug up cadavers and plumbed their hearts' chambers, through the first heart surgeries-which had to be completed in three minutes before death arrived-to heart transplants and the latest medical efforts to prolong our hearts' lives, almost defying nature in the process.

Click here for a sample (please note, sample is large, may take a few moments to load).

Read Smart Book Discussion “ Elephant Company by Vicki Croke

Thursday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Mike Loomis, Chief Veterinarian at the North Carolina Zoo and adjunct associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will lead a discussion on Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Croke.

Read Smart Book Discussion - The Bees by Laline Paull

Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Dr. David Tarpy, professor of entemology at NC State, will lead a discussion on Laline Paull's The Bees . Professor Tarpy teaches a 200-student course every fall on how honey bees have intersected society, and will bring a fascinating perspective to our discussion of this novel.

Fascinating ¦ engrossing ¦ Paull's clear fascination with her source material brings humanity and warmth to a depiction of the remarkable social world of bees, which is no small achievement.  ( ”Huffington Post)