The Aldus Society


Central Ohio’s Bibliophilic Society

Welcome to your Central Ohio connection for book lovers. The Aldus Society brings literary events and programming to book lovers and educational opportunities to members. Some of our members are serious book collectors, some of us are merely lovers of the printed word in  all its forms.

2023 – 2024 Program Season:

Thurber Center
91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43215.
(next to the Thurber House).

7 p.m.: Doors open, socializing.
7:30 p.m.: Presentation begins.

Free parking. Programs are free and open to the public.

Upcoming:

Tuesday, OCT 10th 2023 (note: it’s a TUESDAY this month!): Ashley Perez. 

 

In honor of Banned Books Week (Oct 1-7), Independent Bookseller Charlie Pugsley interviews award-winning author Ashley Hope Pérez about her novel Out of Darkness and her experiences as one of the most frequently banned authors in the country. Ashley Hope Pérez, who holds a PhD in comparative literature, is the author of novels for young adults, including Out of Darkness, The Knife and the Butterfly, and What Can’t Wait. Out of Darkness was described by The New York Times Book Review as a “layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town.” It was selected as a best book of the year by both Kirkus and School Library Journal and won several awards. Despite being published in 2015 and never challenged until 2021, Out of Darkness has become one of the most frequently banned books in the U.S. over the past two years.

Thursday NOV 9th 2023: Mark Dawidziak. The author of Mystery of Mysteries, the Death and Life of Edgar Allen Poe, focuses on Poe’s “final days,” Dawidziak will discuss various theories about Poe’s death, using the latest information from Poe scholars and researchers, before sharing a brand-new theory.

Thursday, DEC 7th 2023: Holiday Party.

Thursday, JAN 11th 2024: Aldus Collects.

Thursday, FEB 8th 2024: Sarah Neville. The OSU English professor and author of Early Modern Herbals and the Book Trade will discuss the book trade in Tudor and Stuart England and reasons behind the success of the printed herbal.

Thursday, MAR 14th 2024: Reid Byers. The author of The Private Library examines the historical influences that have shaped the architecture of the private library, and the furnishings, amenities, and delightful anachronisms that make the mortal room into what Borges so famously called Paradise.

Thursday, APR 11th 2024: Betty Weibel. The author of The Ohio Literary Trail, which locates over 70 literary sites across Ohio, will discuss her experiences in tracking down the writers from Ohio who helped shape literature and culture worldwide.

Thursday, MAY 9th 2024: Madison Good. Madison Good of the OSU Library Special Collections  presents the bookbindings of Margaret Armstrong, one of the most celebrated and recognized women in binding design from the late 19th century, who inspired a generation of younger women with her style and industrious output.

Aldus is an affiliate of the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS).