Each winter, we read a story together.
The 2026 Winter Read is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Frankenstein is held at The Community Library—in print in English and Spanish, and digitally in eBook, eAudiobook, and film. Come check it out!
Frankenstein is also available with our partner libraries in Hailey, Bellevue, and Stanley.
Find Frankenstein in all formats at The Community Library here.
About Frankenstein
For more than 200 years, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus has captured imaginations. The story of a young scientist who infuses life into a new being, flees in terror, and sets in motion a series of deadly events, the novel has spawned countless works across film and literature. Join us as we delve into the extraordinary life of Mary Shelley, her creation, and its enduring appeal.
The 2026 Winter Read will focus on Shelley’s original 1818 text. The Penguin Classics edition, with an introduction from National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon, preserves the hard-hitting and politically-charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong voice.
About the Author
Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, famous radical writers of the day. Mary’s mother died ten days after the birth. Under Godwin’s conscientious and expert tuition, Mary’s was an intellectually stimulating childhood, though she often felt misunderstood by her stepmother and neglected by her father. In 1814 she met and soon fell in love with the then-unknown Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July they eloped to the Continent. In December 1816, after Shelley’s first wife, Harriet, committed suicide, Mary and Percy married. Of the four children she bore Shelley, only Percy Florence survived. They lived in Italy from 1818 until 1822, when Shelley drowned following the sinking of his boat Ariel in a storm. Mary returned with Percy Florence to London, where she continued to live as a professional writer until her death in 1851.
The idea for Frankenstein came to Mary Godwin during a summer sojourn in 1816 with Percy Shelley on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Lord Byron was also staying. She was inspired to begin her unique tale after Byron suggested a ghost story competition. Byron himself produced “A Fragment,” which later inspired his physician John Polidori to write The Vampyre. Mary completed her short story back in England, and it was published as Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818. Among her other novels are The Last Man (1826), a dystopian story set in the twenty-first century, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837). As well as contributing many stories and essays to publications such as the Keepsake and the Westminster Review, she wrote numerous biographical essays for Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1835, 1838–39). Her other books include the first collected edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Poetical Works (4 vols., 1839) and a book based on the Continental travels she undertook with her son Percy Florence and his friends, Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844). (From Penguin Random House)
Image: Richard Rothwell’s portrait of Shelley, which was shown at the Royal Academy in 1840, accompanied by lines from Percy Shelley’s poem The Revolt of Islam calling her a “child of love and light.” Wikimedia Commons.
Speakers & Films
February 5: Opening Speaker
“Mary Shelley: Romantic Outlaw.” Award-winning biographer Charlotte Gordon takes us on a vivid journey across Revolutionary France and Victorian England, from Italy’s seaports to the highlands of Scotland, introducing us to the defiant, creative writer who refused to be confined by the conventions of her era.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library
February 6: Films
Frankenweenie (2012), 90 minutes, rated PG. Suitable for ages 9+.
2:00 p.m. The Community Library
Register to attend.
Mary Shelley (2017), 120 minutes, rated PG-13. Biopic starring Elle Fanning.
5:00 p.m. The Community Library
Register to attend.
February 11: Author Talk
Creature Features: A History of Frankenstein Movies. Lester Friedman, author of Monstrous Progeny, joins us to explore why Shelley’s tale remains so relevant 200 years later and the story’s evolution across film and pop culture.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library + Vimeo
Register to attend in person.
Watch online. (Link forthcoming)
February 12: Films
Frankenstein (1910) and Frankenstein (1931). We’ll open with the first known film on file, a 12-minute production from Edison Studios, then James Whale’s seminal 71-minute film that laid the groundwork for the modern horror/monster genre.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library
Coming Soon
Frankenstein and Artificial Intelligence.
Speaker, date, and details to be announced.
February 19: Author Talk
For Human Use. Sarah G. Pierce discusses her newly-released novel, a horrific romantic comedy about a dating app that matches people with dead bodies.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library.
February 20: Film
Lisa Frankenstein (2024), 101 minutes, rated PG-13. A campy film about a young woman with a crush on a handsome bust at the cemetery, his accidental reanimation, and the zany murderous events that follow.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library
February 25: Film
Young Frankenstein (1974), 108 minutes, rated PG. Mel Brooks’s comical film about a new Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) who returns to his family castle and takes up where his famous grandfather left off in the attempt to make a perfect being out of dead body parts.
5:30 p.m. The Community Library.
February 27: Closing Event
Scary Stories at the Library! Join us after-hours for scary stories at The Community Library, as we close out the 2026 Winter Read. More information coming soon.
7:00 p.m. The Community Library.
Book Discussions
Winter Read Book Group
A 4-week discussion group, led by The Community Library’s executive director Jenny Emery Davidson. Meeting on Wednesdays in February from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in the Library’s Lecture Hall. Registration is requested to join us for the full series. Learn more and register here.
Winter Read Partners
Past Winter Reads
