The Mandarin Branch Library will host two book club meetings in October, one featuring an award-winning horror novel and the other a debut fantasy.

The library at 3330 Kori Road has sessions scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8, and Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to the Jacksonville Public Library's October book club announcement.

The Oct. 8 meeting starts at 1 p.m. The group will discuss "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones, published March 18, 2025. The novel won the Bram Stoker Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2025. It also took the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel in 2026. The Thursday club meets on the second Thursday of each month and focuses on fiction.

The Oct. 20 session begins at 6 p.m. with "Rewitched," the debut novel by Lucy Jane Wood, published in September 2024. The Tuesday club meets on the third Tuesday of each month and covers both fiction and nonfiction.

The library framed its October picks as seasonal horror and fantasy reading across all 16 of the system's book clubs citywide.

Attending either meeting also counts toward the library's Jax Stacks Reading Challenge, a year-long program for adults running through Dec. 31. One of the challenge's 16 categories is a book read by a library book club in 2026. Participants who read at least 12 books across 12 categories can earn a 50% off coupon to the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library Bookstore and may choose from a reusable canvas tote, ceramic mug, journal or stainless tumbler.

Registration is available through the Jacksonville Public Library website. The Mandarin Branch help desk can be reached at (904) 255-2665.

Upcoming at Mandarin Branch Library, 3330 Kori Road:

• Thursday, Oct. 8, 1 p.m. — Book club: "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones
• Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. — Book club: "Rewitched" by Lucy Jane Wood