About Melody Warnick

Melody Warnick

Melody Warnick is the author of This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, an exploration of the groundbreaking concept of place attachment. Described by Richard Florida as “an important book for so many people who are choosing their place to live,” This Is Where You Belong helps movers and stayers alike rethink the value of their community.

In her 15+ years as a freelance journalist, Warnick has written for Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day, Slate, The Guardian, O: The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Livability.com, Atlantic CityLab, and many other publications. She and her book have been featured in the likes of The New York Times, Time, Fast Company, Psychology Today, Realtor.com, Forbes.com, and Inc.com, and on dozens of radio stations and podcasts, including Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn, The Art of Manliness, and Strong Towns.

A chronic mover, Warnick managed to fall madly in love with her adopted town of Blacksburg, Virginia. She lives there with her husband and two daughters.

Referenced from: www.melodywarnick.com

One City. One Book. Different Minds.

Each year, we feature an important book through our annual Peoria Reads! one city, one book project. Now 20 years strong.

For 2022, we have chosen a book that helps us celebrate where we are in life — something that perhaps we all need during this ongoing global pandemic.

This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are by Melody Warnick will inspire you to love where you live — whether you are a lifelong Peorian or a new transplant.

“Where we choose to live is the single most important decision we make. Melody Warnick shows you how to find a place you truly love and even more importantly how to make it your very own. This Is Where You Belong is an important book for so many people out there who are choosing their place to live.”
—Richard Florida, author of Who’s Your City? and Rise of the Creative Class

“This Is Where You Belong deconstructs one of the most important decisions a person makes in the new gig economy: where to call home. With boundless curiosity and spirited, seamless prose, Melody Warnick’s placemaking manifesto will make you want to be a better neighbor, wanderer, and citizen of the world.”
—Beth Macy, author of Factory Man

In collaboration with our Peoria Reads! partners, we will be hosting programs tied to this book — including a virtual conversation with the author herself this spring.

If you enjoyed Warnick’s book, the titles below are presented as companion books. We’ve included something for all ages! Just click on the arrows to scroll.

Upcoming Peoria Reads Events 2022

Thursday, Sept. 15 — Friends of the Prairie Cleanup Day

In celebration of National Cleanup Day, we will give some love to the prairie surrounding North Branch, 3001 W. Grand Pkwy.

Join us from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., as we learn about and remove invasive species while enjoying the beauty of the natural landscape. Dress for walking through tall grasses.

All ages welcome.

Wednesday, Sept. 28 — Good Neighbor Day Block Party

Join us for our final Peoria Reads! event!

4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Columbia Park adjacent to McClure Branch, 315 W. McClure Ave.

Free and open to all.

Celebrating “Good Neighbor Day” seems like the perfect way to wrap up our Peoria Reads! 2022 book. We’re combining all the best things about living in a great place — music, food, the arts and friends! After COVID, it’s time to re-connect with friends and make new ones.

Area favorites Dexter O’Neal and the Funk Yard will play live. We’ll have food trucks and inflatables from Fun on the Run. Crafts and games and even the opportunity to record your oral history for posterity.

Possible due to partnerships with the Center Bluff Neighborhood Association, the Peoria Park District and the City of Peoria’s Mini Neighborhood grants.

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Goals of Peoria Reads!

Peoria Reads! is led by Peoria Public Library with the help of community partners, Methodist College, Bradley University and Neighborhood House.

• Bring our diverse community together in ways to promote better understanding.

• Broaden and deepen readers’ appreciation for books dealing with significant issues.

• Bring more people into libraries, bookstores, and literacy institutions

• Increase opportunities for discussion between youth and adults

• Achieve a better understanding of ourselves and of our own humanity.

Upcoming Peoria Reads Events

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