Join a group at the library

Meet up with other book-lovers by joining one of our reading groups! Upcoming books for all these groups are available at the library circulation desk.

Curiouser and Curiouser reads a variety of non-fiction books. We tend to stay away from politics, preferring to learn interesting things about history, science, and popular culture.

The Forest Park Speculative Fiction Book Club meets once a month, usually on the second Thursday, to discuss a pre-selected science fiction (or occasionally fantasy) book. A list of their upcoming books can be found on the website. For more information, contact the group via the form on their website.

The Kids and Coffee group meets monthly at the Library. Toys and games will be provided to keep the little ones interested, while caregivers can discuss popular fiction titles. Give us a call or look for a flyer at the Library for the current title.

The Gammy Birds meets on the first Tuesday of each month at the Library. The selection is a mix of popular fiction, plus an occasional non-fiction title. Give us a call or look for a flyer at the Library for the current title.

The Graphic Novel group reads indie and major-label graphic novels, both fiction and non-fiction. It's currently on haitus, probably until Fall 2013. 

Start your own group, with our help

If none of these options sound appealing, don't worry! We'd be happy to offer you space and support if you'd like to start a group of your own. Not sure where to begin? Try these resources:

Oprah has some advice on How to Start a Book Club, and RealSimple offers this helpful checklist. Worried about keeping the discussion going? There are many online resources offering discussion guides for popular titles.

• Bloomsbury Readers' Guides - Readers' Guides provide all the material you will need to aid you in discussing each title. This includes plot synopses, discussion questions, author biographies and suggestions for further reading, both of the featured author's work and for other related books.
• BookPage Magazine - With the popular BookPage magazine, you can find out about the latest book club picks in paperback, get ideas for great discussions, read author interviews, and more!
• Reading Group Choices - Hundreds of book suggestions with discussion topics for lively reading group discussions!
• Discussion guides for HarperCollins books, from the publisher.
• The Great Books Foundation offers guides for many classic titles. Each discussion guide features interpretive questions that support lively and extended discussion, biographical background on the author, and recommended related titles.
• LitLovers, an online community for reading groups, includes tips on starting and running your book club, as well as discussion guides.
• Reading Group Guides is another online book group community which includes discussion questions, interviews, and occasional special offers.

We also have some books here at the library that might give you a great starting point:

• Essential Guide for Reading Groups, by Susan Osborne
• A Year of Reading: A Month-by-Month Guide to Classics and Crowd-Pleasers for You or Your Book Group, by Elisabeth Ellington and Jane Freimiller, Ph.D.
• Take and Read: Spiritual Reading, an Annotated List, by Eugene H. Peterson
• Sacred Fire: the QBR 100 Essential Black Books, by Max Rodriguez

Finally, if you're a little nervous about setting off on your own, don't worry! One of our librarians can attend your first meeting to get things started. Just contact us for more details.