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Community Corner

Reader's Choice: 40 Unique Book Clubs Await

The La Grange Park Library hosts groups for men, women and couples; some have been going on for more than a decade; and members find the experience invaluable.

When I think of a book group, I think of a peaceful and thought-provoking scene: a gathering of people sitting in a living room or a den with a fire going (in winter) or cicadas singing in the background during the summer. As they settle in from a day of work, from running around and attending to miscellaneous stresses, they breathe a sigh of relief. They have escaped from the everyday to a different world: they all share a love of books, of reading, of talking about books. Often, when finishing a book, be it great or not-so-great, the reader would love to talk about it with someone. A book group gives you that opportunity.

helps our local book groups in a big way: there are more than 40 book groups that have their own library card at our library. Our library is a bit unusual in that a member of the book group can call and speak with anyone at the circulation desk and request any number of books for its club, so the individual members do not have to purchase a book every month. The library asks that you include not only the title and author of the book, but the number of copies needed, the date of the book club meeting, name of the book club and name and phone number of the contact person. The books arrive approximately four weeks prior to the book club meeting (if ordered on time) and the books are held at the circulation desk under the book club's name. Each member then goes to the library and requests the current book of the club and checks it out on his or her own personal library card.

When our library recently underwent a renovation, part of the plans included a special shelf unit for all of the book clubs. Even with that, there is limited space and once a club's books are all checked out, that space is used for another group—the library has a plastic insert on each shelf and tags with each book group, so the stacks of books are moveable.

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One of the groups, "Ladies of the Evening," or LOTE for short, has been in existence for 18 years and it is the one to which I belong. One of our recent selections was When Everything Changed by Gail Collins and the discussion lasted well into one of those warm cicada nights and went on throughout emails through the following weeks. One of my favorite things about the book club is that I have read some things that I normally would not pick up—it broadens your horizons in addition to giving you a respite from the world outside. We often take field trips based on the book: we did a self-guided tour of the city's attractions after we read Devil in the White City. To complete our reading of A Year of Magical Thinking, (Joan Didion) we journeyed to see the play when it appeared at the University of Chicago.

Not that book groups are only for women: one of the groups at the library is the United Methodist Men's Book Club. They were featured in the "Print" section of the Chicago Tribune last May. That group ranges in age from 51 to 90 and the makeup is quite diverse: architect, printer, carpenter, engineers and teachers. They have a "vigorous" discussion lasting about an hour and a half and then have pie and coffee.

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There also is a couples' book group at our library—yes, husbands and wives. The group is comprised of seven couples—all of whom had kids that attended. They meet every six weeks on a Saturday night, so it is a date as well as a get-together. Some of their favorite books include: Empire Falls by Richard Russo; Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann; and Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Karen Boyd, one of the members of this group says that "these are the people I rely on in a pinch. We know about each other's lives and care about each other's opinions."

La Grange Park Public Library also has a group that welcomes new members:  Books Alive meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. in the library, 555 N. LaGrange Rd. Daina Aukstuolis, reference librarian, is the moderator. As Aukstuolis says: "We have a nice mix of people and read a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction." Their recent reads include The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey. Like other groups, the members have become close and some go out to lunch before coming to the meeting.

Now with the longer nights, treat yourself to a book group: start one, join one. You may discover the same thing that Karen Boyd has found: "The times I have missed the group I have discovered that I really regret the choice I made not to attend."

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