Find the book club for you at the library

Some people start book clubs because they want to drink wine. Or maybe it’s for the brownies. Some seek to gain a deeper understanding of the stories they read and the friends with whom they discuss them. (Of course, you can do all of the above at the same time.)

A book club can provide the structure and motivation to read and read diversely, to discover stories that explore experiences different from our own – or similar. All of these stories are important as they enable us to see ourselves and each other, and experience a sense of belonging and connection with others.

This fall, the library hosts four book clubs. None of them includes wine, but occasionally there are brownies. And there is definitely discussion on a diverse range of books. The long-running GDPL book club continues with popular titles, such as “The White Angel”, true-crime fiction by BC author John MacLachlan Gray (Sept. 11); “Becoming”, by Michelle Obama (Oct. 9), the most requested title of the year; and finally “Chop Suey Nation”, by Ann Hui (Nov. 13). The inaugural LGBTQ2 book club, “Elevenses,” meets Saturday, Sept. 7 at – you guessed it – 11am, to discuss Joshua Whitehead’s Lambda Literary Award-winning novel, “Jonny Appleseed”, over coffee and muffins. The library has also teamed up with Capilano University and Sunshine Coast Community Service’s “Welcoming Communities” to offer monthly ESL Reading Discussion groups. Facilitated by Trudi Diening, participants of all levels are invited to sign up to read and discuss articles and books. Finally, the teen book club resumes this fall, so sign up for the library’s monthly e-newsletter for details on that and more.

And if you are already a member of a book club, visit the library for suggestions – we have several book-club sets available for borrowing, so you can save your book money for the wine and brownies…

If you are interested in attending one of the library’s book clubs, simply call the library at 604-886-2130.