Where: Lane Libraries Fairfield Branch, 1485 Corydale Drive, Fairfield
When: 6 p.m. third Tuesday, monthly, traditional book club; 6:30 p.m. second Wednesday, monthly, Positively Paranormal
More info at lanepl.org or (513) 858-3238
Where: Lane Libraries Hamilton Branch, 300 N. Third St., Hamilton
When: 6:30 p.m. second Tuesday, monthly
More info at lanepl.org or (513) 894-7156
Where: West Chester Library, 9363 Centre Pointe Drive, West Chester Twp.
When: 7 p.m. second Monday, monthly
More info at www.middletown library.org or (513) 777-3131
What: Mason Public Library Epilogue Book Club
Where: Second floor, Mason Municipal Center, 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road, Mason
When: 2 p.m. second Wednesday, monthly
More info at www.masonpl.lib.oh.us or (513) 398-2711
Where: Mason Public Library, 200 Reading Road, Mason
When: 7 p.m. third Tuesday, monthly
More info at www.masonpl.lib.oh.us or (513) 398-2711
Where: Book Bums, 8992 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, West Chester Twp.
More info at bookbums.com or (513) 847-1471
BUTLER/WARREN COUNTIES — If your goal for 2011 is to read more, or even just to make new friends, local librarians say attending a book club is a great opportunity.
Many local libraries offer patrons free book clubs. The Lane Public Libraries offer monthly book clubs at each branch, said Carrie Mancuso, public relations manager.
A traditional book club meets at 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month at Fairfield Lane Library or 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday at the Hamilton branch. Participants can register and pick up a copy of the book club’s selection at the registration desk to read ahead of time, Mancuso said.
Librarian Linsey Milillo said the Tuesday book club attendees enjoy meeting to discuss the reading selections. “There’s a sense of honesty when people didn’t like it at all,” she said. Participants also tend to get more out of a book by sharing their thoughts in a community, she said.
Milillo said the library has seen a demand for more science fiction and fantasy titles, and as a result, the Fairfield Lane Library decided to create a book club for patrons who enjoy those genres. The club is called Positively Paranormal, the Book Club with Bite, and meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month.
The West Chester Library also started a book club for 2011. It meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month, librarian Phyllis Goodman said. The book club is free and does not require registration.
Goodman said the book club already has grown since it started in the beginning of the year.
“People are enjoying it. They’re very talkative and everyone has a lot to say,” she said. “They’ve had some pretty lively book discussions.”
The Mason Public Library also offers two traditional book clubs. Librarian Carol Sanders leads a club that meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month at the library. In addition, the Epilogue Book Club meets at 2 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Mason Municipal Center.
Participants say they enjoy book club because “it forces them to read something different,” Sanders said. It also gives people the chance to connect to one another.
“Something will hit you in a book that will touch you in a different way,” Sanders said, and participants learn from relating life experiences.
“It gives people a place to express themselves,” she said.
Mason also offers an online book club for people who love to read, but can’t commit to book club meetings. Library Director Sarah Brown said patrons can choose their favorite genres online at www.masonpl.lib.oh.us, then receive selected passages from upcoming books or best-sellers in their email inboxes.
“It’s just enough to get you interested in the book,” Brown said. If they’re interested in reading the rest of the book, patrons can check out a copy from the library. They then can discuss the selection on an online forum.
“We’re very excited about the online book clubs because we can see the statistics and they have a strong following,” Brown said.
Another nontraditional book club option is available at Book Bums in West Chester Twp. Instead of meeting with the same group monthly, Book Bums customers can choose the book they’d like to read and sign up for the meeting that’s most convenient, owner Mike Williams said.
“You get to read exactly what you want to read instead of what the group wants to read, and you get to meet new people,” Williams said.
The book clubs cost $20 and include a copy of the selected book, or $10 without the book. Williams said Book Bums tries to include a special relevant experience with each club to add extra meaning.
West Chester Twp. resident Judy Jackson said she has participated in at least 15 book clubs at Book Bums and enjoys that “extra value.”
“They always have lively conversation. They always have something added,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she also appreciates the atmosphere and the effort put into the book clubs at Book Bums. “What makes a good book is a book that changes you somehow or makes you feel something,” she said. “I really feel that they put that extra effort into the book clubs to picking those really great books.”
“A lot of the books that we choose are thought-provoking,” Williams said.
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