Book Club Kits

As I begin this blog post, I am enjoying a beautiful Fall morning. My classes have resumed, my kids are back in school, my early morning walks are started before the sun has shown its face...all signs that cool days and long nights are not far away. It's time to be thinking of good reads to keep us company as we sit by a warm fire.

My break from classes was too short, with too many things to accomplish. I had some repair/remodeling work done in my house, spent some time on yard chores, and read as much non-required reading as I could fit in. Death in the Sahara was a sad story of an ill-fated attempt to span the Sahara with a railroad, complete with clash of cultures and a fair amount of hubris tossed in. I knew the story wouldn't end well, but found the historical account to be an interesting one.

On the other hand, Carol Goodman's Ghost Orchid was great fiction. It's one of the most compelling stories I've read in a long time. A little dark and fairly creepy, it's the story of a place and the spirits of the people tied to that place. There are lots of connections among the modern writers working in the writer's colony, as well as between them and the historical characters. I found it hard to put the book down, and harder to stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading.

I'd like to mention the Pikes Peak Library District book club collection while I'm adding information to my blog. While neither of the books listed above are in the collection, Tall Grass by Sandra Dallas is one of the offerings in the collection. It is historical fiction, set in a small town in southeastern Colorado during World War II. Written in the voice of a young girl, it provides a personal perspective of living near a relocation camp for Japanese-Americans. It offers much to discuss in a book club.

For those of you in book clubs, the book club collection is a great way to provide a copy of your selected book to club members. With over 200 titles in the collection, there are many books to choose from. The entire kit (most have 12 copies of the selected book) is checked out on one library card. Checkout period is six weeks, with no renewal. But six weeks is enough time to check out the kit, take it to your club, share the copies with your book club members, read, discuss and return the books. About one-half of the kits are checked out at any time, so you may want to request more than one title, The collection ranges from Ayn Rand to Anne Tyler, and from Ian McEwan to Rudolfo Anaya.

To view more information about using the book club collection and to see the current list of titles, click on this link to the book club collection. You can also go to ppld.org, access the catalog, and look at the right side under Select Collections, and click on Book Club Collections, or ask at your library branch.

I wish you happy reading, and hope you find the book club collection a good source of reading for your book club.