Book discussion groups (or “book clubs”) are one of our favorite ways to engage with the community on great reads we offer in our collection and invite everyone to a lively conversation. Over the years, we have offered book clubs focused on a variety of subjects and topics across all ages, from the serious to the light-hearted to the adventurous. And more recently, we have been able to offer our book clubs through the virtual space as well, linking readers together no matter where they are.
By checking out the Events page on our website (Tip: click on the gray “Event Type” button beneath the “Search for events” box to select “Book Discussions”), you will find a number of our current book discussion groups being offered at several CLP locations and online. For our in-person meetings, you are welcome to join anytime, and for our virtual and hybrid options, you can register directly on the webpage to receive a Zoom access link to participate from your own home. Furthermore, if you are curious about what titles are coming up, you can get in contact with the Library for more information.
Curious to hear about some of our current book clubs and what they have been up to? Check out below:
Books on Broadway
Books on Broadway has been meeting at CLP-Beechview since 2002 – we’re celebrating our 20th year of book discussions! We read a variety of current titles, with some recent favorites including Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. We tend to focus on historical fiction as it’s a favorite genre for our members, but we also like to shake things up now and then with thrillers, mysteries, memoirs, you name it! Books on Broadway meets monthly, in person, on Saturdays at 1 pm.
Carrick Saturday Book Club
We have had a book club at Carrick for over 17 years. We read a variety of genres such as biographies, history, memoirs, thrillers mysteries, current titles – anything that the group is interested in. We have read The Greatest Gift by Phillip Van Dora Stern on which the film It’s a Wonderful Life is based; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi which follows two sisters and their descendants for eight generations from Ghana to the United States; The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaeda Patrick which is a charming novel that follows a widower as he rediscovers love and life after the loss of his wife. Come join us for great discussions! We meet in person on the second Saturday of the month at 10:30.
Brookline Book Club
The Brookline Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:00pm to discuss fiction and nonfiction from a variety of genres. Lately, we’ve been focusing on stories driven by women and exploring themes of family, identity, mental health, and world history. Some recent favorites include Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gotlieb, The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali, and The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. We are currently reading Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garica for our upcoming May 18th meeting, and will read Untamed by Glennon Doyle in June for Pride Month. New members are always welcome, either in-person or virtually. We’d love to have you join the discussion!
East Liberty Book Club
If you are looking to expand your reading palette with a diverse selection of titles in both fiction and nonfiction, the East Liberty Book Club has you covered! Each month we meet on the second floor of the East Liberty branch from 6-7 pm and enjoy an array of titles that always invoke stimulating conversation. Our group has been meeting since 2018 and we are always interested in hosting new group members from the area. So far this year we have read Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane and Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg. Some upcoming titles include That Hair by Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida and What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte. We normally meet on Thursdays near the end of the month. Interested readers should contact the branch to reserve a copy.
Smithfield Critics
Smithfield Critics has been discussing fiction and nonfiction books on the third Wednesday of every month since 2001. While our membership has cycled a few times since then, our dedication to reading a wide variety of authors and titles has remained throughout. Most recently, our members have read Klara and the Sun, by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro and Jamie Brenner’s Blush, about three generations of women discovering their strength through the racy books of the past. Upcoming books include Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by Patrick Radden Keefe; Charcoal Joe, by Walter Mosley; The Bookshop of Yesterdays, by Amy Meyerson; and Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach. We welcome new members any time, and with the Downtown branch’s new Technology Classroom, attending remotely is also an option.
Mystery Book Club
Do you love a good mystery? From police procedurals to historical mysteries and all points in-between, the Mystery Lovers Book club explores it all! We’ve been meeting at the Main Library since 2004, with members and discussion leaders coming and going over the years. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is our love of a good whodunnit. So far in 2022 we’ve focused on books by women of color, such as Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala and A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette. The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., with the option to join us in person or virtually.
West End Book Ends
Book Ends meet at the West End branch meeting room, on the 2nd Thursday of each month, 12-1 PM. Registration is not required and copies of books for each upcoming discussion are available to borrow at our branch. We try to mix it up with books from different genres, so sometimes historical fiction, sometimes mystery, sometimes non-fiction reflecting current events. Some of our recent discussions have been about A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman, and The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde. We are currently considering what we want to read for the rest of 2022 so consider yourself invited at any time! Some upcoming reads may include The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also call us at 412.622.3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org.