A club for every interest: More than 40 book clubs offered in Monroe County
Kathy Gould is a self-proclaimed compulsive reader. Lois Morris is seeking reading suggestions, and Viola Switlik, Denise Malocke, Pam Meade and Adele Rottenbucher all wanted something to do in their retirement.
Once a month, the local women gather with about 15 other people at Ellis Library & Reference Center to discuss a new title in the I Love a Mystery Book Club.
The group is one of the more than 40 book clubs that meet monthly around the county. Most are offered by the Monroe County Library System, but there are also clubs hosted by the Milan and Flat Rock libraries and the Monroe Center for Healthy Aging.
Monroe County has book clubs for children, teens and adults who love reading cookbooks, fantasy titles, science fiction and many other genres. There’s even a local club with international members, and a new book club will start Thursday.
Ellis’ I Love a Mystery Book Club is one of the longer-running clubs. It’s met continuously — even during COVID — since 2011. Another MCLS club, North County Book Club, has been meeting even longer — at least 27 years — at the Carleton Branch Library.
“The club may be older than that, but that is the oldest flyer I could locate,” David Ross, community librarian and North Club moderator, said. “There are three ladies who may have been members since 1996.”
North County Book Club’s 10 members read 11 books, from all genres, each year.
“Book clubs have been an important part of library services for decades,” Barbra Krueger, community outreach coordinator at the Monroe County Library System, said. “The continuing success of I Love a Mystery Book Club and the North County Book Club clearly shows how libraries offer a comfortable place for people to connect over a shared interest. Book clubs are a great example of libraries being a bridge between common interests and new ideas.”
Duane Dehner, Meade and Eve Weatherholt, all from the I Love A Mystery Book Club, agree. They enjoy the group’s conversations and perspectives.
“It’s an extremely intelligent group of people. It’s nice to have conversations. They truly think it through,” Weatherholt of Temperance said.
“Reading is a very solitary activity. It’s fun to get together and talk about the books we read,” Meade added.
Dehner joined the club three years ago.
“This group knows a ton of things and has resources to find books. They’ve been super about that. It’s been great,” he said.
Dehner and John Morris are two of the group’s few men. Another, Tom Bajkiewicz, is the last remaining charter member.
“We have five guys in our book club, and they often see things differently than the women,” Margo Zieske of Monroe, a retired librarian and the club’s moderator, said. “We have a great group of people who love to read. We don’t all have to agree. We enjoy learning from each other. We laugh a lot.”
At the group’s most recent meeting, the members discussed “Watching You” by Lisa Jewell. It’s a murder mystery set in an English town. As usual, new perspectives emerged.
“I like to figure out who did what and how I would do it and get away with it,” Weatherholt said.
“Is your husband worried?” Zieske asked to laughter among the members.
“I never thought of that angle, to try to figure out how to get away with it. I like to see everyone’s perspective. You get a whole other angle on it,” Diane Merman said.
The I Love a Mystery Club hasn’t missed a month in 21 years.
“If we miss, we made it up. We met through COVID on Zoom,” Zieske said. “COVID taught us a new way to do things. We used to bring (paper information). Now we email that to everyone.”
The group also aims to find a new author each month.
“We’ve read 200-plus books, 12 books a year for 21 years,” Zieske said.
Titles are suggested by members, and others come from book award lists. Zieske and others, such as Dehner, preread each title.
“We preview them first. Reviews aren’t to be trusted,” Zieske said.
Books with excessive violence, adult content and coarse language aren’t chosen. Some members buy the books, but many check them out free at the library or through the Library of Michigan’s Michigan eLibrary.
“A lot (in the group) like historical. We try to keep a variety. We read private eye, police detective, amateur detective. We mix it up as much as we can,” Zieske said.
All books are rated by the readers, and a list of favorites is kept. Topping the list are titles by Nick Petrie and Jane Harper, “A Duty to the Dean” by Charles Todd, and the Cork O’Conner series by William Kent Krueger.
At the bottom is “Potboiler” by Jesse Kellerman, son of author Faye Kellerman.
“We all assumed the son was going to be a great author. That book was so terrible,” Zieske said.
Members such as Lois Morris enjoy the book suggestions.
“I’m glad to have someone give me an assignment. There are so many choices. This is an awesome group. It’s a lot of fun,” she said.
“Jo Heyer moved away last year, but still wants the book club emails for recommendations of what to read next,” Zieske said.
Some in the club even admit mystery isn’t their favorite genre, but they stick around for the comradery.
“I’m a nonfiction reader. I love talking and being part of this group,” Switlik said. “I like the group of people more than I generally do the books.”
MCLS book clubs
The Monroe County Library System offers nearly 40 book clubs that meet throughout the county.
One is even international. The Hofu-Monroe MIFA Book Club, based at the Carleton Branch, is open to local readers and readers from Hofu, Japan, Monroe’s sister city. The members interact on Zoom.
“We started … the book club with Hofu, Japan, in January of 2021. We have members from Michigan, Toronto, Canada and Hofu,” David Ross, librarian and club moderator, said.
A new book club will debut Thursday. The Inspirational Book Club will meet at 11 a.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Blue Bush Branch. The club’s first book is “Sisterchicks on the Loose” by Robin Jones Gunn.
All MCLS book clubs:
• Bedford Branch A.M. Book Club
• Bedford Branch P.M. Book Club
• Bedford Branch Girls Night Out Book Club
• Bedford Branch Just the Facts Book Club
• Bedford Branch Books on Tap
• Bedford Branch Homeschool Book Club
• Bedford Preschool Book Club
• Bedford Branch Kindergarten & First Grade Book Club
• Blue Bush Branch Classics Book Club
• Blue Bush Branch Life is a Mystery Book Club
• Blue Bush Inspirational Book Club
• Carleton Branch Hofu-Monroe MIFA Book Club
• Carleton Branch North County Book Club
• Carleton Branch Savvy Cook Bookers
• Carleton Teen Book Club
• Dorsch Branch Afternoon Book Club
• Dundee Branch Book Club
• Dundee Branch Inspirational Book Club
• Ellis Fanta-Sci Book Club
• Ellis I Love a Mystery Book Club
• Ellis Special Needs Book Club
• Ellis Paging Through the Civil War Book Club
• Ellis Family Book Club
• Ellis Fanta-Sci Book Club
• Erie Branch Book Club
• Erie Mystery Book Club
• Frenchtown-Dixie Branch Library Book Club
• Frenchtown-Dixie Branch Soup for the Soul Book Club
• Ida Branch Book Club
• Maybee Branch Book Club
• Newport Branch Book Club
• Newport Branch Historical Fiction Book Club
• Petersburg Branch Book Club
• Petersburg Branch Novels At Night Book Club
• Petersburg Branch Homeschool Book Club
• Rasey Memorial Branch Book Club
• South Rockwood Historical Fiction Book Club
• South Rockwood Not So Young Adult Book Club
• Vivian Branch An Afternoon Read Book Club
For upcoming meeting dates and more information, visit mymcls.com/books-and-more/book-clubs.
Other Monroe County book clubs
• The Friends of the Flat Rock Public Library Book Club meets at 11 a.m. the first Saturday of each month at the Flat Rock Public Library.
“It is a casual group that selects books based on what members are interested in reading. Current titles, older titles, doesn't matter,” Michael Cummings, director of the Flat Rock Public Library, said.
This month's selection was “Annie’s Ghost: A Journey into a Family Secret” by Steve Luxenberg.
• The Milan Public Library has two book clubs.
“We have Lethal Lunches, a mystery book club, that meets the first Wednesday of each month, and The Novel Bunch, our fiction book club, that meets the second Monday of each month,” Ashley Eichner-Pendell, adult program coordinator, said.
• A book club meets monthly at Monroe Center for Active Adults. The next meeting is at 1:30 p.m. Jan 26. Attendees will discuss “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: More than 40 book clubs offered in Monroe County
