Are you a member of a book club, or want to start your own? We are here to help! There is a plethora of book clubs in Red Wing, and every one gathers for their own reason. Some are neighborhood ones, some are church groups, some are just friends meeting to socialize and maybe talk a bit about the book! At the library, we have three groups that meet monthly to discuss books: The Friends of the Library Book Club, the Overbooked Reading Group and the Pictures and Prose book club. We also are available to offer suggestions on what your next pick will be for your book club, and we will even request the books for your group!

If you are looking for suggestions, here are what some local groups have been reading recently:

Finding books and running a book club

If you are looking for information on how to start, join or run a book club, check out these ideas from Book Riot, BookBrowse, Oprah’s Book Club, or the ilovelibraries site from the American Library Association.

Book club in a bag

The Minnesota Book Award book club in a bag kits are available for checkout! Each kit includes 10 copies of a book, reader guides and bookmarks, all in a handy canvas bag. Titles include the winning books from 2009-2012 in a variety of categories, including fiction, nonfiction and young adult. You can see the titles online but you’ll have to request them through us.

Obtaining copies

In general, if the library’s copy (or copies) of a particular book are checked out, then we will attempt to get the book from other SELCO libraries. If the book is very new, very popular or owned by very few other SELCO libraries, then we may have difficulty getting enough copies in a timely manner. Staff can tell you if the book you are considering falls into any of these categories.

New members

Occasionally we are asked for a referral to a book club. If your club is interested in such referrals, please leave the club name, contact information, and a recent book list (if available) at the service desk.