Craving a good book to read? Do you enjoy meeting new people and uncovering hidden ideas about your favorite stories? Well, look no further than the Wallingford Public Library (WPL) book clubs!
Within the five book clubs open to the public, different groups read about diverse topics such as science-fiction novels to Spanish-language novels, with meeting frequency varying from monthly to quarterly.
Ms. Cindy Haiken, the Readers’ Advisory Librarian at the WPL, said, “Book clubs create community and bring people together. There’s a lot of sharing of ideas and personal stories, and this really fosters trust. And of course, reading is great.”
The Hibernation Book Club, whose mission is to “tackle one long classic novel every winter, dividing it up into shorter sections and meeting six times over the course of three months,” according to the WPL website. The group meets every other Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. from January to March. This year, they are discussing Middlemarch by George Eliot.
Truth Be Told is another book club dedicated to discussing “popular and timely nonfiction books.” Meeting on Thursdays every other month in the Collins Room of the WPL, the group is currently reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Do titles like The Great Gatsby, Moby-Dick, or Pride and Prejudice catch your eye? WPL also has the Classics Book Club, which meets every first Thursday of February, June, and October at 6:30 p.m. in the Collins Room. Recently, they discussed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. They will be exploring My Antonia by Willa Cather in June, followed in October by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
Interested in more regular meetings? The Thursday Night Book Club meets each month on the third Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Collins Room. Throughout the rest of the year, they will be discussing This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel (March 16), the One Book, One Wallingford (a town reading program) title (April 20), Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (May 18), Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead (June 15), The Guncle by Steven Rowley (July 27), The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (August 17), Zorrie by Laird Hunt (September 21), This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (October 19), Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (November 16), and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (December 21).
Intrigued by the suspense of the unknown? The Mystery Book Club reads about the latest works in mystery and detective fiction genres. Meeting once a month on the first Wednesday except for January, July, and August, the club assigns specific themes for their seasonal book choices. Spring 2023’s theme is the “Urban Detective,” and the group is reading The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.
In addition to the English-language book clubs, the Wallingford Public Library also collaborates with the Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW) to offer a Spanish-language book club.
To further bolster the community’s engagement, the library administers all club meetings in-person and over Zoom. They also provide free copies of the books for all participants. If you are interested in participating in any of these book clubs, contact Cindy Haiken at chaiken@wallingfordlibrary.org.
