FAQ - BOOKED SOLID - Central Library Book Group

Q: Where do you meet?
A: The group meets at the Glendale Central Library, 222 East Harvard Street in Glendale, in the Special Collections Room on the upper level.

Q: Must I register or sign up to join the Book Group?
A: No, just drop in. If you enjoy the experience, we hope you will return.

Q: Do I need to read the current book before I come to my first meeting?
A: Not required, but you will probably enjoy the meeting more if you do. To find out the current title, check this web site or call Mary Alice Wollam at the Casa Verdugo Branch Library (818) 548-2047, or Pat Zeider at the Montrose Branch Library (818) 548-2048.

Q: What is the makeup of your group?
A: The members are adults, female and male, all ages and all backgrounds.

Q: Who leads the group discussion?
A: Two librarians at the Glendale Public Library - Mary Alice Wollam and Pat Zeider - lead the group. They come prepared with questions, book reviews and biographies of the authors. Everyone in the group talks and shares opinions.

Q: What kinds of books does the group read?
A: We read all kinds of fiction and non-fiction. We have read and are reading classics, best sellers, biographies, travel books, mysteries, sports books, humorous titles and even graphic novels. We have even had an author present while we discussed her book.

Q: Where do the group members get their books?
A: All the books belong to the library. In order for a book to qualify for the group there must be enough copies for all the members.

Q: How do you choose your books?
A: The two librarians who lead the group choose the books. Although the criteria are not scientific, books are chosen that:

• are from a variety of genres
• are classics
• are well reviewed
• have been recommended by Reading Group members
• address topics in the news
• have ideas that will spark a spirited discussion
• have enough copies to go around

2010

• Los Angeles Noir, edited by Denise Hamilton (10/10
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (9/10)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (8/10)
• A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr (7/10)
• White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (6/10)
• Full-Time Eater by Frank Bruni
• Pulitzer Prize winning novel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (4/10)
• Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff, by Rosemary Mahoney (3/10)
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (2/10)

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows (11/09)
• The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (8/09)
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire (7/09)
• Tender At the Bone by Ruth Reichl (5/09)
• Flu: the Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It by Gina Bari Kolata (3/08)

2007 - SHOW / HIDE

2006 - SHOW / HIDE

2005 - SHOW / HIDE

2004 - SHOW / HIDE

2003 - SHOW / HIDE

2002 - SHOW / HIDE

Q: Are there refreshments?
A: The librarians always bring treats.

Q: If I have questions, whom can I ask?
A: Call Mary Alice Wollam at the Casa Verdugo Branch Library (818) 548-2047, or Pat Zeider at the Montrose Branch Library (818) 548-2048. Or, Click here to email a question.