Have You Missed Coffee By the Book?

Coffee By the Book, started last year as a joint venture between the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library and Bailiwicks Coffee Company, has been a rousing success throughout its first year of existence.  This is not your normal book group.  First, there's obviously coffee.  How can you go wrong there?  Second, the book selections may surprise you.  The focus is on debut novels, often quirky, that may have slipped under your radar.  Finally, there is the group itself.  We have a very good group who are energetic and love talking about books.

We discussed The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman at our last meeting.  This heartbreaking novel follows a young man who becomes a lighthouse keeper on a small island off the coast of Australia.  He meets a young woman while on shore leave and they soon get married.  After several failed attempts at starting a family, they find a boat that has washed up on the island.  The boat contains a man who has passed away and a healthy baby. The decision they make ends up haunting them for a long time.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 21 from 6:00 to 7:00 at Bailiwicks.  Herman Koch's The Dinner is our next book.  Koch looks at two brothers who share a dark family secret.  The entire story takes place during a single dinner which gets more and more hostile.  Our discussion should be interesting since the meeting is one week before Thanksgiving!  Copies of the book are now available at the Information Desk. 

Chris May- Adult Services Manager

Need a Discussion Guide for Your Book Group?

We love helping out local book groups at the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library!  Let us know if you have a group and need help ordering enough copies for your members.  We would be more than happy to help!

But what about book discussion guides?  There's no worse feeling than not having enough interesting questions for the group.  Never fear!  Check out these sites below for excellent book discussion guides (click the images to enter the sites):

NoveList Plus is an excellent subscription service offered for free through the library.  You will be asked for either your zip code or library card number when entering the site.  Click on "Book Discussion Guides" on the right-hand side of the page.

BookBrowse is a tremendous free service for book reviews, author/title read-alikes and book discussion guides.  Hover over the Book Clubs tab on the top of the screen and you will see Reading Guides listed.

LitLovers is similar to BookBrowse.  It even includes useful tips on starting your own book club!  Go to LitResources on the left-hand side of the screen.  Reading Guides is listed under this heading.



Don't forget that the library also offers to book groups!  Let's Talk About It meets on the first Thursday of the month at 10:30 am.  Copies of the next book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, are available at the Information Desk.  Our other book group, Coffee By the Book, meets at Bailiwicks Coffee Company on the third Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm.  Copies of this month's title, The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards, are also available.

Fall "Let's Talk About It" Book Club Preview

It's getting to be that time again... book club season! The "Let's Talk About It" book group is starting up again on September 5*. Check out this preview of upcoming titles!

The novel for the first meeting is one I've reviewed for this blog before and one I greatly enjoyed: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It is the story of Liesel, a young German orphan who goes to live with foster parents during World War II. You can read my review of it here, but suffice to say it is deeply emotional and moving. Copies of The Book Thief are available now for check out at the Information Desk.

For a little variety, I included a nonfiction title in our Fall book club lineup. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder is a biographical account of the life of Paul Farmer, a doctor and anthropologist who traveled the world  fighting diseases, tuberculosis in particular. The discussion starts on October 3, so don't miss it!

The November selection is a relatively new title, published in May of this year: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. We will talk about this one on November 7. In a post-apocalyptic world, a man lives in an aircraft hanger with his dog. When he receives a message on his radio, he ventures out to find the source, and what he discovers is nothing he ever expected.

For the last book before the holidays, I decided on something a little lighter. On December 5, we will discuss Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson. In a small village in the English countryside, Major Pettigrew lives in peace and quiet until his brother dies unexpectedly. This sparks a friendship between he and Miss Jasmina Ali, a Pakistani shopkeeper in the village. As their friendship turns into something more, the relationship is tested by those who think that romance between locals and outsiders is wrong.

Please join us for our first meeting on September 5 - you can expect lively discussion and light refreshments. We hope to see you there!

*All meetings of the "Let's Talk" book club are at 10:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month and take place in the Junior Home room at T-SPL.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian

Check Out Our Adult Summer Reading Programs!

Did you know the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library has two adult summer reading programs?  There's still plenty of time to sign up for both!

Groundbreaking Reads is our adult program for those who prefer print titles or eBooks.  Simply register at the Information Desk in the library to be entered into the program.  Then, each time you come to the library, fill out an entry slip for every book you read and place it in the box at the Information Desk.  This will enter you into our prize drawing for all kinds of great items like gift cards to Phat Cakes, Bailiwicks, Wagner Flowers, Mane Cinsations, Fireside Cafe Pub, and  Ralph's Joy of Living.  Winners will be selected and contacted August 1.

Prefer to listen to audiobooks?  Don't fret!  U Need 2 Listen is our summer listening program.  It works the same way as Groundbreaking Reads and you even receive a free pair of ear buds when you sign up for the program!  Fill out an entry form for each audiobook you listen to between now and the end of July and place them in the separate audio club entry box at the Information Desk.  Prizes include gift cards to Pizza Hut, Ralph's Joy of Living, Phat Cakes, Bailiwicks, and Cinemark.  Prizes will be drawn on August 1.

Keep reading and listening to your favorite titles and authors!