Book Groups in SE King County

Turn the Page: SE King County offers Bunches of Book Groups
By DeAnn Rossetti


There are many reasons to join a reading group. Not only is it a good way for book lovers to come together and enjoy each other's company, you’ll end up reading outside the genres you usually select, broadening your reading horizons. It's also a great way to meet new friends and like-minded people, with whom you can argue about the various merits of that month’s book.
The King County Library System (KCLS) has a variety of book groups to meet the needs of a majority of SE King County’s reading residents.
Maple Valley Library hosts four book groups, Between the Covers, a morning adult women’s book group, the Men’s Book Group that is for adult males who love to read, the Tuesday Night Book Group, another group for adult women, and the Teen Book Club that is for kids enrolled in middle school through high school, roughly ages 10-18.
Fairwood Library in Renton has three book groups, the Lively Minds Book group and the Afternoon Book Club, both for adults of both genders, though these groups are populated mostly by women, and the Books and Bites for Teens ages 12 and up.
Auburn Library has one book group for adults of both genders, as does Covington Library.
Black Diamond Library has two children’s book groups starting in October, one for home schooled kids and one for public school kids.
“The home schooled book group will try to focus on classic children’s literature, both modern and past, such as Sara Plain and Tall, or books by Beverly Cleary,” said Monica Sands, the children’s librarian for Covington and Black Diamond Libraries. “I’m shooting for reading books we have extra copies of, and books that are also on audio tape, so kids who are struggling readers can listen to them with their families.”
Randy Barthelman, the librarian who moderates the lone mens group, said his group doesn’t just read the books people think are typically macho, like thrillers or westerns. “Last month we read “The Prince of Tides” by Pat Conroy, and we’ve read “Another Roadside Attraction” by Tom Robbins and “The Electric Universe” by David Bodanis,” he said. “I’ve had women come to me and tell me that the book we’re reading is more interesting than the one they’re reading for their book group.”
A member of the Maple Valley Library Men’s Book Group. Bill Clausmeyer, said he’s been with that group for several years.
“I was adjusting to being an empty nester, my wife’s disabled so couples activities are out, and I was looking for a selfish interest that wouldn’t take too much time,” he said. “I’ve always supported the library and believe everyone would benefit from spending more tme with a good book, plus the opportunity for intelligent discussion was appealing as well. I saw an ad in the paper for this group and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Barbara Newman is a long-term member of the Covi Book Group. She joined, she says, because two of her best friends encouraged her to join, and as retired teachers and school librarians, they all like to discuss books. “What I like about Sandy's group is the care and intelligence with which she chooses the books for us to read and then leads the discussion when we meet,” Newman said. “Sandy researches each author extremely well and shares tons of information with us. She often ties in her book selection with an author that is appearing at the Seattle Arts and Lecture series, and sometimes with a play or movie that will be staged or released soon.”
Librarian Sandy Dehmer notes that she chooses mostly classic books for her group and then pairs them with a modern literary fiction work that sparks discussion among group members.
“I feel these pairings, like “Lolita” with “Reading Lolita in Tehran” or “Little Women” matched with “March” (which is about Louisa May Alcott’s father) stimulates debate and discussion about style and plot and general things that are thought-provoaking.”
Nancy Jane concurs, “I enjoy our monthly book club meetings with the Covington Library book group. The discussions bring out points that might have been missed or looked at from another angle. I could go on and on but suffice to say it is very enjoyable and we have a wonderful group of ladies, very rarely a man will attend.”
Nancy Grove has been attending the Tuesday evening book group at Maple Valley library for the past 6 years, mainly for the social interaction.
“I wanted to see and speak to other beings besides my dogs,” she said. “I love to read, but I’m a non fiction reader, mostly, so this book group helps me jump into books I wouldn’t read normally, like Alexander McCall Smith’s books about the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I really enjoyed those.”
Librarian Ann Erdmann said that having a small group of fewer than 10 women, like her Tuesday evening group at Maple Valley, helps keep things interesting.
“Mine is a very eclectic group with lots of strong personalities, which is what makes it fun,” she said. “We’ll tackle any genre that we all want to read, and we’re so comfortable with one another, the informal environment makes it easy to have good discussions.”
Stacey O’Shea, the library assistant who runs the Between the Covers group agrees. “If we’re reading a book that has a historical aspect, there’s always a lot of laughing and personal stories that are told during the book discussion,” she said. “The readers tell what they remember about that era and a lot of history is relived in the free-flowing discussions.”
Darlene Stump has been involved in the Maple Valley library book group for years, in addition to book groups she hosts at her home.
“In a book group you have an arena for discussion among like people,” she said. “I really like the free interchange of thoughts and ideas and being around interesting people. For me it was a real lifesaver.”

Book Groups Sidebar


Maple Valley Library Book Groups:

Between the Covers
Adult women
Meets at10 am on the 2nd Wednesday of the month all year
Moderated by Stacey O’Shea, library technical assistant
Located at Maple Valley Library, 21844 SE 248th St, Maple Valley
Phone 425-432-4620 for more information.

Tuesday Evening Book Group
Adult women (though both genders are welcome)
Meets at 7 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of the month all year
Moderated by Ann Erdmann, librarian
Located at Maple Valley Library, 21844 SE 248th St, Maple Valley
Phone 425-432-4620 for more information.

Men’s Book Group
Adult men
Meets at 6:30 pm on the last Wednesday of the month all year
Moderated by Randy Barthelman, librarian
Located at Maple Valley Library, 21844 SE 248th St, Maple Valley
Phone 425-432-4620 for more information

Teen Book Group
Teenagers from middle school through high school
Meets at 4 pm on the 2nd Thursday of the month all year
Moderated by Katie Boyes, teen librarian
Located at Maple Valley Library, 21844 SE 248th St, Maple Valley
Phone 425-432-4620 for more information


Covington Library Book Group

Covi Book Group
Adults of both genders
Meets at 2 pm on the 2nd Thursday of the month all year
Moderated by Sandy Dehmer, librarian
Located at Maple Valley Library until January 2008, then will meet at the Covington Library.
Located at Maple Valley Library, 21844 SE 248th St, Maple Valley
Phone 253-630-8761 for more information


Fairwood Library Book Groups

Lively Minds Book Group
Adults of both genders
Meets at 7:30 pm the 3rd Tuesday of the month, September through June.
Moderated by Rosalie Olds, librarian
Located at Fairwood Library, 17009 140th Ave SE, Renton
Phone 425-226-0522 for more information

Fairwood Afternoon Book Group
Adults of both genders
Meets at 11:30 am on the 2nd Wednesday of the month all year
Moderated by Samantha Everett, librarian
Located at Fairwood Library, 17009 140th Ave SE, Renton
Phone 425-226-0522 for more information

Books and Bites for Teens
Teenagers age 12-18
Meets at 7 pm on the 2nd Thursday of the month, September through June
Moderated by Rosalie Olds, librarian
Located at Fairwood Library, 17009 140th Ave SE, Renton
Phone 425-226-0522 for more information


Auburn Library Book Group

Auburn Library Book Group
Adults of both genders
Meets at 7pm on the 2nd Tuesday of the month all year
Moderated by Jeff Kempe, librarian
Located at Auburn Library, 1102 Auburn Way South, Auburn
Phone 253-931-3018 for more information.

Black Diamond Book Groups

Lunchtime Book Group
School Age children who are home schooled and their families
Meets at 12:30 pm on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, starting this October
Moderated by Monica Sands, children’s librarian
Located at Black Diamond Library, 24301 Roberts Drive, Black Diamond
Phone 360-886-1105 for more information.



Black Diamond After School Kids Book Group
School age children in grades 3-5 enrolled in public schools
Meets at 4 pm, the 4th Tuesday of the month, starting this October
Moderated by Monica Sands, children’s librarian
Located at Black Diamond Library, 24301 Roberts Drive, Black Diamond
Phone 360-886-1105 for more information.