Ten years ago, Bonnie Silver, the senior library assistant at the Cinnaminson Library, started the Happy Bookers Club to get adults more involved in the library. The book club meets every other month and will be holding its next meeting on Sept. 9 from 7 to 8:15 p.m. While the book and genre changes from month to month, Silver enjoys the conversation.
“I was asked to start it by my manager because she thought I would be a good person since I read so much,” said Silver. “I enjoy it. A lot of people have a lot of good ideas and theories about the books. People share personal stories that relate to the book so it’s very interesting.
“When I first started the book club, I asked people for recommendations for books,” Silver continued. “ I started to go on Reading Group Guides to see what books were new and out. I would make a list of books of what I thought may be good. I’d run the descriptions of the books and ask people to put their names on the books that they would want to read. We usually pick books for five months at a time and they have to be books the library has at least 10 copies of so that no one has to go buy a book.”
In July, the Happy Bookers read “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate, a book about child abuse and child trafficking in the South. For their next book, they will read “Stay With Me” by Adebayo Adebami.
“I really don’t know what it’s about,” said Silver. “I just saw it come back from someone who had it out and I wrote it down on my list. Usually, I have read all the books before I even offer them. Most of the books we read are novels. We have read a few nonfiction books and we have done a few classic books like the ‘Great Gasby’ by Scott Fitzgerald and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee.
“When I first started, everyone would ask how long are the books because no one wants to read a long book,” Silver continued. “The people that come are mostly adults and mostly women. There are a few men that do come and I like when they come because men have a different perception so it’s great when they do come.”
Those looking to get involved with the book club can attend any of the meetings. Information on the meetings and which books the club is reading is on the Cinnaminson Library’s website. Registration is not required.
“I always tell people that are looking for programs that the library has a book club and that they should come,” said Silver. “The library actually has three book clubs for adults, but for my book club everyone reads the same book. It’s always different types of books. We haven’t done any sports or romance books because I don’t know if everyone would read it, but it’s very interesting to hear what people think about the books.”
