Each bag contains 10 copies of a single title. It also contains a binder which includes discussion questions, read-alike suggestions, reviews, an author biography, and Book Club tips.
Where can I find Book Club in a Bag?
The Book Club in a Bag kits are located downstairs in Adult Services. Please see Adult Services Desk Staff for assistance.
What are the rules?
Book Club in a Bag kits can be checked out for 6 weeks, but they can't be renewed. Lisle Library District card holders may place holds on Book Club in a Bag kits. Only one kit per patron may be checked out at a time. Book Club in a Bag is not available through Inter-Library Loan. Reciprocal borrowers can check them out, but can't put them on hold. There is a $5 fee if they are put in the book drop (the bag probably wouldn't fit anyway). Book Club in a Bag kits must be returned to the Adult Services Desk.
Wait. This is for an entire book group. Who is responsible for the bag's contents?
Whoever checks out the Book Club in a Bag is responsible for the entire kit. This means that if you check out a Book Club in a Bag and give one of the books to your friend Chad to read, and Chad loses or damages the book (classic Chad), you are responsible for the cost (and let's face it, Chad already owes you money). Replacement costs vary by title.
My ideal Book Club, like my ideal wedding, is very small and personal. What if I don't need 10 copies of the book?
Sorry, but we're unable to split up the kits. That way lies chaos. The kit has to be circulated as a full set. We also can't take one copy out of the kit if our regular copy is checked out and you want to read it. But fear not, we have extra Library copies of all of these books, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Now that you know a little bit about the program, check out our current titles, listed below (you can also look at the titles in the catalogue by clicking here):
The Alice Network
If your group likes richly detailed historical fiction with authentic characters try The Alice Network by Kate Quinn.
In 1947, a young American woman, pregnant and exiled by her family, travels to England to search for a long-lost cousin who disappeared in the war, there she meets and joins forces with a reclusive former spy who was involved in the Alice Network.
The Black Hour
If your group likes dark, fast-paced, psychological suspense, try The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day.
For Chicago sociology professor Amelia Emmet, violence was a research topic--until a student she'd never met shot her. He also shot himself. Now he's dead and she's back on campus, trying to keep up with her class schedule, a growing problem with painkillers, and a question she can't let go: Why?
The Book Woman Woman of Troublesome Creek
If your group likes engaging, atmospheric historical fiction and strong female characters try The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.
Cussy, the last female of her derided blue-skinned people, joins the Pack Horse Library Project during the Great Depression and rides a mule over treacherous terrain to deliver scarce reading material to the struggling people of Eastern Kentucky.
Circe
If your group likes lyrical, sweeping fiction with strong female leads, try Circe by Madeline Miller.
In this reframing of Homer’s “Odyssey,” Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios, evolves from a frightened, needy outcast to an independent woman who slowly discovers, and ultimately controls, both her power and her fate.
The Day the World Came to Town
If your group likes hopeful, inspiring, true stories of people coming together in a crisis, try The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede.
When the small Canadian town of Gander took in passengers from 38 jetliners diverted from the U.S. by the events of September 11, the outpouring of kindness from the town’s residents resulted in enduring friendships and bonds that continued long after the passengers went home.
The Dutch House
If your group likes character-driven family sagas, try The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.
For over three generations the Dutch House, a 1920s mansion, has served as the site of family drama with difficult memories alongside happy ones, resulting in a deep-seated nostalgia that binds siblings Maeve and Danny to the past and to the Dutch House
Everything I Never Told You
If your group likes character-driven, compelling, psychological fiction, try Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. This is an emotional and gripping read.
This moving novel explores the fallout of a favorite daughter's shattering death on a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio.
The Girl With the Louding Voice
If your group likes issue-oriented, courageous coming-of-age stories, try The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare.
A Nigerian teenager dreams of an education and a future that would upend the traditional role expected of her. Despite experiencing tragedy and violence in her village and later in the city, Adunni never gives up hope or stops trying to achieve a life of her choosing.
The Interestings
If your group likes character-driven, bittersweet, coming-of-age stories, try The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. An engaging story of 6 friends that switches between their initial meeting at an art camp in the 1970’s and their present adult lives.
Forging a powerful bond in the mid-1970s that lasts throughout subsequent decades, six individuals pursue respective challenges into their midlife years, including an aspiring actress who harbors jealousy toward friends who achieve successful creative careers.
The Japanese Lover
If your group likes stories of forbidden love that span generations and are impacted by historical events, try The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende.
This epic story of forbidden love moves from Alma’s present life in a nursing home, back in time to revisit her flight from WWII Poland to her relatives in California where she meets and falls in love with Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the family’s gardener.
The Library Book
If your group likes compelling, richly detailed non-fiction with a touch of the absurd, try The Library Book by Susan Orlean.
A 1986 fire inside the Los Angeles Public Library is the catalyst for this wide-ranging exploration of the history and meaning of libraries and the intriguing characters that inhabit them.
The Long Call
If your group likes intricately-plotted, atmospheric mysteries, like the author’s Vera Stanhope or Shetland series, try The Long Call by Ann Cleaves.
In Cleaves’ latest mystery series opener set on the lonely English coast, inspector Matthew Venn must confront his past, including his estranged mother and the restrictive church that turned its back on him, in order to solve the mystery of a body found on the beach.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
If your group likes offbeat, engaging memoirs that insightfully explore unusual topics, try Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty.
The author describes her time as a young mortician and crematorium operator, detailing the many mundane chores and unsavory aspects with curiosity and humor, while also addressing how Americans treat death versus other cultures
Still Life with Bread Crumbs
If your group likes elegantly written and leisurely paced fiction, try Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen. This slim novel is an engaging and moving read.
Abandoning her expensive world to move to a small country cabin, a once world-famous photographer bonds with a local man and begins to see the world around her in new, deeper dimensions while evaluating second chances at love, career, and self-understanding.
This is How It Always Is
If your group enjoys thought-provoking, issue-oriented fiction, try This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. This heartwarming and moving story will leave readers with much to discuss.
A family reshapes their ideas about family, love, and loyalty when youngest son Claude reveals increasingly determined preferences for girls' clothing and accessories and refuses to stay silent.
The Vanished Birds
If your group likes intricately-plotted, thought-provoking science fiction, try The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez.
In this sprawling and original space opera, Nia, a rootless time traveler and spaceship captain encounters a silent boy named Ahro on a distant world and finds herself determined to protect him, despite the forces of galactic power arrayed against them
The Widows of Malabar Hill
If your group likes diverse, intricately plotted historical mysteries set in unusual locations try The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey.
In book one of a series, Lawyer Perveen Mistry is limited in what she can do in her profession in 1920s Bombay, but her drive to help women leads her to investigate a deepening mystery involving three Muslim widows.
