Celina Public Library book club, Celina Record, April 2018

What’s the word? Conversation is key at library book club meetings Lisa Ferguson, Star Local Media Contributor Apr 22, 2018 Robin Hoerner has a thing for book clubs. Currently, the retired school teacher is a member of eight of them. After moving from Plano to Celina last summer, she added Celina Public Library’s book club to the list of those whose meetings she regularly attends. Its members typically discuss plot points, characters and other topics related to the fiction, non-fiction and bestselling books they select and collectively read. “I like the people,” Hoerner said of the library’s club, which meets monthly. “I love this little town, and the smell of this little library when you walk in,” an intoxicating scent (for bibliophiles, at least) which she described as being that of books. Several fellow members laughed and nodded in agreement with Hoerner’s description during the club’s March meeting at Celina Public Library. Gathered around a couple of small tables, they spent more than an hour sharing their thoughts on “The Great Alone,” a bestselling novel by Kristin Hannah about a troubled Vietnam War veteran who moves his family to Alaska and lives off the grid. Leya Grubbs, a Celina mother of three children, said she looks forward to the club’s meetings. “I love how everybody is entitled to their opinion, and you just say what you want to say, and nobody judges you because those are your thoughts about the book and how you processed it,” she said. “I really like the conversation and everybody’s different perspectives.” Celina Public Library’s book club held its first meeting in September 2016, which was attended by just a few people. Since then, attendance has swelled to nearly a dozen. New members are welcomed at meetings, which are held at 10:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month. The book club “brings people of our community together,” said Linda Shaw, director of library services for the city of Celina. “The monthly discussions build friendships, connections and respect as individual insights are shared in a welcoming environment. … I’ve even noticed the meeting seems to be lasting longer each month as conversations continue beyond the walls of the library.” “We have definitely come into a groove,” said Teri Williams who, along with Celina resident and library Advisory Board member Jennifer Blanco, has been a member of the book club since it began. Williams, who also attends meetings of Gunter Library’s Book Club, founded and helms the Celina-based Bobcat Book Club, which meets monthly at Celina Star Café. “I’ve never been a one-book person,” she said, explaining that she typically tackles two or three tomes at a time. “I like to highlight (passages) … and I take notes to every book club (meeting).” Each month, members of Celina Public Library’s book club submit suggestions for titles to read. Selections are made through a random drawing held during meetings. At the May 17 meeting, book club members will talk about “When Breath Becomes Air,” an autobiographical bestseller about late neurosurgeon-turned-author Paul Kalanithi’s battle with cancer; followed on June 21 by “The Female Persuasion,” a novel by Meg Wolitzer. “I would tell people who are thinking about joining a book club to open your mind,” Williams said, and avoid limiting themselves to certain literary genres. “You’re going to read books you’re not going to like, but if you’re in a good book club, boy, that makes for a fun discussion.”