Book Discussion Groups

Salem Public Library hosts two book discussion groups: Books for Lunch and Books for Dessert. The groups are organized and led by staff members. Meetings are free and open to the public. The Salem Public Library Foundation and the Friends of the Salem Public Library have teamed up to sponsor the purchase of book kits for the book discussion groups. Books for the upcoming month's discussion are available for checkout at each meeting and then, up to the date of the meeting, at the Information/Reference Desk. More information is available from the Information/Reference Desk in person or by phone at 503-588-6052.

Book kits are also available for check-out and use by area book groups.
A complete listing of available book kits and instructions for reserving the kits is available online.

Books for Lunch is a book discussion group meeting monthly from September to May. Meetings are held at 12 noon on the third Wednesday of each month.

NEXT MEETING ...

A Sudden Country
by Karen Fisher
12 noon Wednesday, March 17
Anderson Room A
Discussion Leader: Ray Lambeth

James MacLaren, once a resourceful and ambitious Hudson’s Bay Company trader, has renounced his aspirations for a quiet family life in the Bitterroot wilderness. Yet his life is overturned in the winter of 1846, when his Nez Perce wife deserts him and his children die of smallpox. In the grip of a profound sorrow, MacLaren sets out to find his wife, but finds himself faced with a different wife and mother: Lucy Mitchell, journeying westward with her family.

Lucy, a remarried widow, careful mother, and reluctant emigrant, is drawn at once to the self-possessed MacLaren. Convinced that he is the key to her family’s safe passage, she persuades her husband to employ him. As their hidden stories and obsessions unfold, and pasts and cultures collide, both Lucy and MacLaren must confront the people they have truly been, are, and may become.

Still to come in the 2009-2010 Season!

Wednesday, April 21
The Local News by Miriam Gershow

Wednesday, May 19
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Wednesday, June 16
Gather Together In My Name
by Maya Angelou

Books for Dessert is a book discussion group designed to meet the needs of working people. The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from October to June.

NEXT MEETING ...

BEST BOOKS FOR 2009
A special presentation by
Readers' Advisor Robin Beerbower
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2
Anderson Room A

Salem Public Library Reader’s Advisor Robin Beerbower will introduce the best fiction and non-fiction books published in 2009, as chosen by herself, library staff and volunteers, and book critics. Her fast-paced book talks will provide excellent reading ideas for fans of all genres. Lists are provided to take away. More information is available at www.salemlibrary or 503-588-6052.

Still to come in the 2009-2010 Season!

Tuesday, April 6
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Tuesday, May 4
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Tuesday, June 1
Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
by Adeline Yen Mah