Book shoptalk; Love of books binds discussion groups.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: Pamela H. Sacks

As Melanie Donegan prepared to graduate from Clark University in 2002, she and seven friends found a way to stay in contact and continue their intellectual pursuits: They formed a book discussion group.

Over time, several of the original members dropped out, but others joined, and today, the group has 10 participants. Once a month about seven or eight of them meet at a member's home at 6:30 p.m., have a light supper and share their reflections on the book under discussion.

The hostess for the coming month chooses the next book to be read, and if she enjoys cooking she might prepare dishes in keeping with the work at hand. The members ate Afghan food when they read "The Kite Runner" and a Japanese meal when "Memoirs of a Geisha" was the title.

The other day, Ms. Donegan, who lives in Worcester, spoke with zest about several titles she had found particularly thought-provoking, among them "Waiting for Snow in Havana," a slender memoir by Carlos Eire about his family's flight from Cuba and resettlement in the United States after the revolution.

"Sometimes, you find these little jewels, and it just sparks the imagination and creates a tremendous conversation piece," Ms. Donegan said.

Ms. Donegan enjoys participating in literary discussions so much that she is also a member of the book circle at the Gale Free Library in Holden, a behemoth of book groups. It is led by Library Director Jane Dutton and draws 50 to 60 people, who meet once a month in two sections, one in the morning and the other in the evening.

The Holden book circle marks its 10th anniversary this year and is emblematic of the popularity of these sorts of groups, particularly among women. The clubs, as they are often called, are formed at libraries and civic, social and political organizations. They pop up spontaneously among friends and acquaintances, who host the discussions in their homes.

Some groups focus on a particular type of literature, while others are eclectic. The clubs have become so prolific that publishers have taken to adding discussion guidelines and interviews with authors at the back of their trade paperbacks. Not surprisingly, there now are books about how to run book discussion groups.

Ms. Dutton recalled that when she started the circle in 1999, 18 people showed up. Word spread, and, within a couple of years, she had split the group. She finds that people continue to love books, despite the Internet, the Kindle reader and CDs.

"Our...