Book club turns page on 20 years

“Have you read any good books lately?” That was the opening question 20 years ago, when Lethbridge residents launched a book club at the library.

After their welcome from the library board, the founding members settled on a meeting schedule and a list of books to read. They would come prepared to discuss one of them each month, then take some time off in the summer.

Longtime library staff member Sheila Braund joined in the second year, she says. That year, members were reading new releases from Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx and others on the top-sellers list.

By comparison with an earlier “great books” discussion group at the library, she says, the selected books were accessible — a university degree was not a prerequsite to understanding them. The group’s name, the “Definitely Not Plato Book Club” was appropriated from a national CBC Radio show, “Definitely Not the Opera.”

Over 20 years, says Braund, members have shared their responses to about 200 books, most of them current fiction. But there’s been some Canadian non-fiction in the mix as well, she adds. “We now read 10 or 11 books a year,” she adds. Barb Gibson, a founding member, reports many of the club’s selections have become bestseller, “Canada Reads” book selections or Giller Prize recipients.

“When I look back at the books we’ve selected over the years, I’m often in awe of the fact that we’ve picked so many amazing books,” she said.

Some of the best-appreciated, Braund says, have been written by authors with Lethbridge connections, including W.P. Kinsella and Thomas King.

“We’ve just lost one of our favourites, Richard Wagamese.”

Club members borrow the books from the library, she says — there’s no need to buy them. The group — open to all interested — meets on the first Wednesday each month, 7 p.m. in the Community Room.

But it’s not the library’s only book-reading group, Braund says. The “Time Turners” club meets on the first Tuesday each month, at 7 p.m. at The Crossings Branch. It’s aimed at adults who like to discuss today’s “young adult” literature.

Herald photo by Ian Martens Founding members Deb Rakos and Barb Gibson help with the Top 10 Books list during the 20th anniversary celebration of the Definitely Not Plato Book Club recently at the Lethbridge Public Library.