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Book Club in a Bag

FAQs About BCIAB

What is Book Club in a Bag?

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 cardholders 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 catalog by clicking here):
Atlas of the Heart

If your group likes nonfiction psychology books about personal growth, try Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown.

In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 85 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and lays out an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

Bruno, Chief of Police

If your group likes mysteries with a strong sense of place, read Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker for a mystery set in rural France, and enjoy a story filled with investigations, provincial coziness, and richly detailed meals.

Bruno is a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life - living in his restored shepherd’s cottage, patronizing the weekly market, and ignoring the European Union bureaucrats from Brussels. But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes everything and spurs this mystery series.

Crying In H Mart

If your group likes lyrical memoirs about family and relationships, read Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. The Japanese Breakfast indie pop star presents her reflections on growing up Korean-American, becoming a professional musician, and caring for her terminally ill mother.

In her memoir, Zauner reflects on growing up as one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon. She shares her struggles with her mother’s particularly high expectations of her, her painful adolescence, and treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

Firekeeper’s Daughter

If your group likes skillfully plotted thrillers with diverse characters who are complex yet likeable, try Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.

Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.

The Husbands

If your group adores upbeat and witty romantic comedies with likeable characters, try The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.

When she discovers the attic in her London flat is creating an infinite supply of husbands, waking up to a slightly altered life each day, Lauren confronts the question: if swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you've taken the right path?

I’m Glad My Mom Died

If your group likes candid and incisive memoirs about family and relationships, try I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

The iCarly and Sam & Cat star, after her controlling mother dies, gets the help she needs to overcome eating disorders, addiction and unhealthy relationships--and finally decides what she really wants for the first time in her life.

Klara and the Sun

If your group likes reflective and lyrical science-fiction that focuses on characters, try Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Waiting to be chosen by a customer, an Artificial Friend programmed with high perception observes the activities of shoppers while exploring fundamental questions about what it means to love.

Ishiguro takes readers to a vaguely futuristic, technologically advanced setting for a surprising parable about love, humanity, and science. Klara is an Artificial Friend (AF) who is eventually bought by teenager Josie and learns about humans through her interactions with Josie’s family and childhood friend. When Josie becomes seriously ill, Klara pleads with the sun to make her well again and confronts the boundary between service and sacrifice.

Lessons in Chemistry

If your group enjoys fast-paced, feel-good historical fiction set during the civil rights era, try Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

In the early 1960s, chemist and single mother Elizabeth Zott, the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show due to her revolutionary skills in the kitchen, uses this opportunity to dare women to change the status quo.

London’s Number One Dog-walking Agency

If your group likes memoirs and autobiographies that are heartwarming and accessible, with a varied cast of characters, try London’s Number One Dog-Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall.

With sharp wit, delightful observations, and plenty of canine affection, the author, a former Sotheby’s employee turned dog walker, reveals her unique and unconventional coming-of-age story, as told through the dogs she walks, and the London homes and neighborhoods they inhabit.

Maid

If your group appreciates candid and inspiring memoirs about society and culture, try Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land.

An economic hardship journalist describes the years she worked in low-pay domestic work under wealthy employers, contrasting the privileges of the upper-middle class to the realities of the overworked laborers supporting them.

The Maid

If your group relishes locked room mysteries that are intricately plotted with a likable neurodivergent main character, try The Maid by Nita Prose.

When she discovers the dead body of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black in his suite, hotel maid Molly Gray finds her orderly life upended as she becomes the prime suspect in the case and is caught in a web of deception that she must try to unravel.

Maisie Dobbs

If your group likes engaging historical mysteries, try Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Winspear writes the story of Maisie Dobbs who becomes the pupil of a wise family friend. In 1929, following an apprenticeship, Maisie hangs out her shingle: M. Dobbs, Trade and Personal Investigations.

In this delightful mix of mystery, war story, and romance set in WWI–era England, humble housemaid Maisie Dobbs climbs convincingly up Britain’s social ladder, becoming a university student, a wartime nurse, and ultimately a private investigator.

My Life in France

If your group appreciates upbeat, witty memoirs and enjoys food writing, try My Life in France by Julia Child.

A memoir begun just months before Child's death describes the legendary food expert's years in Paris, Marseille, and Provence and her journey from a young woman from Pasadena who cannot cook or speak any French to the publication of her legendary Mastering cookbooks and her winning the hearts of America as "The French Chef."

Remarkably Bright Creatures

If your group is fond of feel-good, witty reads about unlikely friendships, try Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

A luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium-and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance 30 years ago.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

If your group is looking for a funny, tender story of finding one’s true self, try The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain.

The forced retirement of a shy, closeted postman in northern England creates the opportunity for him to track down his lost love, embrace his true self, connect with his community, and finally experience his life’s great adventure.

Still Life

If your group devours small-town police procedurals, with complex, character-driven, and richly detailed stories, try Still Life by Louise Penny.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Canada's Surete du Quebec is called to Three Pines, a tiny hamlet south of Montreal, just north of the U.S. border, to investigate the suspicious hunting "accident" that claimed the life of Jane Neal, a local fixture in the village.

Swift River

If your group enjoys moving, character-driven coming of age stories, try Swift River by Essie Chambers.

A sweeping family saga about the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the disappearance of a father and the long-hidden history of a declining New England mill town.

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 their youngest son Claude reveals increasingly determined preferences for girls' clothing and accessories and refuses to stay silent.

The Women

If your group loves cinematic, richly detailed historical fiction set during wartime, try The Women by Kristin Hannah.

In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath, after hearing the words "Women can be heroes, too," impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows her brother to Vietnam where she is overwhelmed by the destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.