Joliet Public Library book club celebrates 25 years

Todd Hogan of Joliet added the Joliet Public Library Book Group to the list of book clubs he enjoys.

He belongs to the monthly Notre Dame book club and frequently attends book clubs at other libraries. That’s because Hogan enjoys hearing other perspectives on books he reads, even if he doesn’t always enjoy the club’s selections.

For that reason, Hogan said he wished younger readers attended.

“They might bring a different perspective – maybe an innocence that is different,” Hogan said.

The Joliet Public Library Book Group celebrated its 25th anniversary Tuesday with bakery items from the Book and Bean Café at the Black Road branch, where the group meets.

The book group offers monthly meetings in the morning and in the evening.

Christine Maleno, adult services librarian at the Joliet Public Library, said she’s led the group for the past five years, although Dennis Broz, adult services assistant manager at the Black Road branch, leads the group once a quarter.

“It’s a wonderful group, and I’m happy to [facilitate] it,” Maleno said.

For November, the group read “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy. Everyone, including Maleno, took turns sharing their thoughts before branching into an open-ended discussion.

Maleno said November’s book reminded her of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series.

“It had a simple message,” Maleno said. “But it was also deep.”

Pat Butterbach of Joliet, who joined the group 10 years ago, said she jotted down quite a few quotes to inspire her later.

“You could copy the book it had so many good quotes in it,” Butterbach said.

Maureen Kruzich of Joliet, a 14-year member, said, “every page had a wisdom nugget on it.”

Because the group selects books with “substance,” Kruzich said, she’s branched out from romance novels, although she’s a “sucker for a love story.”

Ellen Dawson of Crest Hill said some of those unfamiliar books are “wonderful reads” and force her to step outside her comfort zone.

Still, she said she’s persistent about nominating titles by Jane Austen even though “she never gets chosen.”

Peggy Ashby of Plainfield said she joined a year ago simply because she and her entire family loves books.

“My sister is a librarian,” Ashby said.

Ethel Garrett of Joliet joined when she moved to Joliet from Wisconsin in 2014. Garrett said she appreciates that the library provides the books for the monthly meet, which she always enjoys.

“It’s a lively group,” Garrett said.

Kay Mierzwa of Joliet, an avid reader and seven-year member, takes the group discussion one step further by sharing the list with a visually impaired friend, who often finds audiobooks for the featured titles.

Mierzwa said she’s typically too shy to speak in public, but the book group gives her “a reason and a purpose.”

“It’s nice to talk with someone about what you read,” Mierzwa said. “We all read the same thing, but everyone had a different perspective.”

Longtime member Margaret Holzrichter of Joliet said she “must have her books.”

She even wore a shirt with a quote from Thomas Jefferson that underscored her point: “I cannot live without books.”

Holzrichter said she joined the book group when she retired from teaching in 2010.

“It’s great group,” Holzrichter said. “We care about each other and stay in contact.”

A memorial display represented members who have since died, members who were “wonderful people,” Holzrichter said.

Dawson said she and the late Rita Miller, a former member, regularly met for lunch after book group and “talked for hours.”

[ Rita Miller believed in equal rights, education, communication and recycling ]

That’s the beauty of the book group, she said. Members read different genres but bond through their mutual love for reading, she said.

“I love turning the pages, the smell when I turn the pages,” Dawson said. “I love when you’re beginning to read a book, the discovery.”

For information about Joliet Public Library book clubs, visit jolietlibrary.org/book-clubs.