On book club etiquette
I'm not a huge reader of Ask Amy or other advice columns (though I do completely order my life according to the daily horoscope). But I was drawn to this recent topic about a book club member who used the group's email list to drum up business for her husband.
Is this an isolated problem, or have others suffered such bad behavior? Now's the time to discreetly suggest to wayward members that some behavior modification is in order.
For the record, here's Amy's column: Dear Amy: I have a neighbor who is part of our book group. She doesn't often come to the meetings, but she has used our e-mail addresses to promote her and her husband's businesses and a student-exchange program. I only e-mail my neighbors about the next meeting. I am uncomfortable about this and would like to address the issue with her. Any suggestions?
I'm Mary Carole McCauley, and I'm new to this blog, but not to The Sun. I've devoured books ever since I was 6-years-old and puzzled out the words to A Home For a Bunny. You've read my theater criticism in the paper, as well as occasional book-related features, but from now on, I'll hang out from time to time on my favorite block in Baltimore: Read Street. 
This mystery discussion group of the Bel Air library was formed in February by librarians Nancy Smith, an avid mystery reader, and Amy Kraft, a newcomer to the genre. Sometimes the entire group reads a designated book, and at other times a theme is chosen, allowing each member to pick a related mystery. Recently members toured Tudor Hall (shown here), the boyhood home of John Wilkes Booth, and discussed not only the “mystery” of a conspiracy, but also assassinations in general. 
The Page Turners book club has existed since 2003 and members range in age from the mid-20s to late 60s, says Assistant Library Manager Erin H. Oh. Members take turns acting as facilitator (and providing refreshments), and get to know each other more intimately through lively discussions. The club meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Arbutus Library. New members are welcome. Info: 410.887.1451. 
This vibrant club, more than five years old, has a varied membership (including a nurse, social worker, teacher and accountant) and reading list. That includes classics, ethnic works and biographies, says Judith Anora, who organizes the book list in coordination with the local library. New members are embraced: They receive a welcoming brochure, bookmark and list of past books. Members also stay close by traveling together, to places such as Cape May. 
Over on the 
Don't get the wrong idea ... I'm not claiming ownership of the club. I wasn't even there when it was created by some members of Har Sinai congregation. My wife and I have been members for several years, though, joining friends every six weeks or so for great dinners and conversation about books with a Jewish theme. 
Members of this book club, which just finished its eighth year, range from retirees to mothers of young children. The group meets monthly at the Mount Airy library. Reading choices are eclectic, ranging from Sense and Sensibility to the Autobiography of Malcom X. 
This book club at the Parkville library has been around for at least five years, through deaths, bouts with cancer and other trials. An international flavor (including members from Ireland and Guyana) and diversity of backgrounds "is what makes the club so rich," says Rosemary McFarland. 'We have radically different points of view." 
This book club began in 1993 as a way for Barnard College alumnae in the Baltimore area to socialize, says Murrie Burgan. There are about a dozen members who meet from September to May. Readings include modern literature, non-fiction and classics. They also focus on works by Barnard grads such as Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake) and Marisha Pessl (Special topics in Calamity Physics). 
The club, begun in the early 1980s by women who were supporters of the Howard County library, has a core of about a dozen members, mostly retirees. Over the years, there have been a number of deaths of members or their spouses. "Each time, we collect some money and ask the library to purchase books that the person was interested in. The library puts bookplates in those books. It's hard. But we talk about … what the person liked," says Nancy Berla. 
This book club, a program of the Westminster branch library, has a "classics with an open mind" philosophy. Picks have included standards such as Homer's Odyssey, says facilitator Bryan Thomas Hissong. But the group also reads "modern" or "genre" classics. For example, a 16-year-old student led a great discussion of William Goldman's The Princess Bride. (She's not the youngest club member; that's Hissong's daughter Olivia, who's been to every meeting since she was born in January.)
Heather Johnson started this club in 2005, "emailing every woman in my address book." The group of friends and relatives (including her sister and mother) now numbers about 20 from the Annapolis-Baltimore area. The "Stories of the Sisters" also has a killer blog: 
One of the area's newest book clubs is Lilith, which started this spring at Beth El Congregation in the Pikesville area. It was organized by Lindsay Kleiman, who had a similar club at the University of Maryland, College Park. The theme: literature by Jewish women or about Jewish women. "I'd like people to be able to develop their perspective on Jewish women outside the religious ideal ..." she says. "It's not that people have narrow views [of women], they don't have views at all. ... Women are under-represented in Jewish literature." 
The monthly book club at 
This book club probably looks a bit more formal than yours, but there's a good reason. The club at 
The club, which meets at the Abingdon branch of the Harford County library, is geared to time-starved working women and mothers of young children. "We try to read books with something worth discussing, but with humor in them," says librarian and moderator Julia Mepham. Humor is a dicey theme: some members might find a book hysterical while others don't get it. But divergent views can spark lively discussions. 
This book club has met for about a year and a half at the library in Randallstown, and selections have ranged from westerns to classics, short stories to inspirational books. About 30 people, mostly women, participate in the club, which meets at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. Librarian Jelynn Ward says discussions often spark personal reflections: "A lot of people come out to share their personal journey." 
This book club started under the auspices of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council. When the GBTC folded its club about two years ago, members Dave Provine and Jeff Schraeder decided to keep it going on their own. So far, everybody who has come is a GBTC member, but others are welcome. It's all business or technology business books; no romance novels. (And yes, it’s really a book club. If you look closely at the photo, there’s a book nestled among the beer bottles.) 
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
