Any Boston-area book clubs accepting new participants?

Dear LT:

I'm sort of new to the area and don't have too many connections as of yet. I'm looking to join a book club in the Boston metro area or the North Shore. I'd prefer that lit/fiction be on the menu, but I'd be up for non-fiction, too. While the Boston-area book club on this site seems to have gone dormant, does anybody know of a like-minded book club that's accepting new members? Thanks a ton for any help you might be able to offer.

- The Ampersand

I am in Southern NH which is too far, but I suggest you check out local bookstores. They often have book groups, some with a specific theme (SF, Mystery) or just fiction, non-fiction. Both Borders and B&N have them, and many independent book stores do to. The Indies may also have a bulletin board where non-store groups post. Also look in local libraries and Living/weekend sections for the local paper ( don't know if the Globe has local info or not). Then you can pick the ones that look like they are good for you, and give them a try. Good luck.

The only one I know of:

Book Group at the Honan-Allston (BPL) Branch Library

Our book discussion group meets monthly and will next convene on
Wednesday, June 18th at 6pm to discuss Christine Falls by Benjamin
Black.

Copies of the book are available at the library. New members always
welcome. Free. No registration required. Please join us for informal
conversation and camaraderie!

For more information, inquire at the branch or call 617-787-6313. This
branch of the Boston Public Library is located at 300 North Harvard
Street, Allston, MA. http://www.bpl.org.

The Robbins Library in Arlington, MA may be too far for you. Nevertheless, the book group is impressively organized. See:

http://www.robbinslibrary.org/what/book-groups

For non-fiction, the Museum of Science Book Club for the Curious may be more convenient. See:

http://www.mos.org/events_activities/lyman_library&d=1973

Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge runs a book group, as does Newtonville Books in Newton.

The Daughters of Abraham groups are accepting new people. It's a group of Jewish, Muslim and Christian women that read about each other's religion.

Brookline Booksmith also has a group open to anyone. The current book is always posted on their website (http://brooklinebooksmith.com/bookclub.htm) and they tend to focus on literary fiction.

Hey Ampersand,

I don't know if you found a group, but myself and some girls just started a small book group in the back bay area, so if you're still looking feel free to msg me :) We just read our first book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog and by everyones tastes, it looks like it will be a lit/fiction group!

Hi everyone,

I belong to a small non-fiction book club and we'd love to expand. Some books we've read:

Better by Atul Gawande
Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Hot Flat and Crowded by Thomas J Friedman
Proust Was a Neuroscientist by Jonas Lehrer

We live around Boston, Brookline, and Somerville so that's where we meet, generally in places accessible by T.

You should know that occasionally when we don't get our reading done we go play trivia instead, and we aren't very good but we have fun. :)

If you are interested, please drop me a comment.

I'm new to Boston (well moved here 6 months+ ago) and was wondering if there were any open groups .. i just wanted to broaden my reading horizons with suggestions from people and indulge in some discussions ... I live in Brookline .. at Coolidge Corner. I'd love to be able to be a part of such a group.

Dancingstarfish, I know this is a slightly late response, but... is that offer open to others? I just moved a little closer to the city and just started looking for a book club relatively near me... feel free to let me know if yours needs new recruits :)

hey guys, sorry I didn't answer before. My book club is in the process of re-organizing (code for ...everyone's schedules clashed so most of our people have trouble showing up at the same time) so I'm looking for a new group to join or some new people who want to be part of a club that could use a few more members. Drop me a message on my profile if you're interested.

Check meetup.com for Boston Book Club. There's at least 4, and they organize based on neighborhood, then pick a book via vote of the members.

Hi,

I just wanted to invite all of you and your book group to the 2012 New England Authors Expo & Book Sale. Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Doors will be open to the public from 4pm to 9pm

It will be held at the Danversport Yacht Club, The Harborview Ballroom, 161 Elliott Street (Rte. 62), Danvers, MA 01923.

The Expo is FREE to the public. The Expo will consist of numerous New England authors, illustrators, publishers, writer's groups, schools, associated businesses and sponsors. The Expo is an excellent place to meet authors and artists, buy many books, and discuss book writing, illustrating and printing with dozens of publishing professionals.

For more information on the Expo please visit the Expo’s website:
http://peartreepublishing.net/events/2012authorsexpo.php

Chris Obert, Expo Organizer

Thanks to Pyrrhonian for the heads-up on the Robbins Library book club in Arlington. This is my first book club adventure. We started last Thursday, Sept. 20, with The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, and had a lively and positive discussion.

Next month we'll read Arcadia by Lauren Groff.

The site is:
http://www.robbinslibrary.org/what/book-groups