Book Groups and Reading Resources

We have a wide variety of book groups that meet at both the Main Library and MacKay Branch. Drop in when you can or come every month, it is up to you! Enhance your reading experience by discussing it with others! Please contact Jessica FitzHanso (978-256-5521 x1115) with book group questions.

If you would like to reserve one of our Book Club Kits for your own book group, please visit our Book Club Kits Reservation Form. A simple, printable list of the book club kits available at Chelmsford is available here.

Please note: during COVID-19, all of our book groups are meeting online. Register on the library’s calendar for access each month. Books for the groups are still available at the Chelmsford Main Circulation Desk. Some book groups may begin meeting in person at the main library in March 2022, with limited attendance and masks required. Please be sure to register and contribute to the discussion on deciding between face to face and virtual Zoom meetings.

 

Library Book Groups

• Bibliobites Book Group – A Book Group with a culinary focus, meets the last Friday of the month at 11 am.
• Chelmsford Classics Book Club – This group “meets” on Goodreads to discuss the chosen classic of the month. Each week, we’ll begin a new discussion and members can log in and post their responses. There is no set meeting time, so the group fits perfectly into any schedule! (currently on hiatus)
• Evening Book Group – meets at 7 p.m. usually on the fourth Monday of each month (with the exception of Monday holidays and summer months)
• Book Brunch – our “book share” reader’s advisory program
• History Book Group – meets at 7 pm usually on the last Thursday of the month
• Knit Lit Book Group – Our newest addition lets you bring your craft projects (knitting, crochet, quilting, felting, etc) and work on them while discussing the latest read!  Meets on the second Friday morning of each month at 10:30 a.m. – hope you can join us!
• Morning Book Group – meets at 10 am on the third Wednesday of each month
• Mystery Book Group at MacKay – meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 2:00 pm at the MacKay Branch
  
• Novel Conversations Book Group – meets the first Friday at 12:30 pm at the Main Library
• Social Justice Book Group: This  book group meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday every other month. In addition to book discussions on a variety of social justice related topics, the group hosts speaker programs and presentations themed around the selected book titles.

Recent Reading Room Posts

• Chelmsford Library’s Summer Picks! - Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of summer for many, and whether you plan on lounging at the beach or hiding out in an air conditioned reading nook these next few months, Chelmsford Library has picks to tide you through the heat of the summer! Lesley Director For six amateur bakers, competing in Bake Week is … Continue reading Chelmsford Library’s Summer Picks! →
• Bibliobites in April: One Pot, One Pan, One Book - Sustainability: it’s a word and an idea that’s on everyone’s radar.  But it’s such an all-encompassing concept that often it’s hard to figure out how we can and should apply it to different aspects of our lives. In the supermarket and in the kitchen, then, what does sustainable mean, and how would we incorporate such … Continue reading Bibliobites in April: One Pot, One Pan, One Book →
• Motherhood in Novels - With Mother’s Day around the corner, Chelmsford Library has put together recommendations that span the triumphs alongside the trials that come with motherhood and the mothers in our lives. Read on for a variety of fictional experiences with motherhood! Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who … Continue reading Motherhood in Novels →

Reading Resources

Author Alerts

Sign up to be notified by text or email when books, movies, and music from your favorite authors and artists are added to the catalog. Log in with your phone number or email address, create as many alerts as you like, and edit or delete them at any time.

Bookmarked

Short videos of Library staff reviewing new and great books. Produced in association with Chelmsford Telemedia.

Commonwealth Catalog

A catalog showing the holdings of most libraries in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This catalog is free to any MA library cardholder to use to request items be sent to your local library (provided the item is not available in your local library system). Please contact the Reference Staff for help locating or requesting an item.

Core Collections: Book Recommendations

Librarian-selected book recommendations, with documented selection criteria and four recommendation levels. Individual lists cover Children’s books, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Middle & Junior High reading, and Nonfiction titles.

eSequels: Guide to Fiction

Lists popular series books in order, and is searchable by character, location, subject, author, and title, to make it easy to find books based on whatever you know about the series.

Literature Resource Center

Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on nearly 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world The optional MLA International Bibliography module adds citations for hundreds of thousands of books, articles and dissertations from 1926 to the present, linked to full text where available.

NoveList: Reading Suggestions

A database of both fiction and non-fiction books that provides reviews, annotations, you-might-also-like suggestions, author read-alikes, What We’re Reading, book discussion Guides, booktalks, and annotated book lists.

WorldCat

A catalog showing most of the items held in libraries around the world. To request items in WorldCat (but not in Chelmsford’s catalog or the Commonwealth Catalog, please contact the Reference Desk.

Resources for Discussion Groups

• Book Club Kits available through the Library – To request a Book Club Kit, please contact the Circulation Desk 978-256-5521 x1210

Online Book Clubs

• ReadersCircle.org – Online directory for book clubs and reading groups of all kinds, serving the US, Canada, and Australia
• Goodreads – Online community to share book recommendations between friends and keep track of what you’ve read

Book Group Resources

• ALA Book Club Central – Book Club Central is an online resource for book clubs and readers featuring book reviews, author interviews, discussion questions and more, presented through the American Library Association (ALA)
• LitLovers.com – Provides resources for avid readers and book clubs alike including Reading Group Activities, Suggestions for Leading a Book Club Discussion, Guides for How to Start a Children’s Book Club, and Menu Ideas for Starting a Book Club
• The National Book Critics Circle – Founded in 1974 and consisting of 700+ book reviewers, this site elects top books in 5 general categories and also has links to other relevant book review websites
• Bookdaily.com – Read the first chapter of books on this site for free in your email

How to Start a Book Group & Reading Group Guides

• Reading Group Guides – Over 970 guides available
• Book Group Suggestions – From Harper Collins
• Reading Group Choices – The web site for the publishers of Reading Group Choices, an annual offering, with commentary, of good books for discussion