Reading keeps you forever young

Lovell Library hosts the adult book club

The Lovell Library recently hosted the adult book club, which takes place on the third Wednesday of each month. The club is open to any adult who loves to read a great story and meet new friends who are like minded readers and is sponsored by Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

One of the books the adult book club has been reading is Sadeqa Johnson’s fictional story “Yellow Wife.” According to the Simon and Schuster website, the story is about a slave named Pheby Delores Brown, “who was promised freedom on her 18th birthday.”

“Still, instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known,” the website continues. “She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured and sold every day.”

Some adult book club members have been coming to the Lovell Library since the program started. These ladies, who are longtime members, continue to share their passion for reading each time they get together for a group discussion.

“This particular book club has been going strong for about 15 years now,” said Lovell Library assistant manager Linda Mangus. “Our book club had people who have come and gone over the years, but for the most part, we have book club members who have been around since it started.”

Mangus said this current group has dedicated readers. She said they are ladies who love to share what they read.

“The book club has a great diversity of ladies who bring a uniqueness to this group,” Mangus said. “It’s because they all read with different genres, so they come together well as a group to help make our book club a little bit more interesting.”

The adult book club members had a group discussion about what they had read in “Yellow Wife.” Each one talked about what they liked about the story or what they disliked about the plot. Some people in the group found the story interesting; however, one group member did not like the book because of the plot of the story.

“I did not like ‘Yellow Wife,’” said book club member Barbara Janke. “It was hard reading because it was about slavery and was not my favorite book. It was a good book to read, but I did not like the stories because of the plot. I like to read books that are pleasant for me.”

Janke said the best part of the book club is that everyone shares their thoughts and opinions on what each member has read in the book.

“I love associating with the other ladies,” Janke said. “You can read books you never thought you would read or heard of. Our conversations and discussions are always interesting.”

According to Sheila Hansen, she always has fun meeting with her friends at the book club and loves the conversations about each book the group has been reading.

“Our book club is just fun,” said Hansen. “We have a nice group of ladies who branch out, and everyone learns many things. What I like about our group is that everyone is the same, and we all love to read.”

Dawn Hoffman, also a member of the adult book club, said it was great to be around women her age who love to read interesting books, especially books she never thought she would ever read.

“I love the wide variety of books we read,” Hoffman said. “Our group gets to read books that we otherwise would not read. It is great to be around women your age; some are younger. Everyone is a great reader, and we have read the same or different books.”

If anyone is interested in joining the adult book club, visit the Lovell Library or the BOCES website at https://lovellrecandboces.com/forms/.