When Nikki Kirsch moved from New Hampshire to Wrentham, she immediately sought out a book discussion group at the Fiske library as one of her `` entry points'' into the community. Previously a very active book club member, Kirsch said she found it hard to break into those `` in-home book groups.'' The Fiske Library's hospitable book club was `` part of why I was able to make the move.''

Beverly Glassman, a long-time resident of Norton, always loved to read, but as her children became more independent she began to feel a need to go beyond her solitary experience. `` It's kind of lonely when you read a really good book and you don't have anyone to share it with,'' she said.

Glassman joined Norton Public Library's book group with trepidation, but found what she was looking for.

`` The people are so friendly and so nice. They never laugh at my feelings. I was quiet when I started, but not any more. I feel like I belong to something.''

Monica Allen, echoes the sentiments of both women. A member of the Novel Ideas book discussion group at the Attleboro Public Library for two years, Monica searched for a book discussion group close to home because she loves to read and had been in a group before moving to Attleboro. `` Reading is a wonderful escape and it's fun to share ideas with others,'' she said. `` The most rewarding part is the feeling that my opinions and input are valued and no one is pressured to think a certain way.''

The Oprah factor

Libraries have traditionally provided a natural gathering place for reading groups. But in an ironic twist worthy of O. Henry, it was the beloved television guru Oprah Winfrey who sparked a firestorm of interest in reading and discussing books. In 1996, when she launched her own Book Club with Jacqueline Mitchard's `` The Deep End of the Ocean,'' there were approximately 250,000 book groups across the United States. Just three years, later that number soared to 500,000, and today, nearly everyone knows someone who is involved in a book club at home, on the Internet or at a local library.

Most clubs have a moderator who facilitates the discussion. Though nearly all of the library-based groups boast a small core of dedicated members, they eagerly welcome new members at any time throughout the year. Since there is no residency requirement, a book aficionado armed with a librarycard could conceivably be involved in book groups in six different towns all year long.

Most often, books are secured through the libraries' SAILS network. Some libraries require participants to reserve a book in advance. Frank Nolan at the Attleboro Public Library will have copies of the next month's book available for members to take home after each meeting. In Seekonk, moderator Jill De Coursey notes that many members prefer to purchase theirown books in paperback.

In order to accommodate the special needs of commuters and others with impaired vision, Adult Services Librarian Maggie Holmes of North Attleboro's Richards Memorial Library, deals with the unique challenge of finding booksthat cut across a variety of formats, including large print and books on tape or CD. Despite these constraints, Holmes facilitates two engaging discussion groups featuring classic and recent fiction.

Reader to leader

Discussion leaders were often book club members first. When the group at the Fiske Library needed a new moderator a few years ago, Nikki Kirsch happily stepped forward.

`` I love setting up an atmosphere for people to feel welcome,'' she said.

Kirsch finds the book discussions are `` a way to remember you've got a brain and that it's vital.'' As an African American, she has also found an unexpected treasure: `` Thebook group is a perfect example of why unforced diversity is great.'' Loni Ivanovskis, co-facilitator at the Boyden Library in Foxboro, paints a whimsical and revealing portrait of a reader who is also passionate about her leadership role in Foxboro. `` I am that person in the bookstore or library who leans over and says to a total stranger, `` Hey, I read that book. It was fascinating (or complicated or deadly dull).''

Talking points

Ivanovskis provides a peek at some questions that inspired spirited debate among book members in Foxboro last year. Did Lily Bart kill herself at the end of `` House of Mirth'' ? What really happened on that boat in `` Life of Pi'' ? Was Grace Marks killer or victim in `` Alias Grace'' ?

`` People's reactions to books can be very revealing and always interesting, even if the book was a bomb,'' she added.

As area readers throughout the region gear up for similar discussions at local libraries this fall, they are hitting the books with the enthusiasm and abandon of a new puppy. And it's not surprising. They can look forward to swapping reactions about the `` Murder, Magic and Madness'' of Chicago's l893 World's Fair in `` The Devil in The White City,'' the lives of four generations of Jewish women in `` The Wholeness of a Broken Heart,'' or the hard-boiled, cigar-smoking, wisecracking world of Crime Noir, a la RaymondChandler's `` The Big Sleep.''

Patricia Ferrara, a highly credentialed literature buff who has taught library courses on Shakespeare at the Attleboro Public Library, has chosen Penelope Lively's `` The Road to Lichfield'' for the morning discussion group's debut this year. Her desire to provide a full and rich background for the book is obvious in her approach. Set in England, with frequent references to the home of the famed dictionary author, Samuel Johnson, the novel has inspired Ferrara to research pictures of `` cruck-timbered'' farmhouses, as well as fascinating tidbits about Johnson -- `` an extraordinarily ugly man who, if not famous, would not have been invited for dinner.''

As area readers consider joining a library book club this fall, current members encourage your participation. Attending every meeting and finishing every book is not an expectation. As Patricia Ferrara puts it, `` Book clubs are a good thing to keep people reading who want some guidance and supportfrom other people who are doing the same thing.''

Connected by a passion for books, members new and old form a community of readers. As Oprah says, that's `` a really fantastic thing.''

KATHY HICKMAN is the former coordinator of Campaign Read in Attleboro. She will be writing a regular column, The Reading Room, in YourDay that will explore the world of books, locally and beyond. You can contact her at news(at)(at)thesunchronicle.com.