Book Groups
Tuesday Night Book Group
What we read: We choose books that spark great conversations! Members recommend titles, and then we vote on them. New members are always welcome—just grab a copy of our next book and join in! Connect with us on Goodreads!
Register for the book club meetings online through the events calendar or call (586) 329-1261.
Here is a list of our Tuesday Night Book Group Titles 2017-2026
August 25th at 6:00 p.m.
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Book Description:
Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house.
Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.
When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.
Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future . . . if they can survive the journey.
September 29th at 6:00 p.m.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Book Description:
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing development, the last thing they expected to uncover was a human skeleton. Who the skeleton was and how it got buried there were just two of the long-held secrets that had been kept for decades by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side, sharing ambitions and sorrows.
Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which served the neighborhood's quirky collection of blacks and European immigrants, helped by her husband, Moshe, a Romanian-born theater owner who integrated the town's first dance hall. When the state came looking for a deaf black child, claiming that the boy needed to be institutionalized, Chicken Hill's residents—roused by Chona's kindess and the courage of a local black worker named Nate Timblin—banded together to keep the boy safe.
As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear how much the people of Chicken Hill have to struggle to survive at the margins of white Christian America and how damaging bigotry, hypocrisy, and deceit can be to a community. When the truth is revealed about the skeleton, the boy, and the part the town’s establishment played in both, McBride shows that it is love and community—heaven and earth—that ultimately sustain us.
Murder & Booze Book Club
What We Read: We look for books that give us a lot to talk about! Mysteries, thrillers, true crime, and books with lots of twists and turns are ideal. Enjoy a cold one and grab an appetizer at a new location every month for our mystery, thriller, and true crime book club!
Registration is REQUIRED due to restaurant capacity!
Register for the book club meetings online through the events calendar or call (586) 329-1261.
Please check the calendar for dates.
Wednesday, August 12th at 6:00 p.m.
Too Old For This by Samantha Downing
We are meeting at:
Three Blind Mice (in upstairs room)
101 N Main St
Mt Clemens, MI 48043
Registration is required due to restaurant capacity. Please register via our Events calendar or contact the library.
Book Description:
Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.
Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.
When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.
But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…
Wednesday, September 9th at 6:00 p.m.
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
We are meeting at:
Gumbo’s
53 N Walnut St
Mt Clemens, MI 48043
Registration is required due to restaurant capacity. Please register via our Events calendar or contact the library.
Book Description:
Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets in the first contemporary mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas.
Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge....
In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.
Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.
When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians’ quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together....
All in a day’s work.
Silent Book Club
What We Read: At Silent Book Club, there's no assigned reading. Bring whatever book you are reading and join an evening out with fellow book lovers. All readers are welcome - ebooks, audiobooks, textbooks, comic books... it's BYOBook.
At the beginning of each meeting we will have time to mingle followed by an hour of of silent reading.
Register for the book club meetings online through the events calendar or call (586) 329-1261.
Please check the calendar for dates.
Book Club Kit
HTPL is excited to be a lending partner of the 2026 Great Michigan Read.
Do you want to host a book club outside the library, but are not sure where to begin? Whether you’re part of an existing group or starting a new one, you can borrow a Book Club Kit from the library! Our kit includes everything you need to lead a book club discussion.
With the help of Michigan Humanities, HTPL's first Book Club Kit is now available for checkout! This year's Great Michigan Read is "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" by Detroit-born Curtis Chin.
Book Kits will come in a sturdy tote bag that include:
• 10 copies of Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
• 1 pack of Conversation Cards with 40+ conversation prompts, facts, and extension ideas
Are these Kits only for established Library Book Clubs?
No! Anyone with a library card can check out a Book Club Kit.
How many copies of a title are included in each Book Club Kit?
The kit includes 10 copies of the book and a deck of conversation cards.
How do I place a Book Club Kit on hold?
The kit may be reserved through the online catalog or at the library.
How long can I keep a Book Club Kit?
Check out is 21 days to give your group plenty of time to read and discuss.
Can I renew a Book Club Kit?
Kits may be renewed twice if there are no holds.
The 2025–26 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities. Additional support is provided by national, statewide, and local partners, including the Library of Michigan and MSU Federal Credit Union. This program is made possible in part by a grant from Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.