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 2017-2025
May 26th at 6:00 p.m.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Book Description:
Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.
Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.
June 30th at 6:00 p.m.
The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick
Book Description:
Welcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.
Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.
On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way west to the Poppy Fields—where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.
July 28th at 6:00 p.m.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Book Description:
Authors Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena is a literary darling while June is a nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls?, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse, stealing Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.
But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
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.
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, May 13th at 6:00 p.m.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
We are meeting at:
Polski’s Pub & Grub
38730 Harper Ave, Clinton Township, MI 48036
Registration is required due to restaurant capacity. Please register via our Events calendar or contact the library.
Book Description:
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.
Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Wednesday, June 10th at 6:00 p.m.
Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
We are meeting at:
Blue Goose Inn (on patio)
28911 Jefferson Ave, St Clair Shores, MI 48081
Registration is required due to restaurant capacity. Please register via our Events calendar or contact the library.
Book Description:
Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.
All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series―is that too much to ask?
Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life―the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life―Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.
Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?
Wednesday, July 8th at 6:00 p.m.
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
We are meeting at:
LOCATION TBD - please check the Events calendar for updates
Registration is required due to restaurant capacity. Please register via our Events calendar or contact the library.
Book Description:
In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.
One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.
Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.
Wednesday, August 12th at 6:00 p.m.
Too Old For This by Samantha Downing
We are meeting at:
LOCATION TBD - please check the Events calendar for updates
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…
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.