SCLD Online Book Club
For Readers Like You
Our Online Book Club offers five book selections per year. For each book, you have around two months to read, comment, and interact with others on this online community forum.
We’ll be reading fiction, nonfiction, and other genres. Adults who are interested in lifelong learning, personal growth, or who want to read for relaxation will find additional content related to the book on the online forum. You can participate in discussions or just gather new information and perspectives without interacting.
Start reading right away!
For each book selection, in-district library card holders can download the eBook version on Freading with no waiting or holds. The current book club title is always available on demand from Freading. Other library card holders and those who prefer reading printed books can place a hold for the title in our catalog or, if preferred, purchase a copy from their favorite bookseller.
Anyone can join the book club at no cost. And with your in-district library card, you will get immediate access to the eBook version of book selections.
If you don’t have a library card, you can get your card online.
Our Online Book Club forum is moderated by Professional Book Club (PBC) Guru, which manages book clubs for libraries, alumni associations, and other organizations. PBC Guru provides additional engaging content that you can explore for each book selection.
Current Book Selection
October–December 2024
The Library of Borrowed Hearts
By Lucy Gilmore
From the Publisher
A charming, hilarious, and moving novel about the way books bring lonely souls together…
Two young lovers. Sixty long years. One bookish mystery worth solving.
Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She’s just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s. Deciding it’s a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.
When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn’t the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?
In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there’s much more to her grouchy old neighbor than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers, she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.
Praise for The Library of Borrowed Hearts
“This dual-timeline novel is a bookish love letter to anyone who has ever found solace between the pages of a book. This romantic story of found families and learning to accept help from others is sure to have wide appeal.”
— Library Journal
“I found it engaging and seamless… Gilmore’s characters are also compelling and loveable, which is not to say they don’t have their edgy moments…. They’re difficult and make mistakes, but they’re the people who make the world better, plugging away at loving others and being responsible.”
— Miss Bates Reads Romance
“I loved every second of The Library of Borrowed Hearts. There are so many wonderful and quirky characters in this story. If you are in a book slump that you are looking to get out of, you can’t go wrong with this fantastic story.”
— Susan Dyer, Fresh Fiction
Benefits of Joining a Book Club
Connect with others
Share your ideas and learn from others about the books you’re reading and the topics covered. Discover new connections in your community to others from different backgrounds and generations.
Continue learning & growing
Gain new perspectives when exposed to books you might not typically read and engaging and thought-provoking online discussions. You’ll have access to dynamic learning and opportunities for personal growth that you can tap into whenever it fits your schedule.
Uncover the health benefits of reading
Reading can reduce stress, help you sleep better, alleviate depression symptoms, help prevent age-related cognitive decline, and may even help you live longer (healthline.com and experteditor.com.au). Reading can also make you smarter and more empathetic to others, increasing your reasoning ability, vocabulary, emotional intelligence, leadership abilities, and creativity (bigthink.com and Harvard Business Review).
If you have questions about how the book club works, check out the Frequently Asked Questions section provided by PBC Guru.
