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
March–May 2024
By Michael Thompson
From the Publisher
Some lives are simply unforgettable…
On an ordinary night in an ordinary year, Tommy Llewellyn’s doting parents wake in a home without toys or nappies, without photos of their baby scattered about, and without any idea that the small child asleep in his cot is theirs.
That’s because Tommy is a boy destined to never be remembered.
On the same day every year, everyone around him forgets he exists, and he grows up enduring his own universal Reset. That is until something extraordinary happens: Tommy Llewellyn falls in love.
Determined to finally carve out a life for himself and land the girl of his dreams, Tommy sets out on a mission to trick the universe and be remembered. But legacies aren’t so easily won, and Tommy must figure out what’s more important – the things we leave behind or the people we bring along with us.
How to be Remembered is a heartwarming, poignant and ultimately inspiring novel about the important things in life.
Awards & Honors
- Finalist, Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, Baltimore Science Fiction Society, 2024
- Shortlisted, Best Fantasy Novel, Aurealis Awards, 2023
Upcoming Book Selection
May–July 2024
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women
By Kate Moore
From the Publisher
All they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…
‘The first thing we asked was, “Does this stuff hurt you?” And they said, “No.” The company said that it wasn’t dangerous, that we didn’t need to be afraid.’
As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint.
However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive – their work – was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous.
Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women – in the face of unimaginable suffering – refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice.
Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar.
Reviews
‘The importance of the brave and blighted dial-painters cannot be overstated.’ —Sunday Times
‘A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific and the personal.’ —Bustle
‘Thrilling and carefully crafted.’ —Mail on Sunday
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.
