The Voorheesville Public Library Book Discussion Group meets one Wednesday each month to dissect and sometimes disagree over the current selection. The group also eats. To join one or all monthly meetings, sign up at the reference desk. Paperback copies of the book are available at the reference desk for $5. Members wishing to borrow the book can request it through interlibrary loan.

Books are chosen by Suzanne Fisher who leads the discussion. Suzanne is Head of Adult Services at the Voorheesville Public Library. She earned her Master's Degree in Library Science and an M.A. in French literature from SUNY Albany. She began the Book Discussion Group in 1997. About her method of selecting books, she says:

I read reviews and websites obsessively. I look for books that are well written, have characters that change over the course of the book, have a humane message and are interesting. Book discussion members have told me they like my choices because they are generally books they would not have read otherwise. They like to learn something new, whether the subject is the search for the northwest Passage, raising homing pigeons, or life in a convent.

I do background reading and research for all of the books. This may include other titles by a fiction writer or books and articles on Jim Crow laws, the Crusades, the Cultural Revolution in China, welfare reform, bubonic plague pandemics or the history of the insanity defense—whatever arises from the content of the book. I bring the results of this research to the discussions. Knowing the cultural or historical context of the story adds to the understanding and enjoyment of the books. I like to mix fiction genres—historical fiction, contemporary fiction, novels translated from other languages—with nonfiction and memoirs.

For the June meeting we read a food-related book and have a potluck supper. Although the choices listed here include some books that are popular book club selections, such as The Red Tent and The Secret Life of Bees, I am always on the look out for books that are not the usual fare. To quote a member of the group, first and foremost I am on a quest for "books that expand my world".