New book club mixes young adult reading, movies, TV

A new book club is going outside the library walls for a growing community that enjoys popular titles, good food, and lively discussion.

Young at Heart’s next book talk will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 at the Electric Brew in Elkhart, 113 E. Lexington Ave.

“While we have several successful book clubs at EPL, we wanted to see if we could do something to capture a different audience,” says librarian Allison McLean, who helped organize the club.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations with people that love to read these books that are marketed for teens,” says McLean. “For some people it helps them feel a little younger or capture those feelings of being young.”

At the March meeting, “All the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven will be discussed.

Other upcoming books are:

February: “Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour” by Morgan Matson
March: “All the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven
April: “Scythe” by Neal Shusterman

“We were able to tie some of the books to new releases that are coming out as movies or TV shows,” McLean says.

Finding books that are being spun off into TV shows and movies helps the club appeal to a broader audience, as well as help pick books that are more relevant in pop culture.

“There’s a lot of fun stuff that’s being published in this genre right now, whether it’s realistic fiction, sci-fi or fantasy,” says McLean.

Meeting outside of the library helps bring a lighter atmosphere to the event, while also helping support other Elkhart businesses. “Just to make it a little more fun and to enjoy some of the places that downtown Elkhart has to offer to eat,” McLean said.