Reading groups are a great way of discovering new books and authors, and are a fun way of socialising and meeting people. We support over 600 groups, offer a great choice of reads and are continually working to improve the service we provide.
Find a group near you.
All groups are different. Some prefer an informal chat, others a heated discussion and some take a more formal approach. You might choose to all read the same book, or you could select a theme, genre or author. Each group is given a library card and you can borrow as many copies as you need in the format you prefer, so long as it is available.
Ideas for reading groups
We regularly produce lists of titles we think reading groups will enjoy. They tend to lend themselves to group discussion, are available in larger quantities and are often in a variety of formats.
You can use the links below to reserve copies of titles your reading group may like to try:
A blank form is also provided so that groups can reserve titles of their choice.
If you would like some more reading ideas check out our YouTube channel where we have book trailers and interviews with bestselling authors such as Sarah Walters and Andrea Levy.
Although many titles have their own discussion guides, groups will find these general questions useful to kick start all book discussions.
You can keep up to date with other reading groups in Essex and share reading ideas by subscribing to our bi-monthly e-newsletter for reading groups.
Facebook reading group
Our virtual reading group takes place every few months on the
Essex Libraries' Facebook page. The discussion takes place over an entire weekend and focuses on a single author. Previous discussions have focused on Terry Pratchett, Andy McNabb and Martina Cole.