Library Begins Chapter-A-Day Online Book Club

With many exciting and fascinating new books on the market each week, it's sometimes difficult to choose the ones that are just right for you. Now there's a new service from the Pleasanton Public Library that will make that job easier.

The Chapter-A-Day online book club delivers five minutes of reading every day, right to your computer. It's easy to sign up to receive daily installments, and a new book starts every Monday. More than 120 people have signed up so far since the club began a year ago.

Readers receive a week of the book, about 2-3 chapters, and then can decide if they like it enough to request it from the library. An extra bonus is that participants frequently get to preview books before they go on sale, such as Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter and James Patterson's The First to Die.

Head librarian Billie Dancy is very enthusiastic about the club. "It's easy and it's free - people who use it really like it," she says. "It's a great service to get people reading and to let them know what's out there. It's a way to introduce our patrons to a variety of books and to reach people in the community who think they don't havetime to read."

The book club is offered in four categories: the Original Book Club, which features a variety of fiction and non-fiction titles; the Business Book Club for books on career and commerce; the Good News Book Club, offering "books that you could bring home to Mom;" and the Teen Book Club for young readers. Selections in each category have included The O' Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly; Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In; Passing by Samaria; and The Ear, the Eye and the Arm.

To join the OnLine Book Club, go to www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us and click on "City Services," and then on "Library." There you'll find the four book clubs and can sign up for one or all. Once you join you are invited to send your comments to bdancy@ci.pleasanton.ca.us .

The Pleasanton Public Library also has book-by-mail services for anyone living or working in Pleasanton, adds Nancy Johnson, young adult and adult librarian.

A would-be borrower simply calls the library and requests that the book be mailed to them. It is sent in an envelope which may also be used to return it to the library. Borrowers include a small fee to cover the library's postage costs. Charges may also be billed to a patron's library card.

Audiocassettes and videotapes are also available through the program.

For more information on the book-by-mail program, call Johnson at (925) 931-3404 for details.

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