The Alhambra Public Library Book Club poses with Denise Hamilton (seated), who wrote the interesting best-seller "The Jasmine Trade."

Oprah has one; Good Morning America has one; the Today Show has one; but the Alhambra Public Library has two! Two book clubs, that is. The Alhambra Public Library Book Clubs provide reading guidance, sharing of experience, and increased understanding and appreciation of books among like-minded readers.

Following is a description of the two clubs:

1. "Adult Learner" Book Club - With the award of a $4,000 grant from the California State Library to implement an Adult Learner book discussion group, Adult Literacy students may join the group to gain an enhanced learning experience through book (and books on tape) discussions. To date, the group has read and discussed The Pearl by John Steinbeck, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, and The Cat Who Said Cheese by Lillian Jackson Braun.
    
2. Alhambra Page Turners - This group, which meets on Thursday evenings, has been celebrating books and reading for the past year. They have read and discussed The Human Stain by Philip Roth, Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
   
   The way the Book Club works is as follows:
   -- Read an interesting book over a period of 4-5 weeks
   -- Meet weekly to share your views of the book
   -- Go out to dinner at the end of the period, eating at a restaurant whose cuisine relates  
       to the book (French, Asian, Creole, etc.)
   -- After reading the book, go see the movie (if there is one) and relate that experience to
       the book
   -- In addition, on very special occasions, the Book Club has the opportunity to meet with
       the book's author and to receive special insight into its meaning. However, the Book
       Club does not promise a meeting with every author.

For more information about the Book Clubs of the Alhambra Public Library, call the Alhambra Library Literacy office at (626) 570-3281 during weekday service hours.