CHECK IT OUT:

Resolve to read in 2008!

Many of us make a resolution to read more each January, but life gets busy and it’s easy to get distracted from keeping that resolution.

The best (and easiest) way to stimulate your reading, your thinking and your social life is to join one of the library’s book groups.

Enjoy the Manuscripts Book Discussion Group, which meets at 9:15 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month, or the Manuscripts Evening Book Discussion Group, which meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

Both groups meet in the Friends Meeting Room at the Newport Beach Central Library.

Sponsored by the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, free and open to the public, these groups provide excellent opportunities for experiencing fun and thought-provoking opinions.

Coffee, light refreshments and book-related articles offering informative intellectual content are provided.

There’s no registration or preparation required; just come as you are.

Listed below are the upcoming titles in January, February and March 2008 for both groups. Let the book club bug bite you!

“Suite Française,” by Irène Némirovsky: A literary time capsule, this haunting novel captures everyday life during World War II with fantastic detail as it was written during the Nazi occupation of France. Tragically, in real life, the author was murdered at Auschwitz. Her handwritten manuscript was discovered and translated in 2006. To be discussed Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 9:15 a.m.

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain: Read this classic American novel from Samuel Clemens again (or for the first time), and find out why this enduring and timeless story has resonated in the national consciousness and been controversial since it was published. To be discussed Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.

“Legends of the Fall,” by Jim Harrison: Explore the theme of revenge and the actions people resort to when their lives and goals are threatened. Set against the backdrop of World War I, relish the author’s extraordinary vision of 20th-century man. To be discussed Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 9:15 a.m.

“The Rise of Silas Lapham,” by William Dean Howells: Written in 1885, this is the first novel to feature an American businessman as the ultimate protagonist during the rise of the Gilded Age. To be discussed Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

“Here is Where We Meet,” by John Berger: The dead don’t stay buried, at least not in Berger’s novel. Find a new voice with an openness to political and personal currents that mark a shift in consciousness. Is it fantasy? To be discussed Wednesday, March 12 at 9:15 a.m.

“The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Jazz Age lives in Fitzgerald’s classic novel about romance, money and achievement.

Enjoy the movie versions on DVD starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, or Mira Sorvino and Toby Stephens, to enhance your reading experience.

To be discussed Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m.

CHECK IT OUT is written by Newport Beach Public Library reference librarian Mary Ellen Bowman. Use your Newport Beach Public Library card to reserve these titles at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or call (949) 717-3800 and press 2.