I’m an avid proponent of books clubs.
I think everyone should join one. It may take some research or trial and error until you find the right fit, but once you find it, I promise it’s worth it. I’ve been part of a book club at Inkwood Books in Haddonfield for more than two years now (we’re currently reading the New York Times bestseller “Fruit Fly” by Josh Silver), and I love it: I’ve met some of my best friends, I’ve discovered some of my new favorite authors and I’ve become more comfortable voicing my thoughts and opinions with others.
Sure, the whole reading books part is great, but I believe the greatest part about book clubs is finding new people in your community to connect with. In my book club experiences, there comes a time where most people involved are more invested in chatting with their peers than dissecting the book of discussion. While falling off topic can be frustrating at times, there also is a marvelous beauty in just letting people speak about other books they have read and whatever they feel compelled to share with the group.
Adult services librarian Jenn Smith recognizes this enthusiasm found among readers in our community, and it is the foundation of one of her book clubs.
The Rambling Readers, a monthly book club run by Washington Township’s Margaret E. Heggan Free Public Library, quite literally does what the name suggests: allows readers to ramble about the books they are reading and whatever else may come to mind.
And the coolest part? The Friday afternoon meetings are held outdoors at Washington Lake Park in Washington Township over the course of an hour-long walk, and the group typically takes a new path each month.
Jenn Smith, an adult services librarian at Washington Township’s Margaret E. Heggan Free Public Library, leads the monthly Rambling Readers book club.
“I tried to think of something different,” said Smith, 53, who has been a librarian for seven years, all of which have been spent at Margaret E. Heggan.
The Rambling Readers is one of three adult (18+) book clubs she runs, so she wanted to offer something unique and social for the community. (Smith also runs the Chasing Clues: A Cozy Mystery Club at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month and Non-Fiction Addiction at 11:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of the month).
Smith has been running this book club for about two years now. When she first introduced the Rambling Readers, she did assign a book for the attendees to read. She expected to have everyone discuss the book while on their walk.
“I gave up on that after the first month, because we did not talk about the book hardly at all. I had to keep bringing everybody back to it,” she said. “We were walking and looking around, (and people would go), ‘Oh, look at that! Look at that!’ Then 10 minutes later it’s like, ‘Okay, we really need to get on the next discussion question.’ I got to the point where I (decided) I’m going to open it up and we’re just going to talk about books in general.”
While facilitating the group, she tries to make sure at least half of the time is dedicated to speaking about books. The other half can be about discussing whatever else may come up: the beautiful surrounding nature, the weather, life, anything. Smith said it is about books, but more than anything, it is a social space, which is one of her main goals.
Attendees should be prepared to discuss whatever book(s) they currently are reading or recently read with others in the group. That way, they can share their thoughts about their reads, as well as find new recommendations.
When attendees arrive at the meetup point in Lot A at Washington Lake Park, the group will decide what path they want to take. Since the walk is only an hour long, they do not complete the full loop. It also is not required to participate in the entire walk. Additionally, Smith said some participants often stay at the park with others to continue walking and talking on their own.
The group typically brings out four to 15 participants, though, it is always open to more people from any town; you do not need to be from Washington Township or Gloucester County to participate. Smith said it can often get a little tricky to manage when there are more than eight participants, but there are ways she and the regular group members can adapt to be as inclusive as possible.
“I’m just kind of learning and developing the group as I go and taking suggestions from the people that are walking with us,” Smith said.
After they had a meetup with 15 people and some walkers fell behind, one of the group’s regular members, Andrea McDonald, a retired Margaret E. Heggan librarian, volunteered to serve as a “sweeper” and walk at the back of the group. She ensures no one gets left behind or is without someone to chat with. McDonald also pays attention to how far away the back of the group is from the front. If there ends up being too much space between them, she will blow a whistle to notify Smith to pause the front until they catch up.
All the meetups are held on the third or fourth Friday of the month at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. At the latest walk on September 18, there were nine members, including Smith and myself. The group walked past the tennis courts and through the woods for a peaceful evening walk in the late summer heat.
On our walk, I chatted with some longtime attendees who also frequent the other book clubs at the library. They told me about some recent classics they’ve read, like “Grapes of Wrath” and “Frankenstein,” as well as other books read for clubs or in their own time, like “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr and “Everything Is Tuberculosis” by John Green. We also chatted about nature, literature and how great it is to participate in a community group like this.
After my time spent with the Rambling Readers, I felt rejuvenated and inspired to keep reading in groups and on my own. In addition to reading “Fruit Fly” for my Inkwood book club, I’ve been reading “The Anthony Bourdain Reader: New, Classic, and Rediscovered Writing” edited by Kimberly Witherspoon in my own time, and I hope I can chat about it with others — maybe the Rambling Readers — sometime soon.
The final Rambling Readers walks of 2026 are on Friday, October 30 and Friday, November 20, both at 3 p.m. The book club will start back up in April 2027. For more information, go to www.hegganlibrary.org/adult-services/or email jsmith@hegganlibrary.org.
The Book-Marked List from Donnelly.Media
Favorite Books
"Girlhood" by Melissa Febos - Emily Melvin, Associate Editor
"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn - Christine Harkinson, Associate Editor
"Trinity" by Leon Uris - Albert Countryman Jr., Associate Editor
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins - Paul Mangiamele, Account Manager
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Madelyn Goldfield, Account Manager
"A Christmas Story" by Jean Shepherd - Christine Storie, Account Executive
"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien - Bill Sanservino, Editorial Director, Community News Services
"The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton - Michelle Mangiamele, Editor-in-Chief
Currently Reading
“The Anthony Bourdain Reader: New, Classic, and Rediscovered Writing” edited by Kimberly Witherspoon - Emily Melvin, Associate Editor
"Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by V.E. Schwab - Michelle Mangiamele, Editor-in-Chief
The Rambling Readers, a book club through Washington Township’s Margaret E. Heggan Free Public Library, at Washington Lake Park on September 18.
