It's hard to believe but people

did read before Oprah. There have always been book lovers around, but

usually they're so quiet no one ever noticed them until the talk show

icon popularized an age-old activity and reawakened a nation to the joys

of literature.

Book groups and the engaging

discussion they foster have been popping up everywhere from Barnes and

Noble to the neighborhood coffeeshop and from the house next door to the

local library. Cheryl Miller-Holmes, branch manager for the South Fulton

Regional Library in Union City, is adding a few more titles to the reading

list.

Hired in June, Miller-Holmes

met with her staff and was surprised to find that the library did not

host any book clubs. She immediately set up a series of programs that

addresses all age groups.

"I thought it would be

a way to engage the community in reading," she said. "For the

younger children, it's a way to make reading more of a fun activity for

them and it provides an outlet for adults who already like to read."

Children as young as five can

join the Preteen Select-a-Book Club which meets every second Wednesday

at 4 p.m. in the library's meeting room. Three age groups, 5-7 years,

7-9 years and 8-10 years, help choose their own book to read and discuss.

Librarian Cheryl Small oversees the children's book clubs and includes

a small craft project with the 5-7 age group.

The Teen Select-a-Book Club

meets every third Wednesday at 4:30 in the Library Meeting Room. Their

current selection, "Slumming" by Kristen Randle is being supervised

been with the South Fulton Regional Library for six years after receiving

her graduate degree in 1997. Other titles for children this month include

"The Skeleton in the Smithsonian" by Ron Roy and "Tales

of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume.

Librarian Andrea Lewis conducts

the adult book club which meets the fourth Monday of each month from 6:30

PM to 7:30 PM in the Library Meeting Room. The group began its foray into

fiction in August with "Vinegar Hill" by A. Manett Ansay and

will be discussing "The Hearts Of Men" by Travis Hunter at their

next gathering.

"They're all doing a wonderful

job and I'm so pleased and excited because I'm an avid reader!" Miller-Holmes

said

She wants to challenge the

belief that people just use computers and watch TV and don't read for

leisure anymore.

"That's not true. People

do read for leisure." she insists.� Getting all age groups involved

in the practice of exploring shelves, discovering ideas and making new

friends both written and real seems to be a concerted effort at South

Fulton Regional Library. To join in call 770-306-3092.