For fans of true crime books, this club solves mystery of finding like-minded friends
If your podcast list is packed with things like “Crime Junkie” or “My Favorite Murder,” the Olathe Library’s new book club might be just your style. The Crime and Cookies book club meets monthly at the downtown branch of the library.
It’s one of two book clubs the Olathe Public Library has for adults. Holly Patton, program specialist for the library’s adult department, said the library has tried other non-fiction book clubs, but they’ve been hit or miss. True crime, however, brings out passionate fans.
“It’s nice to get other perspectives and points of view about the book. You read it, and you have your opinion about it, then you can talk with other people, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I never thought about it that way,’” Patton said.
So far, club members have read “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.”
“It’s fascinating subject matter, and you get to talk with like-minded people,” said Marlo Silva of Spring Hill.
Although the cookies sweeten the deal, attendees are really there to discuss true crime with other aficionados.
With only 10 places available for each meeting, the competition for spots is, well, killer. The main reason the library limits attendance is that each person receives her own copy of the book to keep.
Blair Johnson of Olathe said receiving a personal copy of the book made her much more committed to finishing it and coming to the meeting.
The library opens registration for the next month’s meeting the day after the club meets for the current month. Several attendees said they set an alarm for the registration time to be sure they get a spot.
All the spots for the August meeting were filled the same day registration opened, but hopefuls can still join the wait list on the library’s website in case of cancellations.
Many of the participants cited the social outlet of the club as a major attraction for them. Often, the other people in their lives are not fans of true crime TV shows or books.
“I’m already a true crime junkie in terms of listening to podcasts, and my husband found it in the public calendar, and I was like, ‘Ooh! I can make new best friends,’” said Heather Davis of Olathe.
Lorie Weston had a similar reaction.
“I love reading, and I don’t have a lot of people to discuss books with at home, so I do this book club and the paperback book club the Olathe Library does just to come and talk about the book with people and find out what they thought,” said Weston, who lives in Olathe.
For Olathe resident Stephanie Turvey, there was a double bonus. She’s been trying to lead by example in encouraging her son to read, and he sees her making progress in her book each week.
“It’s a great way to participate in your community,” she said. “I have young kids, 4 and 5. I need to exit my house without my children, and this was an opportunity to do that.”