Lehi People
Lehi book club enjoys 25 years of reading and friendship
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
In June of 1999, a group of young moms in one Lehi neighborhood started a book club to get to know people and share their love of reading. Now celebrating its 25th year, the Sunset Book Group meets on the first Wednesday of every month.
“We were kind of a new neighborhood. We were all in the same boat, young moms with young kids. We wanted to get to know people and get some time to ourselves,” said member Michele Todd.
Through personal obstacles and general obstacles, like the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve never missed a month. Members of one of the oldest book clubs in Lehi say they’ve gotten much more out of it than book recommendations.
“We’ve been able to stay friends and have seen each other through just about everything—divorce, loss of children, loss of jobs. The friendships have kept us together as a group,” Todd said.
Todd estimates that about half of the Sunset Book Group members are still originals, but they’ve added people along the way. The group averages about 10 people at its monthly meetings.
During their 25 years together, the book group has read 300 books from all types of genres.
“It’s really good to read something that doesn’t necessarily fall into your genre. It helps you grow as a person when you read a book that you wouldn’t have chosen yourself,” Todd said.
“When you end up discussing things, you pull so much more out of it than just the written word. You get so many new ideas and thoughts and can see something through someone else’s experiences,” she said.
Todd attributes part of the success of their book group to the system they use for choosing and calendaring reads. In June of each year, they each pitch books to the group and then vote on the top 12 picks. They put them on the calendar for the coming year and everyone signs up to host.
“The system has been really effective. You know exactly what you’re reading for the year and when and where you’re meeting and can plan for that,” said Todd.
Todd also attributes the group’s longevity to the dedication of their members. “They’re really smart ladies who want to keep learning and growing and are willing to put in the time to do that every month. They love to read.”
Some of the Sunset Book Group’s all-time favorites:
● 1. A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
● 2. We Die Alone by David Howarth
● 3. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
● 4. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
● 5. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
● 6. These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
● 7. Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
● 8. The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
● 9. A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
● 10. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Books they are looking forward to:
● 1. The Fellowship of the Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr
● 2. Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell (September 2024 release)
● 3. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (February 2025 release)
