For a lively book club discussion, a meaty book is necessary, and according to librarian Kathe Fletcher, when the other essential book club ingredients are mixed in the bag, it's even better.

Fletcher helped start "It's in the Bag" at Westminster's College Hill Library. She's hoping the program, which was launched in April, will take off this fall when book clubs coming back from summer hiatus will hit the books again.

With so many titles to choose from, College Hill's book club kits are designed to make it easier for clubs to settle on a book and get to the fun part.

Currently, College Hill has nine tote bags filled with 10 books each and ready to be checked out, thanks to a $1,200 grant from The Friends of the Westminster Public Library, a nonprofit group that supports libraries.

There are nine titles available, both fiction and non-fiction, picked by Fletcher who likes mostly well-known books that are less than 400 pages and have relevant topics that generate a buzz. Titles include the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, Nineteen Minuetes by Jodi Picoult and Articles of War by Nick Arvin.

Once a book club settles on a book, their leader can pick up a tote bag with the necessary supplies, for free of course, and distribute the books. The bags can be checked out for six weeks, perfect for book clubs that mostly meet once a month, Fletcher said.

Often, it's hard for book club members to check out the same book when libraries only have a limited number on their shelves, Fletcher said.

Another perk is that the bags come with a binder with discussion topics, questions and an author bio.

"The discussion group questions are helpful, particularly if there is a lag in the conversation," said Sharon Hall, a member of College Hill's book club, which meets the second Wednesday of the month.

The College Hill book club will be checking out a kit with Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, which will be available in December.

So far, 11 book clubs have checked out the bags and one book club was impromptu formed when a woman came into the library to check out a copy of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Glibert and realized she had accidentally put a kit with 10 copies on hold. Her friends were having a tough time getting their hands on a copy of the wildly popular book, so she checked out the bag and said she would be going to dinner with her friends to discuss the book.

"So, we actually birthed a book group on the spot," Fletcher said.

Fletcher is hoping to grow the program, an idea she borrowed from the Lafayette, Louisville, Boulder and Broomfield libraries, which already have similar programs.

She wants to add ten more "It's in the Bag" kits next year and five more each subsequent year.

Book club kits
For a full list of titles available through Westminster College Hill Library's "It's in the Bag" program or to check out a tote, call 303-404-5104. For information about Broomfield's Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library's "Book Groups are in a Bag" program, call 720-887-2350.

Join a book club
The College Hill Library book club meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. the second Wednesdsay of each month at College Hill Library, 3705 W. 112th Ave., Westminster. Drop ins are always welcome. The book club will discuss The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Sept. 10, Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky Oct. 8, Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen Nov. 12 and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson Dec. 10. For more information, call 303-404-5104.