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Photo by Hans Hallgren

This is the cover of the Book Club's 25th anniversary scrapbook. The book club keeps photos and clippings to capture the memories of former members throughout the years.

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Sue Aaberg, left, and Wilma Rojas talk during the Craig Book Club's monthly meeting. Rojas is a newcomer to the group.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novel "The Angel's Game" focuses on a mysterious and magical place called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

It exists to save books from being burned or destroyed in the bleak, gothic world outside.

Susan Begam-Violette, who read the book for the first meeting of this year's Craig Book Club, said the fictional place was eerie and strangely drawing.

"You can't go in unless you're taken by someone who has already been there," she said. "And once you're in, you find a book, but the book really selects you. But it's so true. When you go to the library because you have nothing to read, something there catches your eye and just draws you in."

But the image of being led into a strange world filled with books that capture the mind is not just a fictional place in gothic Barcelona in Zafon's novel.

The Craig Book Club also is like stepping into a fascinating world where literature is preserved and revered.

In its first meeting of the season, which runs from September to April, the Craig Book Club celebrated its 30th anniversary Thursday at the First Congregational Church.

The meeting's hostess, Jan Rinker, who has been with the Book Club since it began in 1979, provided coffee, tea and homemade breads for the nine attendees.

"It's hard to believe it's been 30 years," she said. "A lot of people have come and gone. But we still hear from a lot of old members, with Christmas cards and letters."

Thursday's meeting was centered on Jan Rogers and her review of "The Angel's Game."

But there was about 20 minutes of socializing and chatting before the group got down to business.

Rinker said the club has been reading a lot of recent bestsellers, but their booklist is diverse, including titles by John Steinbeck, Umberto Eco and Leo Tolstoy. Some books, she said, no one in the group even likes, but they all enjoy the discussion.

"The Angel's Game" received mixed reviews.

Rogers seemed thrilled by the book's dark, gothic grip, while Bonnie Thompson, who has been with the club since 1980, found it too thick to get through.

"It's a gothic novel, and it really didn't gel for me," she said. "But I still love interacting with the ladies. There are some really valuable opinions here."

The reviewer, Rogers, said the book was too dense to sink in without a second reading, so she encouraged the group to reread the book to catch some of the more subtle themes.

Begam-Violette also loved the book and jumped in eagerly to share her thoughts on the struggle to discern the meanings of the strange realities and religious undertones in the novel.

Veda Wyman, also an original member of the Craig Book Club, said she also didn't like the book because she likes lighter, more "enjoyable books."

As an activity for the anniversary, the members went around in a circle talking about their favorite book club titles.

"I really loved 'The Dollmaker,'" Wyman said. "It was just so enjoyable."

"The Dollmaker" was on the book club's list for the 1980-81 season.

Wyman remembers the first year of meetings, when Jan Rinker was just a child.

"I just like the books and the people," she said. "And the discussion is the best part. I come because I enjoy reading."

Begam-Violoette couldn't decide on her favorite titled, but listed off three, including a book by author Honore de Balzac.

"It's really important to me because when I moved here from Aspen, Bonnie gave me this book," she said, flashing a smile to Thompson across the table. "And it really cemented our friendship."

As another token of friendship, a newcomer to the group, Wilma Rojas, brought a gift of appreciation to the members.

Begam-Violette saw several jeweled bookmarks on one end of a table, and a pile of books on the other.

"Which one's for us?" she asked. "The jewelry or the books? I mean, I like diamonds, but I like books even better."