At a recent summer meeting of the Popular Authors Literary Club (PAL), a decision was made to accept an offer of the Winthrop Public Library to take over the hosting of the club. PAL has been in existence since 1895 when a small group of twenty-four women in the Town of Winthrop met monthly on a rotating basis in each other’s homes for the purpose of reading and discussing popular books of the day. This is believed to be the longest continuously run social group for women in the town.  The library hosting will begin in October and will take on a book club/discussion format, much like the early days of the club. With the library hosting, men will now be welcomed. A group of long-time members recently met with library staff meeting to determine the direction of the club going forward. Meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month, with July and August excluded. To accommodate the varied schedules of library patrons, the club will meet on alternating, afternoon/evening schedule, beginning Wednesday, October 12, from 1-2:30 p.m. The following meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 9, from 6:15 – 7:45 p.m. Subsequent dates will be December 14m January 11, February 8, March 8, April 12, May 10 and June 14. During meetings, light refreshments will be available. Books to be read will be selected by the library based on popularity and availability of sufficient library copies for patrons to borrow. The first book will be Britt-Marie Was Here: a Novel, by Fredrik Backman. Books will be available two weeks before the October 12th meeting. At the first meeting, a list of books for the rest of the season, covering various genre, will be distributed. Future selections will be posted on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1194725-popular-authors-literary-club for those who would like to participate online. To sign up for PAL, please contact the library at [email protected] or call the library at 617 846-1703.