Maureen Dunbar first heard about Louise Penny at a Fourth of July party. She looked up the legendary British mystery writer, and she found her new favorite. 

“That is the good thing about books,” Dunbar said. “You talk to someone, and you might learn your next one.” 

Dunbar is a retired teacher who lives in Lower Paxton Township, minutes from the East Shore Area Library. There, she and a group of friends meet to pursue their newfound passion for mahjong. 

After the mahjong games are over, Dunbar usually leaves with a book that she reserved online at www.dcls.org. 

What are you reading?

I checked one out today. It’s “A Woman I Know,” by Mary Haverstick. It’s about a spy, a woman who used to work for the CIA. My friend told me about it. I just returned “A World of Curiosities,” by Louise Penny. My gosh, I love her. It’s a recent one from the Inspector Gamache series. I finished that one because I had read all the rest. Then I finished “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.” It’s good. 

What draws you to Louise Penny?

I do like lots of murder mysteries, but I just love her characters. I didn’t read the first book in the series when I read my first Louise Penny, but then I went back. You need to read them in order because they develop the characters so much.  

How do you choose your reads?

For “Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,” we were playing mahjong when somebody said it was really good, and someone else said they read it, so I checked it out of The Library. I love the way The Library does it now, because you don’t even have to go look for a book. You just go online, you tell them what you want, and you get an email when it’s ready.  

What do you appreciate about borrowing your books from The Library?

I love that I can go get books that I don’t have to buy, because I have tons of them sitting in my closet. I’m retired, and it’s so much easier to go to The Library.  

Is that how you’ve always gotten your books?

Only since I retired. When I was teaching, I would probably just go out and buy the book. I still like having the book as opposed to listening to it. I’ve done all that, but I still like reading it. I still like to have the papers in my hands. I’ve read some on my phone from The Library but it’s just not the same for me.