The new book club’s opening selection for the August 10 dinner discussion will be New York Times bestseller The Martian by Andy Weir, which follows the adventures of astronaut Mark Watney during a mission to Mars.

Check out Columbia County Library’s new book club at Pizza Central in Evans

Columbia County Library has a new recipe for the phrase, “cook the books.” Beginning August 10 the library will start a book club called Pub Fiction, which will meet at Pizza Central in Evans from 7-9 p.m. the second Monday of each month.

“We’ve had suggestions from patrons to do more to appeal to young professionals who aren’t available during normal library hours,” says Natalie Gibson, the library reference manager. “This book club will be a relaxed meet-up where people can eat some pizza, have a drink and talk about books that the group will choose.”

The first book selection will be New York Times bestseller The Martian by Andy Weir. The book follows the adventures of astronaut Mark Watney during a mission to Mars. Six days after he becomes one of the first people to walk on the planet, a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew members, who think Mark is dead, to evacuate.

Stranded and completely alone, Mark has no way to signal Earth that he is alive, and even if he could, his supplies would run out before a rescue team could arrive. Drawing on his engineering skills and his refusal to give up, Mark faces one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after another.

“It has mass appeal,” Gibson says of the book, “and the movie version will be released in October.”

Library staff members will serve as hosts for the book club. Reservations are recommended, but not required. People can reserve their spots at augustpubfiction.eventbrite.com. They can purchase the book or place a hold on a copy with their library card. For more information, visit gchrl.org or call (706) 863-1946.