By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Andre Demers is about as busy as a 16-year-old can be: school, the theater, driver’s ed, a part-time job.

So Demers was happy he didn’t have to squeeze in yet another meeting when he added “book club” to that list.

There aren’t any meetings. The entire discussion group is online.

“I like the Internet and computers. I thought it would be interesting,” he said. “You have time to think about your response. It’s convenient.”

Auburn librarian Sally Holt started the online group last May to get teenagers interested in reading and more involved with Auburn Public Library. It began with eight to 10 kids reading “Monster,” an award-winning book about a 16-year-old on trial for murder.

Eight teens continue to participate, posting quick messages on the simple Web site after dinner, while surfing the Internet or any time they have a spare moment. All are now reading a fantasy trilogy by Philip Pullman.

Like a traditional discussion group, they talk mostly about plots and characters, debating the story’s concept of good and evil and guessing about the ending. Sometimes the discussions are deeply philosophical. Sometimes the teens just jot short notes to share their excitement.

“I have gone on a reading spree!” wrote one boy. “I have just finished chapter ten and I have been reading one chapter in that book and one chapter each of four other books!”

Holt moderates the discussions and asks questions, but she doesn’t demand that anyone write. The teenagers can go for days without posting any messages, then suddenly bombard the site with chatter. For the kids, that’s part of the appeal – jump into the discussion whenever they have time, whenever they have something to say.

Demers posts most of his messages at night. A busy home-schooler with a job and a commitment to the Community Little Theatre, he loves reading but doubts he’d have time to meet with a book club once a week.

Instead, he goes to the site whenever the mood strikes.

“It’s fun to hear other people’s opinions, see other people’s point of view,” he said.

Although Demers has belonged to the discussion group for months, he’s never met its other members. The anonymity can be weird, he said, “but that’s part of what makes it interesting, too.”

So far, the group has proven popular. Many of the readers are teenage boys, a notoriously difficult group for libraries to reach, Holt said. One girl from South Dakota wandered onto the site one day and ended up joining for good.

Ultimately, Holt wants to expand the discussion group to include other libraries. But for now, she’s happy she’s got Auburn teenagers reading.

“It gets them involved in reading and the library without actually having to go there,” she said.