There's something cozy and definitely enlightening about sitting by the roaring fireplace in a library on a chilly Thursday night — especially for book lovers attending the Friends of the St. Paul Library’s Fireside Literary Reading series.

Now in its 15th year, the mid-winter event brings local authors together with readers in an intimate setting.

The Hamline Midway Branch Library, built in 1930 in the style of the Carnegie libraries, is a great place for the talks, which are held amid the stacks — not in a meeting room or auditorium as is often the case with library events. And the fireplace is real, with burning logs.

Alayne Hopkins, who organizes the events for the Friends of the St. Paul Library, said the talks attract people from far beyond the immediate neighborhood around Hamline University. Book lovers from Minneapolis, the suburbs and St. Paul attend, and many are regulars.

Attendance depends on the author and the weather, she said. Poet and musician Bill Holm drew a record 200 people -- standing room only in the stacks, all the way to the elevator — when he spoke last year about his book, "The Windows of Brimnes: An American in Iceland."

Julie Kramer, my wife, kicked off the series last week with a talk about her debut novel, "Stalking Susan."

The series continues this Thursday (Jan. 22) with John Coy and Julie Schumacher talking about their young adult novels: Coy's "Box Out" and Schumacher's "Black Box."

Feb. 5: David Mura reads from his novel "Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire.”

Feb. 12: Nora Murphy, author of "Knitting Threads of Time."

Feb. 19: Poets James Cihlar and William Reichard read from their recent books: "Undoing," Cihlar's debut collection; and Reichard's "The Brightness."

Fireside Literary Reading Series. Hamline Midway Branch Library, 1558 W. Minnehaha Ave., St. Paul. Coffee, cider and cookies are provided.