Library? Too quiet. Bar? Too loud. Restaurant? Too expensive, plus not everyone wants to eat the same thing. If you've got picky people who need to meet, Half Price Books has tables and chairs and a couch in the café. It's free; it's quiet, but not too quiet; people can eat and drink or not feel guilty if they don't. It's the perfect place for study groups, knitting circles, scrapbook aficionados and, of course, book groups, whose members can track down their next assignment in the store's aisles. There's no sshhhhh-ing, no evil eye-giving, no "buy something or leave" looks. And, best of all, you don't have to clean your house.