Atlanta Classics Book Club
Becky Williamson of Atlanta, Georgia is pleased to tell us about her Classics Club.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A. Our group is called the Classics Club (original title, we know!). We've began 6 years ago, when a group of us who worked together started talking one day about all the books we were supposed to have read in high school but didn't. Most of us had always wanted to go back and read them, but had never gotten around to it. We thought that with encouragement from others, we'd be able to do get through them — and so far we have!
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A. We have 15 members. At any given meeting about 10-12 of us show up. We have 6 men and 9 women, ranging in age from 24 - 60.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet? Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A. We meet once a month in our homes. We have sometimes skipped a summer months because of vacation schedules, or December, when everyone is just so busy. Our meeting are held from 7-9 PM, so the host will often just serve cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, or a dessert. We always have coffee, and sometimes wine.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A. Our host kicks things off with some researched background information on the books: why they are considered classics, author information, historical/literary significance, etc. The discussions are free-form, meaning anyone is free to bring up anything that struck them about the book. Since our goal is to get all of us through the book, a lot of our discussion is sometimes helping each other understand and appreciate (if not always enjoy) the books. By doing so we enhance our own understanding and appreciation. We don't generally use reading guides, as unfortunately they aren't often published for the books we read, but we do occasionally pick up a Cliffs Notes to help us understand themes and symbolism.
Q: What kind of books do you read? How do you choose your books?
A. We read those books that are generally considered classics, occasionally throwing in a contemporary title that is based on a classic that we've read (e.g. The Hours by Michael Cunningham or Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund). We choose books about 3 months in advance. Usually people just bring up titles and we discuss them until we come to a consensus. It generally happens that at least one of us has read the book before. If they don't want to read it again, they just skip that meeting.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A. One of our best discussions was one of the first, when we were trying to decide what defined something as a classic. Some of the younger members of our group thought anything written before they were born would qualify. One member, then 53 years old, said "No way! Nothing written in my lifetime should qualify." We compromised, and now a book has to have been originally published 50 years or more ago before we'll consider it. We figure anything that's still being published after 50 years is probably a classic.
Some of our favorite books have been Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Red and the Black by Stendahl, 1984 by George Orwell, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund and almost anything by Mark Twain.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A. Just our discussions are a lot of fun. We all feel like we're learning something and accomplishing something. We've occasionally consulted a friend who is a professor of English at a local college. He's helped us with some especially difficult books. And through our discussions we've learned a lot about each other (as well as literature), and feel that we've bonded as friends. We've also occasionally rented a movie based on a book we've read, but this has been an extra-curricular thing, not during the actual book club meeting.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A. Our worst horror story is one woman who joined our group and wanted to make us more serious. She wanted our discussions to be more formal, to have nominations and balloting in picking our titles, and to fine people who didn't come to meetings! She didn't last long.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A. Keep things casual! While understanding and appreciation is our goal, we didn't want this to become a class. We understand that not all books are for all people and some folks are not going to like certain books no matter how "classic" they are!
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