Big Valley Literary Society
Tammy Maher of El Dorado Hills, California talks about her book club, Big Valley Literary Society. Although the group has been in existence for only a few months, its members already have found fun and creative ways to discuss the books they've read.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: Our group started in August 2003 and we're called the "Big Valley Literary Society" from the Sacramento Valley area of California. We're a group of 11 women who love to read and entertain. We try to match our meeting with the theme of the book for the month --- especially the food!
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: Our members range in age from 30-50. We are 11 women. Half of the women are in their 30s with the remaining half in their 40s
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet monthly and rotate meeting locations. For example, we read Seabiscuit as our first book. We met at the theater to see the film and then went for coffee/tea afterwards to discuss the book. Usually though we meet in another member's home.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: Oh yes! For example, when we read our second book, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, we had a lovely English High Tea at a member's home. The hostess or other members bring food. I am sure this month's meeting will be something with a French twist.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: We just start drinking, eating and talking about whether or not we liked the book. Some of the answers are surprising. The discussion goes from there. This is the first month we are using a discussion guide from your website. We are excited about having more structure in the meetings. The book we are using your guide for this month is A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: Thus far we have read historical books (Seabiscuit), classical fiction (Rebecca) and travel narratives (A Year in Provence). Next month we are reading an Adriana Trigiani book.
Q: How do you choose your books? Do you choose one new book at each meeting, or do you choose the books for a number of meetings ahead of time?
A: Good question. When we started we tried to come up with a list --- but it limits our ability to discover books that have been recently released. This is something we need to discuss at our next meeting, because already I am hearing grumbling about the books we agreed upon at our first meeting and people have suggested very good alternatives.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: So far, I think everyone hands-down loved Seabiscuit the best. We had a mixed reaction to Rebecca, and it'll be interesting to see the reaction to A Year in Provence. We are so new at this ... I've been inspired by the advice of friends who have been in groups for many years.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: Alternating locations for meetings, keeping the food and beverages interesting and linked to the books, and perhaps seeing films if connected to the book.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: Read with people you like to talk to.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: Not yet, we are too new of a group --- but give us a year or two!
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: The nice thing about the women in our group is that everyone loves to read and all read voraciously. In fact, often when I ask members in our group if they've finished the book, I'll find out that they have --- and they've read another 1-2 books during that month. Most if not all of our members are college graduates, which makes the discussions interesting and enlightening. I am really glad we are doing this. It's an activity that is socially and intellectually stimulating for me.
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