June 2006

In this interview, Jan Stephens from Belleville, IL talks about her book club, the Bi-State Bookers. They picked this name because their members, all from the Metro St. Louis area, live on either side of the Mississippi River.  Read on to learn about their diverse ages and tastes in literary fiction, as well as how they supplement their discussions with a bit of outside research.

Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?

A: We're the Bi-State Bookers because members live in the Metro St. Louis area with residences east and west of the Mississippi River. Our initial meeting was June 2003, so we'll celebrate our third anniversary soon.

Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?

A: We are an entirely female group ranging from late twenties to early sixties. Five of us were present at the first meeting and we're delighted with the way the membership evolved into nine members.

Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?

A: The Bookers meet bimonthly on Sunday afternoons. Members take turns hosting at their homes. Our December meeting is an evening celebration at a restaurant, and we don't discuss a book that month.

Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?

A: The hostess prepares light refreshments that sometimes accompany the theme of a book. However, there's no pressure or expectations to relate the food to the book --- it just works out sometimes. We were served falafel with the discussion of The Kite Runner, mango salsa and a curried rice dish with The Namesake, and poppy seed cake with Year of Wonders.

Q: Who leads the discussions? Do you use reading group guides?

A: The hostess usually opens the discussion after we socialize and eat. Other individuals bring related information/articles/reading guides. One member was a literature major and she leads the discussion if it lags (which is rare), or when we need redirection to themes of the book.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: To date, we've read varying forms of literary fiction, although memoirs, classics and nonfiction titles have been considered. 

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: The hostess offers three titles with a synopsis of each one, and members vote for the next selection. Book selection is eagerly anticipated. 

Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?

A: Group favorites were The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Because of the way these books touched our hearts, we had great conversations. Additionally, interesting discussions generated from novels that were controversial from the "loved it," "loathed it," and "didn't liked it enough to finish it," points of view within the group itself. These included Life of Pi, Atonement and The Time Traveler's Wife.

And although we didn't read this as a group, we all loved and shared our copies of The Secret Life of Bees with each other. Other titles we've passed around include The Color of Water, Poisonwood Bible, Love in the Driest Season, A Fine Balance, The Twentieth Wife and A Million Little Pieces.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We meet every other month; that way we're always excited to get together and see each other. It also allows us to read our own selections in the meantime, whether they are personal or professional. We have also met for movies or book fairs.

Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?

A: We don't mind if everyone hasn't read the book, but we do disclose plot spoilers. It's fun when everyone doesn't agree; that's what makes an interesting discussion.

Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?

A: We must not have been meant to discuss Ahab's Wife. The member who selected it doesn't read lengthy novels, and this one weighed in at 688 pages. Then, the husband of our hostess decided to remodel shortly before our meeting so it was canceled. Besides, hardly anyone read the book.   

Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?

A: Every holiday season, we donate gifts to the Big Brother Big Sister program.