Jennifer Belfield of the Newport News/Hampton area of Virginia is the spokesperson for BookClubEtc. This seven-year-old group can keep their meetings fun simply with good food, good books, and good conversation. Read on to learn more about the lively members of BookClubEtc and their "just do it" philosophy.

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

A: Our name is BookClubEtc. We started 7 years ago.

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

A: We have 20 members --- 8 men and 12 women whose ages range from 40s-60s.

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

A: We meet monthly at restaurants or in members' homes.

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

A: We ALWAYS eat at meetings. The food varies --- if we meet at someone's home, the hostess takes care of food; at restaurants, either we do a buffet, or everyone is responsible for his/her own meal. Sometimes, the leader of the group will have food catered.

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

A: Most times, the leader of the group leads the discussion. Yes, we use reading group guides. If one is not available, then a few members will have questions prepared.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read African-American fiction, biographies, poetry, short stories, and essays.

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: We choose one new book at each meeting. We have 4 books to choose from each month.

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

A: Books by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ernest Gaines, Alice Walker, J. California Cooper, Bernice McFadden, and Bertice Berry.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We just talk, talk, talk. It's been a lot of fun.

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

A: Just do it. Whether there are two members or 20, just have fun. The discussions are wonderful.

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