Marion Percy belongs to The Cape Goddesses Book Group from Stamford, CT. Though she and her fellow members officially started their club five years ago, many of them have been friends for over 32 years. In this interview, Marion describes the orderly manner in which they conduct their meetings and discusses how their reading tastes have grown since they've been together. She also mentions a few of their favorite titles and shares an amusing anecdote involving a fire alarm, some wine and a couple of pet birds.

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

A: We are The Cape Goddesses Book Group. We celebrated our 5th anniversary trip together in September 2006, thus beginning our fifth year as a book club.

We started because after a weekend away together, we thought a book club would be fun. Because of our evening's format, we were able to stay on task, focusing on the book more and more as time passed, sticking to social times and discussion times. At first, our book choices were mostly about what we needed to share. That changed to mainly bestsellers, and now we are stretching our parameters to stories that help us understand more about the world and how we fit in it.

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

A: We have eight members, five of whom are original members. We are all women, age 49 --- timelessly elegant!

We find most people we invite for a discussion think we're asking them to join the group instead of just for that discussion night. We are very small and selective, which allows us to keep things personal. Any new members have been VERY comfortable as guests and VERY interested in participating regularly. Otherwise, we've only had 2 guests actually read our books and come for an evening. Most of the people invited cancel. Any suggestions?

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

A: We meet once a month, except for December. We alternate hostessing between the most centrally located of our homes, in Stamford, CT. For the members who live farther away, we ask them to help with contributions of beverages and desserts.

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

A: The hostess decides on the food, although not a full meal. Some choose to follow the theme of that month's book, including wines from that region. (For instance, Main Street Red Wine from a Minnesota vineyard was served for our discussion of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis! Also, we had a Greek feast for The Summer of My Greek Taverna by Tom Stone!) Usually we serve hors d'oeuvres, beverages and desserts.

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

A: The discussion is led by whomever chose that month's book. We rotate choices. If a member needs to take a break from the group, we keep her place in the rotation by drawing titles from a hat. It helps prevent disrupting the rotation. Reading guides are only used occasionally when we can't think of our own questions. Since most of us thoroughly research the book, author and events, we show up "armed and dangerous" for discussion.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: All kinds, with stories taking place anywhere in the world. It all depends on individual choices. Our members grew up all over the world --- Hong Kong, Japan, Greece, U.S., Switzerland.

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 have a rotation list and each member makes her own choice. We have never done an Oprah book. We know a year in advance who will be discussion leader, and new members get added to the bottom of the list. Books are chosen anywhere from 2-6 months in advance, so slower readers and busy members have time to finish.

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

A: We had a friend who asked us to read/review her manuscript! One of the members had met the author Susan Vreeland, who gave us suggestions for guiding the discussion. The discussion leader adapted those suggestions to the story and we taped it for the author. It was THE most orderly and inspiring discussion we have ever had!

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel was another favorite discussion. The question "Who is your 'tiger'?" was most intriguing! Some favorite books include: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins, Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland, The Summer of My Greek Taverna by Tom Stone, A Fortune-Teller Told Me by Tiziano Terzani, and, of course, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown!

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: WE are fun! Three-quarters of us went to college together and have known each other for 32+ years. We're best friends, sisters, and have common values and a hysterical communal sense of humor --- we are funny! We are passionate about reading and we LOVE to talk about our books!

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

A: We stick to our time schedule: 7:30-8:00 is social time; 8:00-9/9:30 for discussion; 30 minutes for dessert and coffee. At least one of us keeps an eye on the clock. Our meetings are mid-week and on the same day of the month, which helps us keep track. If you can't finish or read that month's book, just sit quiet and enjoy the discussion. You'll always get something out of it. Being punctual, respectful and mutually courteous --- you know, the common politeness we learned as kids --- always works. Also, keep money matters simple; we find it helpful for one person to organize it.

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

A: Amusing anecdotes: 1) One hostess lives in a 12-story high rise and the fire alarm went off! We took the hostess's birds out with us to the front yard, as well as the wine and the book talk! One member is married to a local fireman so they knew her! 2) On one of our annual trips to Cape Cod we met Joan Anderson, author of A Year by the Sea. She took time from her schedule to spend an afternoon with us! 3) Another member has a sister who is a politician in Maine, and she recommended The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson. She came to CT to lead the discussion the day after election, on the heels of a victory at the voting booths! (Her bill supported the local lobster fishermen.)

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

A: a.) We go to Chatham, MA, in Cape Cod every year. It's the "scene of the crime"!
b.) One member started an Excel spreadsheet keeping track of dates, hostesses, discussion leaders, books/authors and settings.
c.) Another member keeps a scrapbook of what we read and what we do.
d.) Every August, members' children choose what we read and lead the discussion.

© Copyright 2001-2012, ReadingGroupGuides.com. All rights reserved.

ReadingGroupGuides.com interviews special reading groups around the world, spotlighting a different group each month. We hope that you enjoy reading about their experiences and might find some new ideas to try with your group. If you belong to a group that you think should be spotlighted, click here to answer our interview questions.

Back to top.