Gina Wyszynski of Houston, Texas talks about her group, the Chicks Picks Book Club. Members plan a variety of activities during the course of the year, including book club trips and a Christmas party, to keep things fun. Read on to learn more about this group.

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

A: Chicks Picks Book Club. We've been in existence for 3 years.

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

A: 17 members, all women between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.

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

A: We meet every month on the last Thursday of the month, except for November and December. No meeting in November and we meet the first Thursday of the month in December (this change is due to the holidays being at the end of November and December). We meet at a local restaurant chosen by that month's person's book choice. Restaurants change each month depending on the person's choice.

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

A: Yes, we eat at the restaurant location chosen. We choose off their menu.

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

A: The person who made the book selection for a particular month leads the discussion, and yes, if there are reading group guides, we use them.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: There's no limit --- we are open to anything.

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: Books are chosen on a rotating basis each month by a different book club member. Schedules are decided a year in advance as to which person will choose for which month. However, we do not announce book selections until one month prior.

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

A: The best discussions were for The Pact, House of Sand and Fog, The Notebook and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We arrange a Book Club/Christmas Party each year on the first Thursday of December and bring gifts. We arrange a book club trip each year. So far, we've gone to Las Vegas, Galveston, and this year New Orleans is being planned.

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

A: Keep things light and fun and always communicate with each other.

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

A: We've had some books that were chosen that several members did not like, but we take this lightly and always feel comfortable joking about it. This group holds nothing back.

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

A: We think we are unique because we've had book club trips, we've done newsletters for our group and we've had t-shirts made to represent our group as well. We've also had a member recently move to Oklahoma and start a spin-off of our club there. We don't limit anyone on their book choice --- which means they are free to pick fiction, nonfiction, hardcover, paperback, and no limit on book size. Everyone is welcome to make her selection freely.

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