The Book Club
Sandy Olsen enthusiastically talks to us about her reading group "The Book Club" of Florissant, Missouri, which has been in existence for 30 years and consists of six married couples. Read on to learn more about this close-knit group and the helpful advice they offer to other reading groups.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: Our book club's name is The Book Club --- no frivolities please. We have been meeting since November 1972, and that name has worked for us!
We think we must surely be one of the most long-lived of book clubs, far pre-dating the current trend of having them --- 30 years and counting.
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: We currently have 12 members --- 6 couples. Over the years people have come and gone a little bit, but of the original 5 couples, 3 are still together. The other 3 couples have been with us at least 10 years.
When we began we were all in our late 20s, early 30s --- which means we are now middle-aged only if we live to be about 120.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet approximately once a month at our homes. Summers get tricky and we often miss a month.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: We started out nibbling popcorn and drinking inexpensive beer. Over the years it grew to fancy appetizers and better beer. Finally, when the kids grew up and we didn't have to worry about serving dinner to our families, we added dinner to the evening. And the beer got better and better!
The host often correlates the meal to the book. Last month when we did Stilwell and the American Experience in China our host prepared the most amazing 17-course Chinese dinner. But other times it is quite simple --- no pressure except what we put on ourselves.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: We do not have a formal structure and really feel our success is a result of our flexible approach. We just start talking. And interrupting. And protesting.
Occasionally one of us (me) comes up with a guide, especially when the book doesn't seem a good prospect for an in-depth discussion. But it usually just serves to keep us on the topic.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: Over the years we have enjoyed mostly fiction, both classics and contemporary. But we also do plays, nonfiction, novel-length poems, and sometimes a movie/book combination.
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 person who will host the next month's meeting chooses the book. This results in a nice variety of choices and also ensures that whoever chose the book will be there. We all listen to NPR interviews, read the New York Times book reviews, etc. to get ideas.
Except every sixth choice will be an Irish one! We can always count on that member.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: This question was the most fun for us to toss around, but after 30+ years it was hard to write an answer. We all agree some of the best discussions are when we don't like a book. We have read so much good literature. A few that stood out in peoples' memories were The Dollmaker, from long ago, The Sunflower from not too many years ago, and Spies from a few months ago. But there were so many others. The very first book we discussed was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and because the couples had never met each other there was nothing else to talk about, so we had a fantastic discussion.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: It has never been a problem! Good books, good food, good company. What's not fun about that?
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: There were many suggestions for this answer. A few bits: 1) Have couples (that isn't always easy, because you have to find partners who both like to read and discuss, but that is part of what makes our group work so well). 2) Don't try to be over-structured --- it isn't fun if it feels like a test at school. 3) No leader 4) Keep it from getting too big, or the conversation breaks into small ones. 5) Have people with similar political points of view --- it saves tempers.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: The time we all showed up but the Doyle's forgot they were having us and had gone out, or the time Bob couldn't get the fire going and we were so starved we didn't mind eating half raw meat, or perhaps the time the lights went out at the Olsen's and we lit candles to enjoy the storm, but the dog sat on it and scorched his rear end. That was the same dog who ate the cheese ball when no one was watching.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: One member noted that there is not a single one of us who would not stop on the road to move a turtle across to the other side. That rather sums us up.
We got started when I asked four other couples I knew, who had not met, to come and discuss a book. Little did we know that night that we would end up going through our lives together, watching the babies who were not yet born having families. It has been a very special support for us all. And continues to be.
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