ReadingGroupGuides.com

The Novel Women Book Club

Deb Garvey from Shoreview, MN belongs to The Novel Women Book Club, a local neighborhood reading group that has been going strong for the past 11 years. In this interview, Deb lists some of their favorite titles and authors, and offers advice on how to keep efficiency high and expenses low. She also explains how their meetings have fostered a sense of community in an otherwise isolated suburb, and even shares a poem she wrote about the club.

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

A: The Novel Women Book Club is a neighborhood book group that was formed in 1995.

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

A: We have 12 female members, though about 6-8 attend regularly. Ages range from young mothers to young grandmothers.

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

A: We meet almost monthly in the evening (we usually skip December). We used to meet in each other's homes, but now find that the neighborhood coffee shop works better.

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

A: When we met at our homes, we would eat desserts (see poem below). Now, we go to the neighborhood coffee shop, so there is no pressure on anyone to host.

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

A: The conversation mostly evolves. The reading group guides have been very helpful.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We primarily read new fiction, including both male and female authors. We read Minnesota authors often. We usually pick a theme by the month, so we read a wide variety of genres including mystery, romance and biography.

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 books 9-12 months in advance. This way we are not constantly spending time picking new books. Everyone present has a voice in choosing a book.

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

A: Favorite Authors:

Barbara Kingsolver: Animal Dreams, The Poisonwood Bible
Jon Hassler: Staggerford, Rookery Blues
Anne Lamott: Traveling Mercies, Operating Instructions
Faith Sullivan: The Cape Ann, Gardenias
Sue Monk Kidd: The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair
Lorna Landvik: Welcome to the Great Mysterious, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Other Favorites:
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Zenzele by J. Nozipo Maraire
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Every Good and Perfect Gift by Brenda Jernigan
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Discussing "stories" helps us share our own stories and keep up on what's happening in the neighborhood. In suburbs with attached garages, neighbors can be isolated. Our reading gives us something in common and promotes friendliness.

We try to alternate "heavy" reading with something lighter. As baby presents for new moms in the group, everyone brings a favorite book or two and we put them in a basket as a baby present.

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

A: Pick books several months in advance, to save time. This also helps those who want to "read ahead" and allows people time to get the book. Use your resources. There are great lists online at ReadingGroupGuides.com. To keep down expenses, borrow books from the library --- they can be reserved online at most libraries. (We also try to wait until new books come out in paperback.) We encourage people to come, even if they have not finished (or read) the book.

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

A: Author Erin Hart came to visit our book group. It was so memorable --- the pinnacle of a book group experience.

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

A: I wrote this poem for our group. We have it on laminated bookmarks.

Novel.
Women.
     Reading,
     Eating,
     Connecting
     Exploring.
We are the Novel Women.

Reading -
     Old and new friends
     Meeting on pages.

Eating -
     Just desserts.
     Wanting more.

Connecting -
     The family of humanity
     To our neighbors.

Exploring -
     Novel places.
     Word-rich spaces.

Novel.
Women.
     Education,
     Nourishment,
     Connection,
     Exploration.
We are novel women.

-Debra Freigang Garvey 7/98

Also, our library just started "Book Club in a Bag." Ten copies of each book, a reading guide and author information are available in each bag, which can be checked out for six weeks. More members read the book because it is so accessible.

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