Janice Williams of Waycross, Georgia talks to us about her group The Okefenokee Book Club. Be sure not to miss Janice's delightful story about Steve Berry, who will be participating in their discussion of his debut novel, The Amber Room.

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

A: We call ourselves The Okefenokee Book Club and have been around since January 2002.

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

A: Our membership is about 12 persons: three men. Age group is about 37 and over.

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

A: We meet on the third Friday in the month at a restaurant/nightclub.

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

A: We order food and drinks from the restaurant.

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

A: Whoever suggested the book leads the discussion. We start off sometimes with guides, which then leads into other areas of discussion.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We try to alternate the fiction and nonfiction books

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 plan was to select books a number of meetings ahead of time but we are not always successful. However, in August this year we decided on the books for September through December.

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

A: I think the best discussions we have had has been on The Da Vinci Code and Nickel and Dimed.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: I think we keep things informal and that makes it fun.

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

A: Keep it fun.

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

A: One interesting thing has happened. Steve Berry, a writer who lives near our town, saw a notice in the newspaper about our meeting last month and suggested we read his debut novel, The Amber Room. We have decided to select his book for discussion in October, and he has agreed to come and discuss his book with us. According to the Georgia Times his manuscript was turned down 85 times before it was accepted for publication. I have already read his book and I am amazed that this was his first novel. We all look forward to inviting the general public to our club next month to meet the writer.

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