Reading Women of Palm Coast, Florida
This month's interview is with Benita Sirkin of Reading Women of Palm Coast, Florida (which is located about halfway between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach). Read on to see more about this group.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: We are called Reading Women. We are a section of the local AAUW chapter. We don't have a theme. We are very eclectic in what we read. The first meeting of the group was held in January 1991.
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: We now have 12 members. We have had as many as 15, but 12 is a better number since we meet in each other's homes. We are all women since we are a section of AAUW. We are all retired or semi-retired. I haven't asked, but I would say our ages are from the late 50's well into the 70's.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet once a month from September through May. Those of us in town may meet during the summer and just let each other know if we've read a good book, but the summer sessions are more social. One summer month those in town had a potluck at our leader's home. About 8 of us were there.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? Who brings the food?
A: Yes, we eat at our meetings. The official meetings the food is supplied by the hostess. Since we usually meet at 10, it is a brunch type menu that can be as simple or elaborate as the hostess wants it. Everyone in the group is a good cook, so it's never a problem.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: The brief business part of the meeting is conducted by our leader and then everyone adds whatever news they have that is of interest. The book discussion is led by one or two members who suggested the book(s). Usually we do one book, but on occasion we do two with a similar theme. We recently did JIM, THE BOY and A PAINTED HOUSE together because they were of the same time period and boys of similar age. We use reading guides if they are available and we know about them.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: We read fiction, nonfiction and biography mostly, but anything can be suggested.
Q: How do you choose your books?
A: We meet in September to talk about our summer reading and about what books we want to read in the coming months. We spent two summer reading about the Bloomsbury Group. The first winter we had an English tea while we discussed our reading. It was our December meeting and everyone brought a children's book. They were donated to Toys for Tots. The second year we had a garden party at a state garden on the banks of the river. After reading about the Algonquin Roundtable one summer, we sat at a member's round table, dressed as the person we selected to read about and reminisced about the "good old days."
Anyone suggests a book they want to discuss for the coming year. We usually plan three to four months ahead. If the whole season falls into place that is great, but we know there will more than enough suggestions over time to fill the year. Sometimes one of us reads most of the works of an author they like. In that case they usually encourage each member to read one book by that author, at least. The leader does the overview of the author and his/her themes and everyone chimes in on the books they've read.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: Some of the best discussions were on the Bloomsbury Group and the Algonquin Roundtable, of course, but we all cried at the end of the presentation of Tuesdays with Morrie.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: I think we keep things fun because we all have a sick sense of humor. We never say anything derogatory about each other, but that doesn't apply to what we say about the books. We are a diverse group. Rarely does everyone like the same book, but we read them anyway and that adds to the discussion.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: Our advice to other reading groups is to stay flexible, relaxed, have fun and enjoy the other members of the group.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: I can't think of any horror stories, but we have had problems getting to the Jacksonville, Florida book fair. We now know what exit to take of I-95.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: I think our position in the community is somewhat noteworthy. We have given presentations as part of the public library's cultural series on the Bloomsbury Group. We lead discussions on To Kill a Mockingbird this spring when the whole county was reading it and did a presentation of Aunt Alexandra's Missionary Society Tea. I guess we like to dress up in period costumes!
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