Vanessa Johnson of Baltimore, MD is a member of "The Perfect Ex-Sample Book Club," which consists of 13 members and is still growing. In this interview, Vanessa describes how they've conducted their meetings for the last two years, mentions one of their favorite authors and welcomes any advice other groups can offer them.

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

A: The Perfect Ex-Sample Book Club has been in existence since July 2005.

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

A: We have 13 members and are growing. We had two men, but somehow lost them. We now have 13 women, mostly between the ages of 30 and 50.

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

A: We meet once a month at a restaurant chosen by the person who picks that month's book.

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

A: The person who chooses the book.br />
Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: All types.

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: Each meeting, we choose a book for the next one.

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

A: We have the best discussions on La Jill Hunt's books.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Just talking about the book keeps us excited.

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

A: We don't know, but we would like advice from other groups.

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

A: We need to choose our restaurants carefully. Once, the restaurant was so loud we could not hear each other.

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