Caren E. Glickson, Ph.D of Stamford, CT talks about her reading group, Southern Connecticut Wellesley Book Club. Members throw parties, go to the movies, and attend seminars to keep things interesting within the club. Read on to learn more about these women and what they believe are the keys to a successful reading group.

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

A: Southern Connecticut Wellesley Book Club, founded in November 1999.

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

A: We have 14 members --- all women --- ranging in age from 30 to 60. The median age is 40. Not all of our members are Wellesley College alumnae, though most are.

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

A: We meet once a month in Norwalk, CT at the home of Dr. Caren Glickson.

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

A: We don't eat at our meetings. We're too busy discussing our books.

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

A: We rotate the discussion leaders among members. We do use reading guides from time to time.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read a variety of books. Some prior years' selections have included: The Hours by Michael Cunningham, The Last Life by Claire Messud, Chocolat by Joanne Harris, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and A Gesture Life by Chang-Rae Lee. This year's books to date are: Blindness by Jose Saramago, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, Trans-Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian, Middlesexby Jeffrey Eugenides, Life of Piby Yann Martel, The Photograph by Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

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 review books suggested by our members and choose about four in advance to read. For example, in September we choose the books for October, November, December and January.

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

A: Interestingly, there is not always a correlation between our favorite reads, the books we felt were written the best, and those books that sparked the most interesting discourses. Some of our best discussions were centered on The Photograph by Penelope Lively, Couldn't Keep It To Myself by Wally Lamb, Personal History by Katharine Graham, and A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We are open to new members, we hold an annual holiday party that includes members' families, and we go to movies and seminars when applicable to a book subject.

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

A: Keep the place, time, and schedule absolutely consistent! Don't alter the structure of the group.

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

A: Connections made in our book club have produced unanticipated rewards. One instance in particular comes to mind involving a member of the book club who had a law degree but never practiced because she was busy with three young children. A book club discussion revealed this fact at the very moment that another member's husband was suddenly overwhelmed by clients at his law firm. Voila, she is now working full-time at that law firm. This position not only utilizes her talents but also gives her the flexibility to balance her career, social, and family life. This is just one example of dramatic changes in our social and professional lives because of our club interaction.

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

A: We communicate via email and have found it a very effective tool between meetings. We send out reminders prior to the club date and include the upcoming book. Once in a while we may send suggestions through email so there is some communication taking place between our monthly meetings.

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