This interview is with Tina Slater of So Many Books, So Little Time of Silver Spring, MD. 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: Our name is "So Many Books, So Little Time." We have been around for nine years, as we started in October 1993.

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

A: We have 11 members, all women. Seven of us are original (or close to it) members. At a typical meeting, 7 to 8 members attend. Our ages range from our 30s to our 60s, with most of us in our 40s and 50s. We once had a wonderful member in her mid-eighties. We so enjoyed her perspectives and witticisms. However, after several years she dropped out due to declining eyesight. She told us that since it was quite an effort for her to read, she wanted to read only books she had chosen. This made perfect sense, although we still miss her.

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

A: We meet once a month in the evening, on the third Wednesday, in the home of a member. Initially, we were just meeting during the school year. However, a few years ago some members offered to host a summer meeting for whomever was in town. Given that these random summer meetings were well-attended, we have informally evolved into meeting every month, except December.

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

A: Whoever hosts the meeting provides the food. Sometimes we have snacks and wine, other times we have desserts and coffee/tea. Choice of food is completely up to the hostess. At least once a year we have a potluck, usually to celebrate our anniversary in October.

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

A: We're pretty informal about leading the discussion; generally the person who chose the book will get the conversation started after the requisite chit-chat and "catching up." A while back we suggested that the person hosting the meeting provide some background information on the author. While we did do this for a while, we have sort of fallen away from it. Although it requires a bit of preparation on the part of the host, who is also getting her house ready and the food prepared, it probably would be a useful idea to continue. Perhaps a member other than the host could look up the author biographies.

On a few occasions have we used a reading group guide. However, now that we are discovering that these guides are more widely available on the internet (your website being one such example), we are sharing the questions in advance with members via e-mail. Also, we've recently instituted a request that each member come to the meeting prepared with a question to ask about the book --- it can be her own question, or a question chosen from the reading group guide. This has helped immensely to keep the discussion focused on the book.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: Mostly we read fiction, although once or twice a year someone might choose a non-fiction book to read. Reading books by prize-winning authors is a reliable method of promoting a good discussion ( is a good place to look.) One year, purely by accident, we read three books by Nobel Prize winners.

Q: How do you choose your books?

A: Just about the only rule we have in our book club is "Whoever hosts the meeting gets to pick the book." This avoids spending whole meetings debating the merits of this book versus that book. Of course we love to talk about books we've read or books we want to read, which is always interesting, however we figure that if someone is willing to host a meeting then she should be able to choose the book she wants us to read! Regarding knowing books ahead of time, sometimes we just know next month's book, other times when several members have volunteered to host meetings, we know our schedule of books for a few months in advance. We do not, like some other book clubs, figure out a year in advance a schedule of books.

Oh yes, we do have one other rule. To keep costs down, the book must be both readily available in the library and also out in paperback (some members only borrow books, others prefer to purchase their own copies). Thus the books we read are seldom hot, new, or current bestsellers.

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

A: Regarding discussions, here's what the group had to say --- all of our discussions are lively, and some are even about the book!

Polling the members, these books/discussions were our favorites: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, Moo by Jane Smiley, Women in Their Beds by Anita Berriault, Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx, The Woman and The Ape by Peter Hoeg, Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett, A Civil Action by Jonathan Haar, Body and Soul by Frank Conroy and Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: "Rule #1" --- not too many rules! Other ways that we keep things fun are by inviting guest "experts," combining a book discussion with a companion video, displaying costumes and props, and celebrating with an anniversary potluck dinner.

For example, when we read Remains of the Day, we invited an English woman to explain the British class system. For Memoirs of a Geisha, a member's father who had lived 30 years in Japan gave us some background on Japanese culture and the relative place of the geisha therein. For The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, one of members who collects and sews costumes provided period costumes for us to try on and dress patterns for us to look at.

At least once a year we try to do a "book and movie" night. Last year, as sort of an antidote to the devastation of September 11, we decided we couldn't handle anything heavy. Instead, we read something light --- PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and the Tie That Binds, followed by a one-hour PBS video of Jeeves and Wooster. Other book and movie combos have been: Emma and Clueless, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Earth Girls are Easy, The Great Santini and the movie by the same name. www.imdb.com is a good source for looking up plot summaries of movies and www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/ has a list of movies "based on the book."

Finally, at our October meeting we celebrate our anniversary with a potluck dinner. This year will be our tenth anniversary. (I think it was year five before we realized how long we had been meeting and decided to celebrate. But there's no reason not to start celebrating with year one!) On that night, we start a little earlier and everyone contributes to the dinner. It's nice to give ourselves a pat on the back for another year under our belts, and we have a good hour or so just to mingle and chit-chat. After dinner, we discuss the book.

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

A: Come equipped with questions. Background info on the author is always helpful. Use e-mail as reminders and to circulate discussion questions in advance.

Keep it simple. Refreshments don't have to be elaborate. Forego the urge to compete regarding expense, quantity, or presentation of food. Keep the focus on what's really important - a chance to gather with friends, warm conversation, and exchanging ideas about a book read in common. [On the other hand, we have heard of book clubs who make a special meal related to the book, which sounds like it would be a lot of fun, albeit some work! At this point, however, we'll stick with simplicity in the interests of keeping everybody on board. Sometimes it's everything we can do to get the book read by book club night!]

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

A: Regarding our member who was in her mid-eighties --- at one of our earliest meetings when we were sitting in a circle introducing ourselves, she told us, "I feel it only fair to warn you ladies that I have been in a book group before and everyone who was in it except me is dead!"

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, but once when I was hosting the meeting, due to procrastination and a death in the family I hadn't gotten around to reading the book Emma; instead I "crammed" Cliffs Notes! Thankfully others took over the discussion.

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

A: We're pretty proud of our longevity and that we all still really enjoy getting together. For many of us, book club is a much anticipated highlight of the month!

Books We Have Read in the Past 3 Years:
2002-2003
We Were The Mulvaneys - Joyce Carol Oates (NB author)
How to Be Good - Nick Hornby & 9th Anniv. Potluck

2001-2002
The Beet Queen - Louise Erdrich (NB finalist author)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams & 8th Anniv. Potluck
Jeeves and the Tie That Binds - P.G. Wodehouse
Girl with a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
The All-True Travels & Adventures of Lidie Newton - Jane Smiley (NBCC,
PulitzF author)
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
West With the Night - Beryl Markham
Moo - Jane Smiley (NBCC, PulitzF author)
Straight Man - Richard Russo (PulitzF author)

2000-2001
The Woman and the Ape - Peter Hoeg
Naturalist - Edward O. Wilson (PulitzN-F author) & 7th Anniv. Potluck
River, Cross My Heart - Breena Clarke
Earth Odyssey - Mark Hertsgaard
The Voyage of the Narwhal - Andrea Barrett (NB author)
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon (NB author)
Rumors of Peace - Ella Leffland
Fat Man in a Middle Seat - Jack W. Germond
The Little Prince - Antoine St. Exupery
Body and Soul - Frank Conroy
The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende

1999-2000
Women in Their Beds - Anita Berriault (1996 NBCC & 1997 PenF awards)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt & 6th Anniv Potluck
Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson (1995 PenF award)
Of Love and Shadows - Isabel Allende
One for the Money - Janet Evanovich
The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester
Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood (Bkr author)
Happy All the Time - Laurie Colwin
The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger

Prizes Abbreviations:
Bkr = Booker Award
PenF = Pen/Faulkner Award
PenH = Pen/Hemingway Foundation Award
PulitzF = Pulitzer Award for Fiction
PulitzN-F = Pulitzer Award for Non-Fiction
NB = National Book Award
NBCC = National Book Critics Circle Award
Nobel = Nobel Prize for Literature
Whit = Whitbread Book of the Year