Ginny Meerman from Edgewater, MD talks about her book club, "South River Colony Book Club". In this interview you'll learn more about this diverse group of extraordinary women, why members rarely feel uncomfortable during their meetings, and what Ginny believes is the key to making a good book club.

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

A: Our group began in 2000 and was formed by a couple of women who loved to read. One of the original members, Candy O'Donnell, put an advertisement in our community newsletter inviting the neighborhood to join. Even though this club is open to men and women, we have thus far only gotten women members. Candy has moved out of state and I am kinda taking over the responsibilities of organizing the members, etc. The group never had a name other than "South River Colony Book Club" (after the name of our community), but I tend to be a "quirky" person and am currently coming up with some "puny" names to throw out to the members to vote on!

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

A: Currently we have about 20 members, all women. Our "average" age is somewhere between late thirties and early forties.

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

A: We meet monthly at a different member's home each month. In December, in lieu of a regular discussion meeting, we get together at a local restaurant (that someone volunteers to coordinate for the group) and have a holiday dinner together. We have a "book exchange" at the end of the dinner (where we each bring a wrapped, unmarked book). It's really a great time and can get quite hilarious when we all start "stealing" a particular book from each other!!! It is also during this holiday dinner that we pass around the sign-up sheet for hosting the meetings for the upcoming year. In addition, we sometimes vote on some of the new books that were just received as "gifts" to read as a group.

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

A: We always have something to nibble on at our meetings. The member who is hosting that month provides the food. We leave the choice of fare up to the hosting member, but usually fruit, cheeses, crackers, and other small appetizer-type dishes are the norm. We also have a nice bottle of wine, and for those (like me!) who do not drink alcohol, mineral water, tea, soda, etc. are provided.

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

A: The hosting member leads the group discussion. It is up to that member to have questions or points of interests ready for the group to discuss. Sometimes we do use reading group guides as they help to get the discussion rolling. In addition, the floor is always open for any member to share their point of view or ask what we all think about a question that they come up with.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read many different genres of books...everything from classics (we read Jane Eyre a few months ago), to mysteries, to historical fiction!!! We try to choose from a variety so we can make sure that we each get to read a book that we "normally" wouldn't have read.

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: In the past, we would let the hosting member choose the book for the following month. However, this year we decided to have each member write a title and author of a book on a slip of paper. Then we put those in a hat and drew them randomly. The order in which they were drawn was the order in which we will read the books for the year. We did this last December at our holiday dinner.

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

A: Two come to mind as being memorable. One was for The Lovely Bones and the other was for The Da Vinci Code. These were memorable because of the broad differences in which the stories were perceived by our members. We had so many varying opinions and points of view!!!! This is key to making a good book club --- to get something from someone else that you never would have gotten yourself, even though you read the same book!!

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We keep things fun by not taking ourselves so seriously --- in that, I mean that our meetings are not "formal" but more of a "take your shoes off, grab a strawberry, curl up on the couch and chat with friends about what you read" time. Also, we try to plan some "outings" for our group (we all went to see Girl with a Pearl Earring together one evening --- another book we read as a group). We will get together to have a night out for dinner as a group. We don't necessarily discuss books at these night outs --- it's more of a way to continue our growing camaraderie.

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

A: Be open to reading different types of books --- the best thing about being in a book club is to venture into another genre that you normally read. There are books that your club will read that may not be "your cup of tea," but think of the different perspectives you get to experience by reading that book! Take time to enjoy your camaraderie with your fellow members and have fun!

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

A: The only "horror" story we have is that a dear friend and member of our book club, Jodi Reitz, passed away less than a year ago. Her illness was sudden and she was taken from us just as suddenly. She was an amazing woman who would always have an interesting and enlightening perspective on any book we read. She was an amazing woman and we miss her.

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

A: In our group, we have women who are breast cancer survivors, women who have children with special needs, a woman who is from England, and another from Columbia. We have stay-at-home moms, as well as moms who work outside the home. Our group has Baptists, Catholics, and Atheists. But the one thing we all have in common? Books...we love to read. Books have brought this diverse group of extraordinary women together, and together we have formed a bond through reading!

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