Carrie Jordan is the coordinator of “TriBeta Girls” in Holly Springs, NC. In this interview, Carrie explains the organized fashion in which books are selected at each meeting. She talks about how her book club values lively discussion, yet also allows the conversation to digress to topics of each other’s lives and the entertainment world. She also shares the origin behind the group’s unique name as well as some of the non-literary activities in which she and her fellow members participate.

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

A: Our group started about three years ago with four girls who enjoyed reading. We've recently named ourselves “TriBeta Girls,” a title to represent our Books, our Brains and our Bottles (of wine).

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

A: We average between 10 and 12 members, although some attend more often than others. We are all young, professional women between the ages of 26 and 32.

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

A: We meet on the last Monday of every month at a member's house. Since we have 10-12 girls on average during the year, we are generally able to meet at each person's house once a year. We really enjoy getting to see each other's houses and having a nice quiet place to meet with our own food and wine.

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

A: Do we eat? Oh yeah! Each girl brings a snack of whatever type or a bottle of wine. Some bring both! We could have anything from a veggie tray, chips/dip and strawberry shortcake to chocolate fudge, fruit tarts and mini pizzas! Anything goes! There is always a variety of wine as well. Having three or four different types of wine a meeting wouldn't be unusual. We are all (with the exception of one) wine lovers!

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

A: We have a meeting coordinator that organizes the meetings/announcements and is responsible for bringing the reading group guide to the meetings, but then we pass the list around the room so that everyone can ask a question until we have completed the list. There isn't a "leader" per se --- we all participate equally!

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: All kinds! We don't discriminate! We read classics, historical fiction, memoirs, literary fiction, bestsellers, books that became movies, women's interest and others.

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 have one person who maintains the list and brings it to each meeting. After we've completed our book discussion for the current meeting, we pass around the current book list and each girl votes for three books. We tally the count and the book with the most points is chosen for the next meeting.

Our list generally has about 15 books to choose from each month. New books can be added anytime. We keep records of the books we've read (archived list) and the books we never read but had to kick off the list due to lack of votes during the previous year (retired list).

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

A: All of our discussions are great! We really enjoy talking to each other and digging in to the details of each book together. Each girl has her own special knack for bringing relevant information to the table. We learn a lot about each other in the process as well. It's great!!

A few of our favorite books have been: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle, The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and the list goes on...

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: If you met these girls, you would understand how easy it is for our meetings to be fun. There seriously is never a dull moment! We laugh, we tell stories about ourselves, we discuss the books, we laugh some more, we gossip about whatever is happening in the entertainment world, we talk about our own personal current dilemmas/events, we laugh some more. We have so much fun together. We really wish we could meet more often. We all very much look forward to our meetings and are sad when they're over.

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

A: Lighten up! Learn about each other. Be open-minded. Don't worry about sticking strictly to the guide. If the topic goes off on a tangent that helps you get to know another member a bit better, run with it! Listen to each other... Be friends. Enjoy the time together. Drink WINE!!!

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

A: We definitely have a lot of inside jokes. I don't even think I could explain here if I tried. Most of the jokes have to do with some personal story shared by a member that we loved and continue to rehash at other meetings. The I Hate Sarah club would be an example... and Judy Poovey would be another... but I can't explain. Sorry!!!

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

A: We make attempts at coming together for other social events, which we think is fun. There is a wine festival in our area in one month that we are planning to attend together since we're all wine lovers.

Each year, we get together for a holiday meeting, whether it be a night of ’80s music roller-skating, joint gift wrapping or just an evening out on the town. We skip reading in December because our schedules are pretty hectic, but we still get together to enjoy each other's company!

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