Marguerite Keller is a member of “The Wateredge Book Club” in Baldwin, NY. In this interview, Marguerite explains how her group prepares for meetings on a month-by-month basis, using resources such as ReadingGroupGuides.com to explore potential reading selections. She also talks about what prompted her to join this club and how discussion groups can help one “find a nice and comfortable friendship with people.”

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

A: We are “The Wateredge Book Club.” We have been meeting for six years.

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

A: All women, ages 40 to over 60 (wouldn't dare ask!), and we have 11 members currently. We had up to 15, but they have moved away or were too ill to attend.

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

A: We meet once every five weeks at someone's home. The person who picks the next book is the one who hosts.

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

A: Yes. We eat finger foods or appetizers when we arrive. Of course, the wine is always flowing. After about 2 hours, a pot of coffee is brewed and desserts are served.

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

A: No one actually leads the discussion. We all participate. We use reading guides occasionally. I'm the one who found your website and so I usually investigate a book through your site.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read all kinds, although it seems we favor the historical fiction books the most.

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: Unfortunately, we are not very well organized. We usually choose the next book for the next meeting at the meeting we happen to be at. We are clueless.

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

A: We loved The Other Boleyn Girl and Pillars of the Earth.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Lots of gossip!

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

A: Keep meeting! After a while you seem to find a nice and comfortable friendship with people --- some you may never have met before!

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

A: Honestly, the most amusing meetings are the ones when we happen to come upon a book we all hate. One book, Running with Scissors, was so shocking that we couldn't stop talking about it.

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

A: I am the youngest in the group and my age is 40. Also in my group is my old babysitter, whom I adore. The mothers of my friends who I grew up with are in the group, and so at times it's sort of strange to be addressing them by their first names instead of “Mrs.”

Wateredge Avenue is the street I grew up on and the person who started the book club lives across the street from my parents. I married and moved away, but when I saw her flyer about starting a book club, I knew right away I wanted to belong. We all enjoy every moment of it.

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