Barbara Rose talks about her reading group, The Bluestockings. She offers valuable advice to other book clubs that will lead to livelier and less rigid discussions. Read on to learn more about this group, which includes nurses, computer programmers, executive assistants and retired teachers.

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

A: We've had any number of names, from "West End Girls" to "No Oprah Books Allowed," but now we seem to have settled on "The Bluestockings." We started in 1997.

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

A: We have between 5 and 9 members, depending on who is working out of town. We are all women, and range in age from 46 to 54.

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

A: We meet monthly at our members' houses. We all take turns hosting, and the host gets to pick the book.

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

A: We eat dinner. Originally we wanted to limit the meal to take-out only, but some foolish woman cooked a theme meal once, and the die was cast. The host cooks a meal of her choice. If the host prefers, we have a potluck or appetizer party (bring your favorite, never fail contribution).

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

A: One member usually starts the discussion, but the identity of that person varies. Usually someone with strong feelings about the book begins spontaneously, and we go from there. One member of our group is in the middle of a dissertation and is always looking for procrastination excuses, so she keeps track of what we've read and sends out reading group guides.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read whatever strikes our fancy, from nonfiction to classics, fiction to intriguing finds.

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 use a booklist to which all members contribute, but we often find ourselves choosing something else entirely. The book for the next month is chosen at the monthly meeting rather than setting out an advance schedule.

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

A: We could not stop talking about The Red Tent, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Crossing to Safety, The Lovely Bones, and The Tortilla Curtain.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Sometimes we spend all our time talking about other things! Sometimes we just eat. We also encourage attendance even if you haven't read the book.

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

A: Be sure one member acts as organizer. Have a plan to neutralize that one person who just won't shut up. Be accepting of varied opinions, and don't take anything that is said personally. Be somewhat wary of reading a book about a subject one person adores. The topic (in our case it was baseball) was only marginally interesting to the rest of the group, although they slogged through it valiantly.

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

A: We had a member who monopolized the group. We finally decided that she was an anaerobe, because she didn't need to pause to take in air. It took concerted and repeated efforts to shut her up without hurting her feelings. And there was the one night one person read the wrong book, Love in a Cold Climate instead of The Pursuit of Love. Still, it made for a lively discussion!

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

A: We started off as a group of women all connected in one way or another to the Navy. As people have come and gone, the Navy connection has dwindled, but we are still going strong after 7 years and over 60 books. Our group includes nurses, computer programmers, executive assistants and retired teachers. We try at almost any cost to eschew Oprah books --- much too depressing!

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