Cheryl Pauli of Twin Brooks, SD talks about her group, The Book Babes and Bob. If you're thinking of starting a book club or are in the process of doing so, be sure to pay special attention to the advice Cheryl gives about choosing members and coordinating meetings.

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

A: The Book Babes and Bob. (Actually we just came up with that name this past month!) We have been in existence for 5 years.

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

A: We have 17 members, 16 women and 1 man. The average age is 52, ranging from 32-70.

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

A: We meet once a month and usually not during the summer, unless there are a few books that we just have to read and discuss. We meet at the same house each month. One of our members is disabled and graciously welcomes us into her home each month.

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

A: We usually eat something, but it is whatever anyone happens to bring. The hostess provides coffee. For one special meeting, the one where we discussed To Kill a Mockingbird, a member brought Lane Cake, made from the original recipe in the book. It was great! Our mainstay, though, is food for thought!

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

A: We take turns. Many times it is the person who recommended the book. We like to have a guide, but seem to do fine if one is not available.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: Anything in English! We love variety! We try to do some bestsellers, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as classics. We also try to include a biography. Sometimes it is just an odd book someone happened to run across.

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: Member recommendations. We also keep up on what other groups are reading. We usually try to keep three books ahead. This helps with ordering and acquiring books. We tried Oprah's recommendations but decided we'd rather choose our own.

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

A: The best discussion we have had so far has been on The Corrections. No one really cared for the book but it did generate a lot of talk. Our all-time favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird. Also, some of our first books are still our favorites: Cold Mountain, Snow Falling on Cedars and Standing in the Rainbow.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: With bold critiquing! We are totally honest and that generates not only laughter, but leads to a variety of topics of conversation.

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

A: Your group should be made up of diverse personalities. We would not recommend starting a group with close friends or those you see on a daily basis. Always meet at the same time and on the same day each month. Designate someone as the group coordinator. Our coordinator keeps everyone connected through e-mail. We have 17 members. This seems like a lot, but not everyone can make it each month. Usually we can count on 10 members each month. This size lends to a good discussion with a chance for everyone to talk.

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

A: There was a lot of bourbon in that Lane Cake! Let's leave it at that!

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

A: We have only one male in our group. We didn't plan it that way, but it definitely adds interest to our discussion.

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