Book Lovers All
Ruby L. Steele of Belleville, IL talks about her book club, Book Lovers All. She relates one story about a new member who didn't quite fit in with the group's upbeat attitude. Read on to learn more about this group.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: Book Lovers All.
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: Basically a core membership of 4 to 6, all female.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet monthly at a local coffee shop.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: We generally get a drink there --- espresso, lattes, or the special.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: I do, sort of by default. I facilitate it but find it easy to hand off early on. We love to talk.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: We've done East of Eden, Cry, the Beloved Country, The Da Vinci Code, The Red Tent and Memoirs of a Geisha.
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 ask, "What do you think?" At least 2 people have a book they feel strongly about. Then we decide. So far, it's been one book at a time.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: Hands down, The Red Tent. The Da Vinci Code was quite lively, too.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: It seems like we're just so glad to be there with people of like minds that it just flows so naturally.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: Stay loose and let it happen. An "unlikely group" will sometimes work quite well.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: Well, one. We had a new member who introduced herself and proceeded to tell us of medical problems in her family; we tend to be upbeat. A few days later she emailed that she thought us somewhat frivolous and we obviously hadn't read the book. We took her comments; all agreed that this was not a good fit.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: I'm just amazed that we came together.
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