Vivien Roman of Boston, Massachusetts shares her insights on books, snacks and questionnaires. Her group, Boston Reads, tackles all genres, but they do serious research before making selections because of a horror story regarding their very first meeting.

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

A: Our group's name is Boston Reads. We have been in existence since October 31, 2004.

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

A: We currently have nine members in our group. We are an all-women's book group and our ages range from 25-35.

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

A: We meet the first Tuesday evening of every month and we rotate having our meetings at members' homes.

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

A: We snack a lot!! No real meals --- just lots of cookies, chips, popcorn, and sometimes veggies.

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

A: The discussion is usually led by the person who has selected the book. We usually read the guides ahead of time and use a question or two, but we never seem to be at a loss for words when discussing the books we read.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: Everything from the classics to Chick Lit is our motto.

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 choose a member randomly to choose the book each month. It ensures that we don't end up in a rut of reading the same type of books over and over, and it gives us a glimpse into our members and what they like to read.

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

A: The Time Traveler's Wife was a great book that we all enjoyed.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We try to stay focused on the discussion but if it diverts then we go with it. We don't just talk about the books, we also share experiences that are going on in our lives and we learn more and more about each other as the meetings pass.

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

A: Have a questionnaire for prospective members to fill out whether through email or paper. Originally when I put up an ad for the group, I had over 50 women interested but once they realized they were going to have to fill out a questionnaire, it dropped to about 15. I asked questions about their favorite books, what they are reading now, what character they have most associated with, etc. I figured if they didn't have time to answer some questions, then when were they going to have time to discuss the book? Everyone in the group agrees it was a great idea. Also I set up some basic ground rules about missing meetings, etc. If your group is small then you are all depended on to be there and contribute. We agreed we wanted active participants, not just someone who came every three months or so to a meeting.

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

A: Our first book was a nightmare and I am sure we lost a couple of members because of it! Ha, ha. We just picked something randomly off a shelf in a bookstore. We had our official first book group meeting with this book and everyone sat there in silence so I just blurted out, "I don't know about the rest of you but I didn't finish the book because I absolutely hated it!" Everyone started laughing and nodding. It was a positive outcome to what seemed like a really bad start.

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

A: All the women in our group are unique and I honestly have to say we have a great chemistry. There is no bickering or gossiping about one another. We are genuinely fond of each other and enjoy each other's company.

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