Sandy McGrew is a member of "The Connemara Book Group" in Lawrenceville, GA. In this interview, Sandy talks about the importance of maintaining an aura of "respect and loyalty" when discussing a title, especially when members have different viewpoints and lifestyles. She also highlights the group’s favorite discussions and shares some amusing anecdotes, including one about a Gone With the Wind viewing party.

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

A: We call ourselves "The Connemara Book Group" (Connemara is the name of our subdivision). We began in October 2001.

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

A: We are 10 women --- the oldest is 55 and the youngest is 42.

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

A: We meet monthly in our homes. We decided on whose home and which month long ago and have kept that same rotation.

Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat?

A: OH YES! Do we eat!! The hostess prepares all of the food. She may serve food in keeping with the theme of the book, such as Chinese food when we read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. When we read Eat, Pray, Love, our hostess turned down the lights and had foot baths for all of us. Libations are served at all meetings.

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

A: The person who chose the book leads the discussion. We NEVER use discussion guides. And our discussions don't really require a leader. We are all quite vocal. We often mark pages with stickies to refer to poignant passages or parts about which we have a question. A couple of years ago, one of our members gave us each a journal in which to write about each book. She keeps a journal in which she writes meaningful passages, things to ponder and her favorite quotes. We've all enjoyed having this journal.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: All kinds. Most recently we have read Secret Daughter by June Cross and March by Geraldine Brooks.

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: The hostess chooses the book to be discussed the following month. We have chosen books from the local high school summer reading lists and from the high school's language arts Advanced Placement reading lists (Their Eyes Were Watching God, to name one). One member is a teacher and she sometimes will choose a book that her class has thoroughly enjoyed. Her students are "at risk," and if they love a book, it must be good. Sometimes a book is chosen because it was recommended by someone's friend or relative. We try to read a little of everything, striving to stretch our brains.

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

A: We all loved The Devil in the White City and the discussion was very good. In Cold Blood led to a great discussion also. We liked The Glass Castle, for obvious reasons, but also a relative of Jeannette Walls's husband lived in our neighborhood. Alas, Babylon was a favorite pick and produced some great discussion. We talked about which of us would be good survivors and how we would work to survive. We agreed that right now we lead a pretty spoiled life and it would be incredibly hard to go back to very basic living. But we all agreed that we would protect our families with all of our might. We read The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver because it was banned in a high school in the Valdosta, Georgia area.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We visit (eat and drink) for a half hour before we discuss the book and make sure everyone who is coming gets there. Then we discuss the book. We have a Christmas party (spouses come to this) to which we bring a wrapped book.

Then we steal. So much fun. In November we vote on favorite book and best discussion. We all put $5 in the pot and that is divided up between the winners and awarded at the Christmas party. Once a year we go on a weekend trip. Just for fun. We go to movies inspired by books we have read, or rent one and watch in a member's home. We watched Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was a GREAT book but a not-so-great movie. We watched The Great Gatsby, The Girl With the Pearl Earring and our infamous movie-watching experience was Gone With the Wind at a member's home. At this one, every time a character in the movie said "Yankee"... well, never mind. Let's just say it got quite loud and who knew "Yankee" was said that many times?

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

A: Don't take it too seriously. Read all different types of books for the sake of something new and respect other’s opinions, especially if they are different from your own. And laugh --- laugh often.

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

A: Yes! Tons of them. We would love to tell you a few. But there are way too many to scribble here. I'll hint at wrangling hay bales in a pasture in north Georgia and karaoke in a quaint country bar.

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

A: Each of us is so very different. We are businesswomen, teachers, stay-at-home moms, nearly retired, devout Christian, atheists and not so sure about God. But we respect each other so much, and when we disagree it is with respect and loyalty.

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