Christine A. Krahling from Easton, PA chats about her group, the Friends of Fiction Book Club. Whenever possible Christine and her fellow members host authors at their meetings, producing a number of lively and entertaining discussions. Read on to learn more about this remarkable group of 10 women.

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

A: We are the Friends of Fiction Book Club, in existence since 2001.

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

A: We have 10 members, all women, in the early-30s to early-40s age group.

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

A: We meet once each month in members' homes.

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

A: Yes! Usually the hostess provides most of what we eat, with other members providing wine and/or dessert. We have appetizers, desserts, takeout, whatever.

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

A: As the facilitator, I lead the discussions and refer to reading group guides whenever possible.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: As our name implies, we read mostly fiction. We also like memoirs. We like to choose books that prompt interesting questions and lively discussions.

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 by "hostess choice," usually at least one month in advance.

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

A: The Poisonwood Bible, The Good Mother, The Lovely Bones and the Big Stone Gap trilogy.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We host authors whenever possible, we began an "Ugly Gift Exchange" after the holidays this past year, and we celebrate members' birthdays and special occasions (new babies, etc.).

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

A: Be open to reading a book that you would ordinarily choose not to read. Keep general guidelines but be flexible whenever possible. Give everyone a chance to talk and take into consideration those members who may not be as talkative as others.

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

A: Special Tales: Our author phone-ins with Adriana Trigiani (author of the Big Stone Gap trilogy) were great; we've hosted her three times. We are scheduled to be the first book club to read The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud and host its author, Ben Sherwood, in March.

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

A: Yes! We have a mom of twins and a mom of triplets in our group. We also have someone who is adopted and someone who has adopted. We have two writers and two teachers in our group. All members are intelligent, hard-working and know how to have fun. In a short period of time, members have grown comfortable to share stories about themselves and their families. Overall, they are a great bunch of women; I learn something new from them every month!

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