Martha Pepek of Hooksett, New Hampshire details some of the activities of her all-female book club, The Happy Bookers. As the group's only rule, members are instructed --- in hopes of preserving the fun and exciting nature of the meetings --- not to discuss the books prior to their get-togethers. Each member is encouraged to attend every meeting regardless of whether or not they have read the book, simply because their sessions are so wonderful.

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

A: We call ourselves The Happy Bookers. We thought we were being clever and all, but then found out there are many other groups with this name. C'est la vie! Sally and Kathy D. created the group in fall 2002. Sally initiated it because she wanted to read more and figured if she started a group, that would be the encouragement she'd need.

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

A: We have 12 members --- all women --- and many are related. There are mothers and daughters, sisters, cousins, and, of course, friends. The ages span 30 years --- from 27 to 57. We are a diverse group --- socially, politically and economically. Since the group formed we've had a wedding, an engagement, a 20th wedding anniversary, and a huge weight loss. Several women have come and gone, but the core group has remained the same.

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

A: We meet once a month at members' homes. The person who hosts the meeting gets to pick the next book and she leads the next meeting. This means the pressure of hosting is never combined with leading the group discussion. There is an air of excitement at the end of each meeting, when we start itching to hear about the next read. The hostess will often bring the book out in a paper bag and taunt us until it is revealed.

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

A: We do eat --- mostly snacks like fruit, cheese, chips, dips, veggies, and chocolate, always chocolate! The hostess provides the food.

We've also had two birthday celebrations (September is our "birthday"). At our second birthday celebration and at this year's December meeting we had a potluck dinner. We met a half an hour earlier than usual and each lady brought a specialty. This was also a great opportunity to exchange recipes! Katy makes amazing miniature artichoke pizzas, and Lisa, our resident "Pampered Chef," brought homemade delirium chocolate dessert. We all LOVE it when Lisa hosts our meeting. For instance, in February of 2004, in honor of Valentine's Day, she hosted a chocolate theme meeting --- delicious!

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

A: The person who picks the book leads the discussion. The leader usually comes prepared with questions, sometimes from reading guides at the back of the book; sometimes from a reading guide online; and sometimes she creates her own. On rare occasions the leader forwards her questions to the group ahead of time. And occasionally, if a leader finds pertinent online articles (interviews with the author, historical background, etc.) she will forward that through email prior to the meeting or bring handouts.

Generally, the discussion starts with each person in the group stating whether she liked or disliked the book with a short elaboration. After we've gone once around the circle, the leader either poses questions or the discussion just flows. We find we sometimes go off track, relating issues or themes in the book to our own personal experiences, but we try to keep the discussion focused on the book.

One of the only "rules" we have is that we are not supposed to discuss the book prior to the meeting. This is often hard because so many of us are in touch in between meetings. We encourage members to read each book (two core members have finished every book --- Kathy D. and Martha) but we also want everyone to come to the meetings, regardless if she has finished the book or not. We have such a lovely time just being together that we don't want to discourage anyone from attending.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We mostly read fiction --- this has included historical novels, mysteries, Pulitzer Prize winners, bestsellers and a couple of lighthearted, easy reads.

We've read three memoirs. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel, which was liked by most, is about a girl who grew up in middle America in the '60s. For this book we had a lively and fun discussion that centered on our own childhood memories. Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir, set in Morocco, and Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah, set in China, were terribly disliked by most. Kathy D. says, "Poor little rich girls...neither one made me feel very sympathetic...." Since our track record isn't great, we've decided to table memoirs for a while.

Many members have expressed an interest in reading more classics. We did read The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford. This book, first published in 1915 and set in pre-World War I Europe, is listed as one of the classics of 20th century English Literature. Unfortunately, just about everyone hated it. The general consensus was that the language made the read difficult. Deb says, "Beside being very dry I found it hard to read a book written in that period." Consequently, "classics" have been tabled for a while too.

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: A new book is "unveiled" at each meeting. We read one book per month. Happy Bookers use many methods to pick new books, from pulling a book from a stack on her night table to doing online searches.

Bestsellers are often chosen. For example, Sally picked The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. She says, "I do a lot of research online and hope that my pick will be a good one." Former member Terry wanted to read a New Hampshire author so she chose A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving. This quirky read got mixed reviews from the ladies. Martha, who read it in the past and reread it for the book club, considers it a seminal read.

Martha heard a radio interview with author Richard Russo and chose Empire Falls. This novel, set in a depressed mill town in Maine, was a winner with the Happy Bookers. Mary Lou writes, "I felt it captured the essence of small town Maine with a great story to it as well." Another book inspired by a radio interview was Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie. Martha, who is intrigued by the saga of Native Americans, chose his book after hearing Mr. Alexie on public radio. Almost everyone in the group disliked it, mostly because the story draws a fine line between dreams and reality.

When Kathy D., whose picks have included the well-loved The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, is choosing a book she likes "to see what other clubs are reading and find out what selections other clubs have enjoyed. I also read the best and worst reviews on Amazon...." When picking books Lisa "asks her friends or her sister. (She tries to find out) who's read something good!" One such pick was favorite Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. Lisa also brought a book of Vermeer's paintings to her meeting, which really deepened our reading experience.

For something totally different, Martha even went to the Pulitzer Prize website and chose the book that won the award for fiction the year she was born. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau inspired an interesting discussion about race relations, poverty and revenge. According to Linda, the book "was a struggle to read. Yet, once completed, it is one of the best reads. I plan to enlighten my 14-year-old niece by giving it to her for her birthday."

Deb, whose book choices have included the well-liked Little Children by Tom Perotta, says, "I usually search the Internet and read other people's opinions and see what other book clubs are reading." Katy says, "I have only had one pick, but I tried to pick something everyone would like. Also it came highly recommended (The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe). Of course no one liked it! Next time, I won't ask anyone and will choose something I think sounds like a book I'd like to read."

We all hope that our book is liked, but sometimes the best discussions arise from books that are the most disliked. Vicky hasn't had the best track record in choosing books. She was really bummed that her first two picks, The Good Soldier and Falling Leaves, were panned by most of the Happy Bookers. Thankfully, her most recent pick, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, was a winner. Vicky says, "I have subscriptions to several magazines and always read the book suggestions. Also, I go online and to the local bookstore to see what other people think. It can be very deceiving!"

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

A: Some of the best discussions arise when the book brings up controversial ideas. For example, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides got us talking about gender identity; Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner spurred conversation about body image; and Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau inspired discussion about race relations and miscegenation.

One of the best-loved reads of recent memory was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. After the events of September 11, 2001, Sally, like a lot of Americans, developed a lot of negative ideas about people from the Middle East. After hearing great things about The Kite Runner, she decided it was time to learn more about their culture. The novel details the life of Amir, a wealthy boy being raised in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s and his relationship with his father's servant's son, Hassan, a member of the despised Hazara minority. The two are fast friends despite their ethnic and sociological differences, until a horrific event divides them. This book was loved by just about every member.

Heidi says, "I found the search for redemption in The Kite Runner a powerful theme." Says Sally, "I really liked The Kite Runner. I think this is the best book I've read. It helped me to understand a culture that I wasn't even willing to get to know before I read the book." Linda commented, "It surprised me how naïve I was about that part of the world, especially with all the turmoil that is going on. What affected me most was how this family not only survived, but also held onto the importance of never losing or forgetting their culture, lifestyles and traditions..." For Katy, "The Kite Runner was awesome --- disturbing, but a great, thought-provoking book."

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger sparked some excellent discussion. A few members list this book as one of their favorites. Linda comments, "Relativity of Time, Theology vs. Science Fiction were strangely intermingled for an excitedly, yet brief moment." Lisa also touts it as one of her favorite books. She says, "After I got past the 'time-hopping' it was such a wonderful love story."

Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth, the story of an Amish girl accused of murdering her own baby, was liked by most. Katy says, "It really taught me a lot about a culture/lifestyle I knew nothing about. I felt like you really had to get inside the main character's head in order to understand her actions and I felt that the author gave me the tools to do that." Life of Pi was another crowd pleaser. Deb says, "I thought Life of Pi was extraordinary in its parallel fantasy to real-life situation. I really liked how that was uniquely written."

Vicky says, "My favorite book was Middlesex (by Jeffrey Eugenides) because I like books that are "edgy," make me think and ultimately expand my mind." This book was a controversial read, and a few Happy Bookers hated it. But it definitely spurred some great debate at our meeting.

When asked to pick one of her favorite book discussions, Deb said, "Well I really could not pick one, they have all been pretty fascinating. I find it interesting that we can get so many differing views out of reading the same book." Vicky said, "It would be hard to pick a favorite. I love it that we are loud, opinionated and sometimes out of control, when we discuss a book."

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: The wine flows and we are never too serious. At our last two special celebration meetings we had Yankee Swaps with really cool and eclectic gifts, including a fabulous handmade book bag complete with glued-on pom-poms and refrigerator magnets that spelled out "Happy Bookers." This gift, lovingly created by Kathy H., was cleverly disguised in a "Fredericks of Hollywood" box. We have a website on Yahoo! where we post photos, reviews and polls. After each meeting, a book poll is posted and each member puts in her vote as to whether she loved it, liked it, thought it average, disliked it, or hated it.

Every now and then a hostess shakes things up. Our June 2004 meeting was held on a hot and steamy night. Katy writes: "It was really great when we had the strawberry daiquiris at Vicki's house last summer. It was the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer evening!" Kathy D writes: "The first birthday was pretty cool...decorations, noisemakers, party hats...and cake! The "special" meetings for birthdays and Christmas have been a blast! Hard to believe we're coming up on THREE years in September!"

Our second birthday party, held in September 2004, was absolutely fabulous. After the book discussion, our hostess Kathy D. put our names in a basket for a surprise. The winner, Jen, received The Book Lover's Cookbook, full of recipes that relate to books. AND to top off the whole celebration, Kathy brought out chocolates from a local chocolate maker and two dessert wines! Delicious!

Vicky loves our special occasion meetings. "We have great club anniversary parties. Great food, wine, a Yankee Swap and a rowdy discussion." Sally says, "Each meeting is unbelievably awesome! I LOVE each meeting!!!"

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

A: Read good books, eat good food, drink good wine, and enjoy your friends! Don't pressure people to read the books, encourage them to come, regardless. We live in such a fragmented society --- people communicate by email, phone, Blackberry --- there is so little "physical" connection, that it's important to encourage it!

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

A: There has been a lot of interest in our group from friends and relatives of current members. We've tried to keep the group fairly small so as to encourage conversation without drowning out the quieter members. Recently, all 11 members got bribery notes in the mail from a woman who was incredibly eager to join our group. She outlined all the reasons we should allow her to join the "Happy Bookers" --- it was hysterical --- and she included a piece of chocolate in each envelope. Well, the chocolate did it, and Heidi is our newest member!

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

A: We are the best book club EVAH! (That's Yankee for - we rock!)

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