The Lake Hiawatha Library Book Club
This interview is with Susan Schaechter of The Lake Hiawatha Library Book Club in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey. Susan is especially proud of the diversity of her group's membership. Active members range in age from mid-20s to mid-80s, and their varied backgrounds and life experiences must make for many interesting and lively discussions.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: We have taken the name of the Library we meet in once a month --- the Lake Hiawatha Library Book Club. We have been in existence since 1998 reading a book a month.
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: We currently have 10 "active" members. A nice mix of people, two men and eight women. Our ages range from the mid-20s to the mid-80s. This certainly adds to our monthly discussions.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet the third Wednesday of every month at 7:30pm in a private room at our local library.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: We are too busy discussing our particular book selections to eat --- although a trip to the ice cream store has been bandied about.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: We have no "leader" per se. We have no trouble jumping right into our discussions. We found your website very informative and have recently started using your reading group discussion questions as a supplement.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: We love this question. Our books are as diverse as our members. We read novels, current events, biographies and classics. A few examples are: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, My Antonia by Willa Cather, Personal History by Katharine Graham, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, and the list goes on and on....
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: All our members make suggestions. We create a list for approximately six months in advance, which we also supply to our librarian. The library in turn provides us with some research on the book and author of the month.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: One of our best discussions was Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It covered the range of philosophy, religion, war and survival. We also read Caravans by James Michener, which takes place in Afghanistan and was time-appropriate in light of recent events.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: Just the mix of people keeps things fun. Sometimes we veer off and discuss movies (especially movies of the books we have read), museums and travel experiences. At times, hearing our gentlemen members discuss certain topics (such as sex) knocks us for a loop.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: Accept everyone's reading suggestions, keep an open mind and go with the flow.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: One of our members is currently undergoing medical treatment. The book club is so important to her that she has talked with her doctors and nurses about us and even attended one meeting hours after being discharged from the hospital. Another member relocated to Canada. We keep in touch via e-mail and every month she submits her feelings and comments on our latest read.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: Again, it would have to be our diversity. Our various backgrounds and life experiences have contributed immensely in expanding our knowledge and understanding of each other and the world around us.
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