Nola Tininenko is a facilitator of “The Library Cards” in Mesa, AZ, which has been meeting for 33 years. In this interview, Nola discusses some of the group’s memorable experiences together as well as the extensive book list they have maintained over the decades. She also talks about the many activities they have organized, including author luncheons and vacations, and describes their thorough system of title selection each April.

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

A: We are “The Library Cards” and have been meeting for 33 years.

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

A: We are 16 women. We range in age from about 55 to 85.

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

A: We meet in our various homes on the first Thursday evening of the month from September through June. However, December's meeting is a dinner and our annual "bookmark exchange."

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

A: We have a dessert and beverage furnished by the hostess of the home. The book discussion leader also brings food.

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

A:We rotate. After the book titles are chosen for the year, women just volunteer to lead the discussion of a particular book.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read mostly well-written fiction, but we sometimes choose a nonfiction or a biography.

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: Members recommend titles in April and we vote on them for the next year. Members rank order the nine books of their choice.When the books are added up, the first choice gets 18 points;second choice get 16; third choice gets 14; fourth choice gets 12, etc. This goes all the way down to the ninth book, which receives two points. It is amazing how the 16 members have such varied tastes, and this method results in everyone getting to read many of the books they expressed an interest in.

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

A: Probably the best discussion this year was Middlesex. Some women came thinking it would be a book discussion all about intersexual individuals, and the leader challenged us to discuss it from the aspect of a modern Greek epic with all the classical conventions. At the end of two hours of lively discussion, most realized the "middlesex" issue was just a launching pad for a hilarious, creative and very complicated three-generational epic.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Since most of us live very busy lives, this one night is sometimes the only time we have seen each other all month, so it is always a fun time to catch up on our lives. And since we've known each other so long, those lives now include grandchildren, marriages and, for some,whole new adventure into"retirement."

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

A: Be sure to keep a cumulative record of the books you've read. We have our 33-year-old list with over 300 book titles, and it is often just fun to look back and reminisce. Also, take a picture of your group every year.

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

A: We have taken some wonderful trips together to stay at a member's summer home or at a beach home. These have brought more treasured memories. We have hosted two author luncheons where we extended an invitation to numerous other book clubs and to the community, and both events were a tremendous success. We are thinking of doing it again, just because we are fortunate to have a couple of authors available and we'd like to share their works with others.

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

A: I think our longevity is noteworthy and probably unique.

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ReadingGroupGuides.com interviews special reading groups around the world, spotlighting a different group each month. We hope that you enjoy reading about their experiences and might find some new ideas to try with your group. If you belong to a group that you think should be spotlighted, click here to answer our interview questions.

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