The Monday Afternoon Book Club
Mary Ann Guesman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania talks about her group, "The Monday Afternoon Book Club." Most members did not know one another before joining, but have since become very good friends. Read on to learn more about this group.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: We are "The Monday Afternoon Book Club" and have been meeting since May 2002.
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: We have 11 members, all women, all 50-plus years of age.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We meet once a month at each other's homes.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: Yes, we eat desserts and drink coffee prepared by the hostess.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: We do use reading guides and we share in the leadership.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: We read a variety, although most selections have been fiction.
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 mainly by word of mouth, book reviews, or if we liked the author.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: One of the most interesting discussions has been Pope Joan by Donna Cross.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: We are just a fun group and we respect each other and each other's opinions.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: We would advise other groups to take notes and be open to read books they wouldn't normally bother to pick up.
Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?
A: We had an author attend one of our meetings and share her writing practices with us. She is also a book club member who shared book club ideas with us.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: Most of us did not know each other before forming our book club, and now we have become friends. We are all original members.
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