Alene Lewis is a member of the “Novel Seeker’s Book Club” in Eureka, MO. In this interview, Alene stresses the importance of variety when making reading selections and taking “chances on books.” With a wide range of titles that she defines as group favorites, she also says that her group tries to incorporate a Christian perspective into their discussions.

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

A: Yes, we call ourselves the “Novel Seeker's Book Club” and we've been in existence for three years.

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

A: We have 13 members and range in ages from 45-62. We are all women.

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

A: We meet every five to six weeks. We meet at a quaint little coffee house and bistro.

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

A: Oh, yes we eat. Each of us orders our own food from the menu, bagels and coffee.

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

A: We each take turns leading the discussions. Just recently we started using discussion kits that are checked out from our local library. Before that we used discussion questions at the end of books or the leader would just make up her own questions.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read past bestsellers.

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 like to choose about two or three books ahead of time so that each member is able to put a hold on the book at the library for it. Usually I will bring several books from the library or books that I have from my shelf, and we vote democratically on the books that look interesting.

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

A: We have read so many books in the past, but the one that brought forth the most interesting discussion would have to be My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Some of our other favorite books have been The Glass Castle, The Devil in the White City, The Lovely Bones, The Secret Life of Bees, Memoirs of a Geisha and Marley and Me.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We laugh a lot and we don't take things too seriously.

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

A: Variety makes the whole difference. Take chances on books that you personally might not pick up.

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

A: We all go to the same church and try to bring a Christian perspective in our discussion.

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