Nancy Luddecke of Manchester, CT talks about her group, "Tuesdays with Stories," which consists of 11 women ranging in age from their late 20s to almost 80. She encourages every member to attend the club's meetings, even if they haven't read or finished the book under discussion. According to Nancy, it is important for all members to be open-minded, flexible, and honest in their assessment of the reading selections.

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

A: Our group calls itself "Tuesdays with Stories" because we meet every second Tuesday of the month. We are beginning our third year.

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

A: Our group consists of 11 women ranging in age from 26 to almost 80. We have four in their 20s, one in her 40s, one in her 70s and the rest of us are in our 50s (including me, the founding member!). We have three mother/daughter sets and one mother-in-law/daughter-in-law.

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

A: We meet once a month on a Tuesday evening and rotate meeting at each other's homes.

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

A: Yes, there are always refreshments. The hostess for the evening provides them. Some have tried to correlate the food with the book we are discussing. For example, when we discussed Angela's Ashes we ate stuffed, baked potatoes with beer and/or tea! The night we discussed The Hungry Ocean, tuna fish finger sandwiches and shrimp cocktail were served. It adds to the fun!

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

A: The hostess for the evening leads the discussion as she is the one who chose the book and announced it the month before. Some members use guides, while some make up their own discussion questions.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: At the end of our first year we discussed the idea of varying the genre of the books we choose. We pretty much had been reading fiction bestsellers. We made a list of other genres we could try such as nonfiction, science fiction, autobiography, classics, short stories, etc. We try to sprinkle in a few of those from time to time but often we are reading the latest big seller.

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 them one at a time. At the end of each meeting, the woman who is hosting the next meeting announces her choice. There's a little drama involved as everyone is anxious to learn what's next! We do, however, set up a schedule of meeting locations at the beginning of each new year.

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

A: Without a doubt, the top three were The Secret Life of Bees, The Red Tent and Middlesex (all suggested by the same member...she's also a great discussion leader), with The Da Vinci Code up there as well. Some other favorites were The Nanny Diaries and The Lovely Bones. We are currently reading Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: From the beginning, as the "founder," more or less, I have tried to keep the members from feeling pressure. Some read every book religiously while others have schedules that just don't always allow it. But we encourage everyone to attend the meeting whether they have read the book or not, or finished it or not. However, for my part, I think it's so much more fun if I have read the book!

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

A: Keep an open mind and don't try to be too rigid. It should not feel like work or school. Also, don't take it personally if people in the group don't like the book you chose. We had one meeting where everyone hated the book...even the member who chose it! We do not require that the person choosing the book has already read it but I know some book clubs do.

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

A: Not so far.

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

A: The variation in ages of our group seems to really work well. I think it keeps us from straying off the topic because we don't all have children the same age or work in similar jobs, nor are we all in the same stage of life. I think it helps us to focus on the discussion of the book. It is also fun to hear different points of view. Our oldest member especially often has a unique take on things.

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