Nicole Cox of Wichita, KS recently shared details about her book club with us. Together for almost three years, the Wichita Women's Book Nook consists of a tight-knit group of women who are not afraid to experiment and use a bit of imagination during discussions. They make it a point to read 11 different genres a year and keep a journal of their reactions. Since friendship ranks high on their list of priorities, these spirited ladies don't mind straying off-topic and welcome each meeting as a form of "therapy."

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

A: The name of our group is the "Wichita Women's Book Nook." We have no general theme, other than to join, you must be female and live in our area. Our group was founded in May of 2003 and has been going strong ever since!

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

A: We currently have eight members but have had as many as 12, which is our "limit." We are all women of various ages; however, many of us are young moms.

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

A: We meet the last Friday of every month at our founder's home. We combine our November/December meeting as it is a busy time of year, and we hold that meeting at a restaurant. We will also meet on occasion to see a movie of a book we currently are reading or have read in the past.

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

A: Of course we eat! We have snacks at every meeting. We will try to "theme" the snacks to match the book, but this doesn't always happen. The founder usually provides a snack and then the rest of us will trade off and bring snacks on occasion.

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

A: We usually start off using the guides but let the conversation take us where it may. We have a member who keeps a journal of our books and our reactions to them, which helps us stay on-topic. We do often have off-topic conversations, which is fine. Half of the experience is getting together to be social.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We read a huge variety. We select 11 genres per year, and our members offer selections based on those genres. We have read romance, fantasy, mystery, bestsellers, books that become movies, foreign-themed novels, biographies, women's interest, and many others.

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 vote on 11 genres from a list of about 20 each year. We maintain an online group that enables us to recommend books for each genre. We take the first 4-5 suggestions for each genre and vote in an online poll. We try to stay 2-3 months ahead, but that doesn't always happen. We usually read one book a month but have been known to read 2-3. Any time a book has become a movie, we try to watch it as well. It makes for very interesting conversations.

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

A: The Da Vinci Code was a very interesting discussion, and the book keeps coming up at almost every meeting! We also enjoyed Circle of Grace and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We have gone to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre after reading a murder mystery; we have book swaps where we trade names and give our favorite book to the person to read; we hold book Brags where we brag about our favorites; and we also have themed evenings and a lot of book movies.

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

A: Make it fun and make it about friendship. We all read the books and discuss them, but we don't limit ourselves. We have become a very close group and I think we see it as almost "therapy!"

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

A: Well, not many! We have found many books we all disliked, but we trudged through most anyway! 

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

A: We let our imaginations go. When a member has a suggestion for something to do, we try it, even if we only try it once!

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