Characters under Covers

Isn’t that a wonderful name for a book discussion group? My friend Mary and I started this book group in January 2006. The Kite Runner by Khalid Housseini was our first book. We meet the second Wednesday of each month at a member’s house at 7pm except for December when we go out to eat!

The hostess is the one who chooses the book we read. She serves dessert or light refreshments; sometimes the food goes along with the book. For example, French pastries for a book about Paris or Indian pudding for Caleb’s Crossing a novel about Colonial New England. We generally stay on task talking about the book for the first hour. Sometimes we imagine if this book were made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles? After an hour, we generally drift into recommending other books or just chatting in general.

What makes Characters under Covers special? It is the members, about 12 or 13 as our lives ebb and flow. A good monthly turnout is about 8 or 9. This is a good size for a discussion, guaranteeing that everyone will get a turn to speak. Our group is unique in that no one who chooses a book gets upset if others don’t like it. As long as there is a good reason for the criticism, we are all open to diverse opinions. Of course, there have been books that almost everyone loved, and even one that we all hated, and we mutually agreed to burn or throw away the book, so no one would ever have to read it again. No one minds if a member hasn’t finished a book. That is not a requirement. The most important requirement is that everyone is a good listener.

Interestingly, our group is made up mostly of people in the nurturing professions: nurses, teachers, Head Start administrators, and family therapists. We all have connections outside of the book group through work, golf, exercise class, volunteering, etc. Yes, all of our circles overlap. We range in age from 40 to upper 60s. We have had members as young as in their 20s. When someone moves away, she stays on our email list, so she still knows what we are reading.

What I like about the group is the wider variety of reading that I do because of it. I might be stuck in a rut of contemporary novels written by women if I didn’t join. We do novels, non-fiction, and biography. I have just finished reading My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor. I would never have chosen it on my own, but I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography and found it to be very inspiring.

How do I choose a book when it is my turn? I look for a book that I think will evoke discussion. One time I chose Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom by Amy Chua. This was a controversial book about raising children. I knew it would push buttons in our group of mothers and teachers.

I have had friends tell me that it is hard to find a book group that is a good fit. I feel very lucky to be in this group that was created by friends who have no other agenda than sharing a love of reading.