Selene Miller is the chairperson for “Everything and a Book Club Too” in West Chicago, IL. In this interview, Selene describes how her book club selects titles and shares stories about some of the group’s memorable trips, events and discussions. She also explains why The Hours has been brought up at every meeting the past six years.

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

A: Our book club is called “Everything and a Book Club Too.” We chose it because it fits. We do dinners out. We have field trips to the movies that have been made from books we have read and also do related field trips. For example, we live in the Chicago area and read The Devil in the White City. The Chicago Architectural Society did tours of the sites in the book, which many of our members went on. We also plan a menu based on what we are reading. We recently read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and served a mostly vegetarian meal. When we read The Witch of Portobello, because she came from the Middle East, we served pita bread, hummus dips, bean platter, lamb, etc. We have read several cooking-related memoirs, in which case we all make a recipe from the book.

Our group has been together since June 2001. We keep a record of each book read, and when someone new joins our group, they are given the list. If they want to read something on it, we are always open for a follow-up discussion.

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

A: We have 10-20 members that come fairly regularly. We only have two men who occasionally attend depending on the book. Our ages range from 17 to 74. We like to say that each decade is accounted for.

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

A: We meet once a month usually at one member's home. Her house is lovely and set up perfectly for a large group. She is in Florida January thru March, so we rotate those three meetings to other members' homes.

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

A: Food plays a big part of our meetings. We all participate in bringing various food items that fit the given menu. Usually, I have everyone email me in advance what they plan on bringing so we don't overlap. See my response to the first question.

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

A: Generally, I do as chairperson. But if someone recommended the book, sometimes they like to lead the discussion. I always look for a reading guide on your website.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: We try to stay pretty eclectic. A lot of people tend to stick to the same genre. We try to read something from all different genres. This way, everyone reads something "out-of-the-box." In a given year, we will read one or two biographies or autobiographies, a nonfiction, bestseller, mystery, humor, young adult fiction or Newbery winner, political, romance, science fiction, chick lit, etc. In October, we always read a scary or science fiction book for Halloween. In December, we read a Christmas-oriented book. This year, we are reading two: On Strike for Christmas and The Great Santa Search. The last two Christmases, we read the first and second books of the Jeff Guinn series.

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: Generally, we plan three or four months in advance. We try to stick to the rule that someone has to have read the book and really liked it. Since most are pretty avid readers, a selection of books can show up at the meeting for us to browse for our next selections. I also prowl Bookreporter.com and BookBrowse.com for the latest updates and releases on books that look interesting. I print the synopses and reviews and bring those to the meeting as well. Usually, three or four members will take a title and get the book and read it. If they like it, it comes back for possible selection the next time we choose books.

In December, we always do a book swap. You bring a favorite book and we put them all in a bag. Each person draws a book, and that is their book for January. We have a roundtable discussion in January discussing all the books read.

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

A: In November, we usually try to read something government- or politically-oriented because it is usually election time. This month, we read The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. A lot of our members had never read him and were ambivalent about the topic. But the discussion was great. Everyone ended up thinking this was a great book, and five of our members had already lent their copies to others to read.

Our entire group also loved The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. That discussion lasted about four hours. Needless to say, no men attended that meeting.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Occasionally, when we get a new member, we have them talk about their favorite book and what got them into reading. During one meeting I posed the question, "If you had to be one heroine from everything you ever read, who would it be and why?" We also do dinners out, movies and field trips. Once, when we read The Villa by Nora Roberts, and we also hosted a wine-tasting party. Obviously, this was heavily attended.

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

A: Don't stick to one type of book. There is a lot out there to discover if you give it a chance.

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

A: About six years ago, we read The Hours by Michael Cunningham. This is a very well-reviewed book, won lots of awards, had lots of buzz, etc. The person who recommended this book tended to read books of a more depressing nature. About 25 people came to this meeting, and only two people liked it --- the person that recommended it, and one person who was under the care of a psychiatrist for severe depression. We have not seen her since. There was a universal thrashing of everything about it. It was long-winded, preachy, went on for pages and pages without advancing the story or telling anything remotely interesting.

Subsequently, The Hours is mentioned at every meeting we have had since then. Somehow, no matter what the context, someone ends up saying something about it. "I didn't like this book, but it was not as bad as The Hours." Some of our newer members have become intrigued and read the book as well. No one has ever liked it.

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

A: When we read The Da Vinci Code, since we are based out of a Catholic parish, we sponsored a Da Vinci Code discussion night and hired an art historian to present an opinion on the basis of this book. Obviously, this included a lot of discussion about Leonardo da Vinci, the man. We had about 175 people attend this event.