In this interview, Eileen Moody discusses her book club, “Lifetime Friends Reading Group,” of Mingo Junction, Ohio. Eileen and her reading group colleagues have known one another since first grade and have been close for more than 60 years --- so their meetings allow her and her lifelong friends to get together more often. She also talks about an excursion they took to a mansion that is referred to in the Revolutionary War book Time Steals Softly.

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

A: Lifetime Friends Reading Group. Our book club has been together for four years.

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

A: Five women belong to our group. We are 69 years old.

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

A: We get together every six weeks, taking turns at each other’s homes.

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

A: Yes, we eat at our meetings. The hostess for that day has a meal.

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

A: Usually the hostess leads the group discussion. We do use guides if available.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: A wide variety: suspense, historical fiction, fiction, biography.

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: The person who hosts the next meeting usually picks out the book.

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

A: The Da Vinci Code, Time Steals Softly (a local historical fiction), The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Sidney Poitier’s The Measure of a Man and James Patterson books, just to name a few.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: Since we have known each other since first grade, we talk about a lot of things that happened in school through the years and in our families.

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

A: Don’t let the meetings stop. Persevere in making sure you all get together often.

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

A: In the book Time Steals Softly, it tells about Revolutionary War and Indian massacres in our area. We went on a field trip to see the Mansion that is referred to in this book. We saw the secret passageways to hide in. US Rt. 70 is a result of Lydia’s (the main character) perseverance with Congress.

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

A: We have known each other for 63 years, going all through school together. Even though we had not gotten together often in past years because of raising our families, the book club brings us together often at this time. We still all live within 10 miles of each other.

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