Reasons for the rise in popularity of reading groups are not hard to seek. Lively discussions provide the fun of a good college literature course, without any of the obvious downsides. On the social end, what cold be more pleasant than sitting down with fellow readers and chatting about life’s most congenial topic, books.

    Still, one can’t have a barbecue without any food, and the question of which book to select is always at the forefront of the reading group mind. A good book doesn’t necessarily make a good book group book. Just as overripe bananas make the best banana bread, there are times that less appetizing books provide the best discussions.

    Franklin County has a rich and long standing reading group population. In order to help us sort out the qualities of what does and doesn’t make for a good book group discussion, I asked area group members for some highs and lows in terms of their recent selections.

    The area’s oldest group has no name. They spurn the idea of having a name. According to long standing member Mary Jane Kaniuka, this group has "been around since the beginning of time." Pressed for more details, Mary Jane informed me that the group had its origins in the 1970's as an offshoot of The American Association of University Women’s UMF branch. Founded initially as Great Books Group, the group has changed over the years, but retained many original members and continues strong today.

    This group is a serious, discussion minded group. Alexander Hamilton, the acclaimed biography by Ron Chernow, was a high point of Mary Jane’s experience, "because there was so much to it. And I didn’t know a thing about him." A big disappointment was the group’s discussion of Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks. Someone in the group with a strong personality killed the discussion by pronouncing the book worthless at the outset. Kaniuka was disappointed since Buddenbrooks has so much to offer for discussion. I felt her pain, as I love Buddenbrooks personally.

    Mary Jane went on to offer the wisdom that the real success for any discussion involves good preparation and strong leadership by the group leader to get things going. Kiss of death questions, such as, "how did everyone like the book," must be avoided at all costs "You can’t be dogmatic; there’s always something good to say about a book," according to Kaniuka.

    The Gold Leaf Institute, which offers educational and cultural programs for area residents ages 50 or older has had a reading group run by Elizabeth Reid for the last eight years. She describes her cohorts as "a really forthcoming group." Pearl Buck’s classic book on China, The Good Earth, made for a particularly good discussion, according to Reid. The central characters transition " from poverty to relative wealth" interested group members. The book also afforded comparisons of China, past and present, as well as provided a lively, critical discussion of the status of women in the China described by Buck.

    A disappointment for the Group was Alice Munro’s short story collection, The Love of a Good Woman. It was felt that Munro "leaves readers to make their own conclusions" too much. Furthermore, the book was "sort of a downer."

    Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers has had a store group for fifteen years. Bookstores and libraries do make good settings for groups, it must be admitted, as the group can literally wander about grabbing next month’s possibilities, and so forth.

    Founding member Sarah Otley mentioned that she particularly liked it when the group does a series of related books in a genre, such as satires or swashbucklers. "The Swashbucklers, (The Three Musketeers, Ten Years After, The Count of Monte Cristo,) those were my favorites." Sarah "had never read anything like that. The adventure of it all." The books worked well for discussion, "because people saw different things in it, read them with different purposes." She also "loved it that they were so fat but read like a 200 page book. Plus I was left with the interest to read more, which is what you want. Plus everyone in the group finished the books." In terms of a book that didn’t work, Otley singled out Nuala O’Faolain’s memoir, Are You Somebody. "She was nobody. Couldn’t Read her. A horrid book."

    Wilton’s No Name Book Group was started thirteen years ago in June, on a dark and stormy night, at founding member Sarah Chamberlain’s house. The power went out and Sarah and Sue Boyce Cormier leapt into action, locating thirty candles, by the light of which the group’s first meeting was conducted, a discussion of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water For Chocolate.

    The group has two bylaws. 1. Only paperbacks may be selected. 2. Only store bought cookies may be served. "Nobody dares bake," according to Chamberlain." She describes the group as "very flexible, nobody’s wrong. You don’t have to have finished the book to come to the meeting."

    No Name member Babbie Cameron mentioned that the best discussions are often provoked by books that have themes which "hit a little close to home in the lives of people, such as caring for an aging parent." The Mermaid’s Daughter, by Sue Monk Kidd, for example, featured a character "who fell in love with someone other than her husband," provoking an excellent discussion as to "how that can happen, how sad that is."

    Cameron mentioned that the group is "very inter-generational. Some members are in their eighties and "have lived in Wilton since they were young brides." Other members have moved into the area and joined the group "looking for good minds to connect with." Nonetheless everyone in the group "takes lifelong learning seriously." Discussions are always "like hearing twelve different versions of the same book, which is so cool. We’re all better for dissecting a book through the viewpoints of others."

    To conclude, the old phrase suggesting that the height of desire is comprised of, "a loaf of bread, a glass of wine, and thou" is badly out of date. What one really wants is a good reading group. First of all, nothing stands in the way of partaking of bread and wine during group. And secondly, what could be better than talking critically about books with friends. Area reading groups have been operating "since the beginning of time" with good reason.