Women's Empowerment Stories ...

Creating Women’s Book Circles
~ Catherine Maine

Catherine shares her experience in women’s book groups, and offers a way to apply circle dynamics to the joy of reading.

The first one was in Toronto over 20 years ago. It was formed by a couple of friends I worked with and a few of their friends. It was a fun, enjoyable, comfortable group! We had lively discussions, laughter, and some in-depth sharing. I felt very welcome and accepted. Those books took us everywhere! The group had about six members. 

I moved to a new city and joined a university women’s book group. It was a literary group, so the person who picked the book was expected to research it. Members read up on literary criticism, and related works, so they could comment. I found the meetings to be fairly demanding in terms of preparation, and I felt I really had to be on my toes. The comments were not our own views but more about what others had said about the books. Sometimes I felt intimidated by the conversation; it felt like English class to me. It did not provide the fun and relaxing experience I’d hoped for so I Ieft the group after a few meetings. It helped me to know that what I value in a book group is being personal, and having fun and enjoyment. However, that group had been going for some years, so obviously other women enjoyed that focus and format. It had about 15 members but an average of about 10 attended each meeting.

I then founded a circle from a group of women from church. I wanted to be in a fun and enjoyable group. So, when I talked to women about it, I presented it that way. At the first meeting we established ground rules for the group, and we agreed on the books we would read over the next few months. We agreed that the woman who chose the book would host the evening. (However, if a woman could not hold the meeting at her place, but still wanted to host, another member would offer her home). We said we would all try to read the book, but if we could not finish it, we could still attend the meeting. To spare expense, and to make it easy for people to get the books, we agreed to read older paperbacks, available from the library, or at used book stores. If members had copies, they loaned them around. Meetings were to be “no fuss” – drinks only were to be served. We would take houses we visited “as they were”; in a non-judgmental way. Confidentiality was discussed – we could share as much about ourselves as we wanted, but if someone was sharing sensitive details of her story, these details would stay in the group. We agreed that we all had permission to not like the book, and we could state these feelings. We would not take it personally if we did not feel the same way about a book.

As facilitator, with each member’s permission, I tracked membership information (names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail). I compiled the reading list including the date / location / meeting time, and distributed it to members. As facilitator, I would bring the “talking piece” to each meeting.

Subsequent meetings ran this way: As facilitator, I would bring the meeting to order. We used the “talking piece” to assist us with discussing the book, to ensure that everyone had a chance to speak at least once. Whoever chose the book would hold the feather first and speak, without interruption, about why she chose the book. She would hand the feather around to the left and let the next woman (and the others in turn) speak while holding the feather. Once everyone had spoken once, the feather was put in the centre, and the floor was opened up for discussion. As facilitator, I closed the meeting at the appointed time. Often women wanted to stay afterwards and chat.

Women who had been acquainted for years came to learn many things about one another. Women were always fascinated by the many perspectives others would give to the same book; often women would say that they wanted to re-read the book after hearing such stimulating discussion. Women loved meeting other members in their homes. Women told moving stories about their own lives which had been evoked by the novels we read.

Over time, we found that the group ran successfully from September – May each year. It evolved that we did a story related to the Christmas theme each December, and that meeting became more of a party. After a few meetings, we named our group. We shared lots of laughter and good times. We had about 15 members, but most often eight to 10 women would attend. This group is still going strong after about eight years of meeting together. With another move, to another province this time, I have once again started up a book group. In this case, it is a group of women of different ages who all live in the same area (within five to ten minutes drive of one another). It is modelled after the last group mentioned above. We currently have seven members, and the women in the group want to cap it at eight members. We are women who enjoy reading and are looking for fun and friendship. We have had two enjoyable meetings and I look forward to a long and happy association together.

 Here are some things I found helpful when starting a women’s book circle: