What Are They Reading?
BY Elaine Rooker Jack
Who they are: Scrybes and Cybes—
Southern Indiana and Louisville
members: Earlene Haeseley, Jan
Hecht, Beulah Holley, Becky King,
Marydee Meyer, Betty Munford, Carol
Norton, Leah Porter, Susan Reich,
Miriam Robertson, Peg Smith, Wendi
Smith, Catherine Turcott; Cyber
members: Lis Sample (Asheville) and
Susannah Hebert (Indianapolis)
First meeting: April 1998
How they got together: Leah started
the group to provide a social outlet for
her mother, Rosamund Sample, an
avid reader. Earlene, Susan and Betty
were present at that first meeting. Ever since, Leah has produced a
monthly newsletter, a summary of each meeting.
Their meetings: Second Saturdays at 1 p.m., except for tonight’s annual
Firelight Purge, which meets at 6 p.m. Some of their rules, which they call
out faster than I can write them all down:
• You don’t have to dress up as a character from a book.
• You don’t have to give a book report.
• You don’t have to read the book.
• No contests of intellectual prowess.
• Pick books a year at a time.
• Books have to be readily available and in paperback.
What they’re reading this month: Runaway (short stories) by Alice Munro
What they thought: “She writes the best women. Her characters are
complete people.” — Wendi
“The characters are not likeable, but I was fascinated by the stories.” —
Susan
“Her writing is exceptional. I read her and I want to write.” — Catherine
Catherine presses to identify a theme that connects the stories. Their
suggestions: “They all expected a different life from the one they had.”
“Maybe they all let fear control them.” “They all took great risks.”
The Firelight Purge: They find coats and go outside to the patio where a
fire is burning in the fire pit. Tonight the members will offer to the flames
any bad writing, bad taste, bad baggage, or things that bug them. One by
one, each woman tosses something into the fire, first either reading it or
explaining it. Some examples: political cartoons and statements by
politicians, old journals, a booklet called Medicare and You (terrible
writing!), ad circulars, a bill from a hospital for care not worth $100,000,
and the reading list from a “Foundations in Western Literature” course.
Wendi, who is an artist, reads a particularly nasty critical review of one of
her recent gallery shows. She rolls it up, slides it into a cylinder she has
decorated, and chucks it in, to cheers. When the last scrap is consumed
by the fire, they file back into the house for dessert. And they’re still talking
about books.
The Ratings: After they finish discussing the book, they go around the
table and rate the book on a scale of one to 10. It gets a lot of eights.
When it is Earlene’s turn, she states that she does not care for short
stories, and she only read one from this book. She declines to give a
rating, but the others insist she rate the one story she did read. She gives
it a 10.
The Reviews: Each member tells briefly about other books (besides the
club’s selection) she’s read since the last meeting. If she hasn’t read
anything else, she tells why not. Betty was on a cruise. Becky was caring
for her grandchild and spent most of her time reading books such as The
Runaway Bunny to him. Susan’s time was taken welcoming a brand-new
grandson. Some share quotations or interesting news bits. Marydee brings
down the house with this quote from Salman Rushdie: “It’s very, very easy
not to be offended by a book. You just have to shut it.”
Before the members tuck into their lasagna and salad dinner, Wendi offers
a toast “to absent friends.” She’s referring to Beulah, Jan, and Peg, who
aren’t present tonight. She’s referring to the two cyber members. But
foremost in the members’ minds is the absence of Rosamund Sample,
charter member who died the month before. They speak reverently of
Rosamund’s love of reading and her ability to recognize good writing. First
book club book: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Their all-time favorite selection: Silence in October by Jens Christian
Grondahl and Anne Born
Their least favorite selections: Into the Forest by Jean Hegland (except
Betty loved it) and Svaha by Charles de Lint (except Leah “kinda loved it”)
Other books they’ve loved: Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel,
Atonement by Ian McEwan, Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty, Hidden
Wound by Wendell Berry, The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, Autobiography
of Malcolm X, The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading, Writing, and the
World of Books by Robertson Davies.
Elaine Jack at elainej@iamtodayswoman.com is a regular feature writer for
Today’s Woman magazine.
BY Elaine Rooker Jack
Who they are: Scrybes and Cybes—
Southern Indiana and Louisville
members: Earlene Haeseley, Jan
Hecht, Beulah Holley, Becky King,
Marydee Meyer, Betty Munford, Carol
Norton, Leah Porter, Susan Reich,
Miriam Robertson, Peg Smith, Wendi
Smith, Catherine Turcott; Cyber
members: Lis Sample (Asheville) and
Susannah Hebert (Indianapolis)
First meeting: April 1998
How they got together: Leah started
the group to provide a social outlet for
her mother, Rosamund Sample, an
avid reader. Earlene, Susan and Betty
were present at that first meeting. Ever since, Leah has produced a
monthly newsletter, a summary of each meeting.
Their meetings: Second Saturdays at 1 p.m., except for tonight’s annual
Firelight Purge, which meets at 6 p.m. Some of their rules, which they call
out faster than I can write them all down:
• You don’t have to dress up as a character from a book.
• You don’t have to give a book report.
• You don’t have to read the book.
• No contests of intellectual prowess.
• Pick books a year at a time.
• Books have to be readily available and in paperback.
What they’re reading this month: Runaway (short stories) by Alice Munro
What they thought: “She writes the best women. Her characters are
complete people.” — Wendi
“The characters are not likeable, but I was fascinated by the stories.” —
Susan
“Her writing is exceptional. I read her and I want to write.” — Catherine
Catherine presses to identify a theme that connects the stories. Their
suggestions: “They all expected a different life from the one they had.”
“Maybe they all let fear control them.” “They all took great risks.”
The Firelight Purge: They find coats and go outside to the patio where a
fire is burning in the fire pit. Tonight the members will offer to the flames
any bad writing, bad taste, bad baggage, or things that bug them. One by
one, each woman tosses something into the fire, first either reading it or
explaining it. Some examples: political cartoons and statements by
politicians, old journals, a booklet called Medicare and You (terrible
writing!), ad circulars, a bill from a hospital for care not worth $100,000,
and the reading list from a “Foundations in Western Literature” course.
Wendi, who is an artist, reads a particularly nasty critical review of one of
her recent gallery shows. She rolls it up, slides it into a cylinder she has
decorated, and chucks it in, to cheers. When the last scrap is consumed
by the fire, they file back into the house for dessert. And they’re still talking
about books.
The Ratings: After they finish discussing the book, they go around the
table and rate the book on a scale of one to 10. It gets a lot of eights.
When it is Earlene’s turn, she states that she does not care for short
stories, and she only read one from this book. She declines to give a
rating, but the others insist she rate the one story she did read. She gives
it a 10.
The Reviews: Each member tells briefly about other books (besides the
club’s selection) she’s read since the last meeting. If she hasn’t read
anything else, she tells why not. Betty was on a cruise. Becky was caring
for her grandchild and spent most of her time reading books such as The
Runaway Bunny to him. Susan’s time was taken welcoming a brand-new
grandson. Some share quotations or interesting news bits. Marydee brings
down the house with this quote from Salman Rushdie: “It’s very, very easy
not to be offended by a book. You just have to shut it.”
Before the members tuck into their lasagna and salad dinner, Wendi offers
a toast “to absent friends.” She’s referring to Beulah, Jan, and Peg, who
aren’t present tonight. She’s referring to the two cyber members. But
foremost in the members’ minds is the absence of Rosamund Sample,
charter member who died the month before. They speak reverently of
Rosamund’s love of reading and her ability to recognize good writing. First
book club book: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Their all-time favorite selection: Silence in October by Jens Christian
Grondahl and Anne Born
Their least favorite selections: Into the Forest by Jean Hegland (except
Betty loved it) and Svaha by Charles de Lint (except Leah “kinda loved it”)
Other books they’ve loved: Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel,
Atonement by Ian McEwan, Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty, Hidden
Wound by Wendell Berry, The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing, Autobiography
of Malcolm X, The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading, Writing, and the
World of Books by Robertson Davies.
Elaine Jack at elainej@iamtodayswoman.com is a regular feature writer for
Today’s Woman magazine.