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Sharing a love for reading
By Lissa Bell
A love for reading brought six Reserve Road neighbors together to form Books on Reserve.
Formed six years ago, the club has grown to nine members, only one of whom lives outside the neighborhood.
The club was aptly named after their street by member Karen Kinney, a Boardman schoolteacher. Kinney, already a member of another book club, began by handing out fliers throughout the Reserve Drive neighborhood. “It’s a good way to get to know your neighbors,” she said.
The women meet on the second Sunday of every month, except for December. Each month the meeting is at a different member’s home.
If they choose a long book, it is assigned in November so members have all of December to read it.
According to Mary Jo Olson, a book-club member and teacher in the Struthers schools, they often check The Vindicator for the New York Times best-sellers list for the coming month.
Although they tried to incorporate books from Oprah’s Book List (about six of them over the years) they don’t seem to fit well with their particular club.
Books have also been chosen from the book list in Entertainment Weekly.
Throughout the years, the group has chosen to read a few classics such as “Good Earth” by Pearl Buck and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
The only nonneighborhood member, Sissie Klein, opened her home to host the April meeting, providing the comfort of her home, a table full of delicious appetizers and refreshments.
Hostesses usually serve cheese and crackers, appetizers, soup or pizza, and a dessert. Often they will choose recipes and themes from the books they read. The idea is to keep it easy and fun.
“We attend every meeting even if the book was not completely read or even checked out of the library,” said Olson.
From the open lines of communication, it’s not hard to tell that this is also a social gathering, a group of people who enjoy being together to share their common interest.
According to Olson, they came together in the interest of literacy. “It’s not difficult to do something like this on a small scale,” she said.
The discussion for April centered around “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett, which was a New York Times best-seller.
“It was something you literally couldn’t put down,” said Olson.”
“The Help” was written from the black perspective during the turbulent years of the 1960s, beginning in 1962.
The discussion often centers around circumstances in the books and how they may or may not relate to our own experiences.
Members often buy new or used books from Amazon.com or check them out at their local library.
The group often e-mails authors for book guides and also finds guided questions online.
In addition to Kinney, Olson and Klein, members include Karen Augustine, an accountant; Caroline Goldsboro, mom and former bank manager; Yvonne Moore, educator; Amanda Roach, mom and warranty administrator; Myrna Shuster, mom and attorney; and Christina Smith, account supervisor.