LitClub:  The Lit Wits
Pennsylvania and New Jersey



IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR for this book club. Four sisters and a daughter, one friend and her daughter all get together to share their love of books. They can't help it—it's in the genes.

Why a family book club? Couldn't you just do it at Thanksgiving?
It keeps us connected all year long. Besides, we all like to read, and the club's a great way to be exposed to different books and ideas.

So let's hear about your books.
Here's what we've read during our first year, 2012-2013:

Apothecary's Daughter
Memory Keeper's Daughter
Discovery of Witches
Unproductive Woman
Time Keeper
Happy Birthday
Paris Wife
Chains
Island of Lost Girls
Killing Kennedy

Any favorites?
Killing Kennedy. Some of us are old enough to have experienced the assassination of Kennedy, and it made us remember things we'd forgotten. It also told us things we never knew. The younger girls didn't know much about the assassination, so it was an eye opener.

How about disappointments?
Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel disappointed most of us. This book was so predictable, and the story line was too superficial for our taste.

Which led to particularly good discussions?
Unproductive Woman created a surprisingly strong reaction from some. The younger girls in particular didn't like or understand the role of men and woman during the course of history. I think this exposed our younger girls to something they might not have encountered in their everyday busy lives.

You sent in a ton of terrific photos! They're for your scrapbook, right?
Yes, we keep a club scrapbook. All our table decorations and meals are themed to the books, and we keep a photographic record of them. When it's your turn to host, you get the scrapbook and include the photos from the meeting.

I see you have your own tote bags, too, right?
We do—we have tote bags AND shirts with our club name embroidered on them (see photo). We also have wine glasses with "The Lit Wits" etched on them.

Do you have any rules?
Not many, but we do have a few:

• When it's our turn to pick our book for the monthly read, we read it at the same time the rest of the group reads it.
• We try not to discuss the book before the book club meeting.
• We hold off on rating our book on Goodreads until after our book club discussion. (Goodreads and LitLovers are our favorite web sites.)

What about outside regular club meetings?
During the month of December we all attended a cookie swap. Our Christmas lunch was held at a restaurant, where we exchanged gifts—books, tote bags, personalized wine glasses, journals, a book marker ornament and a wind chime.  When one of our girls has her baby, we plan to give the infant its first collection of books.

Generally, how would you describe your group?
We're made up of various age groups and personalities, so each of us brings something special to the group.