Gamma Girls

Hello Gamma Girls Book Club!

It was a pleasure to sort of meet you, Jennie and Tricia (sisters) while  listening to a podcast, The Perks of Being a Book Lover, and now to have you and the other members of your tight-knit book club here to share more. Visitors of this post will enjoy your thought-provoking book choices and get a feel for how you\’ve stayed together so many years.

The postcard is a beauty! I’m sure the art fairs and  Hound Dog Press appreciate your shopping locally. Thanks Ladies for sending it. 🙂

And by the way, one thing led to another that landed me on YouTube videos of Blue Moon of Kentucky performed by Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys, and other renditions by Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. THAT was a little history lesson!

~Anita~

About Gamma Girls Book Club

How did you choose the name of your book club?

In our second year, we read Reviving Ophelia and found an article talking about the different types of adolescent girls:
The Alphas – the popular girls
The Betas – the girls who wanted to be the popular girls
The Gammas – the girls who were content with being who they are
Since we all identified as gammas growing up, our choice was clear.

Number and names of members:
During our first few years the numbers fluctuated, but we\’ve had the same 12 members since 2006. We have 5 original members.

Autumn, Erika, Jennie, Jenni, Lori, Maria, Maura, Melissa, Natalie, Sarah, Tricia, Victoria

Age range:
37-52

All women?
Yes

Date of first meeting:
July 2001 – So excited to be in our 18th year!

Meeting schedule:
The 3rd Tuesday of every month, Jan-Nov.
Since the holidays can be so busy, in December we meet on the 1st Tuesday and don\’t read a book, but do a sock exchange instead.

Meeting place:
Members\’ houses or a local coffee shop

Food and beverages:
Appetizers, Desserts, Coffee, Tea, Cocktails
At this point everyone has some kind of food/drink they are known for.

Book selection method:

We have 12 members and each member has an assigned month to pick a book. We pick 6 months out.

Most popular book:

We discussed this at our most recent book club and with over 200+ books on our roster, this was almost impossible to decide. Interestingly, the two we ended up with are both Kentucky authors.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House

Best book discussion:
This was easier to narrow down, because for these books, there was so much to unpack.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

Currently reading

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Next scheduled books:

The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Southernmost by Silas House
The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
Becoming by Michelle Obama
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Do you do things together outside of your book club meetings?

After 18 years together, we really are family and we definitely spend time doing non-book club things. We maintain a private group on Facebook where we plan outings, share events, and keep each other updated on our lives in between meetings. We have dinners, bridal showers, baby showers, movie nights, etc. Our favorite tradition (16 years running) is the 4-day retreat we take every year in the fall. This year, we\’re taking our first trip to Berea, Kentucky.