On a rare sunny winter morning, eight women gather around a long harvest table in Leigh Washabaugh’s dining room, eating brunch and talking about Mary Sharratt’s novel Illuminations.

“Do you realize we’ve been meeting for eighteen years?” asks Tina Muchmore at the end of the discussion. “Look how we’ve evolved since our early days.”

In 1998, the book club (“We never have chosen a name,” Karen Metz points out) was formed by nine mothers of boys who were playing sports in middle school. “We spent a lot of after-school hours on bleachers and benches, watching them play basketball, football, and soccer,” Muchmore says. “So we decided to do something for ourselves.”

At first, the women planned to read and discuss only classics and literary fiction–“absolutely no Oprah selections or genre fiction,” Muchmore recalls. The hostess was expected to supply breakfast foods, an author bio, and a list of questions. “That lofty goal didn’t last long,” she says. “Busy schedules began to interfere, and we were lucky just to get the book read.”

“In the old days, we began the meetings with a rundown of our kids’ sports and school activities,” Cindy Glahn adds. “Remember? If we had time afterwards, we’d mention the books.”

As their children grew, the booklist grew with them. “When our daughters were in middle school, we started reading what they were reading,” Washabaugh remembers. Among those titles: the Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling), the Twilight trilogy (Stephenie Meyer), the Newbery Award-winning Moon Over Manifest (Clare Vanderpool), and The Book Thief (Markus Zusak). When the kids graduated from high school and then college, “we finally reached the point where we could actually focus on the books,” Deb Repine says.

“Some of our best discussions are about books we didn’t like,” says Pam Olton. “Other books opened our eyes to new worlds in the past and in the present.” The members list favorites: Barbara Ehrenreich’s poverty expose Nickel and Dimed, Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. They ventured into detective stories with Maisie Dobbs, into the world of business with Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers, into thrillers with Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, and into American and European history with Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train, Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, Helen Simonson’s The Summer Before the War, and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light You Cannot See.

“Our discussions are like the children’s game Ker Plunk,” Washabaugh says. “In that game, you poke sticks into the form at different angles, and if one angle doesn’t work, you try doing it from another angle. We explore books and their themes and topics from outside the box and from many different angles.”

“I try hard not to miss our meetings–they inspire me to read books I never would otherwise,” Drina Boluyt says.

Repine agrees. “I find it fascinating to hear how others feel about the book–I learn as much about us as I do about the book.”

March is National Reading Month, but members of local book groups need no reminding. According to the 2017 Writers’ Market, more than five million Americans belong to at least one book club–and many to several. Some focus on nonfiction, others on literary fiction, various genres (crime, thrillers, romance, spiritual works), or practical topics (gardening, cooking, money management, child-raising).

Discussions run the gamut from crafts and hobbies to politics and religion. “I truly believe that here in Ann Arbor you can find a book club for every interest you can imagine,” suggests Hilary Gustafson, co-owner of Literati Bookstore.

On Tuesday evenings once a month, the Kidslit Club discusses winners and runners-up for the Newbery and Caldecott awards over wine and hors d’oeuvres.

“We study the ways prize-winning authors introduce and develop characters, create settings, plot action, use language, and grow and resolve stories,” says founder Wendy Lawrence. Members include best-selling authors Nancy Shaw and Shutta Crum, as well as emerging authors Patrick Flores-Scott, Kristin Lenz, Debbie Gonzales, Kathy Vincenz, Betsy McKeeWilliams, and Lindsey McDivitt.

“I’m attending the Writers on the Red Cedar conference in East Lansing,” Vincenz announces before the book dissection begins. “Anyone interested in carpooling?”

“How did the signing go?” McDivitt asks Lenz, who’s been promoting her newly published young adult novel The Art of Holding On and Letting Go.

“We serve as a support group, cheering about successes and passing on information about agents, local book signings, and our own progress as writers,” Gonzales says. “But that’s not all. We dissect the books and then reconstruct them, treating each book like a lesson in the craft of writing.”

Among club favorites are Matt de la Pena’s Last Stop on Market Street, Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s The War that Saved My Life, Pam Munoz Ryan’s Echo, Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, and Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons.

“We tear apart plot, pacing, characterization, setting, word choice, point of view, and all that good down-and-dirty stuff that will make the difference between mediocre books and classics,” Crum says. “Then we discuss how these aspects can–or can’t–be improved or used in our own work.”

“Some people are book club groupies,” Sharon Kalbfleisch says. She belongs to two book clubs–one composed almost exclusively of women with advanced degrees in the health sciences, the other a group of retired women from a wide variety of backgrounds. “When you’re new to an area, or when your life changes in some way, book clubs are great ways to connect with like-minded people,” the Canadian native says.

Kalbfleisch launched the first group when she moved to town ten years ago and met others struggling with the challenges of parenting young adult children. “For the first couple of years, we read parenting books,” she says. “Then we morphed into something else as our children became more settled.”

Now, they often choose books based on a theme. This year’s topic, “immigration and emigration,” has led them to American Immigration (David Gerber), Strangers in Our Midst (David Miller), The Good Braider (Terry Farish), and Behold the Dreamers (Imbolo Mbue).

The theme “has generated mixed reactions,” Kalbfleisch says. “I think our best themes were ‘food’ and ‘memoirs’. The worst was ‘sex’: how writers in different genres portray sex and sexual politics.” She laughs. “It sounded like a good idea–but it wasn’t. It was a disaster.”

They often read works by local authors and invite them to the meeting; Marina Whitman’s discussion of her memoir The Martian’s Daughter made for a particularly memorable night. Favorite international authors include the Canadian/Ojibway journalist Richard Wagamese and another Canadian, Mary Larson. “Family sagas are especially popular with this group,” Kalbfleisch says.

Her other book club meets in a restaurant and reads a broader array of genres, with discussions expertly guided by a retired English teacher. “These women take literature seriously,” she says. Favorite titles include Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jane and Prudence, Our Souls at Night, Fates and Furies, Americanah, and Hissing Cousins.

In all book groups, Kalbfleisch points out, “You find that some people don’t want to discuss books in as great a depth as others. Some don’t like anything too dark, too political, or too structured. Some prefer the social aspects of the evening over the discussions. And leadership can become an issue. Book groups have to decide on a routine: do they discuss the author as well as the book? Do they use prepared questions? Do they serve wine or coffee, snacks or dessert–or both?”

Speaking of food, at least one local club focuses solely on food. The Cook Book Club was started by veteran food blogger Cindy Hodges (motherskitchen.blogspot.com). Every other month the group votes on a cookbook that is readily available from the library–“no obscure titles,” Hodges says. Members cook or bake a favorite recipe from the cookbook and gather for a potluck. “I don’t like to use the term ‘foodie,’ but our members are people who definitely appreciate good foods and experimenting with new recipes,” she says. Some live far away, so in lieu of attending the potlucks they post pictures and comments about the recipes on Facebook.

The first book? Rick Bayless’s More Mexican Every Day. “That night, our hostess had a centerpiece with habanero peppers, and one of our members thought they were regular peppers,” Hodges recalls, laughing. “Another guest had to try one, too, to see if it really was that hot. It was.” Jerusalem: A Cookbook, celebrating Israel’s vegetable-based food tradition, is a favorite. “These are recipes you wouldn’t think of making every day, but they were wonderful–beautiful to look at as well as delicious.”

“I don’t have a lot of time to read books that don’t interest me,” says member Julie Trombley. “But the Cook Book Club is fun. It helps me multitask–I like to read about food, cook, and entertain.”

When her daughter was in middle school, Trombley organized a literary book club for mothers and daughters. Many of the members belonged to Stephanie Surfus’s Girl Scout Troop 221.

“We decided to read about girls’ experiences all around the world, so we called ourselves Global Girls,” Trombley says. Her husband created a website with more information about the books and the places the girls explored on the pages of monthly selections.

“It was fun,” Elizabeth Reynolds recalls twelve years later. “I especially liked the American Girl Dolls international books–especially the stories of Queen Elizabeth and Cleopatra. Our mothers probably enjoyed the discussions more than the girls did, but we had fun together. I think the group fizzled out when my mother suggested reading Lost Horizon and My Antonia. Young girls need characters they can relate to.”

Sally Webber, a retired special education teacher, has long belonged to a book club whose members are teachers. For nearly twenty years, she has maintained the club’s long list of titles, ranging from Oprah selections to classics and Pulitzer and Booker prize winners to detective stories, romances, best-sellers, and thrillers.

Literati’s Gustafson runs two book clubs, one for current fiction and one for nonfiction. “Book clubs definitely make a difference in our sales,” she says, “though I have no way to measure how much.” She often chooses topical titles or recent prizewinners. “We have regular attendees, but we also welcome newcomers who are interested in the topic.”

Literati staff member Claire Tobin facilitates a group reading feminist titles. Alison Swan, who worked in the late Shaman Drum Bookshop before joining Literati, leads a group exploring current environmental topics. Like other bookstores in town, it offers discounts to book club members.

“Book clubs are very much a part of our mission,” Gustafson says. “When we opened in 2013, we aimed to create a place where people can come, talk about books and ideas, meet friends, and connect with others who share interests.”

“Book clubs are a critical part of a bookstore’s business,” agrees Nicola’s Books manager Linda Caine. “I was happy to inherit a healthy assortment of book clubs.” Nicola’s hosts a mystery book club, a Sierra Club group, and several others with a wide range of interests.

Crazy Wisdom Bookstore hosts a monthly club focusing on spiritual titles. “It’s a melting pot of people and interests: people who love films, books, and cooking vegetarian foods,” says manager Rachel Pastiva. “We only read nonfiction, and we always have a nice turnout.”

Robin Agnew and her husband, Jamie, named their shop Aunt Agatha’s in honor of mystery writer Agatha Christie. They focus on three genres–detective, mystery, and true crime–and sell both new and used books. Robin says their customers are passionate about great genre writers: Agatha herself, Arthur Conan Doyle, John le Carre, Louise Penny, Tasha Alexander, Elly Griffiths, Susan MacNeal, Jacqueline Winspear, and Charles Todd. Historical mysteries are particularly strong nowadays. Whenever possible, the shop invites authors to join the discussions.

“Mystery writers are very interesting people,” she says. “Many had–or have–other careers, and they bring real world experiences to their writing. Our discussions are better because, like our readers, authors share the ways their experiences influence their craft.”

“Book clubs are important for the soul of a bookstore. They attract people to bookstores, they introduce people to others who share their interests, and they give members a sense of belonging and a shared mission,” Gustafson says.

Deb Repine agrees. “I enjoy the discussions because together we gain so much more insight into the author’s work–and into each other’s perspectives.”