Book group rules

I have stumbled across an amusing entry about book groups in a blog (hilarious and scary in equal measures) called The Middle Class Handbook. The entry "5 Ways To Kill Your Book Group" provides me with the opportunity to laud our gatherings, discussions and choices. Amongst things which are fatal are, apparently, over ambitious theming (e.g. food that goes with the book choice - heaven forbid); instead "crisps and olives will do" so we can confidently tick that box. We are warned against "too much Sauvignon Blanc" on the basis that the conversation nosedives and mid-week hangovers will act as a deterrent to regular attendance (a bold assumption). On balance, we can tick that box too as we usually imbibe no more than modestly.

However, I thought that we could robustly rebut the the final piece of advice, headlined "Middlemarch" which is that classics are the death knell to a book group. "Attempt anything pre-1900 and over 450 pages and your book group will shrivel up an die". Well, at least in part.......as I have an aversion to any book that long. My immediate thought was that we have on the whole, and perhaps with the exception of the impenetrable Evelina by Fanny Burney, been quite successful in our choice of classics. Think Madame Bouvary last year, The Europeans, Jane Eyre and I think some Hardy before that. On reflection, though, I discover that our preference is for classics which post-date1900: so Scoop earlier this year and previously Revolutionary Road, Wild Sargasso Sea, Brighton Rock, The Razors Edge and Dusty Answer. So perhaps the advice is worth heeding after all.

If you've two minutes to spare, listen to Martha Kearney's recent short report on book groups and booze on the World At One: Does booze ruin book groups And now, it's about time for my early evening class of Sauvignon Blanc.