LitClub:  Bookwormettes of Homestead
Homestead, Florida

THESE DEVOTED (and fun-loving) readers met via an online network and have continued meeting and reading since. Nine years on finds them as strong as ever.

So how did you get your start?
The original group began way back in 2006 when a call went out through Meetup.com. We met as a group for about a year-and-a-half, until the original organizer left. But then we regrouped and ended up calling ourselves The Bookwormettes!

How many are you?
There are five of us...all loyal members since 2008!

What have you wormettes been burrowing through recently?
Here's our list over the past year:
The Namesake
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Weird Sisters
The Leftovers
Little Women
Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress

Any favorites over the years?
Wow, so hard to choose. But here are some of our favorite books over the years:
Water for Elephants
Kindred
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Basket Case
Gone Girl

Kindred blew us all away! It was out of our reading comfort zone—science fiction and time travel—but the book was so well written and moved everyone in the group.

We love Carl Hiassen! He understands and writes about this crazy state we live in, Florida. We've even had the chance to meet him.

What about disappointments?
Our most disappointing book was One Hundred Years of Solitude. Everyone in our group found it impossible to read, and none of us was able to finish it. We're well aware of the book's critical acclaim—and the literary awards both book and author have received—but we just couldn't stand the tediousness of the book!

Any book lead to a particularly good discussion?
One of the best discussions was about The Night Circus. It's such a magical book, and all of us felt a strong connection to the characters.

How do you choose your books?
We select our books based on member suggestions and websites (LitLovers!), as well as reviews from Entertainment Weekly and the Miami Herald. We also choose books to fit certain themes—like Banned Books Month, local authors, or upcoming holidays.

How about special activities?
We do a fair amount outside of our regular meetings. We attend author discussions and book signings, movies based on the books we read, the Miami Book Fair, and any event held by Books & Books (an independent book store in Coral Gables, Florida).

How about leaving us with one final description of your group?
We're a group of women from different states and backgrounds, who get together to discuss and share our love of reading with one another.

We found each other in a place known more for sun and fun than literacy and reading. When you think South Florida, you image palm trees, beaches, and night clubs. But a growing culture in literature in arts is emerging, and most of us wouldn't want to live anywhere else.