How often does the book group meet?
Each month, always on the second Monday.

Where do you meet? The Meetings are held at various venues including period pubs, cafes and member’s homes in central Cambridge (Petersfield). The venue is entirely at members discretion and it's not obligatory to lend out your home.

Whilst we welcome members who live outside Cambridge, we ask that meetings are held in the centre of the City to enable the majority of our members who live in the area, to cycle or walk to the meeting easily since past experience proved that it was difficult to get all of us rounded up and into vehicles.

Does the Reading Group currently have vacancies for new members?
We have decided to cap the number of members we have. Sadly this cap has been reached currently. We also have a Waiting List, if our membership quota is temporarily reached. What we intend to do with the Waiting List is either offer membership, as current members leave, or offer to put the people on the Waiting List (when it grows to a certain size) in touch with each other so that they may form their own group. We can even attend one or two of the new group's meetings to offer tips on how to organise the group.

What do I do if I am hosting a meeting and have to cancel the meeting at short notice?
The fall back plan for an occasion where the host cannot hold a meeting at their own home is as follows: the host, or someone nominated by the host, should call the ‘Live and Let Live’ pub (corner of Mawson and Cross Streets, Cambridge), if possible no later than lunchtime on the day of the meeting, to book the Snug for the evening at 7:30PM. The pub’s phone number is: 01223 460261. Pete is the landlord. All members should then be sent an email at the earliest possible moment stating the change of venue. Ideally each recipient should acknowledge the email so that a conscientious host can try to reach those who have not acknowledged it by phone at the last minute. In addition a note on the door of the ex-venue would be good!

How is the hosting venue chosen? Does it have to be at my house? Who writes up the meeting notes?
The person whose book is chosen might offer to host the meeting at which it will be discussed, or if their home is not an option, suggest somewhere like our current favourite, CB2 in Norfolk Street. Also we share writing up the meeting reports.

Did you all know each other before the group met?
A few of us knew each other from other local groups but we were mostly strangers. About six of us remain from the first meeting and we welcome new people from every demographic!

Do I have to attend every meeting?
It's not obligatory to attend every month but useful if you can come along to as many as possible. We do ask that you send a group email to give apologies if you cannot come along to a meeting so that the host knows how many people to accommodate - we understand that life sometimes simply doesn't go according to plan! If you are choosing the books or hosting then please give as much notice as possible to allow us to make other plans.

How did the group start?
An advert was placed with Cambridge Online City and in a local community newsletter, ImPACT. We held our first meeting in September 2004 at the Cambridge Blue.

I haven't had time to read the book.
Turn up anyway! If you found that you just couldn't get 'into' the book then the discussion might be useful. If you just didn't pick it up in time, then come along anyway, it'll be nice to see you. Hopefully you'll get time next month!

What's a meeting like?
Very informal. Meeting usually start at 7.30pm and we bring wine or nibbles to share with the group. The last book is discussed - we have started a 'round robin' so that everyone gets a chance to have their say. We end the meeting by choosing the next book from a preselected list of three.

When is it my turn to choose a book?
We feel it would be wise to wait until new members have attended three or four meetings, and have therefore decided that they are really interested in us, before we slot them into the rotation.

Help! It's my turn to choose the books.
Don't panic! First have a look at our links page for websites that offer advice.

It maybe that you have read the books and would like to open them up for sharing and discussion (do be aware that not everyone might like them as much as you!) Other sources of information are: paperback sections of the weekend papers, bookshops and libraries, both of which may have reading lists. It's also worth asking booksellers or librarians to recommend books.

Radio 4 is an excellent source of information on books. Book Club is a monthly programme devoted to the Radio 4 book club choice for the month. Members of the public can join the discussion which often includes the author. The BBC World Service also runs a books programme as part of their Meridien arts series.

Choose the books in advance of the next meeting and send around a brief resume to the group by email about a week in advance. Assuming that most of us will need to buy copies of the book it's best to check availability. Books go out of print, or may be reprinting or it may simply be that your local bookshop doesn't usually keep in stock more than one or two copies of the book you've chosen. Most bookshops will order in extra copies for you, but this will take time.

What do I have to do to promote my choice of book to the other members?
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the person proposing the books from which to choose for the following month should have read the books or not, should have them available for perusal or not; it has however been agreed that that person should be there to "sell" their choices, and for the discussion of the chosen book at the following meeting.

How many meetings can I miss?
If you have not been able to attend for at least the last three meetings you should email us to let us know of your intentions so we can keep the group ticking over.