If joining a book group sounds like fun but you’re not sure you have the time, take a leaf out of Sue McIntosh’s book.

The nominally ‘retired’ Otaki resident is busy with many different family and community activities but still manages to squeeze in her monthly read supplied by the Book Discussion Scheme.

“I teach dog obedience, I’ve got two young grandchildren who I look after a lot, I’m the chairperson of our local conservation group, and I volunteer at the museum from time to time - that’s all I’ve got on at the moment,” she laughs, adding that she also headed out on a fishing trip with some friends last week.

Sue and eight other local women (there used to be some men in the group) form the only Book Discussion Scheme (BDS) book group in the Levin area. BDS is a Christchurch-based non-profit organisation that lends out books and discussion notes to book groups around the country. 

“The scheme’s highly efficient. We’ve talked to other groups who aren’t part of the scheme and they have to somehow or other get hold of the books they’re going to read. This is easy for all of us: the books arrive in a parcel, I hand them out, they bring them back [to me] and I send them back to BDS,” explains Sue.

Each month’s courier parcel contains sufficient copies to allow each person in the group to read the same book at the same time. The group makes its book selections from a catalogue of more than 700 fiction and non-fiction titles.

“We get great value for money,” says Sue. She also appreciates the opportunity it gives her to discuss the books she’s read. 
“We all have different points of view. The more diverse the views, the more fun we have!” she says about the group.

Meetings are held in member’s homes and so move around the district to include Levin, Otaki, Manukau, and a lifestyle block off State Highway 57. Two new members have joined the group during the past six months.

“The person whose home it is leads the discussion and provides the food and tea and coffee. It’s supposed to be very simple food but that never happens because whoever it is who’s doing it turns it on!” she admits.

Which means when it’s Sue’s turn to host the group, she finds time to bake as well as read.

“Life is about widening your horizons particularly as you get older,” says Helen Grofski , a retired nurse who coordinates a Book Discussion Scheme book group at the retirement complex where she lives.

“There’s plenty to be learning about, isn’t there?” she says about delving into the world of books. “I’m lucky I’m still active but for people who are a bit more confined, and perhaps a bit more dependent, if they can lose themselves in books, that’s wonderful – it’s another life.”

Helen is one of seven men and women at Christchurch’s Ngaio Marsh Retirement Village who meet together once a month to read and discuss a book nominated by the group.  Copies of the book are loaned to the group by the Book Discussion Scheme, which supplies sets of books from its catalogue of more than 670 titles. Helen’s group has been meeting for about 18 months.

“We’re quite a diverse community here although we’re all of a similar age; people’s lives have all been very different.  So it’s been interesting how members [of the group] evaluate books quite differently,” she explains.

Discussion notes and questions are provided as part of membership to the scheme. Helen acts as her group’s convenor and has responsibility for collecting the loaned books and discussion notes and returning them to the scheme’s Colombo Street office. The Book Discussion Scheme couriers book parcels to convenors with limited mobility or who live outside of Christchurch.

Helen, who is in her mid-70s, says she’s the youngest member in her book group. “We all live in independent houses. We meet at the [retirement village’s] community centre and we keep things very simple: we have a cup of tea and talk. There’s certainly a good depth of discussion,” she says.

She encourages other retirees to join the Book Discussion Scheme and set up a book group in their complex or community.

 “Books give you a window to the outside world,” she says. “I greeted [joining a book group] with pleasure. It opened up different worlds, different styles of writing.”

 A message from Ngunguru-Tutukaka Book club:

Kia ora to our Christchurch friends from WEA Book scheme.  This is our at our last meeting at my place. You have really been so much in our thoughts & we took this photo specially for all of you to let you know that we are thinking of you at this very challenging time. Very best wishes & aroha nui

Members of Ashburton’s book groups enthusiastically promoted BDS at the A&P Show held in the town’s showgrounds at the end of October.

"We did enjoy our time on the BDS stand. It was so interesting to have book-talks with people. There are some real enthusiasts out there,” says volunteer Edith Smith, the convenor of ASHB 004.

Ten volunteers from three book groups spent time on the BDS stand, which had an eye-catching tablecloth and selection of books as part of its display. The tablecloth was specially designed and printed for BDS, to convey the literary and social aspects of book groups: it depicts photographic images of books, discussion notes, BDS bookmarks, and coffee and food!

“We thought the stand looked attractive, and the raffle prize of the three books was a good idea, something to start the conversation with, and then leading on to telling them about book groups,” says ASHB 009 convenor Rae Magson.

Winner of the prize of a bundle of books was Leigh Lyttle, who had stopped to find out more about book groups in the Methven area.

BDS staff member Megan Blakie is pleased with the level of interest generated by the stand and has been following up with people who indicated they would like to start or join a group.

Rae says the show demonstrated that BDS is "a lively, busy place with lots to offer”.

Bay of Plenty's Opotiki book group made the local paper Opotiki News recently. Convenor Elwyn Hughes says she has always enjoyed reading.

"I’ve been reading for many years and do lots of it. By reading, you go somewhere else, go outside yourself, which is lovely,” says the 72-year-old.