All things medieval.

How did your group get started?

I felt a "calling" to form a book club in order to bond with others who were equally as obsessed with "all things medieval." As a librarian at the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, I had a natural love of books and research--and my library had a great room available for just this sort of group. It worked! We are a diverse group, but we all share a passion for the Middle Ages. Our spirited book discussions serve as a connective bond. Whereas many book groups seem to grow from a previous social bond (friends, members of the same church, new mothers), we formed this group around a common interest

How would you describe your group?

We have an interesting group of people. Daniel, for instance, is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to recreating the Middle Ages. Members dress like persons of the time and participate in activities that were part of medieval life, such as fencing, archery, calligraphy, illumination, music, and more. Some nights Daniel sits at our book discussions and makes his chain mail--one link at a time. Annie G. and her husband and family have been attending Renaissance Faires for a decade now. These "faires" are for-profit historical-reenactment venues that offer crafts, music, entertainment, and jousting. The costumes there are amazing.

How does your group work?

For 2007, our program, "Saints, Sinners, Pilgrims, Popes: The Women of the Middle Ages," focused on both fiction and nonfiction books about medieval women. We all love historical fiction of the medieval period, but when we read a novel, we also delve into the time it takes place with related cultural and religious perspectives. For instance, we read Judith Lindbergh's The Thrall's Tale, which takes place in Viking Greenland at the turn of the ninth century and follows the intertwined lives of three women, all of whom narrate the story and straddle the pagan past and the Christian future. For our meeting, we had handouts about the Icelandic sagas, the Vikings (both women and men), Viking art, Viking ships, Nordic mythology, as well as an author biography and photos and maps of Iceland and Greenland.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What books have made for interesting discussion?

We often branch off into moral questions, and the Middle Ages are ripe with opportunity! Those in power held absolute power. Obedience to the Church and your liege lord was mandatory, even if it went against your personal ethics. We just finished reading The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. We talked endlessly about the moral decisions of the main characters who had to choose between Christianity and goddess worship, religion and politics, family loyalty and individuality, and so forth. This book discussion was especially personality driven since the main characters--Arthur, Gwenivere (Gwenhwyfar), Merlin, and Lancelot (Lancelet)--were so different from (and more complex than) the way they have traditionally been portrayed. In The Mists of Avalon, Arthur betrays his allegiance to all of the people of Briton to appease his pious, religiously bigoted wife. Talk about a moral dilemma!

What books would you recommend to those not quite as obsessed with the Middle Ages?

Good historical fiction is good fiction. Even if you don't crave all things medieval, here is a short list of good reads: Brother Cadfael (any of the books in the series!) by Ellis Peters; The Physician or The Last Jew by Noah Gordon; The Pillars of the Earth or its sequel, World Without End, by Ken Follett; The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart; The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco; Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman; and The Water Devil by Judith Merkle Riley.

SUBMITTED BY KATIE KROL FORBES LIBRARY NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS

A unique profile of readers together.