On the second Tuesday of each month, 42 women gather at noon at the Fairyland Club on Lookout Mountain to keep a century-old tradition.
The women of the Review Book Club of Chattanooga are quick to disclose an irony about their group. The first rule of book club, they say, is “never review a book.”
Through close to 1,200 monthly meetings across almost 100 years, Review Book Club members have eschewed the traditional book-club format of reading a book together and then gathering to share impressions. Instead, the Review Book Club is actually a book exchange group that prioritizes guest speakers and female companionship.
Oh, and lunch.
A slate of books is chosen for the year, and each month the members swap titles. It’s so much more efficient, they say, than buying 42 copies of 12 different titles.