This Milwaukee-area book club has met for 50 years. Here are 10 of their favorite books.
Craving some adult conversation led a few Milwaukee-area women to start a book club.
Fifty years later, they're still at it.
At their first book club meeting in 1974, the group read "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien. On July 19, the club celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Bass Bay Brewhouse in Muskego with 14 members attending.
When it started, the club was simply a chance to talk to someone other than their own young children, said Billie Kelpin, one of the club's founding members.
Kelpin, a deaf education teacher who has since moved out of the area, said it was "a great way to force myself to sit down and read something other than a textbook."
Or, as Chris Totzke, a 25-year-member from Delafield put it: "Some of the women were full-time moms and wanted to read adult books that were not Dr. Seuss books or books where everything rhymed."
How the book club works
Totzke said the club meets monthly at a different member's house in the Milwaukee area to discuss the book they've all read.
In October, the group selects the books for the year. The genres vary. The club reads nine books a year. There's no book discussion in October because the focus is on selecting the books. In December and July, they just meet for lunch.
Totzke said the club's only rule is the person who recommends the book must have read it first.
The club has 17 members. One, Lynn Zibell, has been a member for all 50 years. Zibell now lives in Three Lakes but still attends meetings. Marilyn Hannon of Greendale and Jane Rice of Fitchburg have been members for 48 years. Others have been longtime members, too.
"We have a good rapport; we enjoy each other's company," Totzke said. She said there is a good mix of participants ― mostly retired professionals which include teachers and librarians.
Hannon added that the discussions are always interesting as there are members with an English teaching background. "We discuss the writing style, the background of the author and go into depths of the discussion," she said.
Totzke said because recommendations come from different members, they'll often read a book they wouldn't read on their own and "sometimes we are surprised we liked it."
The club has obviously read and discussed many, many books over 50 years. But here are some of their favorites:
'Tell me a Riddle'
In 1982, club members read "Tell Me a Riddle" by Tillie Olsen. The novel, published in 1961, consists of four stories that touch on issues of feminism, racism, society pressures, social stratification and conformity. It was made into a 1980 film directed by actress Lee Grant.
'A Gentleman from Moscow'
The 2016 historical fiction, "A Gentleman from Moscow" by Amor Towles, follows the adventures of Count Alexander Rostov, who is under house arrest in the Metropol Hotel, a luxury hotel. It illustrates the nature of government and power, personal growth and changes. It takes place in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1889.
"It was a big hit, Totzke said. "It was different and captured everyone. (The protagonist) was funny and everything."
'The Home Front'
In "The Home Front," penned by Wisconsin author David Hanneken and set in rural Wisconsin during 1944 and 1945, a woman faces struggles as her physically abusive husband joins the army and goes to Europe during World War II. She deals with challenges with her family life and the temptation of an attractive German prisoner of war who is harvesting apples on her farm. Hanneken was the first author to attend one of the club's meetings.
"It was a very interesting discussion about the German POW who worked on farms and canneries in Wisconsin during World War II," said Hannon.
'Personal History'
"Personal History," a memoir published in 1997, details the challenges that Katharine Graham took when she led the Washington Post during the scandals of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate. It chronicled her life and how she watched her husband deal with mental illness that led to his suicide.
"It is a fairly large book," said Totzke. She said she liked it because while it is historical fiction, the book was very interesting.
'The Secret Life of Bees'
Published in 2001, "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd details the life of a teenager, Lily Owens, whose life was shaped around the time her mother was killed when she was 4. She runs away with her motherlike figure, Rosaleen, who is Black. After Rosaleen was a victim of a racist attack, they set off for the fictional city of Tiburon, South Carolina, which holds the secret to her mother's history. In Tiburon, Lily meets three sisters who were beekeepers and knew her mother. The book, set in 1964, was made into a 2008 movie that starred Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys.
'Lord of the Flies'
Published in 1954, William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" details a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on a remote island when a plane crashed. They make disastrous attempts to form their own society and learn ways to govern themselves. They grapple with freedom, trying to get rescued, and teamwork. The book was made into a 1990 movie.
'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'
Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a classic about a young girl who details relationships, the simple beauty in life and her compassion as she lives in the slums of Williamsburg. It was first published in 1943. The book club read it in 1998.
'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'
"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," a 1996 Novel by Rebecca Wells tells the story of the downward spiral of a relationship between a mother and a daughter. It was a book club pick in 1999 and was turned into a 2002 film starring Sandra Bullock.
'Hidden Figures'
The 2016 nonfiction book "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly tells the story of three Black women who did computer work to solve engineers' and staff members' problems at NASA. It became a movie in 2017.
"Everyone thought it was very interesting," Totzke said, because the women did their work behind the scenes but were so important to the space industry.
'The Women'
Kristin Hannah's "The Women," published in February 2024, details a nursing student who, in her 20s, joins the Army Nurse Corps when her brother is sent to serve the country in the Vietnam war. It details the chaos of the war and coming back to a country that is divided over it.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on X at @kozlowicz_cathy.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Book club has been meeting for 50 years. See their favorite books
