Tales of a fairly odd book club.(the reader's shelf)

Our very eclectic book club consists of three women (two librarians and an English teacher) and two men (two computer guys) .The bond we share is that we all like to read good literature. The men are especially voracious readers, and, of course, the women have professional interests in reading. Professions aside, however, the masculine and feminine viewpoints make the book discussions all the more interesting.

Our group has only two criteria for choosing a book: it should be available in paperback and it shouldn't be "schlock." We've occasionally breached the first condition, but never the second. What do we look for in good writing? Some of us look for character development, others consider vivid writing (though some members are turned off by overwriting), the power to evoke strong emotions, …