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Sierra Kondos

Special to the News

BEAUMONT — In the small town of Buna, Texas, one woman had an idea to attract book-loving ladies together to discuss their love of stories and created a book club called The Literary Ladies of Southeast Texas. 

The group votes on a monthly book to read and meets monthly at a Beaumont café to discuss the novel.

The Literary Ladies of Southeast Texas congregate again on Dec. 21 at Sertino’s Café where “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens will be discussed followed by a White Elephant gift exchange. 

Their tale began two years ago at their first meeting place, The Buna Public Library. As their membership grew, the club changed their meeting place to Sertino’s Café in Beaumont. The meeting places will vary month to month in Southeast Texas.

“The Literary Ladies of Southeast Texas was formed in 2022 to provide a safe, book-centric community for women during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kaitlyn Head, founder, said. “Initially meeting at the Buna Public Library, once the group grew to 13 active members, since expanded to meet at various locations, including Sertinos in Beaumont.”

 Members select books by voting, with recent choices including banned books.

“We post a vote for the monthly book on our Facebook page,” Head said. “The members who attend the meetings, their votes get chosen to go into a bucket and we hold a drawing. We have over 300 women who follow the page, and we hope they decide to take the next step in attending the meetings.”

 The group aims to expand by involving children and encouraging more participation.

“We want more children to attend with their mothers so we can create a children’s book club,” she said. “Our group is ideal for stay-at-home mothers who don’t have many opportunities to make friends as it is hard to make friends as we get older and taking care of our children. However, every age group is welcome to come.”

Karissa Tanton, a Buna native, joined the book club to read a book, “The Silent Twins,” before seeing the movie in theaters.

“I enjoy the club for its exposure to diverse genres and local authors like Steve Fitzner, who attended a meeting,” she said. “I primarily read dark-mafia romance and fantasy but have been introduced to non-fiction. More members mean being introduced to genres I wouldn’t normally read.”

Steve Fitzner, who writes under a nom-de-plume or pseudonym, Stephan Oak, is a Southeast Texan who published The Jett Laundry detective series that can be found on Amazon.com.

Tanya Corkern, a Mauriceville native, joined to foster her reading habit and connect with other women.

“You know, I have always wanted to be in a book club, but I really didn’t like to read,” she said. “I guess my main reason was to connect with other women. Even though we were reading the same book, we probably didn’t get the same thing out of the book. So, the discussion and just sharing at a book club meeting is why I love attending.”

Corkern says the meetings are informal and relaxed.

“The new members don’t have to read the monthly book to begin attending,” she said. “They just come, and they can have coffee and talk about other books as well. So, is it structured that way, where y’all have coffee and talk about the book at hand, and then, you know, after that’s done, y’all will talk about other books.”

Her favorite book discussion was “Where the Crawdads Sing” due to its relatability to her Louisiana background.

“I’m from Louisiana,” she said. “So, I’m from the bayou and the marsh land and I had family that live off the water. So, I enjoyed that aspect of it, and then with her (the character), her life and the way her life played out, I can imagine some of my family living just like her, young and having to live off the land to survive.”

Corkern says, “Don’t hesitate to join a book club.”

“Do it even if you don’t read the monthly book,” she said. “It is a good way to meet people with different perspectives. For example, if you read the book and read over something that you don’t deem significant may be brought back to your attention by another member. Then there is some light bulb moment, and you realize why it was important to the story.”

The Literary Ladies of Southeast Texas can be found on Facebook.