Book Society Will Always Remember Its High-Flying Hundredth Book

By Steve Bigham

A local book club this week celebrated its 100th book by dining at the New York City home of the CEO of Barnes & Noble.

Formed in 1989, the Benvenuto Cellini Book Society has been reading about one book a month ever since. And, after finishing The Odyssey by Homer last month, the group had finally reached the 100-mark. But what to read? The 100th book would have to be special, they said. The solution came some five miles up in the air during a flight to Puerto Rico.

Cellini Book Society member Dreux Spengler, a corporate pilot, happened to be flying a group to the Caribbean island when Barnes & Noble CEO Leonard Riggio stopped by the cockpit for some light-hearted conversation. Mr Spengler, hands firmly planted on the controls, asked the chatty executive if he had any suggestions for a 100th book.

“He was apparently so excited to hear that 15 guys had read 100 books that he wanted to do something for us,” explained book club founder Gordon Williams.

Soon after, each member of the Benventuro Cellini Book Society had in his hand a pre-publication copy of the book Icarus, by Russell Andrews. The book, a sequel to the popular tale called Gideon, is a fiction thriller due out in August.

Upon completion of the book, the group was invited to Mr Riggio’s spacious and elegant Park Avenue apartment where he and his wife, Louise, put on a four-course dinner. Also on hand was Peter Gethers (aka Russell Andrews), who shared the trials and tribulations of writing the book. He said he actually changed the beginning of the story after he had finished the book because he thought the first one was too boring, and he went back and added a “fear of heights” theme later on, inserting a paragraph here and there where suitable. He also received feedback on the book from the Newtown group. One member, Bill Brimmer, said he liked the book so much he went out and bought a copy of Gideon. Others reportedly did not like the book, but were tactful in their comments.

Mr Riggio spent a lot of time talking about the ins and outs of the publishing business and the difficulties that writers face. He said a new book only gets about three weeks to prove itself on the sales floor. After that, books and their authors have trouble making it back. Unless, of course, the book sells, and then that rare author who makes it big can command huge contracts.

For the Benvenuto Cellini Book Society, which celebrates its 12th year in November, book number one back in 1989 was Silent Spring by Rachel Hunter, a non-fiction book that some say created the whole environmental movement in the 1960s.

This week was not the first time the book society had met with the author of a book its members had just read. The group has also discussed books with noted Newtown authors John DelVecchio, Justin Scott, and Ray Sipherd.

On hand for the dinner were book society members Bill Brimmer, Scott Conover, Bill Denlinger, Rev Steve Gordon, Wayland Johnson, Philip Kotch, Marty Post, Dreux Spengler, Don Studley, Kevin Tepas, Gordon Williams, and John Warner (who came down from his home in New Hampshire). Simon Tepas, who works at Random House, also joined the group.

Other members of the Book Society are Bill Lavery, John Reed, H.D. Bassett, and Jim Larin.

The Book Society members finally finished their coffee and thanked Mr Riggio and his wife, then headed back to Newtown. Some drove, others took the train.

“It was one of those really special evenings,” said Mr Williams, who said he founded the book society because he wanted to be able to share ideas about different books with others.