Test 019
Reading Practice: The Book Club
Reading Text
The stack of books on the library table was taller than Maya had expected. Twelve copies of the same novel, all with the same blue cover, waited for the members of the Riverside Book Club. Maya had joined in September and had missed the first two meetings because of her evening classes. Now she was early, so she used the quiet minutes to read Nora's note on top of the pile.
The first meeting had been smaller than the club's posters suggested. Only six people had come, and three of them had not finished the book. Nora had not been annoyed. She had simply asked everyone to say one thing they remembered, and the conversation had grown from there.
Choosing next month's book was always difficult. This time Nora had prepared a short list of four titles and asked each member to argue for one. Daniel wanted a long historical novel, while Priya preferred a collection of short stories that could be read in a week. Maya supported Priya, but she disagreed politely: instead of saying Daniel's choice was too long, she admitted she had never finished a book of that size and suggested they save it for the summer.
Someone also had to keep the notes. In the past, different people had written them, and half of the record had been lost between meetings. Nora explained that from now on the notes would be shared in a small notebook that stayed in the library, and Daniel, who had the neatest handwriting, volunteered to write them for October. If nobody wanted the task in November, the group would take turns.
Before everyone left, the next meeting was fixed for the first Thursday of October, and the chosen book was placed back on the library desk.