When Carol Kooken moved back to Kingfisher in 2014, a lot had changed since she and husband Ralph had moved away in the 1980s.

“I didn’t even recognize people and everything was different,” she said.

One person she did recognize was longtime friend Roxie Alexander (now Kingfisher’s mayor) who made it her mission to get Kooken hooked back into local activities.

One of those was Alexander’s passion – the annual patriotic quilt project honoring area veterans.

And another was the Kingfisher Bookcase Review Club.

The club meets the fourth Monday of each month from September through May (excluding December) for lunch, lively conversation and a book review.

The term “book review” may trigger flashbacks of oral book reports at school, with nervous students stammering their way through meager plot summaries often transcribed word-for-word from inside the book jacket.

But that couldn’t be farther from the reviews delivered at club meetings, sometimes by members but often by guest reviewers and sometimes even by the book’s author, which draw in history surrounding the book and its story as well as details about the story itself.

An avid reader, Kooken found the club to be a perfect fit – so much so that she has served as president the past five years and is among its most enthusiastic cheerleaders.

“When I first started attending, we’d have 30 or more every month,” she said. “But we shut down during the pandemic like every other club and since then our attendance has dwindled.”

Unlike a traditional book club where members read the same book and then meet to discuss it, the KBRC introduces members to books they may not have read and leaves the decision up to each member whether to read the books in advance of the review.

“I try to read the books before the reviewer comes, but not everyone does and that’s fine,” Kooken said. “Some members hear all the details about the book at the meeting and then buy it or check it out from the library afterwards.”

In her opinion, “it’s healthy for a community to have a book club,” not just to promote a love of reading but also as a social outlet for those who participate.

“For the elderly women who have been in the clubs for years, it’s a reason to get out of the house and be around other people,” she said.

Younger people – especially those who are new to the community or returning after an absence like she did – can make connections with people they might not meet in other settings.

The group maintains a Facebook page to promote its monthly meetings, which Kooken said includes a varied lineup of books and reviewers this year.

•Sept. 26: West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge, reviewed by Patti Pojezney.

•Oct. 24: Educated by Tara Westover, reviewed by Jeanne Morgan.

•Nov. 28: How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill, reviewed by Mary Hampton.

•Jan. 23: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney, reviewed by Kathy Kadavy.

•Feb. 27: Nutshell by Dr. Alan Berch Hollingsworth, writing as John Albedo, reviewed by the author.

•March 27: OrphanTrain by Christina Baker Kline, reviewed by Tracy DeShazo.

•April 24: Twelve Years of Turbulence by Gary Kennedy with Terry Maxon, reviewed by co-author Terry Maxon.

•May 15: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson, reviewed by Georgia Sparks.

In addition to Kooken, other club officers include Kathy Kadavy, vice president; Roxie Alexander, secretary, and Sharon Kadavy, treasurer.

Membership dues are $35 annually plus $10 for lunch each month.

The meetings also are open to nonmembers at $10 each for anyone who comes for lunch at 11:30 a.m. or no charge for someone who just wants to hear the book review at noon.

“We think a lot of people don’t even know about the club and we’d love to build it back up,” Kooken said.