It was the talk of books that led a group of 14 Saratoga moms to form a tight-knit women's group that, nearly a decade later, would still be going strong, and would see them through divorces, deaths, graduations and health problems.

Meet the Chapter Chics.

Gayle Rohner thought up the idea of a mom's book club about nine years ago. Her friend, Ann Reyn, was already in one and thought it sounded like a great way to get together with her female friends and have stimulating conversation while the kids were in school. So she asked Reyn for advice on how to get started.

"Ann was a big help in suggesting books and protocol," Rohner says. They started out asking other Sacred Heart moms they knew, and before long they had more than the original eight to 10 women they had planned on; they were 14 strong. They began meeting once a month on Friday mornings, and the members rotated hosting the meetings at their houses with snacks and coffee.

"When we first started, we read a lot of Oprah books and about two classics a year," Rohner explains. "Ann was instrumental because she was in another book club and had a few suggestions. [Melodie Addison, another original member,] helps a lot as well because she has a degree in literature."

Rohner says she likes the way the book club challenges her reading and analytical skills.

"Most of us were big readers, but this prompted us to read out of our element," she says. "I read several books I might not normally have read. Some gals who weren't big readers turned into avid readers."

She also loves getting to hear everyone's different interpretation of the same book, or how someone whose views she usually differs from can react the same way she does.

"I can get someone else's reaction and look at the book a different way, like, 'Wow, I never thought of it that way,' " she says.

Addison agrees.

"That's what's so exciting--the sharing of ideas," she says. "I think some of our better meetings have been when maybe some of us didn't like the book so much, so everyone had thoughts about it and it sparked a debate on the book."

Of course, when 14 dynamic women get together, the talk can certainly stray from books--and that's why the Chapter Chics think their group has always stayed so tight and so true.

"It never fails, at some point in our book discussions we'll get onto discussions of kids or husbands or school or church, so it's a good social session, too," says Reyn.

"Along with our meeting to discuss the book we're reading and exchange ideas on the book, we're all interested in each other and our lives," says Addison. "Because we've been together so long, that goes along with it, that support and that friendship and that interchange."

"Some of us are so close now, we spend Christmases together, and our kids are very supportive of each other," says Rohner. "It's a way to stay connected. It's very easy to lose contact with each other as our kids go off to high school and college, so this is a way to keep us together."

Over the years, there have been personal problems--the loss of a loved one, problems with the kids, a difficult divorce, the awkward transition when a child goes off to college. So from time to time, a Chic has flown the nest, but she always seems to find her way back.

A while back, Addison was in a serious car accident, suffering neck and back injuries that kept her away from the club for awhile, but she tried to keep up with the newsletters and the books and would email in her opinions. She says the members were incredibly supportive and welcomed her back when she was ready.

"That's kind of how our group is. We've stayed together all these years," she says.

Occasionally, the Chapter Chics like to venture out into the world together. For instance, whenever a book is made into a movie, Addison encourages them to read the book and then make a night on the town to see the film.

"We'll have an evening out where we can all be with each other and have dinner and see the movie," she says. "Then we'll discuss how we liked the movie, how it crossed over from literature into a movie, if it translated well, if it was like the book or not."

Recent ventures have included Pride and Prejudice and Memoirs of a Geisha , and Addison says they recently read The Da Vinci Code and plan to see the movie when it comes out.

Members of the group also went to see Queen Noor when she made a recent local appearance, and after hearing her speak decided to read her book.

"I want to try to get us involved in more of the literary arts, besides just reading books," Addison says.

The meeting in January proved to be a first for the Chapter Chics--they had their first guest speaker. Best-selling author Beth Lisick came to speak to the club about its most recent selection: her book, Everybody Into the Pool: True Tales .

What's even better than getting to meet the author of the last book you read? When that author is a native Saratogan, and her book includes many stories about growing up right around the corner.

Beth Lisick may have grown up in what many consider to be a safe, gated community, but she has managed to have many a crazy experience. Now that she is all grown up, Lisick has become a best-selling author-- Everybody Into the Pool made the New York Times extended bestsellers list--by turning those crazy experiences into a book.

Lisick describes Everybody Into the Poo l as a collection of humorous essays, many of them set in Saratoga and some of which follow her as she attended UC-Santa Cruz and then moved to San Francisco and the Berkeley/Oakland area.

The essays narrate everything from a white elephant gift exchange she attended, agonizing over the type of gift she should bring, to any given Sunday as a pre-teen when her parents would drag her to church at Sacred Heart. Lisick finds the humor in everything, but still maintains a unique, balanced and grounded perspective on her life and everything around her. Having had a pretty well-adjusted upbringing, Lisick appears to be naturally attracted to the weird, bizarre and sometimes shocking in life, but can honestly say she has never been sucked into a life of drugs.

Nevertheless, Lisick certainly has a wide range of experiences to draw from. She has fronted her own band, The Beth Lisick Ordeal, which garnered a following around the Bay Area. For many years she wrote a column about her nightly prowls around San Francisco for SFGate.com. She has appeared in a handful of independent films. She even attracted a reputation for her spoken word, slam poetry and sketch comedy skills and earned spots on tours such as Lollapalooza and Sister Spit. Then, of course, there was her stint as a foam banana, handing out fliers for a fruit delivery service in Justin Herman Plaza.

Before Everybody Into the Pool , Lisick put out two other books with the smaller publisher Manic D-- Monkey Girl and This Too Can Be Yours . It was during a public reading for Litquake, a daylong festival with hundreds of authors that gives each roughly seven minutes of stage time to read from their works, that Lisick was discovered by a literary agent. Known for her dynamic personality and comical performance style, she impressed the agent, who came up with the idea of putting together Everybody Into the Pool.

Lisick says she begged her well-known New York publisher, Regan Books, not to put the label "memoir" on her book. Rather, she preferred phrases such as "true tales" or "a collection of autobiographical tales."

"A man can write a book of funny short stories, but if a woman does it, either you have to be a mom and you have to write about motherhood, or you have to write about dating or shopping or something like that. I was like, 'I don't want to be any of that; I just want to write funny stories,' " Lisick explained to the Chapter Chics on Jan. 20. "So the book really was in the vein of a lot of writers I admired, but who are mostly male, and trying to do that kind of thing."

Whatever the formula, Everybody Into the Pool has certainly experienced its share of success. Entertainment Weekly gave it a starred review, and People Magazine caught wind of the attention. She has recently appeared on the NPR show "This American Life."

Lisick admits it was definitely challenging, strategizing on how to deal with a major publisher and negotiating the smartest deal, but she seems happy with what has come out of it. She accepted a small advance to put together the book and is happy to say she made Regan Books back its money within weeks of the book's release last year. Thanks to that, she now has a contract and is working on her next book, which will be what she calls a "stunt book," similar to the style of many reality TV shows. Lisick has committed to spending 2006 seeking the help of people such as a life coach and an image coach, and consulting various self-help books and gurus on bettering her life and parenting.

If Everybody Into the Pool is any indication, it should be a funny read--and one the Chapter Chics will no doubt adopt.

Visit www.bethlisick.com. 'Everybody Into the Pool: True Tales' is available on Amazon.com and at most major book retailers. For those interested in becoming part of a book club, the Saratoga Library carries 'book club starter kits' and also hosts an evening book club that is open to new members.