---

For centuries, men have sought fellowship in clubs where they could talk about books and discuss ideas. Lately, however, the Oprah Book Club phenomenon has cast a shadow over such gatherings, creating the perception that book clubs tend to be the ladies' domain.

Except, that is, in Norton, where the public library is putting a unique spin on the "traditional" book club. For close to a year now, an all-male book discussion group has enlivened a cozy conference room in the rear of the library. The men had never met each other before Reference Librarian Jane Michelmore floated the idea of a men's book group. But if its Oct. 5 meeting was any indication, these personable, engaging guys are comfortable in each other's company, and would warmly welcome additional members to their spirited monthly gatherings, held from 6:30-8 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. Members do not have to be residents of Norton.

Not surprisingly, the group tends to choose non-fiction books, written by primarily male authors. On the night I attended, the focus was Malcolm Gladwell's latest bestseller, "Outliers: The Story of Success." Gladwell, popular author of "Blink" and "The Tipping Point," has written another fascinating and highly accessible book, this one about those persons who "lie outside normal experience," who succeed not merely because they are smart or ambitious, but because "they have been given opportunities and had the strength and presence of mind to seize them."

That description really impressed Jay Boucher, a contract trainer and adjunct business professor at WPI who is volunteer coordinator for the group. Reading the book made Jay "even happier" about decisions he once made to provide crucial opportunities for his academically challenged son during a critical time of his life. "Gladwell convinced me that successful people have to work hard," Jay commented, " but we overlook how successful people had support, advantages and opportunities that give them a leg up."

Each member of the group was dazzled by the variety of studies and data supporting Gladwell's thesis. Ken Perlow, a former Peace Corps worker and current GED teacher at Rhode Island Hospital beamed, saying, "I love reading books with examples of situations!" He made a special reference to "this hockey business." It seems that in many of today's best leagues, a preponderance of players are born between January and March - right after the Jan. 1 cut-off date for youth hockey leagues. Result? These children have the advantage of being older and typically bigger and stronger than players born later in the year. Robert Keating, an IT business analyst with Chain-Sys, was intrigued with Gladwell's take on Robert Oppenheimer: "He was brilliant, but it was his personality that got the Manhattan project off the ground," Robert noted. In addition to Gladwell's own life story, which according to Jay "drives home the impression he makes with the whole book," each man was convinced of the accuracy the Gladwellian success formula: "10,000 hours" of hard work or practice, combined with the propitious advantages of timing, lineage, culture or circumstance.

The group discussed how the "10,000 hour rule" manifests in the story of the Beatles, for example, who "just happened" to be the house band for a club in Germany where they "just happened" to play eight sets seven days a week, racking up an astounding 12,000 hours of practice before they became an "overnight success" in the U.S.

Opportunity and hard work converge as well in the life story of Bill Gates. Not only, according to Ken, was he "just the right age when the computer took off," but he "just happened" to belong to a computer club in high school, rare for those times. In addition, from the age of 13, Gates snuck out of his house at 2 in the morning and headed to the U. of Washington, where he practiced using their computers until 6 a.m. By the time he was 20, he had already spent the requisite "10,000 hours" programming.

Jay, Ken and Robert consistently brought insight, intelligence and good humor to their discussion, and took away meaningful messages from "Outliers." For Robert, it was that "you don't have to be a genius to rise to the top of your profession. You just have to work hard. That message could be an inspiration to young people." Ken, who likes to apply the lessons of a book to his own circumstances, realized that "the importance of cultural differences helps me understand the people I am dealing with." Referring to a study linking centuries of hard work in the rice paddies to Asian patience and perseverance in learning, Ken wished his students would take to heart an excerpt from Chapter 8, "No one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich."

And finally, Jay summed up the tenor of the book. "I have a greater appreciation of how lucky some are to have tremendous advantages, but even with great advantages, you can fail without hard work. Success depends upon opportunities, and the strength and presence of mind to seize them."

You can seize a great opportunity to join the Norton Men's Book Club. They meet on Mondays from 6:30-8 and their next book is "The Killer Angels" by Jeff Shaara. Contact: Jane Michelmore @ jmichelm@sailsinc.org.

Kathy Hickman's column, "The Reading Room," appears in Your Day the first Friday of each month. You can contact her at news@thesunchronicle.com.