Lawanda Cheatham is a member of the “Nandi Book Club” in Indianapolis, Indiana. In this interview, Lawanda talks about a unique and fun way in which she and her fellow members approach their book discussions. She also describes some of the community-oriented activities the group participates in during the holiday season.

Q: Does your group have a name and/or a theme? How long has your group been in existence?

A: The name of our group is “Nandi Book Club.” We have been together for two years.

Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?

A: We have seven members --- all women. Our age range is 32-45 years old.

Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?

A: We meet every other month at members’ homes or restaurants.

Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?

A: Yes. We try to match food in the books we read, which is usually brought by whoever is hosting that month.

Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?

A: The person who chose the book leads the discussion. Sometimes we do use reading group guides.

Q: What kind of books do you read?

A: Comedy, mystery, biographies and love stories.

Q: How do you choose your books? Do you choose one new book at each meeting, or do you choose the books for a number of meetings ahead of time?

A: Each member chooses a book. We choose a new book at each meeting.

Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?

A: One of our favorite authors is Janet Evanovich; we have had some really good discussions on several of her books. We also read a book by Tyler Perry, and could not stop laughing.

Q: How do you keep things fun?

A: We keep things fun by pretending we are making a film out of the book.

Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?

A: Don’t get discouraged if members tend not to read the books chosen.

Q: Do you have any horror stories, amusing anecdotes, or other special tales to tell?

A: We do not have any now, but I am sure the longer we are together there are bound to be some good stories.

Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?

A: Every year we have a Christmas project that we do, whether it is volunteering at a shelter or reading to classroom filled with children. One of our best projects was taking food to a children’s hospital and feeding those parents who were there during Christmas with their sick children.

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