Sistahs of Color Reading Group
This interview is with Lareeta Robinson from the Sistahs of Color Reading Group in Little Rock, Arkansas. One of the most intriguing aspects of this club is that its members are not limited to discussing just one book per meeting. Read on to learn more about this unique group.
Q: Does your group have a name and/or theme? How long has your group been in existence?
A: Our group is the Sistahs of Color Reading Group in Little Rock, Arkansas. We have been in existence since March 2002. The group began as an activity at one of the recreation facilities operated by Little Rock Parks & Recreation and has grown since. If we had a theme or slogan, it would probably be "Girl, you need to read this book!"
Q: How many members do you have? How many men, how many women? What age are most of your members?
A: We have 27 female members with 20-23 attending each meeting. Our age range is from 25 to early 70s. Presently we do not have a limit on membership, so most times when someone attends a meeting, they have stayed on.
Q: How often do you meet? Where do you meet?
A: We usually meet the third Saturday of each month, except for July, at the University Park Adult Leisure Center, which sponsors the club as one of its activities.
Q: Do you eat at your meetings? What do you eat? Who brings the food?
A: Yes, we certainly do eat at the meetings. At least two or more members serve as the hostesses for each meeting. We also have potluck for which we do favorite salads, desserts or hors d' oeuvres.
Q: Who leads the discussion? Do you use reading group guides?
A: The facilitator usually begins the discussions, but all have input. We do not use reading group guides.
Q: What kind of books do you read?
A: We mainly read and discuss books by African American authors, both fiction and nonfiction. We have also set aside time to discuss books we read by some of our favorite non-African American authors.
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: The uniqueness of our group is that each member shares and discusses the book(s) she is currently reading. By the time you have heard what everyone is reading and why they liked a certain book or author, you have been exposed to approximately twenty or more books in one meeting. We have also received books from authors to read and review. A member will read the book and discuss it with the group, and then the book is either given as a door prize or added to the library at the center. If a member likes a particular author, they will share information on that author and read an excerpt from their favorite book. Although we only began last year, we discussed over 125 books by authors of color in 2002.
Q: What were some of the best discussions or favorite books the group read?
A: Beverly Jenkins and J. California Cooper and their books are a favorite of all the members. Sugar by Bernice McFadden is a book that is discussed at least once in every meeting, but the best discussion centered on What Becomes of the Brokenhearted by E. Lynn Harris. With E. Lynn being from Little Rock, many of the members are acquainted with him and were therefore familiar with parts of his book.
Q: How do you keep things fun?
A: We have hosted authors for book signings and co-sponsored book signings with two other bookstores. We give books as door prizes at our meetings and used one of our meetings for a book swap, which was a big success. A monthly newsletter is sent profiling a member of the group, list of upcoming books and events, and a fun question. We have theme meetings where we might have to read books from a certain genre (romance, cooking, etc…), Bring-A-Friend (male or female) and future plans include a loungewear reading party.
Q: What advice would you give to other reading groups?
A: What works for us might not work for others, but the idea of having to buy a book you don't really want to read does not work for us. Allowing the members to discuss their favorite or current read/author has exposed us to many authors, genres and books that we might not have known about or read.
Q: Is there anything else unique or noteworthy about your group that you would like to share?
A: The diversity in ages, background and reading choices makes the group unique. The ladies in the group are fun people with no attitudes or hang-ups. Everyone seems to use this as their "Me Time" for being able to socialize with someone who has the same interest, which is reading and discussing books they want to share with others.
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