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We recently asked our newsletter readers to let us know how their book group will be celebrating the holidays this year. Many thanks to all who shared their holiday plans with us! Perhaps they will provide some last-minute ideas to those who need them.

Besides looking at discussion guides, what does your group do to prep for conversation about the book for your book group meeting? We posed this question to our readers, and you gave us some terrific ideas. Many thanks to all who let us know how they approach their discussions; as always, your feedback is much appreciated!

The Morristown Festival of Books on October 11th and 12th is THE place for readers, authors, aspiring authors and all who love new ideas. With 24 sessions to choose from --- three moderated by our own Carol Fitzgerald --- deciding which ones to attend is not easy and maybe even a test of your personality traits. Do you go to hear an author who you have read and love, or do you move out of your comfort zone and attend a session about a book or an author you have not read or perhaps have not even heard of? My friend and fellow book club member Donna and I did a little of both and were not disappointed.

A number of readers wrote to us about “Books in a Bag” programs at their local library after Carol Fitzgerald mentioned that a member of her Long Hill Book Group discovered this service, where a library supplies multiple copies of a book and discussion materials. So many good ideas came from you that we decided to turn your comments and feedback into a blog piece.

Our reader Nancy Sharko was at the 19th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on August 31st and shares her experiences with us in this blog post. Here, she talks about the panels she attended, featuring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Beth Macy, Sara Paretsky, Laila Lalami and many more.  

How do you kill someone underwater? And how do you make the best whoopee pie? If these questions even vaguely pique your interest, then William Morrow’s Book Club Girl “Night Out” event, which took place on Wednesday, June 19th at the HarperCollins offices in New York City, would have made your night, as it did for me, a longtime reader of Bookreporter.com. The evening featured authors Joshilyn Jackson and Meg Mitchell Moore being interviewed by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network.

Nancy Sharko, one of our longtime readers, attended the Third Annual Maplewood-South Orange Book Festival in South Orange, NJ on Saturday, June 8th and was kind enough to share her experiences with us. According to their website, the festival “brings together readers and authors in celebration of the joy and diversity of the written word. Our informative author panels highlight the major artistic, social and political issues of the day, while our vibrant and fun-filled children’s area allow our youngest readers to discover the importance and delight of books --- and meet many of their favorite authors!”

On Saturday, May 18th, the city of Gaithersburg, MD (suburban DC) hosted its TENTH annual book festival; I can hardly wait until next year. The festival is a little bit of Americana. Here’s a little about its history. It is great every year, and it gets better every year: that is a good trick!

Linda Johnson, one of our longtime readers, has written a wonderful piece for us about Booktopia, which takes place each year at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. It is a weekend full of highly acclaimed authors, enthusiastic readers, games, food, drink, laughter, new and old friends, and great conversations. As you can see in her blog post, Linda and Booktopia have quite a history together. This year’s event will happen on May 3rd and 4th, and a few tickets are still available if you’re interested in attending.

On Monday, April 1st, one of our longtime readers, Annmarie Puleio (along with some of her book-loving friends), attended William Morrow's third Book Club Girls’ Night Out at the HarperCollins offices in New York City. The featured guests were New York Times bestselling author Taya Kyle, who talked about her latest book, AMERICAN SPIRIT, and Claire Gibson, who discussed her debut novel, BEYOND THE POINT. Read on as Annmarie shares her insights on the evening, which she describes as fast-paced, enthusiastic and upbeat. And many thanks to Kate Hudkins from William Morrow for providing us with the photos that you see throughout this blog.