Blog
Elizabeth Strout was awarded a 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for Olive Kitteridge, a collection of 13 short stories set in a small Maine town.
Sarah Dunant's vibrant historical novel The Birth of Venus is set in Florence, Italy, and In the Company of the Courtesan uses Venice as its backdrop.
Looking for a few good books to read this summer? Kathy L.
In today's guest post, historical novelist Sally Gunning shares her thoughts on meeting with book clubs --- the things she expected and the "delightful surprises" that she didn't.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows unfolds the story of a group of residents on the English Channel island of Guernsey, who formed a book club as an alibi while the isle was occupied by Nazis during World War II. Today's guest blogger, Annie reveals what line spoken by the novel's character Juliet Ashton really resonates with her.
Randy Sue Coburn's novel A Better View of Paradise unfolds the story of 36-year-old landscape designer Stevie Pollack, whose professional and personal lives unravel. Leaving Chicago behind, she returns to her roots on an Hawaiian island. When she learns that her father is dying, what began as a holiday escape becomes a chance for transformation. In today's guest blog post, Randy Sue talks about some of the real-life inspiration she drew on for the novel.
Every once in a while a book comes along that gives me pause and makes me appreciate the little --- and big --- things in life a whole lot more. How Shall I Tell the Dog?: And Other Final Musings by Miles Kington did that as I spent an afternoon in late May reading an advance copy. After Kington, a humor columnist for a London newspaper, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he began writing down the thoughts that came to him as he mused on his exit from this world.
Laura Dave's novel The Divorce Party is the story of two women at opposite ends of marriage, one on the brink of divorce after 35 years and the other engaged. Today we talk with Laura about how reading groups have responded to the two main characters, some of the research she did for the novel and the increasing media attention for real-life divorce parties.
In The Beijing of Possibilities, a collection of linked stories, Jonathan Tel chose to intersperse black-and-white photos in with the text. In today's guest blog post he talks about why he wanted to do this and how it enhances the stories --- and about the trip he took to Beijing special to shoot the images.
Yesterday we shared a list of 15 nonfiction books that reading group members are discussing. Here are some comments about specific titles they shared with us.
