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June 24, 2009

Book Clubs' Summer Plans

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In a recent ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter we asked if book clubs do anything different during the summer months. Some groups change up their meetings, while others forego getting together --- which, as one person noted, means more time for lengthy solo reads like Ken Follett's 1,024-page novel World Without End. And for some book clubs, although the discussions might be on hold, it doesn't mean gatherings necessarily stop.
Sonja Somerville, Robin Beerbower and Liz Hughes from the Salem Public Library in Salem, Oregon, have teamed up to tell us about The Local News by Miriam Gershow. Along with their thoughts on the debut novel, they've crafted questions you can use if your group decides to discuss the book.
June 22, 2009

Talking About Chris Cleave's LITTLE BEE

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RGG.com contributor Heather Johnson's book club recently read Chris Cleave's Little Bee, the story of a Nigerian girl orphaned by violence whose life intersects with those of a British couple on holiday. Heather shares the varied reactions of her book group members to the novel.
June 19, 2009

Results of 2009 Book Group Survey

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ReadingGroupGuides.com recently conducted a survey of book group members. Many, many thanks to the more than 7,700 respondents who completed the 62-question survey, weighing in on topics like where they get information, if they use online social and book networking websites, and whether their book-buying habits have changed in the last year.
June 18, 2009

News from the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs

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Lists, lists, lists. In a recent ReadingGroupGuides.com survey (results coming soon), book club members indicated they like lists of recommended reading selections. In The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life, RGG.com blog contributor Kathy L. Patrick has lots of them, including summer reading suggestions. It's also the story of how books changed her life.
June 17, 2009

Talking with Julie Metz

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Here at ReadingGroupGuides.com we've been talking about Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz --- and telling others about it, too. After her husband Henry's sudden death in his early 40s, Julie discovered that for years he had been cheating on her, including an affair with the mother of one of her daughter's friends.
June 16, 2009

Book Club Facilitators Sound Off

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At the BookExpo America trade show a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with four fabulous book club facilitators: Jill Campbell, Katherine Schulz, Marsha Toy Engstrom and RGG.com blog contributor Esther Bushell.
June 15, 2009

What Would You Ask Mary Kay Andrews?

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The HarperCollins Publishers' library marketing team, headed by Virginia Stanley, shares reading suggestions and more on the blog LibraryLoveFest.
June 12, 2009

Talking with Lisa See

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Lisa See's new novel, Shanghai Girls, explores the complex bonds of sisterhood in the face of clashing cultures and personal hardships over two volatile decades in the first half of the 20th century. Today we talk with Lisa about Shanghai Girls, what aspects of the story she's particularly looking forward to discussing...and what she loves most about book clubs.
June 11, 2009

Patti Callahan Henry in the Spotlight

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Patti Callahan Henry stopped by The Book Report Network offices last month, and we taped a quick video interview with her (with my Flip camera). We hope to do more of these with authors who come by in the weeks and months to come.