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 As the winners of the ReadingGroupGuides.com contest selected  to have dinner with Robyn Carr and discuss her latest book, FOUR FRIENDS, The Spinebreakers book group had their monthly book club meeting last Friday evening at The Monaco Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Joining Robyn, who was a wonderful host for the discussion, was her daughter Jamie. FOUR FRIENDS touched on many different subjects, and it was difficult for the group to talk about them all while containing their excitement at having the author sitting across the table from them. They were trying their best not to cause Robyn to resort to taking a big dose of Dramamine as they were lobbing question after question at her from every side of the table and, heaven forbid, asking numerous questions all at the same time.

Last October we gave 150 groups a copy of THE PRESERVATIONIST by Justin Kramon, as well as the chance to meet the author. Justin visited the “Red Pages Book Club” of Secaucus, NJ on February 26th, and the members were so pleased that founder Valerie Giambona was kind enough to share their experience with ReadingGroupGuides.com. Here, Valerie talks about Justin, THE PRESERVATIONIST and why having an author visit is “the icing on the cake.”

What’s it like to have your city flooded with book people? Not so bad, according to Bookreporter.com reviewer Amy Gwiazdowski of Washington, DC, who was among the thousands in attendance at the National Book Festival on September 21st and 22nd. Luckily, Amy was willing to share her experiences about her day at the festival with all of us who weren’t there. Read on to find out which books she’s most excited about after attending, the interesting literary question the Library of Congress posed to the world at their pavilion, and the best part about getting together with fellow readers.

On September 21st and 22nd, thousands of book lovers gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Among those in attendance was Bookreporter.com reader Denise from Rockville, MD, who tries to make it to this national celebration of all things reading every year. Luckily, for those of us who weren’t there for the fun, Denise agreed to chat with us about her experiences. Here, she gives a recap of her favorite panels, shares which authors she was dying to meet most, and chimes in on the Franzen-Weiner Twitter controversy, which, in case you missed it, is the most recent literary spat grabbing headlines. She also reveals what surprised her most and gives advice for folks thinking of saving the date for next year.

After the success of last year's Hachette Reading Group Day, ReadingGroupGuides.com couldn't resist partnering with Hachette Book Group again to give readers the opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors and hear them speak about --- what else? --- books! Diana from Staten Island, NY was one of the lucky readers who attended the event on Saturday, September 7th, and was kind enough to answer a few questions about it. In this Q&A, Diana shares some of the highlights of the day, including her favorite panels and the authors who impressed her the most. She also talks about which book included in her swag bag she's most interested in reading --- and why she's lucky it's not Nicholas Dawidoff's football nonfiction, COLLISION LOW CROSSERS, which was immediately stolen by her husband!  

After the success of last year's Hachette Reading Group Day, ReadingGroupGuides.com couldn't resist partnering with Hachette Book Group again to give readers the opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors and hear them speak about --- what else? --- books! Valerie of the Red Pages Book Club in Secaucus, NJ was one of the lucky readers who attended the event on Saturday, September 7th, and she was kind enough to share some of her experiences with Bookreporter.com. Here, she talks about the panels she attended --- including her favorite, the New Adult/YA crossover, which featured effervescent authors A.S. King and Kate Locke --- some of the interesting things she learned about writers' writing processes, and all the free books she received (as well as the ones she couldn't help but buy).   

 Courtney Santo is the author of The Roots of the Olive Tree. A book about the five generations of Keller women who live in the same house in the same secluded olive grove. This novel captures the joys and sorrows of a family and the love, secrets, disappointments, jealousies and forgiveness that tie generations to one other. In this blog, Courtney talks about her experiences meeting with book clubs and the tips she gives them to have an amazing visit with an author.

Susan Henderson is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the founder of the literary blog LitPark.

A few weeks ago on Facebook, I saw author Brian Freeman mention that he was doing a book group event at a women’s prison, something he had done in the past. He mentioned that these readers asked some of the best questions that he has been asked when speaking with book groups.  Intrigued I asked this author of seven thrillers, the most recent of which is SPILLED BLOOD,  to share his thoughts on this experience with us.

Sylvia Cicetti is the mom of Bookreporter.com’s Carol Fitzgerald. An ardent Adriana Trigiani fan, she attended her event Monday night at Spring Lake Public Library in Spring Lake, N.J., which was part of Adriana’s tour for THE SHOEMAKER’S WIFE, her latest New York Times bestseller. Carol asked her mom to share her thoughts on this event in the following Q&A.