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If, like me, you were intrigued by the Australian setting of THE SLAP by Christos Tsiolkas, you might be interested in checking out another interesting read set in Australia.  Originally published in August of 2009,

Ah New Year's resolutions...  You almost can't help but make them.  There's something about the first day of the new year that just makes you feel like you can do better or more or less or whatever the case may be. Gym attendance in January is proof positive of this phenomenon.  But what about some resolutions for your book club?  Here are a few you might think about:

Happy New Year to all of our Reading Group Guides readers, supporters, guest bloggers, regular contributors and friends. We want to thank you for being a part of our family this year and look forward to sharing more great tips, authors, and of course reading group guides with you in 2011!

In today's guest post, Jamie Layton, Manager of Duck's Cottage presents her top 14 books from 2010 and compares her list to well... everyone else's.  Why stop at 10 when you can have 14? At midnight Christmas Day it seems every news outlet, daily show or radio station starts bringing out the TOP TEN lists. TOP TEN news events of the year… TOP TEN celebrity divorces… TOP TEN baby names… think of something- anything!- and I guarantee there’s an end of year list celebrating its high (and low) lights.  So out of curiosity, I thought I’d take a look at the Duck’s Cottage top bestsellers of 2010. Then I compared them to the just released ABA 2010 Indie Bestseller Lists. We’re a really, small store, with limited space and a very discriminating inventory, that typically my weekly bestsellers don’t correlate to national lists and I suspected this would be the same for the end of the year as well. Without further ado… (drum roll please) In the number ONE position at DUCK’S COTTAGE for TWO THOUSAND TEN….. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson (trade paperback). Guess what… it also occupied the number one slot over on the ABA list!  At number TWO, selling 112 books this year, Justin Halpern’s SH*T MY DAD SAYS….over on the ABA list it comes in at number three on the non-fiction hardback list. Hmmm… perhaps we have more in common with THE lists than I thought? Number 3- TIMELY VISION, a small mass market mystery by Joyce and Jim Lavene that just happens to be set in our little town of Duck. We sold over 100 copies of this book largely due to creative sign placement and hand selling. Don’t think I’ll find this on ANY national lists but one of the beauties of small independent bookstores is that  we sell books the other guys don’t! Number FOUR is another book of primarily local interest- a photographic collaboration by Steve Alterman and Mark Buckler called Coastal Wild; a beautiful coffee table book of wildlife photographs from the Outer Banks.

Rah, rah, sis boom bah - go Book Clubs!  In today's guest post we have a visit from The Book Club Cheerleader (BCC), Marsha Toy Engstrom.  She shares her winning rules for book clubs with us as we gear up for another great year of reading!

This month in the news there are long lasting book clubs, book clubs for the homeless and famous adults making interesting book club choices. 2TheAdvocate.com: Book club reaches milestone

If you're unfortunate enough to be back stuck behind your desk today, so sorry!  The week between Christmas and New Year's is somehow both the easiest and the most difficult time to be back at work.

As many of you take off on your holiday adventures with your book club book tucked under your arm or safely stowed in your carry on bag, we here at Reading Group Guides want to wish you safe travels, happy days with your friends and family, and a couple of good uninterrupted hours by the fire with your favorite book and a

BookReporter.com wants to know what you think of their Book of the Year and Series of the Decade.  Yup - if you haven't already checked it out - they selected THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST as Book of the

In today's guest post, Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian at the Austin Public Library and our resident graphic novel expert shares her book clubs' experience this month!   This month Austin Public Library’s Graphic Novels Book Club read Sloth by Gilbert Hernandez, a stand-alone, short graphic novel by the co-creator of the very popular Love & Rockets series. Hernandez tells a story of three angsty teens, Lita, Miguel, and Romeo, growing up in a small town with about as many lemon orchards as people. In black and white, cartoonish but evocative panels, Hernandez weaves a somewhat complicated story of love and identity. While most of us were baffled trying to find meaning in some of the plot choices, we still had an interesting conversation about the trials of being a teenager and David Lynchian plot twists.   Hernandez captures the loneliness of growing up in a small town through the ominous lemon trees surrounding it. The story starts off with Miguel explaining a coma he was in for one year that he actually willed himself in and out of as a way to escape everyday life. We discussed the typical stereotype of the angst-ridden, dissatisfied teen and the ways the characters exemplified it, as well as our own experiences at the same age. It might have been easy to write off some of Miguel’s attitudes as simply the norm for his age, but a number of astute, wise-beyond-the-years comments had us sympathizing with him a great deal.