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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
September 2006
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Hitting the Books
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I cannot believe it's September and that my boys are back in school. While we did a lot this summer, I still find myself questioning where the summer went! Last week we spent a lovely week on the Outer Banks. You can read my blog about what I read here. Please note that there are two blogs on this same page. The first one has my reflections on two books that were written by 9/11 widows. Scroll down for the vacation reading one, or read both at the same time!
I feel like while my children are headed back to the books, so am I as we are planning fall, holiday and winter editorial at the office. I will share that this reading is a lot more pleasurable than the reading I did during high school and college!
There's lots of news to share beginning that this Saturday, Lifetime will air the premiere of the movie adaptation of THE MERMAID CHAIR by Sue Monk Kidd at 9ET. It will be re-aired on Sunday and Monday. Our movie and film maven, Jennifer Krieger, has more about this in this month's Books Into Movies feature on Bookreporter.com.
The September/October issue of Pages magazine has our latest "In the Club" column where we interview authors about their experiences chatting it up with book clubs. Included are comments from Mary Kay Andrews, Loraine Despres, Connie May Fowler, Robert Hicks, Cassandra King, Phillip Margolin, Kris Radish, Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi and Lisa See. We ended up with so much great material for this feature that we will have more from authors in the November/December issue. It was fun talking to authors and hearing their stories.
In other book club-related news we read that White Ghost Girls, which came out in paperback in February, is Costco's Book Club Pick of the Month. We loved this book about two sisters growing up in Hong Kong during the summer of 1967, and it's great that it is being spotlighted like this now.
We have four new interviews this month, one with Dana Barrett from Coffee Buy the Book in Roswell, GA, who I met while at a conference in Atlanta. It's fun when relationships come out of these random meetings that I can share with you.
Shannon McKenna, our ReadingGroupGuides.com Editor, and I have an idea of pulling together ideas for books that thematically work well together such as the combo we had a couple of months ago about To Kill a Mockingbird, Mockingbird, Capote, the movie and In Cold Blood. We would love to have these as suggestions for groups who want to read around a theme or an idea instead of just title by title. If any of you have suggestions along these lines, please send them to [email protected]. We are looking for more than just a book/movie tie-in, but rather thematic packages. I even am thinking about titles that all take place during the same time period. We will keep thinking on this, but I would love your ideas, as well.
Our lineup includes a book that I enjoyed called River's Edge by Marie Bostwick, a story of a young German woman who is sent by her father to live in Connecticut during World War II. It's an interesting perspective on how war affected people beyond the bullets and the fighting. Also, we have a guide for Helen of Troy by Margaret George. I first met Margaret about five years ago when we first worked on building her website. Her book, Mary, Called Magdalene, had just come out. She told me we could expect her next book in four years as she would spend two years researching it and another two writing it. She has some terrific background material on her website about her research methods that I have enjoyed reading. Helen of Troy is also our newsletter contest prize this month!
Read on for info on how you could win a chat with Jennifer Weiner. I have met Jennifer on more than one occasion and I can assure you that book clubs would have a great time chatting with her. Some authors write well, but are not as much fun to chat with. Jennifer is witty, self-deprecating and wildly fun.
Our Registered Book Clubs will have two offers this month to chat with Riley Weston, author of Before I Go, and Julia Spencer-Fleming, author of All Mortal Flesh. Your club needs to be registered by September 15th to be eligible. You can sign up here, if you are not registered already.
Here's to a great September, which here in the NY/NJ area is one of the prettiest times of the year. I love working with my window open and the sun shining. Have a great month and enjoy this month's discussion with your group.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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Click here to see our 10th Anniversary Page.
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Now Available in Paperback: THE HISTORY OF LOVE by Nicole Krauss
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A lost book reappears, drawing together the lives of the irrepressible Leo Gursky who has arrived at the end of his life, a locksmith searching for the son who's never known him, and young Alma Singer, desperate to find her namesake and a cure for her mother's loneliness. Gradually their stories merge into a single triumph of the imagination over loss.
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Click here to read our guide for The History of Love.
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HELEN OF TROY by Margaret George
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A lush, seductive novel of the legendary beauty whose face "launched a thousand ships"
Daughter of a god, wife of a king, prize of antiquity's bloodiest war, Helen of Troy has inspired artists for millennia. Now Margaret George, the highly acclaimed bestselling historical novelist, has turned her intelligent, perceptive eye to the myth that is Helen of Troy.
-For more visit MargaretGeorge.com.
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Click here to read our guide for Helen of Troy.
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THE GUY NOT TAKEN --- New From Jennifer Weiner
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For the first time ever, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner collects her own short stories in one truthful, poignant and hilarious collection. From a wedding registry fantasy (or nightmare) to Bruce Guberman's side of the Good in Bed story, Weiner's fans will love these satisfying and diverse morsels.
The characters in these stories, vulnerable but full of hope, seek the strength to choose their own paths without looking back at "the guy not taken."
Book Clubs: Click here to enter for a chance to win an exclusive evening with Jennifer Weiner.
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-Click here to read the guide for The Guy Not Taken.
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ABIDING DARKNESS by John Aubrey Anderson
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Turmoil comes to what was peaceful Mississippi cotton country in 1945 when good and evil go to war at Cat Lake. Missy and Bobby Parker, white children from a privileged family, and Junior Washington, their black friend, are caught in the epicenter of the first battle.
In the aftermath, Missy takes up a life mission that fuels the fire of aggression in the evil lurking in the lake. The war destroys lives in and around Missy's family and community. The lives of the Parker and Washington families, linked for generations by land and work, are now bound by spiritual warfare.
Missy struggles to find the strength to endure the onslaught. With the help of supernatural guardians and the spiritual guidance and love of both families, Missy must come to terms with the truth about the malevolent plot against her-or die trying.
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Click here to read our guide for Abiding Darkness.
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YOU'VE GOT TO READ THIS BOOK! by Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks
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There's nothing better than a book you can't put down --- or better yet, a book you'll never forget. This book puts the power of transformational reading into your hands. Jack Canfield, cocreator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, and self-actualization pioneer Gay Hendricks have invited notable people to share personal stories of books that changed their lives. What book shaped their outlook and habits? Helped them navigate rough seas? Spurred them to satisfaction and success?
If you're looking for insight and illumination --- or simply for that next great book to read --- You've Got to Read This Book! has treasures in store for you.
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Click here to read our guide for You've Got to Read This Book!
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THE VOTE by Sybil Downing
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In the early summer of 1918 when American men are fighting in Europe, Kate Brennan is in a cab on the way to Washington's Union station. A sheltered, upper-class college graduate, she is going home to resume a life she dreads. As the cab passes the White House, she sees a line of suffragists holding banners. The surly crowd gathered nearby suddenly surges forward and Kate dashes across the street to help. Police arrive. She and the suffragists are arrested. And without benefit of a lawyer or a trial, they are sentenced to fourteen days in the Occoquan Workhouse, a "model" prison in the Virginia countryside.
The Vote is the riveting story of women who face prison, ridicule, and the destruction of their private lives in the final (and almost-forgotten) battle for women's right to vote. Seen through the eyes of three remarkable women, The Vote is about courage and love and the value of personal integrity as timely as today's headlines.
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Click here to read our guide for The Vote.
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Special Opportunities for Registered Book Groups --- Two Special Offers
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This month we are running the following contests for Book Groups that have registered with us by September 15th.
Book Giveaway and Author Chat --- All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming: Three groups will win the opportunity to chat with Julia Spencer-Fleming and receive 12 copies of All Mortal Flesh for their Group.
More about All Mortal Flesh:
One horrible murder. Two people destined for love or tragedy. Emotions explode in the novel Julia Spencer-Fleming's readers have been clamoring for.
Obsession. Lies. Nothing is as it seems in Millers Kill, where betrayal twists old friendships and evil waits inside quaint white clapboard farmhouses.
Book Giveaway and Author Chat --- Before I Go by Riley Weston: Two groups will win the opportunity to chat with Riley Weston and receive 12 copies of Before I Go for their group.
More about Before I Go:
Before I Go is a touching story of family, love and the will of the human spirit. It centers on the relationship of Annie, an ice skating coach who gave up on her dream long ago and young Olympic hopeful, Madison Henry. What makes this team different from the rest is...Annie and Madison happen to be mother and daughter. Jack has been Madison's only friend since she was six years old and now ten years later, she is completely oblivious to his deep feelings for her. When tragedy strikes unexpectedly, Madison is forced to look at her life differently...and accept one without skating. Only after she opens her heart entirely does she understand the magnitude of the sacrifices her mother made, realize the depth of Jack's love and know in her heart that she was blessed in every way.
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Click here to register your group.
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ReadingGroupGuides.com Message Board --- Join the Conversation
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Our discussion question is about summer meeting habits for groups. How does your group handle summer? Do you meet less often? Are your reading choices different? Weigh in here.
In the interest of reading together, we have selected some titles that we will be discussing on our ReadingGroupGuides.com message board through September. Our selections are below, along with brief descriptions of them and links to where you can log on and talk about them:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: You can weigh in here.
Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler and Milk Glass Moon known as the Stone Gap Trilogy by Adriana Trigiani: You can weigh in here.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: You can weigh in here.
More Message Board News:
We wanted to create an option for readers to be able to post their own threads and host their own discussions on the ReadingGroupGuides.com Message Board. We had heard from a number of readers asking about this and we are happy to offer this opportunity. This is a place where you can start a discussion topic for your own book groups. Or, you can utilize our boards to start and host an ongoing discussion among members of your group for any reason. With summer, we are thinking about members who perhaps are traveling and still would like to weigh in.
Whether you need to work on scheduling, want to choose a new book, or just chat, the ReadingGroupGuides.com Message Board has a lot to offer. Please remember that no topic is private; you may have new friends joining your group when you start posting!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email our Moderator Anne --- you can send her a note at [email protected].
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Click here to visit the ReadingGroupGuides.com Message Board.
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How to Register Your Group With ReadingGroupGuides.com
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Each month book clubs that are registered with ReadingGroupGuides.com are offered exciting opportunities that include chats with authors, book giveaways and more.
ReadingGroupGuides.com offers registered groups the chance to enhance the experience of being part of a book club with these kinds of exclusive offers. More than 4,500 groups already are registered with us.
More than 4,400 groups already are registered with us. Registration is free and easy. Along with the regular ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter, registered readers receive an exclusive monthly mailing with descriptions for all the giveaways going on that month and details on how to enter.
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Click here to register your group.
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The Book Report Network Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
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We are thrilled to be celebrating our 10th Anniversary here at The Book Report Network and we want to hear from you! When did you first start visiting ReadingGroupGuides.com? When did you become a registered reader? What is your favorite thing about the site? Do you and your group have any special memories you want to share? Send your Anniversary Wishes to [email protected] and click here to see what other readers have told us about their bookish memories
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Click here to visit our 10th Anniversary page.
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Poll |
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Do you work with your local library for help with your book club's selections?
-Yes, all of the time.
-Some of the time
-Never
Is your library helpful with their suggestions?
-Yes
-No
-We do not use the library for our book club.
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Click here to answer the poll.
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This Month's Contest: Win 20 Copies of HELEN OF TROY by Margaret George |
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A subscription to our newsletter is all you need to be entered in our monthly contest. This month, one lucky reader will win up to 20 copies of Helen of Troy for his or her entire reading group.
-Click here to read more about Helen of Troy.
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Read contest details here.
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Do you like what you see here, and want to forward it to a friend? Then click our link on the bottom of the page to do just that!
Happy reading. We'll see you next month.
Don't forget to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: Bookreporter.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, FaithfulReader.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107 |
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