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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
December 2006
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Happy Holidays
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I'm thrilled to share with you guides for two books that we have received repeated requests for from our readers --- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I feel that in delivering these guides we are giving our version of a great holiday gift to book club readers.
My staff can attest that I knew Water for Elephants was going to be a best-loved read and a great discussion title from the night I burned through an advance reader copy. I emailed our editorial team in the wee hours of the next morning to make sure we got it on a review list. It was such an unexpected story told in a simple lovely way. Who knew I could feel such a deep sympathy for --- and connection with --- an elephant! Also, I loathe the circus, but still loved this story. When I travel, attending and speaking at various conferences, I always make it a point to stop into local independent bookstores and talk to their owners --- looking at the books they have prominently displayed and getting their opinions on what their customers (the most vocal of whom are often book groups) are looking for. In the spring, EVERYONE at the stores I visited was talking about Water for Elephants before it hit stores and got its first critical buzz.
The Faith Club is the truly wonderful story of three women who join together to talk and learn more about each other's faiths. A few years ago I attended a special seminar where the book Abraham was discussed. Abraham is the only common figure in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. I remember walking out and thinking that we should be taught about other faiths at the same time we learn the beliefs of our own. Understanding can lead to tolerance. This book shares the bumps and joys that these women went through as they pursued this goal and it's really good reading that you may want to share with friends outside your book club.
Our registered book group opportunity promises 10 groups the chance to win a chat with author Elizabeth Wrenn, whose book Around the Next Corner is a witty and poignant debut novel about a mother of three suffering from a case of middle-aged invisibility and a soon-to-be-empty nest --- who finds solace and companionship where she least expects it.
This month we also bring you our personal "Best Of" lists, which include 15 titles that are our New Favorites and 30 Ongoing Favorites. Take a look. Our poll asks if you and your group rate the books you choose to read. I read many many books and I read fast, but I still have no trouble keeping track of the books that I have loved, the books that surprised me and the books that simply never did anything for me, but I do not keep lists. Two interesting examples: When everyone was raving about James Frey and A Million Little Pieces, I just couldn't figure out what the hype was all about. Conversely, when I read Setting the Table, the new book by restaurateur Danny Meyer, I loved it so much I ordered a copy for each member of my staff. Taste is relative and I appreciate all the good books that are out there, to suit every literary palate.
I'm still in the midst of holidaze madness, but I think I've got most of my shopping under control...at least I hope I do. For those of you still stumped on gift ideas, be sure to peruse our What to Give/What to Get Guide on Bookreporter.com, our Great Books for Boys list on Kidsreads.com and our Ultimate Teen Reading List on Teenreads.com (more details of all are below). I've talked to mothers who are printing the lists on our kids and teens sites out and bringing them along as they do their holiday shopping --- sounds like a good plan to me.
Thank you to all the wonderful ReadingGroupGuides.com readers and book groups who have made this year truly special for us. And what a year it's been! We've celebrated our 10th Anniversary as a company, added new members to our staff, got some major press including a piece in the Wall Street Journal this week and nearly doubled our number of registered book groups. So Happy Holidays from all of us here at ReadingGroupGuides.com --- thanks for making our year truly special and see you in 2007.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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THE FAITH CLUB by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner
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"Welcome to the Faith Club. We're three mothers from three faiths -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism --- who got together to write a picture book for our children that would highlight the connections between our religions. But no sooner had we started talking about our beliefs and how to explain them to our children than our differences led to misunderstandings. Our project nearly fell apart."
After September 11th, Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, faced constant questions about Islam, God, and death from her children, the only Muslims in their classrooms. Inspired by a story about Muhammad, Ranya reached out to two other mothers --- a Christian and a Jew --- to try to understand and answer these questions for her children. After just a few meetings, however, it became clear that the women themselves needed an honest and open environment where they could admit --- and discuss --- their concerns, stereotypes, and misunderstandings about one another. After hours of soul-searching about the issues that divided them, Ranya, Suzanne, and Priscilla grew close enough to discover and explore what united them.
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Click here to read our guide for The Faith Club.
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WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen
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An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford..
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Click here to read our guide for Water for Elephants.
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Guide Now Available: THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls
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The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.
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Click here to read the guide for The Glass Castle.
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ReadingGroupGuides.com Best Guides of 2006
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Here's the annual list of our 15 new favorites and 30 ongoing favorite book titles for book club discussions for 2006, gathered by the editors of ReadingGroupGuides.com. See if your group agrees with our choices, and make your own list of favorites!
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Click here to see our Best of 2006 roundup.
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Special Opportunity for Registered Book Groups: Elizabeth Wrenn, Author of AROUND THE NEXT CORNER
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This month we have the following very special opportunity for Book Groups that have registered with us by Tuesday, December 19th.
Book Giveaway and Author Chat --- 10 groups will win the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth Wrenn and receive 12 books for their group.
More about Around the Next Corner:
For Deena Munger, the transformation to underappreciated housewife was subtle and gradual. She loved her family dearly, but Deena was starting to wonder: When did I disappear? And how come I never even noticed?
Then one day she stuns her family by volunteering to raise a puppy for K-9 Eyes for the blind. Suddenly the stability of Deena's life is turned upside down. And, it turns out, this rambunctious, impulsive ball of fur could actually be the damage control she needs to save her family, her marriage, and her self....
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Click here to register your group.
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Holiday Gift Ideas from Bookreporter.com, Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com
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Stumped on what to get for all the people on your Holiday List? Get a jump on holiday shopping with our What to Give, What to Get Holiday Gift Guide, which spotlights books in a host of popular categories such as cookbooks, humor, sports, games, stocking stuffers, fiction, mysteries, and more. It also includes holiday gift ideas for kids and teens! Click here to check out the What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide.
More great gift ideas for kids and teens can be found on our Great Books for Boys list on Kidsreads.com and the Ultimate Teen Reading List on Teenreads.com.
Carol and her 11-year-old son, Cory --- an avid and a discerning reader --- came up with the Great Books for Boys feature as a way to spotlight how many terrific books for boys are being published now. Check out our Great Books for Boys feature here.
One of our goals each month is to inspire teens to read --- and to keep reading. We have found that required reading lists for school --- especially summer reading lists --- are not exactly inspiring. Thus we have created what we think is the Ultimate Teen Reading List --- over 250 titles that we think are perfect choices for reading and discussing. Our dream is that schools will use this list to help them make their own for summer reading, or even better, suggest that students just read what they want from this list. Click here to check out the list --- it's bound to give you some great gift ideas and make you feel nostalgic for the books you've read and loved.
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Guides Now Available in Paperback
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Please note that these titles, for which we already had guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Loved Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Money, A Memoir by Liz Perle
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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. Also, since Spring 2006 Registered Groups have received additional exclusive content each month in their Registered Book Club newsletters.
More than 4,600 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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Poll
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Does your group pick a list of the "best books of the year" from the list that you have discussed?
Yes
No, but this is a good idea.
No
Does your group rate the books that you read for discussion?
Yes
No, but this is a good idea.
No
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Click here to answer our poll.
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Tip for December and January
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December's Tip:
Each bring a children's book to your meeting and donate it to a local school or shelter.
January's Tip:
Share your favorite title about self-improvement with members of your group.
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Click here for more tips.
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This Month's Contest: Win 20 Copies of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen
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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 Water for Elephants for his or her entire reading group.
-Click here to read more about Water for Elephants.
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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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