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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
August 2011 |
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Quick Links to Features on ReadingGroupGuides.com
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August: Time for Book-Related Movies and Reading |
August is shaping up to be a big month for movie releases based on books. The eagerly awaited adaptation of The Help by Kathryn Stockett hits theaters on August 10th --- and I am seeing it with a few other staffers on Thursday; I’m sure many of you feel the same way. By the way, our intern declined to join as she had not yet read the book, which I think means "read the book first" skills have properly been impressed upon her! The Help was voted the top discussion book of the past 10 years in last year’s ReadingGroupGuides.com 10th Anniversary Contest and has been a fixture on the bestseller lists since its release in February 2009. I can’t wait to read your thoughts on the film version, and please let me know if your group is doing anything special to celebrate its release.
One Day by David Nicholls (order from IndieBound or Amazon) also gets the silver screen treatment this month, hitting theaters on August 19th. It’s a love story about lovers reuniting for one day each year over the course of two decades that also has been a popular book group pick. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, and it looks like a good summer romance movie. And one evening next week I am planning to go see Sarah's Key, which is based on the enormously popular novel by Tatiana de Rosnay. It is in limited release now, but showing at a theater near here.
In late May I was interviewed for a video where I shared my thoughts about Gail Caldwell’s memoir, Let’s Take the Long Way Home, which came out in paperback this week. For those of you not familiar with it, it’s the story of Caldwell's brilliant friendship with author Caroline Knapp, who tragically died of lung cancer just weeks after being diagnosed. When I finished reading it, I found myself connecting with my friends who I had been out of touch with, as well as reflecting on friends who are no longer here. It’s the kind of book that makes you think --- a lot. Also interviewed are Kelly Corrigan, who you know from her book The Middle Place; Esther Bushell, founder of LiteraryMatters.net, who has blogged for us here at ReadingGroupGuides.com; Bethanne Patrick, a friend who also is the Editor of Shelf-Awareness.com for Readers; and Jesse Kornbluth, who co-founded Bookreporter.com with me and now is the butler you want to follow at HeadButler.com. Fun! You can watch the video here.
This month we have two special contests for you to win books. We have 15 paperback copies of Margaret Dilloway's How to Be an American Housewife for lucky readers who enter here by Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET. This novel about mothers and daughters is perfect for book clubs still making plans for late summer or fall. It’s about a mother who asks her Americanized daughter to make a trip to their native Japan to better understand her family’s heritage.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Francine Rivers’s long-time bestselling novel Redeeming Love, which is a retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea as set during the California Gold Rush. A woman who was sold into prostitution has become disillusioned at the thought of love, marriage and honesty until she meets a hard-working, upstanding farmer who looks well beyond her troubled past. Those who have read Redeeming Love are passionate about this book! Many of you already know Francine’s work from her two bestselling books we have featured: Her Mother’s Hope and Her Daughter’s Dream. As a special treat, we have three autographed copies of the book to give away to readers who enter here by Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET. Five runners-up can also win a copy of the book.
Our Registered Readers have a special opportunity to chat with debut author Vanessa Diffenbaugh, whose debut novel The Language of Flowers will be in stores August 23rd. This much-buzzed book is about a young woman named Victoria Jones who has been turned out of foster care upon turning 18. She begins tending a garden and learns that her gift for flower arrangements impacts the lives of people around her as they conjure up emotions and feelings. The book explores the Victorian language of flowers that for years has been used to demonstrate romantic expressions such as narcissus for self love, daisies for cheerfulness, and red roses for love.
Reading it I was thinking about my favorite flowers --- and flipped to the back where there is a floral guide to read their meaning. Peonies are for anger, hibiscus are for delicate beauty, and amaryllis is for pride. I am not sure what this says about me. At the recent Royal Wedding, Catherine had one of her wedding cakes designed with flowers based on this Victorian tradition, and it was such fun to read her selections after reading this book. It’s sure to spark some interesting discussions, especially if one of your hobbies is gardening like mine. And I expect these discussions to be accompanied by lovely floral displays. Maybe each member of your group can bring one to give as a gift to another member. Hmmmm…I am definitely noodling ideas here, and I am sure you will too! Three groups can win an author chat via phone or Skype by registering here.
We have a new poll this month, asking “What percentage of your book group members are using eReaders?” We asked this question earlier this year, but it’s such a hot topic that we’re curious to see how things have changed a few months later. You can vote here. Last month’s poll asking “If you could have only ONE of the following served at your book group meetings, what would you pick?” generated some interesting results. Wine garnered 41% of the vote, while dessert came in second with 26%. It’s always reassuring that our readers not just enjoy great books, but turn book group discussions into moments to entertain as well!
I’ve made two new Bets On picks on Bookreporter.com that I think reading groups will want to note. This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman centers on a family from upstate that relocates to New York City. As they adjust to life in the Big Apple, the family's 15-year-old son finds himself at the center of a video scandal involving another underaged teen. In the matter of a few clicks on the keyboard, the family's life is nearly destroyed. Check out more of my thoughts on it here and the review here.
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman is a World War II story about three women who watch the men they love march into war. Not all return, and those who do are forever changed. It’s a character-driven novel that really kept me reading. I also suggest pairing it with Margaret Leroy’s The Soldier’s Wife, which is about a forbidden romance on the British island of Guernsey as the war comes to a close. I’ve never recommended pairing two Bets On books before, but these two definitely work in tandem and will make for a lively discussion! You can read more of my thoughts about Next to Love here and the review here.
Also, our Bookreporter.com website has gone through a total redesign --- a complete new look and functionality! It just went live on Monday, so give it a look. We have been working on it since last September and are so excited to share it with you. From here, we will be redesigning the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network --- no small task as we have been around for 15 years now. For Bookreporter.com alone, we moved more than 6,400 reviews and 2,000 author features! And for the other sites --- including this one --- there is a long way to go.
Here’s wishing you and your groups a great month of reading. Enjoy summer while it’s still here!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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Special Contest: Win a Copy of HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE by Margaret Dilloway for Your Group |
We are celebrating the paperback release of How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway --- a story of a mother and her daughter reconnecting with their Japanese heritage --- with a special contest. Fifteen readers will have the opportunity to each win one copy of the book, which is in stores now, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET.
More about How to Be an American Housewife:
How to Be an American Housewife is a novel about mothers and daughters, and the pull of tradition. It tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and aspired to be a proper American housewife; and her grown daughter, Sue, a divorced mother whose life as an American housewife hasn’t been what she’d expected. When illness prevents Shoko from traveling to Japan to be reunited with her brother, she asks Sue to go in her place. The trip reveals family secrets that change their lives in dramatic and unforeseen ways. Offering an entertaining glimpse into American and Japanese family lives and their potent aspirations, this is a warm and engaging novel full of unexpected insight.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
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Click here to read all the contest details.
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Special Contest: Win a Copy of REDEEMING LOVE by Francine Rivers for Your Group |
We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers --- the acclaimed retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea as set during the California Gold Rush --- with a special contest. Three readers will have the opportunity to each win an autographed copy of the book for their group, while five readers will win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET.
More about Redeeming Love:
Bestselling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel's life to draw her into the Savior's redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold more than a million copies globally and has been a fixture on bestseller lists for nearly a decade. A six-part reading guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this bestselling novel.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
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Click here to read all the contest details.
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Now Available in Paperback: THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER by Oliver Põtzsch
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Magdalena, the clever and headstrong daughter of Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl, lives with her father outside the village walls and is destined to be married off to another hangman’s son --- except that the town physician’s son is hopelessly in love with her. It is 1659, the Thirty Years’ War has finally ended, and there hasn’t been a witchcraft mania in decades. But now, a drowning and gruesomely injured boy, tattooed with the mark of a witch, is pulled from a river and the villagers suspect the local midwife, Martha Stechlin. |
Click here to read the guide for The Hangman's Daughter.
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GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES by Jennifer Close |
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Wickedly hilarious and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tells the story of three women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love --- all while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers. Isabella, Mary and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and doll-sized cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with and the problems that come with them.
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Click here to read the guide for Girls in White Dresses.
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THE FULL MOON BRIDE by Shobhan Bantwal |
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To Soorya Giri, arranged marriages have always seemed absurd. But while her career as an environmental lawyer has flourished, Soorya is still a virgin, living with her parents in suburban New Jersey. She wants to be married. And she is finally ready to do the unthinkable. In choosing between two very different men, Soorya must reconcile her burgeoning independence and her conservative background. And she must decide what matters most to her --- not just in a husband, but in a family, a culture, and a life…
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Click here to read the guide for The Full Moon Bride.
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THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE by Cathy Lamb |
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Madeline O’Shea tells people what to do with their lives. A renowned life coach, she inspires thousands of women through her thriving practice --- exuding enviable confidence along with her stylish suits and sleek hair. But her confidence, just like her fashionable demeanor, is all a front. For decades, Madeline has lived in fear of her traumatic past becoming public. Now a reporter is reinvestigating the notorious crime that put Madeline’s mother behind bars, threatening to destroy her elaborate façade.
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Click here to read the guide for The First Day of the Rest of My Life.
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August's Registered Book Club Contest |
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For August we have a very special opportunity for Registered Book Groups. Our featured title this month is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Groups who have registered with us by Tuesday, August 16th have the chance to win an author chat and free books. If your group is not registered, click here to register.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh --- Author Chat and Book Giveaway: Three groups will have the opportunity to chat with Vanessa Diffenbaugh and receive up to 10 copies of the book.
More about The Language of Flowers:
A mesmerizing, moving and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.
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Click here to register your group.
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ReadingGroupGuides.com's Book Group Spotlight |
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Our Book Group Spotlight Feature is designed to share a selected book group with our readers. The spotlight may focus on a group's discussion of a book or on a group that we feel is particularly interesting.
If you would like your group to be interviewed for a spotlight feature like this, please contact Maureen Linehan at [email protected] with your name, the name of your group, some background on your group, and the title that you discussed. From there, we will select some groups to feature.
-Click here to read our previous Book Group Spotlight interviews.
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Click here to read more about our Book Group Spotlight feature.
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ReadingGroupGuides.com's "What to Read Next? Suggest a Book for This Group" |
Is your book group stuck in a rut? Or looking to stretch beyond its comfort zone? Maybe you’re just searching for that next great read?
We’re here to help! Our latest ReadingGroupGuides.com feature, What to Read Next? Suggest a Book for This Group, aims to help a group by taking suggestions from our thousands of book group members.
We’ll regularly feature groups, tell you something about them and share their previous six selections, and then ask you to leave a suggestion for them in our special form. We’re excited to see groups sharing picks back and forth, and hope this feature helps groups find a new favorite discussion title!
-Click here to see this month’s featured groups.
-Click here to see the suggestions for last month’s groups.
-Click here to see the suggestions for previously featured groups.
-Click here to submit your group for consideration.
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Click here to see our "What to Read Next?" feature.
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Bookreporter.com's Fall Preview Contests and Feature |
Fall is almost upon us, which is known as the biggest season of the year for books! The titles that come out in fall often become holiday gifts, and many are blockbusters. Here are some publisher picks that we know people will be talking about. Each day we will spotlight a different title and offer a contest to win one of three copies of the book. Check the site each day to see the featured book and enter to win. We also will be sending a special daily newsletter to announce each day's title, which you can sign up for here.
-Click here to see this year's featured titles.
-Click here to receive our special newsletter announcing each day’s prize book.
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Click here to read all the details of Bookreporter.com's Fall Preview Contests and Feature.
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Bookreporter.com Bets On: THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Helen Schulman and NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman |
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This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman (Fiction)
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman is a haunting novel about what happens to a family when a 15-year-old boy gets an inappropriate video from a young girl he knows --- and forwards it on. This seemingly small action snowballs, and suddenly two kids are fodder for the tabloids in a story that will not go away. In the world as we know it now, stories go viral, the Internet has its own fingerprints, and visual memories are a mere click away.
-Click here to read more of Carol Fitzgerald's thoughts about This Beautiful Life.
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman (Historical Fiction)
In Next to Love by Ellen Feldman, three young women --- Babe, Millie and Grace --- who live in a small town in Massachusetts all send the men they love off to fight in World War II. Not everyone returns, and those who do are profoundly changed, reminding us that the scars of war run deeper than the day that victory is won. This character-rich story begins before the men head out and continues right through the early '60s.
-Click here to read more of Carol Fitzgerald's thoughts about Next to Love.
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Click here to see all the books we're betting you'll love.
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New Guides Now Available |
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Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund: Set against the searing debate between evolutionists and creationists, Adam & Eve is a thriller, a romance, an adventure, an idyll --- a tour de force from Sena Jeter Naslund, one of the most imaginative and inspired writers of our time.
The Call by Yannick Murphy: A father desperately tries to keep his family together as they cope with the aftermath of a hunting accident that leaves their eldest son in a coma.
Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy: The lives of three strangers intersect in the searing summer heat of Athens as they explore the ancient city, and their own lives, together.
The First Day of the Rest of My Life by Cathy Lamb: A successful life coach finds her prominent public image threatened with the revelation of a horrible family tragedy from her past.
The Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal: A young Indian woman finds herself at the crossroads of independence and cultural tradition when her family begins arranging her marriage.
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close: A group of friends navigate their lives amidst the commotion of weddings and bridal showers that serve to remind them they’re all unlucky in love.
The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard: Two girls born on the same day to very different families find their lives weaving together over several decades.
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch: The Hangman’s Daughter is a rich, historical tale of a witch hunt and fanaticism in 17th-century Bavaria.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: An amateur florist discovers that her understanding of plants and the moods they convey can truly help those around her.
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson: The Lantern is a modern gothic novel of love, secrets and murder --- set against the lush backdrop of Provence.
Layla by Céline Keating: An antiwar activist reflects on her past while trying to understand the current state of political unrest.
My Two Wives and Three Husbands: A True Love Story by S. Stanley Gordon: This is the true story of one man searching for love in both the straight and gay communities over several decades.
The Submission by Amy Waldman: In an ambitious reimagining of 9/11, a committee selects a memorial design only to learn that its creator is Muslim.
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman: A devastating exploration of the blurring boundaries of privacy and the fragility of self, this clear-eyed portrait of modern life will have readers debating their assumptions about family, morality, and the sacrifices and choices we make in the name of love.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway: A daughter's journey to Japan helps her connect with her family's heritage and understand the struggles of her immigrant mother.
My Hollywood by Mona Simpson: A Hollywood housewife and Filipino nanny discover they much in common despite their drastically different lifestyles and cultures.
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell: A blazingly original debut novel that takes us back to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine.
The following new guide is now available for Christian book groups:
Blue Skies Tomorrow: Wings of Glory, Book 3 by Sarah Sundin: A pilot and a volunteer find love amidst the throes of World War II combat in the final volume of this popular series.
The Colonel’s Lady by Laura Frantz: A young woman seeks her soldier father along the Kentucky frontier only to find herself longing for his commanding officer.
River’s Song: The Inn at Shining Waters, Book 1 by Melody Carlson: A widow returns to her childhood home to find perspective on her troubled life and reconnects with her Native American heritage.
Wings of Promise: Alaskan Skies, Book Two by Bonnie Leon: A woman finds herself torn between her love for a fellow bush pilot and a handsome doctor in the untamed frontier of Alaska.
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This Month's Poll and Newsletter Contest Book |
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Poll:
What percentage of your book group members are using eReaders?
10%
25%
50%
75%
100%
No one in my group is using eReaders.
I'm not sure.
I'm not in a book group.
-Click here to answer our poll.
Newsletter Contest:
Win a copy of The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh for your reading group!
To be a group to win 20 free copies of this book, all you have to do is sign up for the ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter by September 1, 2011. If you are receiving this newsletter in your mailbox, you already are signed up!
More about The Language of Flowers:
A mesmerizing, moving and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.
-Click here to read all the contest details.
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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, GraphicNovelReporter.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com and AuthorYellowPages.com.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107
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