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One of my favorite parts of my job is conducting interviews for REAL TALK: Publishing. I get to meet people with the most interesting jobs, and, like our readers, get a sneak peek into a side of the book industry that I likely know little about. Preparing for our upcoming REAL TALK interview with audiobook producer/director May Wuthrich was no exception, and actually, it was extra special, because it came with a field trip! May invited me to watch an hour of her recording session with Mozhan Marnò (“House of Cards” fans will recognize her as reporter Ayla Sayyad), who was narrating READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN author Azar Nafisi’s newest book, THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION: America in Three Books. Here are a few of the most interesting things I discovered:
Last week, Lorenzo Carcaterra and his daughter, Kate, introduced us to the book group that they both belong to, The Red Table Book Club (which you can read all about here). Lorenzo mentioned that the group was visited by another author, Julia Dahl, to discuss her book, INVISIBLE CITY. Here, he shares what that experience was like, including how funny and sharp Julia was, why he loves being a part of his daughter's book group and how wonderful and supportive the writing community proves time and time again to be.
A few months ago, mystery writer William Kent Krueger had the honor of having his most recent novel, ORDINARY GRACE, chosen as a One Book-One Community Read in South Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. The One Book-One Community program seeks to promote family and community interaction through reading the same book. In this case, ORDINARY GRACE was the perfect choice, as Minnesota is not only Krueger's home state, but the setting for many of his books. We recently had the opportunity to ask Krueger a few questions about the event, from how his novel was selected to how he handled the community discussion and what comments surprised him most.
Last week, Carol Fitzgerald, President of The Book Report Network, was invited to join members of The League, a New York-based book group, as they met with author Daisy Goodwin and discussed her latest book, THE FORTUNE HUNTER. The event was hosted by St. Martin's Press, and was a wild success: "an easy, fun night." Here, Carol shares her thoughts on the experience, including some insight into Daisy's writing process, The League's book group background and feedback from the group about the book! Make sure to read all the way to the end to see The League's past reading list, as well as their "Reading Bank,"  a list of books that are suggested by members for more reading.
August 4, 2014

Meet the Group: Armchair Travelers Book Club

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While we were going through submissions for our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest, we were struck by some of your interesting book group names! One that caught our attention in particular was the "Armchair Travelers Book Club" --- we were inclined to take their name literally, and wondered whether or not all their books had to do with traveling. Member Mary Lee Olson was kind enough to enlighten us and share with us the origin of her group's name and some of the great books they've read and plan to read in the future. 
July 29, 2014

The Red Table Book Club

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It’s lucky enough when an author visits a reading group, but how about when the author is an active member of the group?! Lorenzo Carcaterra, author most recently of THE WOLF (which hits bookstores TODAY!), let us know that he meets regularly with The Red Table Book Club, a group started by his daughter, Kate. Of course, we had plenty of questions for the father-daughter duo, and they were kind enough to share their experience with us. Here, Kate answers some questions about The Red Table Book Club --- named for the dining room table in her parents’ apartment --- including the group's history and she shares the books they’ve read together and enjoyed. Lorenzo also adds his thoughts on being a published author in a group of passionate readers. Make sure to read all the way until the end for some great book selections from members of The Red Table Book Club!
As frequent readers may recall a few months ago I got a new phone after years with what I called a “dumb phone,” which was only good for calls and texts, and a Blackberry that I only used for email as it was an older model and too slow to do much else. For the first couple of weeks I was frustrated as I was on a  learning curve with my smartphone, but soon I was tapping away on my Samsung Galaxy S5 with ease. I did not even miss the Blackberrry keyboard that I had coveted so much.
June 10, 2014

Breaking Into a Genre: Neil Gaiman Style

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Just before we launched our current feature for Neil Gaiman's THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, one of our readers, Sue from the Wordsworth Book Club, contacted Carol and asked for a guide for this book, as well as other materials that would enhance her book group's discussion. In her email she said, “Our book club is discussing THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE and whenever I select a Fantasy/Myth/Fairy Tale there is a lot of discussion about ‘what the book is about.’” She went on to say, “I enjoy the books just for the enjoyment of reading it and really don’t try to ‘figure it out.’  I try to select books for our discussions that cover different genre than they would normally read with good response and success. This is one genre they do have a problem with, so I am asking if you can direct me to a good review or discussion on the book that can help them understand the meaning of the story.” Sue’s sister and brother-in-law are published writers and both “have been very insistent that I try all genres to truly enjoy reading, fantasy or science fiction being among those choices.” We shared our guide and this New York Times review that the publisher suggested but, intrigued, we asked her more about her group and their discussion.   
At last week’s Random House event, I had the nice opportunity to meet three of our readers --- Augusta from Glendale, NY; Diana from Staten Island, NY; and Erika from the Township of Washington, NJ. After the event, I sent them some questions to answer so they could share their thoughts on the day. Here is what they had to say.
April 29, 2014

Luncheon - 4 - Literacy and the Girls of Atomic City

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A few weeks ago, Anna Robinson, one of our readers, shared with us that she and her book group attended Oak Ridge, TN’s “Lunch – 4 – Literacy” --- an annual event that raises money for literacy. Anna's group contributed $1,280 toward literacy, and were a part of over 400 people attending the event. Here, Anna shares details about the “social event of the year,” including highlights and an appearance by Denise Kiernan, author of the bestselling THE GIRLS OF ATOMIC CITY.