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On September 21st and 22nd, thousands of book lovers gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Among those in attendance was Bookreporter.com reader Denise from Rockville, MD, who tries to make it to this national celebration of all things reading every year. Luckily, for those of us who weren’t there for the fun, Denise agreed to chat with us about her experiences. Here, she gives a recap of her favorite panels, shares which authors she was dying to meet most, and chimes in on the Franzen-Weiner Twitter controversy, which, in case you missed it, is the most recent literary spat grabbing headlines. She also reveals what surprised her most and gives advice for folks thinking of saving the date for next year.
After the success of last year's Hachette Reading Group Day, ReadingGroupGuides.com couldn't resist partnering with Hachette Book Group again to give readers the opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors and hear them speak about --- what else? --- books! Diana from Staten Island, NY was one of the lucky readers who attended the event on Saturday, September 7th, and was kind enough to answer a few questions about it. In this Q&A, Diana shares some of the highlights of the day, including her favorite panels and the authors who impressed her the most. She also talks about which book included in her swag bag she's most interested in reading --- and why she's lucky it's not Nicholas Dawidoff's football nonfiction, COLLISION LOW CROSSERS, which was immediately stolen by her husband!  
After the success of last year's Hachette Reading Group Day, ReadingGroupGuides.com couldn't resist partnering with Hachette Book Group again to give readers the opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors and hear them speak about --- what else? --- books! Valerie of the Red Pages Book Club in Secaucus, NJ was one of the lucky readers who attended the event on Saturday, September 7th, and she was kind enough to share some of her experiences with Bookreporter.com. Here, she talks about the panels she attended --- including her favorite, the New Adult/YA crossover, which featured effervescent authors A.S. King and Kate Locke --- some of the interesting things she learned about writers' writing processes, and all the free books she received (as well as the ones she couldn't help but buy).   
 Courtney Santo is the author of The Roots of the Olive Tree. A book about the five generations of Keller women who live in the same house in the same secluded olive grove. This novel captures the joys and sorrows of a family and the love, secrets, disappointments, jealousies and forgiveness that tie generations to one other. In this blog, Courtney talks about her experiences meeting with book clubs and the tips she gives them to have an amazing visit with an author.
December 5, 2012

Book Clubs are not for Sissies

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Susan Henderson is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the founder of the literary blog LitPark.
A few weeks ago on Facebook, I saw author Brian Freeman mention that he was doing a book group event at a women’s prison, something he had done in the past. He mentioned that these readers asked some of the best questions that he has been asked when speaking with book groups.  Intrigued I asked this author of seven thrillers, the most recent of which is SPILLED BLOOD,  to share his thoughts on this experience with us.
Sylvia Cicetti is the mom of Bookreporter.com’s Carol Fitzgerald. An ardent Adriana Trigiani fan, she attended her event Monday night at Spring Lake Public Library in Spring Lake, N.J., which was part of Adriana’s tour for THE SHOEMAKER’S WIFE, her latest New York Times bestseller. Carol asked her mom to share her thoughts on this event in the following Q&A. 
Jamie Ford is the author of HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET. Here, he talks about the adventure of joining a Men's Book Club.
Jill Smolinski is the author of OBJECTS OF MY AFFECTION, THE NEXT THING ON MY LIST and FLOPPED. Her short story "40 Days" appears in the anthology AMERICAN GIRLS ABOUT TOWN, and she has also written nine books on topics ranging from origami to supermodels. She lives in Los Angeles with her son. Visit her at JillSmolinski.com.
Jana Riess, the author of FLUNKING SAINTHOOD and a longtime friend of TheBookReportNetwork.com, lives in Cincinnati and attended Erik Larson’s event this past Saturday afternoon at the Cincinnati Public Library. He is on tour for IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: Love, Terror, and An American Family in Hitler's Berlin, which is just out in paperback. We asked her to share her thoughts on this event in the following Q&A.