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With Memorial Day Weekend the "official" start of summer, we wanted to share an idea for a One-Book Book Club, which we think is a great summertime idea. It's a terrific way to dip your toe into the water if you're new to reading groups. For those of you whose groups take the summer off, it's a fun way to keep a book discussion going with a new group of readers. And if you're vacationing with a group of friends, you could host a One-Book Book Club with them and enjoy a book discussion along with the sun and surf.
May 22, 2008

Southern Fare

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Today Shannon McKenna Schmidt talks about her book club's most recent read --- Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daughter --- how she came to select it for discussion and what her fellow members thought of this Southern novel.
May 21, 2008

Kristy Kiernan: From Guest to Book Club Member

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While I was visiting Books & Books this past weekend in Coral Gables, Florida, for a book club event the store was hosting, I had the chance to meet novelist Kristy Kiernan. She wowed the audience with a funny, touching story about ex-boyfriends and book clubs. I asked her if we could share that story here...
May 20, 2008

Book Club Mixer Olympics

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Beyond swimming and biking (unless we are talking hills), I have never been particularly good at sports. I do not have natural athletic ability nor do have the patience for practice. But reading comes naturally to me and books are something I know. Thus participating in the Book Club Mixer Olympics on Sunday at Books & Books in Coral Gables was right up my alley. Ah, if reading was a sport, I truly would have a gold medal...or three.
May 19, 2008

Book Club Adventures on Grand Cayman

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Books really do bring people together. This idea was crystalized for me last Friday night in the Cayman Islands, of all places. I was invited down there by one of our Blog contributors, Debra Linn from Books & Books, who manages the book club events for the store.
May 16, 2008

Going Graphic

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The lunchtime book club at Cynthia Baxter's workplace in Gig Harbor, Washington, grew from occasional conversations about book-to-movie adaptations into a full-fledged book club. Their reading roster has included titles like Life of Pi and Middlesex, and they've also explored another type of book: graphic novels. Cynthia shares some of her favorites and the title she recommends for groups that would like to read a graphic novel.
May 15, 2008

Men and Books: How We Eat

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Andrew McCullough and his band of fellows are defying the stereotype that men don't participate in reading groups. And what's more, they truly get into the spirit of things by preparing feasts for their meetings --- food, drink and ambience tied in to the theme of the book being discussed. Here Andrew shares some of their memorable moments and describes how the Man Book Club went from serving cold cuts to multi-course meals.
May 14, 2008

Book Club Candy

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Selecting books is an important task for any book club, and lists of recommended titles can make it easier. In this post, our regular contributor Jennifer Hart shares highlights from a list of reading selections nominated by independent booksellers across the country. It's like having a plethora of personal recommendations --- each book on the list includes a note from a bookseller on why he or she picked that title.
May 13, 2008

Stephanie Hirsch Discusses Moms of All Kinds

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We're not done with Mother's Day just yet. Today's post is by Stephanie Hirsch, the author of Mother Nurture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest. She talks about what inspired her to write the book and about some of her favorites of the many inspiring moms she profiles in it pages. And for those reading groups that decide to select Mother Nurture for discussion, Stephanie also has some terrific topics to get the conversation started.
May 12, 2008

Mameve Medwed on Mothers-in-Law

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Novelist Mameve Medwed touches on a subject that some of our readers can no doubt relate to: not-so-nice mothers-in-law, a topic that factors in to her new novel, Of Men and Their Mothers. But as she explains to an attendee at one of her book singings, there are also "some wonderful loving mothers" in the story. Think about the great discussions this novel could generate!