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This month (and every month) at ReadingGroupGuides.com, we're particularly interested in the dynamics of your book group. We know that --- for longterm groups especially --- it can be hard to evaluate how your group is doing and get back on track. That's why we think groups will benefit from a Book Group Checkup: It gives your group an opportunity to do a self-check to be sure its goals are still being met. Pick a month that you are going to do this and make it an open forum where people discuss a number of questions, or you can have people write their comments anonymously. We've been asking readers to share some thoughts and tips for optimizing meetings, which you can check out below.

This weekend, Bookreporter.com's Carol Fitzgerald, our intern Maya Gittelman and I all met up in beautiful Morristown, New Jersey, for what has become one of our most highly anticipated events of the season: the Morristown Festival of Books. Held during the first weekend of October, this fabulous festival brings authors, readers and books together for a full day of exciting programming --- at no cost!

Longtime reader Denise Neary provides her book club's perspectives on Jodi Picoult's new novel SMALL GREAT THINGS.

This year’s National Book Festival was held this past Saturday, September 24th, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Denise Neary, our longtime and intrepid reporter, attended with her husband Chris Kelly, and was more than willing to share her experience with us. Here, she discusses Festival highlights, including panels with Katherine Paterson, Geraldine Brooks, and --- by a serendipitous stroke of luck --- Stephen King.

Last Friday, The Book Report Network’s Carol Fitzgerald, Nicole Sherman, former intern Erin Siu and I made our way to Random House’s New York offices for their ninth Open House, a day when readers are invited to interact with both Random House staff and authors to go behind the scenes of their favorite new and forthcoming titles. Also with us were Bookreporter.com reviewers Vivian Payton and Matthew Burbridge and Carol’s friend, Beverley.

Last Friday, The Book Report Network’s Carol Fitzgerald, Nicole Sherman and I took some time out of our busy schedules to treat ourselves to a day at Random House for their Spring Open House event. My dear friends --- and avid Bookreporter.com readers --- Vivian Payton, Elena Payton and Mary Wegner were also in attendance, as was Carol’s friend, Beverley Wilson. This was my fifth time attending the event, and, as always, it did not disappoint.

A few weeks ago, we received a query from Noreen in Sarasota, FL: "Our book club will be exploring an author's study for February and March. We want to pick one author and two different works to compare them. Do you have any suggestions?  I'm sure other clubs must have done this before."

Last weekend hundreds of book lovers flocked to beautiful historic Savannah, Georgia, for the Ninth Annual Savannah Book Festival. With venues situated around Telfair, Wright and Chippewa Squares, the Savannah Book Festival welcomes both fiction and nonfiction authors and readers of all ages who would like to see their favorite authors and add new titles to their reading lists.

Over the past two months, we polled our readers to find out how you celebrate the holidays with your book groups. We listed four options, as well as an “other” options, because we know how creative our readers can be. You did not disappoint us!

The Miami Book Fair --- which boasts more than 450 authors and 250 publishers in attendance --- is the biggest literary party of November. This year, the eight-day event kicked off on the 15th, and went strong all week and through the weekend. Our intrepid reporter Cristina Vazquez was kind enough to share her thoughts on 2015's Fair, including her favorite panels, some surprising things she learned, and what she’s most looking forward to reading.