 |
|
ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
December 2008
|
|
|
|
Happy Holidays
|
As I write this note, the entire sky outside looks fat and white. You almost can see the snow trapped back there waiting to start falling onto us. My younger son is running from window to window waiting for the first flake. I tried the "watched pot never boils" line on him, but it went right over his head. He has new snow boots and new snow pants, and he is eager to wear them both. For me a snow day means that the phone rings at 5:30, and since Fridays I write and work from home, today will be all about interruptions. As if this season already did not have enough of those!
My holiday season has been tugged at in a very big way as we just launched our eighth website in The Book Report Network, GraphicNovelReporter.com, on Wednesday night. It's been a wonderfully exciting project. We've never released a site with this much content, thus the last few months have been a real scramble as we juggled "the rest of the family" as well as the anticipated "new baby." I am looking forward to spending the next few days before we break for the holiday catching up on all those loose ends. Like many of you, I have been juggling personal and business-related holiday tasks in between all else, and I am sure that you, like me, look forward to the next weeks when those can be my focal point. So much has gone on this year that I think when I do stop, I am going to just fall asleep for an entire day.
But I am getting ahead of myself, as this note is all about sharing the latest update from ReadingGroupGuides.com.
Special thanks go out this issue to Shannon McKenna, who, as many of you know, edits our ReadingGroupGuides.com Blog. She also is a contributor to the blog, and her piece about the six books that she wishes she had read with her book club this year is just wonderful. I am sure that many of you feel the same way about books that you have read. Please drop Shannon a note at [email protected] and share the books that you wish you had discussed with your group.
Also, I want to give a shout out to Anne Staszalek, who is the friendly pair of hands behind the message board and reader mail sections of ReadingGroupGuides.com. Anne keeps on top of requests from our message board guests and your requests for discussion guides that are not featured on the site. Huge thanks to Anne for all she has done this year to keep on top of these portions of the site!
We wanted to let you know that Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse is being profiled in the Redbook Culinary Getaway Competition to be drawn on December 31, 2008. One reader will win a two day/two night stay for two at the Hotel Indigo in Chicago; dinner for two at Table 52 with Helen Tse; a book prize package; and a special tasting with chef Art Smith (Oprah's chef). For more information on Sweet Mandarin, visit www.sweetmandarin.com.
Here's wishing you the best and brightest of holiday seasons. If you still are pondering holiday gifts, you may want to read the truly inspirational pieces that authors contributed to our Bookreporter.com Author Holiday Blog. For ease of reading, we are linking to them from the homepage of ReadingGroupGuides.com. They are laced with humor, warm sentiments and lots to ponder about the power of giving a book.
We’ll see you next year…
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
|
|
|
|
|
THE PRE-NUP by Beth Kendrick
|
|
For the residents of swanky Mayfair Estates, a pre-nup is just another item on the wedding to-do checklist --- but three friends get more than they bargained for when they promise to love, cherish... and sign on the dotted line.
As romance collides with real life, three very different women turn to each other for moral support and insights about how to safeguard their most valuable assets: their hearts.
|
Click here to read the guide for The Pre-Nup.
|
|
|
QUEEN OF THE ROAD: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own, by Doreen Orion
|
When Tim announces he wants to “chuck it all” and travel the country in an RV, Doreen asks, “Why can’t you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?” They’re both psychiatrists, but he’s obviously the better shrink because the hilarious memoir the New York Post calls “a Charles Kuralt-Albert Brooks-style romp” ensues.
“Eat, Pray, Love --- without the depression.” - Denver Magazine
“Charming, insightful, hilarious… the best of Bill Bryson and David Sedaris… the unique voice of a gifted memoirist.” - Jonathan Kellerman
-Visit the author's official website, www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com.
|
Click here to read the guide for Queen of the Road.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last Month's Contest Winners
|
We celebrated the paperback release of Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay --- a mesmerizing story in which a mysterious past unfolds, the present is torn apart and the future is irrevocably altered --- with a special contest. Ten groups had the opportunity to each win up to 12 finished copies of Sarah’s Key, which is now in stores, for their group. Click here to see our winners.
We also held a special contest for Shelter Me by Juliette Fay --- a beautifully written debut novel about heartbreaking loss and emotional redemption. Thirty-five readers had the opportunity to each win one advance copy of Shelter Me, which will be in stores on December 30th, for their group. Click here to see our winners.
Thanks to all who participated!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Book is the Perfect Gift Because....
|
There's one gift that's perfect for everyone on your holiday list --- a book! Yes, everyone has people who are readers on their lists, which makes shopping for them easy. But beyond these kindred spirits, there's a book that can match just about any recipient's interests, even if reading is not their true passion. That is why we are going to be sharing 45 reasons why a book makes a perfect gift, counting down from now until Christmas Day, December 25th. Check back and see why we think this is the gift you want to give --- and, oh yes, receive!
This feature is running on Bookreporter.com, ReadingGroupGuides.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com.
|
Click here to see our Books as the Perfect Gifts Countdown.
|
|
|
This Month's Book Club Interviews
|
This month we are sharing two new interviews with book clubs on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
Selene Miller is the chairperson for Everything and a Book Club Too in West Chicago, IL. In this interview, Selene describes how her book club selects titles and shares stories about some of the group’s memorable trips, events and discussions. She also explains why The Hours has been brought up at every meeting the past six years.
Becky Morgan is a member of Glamour Girls Lit Society in Huntington, WV, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary in December. In this interview, Becky discusses the inspiration that led this group of women to form a book club. She also talks about a memorable discussion she and her fellow members had with a local author and encourages others to seek out author chat opportunities.
|
|
Click here to see all our interviews with book clubs.
|
|
|
Book Groups, Librarians and Booksellers --- We Want to Hear from YOU!
|
 |
Each month we feature interviews with book clubs from around the country on ReadingGroupGuides.com. Interested in having your group spotlighted? Click here to read what to do.
We also like to feature interviews with librarians and booksellers from across the country in much the same way that we interview book groups each month. If you'd like to share your knowledge and opinions about book clubs with our readers, a link to the list of questions we'd like answered is available from the links below.
Please feel free to go beyond these questions and share with us anything about books clubs --- ones that meet in your library, your store, of which you're a member or ones that you've heard about --- that you think might interest our readers. When answering these questions, please keep in mind that our readers love to know what other groups are reading, so the more titles you include, the better!
-Librarians: Click here to see our interview instructions and questions for Librarians.
-Booksellers: Click here to see our interview instructions and questions for Booksellers.
|
|
|
|
This Month's Poll: Books as Gifts
|
Are you giving books this holiday season?
Yes
No
Not sure
Would you like to receive books as gifts this holiday season?
Yes
No
Not sure
|
Click here to answer the poll.
|
|
|
Tip for December |
If your group doesn't meet in December, but you'd still like to read and discuss a book, form a temporary two-person book club with a fellow member, friend, relative or co-worker.
|
Click here to see our past tips.
|
|
|
This Month's Contest Book: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini
|
Win a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 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 January 1, 2009. If you are receiving this newsletter in your mailbox, you already are signed up!
More About A Thousand Splendid Suns:
Now available in paperback, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last 30 years --- from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding --- that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives --- the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness --- are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
|
Click here to read contest details and rules.
|
|
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, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, FaithfulReader.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107
|
|
|
