January 2014

Cue the drum roll…. I am thrilled to share that the newly designed ReadingGroupGuides.com site is now live! And with our new look, we also are bringing a lot of improved technology. This update is part of a much bigger project here at TheBookReportNetwork.com with an eye on bringing you a better experience to discover and explore new books, both for your book group and for your personal reading. Besides the fresh new look to the site, we also have some new features to share:

• Printing Guides via PDF: Many of you have asked for the capability to print guides to bring to your meetings; this feature is available on each guide page. We’ve been getting RAVES about this from readers this week.
• Rate Books for Book Groups: A brand-new monthly feature, where you can rate the books you’ve read with 1-5 stars and let us know if you think they would be good selections for book groups. You can add books that you have read personally or with your book group. Please note that all submissions will be reviewed before they are posted at the beginning of each month, thus your post will not appear immediately. *
• “What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?” Contest: We have been running this feature on the site for a while, but this new format will give us the ability to share this information on a monthly basis so you can see what other groups around the country are reading. Again, here your post will not appear immediately.*
• Search by Title, Author or Genre: We have three convenient ways for you to search for books. By Title »| By Author »| By Genre » Please note that some guides have no descriptions while others do. Guides pulled from the old site before 2012 do not have this descriptive copy entered into the system. We are working on adding these. Also, sometimes formatting may look funky, but we are working on this as well.
• Guides for Other Books by an Author: When you are looking at a guide, you will see links to other titles by that author that we have discussion guides for in the right-hand column.
• Other Book Suggestions: When you are looking at a guide, you will see suggestions for other books in the same genres as the title you are looking at, in the right-hand column. This is so you can explore other books that may be of interest to you.

* Quick Housekeeping Note: We ask --- no, actually we beg --- that you use correct spelling for the title and author for these features and also capitalize words as appropriate. I know in this text-crazy world that everyone writes like e e cummings, but we are sticklers for how things look on the site and prefer to spend time making fabulous new content rather than shaping up comments.

After 17 years of launching and re-launching sites, the moment when the new site goes live is still one filled with great excitement, but I also know that no launch is ever error- or bug-free (though I would sleep a lot better if they were). Those of you who have been on the site since Friday when we first took it live have been terrific about sharing things that need attention. If you see a tech or design issue, please drop me a note at [email protected] with the subject line: RGG - Tech or Design Issue. If you can include the operating system you are on (i.e. PC, MAC, tablet or phone) and the browser you are using (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.), this can help us with our troubleshooting as we can replicate your setup. If you receive a message that says "Access Denied,” please send me an email with that in the subject line as well as the name of the book that you are looking for or the page where you are getting this message, and we will look into what is going on. Thus far, I am happy to say that I have been able to solve every question!

And now to this month’s content-filled update because we like talking about books and authors a whole lot more than technology!

As we ring in 2014, we’ve been asking you to reflect on your reading from last year. What were some of your favorite books that your group read in 2013? We know it’s difficult for many of you to pick just one title, so feel free to select up to three. All you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Friday, January 31st at noon ET, and we’ll aim to share the results in February!

While you’re pondering which titles you’d like to submit, may we suggest you take a look at the Most Requested Guides of 2013? They are divided into three categories --- New Favorites, Ongoing Favorites and Enduring Favorites --- and include an overall list of Top 50 Requests. Perhaps you will consider recommending some of these titles for future book club discussions.

And for more reader participation, please take part in our poll, which we're pleased to bring back after a long hiatus. How would you describe your book group? Click here to let us know!

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF US by Aria Beth Sloss (one of my Bookreporter.com Bets On selections when it released in hardcover) is January’s prize in our “What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?” Contest. Coming of age in Pasadena, California during the 1960s, Rebecca Madden and her friend, Alex, dream of lives beyond their mothers' narrow expectations. Their struggle to define themselves against the backdrop of an American cultural revolution unites them early on. But then, on one sweltering evening the summer before their last year of college, a single act of betrayal changes everything. Decades later, Rebecca’s haunting meditation on the past reveals the truth about that night, the years that followed, and the friendship that shaped her. We have 12 copies of the book, which will be available in paperback on January 28th, to give away to three groups. Enter here by Thursday, February 6th at noon ET and let us know what your group is reading in January for your chance to win.

On the site right now is a contest for HAPPIER AT HOME: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin. One Sunday afternoon, as she unloaded the dishwasher, Gretchen felt hit by a wave of homesickness. She felt homesick, she realized, with love for home itself. “Of all the elements of a happy life,” she thought, “my home is the most important.” In a flash, she decided to undertake a new happiness project, and this time, to focus on home. Our Bookreporter.com site is giving 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book, which is now available in paperback. All you have to do is fill out this form by Monday, January 27th at noon ET.

We have four featured guides we’d like to tell you about this month. First up is SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives, which is now available in paperback. Losing one's spouse is a life-altering event that Becky Aikman understands all too well. Although she did remarry, Becky remained perplexed by society's current attitudes and beliefs about grief. So she did what any other journalist might do --- she thoroughly researched the subject. Then she organized a support group with five other widows, all of whom were strangers. The end result: six women who found friendship, healing and adventure. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com. SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS is a finalist for this year’s Books for a Better Life Awards in the “Motivational” category; the winners will be announced on March 10th.

Next up is FOR TODAY I AM A BOY by debut novelist Kim Fu, a coming-of-age tale in which Peter Huang and his sisters grow up in a house of many secrets, then escape the confines of small-town Ontario. Peter’s journey is obstructed by playground bullies, masochistic lovers, Christian ex-gays, and the ever-present shadow of his Chinese father. At birth, Peter had been given the Chinese name juan chaun, powerful king, and was the one who would finally embody his immigrant father's ideal of power and masculinity. But Peter has different dreams: he’s certain he’s a girl. Click here for the guide.

The genesis of our next featured title, TAYLOR’S GIFT: A Courageous Story of Giving Life and Renewing Hope, was a heartbreaking moment in March 2010 when Taylor Storch’s family was skiing in Colorado at Beaver Creek. On a run at the end of the day with her dad and brother (a run that I have skied many, many times), Taylor fell off the trail and hit her head. Though wearing a helmet, she sustained a critical head injury, was airlifted to a trauma center and declared brain dead the following afternoon. Her parents, Todd and Tara, made a decision to donate her organs, but decided to take their mission one step further. When they returned home to Texas, they started Taylor's Gift Foundation to promote not only organ donation awareness, but also education about what families of organ donors go through before, during and after transplants. Click here for the guide and here to visit the foundation’s official website. TAYLOR’S GIFT is also up for a Books for a Better Life Award, in the “Inspirational Memoir” category.

I have become friends with Tara and Todd over this past year and admire them enormously. For one of their fundraising efforts last April at TaylorsGift.org, they featured a nail polish color developed by OPI called "Taylor Blue," which is an amazing shade of turquoise named as such as Taylor had the most amazing blue eyes. My toes have been painted in it every pedicure since then, and it’s a reminder to me of this very important cause besides being a color that has gotten raves from everyone at the salon!

Our final featured guide, which you can find on the homepage, is for THE IN-BETWEEN HOUR by Barbara Claypole White. Bestselling author Will Shepard loses his young son in a car accident. But when his father's aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who can only watch as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters. Click here for the guide.

THE IN-BETWEEN HOUR is also Bookreporter.com’s latest Paperback Spotlight title, along with CALLING ME HOME by Julie Kibler, in which an 89-year-old woman asks her hairdresser to drop everything and drive her to a funeral. Hoping to unlock the secrets of Isabelle's guarded past, Dorrie agrees, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

Also on Bookreporter.com are two titles we’re featuring in our Debut/Suspense Thriller Author Spotlight that we think book groups will enjoy reading and discussing. The first is ALICE CLOSE YOUR EYES by Averil Dean. Ten years ago, someone ruined Alice Croft's life. She now has a chance to right that wrong and thinks she has found the perfect man to carry out her plan. However, it isn't long before she finds herself involved with a man who is more dangerous than she ever could have imagined. Read our review of the book and our interview with Averil. The second is STARTER HOUSE by Sonja Condit. Shortly after Lacey and her husband move in to what they think is their dream home, the warm and welcoming house becomes cold and dark. There is something malevolent within the walls that wants to hurt Lacey’s unborn child --- a terrifying presence that only she can sense. Read our review of the book and our interview with Sonja.

Whew….it’s been quite a new year already --- and we only got back to the office on the 6th! Oh, if you would like a look at what I read over the holidays, click here. I am packing up my bags again on Monday as I fly to Seattle for the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute, where I will be previewing spring titles and meeting dozens of authors. I am reading so many books in anticipation of this event that I feel like I am in finals week! From there, I am home one night and then off to Philadelphia for the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference, where I am spending a whirlwind two days meeting more authors. I look forward to sharing stories about this with you.

Let us know what your group is reading in January, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF US, Aria Beth Sloss's debut novel about friendship, loss and love; a confession of what passed between two women who met as girls in 1960s Pasadena, California. We have 12 copies of the book, which will be available in paperback on January 28th, to give away to three groups. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Thursday, February 6th at noon ET.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF US by Aria Beth Sloss (Fiction)
In 1960s California, Rebecca Madden and her friend Alex dream of lives beyond their mothers' narrow expectations. Their struggle to define themselves against the backdrop of an American cultural revolution unites them early on, until a single act of betrayal changes everything. Decades later, Rebecca’s haunting meditation on the past reveals the truth about that night, the years that followed, and the friendship that shaped her.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why Bookreporter.com is betting you'll love this book.
 

Rate the books you have read to let us know if you think they would be good selections for book groups. You can add books that you have read personally or with your book group. Share the title and the author, and please pay attention to proper spelling. Capitalize words as appropriate! All submissions will be reviewed before they are posted, thus your post will not appear immediately.
 

While you’re pondering which titles you’d like to submit for our end-of-the-year feature, may we suggest you take a look at the Most Requested Guides of 2013? They are divided into three categories --- New Favorites, Ongoing Favorites and Enduring Favorites --- and include an overall list of Top 50 Requests. Perhaps you will consider recommending some of these titles for future book club discussions.
 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

APPLE TREE YARD by Louise Doughty (Psychological Thriller)
Suspenseful, erotically charged, and masterfully paced, Louise Doughty’s APPLE TREE YARD is an intelligent psychological thriller about desire and its consequences by a writer of phenomenal gifts.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF US by Aria Beth Sloss (Fiction)
A confession of hopes long forgotten, Aria Beth Sloss's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF US is an achingly beautiful portrait of a decades-long bond and the victories, sacrifices and defeats of a generation.

FOR TODAY I AM A BOY by Kim Fu (Fiction)
FOR TODAY I AM A BOY is a fiercely assured debut novel about four second generation Chinese sisters, one of whom happens to be a boy.

THE IN-BETWEEN HOUR by Barbara Claypole White (Romance)
Award-winning author Barbara Claypole White delivers a poignant new story of hope, healing and the solace two strangers find in mending each other’s broken worlds in THE IN-BETWEEN HOUR.

NETHERWOOD by Jane Sanderson (Historical Fiction)
Two remarkably different worlds --- one of wealth and privilege, the other of poverty and desperation --- are about to collide in one shattering moment in this mesmerizing tale of high drama, forbidden love, and families fighting to hold on to what they have.

THE PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET: A Pride and Prejudice Novel by Pamela Mingle (Historical Fiction)
A tale of love and marriage, society balls and courtship, class and a touch of scandal, Pamela Mingle's THE PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET is a fresh take on one of the most beloved novels of all time, Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.

RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah (Fiction)
When Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A LONG WAY GONE, was published in 2007, it became an instant classic that turned the world’s attention to the plight of child soldiers on the front lines of Sierra Leone’s civil war. With RADIANCE OF TOMORROW, Beah brings us an astonishing novel of postwar life in Sierra Leone.

A RELIGION OF ONE'S OWN: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World by Thomas Moore (Self Help)
Create an amplified inner life and a world of great purpose, meaning and reflection with the New York Times bestselling author and trusted spiritual adviser, Thomas Moore, in this follow-up to his classic CARE OF THE SOUL.

SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives by Becky Aikman (Memoir)
In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, Becky Aikman --- a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role --- forms an unlikely group with five other young widows, each seeking a way forward in a strange and disquieting world.

SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE: A Novel of the Great War by Jennifer Robson (Historical Romance)
In the dark and dangerous days of World War I, a daring young woman will risk her life to find her destiny in Jennifer Robson’s debut novel.

TAYLOR'S GIFT: The Courageous Story of Giving Life and Renewing Hope by Todd and Tara Storch, with Jennifer Schuchmann (Memoir)
Todd and Tara Storch tragically lost their 13-year-old daughter in a skiing accident. Their decision to donate Taylor's organs would help save the lives of five desperate people who were anxiously awaiting a miracle.

WHY I READ: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser (Literary Criticism)
Drawn from a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing The Threepenny Review --- one of the most distinguished literary magazines in the country --- Wendy Lesser’s WHY I READ explores our cultural relationship to books in all their variegated forms, from Victorian poetry to contemporary thrillers.


Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI by Helene Wecker (Historical Fantasy)
THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI is a marvelous and absorbing debut novel, a combination of vivid historical fiction and magical fable, about two supernatural creatures in turn-of-the-century immigrant New York.

NEWS FROM HEAVEN: The Bakerton Stories by Jennifer Haigh (Fiction/Short Stories)
From Jennifer Haigh, the bestselling author of FAITH and THE CONDITION, comes a collection of interconnected short stories centered on the fictional mining town of Bakerton, Pennsylvania, the setting for her previous, award-winning novel, BAKER TOWERS.