 |
|
ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
June 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
Prizes for Registered Groups! |
 |
|
|
I am happy to report that over 350 groups registered themselves on ReadingGroupGuides.com in the last month. Groups who are registered will be eligible to win special prizes and receive special offerings. Registering is free and all groups registered by June 30th will be eligible to win the following:
- One of three chats exclusively planned for our Registered Groups with Lionel Shriver, the author of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, as well as up to 20 copies of the book for each group selected. This book was getting HUGE buzz at Book Expo America. Our sponsor here is HarperCollins whose Invite the Author Program brings books groups and authors together. See more about this book by clicking on the link above.
- A copy of July/August issue of Pages magazine for each member of your group (will be mailed to the group member registered with us), plus a special $10 subscription offer. In this issue will be my first column about book clubs. Our sponsor is Pages. Read more about them by clicking on the link above.
You can click on the link below to Register YOUR Group. In the months to come registered groups will be eligible for special book prizes and other offerings, so sign up now.
Our poll this month asks what your group does when one person dominates the conversation. I look forward to reading what you have to say about this common problem.
Here's hoping you can find time to discover a new book or author this month.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected]) |
Register Your Group here.
|
|
|
THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp --- Enter Contest to Win A Copy for Your Group |
Does food play as big a part in your book club meetings as the book discussion? If so, your group is not alone. That's why we were so happy to see a new book called THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK, which shares recipes and menu ideas for 100 books including such book club favorites as THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, THE LIFE OF PI and GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING.
To celebrate this book's release we have an interview with the authors in which they share their inspiration for this book as well how they conducted research for it and how they suggest groups use it. And we have a contest where 20 clubs will win a copy of the book for their group!
For more about this book, go to TheBookClubCookbook.com. |
Read more about THE BOOK CLUB COOKBOOK here, including an interview with the authors and contest details.
|
|
|
EVENTIDE by Kent Haruf |
Return to the small town of Kent Haruf's beloved, bestselling Plainsong. His new novel possesses, as Michiko Kakutani writes in the New York Times, "the haunting appeal of music, the folksy rhythms of an American ballad and the lovely, measured grace of an old hymn...," and Christopher Tilghman of The Washington Post calls it "a kind book in a cruel world."
From universal attempts at connection to the familiar pain of separation, Eventide's themes lend themselves to wonderful discussions. Fans of Plainsong won't be disappointed; the McPheron brothers are back, along with single mother Victoria Roubideaux, and if your group is coming to Holt, Colorado for the first time, Entertainment Weekly assures you that this is "Haruf's storytelling at its best." |
Click here to read the guide for EVENTIDE by Kent Haruf.
|
|
|
MAISIE DOBBS by Jacqueline Winspear |
Hailed by NPR's Fresh Air as part Testament of Youth, part Dorothy Sayers, and part Upstairs, Downstairs, this astonishing debut has already won fans from coast to coast and is poised to add Maisie Dobbs to the ranks of literature's favorite sleuths.
Maisie Dobbs isn't just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence --- and the patronage of her benevolent employers --- she works her way into college at Cambridge. When World War I breaks out, Maisie goes to the front as a nurse. It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive. After the War, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator. But her very first assignment, seemingly an ordinary infidelity case, soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind. |
Read a guide for MAISIE DOBBS here.
|
|
|
Oprah's Latest Pick: ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy |
|
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness. While previous versions have softened the robust, and sometimes shocking, quality of Tolstoy's writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This award-winning team's authoritative edition also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for generations to come. |
Read a guide for ANNA KARENINA here.
|
|
|
THE RULE OF FOUR by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason |
An ivy league murder, a mysterious coded manuscript, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide memorably in The Rule of Four -- a brilliant work of fiction that weaves together suspense and scholarship, high art and unimaginable treachery.
From the streets of fifteenth-century Rome to the rarified realm of the Ivy League, from a shocking 500 year-old murder scene to the drama of a young man's coming of age, The Rule of Four takes us on an entertaining, illuminating tour of history--as it builds to a pinnacle of nearly unbearable suspense. |
Read our guide for THE RULE OF FOUR here.
|
|
|
Book Club Interviews |
This month we bring you the following book club interviews:
Karen Rappaport McHugh of "Westside Women's Wreaders" from Santa Monica, CA
RaeAnn Jackson of "The Spine Breakers" from Portland, OR
Geneva Oladele of "Simply Reading Book Club" from
Dayton, OH |
Read our Book Club interviews here.
|
|
|
This Month's Poll |
When someone dominates the conversation in your group, how do you handle it? (Please pick one reply.)
Try to steer the discussion back to the group so others feel comfortable to converse
Speak with the offending party during the meeting and ask that he/she allow others to speak
Ask someone to talk to the offending person away from the group setting
Roll your eyes at others to let them know you are perturbed
Smolder inside and think about quitting the group
This is not an issue in our group
Other solution (please specify) |
Answer our poll questions here.
|
|
|
|
|
Newest Guides |
Almost There by Nuala O'Faolain
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Anxiety of Everyday Objects by Aurelie Sheehan
Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Departures by Elizabeth Oness
Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray
Eventide by Kent Haruf
The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
Heart, You Bully, You Punk by Leah Hager Cohen
Heaven Lake by John Dalton
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani
A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon
The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum
The Rule Of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
Shout Down the Moon by Lisa Tucker
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver |
See the Newest Guides here.
|
|
|
|
|
This Month's Contest: Win |
 |
|
|
A subscription to our newsletter is all you need to be entered in our monthly contest. This month, one lucky reader will win enough copies of Easter Island
by Jennifer Vanderbes for his or her entire reading group.
Here is a description of the book:
Weaving together a pair of remarkable stories, debut novelist Jennifer Vanderbes explores the realms of love and anger, trust and betrayal, through the eyes of two exceptional young women living nearly a century apart who journey to the most remote island in the world-Easter Island. Though separated by time and circumstance, these women experience parallel turns of fate as their passions for knowledge draw them into all-consuming investigations of the island's mysterious past. But what begins as scientific inquiries soon unearth frightening, personal revelations for both women, and as they unravel the secrets of this exotic locale, they must face their own haunting secrets. A story about two journeys of transformation, forgiveness, and, ultimately, redemption, Easter Island is a powerful debut and a wonderfully intriguing book to discuss.
|
Read contest details here.
|
|
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 |
|
|
