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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
April 2005
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Spring Reading....
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We had summer-like weather in the New York area this weekend, which was fabulous. It made me realize that the sun and warm weather truly invigorate me. As much as I enjoy reading indoors, I love reading outdoors even more.
We have lots to share on this month's lineup including GILEAD, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which was just announced last week.
Next month we are kicking off our new partnership with Audible.com on ReadingGroupGuides.com. With this in mind, we wondered what you think of audiobooks. Do you read them? If so, how do you access them? Answer our Audiobook Survey. Weigh in on how you listen --- or not. For answering, you can enter to win a Creative Labs Muvo MP3 player and a year of Audible's Premium Listener service that allows you to download two audiobooks each month. We'll be selecting one winner. The survey will be open through Friday, May 13th.
Many of you have written to say that your groups enjoy historical fiction. Thus we are spotlighting two Jean Plaidy titles this week with a special contest. Read more below.
Many of you are fans of Elizabeth Berg's work. This month we bring you a guide for her latest book, THE YEAR OF PLEASURES, as well as a contest to win a chat with her.
We also are adding two new titles for our Christian readers. Both are by Charles Martin, whose writing I have become a real fan of. I specifically requested these two guides from his publisher as I thought these were titles that groups who enjoy reading faith-based fiction would enjoy. And for the record, the message within them is not so overt that others will not enjoy them as well. He truly is a wonderful writer.
We have more than 2,000 registered book clubs. Is your group registered with us yet? If not, register now!
Have a great April!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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THE YEAR OF PLEASURES by Elizabeth Berg
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In this rich and deeply satisfying novel by the beloved author of The Art of Mending, and Open House, a resilient woman embarks upon an unforgettable journey of adventure, self-discovery, and renewal.
Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simply daily routines. Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures is about acknowledging the solace found in ordinary things: a warm bath, good food, the beauty of nature, music, friends, and art.
Win a chance to chat with Elizabeth Berg about The Year of Pleasures at AuthorPhoneChat.com.
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Click here to read the reading guide for THE YEAR OF PLEASURES.
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Pulitzer Prize Winner: GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson
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In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears. Ames is the son of an Iowan preacher and the grandson of a minister who, as a young man in Maine, saw a vision of Christ bound in chains and came west to Kansas to fight for abolition: He "preached men into the Civil War," then, at age fifty, became a chaplain in the Union Army, losing his right eye in battle. Reverend Ames writes to his son about the tension between his father --an ardent pacifist -- and his grandfather, whose pistol and bloody shirts, concealed in an army blanket, may be relics from the fight between the abolitionists and those settlers who wanted to vote Kansas into the union as a slave state.
This is also the tale of another remarkable vision -- not a corporeal vision of God but the vision of life as a wondrously strange creation. It tells how wisdom was forged in Ames's soul during his solitary life, and how history lives through generations, pervasively present even when betrayed and forgotten.
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See the guide for GILEAD here.
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SWEETWATER by Roxana Robinson
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Acclaimed for her lucid and compassionate exploration of the American family, Roxana Robinson sets her new work on familiar terrain --- New York City and the Adirondacks --- but with Sweetwater she transcends the particulars of the domestic sphere with a broader, more encompassing vision. In this poignant account of a young widow and her second marriage, Robinson expands her scope to include the larger natural world as well as the smaller, more intimate one of the home.
In her cool, elegant prose, Robinson gracefully delivers a plot that is complex, surprising and ultimately wrenching in its impact. As the strands of family are woven tightly and inevitably together, and as the past painfully informs the present, the vivid backdrop of the physical world provides its own eloquent dynamic. Sweetwater is a stunning achievement by a writer at the peak of her craft. Read more here.
Also available this month, a guide for Robinson's previous work, This is My Daughter.
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See the guide for SWEETWATER here.
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EVERYTHING CHANGES and THE BOOK OF JOE by Jonathan Tropper
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Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
To all appearances, Zachary King is a man with luck on his side. A steady, well-paying job, a rent-free Manhattan apartment, and Hope, his stunning, blue-blooded fiancée: smart, sexy, and completely out of his league. But as the wedding day looms, Zack finds himself haunted by the memory of his best friend, Rael, killed in a car wreck two years earlier -- and by his increasingly complicated feelings for Tamara, the beautiful widow Rael left behind.
Then Norm -- Zack's freewheeling, Viagra-popping father -- resurfaces after a twenty-year absence, looking to make amends. Inspired by Norm, Zack boldly attempts to make some changes of his own, and the results are instantly calamitous. Charged with intelligence and razor sharp wit, Everything Changes is at once hilarious, moving, sexy, and wise -- a work of transcendent storytelling from an exciting new talent. Read more here.
And Now in Paperback:
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Conneticut and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national bestseller and a huge hit movie. Fifteen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah. Joe discovers that coming home isn't all bad-and that maybe the best things in life are second chances. Fans of Nick Hornby and Jennifer Weiner will love this book, by turns howlingly funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant. Read more here.
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STONE HEART by Luanne Rice
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Nomadic archaeologist Maria Dark is returning home again to the Connecticut shore -- a magical place where she, her sister Sophie, and their brother Peter spent their childhood on the banks of Bell Stream. After fifteen years away, Maria hopes that she can rediscover the joy and optimism of her youth in the arms of her family. But things have changed. Maria's siblings and her mother have weathered difficult times...and Sophie and her children are not as happy as they seem. Now Maria will embark upon an emotional journey -- navigating the memories of a tender past -- toward the truth at the heart of her family and the chance for a new beginning.
A remarkably graceful and intuitive novel, Stone Heart reveals the depths of faith and love that can mend life's most fragile and precious ties. Luanne Rice inspires us all to look love squarely in the eye and never let it go. Read more here.
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Read more about STONE HEART by Luanne Rice here.
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For Christian Readers
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Wrapped in Rain
by Charles Martin
Charles Martin's tremendous talent is evident throughout this story of the power of forgiveness and sacrifice. This fine novel exemplifies many of the best elements of evangelical Christian fiction. Wrapped in Rain is a tough and tender novel about weathering adversity and recognizing the many faces of love, regardless of who, how, where, or why. Love is a risk --- but it's far more dangerous to live without it. Read more here.
The Dead Don't Dance
by Charles Martin
Dylan and Maggie Stiles have a perfect life --- they have a terrific marriage and they are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. The day their son is born the world abruptly changes when Maggie lapses into a coma. Instead of Dylan celebrating he is now looking for himself --- and his faith --- a world without Maggie. This is the story of his finding his way back to life. Read more here.
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Read more about WRAPPED IN RAIN and THE DEAD DON'T DANCE by Charles Martin here.
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This Month's Poll: Purchasing Books In Quantity
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Would your group be interested in purchasing books for your discussions in quantity and receiving a significant discount on them? (Please select the response that best applies to your group.)
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Yes, this would be of interest to us.
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This is a good idea, but I think it would be too hard for our group to facilitate this.
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We try to select books that are available at the library so no one buys books.
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No, this is not something we would be interested in.
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Answer our poll question here.
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Audiobook Survey
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This week we are kicking off our new partnership with Audible.com with two exciting features. The first is our Audiobook Survey. Weigh in on how you listen --- or not. For answering, you can enter to win a Creative Labs Muvo MP3 player and a year of Audible's Premium Listener service that allows you to download two audiobooks each month. We'll be selecting one winner. The survey will be open through Friday, May 13th.
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Answer our Audiobook Survey here.
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Contest Winners |
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Pride and Prejudice:
Joanne from Bangor ME
Mona from Myrtle Beach SC
Lee from Kewanee IL
Kevin from San Jose CA
Monica from Spirit Lake IA
Our Winners in The Reading Group Contest will be announced next month. We still are compiling the replies.
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This Month's Contest: Win Copies of EVERYTHING CHANGES by Jonathan Tropper |
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A subscription to our newsletter is all you need to be entered in our monthly contest. This month, one lucky reader will win up to 20 copies of EVERYTHING CHANGES by Jonathan Tropper for his or her entire reading group.
Click the link above to see more about this book.
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Read contest details here.
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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 |
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