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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
August 2005
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Catching Up On Reading...and Some Offers You Want to Note
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This summer I have vowed to read some books that everyone has been talking about --- and I have missed. Last weekend with this in mind I read THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME. I can see why so many readers are talking about this book in their groups. I loved the strong voice of Christopher John Francis Boone and the way the plot unfolded. This month's ReadingGroupGuides.com poll takes a look at some of the most popular book club selections and asks if your group has read them, or plans to read them. Be sure to weigh in. Next up for me this month --- THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY and THE KITE RUNNER.
There are authors who I know are great at chatting it up with book clubs and we bring you one this month --- Laura Pedersen, the author of the just-released HEART'S DESIRE, BEGINNER'S LUCK and LAST CALL. I have spent time with Laura and she is not only bright and talkative, but she is incredibly funny. I saw her speak to a standing room only crowd at the Old Dominion Bookstore in Charlottesville, Virginia last year. She was fabulous --- and the talk of the Virginia Festival of the Book. We bring you the guide for her latest release this month, as well as information on how to contact her for a book club discussion.
I love when authors try something different for book clubs. This month we are bringing you details about a special DVD that Barbara Delinsky created just for book clubs. I watched it and felt like Barbara was making a personal visit in my family room. If your group is interested in reading one of her books --- the latest is LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE --- see below for the offer on how you can get this special DVD.
We have a link to a special offer from Ballantine Reader's Circle this month. While supplies last they are offering a free copy of their 2005 Reader's Circle complete catalog, which is a great tool to help your group pick the right book. Click the logo above for details on this special offer.
I am happy to announce that Denise from Sadler TX won the SARAH contest. She will be winning 12 copies of SARAH by Marek Halter for her group. Please note that this month we have added a discussion guide for Halter's latest book, ZIPPORAH.
This month we will be offering three very interesting offers to our registered book clubs, all of which include free books! See more details below. And then tell me if you know anyone else offering animal crackers with a book promotion. I am trying to remember my favorite animal.
Have a terrrific August. I cannot believe how this summer has flown by though I do feel like we live in Savannah since it has been so hot and humid here in the New York area.
Keep reading...
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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HEART'S DESIRE by Laura Pedersen
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It's impossible not to fall for the winningly eccentric cast of characters in Laura Pedersen's laugh-out-loud sequel to her acclaimed novel BEGINNER'S LUCK. But underneath its witty repartee and humorous goings-on, Pedersen's current work of fiction poses more serious questions of the heart that everyone can relate to: "What does your heart desire?" and "How do you know when someone is 'the one'"?
Laura is available to chat by phone with book clubs. If your group is interested in speaking with her, please click here.
For more about Laura Pedersen, go to LauraPedersonBooks.com
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Click here to read our guide for HEART'S DESIRE.
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UP FROM ORCHARD STREET by Eleanor Widmer
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In the tradition of LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE and A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, this exhilarating novel centered around a memorable immigrant family brings to vibrant life the soul and spirit of New York's legendary Lower East Side. In this riveting story lies the heart of the American immigrant experience: a novel at once wise, funny, poignant, anguishing, exultant --- and bursting with love.
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Click here to read our guide for UP FROM ORCHARD STREET.
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Just for Book Groups: A DVD Hosted by Barbara Delinsky
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Barbara Delinsky, author of such book group favorites as LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE, THE VINEYARD and THE SUMMER I DARED is a longtime devotee of book groups. As a member of one for the last 18 years, she knows how much they look forward to one-on-one author discussions -- know how much personal information on the author can enhance the understanding of a book.
Because she only rarely can meet with groups face-to-face, Barbara has made a DVD, divided into short, 3- to 7-minute segments in which she tells groups about herself, about what it's like to be a writer, and about her books.
The segments are accessible from a menu, allowing you to watch as much or as little as you want, based on the running time for each segment and the time constraints of your group. You can spend 3 minutes at it, or seventy -- your choice.
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Click here for details on how to get your complimentary copy.
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ZIPPORAH by Marek Halter
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From the author of the bestselling book, SARAH comes ZIPPORAH. In the time of the Pharaoh, a tiny infant is rescued from the banks of the Red Sea. She is named Zipporah, "the little bird." When she becomes a young woman, Zipporah's destiny changes forever. While drawing water at a well one day, she meets a handsome young man, a stranger. His name is Moses. A Hebrew raised in the house of the Pharaoh, Moses is a fugitive, forced to flee his homeland of Egypt after murdering one of the Pharaoh's cruel overseers. Zipporah knows almost immediately that this man will be the husband and partner she never thought she would have.
A woman ahead of her time, Zipporah leaps from the pages of this remarkable novel. Bold, independent, and a true survivor, she is a captivating heroine, and her world of deserts, temples, and ancient wonders is a fitting backdrop to an epic tale.
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Click here to read our guide for ZIPPORAH.
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THE LAUGHING JESUS by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
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Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, authors of The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and the Lost Goddess, return with a powerful indictment of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic fundamentalism and a passionate reinterpretation of Gnostic spirituality. According to Freke and Gandy, religiously inspired acts of violence, such as the attacks on 9/11, are nothing new. They are the continuation of a long and bloody history of brutality caused by mistaking bizarre old books for the Word of God. The time has come to end religious intolerance and wake up to oneness by rediscovering the Gnostic way of transforming oneself and the world. Freke and Gandy's Incendiary New Book Is a Wake-Up Call to the World.
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Click here to read our guide for THE LAUGHING JESUS.
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Harper Perennial
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Home of such esteemed and award-winning authors as Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Howard Zinn and Harper Lee, Harper Perennial has been publishing quality fiction, nonfiction and the classics for nearly 50 years. Today, Harper Perennial relaunches with a new name, a new logo, and a renewed commitment to publishing literature of enduring value, supported by initiatives to provide enhanced value to readers.
At HarperPerennial.com, readers can browse our large backlist, find out more about their favorite books with P.S., search our database of reading group guides to help make your next book club selection, download and send E-Cards, and check out the Harper Perennial Modern Classics line. Now you can visit HarperPerennial.com and enter for your chance to win a Harper Perennial library! Click here to enter.
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ROREY'S SECRET by Leisha Kelly
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Determination and faith have kept Samuel and Julia Wortham and their family safe through many trials. Together with their neighbors, the Hammonds, they have much to be thankful for. But in the fall of 1938, life on their Illinois farms takes an unexpected turn. When a raging fire breaks out and threatens to destroy the Hammond farm, the two families find themselves clinging to their faith in God. But as they face the daunting task of rebuilding what was lost, it seems that things will never be the same. Meanwhile Sarah Wortham is harboring a troubling secret that could reveal the cause of the fire, but she finds herself caught between a promise to a dear friend and the truth about what really happened.
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Click here to read the guide for ROREY'S SECRET.
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FIRE POINT by John Smolens
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At nineteen, Hannah LeClaire already has a reputation in the village of Whitefish Harbor, where she grew up. She is a solitary young woman who is given to long walks along the coast of Lake Superior. On a cold April day, she wanders into a dilapidated house and meets Martin Reed, who has moved to Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula to renovate the condemned Victorian once owned by his aunt. Quickly Hannah realizes that Martin is an outcast, too, and unlike anyone she has ever met. Written in spare, graceful prose, FIRE POINT is a thrilling and suspenseful story of love, vengeance, and renewal, set against the pristine beauty of one of America's great inland seas.
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Click here to read the guide for FIRE POINT.
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For Registered Book Clubs
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This month, ReadingGroupGuides.com is offering the following contests for Registered Book Clubs, who are registered with us by August 15th:
Special Live Author Chat Opportunity: Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern is the author of such book club favorites as PS, I LOVE YOU and ROSIE DUNNE. Her newest title IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW comes out in January. Groups are eligible to win a chance to chat either live or via speakerphone with Ahern. Groups will have until September 5th to give us the name of their group, details about their group as well as the name of their local bookstore. One group will win a live chat with Cecelia in January, and five others will win phone chats. All winning groups will win 12 copies of IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW.
Read more about IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW here:
In her third novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern introduces us to two sisters at odds with each other. Elizabeth's life is an organized mess. The organized part is all due to her own efforts. The mess is entirely due to her sister, Saoirse, whose personal problems leave Elizabeth scrambling to pick up the pieces. One of these pieces is Saoirse's six-year-old son, Luke. Luke is quiet and contemplative, until the arrival of a new friend, Ivan, turns him into an outgoing, lively kid. And Elizabeth's life is about to change in wonderful ways she has only dreamed of.
With all the warmth and wit that fans have come to expect from Cecelia Ahern, this is a novel full of magic, heart, and surprising romance.
10 groups will have the opportunity to each win 12 copies of the book and 12 boxes of animal crackers for their group. 40 additional Registered Book Clubs will each receive a copy of THE PRESERVATIONIST.
Read more about THE PRESERVATIONIST here:
In this brilliant debut novel, Noah's family (or Noe) - his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law - tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be controlled or explained. When Noe orders his sons to build an ark, he can't tell them where the wood will come from. When he sends his daughters-in-law out to gather animals, he can offer no directions, money, or protection. And once the rain starts, they all realize that the true test of their faith is just beginning. Because the family is trapped on the ark with thousands of animals - with no experience feeding or caring for them, and no idea of when the waters will recede. What emerges is a family caught in the midst of an extraordinary Biblical event, with all the tension, humanity - even humor - that implies.
URSULA UNDER by Ingrid Hill
50 groups that have registered by August 15th have the opportunity to each win one copy of URSULA UNDER for their group.
Read More about URSULA UNDER here:
In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a dangerous rescue effort draws the ears and eyes of the entire country. "Why are they wasting all that money and energy on a goddamn half-breed trailer-trash kid?" This question, posed in the first chapter of Ursula, Under. In a series of stories, interspersed with the details of Ursula's attempted rescue, we discover that her ancestors have endured against impossible odds and that their combined legacy is now encapsulated within the tiny body trapped in the mine --- a body made precious by heredity and history. Ambitious and accomplished, Ursula, Under is, most of all, wonderfully entertaining --- a daring saga of culture, history, and heredity
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To register your reading group click here.
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This Month's Poll: What Have You Read?
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Which of the following popular book club titles has your book club read, or plan to read?
Angels and Demons
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Da Vinci Code
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Secret Life of Bees
The Kite Runner
The Lovely Bones
The Mermaid Chair
Middlesex
My Sister's Keeper
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Peace Like a River
Reading Lolita in Tehran
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Answer our poll here.
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Thinking Ahead: Here's a tip for September
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September means back to school. How about exploring a classic this month? Go for something "readable" like Edith Wharton's HOUSE OF MIRTH, Leo Tolstoy's DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH, Charles Dickens's GREAT EXPECTATIONS, or Ernest Hemingway's THE SUN ALSO RISES.
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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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