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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
October 2005
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Listening to Our Readers
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A few months ago I finished reading an advance reading copy of The Divide by Nicholas Evans. Many of you may know Evans from his first book, The Horse Whisperer. I finished this book and immediately wanted to talk about it. I gave a copy to a friend for his birthday and soon we were trading e-mails about the story --- and what it says about the relationships between men and women, as well as those between parents and their children. I have had the opportunity to hear Evans speak about The Divide twice now, as well as reading and watching interviews with him. This is a book that has stayed with me. There is a passion and sincerity in the writing. I know it would make a great book club discussion, which is why we are making it our contest book this month.
We have a very full lineup for you this month, with an interesting range of titles being offered. Once the site is done each month I enjoy looking through the new selections wondering which you will enjoy the most.
Next week our Registered Book Clubs will receive three special offers to enter to win books for their groups, as well as a chance to chat with Robert Hicks, who wrote The Widow of the South or Timothy Schaffert, who wrote The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God. Groups registered by Friday, October 14th are eligible to receive this mailing.
Each day I read the mail that comes into ReadingGroupGuides.com and often, I am the person who also replies. I like to hear what people are asking since we often can add things on the website based on what we hear from you. I also read all the requests for reading guides. We are noting that more and more of you are asking for guides for titles as they are released in hardcover. Many publishers still wait for titles to be released in paperback before they create guides, which frustrates us, as well as you. Do note that we share your notes with them in hopes that this trend will change.
We are weeks away from the launch of the redesigned ReadingGroupGuides.com, where among other things, we will implement many of your suggestions. The goal of the new site is to make it easier for you to find guides and content on the website. We also are adding a message board where groups will be able to share the books that they are reading, and where readers will be able to post messages looking for book clubs in their areas and groups will be able to look for new members. We look forward to these new features as much as you do.
Read on...and enjoy October.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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Click here to register your reading group.
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THE COVENANT by Naomi Ragen
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Living in Jerusalem, Elise Margulies fears for the lives of her husband and daughter every day. Then comes the day when her worst fears come true. Cancer specialist Dr. Jonathan Margulies drives his young daughter home from her ballet recital. His bullet-ridden car is found empty on the side of the road hours later. Elise, in the last stages of a difficult pregnancy, desperately calls her grandmother Leah in America for help and unknowingly revives a decades-old oath. Over five terror and hope-filled days during which ordinary people join the front lines against terrorism, the ties that bind two generations form a powerful alliance against contemporary evil.
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Click here to read our guide for THE COVENANT.
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A DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO by Han Shaogong
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A bold, inventive novel by one of China's greatest living authors, A DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO brings to life "a little village, impossible to find, almost dropped off the map," where a young man has been sent to live as part of Mao Zedong's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Through the imaginative form of dictionary entries, Han Shaogong tells dozens of wry stories about the eccentric residents of Maqiao. This innovative work is a great testament to the illuminating power of language.
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Click here to read our guide for A DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO.
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LILLA'S FEAST by Frances Osborne
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At the end of her life, Frances Osborne's one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother Lilla was as elegant as ever --- all fitted black lace and sparkling-white diamonds. To her great-grandchildren, Lilla was both an ally and a mysterious wonder. Her bedroom was filled with treasures from every exotic corner of the world. But she rarely mentioned the Japanese prison camps in which she spent much of World War II, or the elaborate cookbook she wrote to help her survive behind the barbed wire.
LILLA'S FEAST is a rich evocation of a bygone world, the inspiring story of an ordinary woman who tackled the challenges life threw in her path with an extraordinary determination.
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Click here to read our guide for LILLA'S FEAST.
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NEW TOWN: A Fable . . . Unless You Believe, by Harry Blamires
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Can a man caught between dream and reality choose between the familiar and the unknown? Or is there more to this mission of destiny? When Bernard Dayman is unexpectedly deposited on the streets of Old Town, he hasn't a clue how he got there or why he's come to this decaying city. Follow Bernard on his journey of self-discovery and discover for yourself the difference between the dream of heaven and the stuff of earth. Readers who appreciate C.S. Lewis should note that Blamires was schooled by him and his writing has a similar sensibility.
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Click here to read our guide for NEW TOWN.
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A MILLION LITTLE PIECES by James Frey
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The latest selection from Oprah's Book Club®, A MILLION LITTLE PIECES is James Frey's scorching account of his descent into the hell of addiction and the brutal journey to recovery. In writing that jumps off the page with all the rawness and immediacy of life, this book is an unforgettable act of self-witnessing and a terrifying account of what the human spirit can destroy, endure, and overcome.
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Click here to read our guide for A MILLION LITTLE PIECES.
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NIGHTINGALES: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale, by Gillian Gill
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Florence Nightingale was for a time the most famous woman in Britain --- if not the world. We know her today primarily as a saintly character, perhaps as a heroic reformer of Britain's health-care system. The reality is more involved and far more fascinating. In an utterly beguiling narrative that reads like the best Victorian fiction, acclaimed author Gillian Gill tells the story of this richly complex woman and her extraordinary family. |
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Click here to read our guide for NIGHTINGALES.
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MAYBE A MIRACLE by Brian Strause
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In this disarming debut, Brian Strause has written a vastly entertaining novel about an American family transfixed by a series of mysterious events. From a comfortable suburb of Columbus, Ohio, emerges a story of rebellion, faith and hope, bridging the cultural gap between those who believe in miracles and those who wish they could.
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Click here to read our guide for MAYBE A MIRACLE.
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For Registered Book Clubs: This Month's Special Offers
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This month, ReadingGroupGuides.com is offering the following three special opportunities to book clubs who are registered with us by Friday, October 14th. Registered groups will receive a newsletter on October 17th with complete contest details. Click here to register your group.
13 Ways of Looking at the Novel: Groups will be eligible to win copies of this book for their group.
About 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel:
Jane Smiley, the author of A Thousand Acres and Good Faith, has written all kinds of novels: mystery, comedy, historical fiction, epic. Now, she has written a book about what it's like to read novels. Four years ago, Smiley experienced writer's block and started reading for inspiration. The result is 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, a book that includes must-read tips for any aspiring writer, and an exploration of 100 novels that will appeal to every reader. From classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to Don Quixote and Lolita, to recent fiction by Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, and Alice Munro (you get the picture), Smiley's reading list is one of the most compelling -- and surprising! -- ever assembled.
The Widow of the South by Richard Hicks: Clubs will have the opportunity to win chats with Richard Hicks, as well as copies of The Widow of the South for their groups.
About The Widow of the South:
In 1894 Carrie McGavock is an old woman who has only her former slave to keep her company...and the almost 1,500 soldiers buried in her backyard. ears before, rather than let someone plow over the field where these young men had been buried, Carrie dug them up and reburied them in her own personal cemetery. Now, as she walks the rows of the dead, an old soldier appears. It is the man she met on the day of the battle that changed everything. The man who came to her house as a wounded soldier and left with her heart. He asks if the cemetery has room for one more.
The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God: Groups will have the chance to win chats with Timothy Schaffert and copies of The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, which has been selected as a Pulpwood Queen Book Club pick.
Hud and Tuesday are living, breathing, squirming examples of the refrain that breaking up is hard to do. And not only is the marriage of the divorced duo asunder, their teenage son Gatling has broken away to follow the rhythms of an itinerant gospel rock band made of four fundamentalist, but less-than-angelic, beauties called Daughters of God. The erstwhile couple's eight-year-old daughter Nina is the one generous helping of sugar in their bittersweet lives. And Hud toys with the notion of kidnapping the child, hoping that she will act as the magnet that will draw his splintered family back together.
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Click here to register your group.
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This Month's Poll: Book Length
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Does the length of a book influence your group's interest in it?
Yes, if a book is too long, we will not read it.
No, this is not a consideration with us.
This has not ever come up for discussion.
I am not sure how my book club feels about this.
If your group does select a lengthy book, do you allow extra time in between meetings?
Yes, we do this.
No, but we should do this.
No, we would not do this.
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Answer our poll here.
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Tip of the Month for November
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Volunteer at a soup kitchen, food collection bank or shelter with your book group this month. Check to see if they accept book donations and bring along some titles you think their guests might enjoy.
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This Month's Contest: THE DIVIDE by Nicholas Evans |
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A subscription to our newsletter is all you need to be entered in our monthly contest.
Click here to learn more about THE DIVIDE.
Click here to learn more about Nicholas Evans.
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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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