May 2011
For many groups that select books just once a year, ‘tis the season to be making selections. This is the time for book club members to hone their pitch skills. Why? Well, the difference between the book you want to have your group read being selected --- or not --- could be the way it is pitched to other members of the group.
Siri Hustvedt is the internationally bestselling author of WHAT I LOVED and THE SUMMER WITHOUT MEN. Below, she reflects on the influence of her mother, Esther Vegan Hustvedt --- and how the bond between mother and child affects all of us.
Robert Frost
Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things.
Attribution
Robert Frost
The author of several bestsellers, Sandra Dallas knows not to give up when the writing doesn’t flow. She learned this, first and foremost, from her mother --- “giving up wasn’t part of Mom’s makeup.” Though her mother is no longer here to place copies of THE BRIDE’S HOUSE face out on bookstore shelves, Sandra knows that she’s still her biggest fan.
As the author of SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER, Jacqueline Luckett has established herself as a writer to watch. In the touching post below, she reflects on the strong influence of her mother, who, while not an avid fiction reader herself, cherished Jacqueline’s first novel.
Photo: Jacqueline with her mother, Bernice.
Richard Horan zig-zagged across the country, tracking down author's homes and the trees that were a source of reference and inspiration to link literature with nature like never before. The result is SEEDS: One Writer's Serendipitous Journey to Find the Trees That Inspired Famous American Writers, from Faulkner to Kerouac, Welty to Wharton. Richard discusses his fond tree-climbing and tree houses memmories in this essay.
Vladimir Nabokov
The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.
Attribution
Vladimir Nabokov
