I'm thrilled to share with you guides for two books that we have received repeated requests for from our readers --- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I feel that in delivering these guides we are giving our version of a great holiday gift to book club readers.

One of my favorite things is hearing authors talk about their books and their inspiration for them. Whether it be with readings or media interviews, hearing the story behind the book always sheds a new light on an author's work for me. This week I got a real treat when I received a copy of a DVD that Adriana Trigiani has done for her book clubs, which has Adriana talking about not just one book, but all of her books. She also offers readers a tour of Greenwich Village, where she lives and whose Commerce Street formed the backdrop to one of my favorite books of hers, Lucia, Lucia.

It's been a very busy month as last month we hosted festivities to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Book Report Network with a party at Ruby Foo's in New York City. You can see pictures from this very special evening here.

I cannot believe it's September and that my boys are back in school. While we did a lot this summer, I still find myself questioning where the summer went! Last week we spent a lovely week on the Outer Banks. You can read my blog about what I read here. Please note that there are two blogs on this same page. The first one has my reflections on two books that were written by 9/11 widows. Scroll down for the vacation reading one, or read both at the same time!