Book Club Girl - Book Group Recommendations, Reading Group Guides, Audio Book Club Podcasts

UPDATED POST! Book Club Favorite Jennifer Haigh's New Novel is On Sale Today!

VIDEO NOW INCLUDED BELOW!

The new novel from Jennifer Haigh, author of book club favorites Baker Towers and Mrs. Kimble, is on sale today and is just wonderful. In The Condition, Haigh tells the story of the McKotch family who have all gone their separate ways as their parents have divorced and the children have grown up. The novel is told from the perspectives of each member of the family, each wounded in their own way. Haigh's insights into family will make you reflect on your own. I've read all of her novels and found this one to be on a completely new level, I just loved it. So did BCG reader Julie -- you can read her review over on her great blog Booking Mama. Here is a video of Jennifer talking about the book, which you can browse inside here.

Here are more resources:
Interview with Jennifer Haigh
Reading Group Guide
Catch Jennifer on Tour
Jennifer's Website

My Book Group's Next Selection is Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth

I'm so excited that my book group decided our next book is Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed new book of stories, Unaccustomed Earth. I've heard such great things from friends who have already read and loved the book. I'm interested to see how a discussion of short stories goes, as in my last book group we had a hard time discussing stories, but I'm game. You can read an excerpt here, download the reading group guide here, read more about Lahiri here and watch a video of Lahiri on Barnes & Noble's Meet the Writers series.

Live from ALA, An Interview with Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Bookmobile

Today at ALA, Stephanie had the opportunity to interview Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Bookmobile, who is in Anaheim this weekend promoting her book and mobile libraries (that's the bookmobile to you and me). It is such an interesting interview in which we learn, among many other things, how Masha came to write the book as a novel, about her trip to Africa as well as her experiences with libraries and book groups here in the states, many of whom, as we know from her post on the blog at ReadingGroupGuides.com, have rallied to raise money for the Camel Book Drive.

Browse inside the book here and if you would like more information on how you can help, the website that Masha set up to donate is www.camelbookdrive.wordpress.com. You can learn more at her site as well. Thank you Masha for speaking with Stephanie and thank you Stephanie for such an insightful interview! The first 5 commenters on this post will receive a copy of The Camel Bookmobile.

Live from ALA -- An Interview with Yxta Maya Murray, author of The King's Gold

I was lucky enough to have some wonderful colleagues attending this weekend's American Library Association in Anaheim, CA and today, via Blog Talk Radio, Nicole interviewed Yxta Maya Murray, author of The Queen Jade and The King's Gold, books one and two, respectively, in the Red Lion series. In her wonderful series of books, Murray tells the stories of Lola Sanchez, brilliant bibliophile and owner of the Red Lion Bookshop, whose exploration of ancient mysteries leads her to adventures of a lifetime. The King's Gold was first mentioned on BCG here, as the July selection of the Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club so for anyone participating in those discussions next month, this interview is right on time!

Click on the player below to hear about the bacchanals that Yxta has held, what inspires her career as a lawyer and an author of historical fiction, and her love of libraries! Thank you Yxta for taking the time to talk to us and thanks so much Nicole for bringing us this up close and personal portrait of the author.

Browse inside The Queen Jade and The King's Gold. The first five commenters on this post will receive a copy of each book!

Win a Year's Worth of Books for Your Book Club!

Here's a pretty amazing contest -- enter to win a whole year's worth of books for your entire book group! That's books for every month of the year for every member of your book group -- with book club favorites from Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Gregory Maguire, Paulo Coelho, Michael Chabon, Lionel Shriver, Joyce Carol Oates, Debra Dean, Thrity Umrigar, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Louise Erdrich and Zora Neale Hurston! Enter here and encourage all the members in your reading group to do the same!

Listen to the Book Club Chat with Laurie Viera Rigler Now!

Listen here to tonight's wonderful book club chat with Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. Thank you Laurie for talking to us and thank you so much to everyone who called in and sent questions in to the show! Do check out Laurie's site, where you can not only see her dancing at a ball, but you can also watch a great campaign ad for Jane Austen running for president!

The next Book Club Girl On Air show is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23rd, with Victoria Lustbader, author of Stone Creek. Set your reminder here. The first 25 people to comment on today's show with Laurie will receive a copy of Stone Creek to read before the show!

First Trailer for Book Club Favorite The Secret Life of Bees Movie!

The big-screen adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's bestselling The Secret Life of Bees opens nationwide in October of this year and you can watch an exclusive trailer for the film on the Borders site now. The movie stars Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys, and Queen Latifah. You can also watch Sue Monk Kidd talking about the book and movie, also on Border's site, here!

Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle Comes to Lifetime This Weekend

Jodi Picoult's bestselling book club favorite The Tenth Circle gets its tv debut this Saturday, June 28th, with the Lifetime film adaptation. Kelly Preston, Ron Eldard and Britt Robertson star in the story of the Stone family, whose seemingly idyllic life is torn apart when their daughter Trixie is date raped. And when holes appear in Trixie's story, and the rapist is linked to another violent crime, the Stones themselves come under suspicion in this gripping page turner that is sure to be just as compelling on the small screen. Get more info at Lifetime.com, including an exclusive sneak peek at Picoult's next novel, Handle with Care, as well as a chance to win a signed library of all of Picoult's books. Read an excerpt of The Tenth Circle here and get the reading group guide here.

New Book Club Pick at Everyday I Write the Book

The new book club pick over at Everyday I Write the Book has been announced and it's Dalia Sofer's acclaimed novel about growing up in Iran during the revolution, The Septembers of Shiraz. Head on over to the site to sign up for the conversation to be held online in about a month's time and to get a copy of the book!

Reminder! Our Book Club Chat with Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is this Wednesday Night!

Those of you who received copies of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict for this Wednesday's Blog Talk Radio show with author Laurie Viera Rigler will have just received a reminder via email. But the show and conversation are not limited to the people who received books. Anyone who has already read Confessions or is simply interested in the fabulous story of a modern-day thirty-something woman suddenly transplanted into 1813 England is welcome to participate!

Set a reminder for the show here and that night you can call in at this number --(347) 945-6149. I'll identify callers by the last four digits of their phone number. You can also send questions for Laurie by commenting on this post prior to Wednesday night or while you're listening to the show live via the Chat section of the show's page (be sure to register on the website first if you want to use Chat and be sure to enter questions in "Chat," and not in "Comments").

If you're not sure what to ask, you might get some ideas with the reading group guide to the book. We hope to hear from some of you on Wednesday night at 7 pm EST! And stay tuned till the end of the show to hear which author we'll be talking with in July!

What's the Most Unusual or Innovative Book Group You've Seen?

Robert Gray, writing in Shelf Awareness, asked booksellers and authors the question and here's what was answered.

Entertainment Weekly's New Classic Books

Entertainment Weekly has released lists of 1000 new classics in books, movies, music, tv and more from the past 25 years. The book list is heavily influenced by reading group favorites and makes for a great to-be-read list for us all. Topping the list at #1 is Cormac McCarthy's The Road and coming in at #100 is Jon Stewart's America: The Book. Books we've all enjoyed in book clubs include Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, Ian McEwan's Atonement and Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. Check out the entire list to see how many you've read.

EW also offers up the top 25 classic book covers and the top 25 classic memoir shockers. And authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Neil Gaiman share two personal top ten lists of their own--hers the top ten short stories and his the top ten monsters.

Book Club Favorite Brick Lane Comes to the Big Screen

Monica Ali's bestselling novel Brick Lane, which has been read by and discussed in many a book group, including my own, gets its big screen debut this Friday when the film adaptation opens in select theaters.The trailer looks fabulous. Read an excerpt of the book here, an essay by Ali here and check out the reading guide here.

Book Clubs in the U.S. Help Fund Africa's Camel Bookmobile

Read Masha Hamilton's post today on the ReadingGroupGuides.com blog about her experiences with book groups promoting her novel The Camel Bookmobile. Her novel tells the story of the real camel bookmobile that delivers books to people living in the remote northeast of Kenya. As she's spoken with book groups since the book's publication, many have gotten to work to raise money to get more books into the program. A very inspiring post that might get some of you thinking about how you can use your book group to help out people for whom literature is a luxury, whether in far away Africa, or right here in the U.S. To learn more about the real Camel Bookmobile, visit the Camel Book Drive site. To read a bit of The Camel Bookmobile, go here.

Speaking of Beach Reads, This One Comes with a Towel!

I first wrote about Ann Brashares first book for grownups, The Last Summer (of You and Me), last year. As a big fan of Brashares' Traveling Pants series, I was so excited to read her first foray into more grown-up fare. And I wasn't disappointed. The Last Summer is now out in paperback and I have five copies to give away along with five special Last Summer beach towels! I'll choose five random winners from everyone who posts a comment on their favorite summer read of all time - the one you've never forgotten.

My favorite summer read would have to be The Thorn Birds, which I found in a house I was renting with some friends and realized I had never read. I almost devoured it in full that weekend, and was guilted into leaving it behind in the house by a super ethical friend. That Monday I scoured NYC looking for another used copy (somehow, I had to continue reading an old musty hardcover edition, new wasn't going to cut it).

I'm looking forward to hearing about all of your favorites! And for fellow Traveling Pants fans, the second movie comes out on August 6th. Check out the trailer below.

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Calling All NYC Book Club Girls - and Guys

If you're in the area, come out tonight to celebrate the publication of Jessica Anya Blau's debut novel about growing up in the '70s with hippie parents -- The Summer of Naked Swim Parties. If you were a teen in the 70s, or even a preteen, you will find much to identify with in this engaging novel. It's the perfect summer beach read. Join us, if you can, at McNally Robinson tonight at 7pm, 52 Prince Street between Lafayette and Mulberry. Not in NY? See if you can catch Blau on tour near you. Read a bit of the book here, here's the reading group guide and below is a great promotional video for the book.

In Memory of a Tremendous Newsman and in Celebration of Fathers

The only book I can think to recommend on this Father's Day, just two days after Tim Russert's sudden and tragic passing at the age of 58, is his own book, Big Russ and Me, about his father and what he taught him growing up in Buffalo, NY about living an ethical, honest and disciplined life. Russert will be sorely missed. CNN may have their fancy graphics but I can't imagine this year's presidential election without Tim's dry-erase board.

Don't Miss the Book the New York Times Calls "The Most Enchanting Debut of the Summer"

In her rave review in today's New York Times, Janet Maslin calls The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski, the "most enchanting debut of the summer." In the novel, Wroblewski tells the story of Edgar Sawtelle, born mute, speaking only in sign, he lives an idyllic life on his family's farm in northern Wisconsin raising dogs. When his uncle Claude returns to the family and his father dies unexpectedly, Claude's intrusion into their lives, and his mother's affections, sets off a chain of events and Edgar finds himself on his own, struggling to come to terms with what has happened as he comes of age. Browse inside the book here, and look for Wroblewksi on tour here. Visit his website for the reading guide and more.

DailyLit Launches a Reading Group with Twitter

DailyLit, the website that offers online serialization of books and sends out portions of them daily, has launched a reading group on the social networking site Twitter. I confess I don't twitter (but look for me on Facebook!), but it sounds like a pretty cool venture if you want a daily dose of a book (sent to your cell phone or via instant messenger) and the ability to talk about it with others reading right along with you on Twitter forums.

The first three titles are Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Tom Peters' 100 Ways to Succeed/Make Money. The free snippets start going out on Monday, June 16th. For more information about how to sign up, go here.

If any of you already get DailyLit, I'd love to hear about your experience, and if you participate in one of the reading groups, please let us know!

Harry Potter Prequel is Now Online!

The handwritten Harry Potter prequel, that J.K. Rowling recently wrote and that is set three years before Harry's birth, was sold last night for 25,000 pounds at an auction to benefit the charities English PEN and Dyslexia Action. You can now read it online here as obviously that tiny little picture to the left is not going to work for anyone, be they Muggle or Wizard.