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

Listen to Our Book Club Chat with Diana Spechler about Who By Fire Now!

What a great conversation we had tonight with Diana Spechler about Who By Fire. Thanks to all who sent in questions and participated and especially to Diana! Diana mentioned that one of her early influences is the short story writer Joy Williams and that the book she's reading now is Rachel Shukert's Have You No Shame?, an essay collection which I can also attest to, it's hilarious. The two websites that she mentioned using for research into the world of Orthodox Judaism were Ask Moses and A Hasid and A Heretic. Listen to the show on the player below now!

Our Book Club Show with Diana Spechler is Tonight!

Reminder, our Book Club Girl on Air show with Diana Spechler about her wonderful debut novel Who By Fire is tonight at 7 pm EST! Set a reminder and listen to the show live here and please call in at  (347) 945-6149 to ask questions during the show! Browse inside Who By Fire here, and the PS section of the book here. Still not sure what to ask? Check out the reading group guide. I found this book so fascinating, I can't wait to talk to her. Looking forward to hearing from you all tonight as well!

Our Book Club Show with Diana Spechler is in One Week!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl on Air show with Diana Spechler about her debut novel Who By Fire is a week from today, on Thursday, November 20th at 7 pm EST! Set your reminder for the show here and learn a little bit more about Diana from her guest post on the great blog She Is Too Fond of Books about NYC's wonderful bookstore Three Lives and Company.

More Copies of Who By Fire to Give Away!

While I've given away all of my copies of Who By Fire for our book club show on November 20th, there is still a chance to win copies from Susan over at the Seaside Book Worm blog. Susan also writes the blog Jewish Rantings, So go on over there  to find out about the newest Jewish literature and enter to win a copy of Who By Fire! Set your reminder for the show with Diana Spechler on 11/20 here. 

Announcing Our Next Book Club Girl on Air Book Club Show with Diana Spechler!

I'm thrilled to officially announce that our next Book Club Girl on Air book club show, scheduled for Thursday, November 20th, will feature Diana Spechler and her debut novel, Who By Fire. Some of you may have heard Diana's interview from this weekend's Book Group Expo, if not, you can listen to it here. You can also watch this video interview with her and check out her guest post on Book Group Expo below. In Who By Fire, Spechler tells the story of a family attempting to recover from the abduction of their little sister 13 years earlier. Older brother Ash, who has always blamed himself for what happened, has cut himself off from his sister Bits and his mother, and is living in Jerusalem as an Orthodox Jew. Bits attempts to bring Ash home to heal their family in this beautiful novel that examines what happens when people try to rescue one another. You can browse inside the book here. The first 15 people to respond to this post that they'd like to participate in the show will receive a free copy of Who By Fire. Set your reminder for the show on 11/20 here.

Guest Post from Diana Spechler at Book Group Expo!

You've already heard the interview with Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire, now here's her take on Book Group Expo, from the author perspective. Stay tuned for the announcement of our November show with Diana later tonight!

If I’m bad enough in this life to warrant admission to Hell, I’ll probably spend Eternity at a Monster Truck Rally, or on a Greyhound bus, or in a kitchen where there’s nothing in the fridge but cottage cheese. But if I’m good, I will be plucked from Earth by angels who will deliver me to BookGroup Expo.

What more could an author want than to be inside a convention center filled people who approach reading with a reverence most people reserve for American Idol, people who traveled to San Jose, California just to glimpse their favorite authors and decide what their book clubs should read next?

I guess if I did want something more, it would be to sit on a panel with an author I’ve admired most of my life, like, say Andre Dubus III, with whom I got to squeeze onto a floral love seat, on a stage, looking out on a sea of book-lovers, while the book-lovers and the lovely Susanne Pari (author of The Fortune Catcher) asked us questions about our writing.

Then, if I could add one more detail to my fantasy, I would construct a break room I could retreat to between events with other authors, where we could chat about books and our book tours, and I could hear other authors’ amazing stories, like the one debut novelist Selden Edwards told about selling his first book at age sixty-seven, after having worked at it for thirty years, how his knees buckled and gave out when his editor called him with the offer from the publishing house. (Side note: Anyone who is lucky enough to meet Selden will want to hug him and be his best friend, and his novel, The Little Book, which I’ve begun, is almost as fabulous as he is.)

What I’m trying to say is that BookGroup Expo is Heaven. It is the opposite of a Greyhound Bus.

Listen to Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire from Today's Book Group Expo!

Nicole sat down and talked with Diana Spechler at today's Book Group Expo in San Jose, CA about her debut novel Who By Fire. Listen to the interview below now! As those of you who listened to this week's book club show with DeLaune Michel know, Diana's Who By Fire is the book we'll be discussing in November! Set a reminder for the show on 11/20 here. This is a great introduction to this wonderful debut novel, which you can browse inside here.