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

NPR's Scott Simon Tweeted About Me & Adriana Trigiani Comes to Book Club Girl on Air in Two Days!

OK, I know that I have truly arrived. I woke up this morning to find that my voice is all but gone, the result of whatever virus gave me pink eye last week, then a head cold. It's been fun in our house. As you know, I have the Book Club Girl on Air show with Adriana Trigiani on Tuesday night and I was really hoping this would be my return to conducting the interviews myself, since having had Book Club Girl Jr. I had it all planned out: come home, feed baby and then have husband whisk the children to the local Trattoria for dinner while I host the show from my kitchen. This may all be in jeopardy now, as I don't sound like anyone you'd want to listen to at all. I have some folks on standby at work. But as I was despairing this morning, and reading Twitter, I saw Scott Simon's am tweet and thought, hey, he's probably been in this situation, he has to be on the radio all the time, let me ask a professional radio announcer what to do, so I did, and he DM'd me back and tweeted about me too! His advice, there's not much I can do but rest and not talk, and if I have to, go on with a rasp. I'll know more as Tuesday arrives. For now, I'm REALLY trying hard not to talk, but I am a talker...luckily nearly everyone is asleep now, so I only have to avoid one person. And tomorrow is a day of launch presentations in which I mainly have to listen, not present.

Which brings me to the reminder that Tuesday night we all get to talk to book club maven Adriana Trigiani about her wonderful new novel, Very Valentine! Set your reminder for the show here, and return to that same link to listen live on Tuesday, April 7th at 7 pm EST. Remember, if you want to participate in the chat, be sure to register on Blog Talk Radio beforehand so you're not trying to do that as the show begins. (Click register at the top left of the screen). And you can call and ask Adriana a question directly at (347) 945-6149. If you can't make the show, but have a question for Adriana, please comment here or email me at Book Club Girl AT gmail DOT com.

Happy Thanksgiving from Book Club Girl

I hope that everyone has a restful and rewarding Thanksgiving, with friends and family. We'll be hosting at our house, but my in laws are bringing half the food, so that's a relief. The pies are done, as is the stuffing. Now I'm just trying to get this darn bird to thaw. In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a link to Susan Stamberg's famous Cranberry Relish recipe, which she recites on NPR every year. I"ve yet to make it, but love the tradition of hearing it read aloud each Thanksgiving. And, because the cover just always makes me thing of Thanksgiving, today I'm recommending Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections.

Diane Rehm's New Reader's Review Book is Anne of Green Gables

Diane Rehm's new reader's review title is L.M. Montgomery's children's classic about a young girl who is sent to live with a lonely middle aged brother and sister on Prince Edward Island, Anne of Green Gables. I will now confess that while I am a lover of children's literature, I have not read Anne. I think this is because my sister was really into the books, and while that certainly didn't dissuade me from falling in love with Betsy, Tacy and co, my need to be different somehow kept me from reading Anne. We even visited the Green Gables House on Prince Edward Island on a family vacation. What can I say, I was a stubborn child. So perhaps now is the time. The discussion will take place on Diane Rehm's show on July 23rd (the day of my next show!).

Diane Rehm's New Reader's Review Book is Three Cups of Tea

I had the pleasure of hearing a lot of Diane Rehm while on vacation last week -- her shows and her interviews are so interesting and I gained such an understanding of what is happening in Cuba listening to one show in particular. If you haven't listened to her, I encourage you to do so. After discussing The Prince on her show last week in her Readers' Review book club style discussion, she has announced her pick for March -- the bestseller Three Cups of Tea. Tea follows the adventures of real-life Indiana Jones Greg Mortenson, who, after a failed attempt to summit the K2, embarks on a humanitarian campaign to build schools for boys and girls in Pakistan, literally in the Taliban's backyard. You can read an excerpt here, check out the reading guide here, and tune in to the discussion on March 19th.

Diane Rehm's New Book Club Pick is Dave Eggers' What is the What

Diane Rehm's new reader's review for November is Dave Eggers' acclaimed novel based on the life of a young Sudanese "lost boy" who leaves his troubled country for America entitled What is the What.  Click on the following for a description, excerpt and reading guide. Tune in on November 21st to hear the discussion.

BookShop West Portal in SF Hosts First National Reading Group Month Event this Wednesday!

The first NRGM event, presented by the Women's National Book Association, will be held this Wednesday 10/7 at 7pm, in SF at the BookShop West Portal with Beth Lisick, author of Everybody into the Pool. Lisick is familiar to many in the SF arts scene, but for those of you who haven't read her, you're in for a treat. This once suburban girl-next-door turned herself into one of the foremost chroniclers of alternative culture and can be heard here on This American Life (see Act Two: Life with the Haters). Fans of David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell will relish Lisick's scathingly funny, smart, very real take on the effluvia of daily living. If you're in the SF area, check her out! View the full schedule of NRGM events here.

Diane Rehm's Listeners Sink their Teeth into Dracula

Just in time for Halloween, Diane Rehm invites her audience to read Dracula by Bram Stoker. The discussion is set to take place on October 24th, one week before Draculas and their kind show up on your front stoop.

What to Read after Water for Elephants - More from Sara Gruen

As you know, Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants was made a runaway betseller by book groups across the country. And you can listen to Diane Rehm's reader's review of Water from her show (recorded yesterday) here.

Now what should you read if you've finished Water for Elephants and can't wait for Gruen's next novel? Good news! Water for Elephants wasn't her first book. In fact, she had written two novels previously, Flying Changes and Riding Lessons. Both are now out in trade paperback. In her debut novel, Riding Lessons, Gruen introduces Annemarie Zimmer, a world class equestrian and Olympic hopeful whose dreams are dashed by a tragic accident when she is 18. Twenty years later she comes home to tend her dying father's New Hampshire farm and struggles with her troubled teenage daughter. She finds herself drawn to the handsome veterenarian of her youth as well as a horse trainer, and then she meets a horse who reminds her of her past in this compelling story of loss and obsession. Here is the reading guide.

Flying Changes continues Annemarie's story, as she becomes increasingly anxious that her relationship is growing stale and that her daughter's dreams of Olympic glory could pull her away from her. When tragedy strikes, the family must find renewed strength to go on. Here's the reading group guide.

Diane Rehm's Latest Book Club Pick is Water for Elephants

Did you know that NPR radio host Diane Rehm hosts a monthly book club discussion on her site? This past Wednesday she announced her new pick, the runaway New York Times bestseller and book club favorite, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The discussions usually take place on the third Wednesday of the month (hey, that's when my book group meets as well), so listen for the show on Elephants on or around July 18th. Previous picks included Vilette by Charlotte Bronte and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.