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

Maria Semple Interviews Tara Conklin about Her Debut Novel, The House Girl

“Mister hit Josephine with the palm of his hand across her left cheek and it was then she knew she would run.”  It is this sentence that pulled me in and the moment I suspected that what lay ahead in the next 369 unread pages would be nothing short of an adventure.

The House Girl is an unforgettable tale that intertwines the story of Josephine Bell, a house slave in antebellum Virginia and Lina Sparrow, a modern day New York City lawyer assigned to find the perfect plaintiff for a reparations lawsuit. It is through her father, renowned artist Oscar Sparrow, that Lina discovers a controversy rocking the art world: art historians now suspect that the revered paintings of Lu Anne Bell, an antebellum artist known for her humanizing portraits of the slaves who worked her Virginia tobacco farm, were actually the work of her house slave, Josephine. But that’s only half of the story!

Told through alternating voices, The House Girl is a novel richly layered with history, art, love and secrets; and begs the reader to explore moral questions such as what it means to repair a wrong, and whether truth can be more important than justice. Marie Claire raves, “This will be the book-club book of 2013!”—and we agree.

Find out what all of the buzz is about. Click here to read an excerpt and download the reading group guide to share with your book club.

New York Times bestselling author Maria Semple (Where’d You Go, Bernadette) sat down to chat with Tara about discovering Josephine’s voice and how her upbringing in both St. Croix and Massachusetts inspired her writing.

Maria Semple: Tara, huge congratulations on THE HOUSE GIRL. How did this novel come into being?

Tara Conklin: Thanks, Maria.  The novel began as a short story that I wrote about six years ago.  I came across the term “slave doctor” in a book I was reading and the words made me stop. I became curious as to why a person dedicated to healing would take on such a role.  From that initial spark of curiosity, I wrote a short story about a slave doctor, Caleb Harper, and two women appeared in his story.  I say “appeared” because that’s really how it seemed to happen – Josephine and Dorothea just showed up and demanded my attention.  I couldn’t stop wondering about these two characters and so I started writing separate stories about them, and I just kept writing.

MS: Josephine, a house slave in 1852 Virginia, became one of your narrators.  The other, Lina, is a lawyer in present day New York. You practiced law before you became a novelist.  Did Lina’s voice come easily by comparison?

TC: No, I actually found Lina’s sections tougher to get right.  I think because Lina’s external world is more similar to mine, it was more difficult to imagine her – I kept bumping up against my own experience. 

MS: That’s so surprising, that Josephine was the easier voice to get right.

TC: Josephine came to me very organically – I felt that I knew who she was and what she wanted early on in the writing. Her character was inspired by two people: one was an African-American artist named Mary Bell and the other was a former slave, Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman, who lived in my hometown during the 18th century.  Mumbet said that if she could have one minute of freedom, only to die afterwards, she would make the trade. That strength of purpose helped me understand Josephine.

MS: While she's not a narrator, the character of Lu Anne Bell looms large over the story.  She's quite mysterious and wonderful.  I'm curious if she, too, is partly based on a real person.

TC: No, she is entirely fictional, but I’m glad that you thought otherwise!  I wrote quite a bit of back story for Lu Anne that never made its way into the novel: her childhood in Mississippi, how she met Mister, why they fell in love.  I see Lu Anne as an essentially tragic figure – I think she wants to break out of the world she’s been born into, but she can’t quite transcend it.

MS: You were born in St. Croix and grew up in Stockbridge, MA. Did growing up in these two vastly different environments influence you as a writer?

TC: Both places are steeped in history, so they’ve given me an appreciation for and curiosity about the past and how it helps shape the present.  Both places also have substantial ties to slavery.  I don’t remember much about St. Croix, but I grew up with my parents’ stories of the island’s racial tension, the horrible legacy of the sugar fields.  When I was in elementary school in Stockbridge, I learned about the Underground Railroad and Mumbet (mentioned above), a slave who sued for her freedom in a Massachusetts court and won.  These stories really stayed with me over the years.

MS: What are you reading now?

TC: I always have several novels on the go at once – right now I’m reading Zone One by Colson Whitehead, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and I’m re-reading A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, one of my all-time favorites. 

 

Want to have Tara call into your book club? Click here to submit your request.
Friend Tara on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Wild for Wiley—A Land More Kind Than Home available in paperback today!

Wiley Cash took the country by storm last spring with the release of his debut novel, A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME—an absorbing tale about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small North Carolina town. Since then, the novel has received a great deal of recognition appearing on several “Best of 2012” lists including The New York Times. Wiley has also gone on to win the CWA’s Dagger Award for best new crime author of 2012.

Now, A Land More Kind Than Home is available in paperback and we are thrilled. The Richmond Times-Dispatch call’s Wiley’s novel “a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mocking Bird.” You need only read a few pages to see just how true this is.

Book Clubs will rejoice, as this book is filled with all sorts of great fodder for discussion—family secrets, betrayal, and redemption. But who better to give you the top 10 reasons why you’ll love this book than the author himself. Click here to watch the video and view the reading group guide.

If you have a book club and are interested in having Wiley Skype or call in, click here to submit your request.

Wiley will be doing a featured author chat on Goodreads.com this Thurs. 1/24, be sure to stop by.

Even bestselling author Adriana Trigiani is a fan and she recently sat down to interview Wiley. Check out their discussion below. 

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani (The Shoemaker's Wife) talked to Wiley Cash about why he loves book clubs, his inspiration for his bestselling novel, and more!

 1. Adriana Trigiani: First and foremost I’d like to congratulate you on the success of your debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home.  As a writer, I know that inspiration can come from many different places— a quote, a childhood experience, the sky’s the limit. What inspired you to write this novel?

Wiley Cash: Thanks, Adriana. I’d like to congratulate you on the success of The Shoemaker’s Wife.

The inspiration for this novel kind of found me. In the fall of 2003 I left North Carolina and moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, to attend graduate school. One night, in a class on African-American literature, my professor brought in a news story about a young African-American boy with autism who was smothered in a healing service on the south side of Chicago. I found the story incredibly tragic, but I was also interested in a community of believers that would literally believe something to death. I felt compelled to tell this boy’s story and the story of the community that surrounded him.

2. AT: In my opinion, the setting of a novel is often as important as the characters themselves in helping a writer tell the story. You do an excellent job here of using your setting—the mountains of North Carolina—to do just that. What drew you to write about this particular region and culture?

WC: After moving to Louisiana I found myself immediately and incredibly homesick for western North Carolina. I grew to love Lafayette, and I still do; it’s a second home to me, but I never feel more at home than when I’m in the mountains of North Carolina.

As I mentioned, I wanted to tell the story of this young boy in Chicago, but I’d never visited the city and I couldn’t portray the South Side’s African-American community. But I realized that if I took this tragedy and set it in the mountains of North Carolina I could do two things: I could tell this story, and I could go home again.

3. AT: One of the things I love most about this novel is that it’s told from very different perspectives—ranging from a young boy to a woman in her eighties to a middle-aged sheriff. As readers can see from your author photo you don’t fit any of these criteria. Did you find it difficult to write from different viewpoints?

WC: At first it was difficult to imagine the role each of these narrators would play in the novel, but as I grew to know them better I realized that each narrator possessed a particular knowledge about the tragedy involving the young boy, and I understood that each of them viewed it from a very different perspective. This story belongs to the community, and I had to let the community tell it.

4. AT: A lot of writers believe that a story tells itself. Did you know the ending of A Land More Kind Than Home from the beginning or did it unfold as you wrote? And do you view the ending as a tragedy or a new beginning?

WC: This is a tragic story, and I knew that another tragedy would take place toward the end of the novel, but I never imagined that it would close on such a positive, hopeful note. Adelaide’s coda really caught me by surprise; it made her seem and feel even more real to me because she is the only one who could bring the community together again and start the healing process. That being said, I suppose I view the tragedy at the end of the novel as a new beginning. That’s having it both ways, isn’t it? Oh well.

5. AT: I’m a huge fan of book clubs. In my mind, there’s nothing better than getting together to discuss your favorite book over a glass of wine. Are there any particular themes that book clubs might enjoy exploring in your book?

WC: I think book clubs are wonderful too, and there are a lot of issues in A Land More Kind Than Home for book clubs to discuss: the power of faith, community responsibility, family secrets, marriage and infidelity. A lot of book clubs have wanted to talk about the role of the boys’ mother in the novel: Was she a good mother who believed her son could be healed, or was she a bad mother who invited tragedy upon her family?

6. AT: Most writers are big readers, including myself. What are some of your all-time favorite books and/or writers?

WC: There are three books I’m always reading for different reasons: Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel because of its evocation of the city of Asheville, North Carolina, a place I love; Jean Toomer’s Cane because of its beautiful prose; and Ernest J. Gaines’s Of Love and Dust because of how much it’s taught me about dialogue, brevity, and character development.

Some more contemporary books I’ve really enjoyed are by friends of mine: Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins, Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime, Lydia Netzer’s Shine, Shine, Shine, Matt Bondurant’s The Night Swimmer, and Michael Kardos’s The Three-Day Affair. One of the best things about having my novel published has been the opportunity to meet so many talented writers who also happen to be super cool. I love to tell readers about good books that I know have been written by good people. That being said, folks should pick up a copy of The Shoemaker’s Wife!

Author Patricia Harman Discusses The Midwife of Hope River on Shindig Monday October 22nd!

Next Monday, October 22nd, at 6 pm ET, book clubs and readers will have a very special opportunity to talk with author Patricia Harman about her new novel, The Midwife of Hope River. You can RSVP for the live online Shindig event, and get the full details here.

Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need—and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust—but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.

Honest, moving, and beautifully detailed, Patricia Harman's The Midwife of Hope River rings with authenticity as Patience faces nearly insurmountable difficulties. From the dangerous mines of West Virginia to the terrifying attentions of the Ku Klux Klan, Patience must strive to bring new light and life into an otherwise hard world.

Watch this haunting book trailer for The Midwife of Hope River:

Read an excerpt from The Midwife of Hope River, and friend and follow Patsy on Facebook and Twitter. Check out the reading group guide and RSVP for the Shindig Book Club Event with her on Monday, October 22nd at 6 pm ET.

The Fall Literary Debut You Don't Want to Miss

There's one fall debut that I keep hearing about over and over again. Those who downloaded the Book Club Girl Sampler to their e-reader (which is free and still available) may have already read a bit of it as well. It's being praised as: “eloquent, moving” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), “mesmerizing” (Booklist), “breathtaking” (Library Journal), and written in the tradition of “great American storytelling” (NYT bestselling author Wally Lamb).

Highly original and haunting, THE ORCHARDIST by Amanda Coplin is set in the untamed Pacific Northwest at the turn of the 20^th century with the narrative centering on a reclusive orchardist named Talmadge, a gentle man who finds a deep solace and connection to the land he cultivates and the fruit it bears. The idyllic harmony of his solitary life is sharply challenged, however, by the unexpected arrival of two young, pregnant girls—scared, hungry, tired, and running from their past—who take up residence on the outskirts of his land. Their arrival in his life and the connections they make leave indelible marks on the course of their lives, rendering them all forever changed by violence, misfortune, compassion, courage, and above all, a deeply complicated and unspoken love.

Debut author Amanda Coplin, who was born in Wenatchee, Washington (the “Apple Capitol of the World”), spent more than 8 years writing this novel. Hear the full story behind the book when you meet her on tour this fall, or get to know her as she guest-posts this week (Aug. 20-24) on the Powell’s blog. Browse inside The Orchardist, which is on sale tomorrow, 8/21, and if you’re interested in reading it with your book club, check out this reading group guide to get the conversation started.

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Lois Leveen Discussing The Secrets of Mary Bowser is Tonight!

Just a reminder that tonight we'll welcome Lois Leveen, author of the debut historical novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser, to Book Club Girl on Air. Join us to talk about this little-known heroine of the Civil War and to learn about Lois' inspiration for the novel. Check out the reading group guide and during the live show you can send in questions via the chat function (be sure to register on the site beforehand - choose the free option) or you can call in and ask her a question directly by dialing 347-945-6149. Set your reminder for tonight's show at 7 pm ET here and return to that same link to listen live tonight!

Book Club Girl on Air Welcomes Lois Leveen to Discuss The Secrets of Mary Bowser!

I'm thrilled to announce that on Thursday July 12th, Lois Leveen will join us on Book Club Girl on Air to discuss her novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser. I just loved this book and after having pitched it last week at the Book Club Speed Dating session at BEA, I'm more excited than ever to discuss it with Lois and all of you!

Based on a remarkable true story, The Secrets of Mary Bowser is an inspiring tale of one daring woman's willingness to sacrifice her own freedom to change the course of history

All her life, Mary has been a slave to the wealthy Van Lew family of Richmond, Virginia. But when Bet, the willful Van Lew daughter, decides to send Mary to Philadelphia to be educated, she must leave her family to seize her freedom.

Life in the North brings new friendships, a courtship, and a far different education than Mary ever expected, one that leads her into the heart of the abolition movement. With the nation edging toward war, she defies Virginia law by returning to Richmond to care for her ailing father—and to fight for emancipation. Posing as a slave in the Confederate White House in order to spy on President Jefferson Davis, Mary deceives even those who are closest to her to aid the Union command.

Just when it seems that all her courageous gambles to end slavery will pay off, Mary discovers that everything comes at a cost—even freedom.

"This book has "best seller" written all over it. The Secrets of Mary Bowser is not only fascinating reading, but also historical fiction of the highest caliber." says The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Browse inside The Secrets of Mary Bowser and set your reminder for the show here. I have 10 copies of the book to give away to the first 10 people who comment that they can participate in the live show with Lois Leveen on Thursday, July 12th at 7pm ET. Visit Lois Leveen's website, follow her on Twitter and friend her on Facebook.

When History and Literature Meet… The Secrets of Mary Bowser

Have you ever heard of Mary Bowser? I hadn’t until reading The Secrets of Mary Bowser, an incredible debut novel by Lois Leveen. But it turns out that Mary Bowser was a real person and one who certainly helped the Union win the Civil War.I had the pleasure of meeting Lois Leveen out in her hometown of Portland last month where a group of librarians and booksellers were in her thrall as she talked about the research that went into The Secrets of Mary Bowser. Read on and I think you'll see why.

All her life, Mary has been a slave to the wealthy Van Lew family of Richmond, Virginia. But when Bet, the willful Van Lew daughter, decides to send Mary to Philadelphia to be educated, she must leave her family to seize her freedom.
Life in the North brings new friendships, a courtship, and a far different education than Mary ever expected, one that leads her into the heart of the abolition movement. With the nation edging toward war, she defies Virginia law by returning to Richmond to care for her ailing father—and to fight for emancipation. Posing as a slave in the Confederate White House in order to spy on President Jefferson Davis, Mary deceives even those who are closest to her to aid the Union command. Just when it seems that all her courageous gambles to end slavery will pay off, Mary discovers that everything comes at a cost—even freedom. This is a novel about what happens when people choose to do what’s right, instead of what’s easy. The history woven into the story is a perfect launching pad for book clubs to talk about America’s past, and about what it means to do something truly heroic as Mary Bowser did at so many points in her inspiring life.

 

We’re thrilled to debut the book trailer for The Secrets of Mary Bowser here and share both the prologue and the start of chapter one. We’ll post two more excerpts on the Book Club Girl Facebook page before the book goes on sale on 5/15. Click here for the reading group guide and friend Lois Leveen on Facebook.

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read Along Begins with A Duty to the Dead!

Our Book Time with Bess Bess Crawford Read Along begins! Today we'll discuss the first book in Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series, A Duty to the Dead. Answer the questions below in the comments section and link to your posts with your own thoughts about A Duty to the Dead there as well. For those who are also posting their thoughts to Twitter, please use the hashtag #besscrawford.

A Duty to the Dead
Dedicated to helping the many wounded during the Great War, Bess Crawford receives a desperate request from a dying lieutenant while serving as a nurse aboard a hospital ship. "Tell my brother Jonathan that I lied," the young man says. "I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right."

Back home in England, Bess receives an unexpected response from the dead soldier's family, for neither Jonathan Graham‚ his mother‚ nor his younger brother admit to understanding what the message means.

But the Grahams are harboring a grim secret, and Bess must, somehow, get to the bottom of it. It is her sacred duty to the dead, no matter how painful, or dangerous, that obligation might be.

Questions for Discussion:

1) Was this the first book that you read by Charles Todd, or, the first book set in this time period? I first encountered WWI-era-England with Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, and then, of course with the tv sensation Downton Abbey. If you have read more in this time period, what other books do you recommend?

2) What was your first impression of Bess Crawford? Were you surprised by the independence she enjoyed as a woman in this time, and that her parents afforded her so much freedom? Did your opinion of Bess change throughout the novel?

3) Bess has an interesting back story, growing up as she did in India. How did the authors use that part of her life to help define her character, and that of her parents and their relationship?

4) Did you know that large ocean liners, such as the Brittanic, which was a sister ship to both the Titanic and the Olympic, were called into service as hospital ships during the war? Brittanic was indeed sunk as well, just as the Todds write it in the book. Did you know that so many of the men who died on the hospital ships were buried at sea? Of course it makes sense, but I hadn't realized the number and that those men's families were left with no grave at home to visit, as Bess reflects, "In the sea there were no markers for the dead. No place in the deep to mourn, no place to leave flowers."

4) What did you think of Arthur's message? Do you think it was fair of him to ask Bess to deliver it? Why do you think she was so committed to not only delivering it, but to making sure it was followed by the Graham family?

5) What did you think of Mrs. Graham and her sons? I was struck by how much Bess was at their mercy and whim while staying in their house. Do you think they abused her kind nature in asking her to care for Peregrine?

6) Did you guess who the real killer was before he was revealed? I confess I went back and forth a few times, wondering.

7) What new word did you learn in A Duty to the Dead? For me it was "ratings," which refers to "a classification according to grade; specifically: a military or naval specialist classification, or more precisely: "chiefly British: a naval enlisted man." (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition).

I can't wait to hear what everyone else thought. I loved meeting Bess and learning more about this time and the mystery kept me turning pages rapidly until the wee hours of the night.

Join us next month as we discuss the next book in the series, An Impartial Witness, which we'll talk about on Monday, April 30th. And, the first 5 people to comment here with answers to the discussion will win a copy of An Impartial Witness!

The Book Time with Bess Read Along runs through the publication of the newest book in the series, An Unmarked Grave in June 2012. See the complete schedule for discussing the 4 books in the series below. Feel free to join at any time!

April 30^th - An Impartial Witness discussion
May 1st – A Bitter Truth paperback goes on sale
May 29^th – A Bitter Truth discussion (May 28^th is Memorial Day)
June 5^th - An Unmarked Grave – the new hardcover goes on sale
June 25^th – An Unmarked Grave discussion
June 28^th – Book Club Girl on Air Show with Charles Todd to Discuss the Entire Series

Look for updates along the way here, on Twitter (#besscrawford), and on the Book Club Girl and Charles Todd Facebook pages.

Harper Perennial's Erica Guest Posts about We Need To Talk About Kevin - Plus a Contest to Win the Book, DVD and Movie Poster!

Today's post comes from Erica at Harper Perennial, about the amazing novel which is now an acclaimed film, We Need To Talk About Kevin. Read on for her thoughts on this book club favorite and check out our contest to win copies of the book, the DVD of the movie and the movie poster!

When I first began working for HarperCollins, I was amazed by the free shelf. For those of you who might not know, the free shelf (sometimes called the take shelf) is where people leave the books they no longer need. Accidentally order twice as many copies as you need? Leave them on the take shelf for your colleagues! It’s a wonderful, amazing thing. And one day not long after I started here, I found a book on the take shelf that was equally wonderful and amazing: Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin.

I had heard of the book, but I had no idea what it was about. I was sucked in after I read the description on the back, and I tore through the book in a matter of days. It was my first introduction to Lionel Shriver’s writing, and I was blown away. I’ve never read another writer who is so good at writing about “unlikeable” women—women with their own desires and ambitions, women struggling to retain a sense of self at all costs, women who cannot be explained in one sentence.

So who could be better suited to play a Shriver heroine than Tilda Swinton? In the movie of We Need to Talk About Kevin, out now and expanding into theaters across the country, she brings every one of Shriver’s words into her performance in the role of Eva. When I saw it, I was transfixed by her face. She was brilliant at showing all of Eva’s fear, loathing, and resentment without uttering a single word.

The book has long been a favorite of book clubs because there’s so much in it to discuss. Is Eva a bad mother? Is Kevin a bad son? Was he born that way? The movie is the best kind of adaptation—the kind that adds new insights into these questions and then raises questions of its own.

Find a theater near you showing We Need To Talk About Kevin. Browse inside the book, read an interview with Lionel Shriver and check out the reading group guide. If you've read and/or seen We Need to Talk about Kevin, leave a comment with your thoughts about the book, the film or the adaptation of the former into the latter and you'll be entered to win one of 15 book, DVD and poster sets we have to give away. Haven't seen Kevin yet? You can still enter, just post a comment about another book adapted into a film and why you liked it - or didn't! I'll choose 15 random winners from all comments received by midnight Sunday, March 4th.

OFFER EXTENDED! Order The Pioneer Woman paperback in Its First Week on Sale and Receive a Free “Pioneer Woman Book Club Hostess Kit” for your book club!

Due to popular demand - and as a Valentine's Day treat - we're celebrating the on-sale date of The Pioneer Woman in paperback today by extending the offer to receive a free Book Club Hostess Kit to everyone who orders The Pioneer Woman in paperback in its first week of being on sale!

Here’s a sweet deal from blogger extraordinaire and cookbook author Ree Drummond. In celebration of book clubs and the forthcoming paperback edition of The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story (on sale 2/14), William Morrow will send Ree's own hand-picked selection of recipes of foods to make and enjoy during a book club gathering (from her NEW cookbook, not available in stores until 3/13!) along with a reading group guide, to anyone who preorders the paperback orders the paperback between now and Tuesday February 21st! Simply email proof of preorder to MorrowPBmarketing AT harpercollins DOT com with “I preordered” in the subject line. The paperback goes on sale officially today, February 14th, so act quickly to get this special bonus!

Then look for Ree on Book Club Girl on Air later this spring and for her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier, coming in March!

That’s when I saw him—the cowboy—across the smoky room.

I’ll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne Western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn’t looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I’d been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it.

This isn’t just my love story; it’s a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet.

It’s the story of a cowboy. And Wranglers. And chaps. And the girl who fell in love with them.

Order The Pioneer Woman from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million or your favorite indie bookstore via IndieBound.

Book Club Hostess Kits will be sent to all who email MorrowPBmarketing AT harpercollins DOT com, indicating that they have ordered the paperback edition of The Pioneer Woman: Black Heeels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story, by putting the words "I ordered" in the subject line. Orders must be placed before Tuesday February 21st, to be eligible. Kits will be sent out on or around Tuesday, February 21st. 

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Conor Grennan is Tomorrow Night, Tuesday, January 31st!

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Tuesday January 31st we'll be having our live chat with Conor Grennan, discussing his book Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal. During the show at 7pm ET, you'll be able to send your questions in via the chat session, or by calling in and talking to Conor directly! The call-in number is 347-945-6149. Be sure to register on the site before 7pm ET Tuesday night so that you can participate in the chat session from the beginning of the show. Check out the reading group guide to Little Princes in advance for question ideas. Can't wait to speak with Conor and all of you!

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Chandra Hoffman is Tonight, Wednesday, December 7th!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl on Air show with Chandra Hoffman, during which we'll discuss her new novel, Chosen, is tonight, Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm ET!

Set your reminder for the show here and return to that same link live this evening to participate. During the show you'll be able to ask questions of Chandra by sending in questions via the chat session (you can also chat with other listeners in the chat session). Or you can call in and ask Chandra questions directly by dialing 347-945-6149.

Be sure to register on the site before the show so you can participate in the chat from the beginning of the show.

Check out the reading group guide before the show - we can't wait to talk to all of you and Chandra!

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl On Air Show with Anna David Discussing Falling for Me is Tonight!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl On Air show with Anna David, during which we'll discuss her new memoir Falling for Me is tonight, November 21st at 7pm ET!

Set your reminder for the show here and return to that same link tonight to participate. During the show you'll be able to ask questions of Anna by sending in questions via the chat session (you can also talk with other listeners in the chat session). Or you can call in and ask Anna questions directly by dialing 347-945-6149.

Be sure to register on the site before tonight so you can participate in the chat from the beginning of the show. 

Browse inside Falling for Me and check out the reading group guide. We can't wait to talk to Anna and all of you tonight!

Book Club Girl on Air Welcomes Chandra Hoffman to Discuss Chosen on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm ET!

I’m so excited to welcome Chandra Hoffman to Book Club Girl on Air on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm ET to discuss her novel, Chosen! 

It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her “signing paperwork” charcoal suit, paired with the beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, against a fluorescent-lit delivery room backdrop. It’s this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of The Chosen Child’s domestic adoption program, happy juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of both adoptive and biological parents.

But the job that offers her refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland’s winter rains soon becomes a battleground itself involving three very different couples: the Novas, college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing—except the baby everyone wants. But when a child is kidnapped, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what went wrong…

I have 10 copies of Chosen to give out to the first 10 people who comment that they can participate in the show on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm ET. Set your reminder for the show, read the first chapter of Chosen, and check out the reading group guide. For more with Chandra, become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and visit her website!

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Sara Shepard Discussing Everything We Ever Wanted is Tonight!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl on Air show with Sara Shepard, author of the bestselling Pretty Little Liars and Lying Game series, during which we'll discuss her new novel, Everything We Ever Wanted, is tonight, November 16th at 7pm ET!

Set your reminder for the show here and return to that same link tonight to participate. During the show you'll be able to ask questions of Sara by sending in questions via the chat session (you can also talk with other listeners in the chat session). Or you can call in and ask Sara questions directly by dialing 347-945-6149.

Be sure to register on the site before tonight so you can participate in the chat from the beginning of the show.

Browse inside Everything We Ever Wanted and check out the reading group guide. We can't wait to talk to Sara and all of you on Wednesday night!

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Greg Olear is this Wednesday, November 9th!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl on Air show with Greg Olear, during which we'll discuss his new novel, Fathermucker, is this this Wednesday, November 9th at 7pm ET!

Set your reminder for the show here and return to that same link live on Wednesday evening to participate. During the show you'll be able to ask questions of Greg by sending in questions via the chat session (you can also talk with other listeners in the chat session). Or you can call in and ask Greg questions directly by dialing 347-945-6149.

Be sure to register on the site before Wednesday evening so you can participate in the chat from the beginning of the show.

I got a chance to see Greg read from and discuss Fathermucker at my local indie, Words in Maplewood, NJ, and I can assure you that this conversation is going to be a fun one. Browse inside Fathermucker and check out the reading group guide. Can't wait to talk to Greg and all of you on Wednesday night!

Listen to Tonight's Show with Adriana Trigiani Discussing Don't Sing at the Table Now!

For those of you who missed the live broadcast, you can listen in now to our discussion with Adriana Trigiani about her newest book, now out in paperback, Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers. We had a great conversation and Adriana shared some information about her new novel coming next year as well! Thanks so much to everyone who joined in and of course to Adriana.

 

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Wishes & Stitches' Rachael Herron on National Reading Group Month

Fall is officially upon us (and in some parts of the country, winter has already reared its head). And what that's meant to me has been more knitting. I just finished a poncho for my 2 year old and am nearly done with a cowl for myself. Leg warmers for my teenager and scarves and hats for my son and husband are swirling in my head. With knitting so much on my mind, I've really been in the mood to read Rachael Herron's Cyrpress Hollow series - and the newest, Wishes and Stitches, is just out! Today Rachael reports on the National Reading Group Month that she participated in this past month at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA.

There isn't anything like a book to draw people together. You can be sharing a train car with a person who looks nothing like you (she might wear a different kind of clothing, and do her hair differently; she might be a different race or age) but if she is reading your favorite book, she is a friend. There's that lovely moment of recognition when a beloved book comes up in conversation: "Oh, you love that, too? Yes, I knew I liked you."

Reading groups celebrate books, and even more, they celebrate the communal aspect of reading. We read books at the same time and then get together to talk about them. It isn't important whether we loved or hated the book in question; the important thing is that we come together.

Last Sunday, a collection of people joined together at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, California, to celebrate National Reading Group Month (sponsored by the Women's National Book Association). I was lucky enough to get to read and sign my books along with fellow author Thad Nodine.

And the great thing? At first glance, you wouldn't think Thad and I had much in common. His novel is about a blind man making a journey across the country. My novels and nonfiction have knitting as the background music.

But as we read aloud, it became apparent that he and I write about the same thing: human connection. And while we were doing it, we were connecting to the listeners in the chairs arranged before us. At one point, I swear Thad was climbing over the chain link fence he was describing in his passage and at another point, the whole room was roaring as I described evading airport security while clutching my spinning wheel.

We were all together in one room, thinking about and listening to the written word. People had come to hear him, or they'd come to hear me, but they left having made a connection with both of us, and it was a lovely, gorgeous thing. It was an afternoon I am proud to have been part of, and it further affirmed my respect for the reading group as a useful tool of our community.

Browse inside Wishes and Stitches and check out the reading group guide. Visit Rachael Herron's website to learn more about her Cypress Hollow Yarn series, and follow and friend her on Twitter and Facebook.

Reminder! Our Book Club Girl on Air Show with Adriana Trigiani is Tomorrow Night, Tuesday, November 1st!

Just a reminder that our Book Club Girl on Air show with Adriana Trigiani, on which we'll discuss her newest book in paperback, Don't Sing at the Table, is tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 1st at 7pm ET! Set your reminder for the show here and tune into that same link to listen and participate live tomorrow night at 7. During the show you'll be able to send questions in via the chat function, or call in and ask Adriana a question directly by dialing 347-945-6149. Be sure to register on the site before the show so that you can participate from the beginning and check out the reading group guide to Don't Sing at the Table. Can't wait to talk to you all tomorrow night!

Laura Kasischke's In a Perfect World E-Book is Just $2.99, Plus Download a Conversation with the Author about the Book!

Throughout the month of October, in honor of National Reading Group Month, we're offering 12 e-books by authors we've interviewed together on Book Club Girl on Air for just $2.99 from every place you buy e-books! Which means that you can get a year's worth of books for your book club for less than $36! For those of you who aren't familiar with the 12 books, I wanted to take the opportunity, over the next few weeks, to feature each of the 12 titles and authors to help you decide which book, or books, are right for your book club!

In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke

This is the way the world ends...

It was a fairy tale come true when Mark Dorn—handsome pilot, widower, tragic father of three—chose Jiselle to be his wife. The other flight attendants were jealous: She could quit now, leaving behind the million daily irritations of the job. (Since the outbreak of the Phoenix flu, passengers had become even more difficult and nervous, and a life of constant travel had grown harder.) She could move into Mark Dorn's precious log cabin and help him raise his three beautiful children.

But fairy tales aren't like marriage. Or motherhood. With Mark almost always gone, Jiselle finds herself alone, and lonely. She suspects that Mark's daughters hate her. And the Phoenix flu, which Jiselle had thought of as a passing hysteria (when she had thought of it at all), well . . . it turns out that the Phoenix flu will change everything for Jiselle, for her new family, and for the life she thought she had chosen.

From critically acclaimed author Laura Kasischke comes a novel of married life, motherhood, and the choices we must make when we have no choices left.

You can listen to our conversation with Laura about In a Perfect World below, share it with your book club and check out the reading group guide.

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