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

Listen to Tonight's Book Club Girl on Air Show with Tom Piazza Now

Tonight's interview with Tom Piazza was amazing, listen in now to hear him talk about City of Refuge, as well as his nonfiction book, Why New Orleans Matters.

Reminder! Our Show with Tom Piazza Discussing City of Refuge is Tonight!

Reminder that our show with Tom Piazza, where we'll discuss his novel of Hurricane Katrina, City of Refuge, is tonight, Thursday September 10th at 7 pm ET! Set your reminder for the show, and return to that same link to listen live tonight. Be sure to register on blog talk radio prior to the show to ensure that you can participate in the chat. And feel free to call in with a question at 347-945-6149. If you can't make the live show, but have a question for Tom, please post it here, or email it to me at bookclubgirl AT gmail DOT com. Read this essay by Piazza and we can't wait to talk to you tonight!

Francine Prose Joins Book Club Girl on Air to Discuss Her Newest Novel Goldengrove

September is an action packed month on Book Club Girl on Air, with a show every week of the month! On September 10th we're joined by Tom Piazza who will discuss his novel of Hurricane Katrina, City of Refuge. On September 14th, Jacqueline Sheehan, author of Lost & Found joins us to discuss her new novel Now & Then. And on September 24th, acclaimed writer Francine Prose joins us to discuss her newest novel, now out in paperback, Goldengrove.

After the sudden death of her beloved older sister, thirteen-year-old Nico finds her life on New England's idyllic Mirror Lake irrevocably altered. Left alone to grope toward understanding, she falls into a seductive, dangerous relationship with her sister's boyfriend. Over one haunted summer, Nico faces that life-changing moment when children realize their parents can no longer help them as she experiences the mystery of loss and recovery. Still, for all the darkness at its heart, Goldengrove is radiant with the lightness of summer and charged by the restless sexual tension of adolescence.

The first 10 people to comment on this post that they'd like to participate in the show with Francine Prose on Thursday, September 24th at 7pm ET will receive a free copy of the book to read before the show (US & Canada only).

Browse inside Goldengrove, check out the reading group guide, look for Prose on tour this fall and set your reminder for the show on the 24th.

Book Club Girl on Air Welcomes Jacqueline Sheehan, Author of Lost & Found and Now & Then

September is going to be a busy month for Book Club Girl on Air, with book club shows happening every week! First we'll have Tom Piazza discussing City of Refuge on September 10th, followed by Jacqueline Sheehan, author of the bestselling Lost & Found, who will join us to discuss her new novel, Now & Then.

Anna O'Shea has failed at marriage, shed her job at a law firm, and she's trying to re-create herself when she and her recalcitrant nephew are summoned to the past in a manner that nearly destroys them. Her twenty-first-century skills pale as she struggles to find her nephew in nineteenth-century Ireland. For one of them, the past is brutally difficult, filled with hunger and struggle. For the other, the past is filled with privilege, status, and a reprieve from the crushing pain of present-day life. For both Anna and her nephew, the past offers them a chance at love.

Will every choice they make reverberate down through time? And do Irish Wolfhounds carry the soul of the ancient celts? The past and present wrap around finely wrought characters who reveal the road home. Mystical, charming, and fantastic, New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Sheehan's Now & Then is a poignant and beautiful tale of a remarkable journey. It is a miraculous evocation of a breathtaking place in a volatile age filled with rich, unforgettable, deeply human characters and one unforgettable dog named Madigan.

Join us on Monday, September 14th when we talk with Jacqueline about Now & Then. The first 10 people to comment on this post that they'd like to participate in the show on the 14th will receive a free copy of Now & Then to read in preparation for the show!

Browse inside Now & Then, check out Jacqueline Sheehan's website and set your reminder for the show with Sheehan on September 14th.

Book Club Girl on Air Welcomes Tom Piazza to Discuss His Novel City of Refuge!

I'm so pleased to announce that the next Book Club Girl on Air Show (after Jennifer Haigh discusses The Condition on August 18th) will feature award-winning author Tom Piazza talking about his compelling and timely novel, City of Refuge. In City of Refuge, Piazza shows readers two families--one black and one white--as they confront Hurricane Katrina, a storm that will change the course of their lives. The novel also explores this turning point in American history, one whose reverberations are only beginning to be understood.

SJ Williams, a carpenter and widower, lives and works in the Lower Ninth Ward community where he was born and raised. Across town, Craig Donaldson, a Midwestern transplant and the editor of the city's alternative paper, faces deepening cracks in his family. When the news of the gathering hurricane spreads—and when the levees give way and the floodwaters come—the fate of each family changes forever.

The Houston Chronicle said of City of Refuge: "We’ve seen the broad outlines of this story on TV. But through Piazza’s pen, we feel—maybe fully for the first time—the surprise and horror as floodwaters sweep through neighborhoods, inching toward attics."

You can browse inside City of Refuge, and read more about the story behind the novel in this essay. If you would like to participate in the show with Tom Piazza on September 10th at 7pm ET, please leave a comment to this post. The first ten people to comment will receive a free copy of the book to read in preparation for the show.