Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 8-31-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I need to toughen up a little bit. Kenny Rogers sings about knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, and there's a lesson in those words for me. The lesson I need to learn is when to be concerned about other people's feelings, and when to take care of my own.

Maybe I'm a pushover, but I do my best to look out for other people's feelings, even if my own get trampled in the process. To avoid making someone else feel bad, I choose my words carefully and leave a person with their dignity even when they're acting like a fool. That's the axiom I hold myself accountable to.

But today I'm rethinking that approach.

Maybe the next time someone says or does something rude, I should speak right up and ask them, "What kind of response are you expecting from me?" I always walk away wondering what their answer would be, and since they didn't care about my feelings, perhaps I shouldn't be concerned about theirs.

Maybe the lesson to be learned is theirs, not mine.

Maybe when people are being rude, I should warn them: "You got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run."

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

P.S. It's Western Week at the book clubs! 87 Free books to give away to readers, recipes, trivia, two Western books to sample, and "yours truly," sitting on a bull! For all the links to the special events, go to (and scroll down for the links) http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cowgirlwin2.html

Dear Reader Column 8-30-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

It was a big deal at our house. Every Friday night my parents and I would go to the supermarket on Main Street, and we'd head straight for the frozen food department. We were on a mission--each of us would pick out our favorite TV dinner--and then we'd head back home to watch "Rawhide" on the television.

It was a black and white TV and no remote control, so we'd sit on the floor--balancing our foiled TV dinners in our laps--as the opening credits rolled and the theme song enticed us to sing along: "Rollin', rollin', rollin'. Though the streams are swollen, keep them doggies rollin', Rawhide!"

It's funny how things from the past pop into my head at the weirdest times. A couple of years ago I was in a meeting at a Fortune 500 company. I was presenting a book promotion idea and after I'd finished, the president said he'd like to show me a new promotion they were working on. He cued up the video on the screen, and when the accompanying music started playing, it reminded me of the theme song from "Rawhide." Without thinking, I started singing the words to "Rawhide" out loud, and after a couple of lines, the president started singing right along with me. People were staring, but apparently we were the only "Rawhide" fans in the boardroom, because nobody else joined in.

But we didn't skip a beat: "Keep movin', movin', movin'. Though they're disapprovin', Keep them doggies movin', Rawhide."

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

P.S. It's Western Week at the book clubs! 87 Free books to give away to readers, recipes, trivia, two Western books to sample, and "yours truly," sitting on a bull! For all the links to the special events, go to (and scroll down for the links) http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cowgirlwin2.html

Dear Reader Column 8-29-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

It's Western Week at the book clubs!

I've lassoed some great Western reads, and I've rounded up 87 Western books to give away to readers. 87 free books!

You'll find links to recipes, free books, cowboy trivia, the low-down on cow chip throwing (in a column, later this week) and you'll even see a photo of me sitting on a bull.

To sample the two western books, enter the drawing, recipes, trivia and more, go to Suzanne's Western page: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cowgirlwin2.html

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-26-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Be sure to tune in next week. It's Western Week at the book clubs!

I went to my first rodeo this past summer, and I decided that we should designate a week at the book club to do some ropin'-and-ridin', campfire cooking and Western reading. (I'll be giving away 87 Western books!)

I'm playing dress up in the office today--trying to get in the Western mood--and I've got a hankerin' to cook up a pot of my famous skunk beans this weekend.

Here's a link to the recipe and my dress up photo:
http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cowgirlwin.html

Y'all tune in next Monday--free books, recipes, sample Western reads--and you'll even see a picture of me on a bull!

Yee Haw!!

Thanks for reading with me cowpokes. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-25-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I learned how to cook when I was a backup singer for The Monkees.

I was an only child and both of my parents worked every day, including Saturdays. So the weekend chores were left up to me. Every Saturday morning before my mother left for work she would tape a list on the front of the refrigerator. A typical Saturday list, or my daily list in the summertime when there wasn't any school, read:

A typical Saturday list, or my daily list in the summertime when there wasn't any school, read:

1. Iron
2. Vacuum the living room and bedrooms
3. Dust
4. Clean the bathroom
5. Fix lunch

NO playing outdoors until your work is done.

Love, Mom

I'd always get the work done, well, most of the time. But the "getting-it-done" part never got started until about an hour and a half before my parents came home for lunch. I'd get sidetracked by other important things, like lip-syncing with the Monkees. "Hey, hey we're the Monkees. And people say we monkey around. But we're too busy singing. To put anybody down."

The bottle of Pledge was my microphone, and a pair of my mother's heels gave me that on-stage look. I'd draw the curtains over the picture window in our living room--I wasn't ready for an audience yet--then I'd slide back the cover of our dark wooden console stereo, put the 33 LP on the changer, click the switch, and when the needle dropped, the magic would begin.

Sing a few tunes, then take a break to do a little dusting, and pound the round steak--Swiss Steak was on my lunch menu--brown the meat, add some onions and tomato sauce, put it in the oven, and then it was time to do another set with the Monkees.

Timing is everything when you're on stage and when you're cooking, too. If the backup "do-wahs" come in on the wrong beat, it's ruined. If the meat doesn't have enough time to slow cook, it won't turn out fork-tender. Everything has a rhythm to it: peel the potatoes, set them aside; open the peas, dump them into a sauce pan--but they'll have to wait for their cues, because it's time to go back on stage.

Thirty minutes left before lunch time: put the potatoes on med-high; tilt the lid over the saucepan to let the steam out; set the table. Only fifteen minutes left: open the drapes; turn down the music; take one last look around the house; and by the time my parents walk through the door, Mike, Davy, Mickey, Peter and I have finished two curtain calls--our last number was "Forget That Girl"--and I'm in the kitchen smiling and stirring the peas.

"Hi, lunch is ready."

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

If you'd like to see my version of the Monkee's album cover, go to:
http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/monkees.html

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-24-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I rented a Mustang convertible last week when I visited Wisconsin. I felt like I needed to treat myself--and I wasn't disappointed. The top down, my hair blowing in the wind, the tunes playing on the cd player--it was the perfect time of year to drive on Wisconsin's country roads.

But the wind is deceptive when you're in a convertible and unfortunately my husband felt like he was suffering from too much sun by the end of the second day--which is a bit ironic because we live in Florida, the Sunshine State.

People usually look cool when they're cruising in a new 2005 Mustang convertible, but there was one day when we looked akin to the Beverly Hillbillies. We had to transport some U-Haul storage boxes, they wouldn't fit in the trunk, so my husband sat with them in the back seat.

Picture this: my husband, who was trying to keep out of the sun, had t-shirts draped over his arms secured with rubber bands, thick, white sun block on his nose and ears, and a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes. The huge boxes were sticking up out of the back seat with two seat belts crisscrossing the front of them, so they wouldn't blow away. People stared, but not because of the flashy car we were driving.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-23-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I miss my mother.

Lately, every time I sit down to write a column, that's the sentence that I have to write first before I can continue on to another topic. I finally asked myself the other day, why didn't I just keep going and write the next line, I miss my mother...and...this is how I feel.

I guess I've been avoiding writing about it because I rationalize that my mom died three months ago--friends, family, and readers know about it, and I've written columns about it--so now it's time to move on. And most days I am able to move on--to go about my normal routine--but then out of the blue, I think, 'I miss my mother.'

I realize that grieving takes time, and it's hard work. But for some reason I feel that I should do it alone. When I feel the urge to say out loud, "I miss my mother," a list of questions flood my mind: How long can I grieve? Maybe my friends are tired of hearing about my mother. I wonder if I'll be stuck "here" in this emotional place forever?

Sometimes I wish things would get back to normal--the way they were before. But then I think of the things I've learned about myself since my mother died, and how her passing has changed me. I look at the world differently. I think I'm a better writer, and I've changed some of the priorities in my life. I consider these "gifts" that my mother left for me.

But I still miss my mother.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-22-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

When I featured the Bubble Machine giveaway at the book clubs, I got a little carried away, and ended up giving away nine machines. Two of the winning book club readers sent me photos. To see how the readers used their machines, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/alt/bubblewin/

I always appreciate hearing from readers.

From my Email Bag:

"Dear Suzanne, I have been reading several of your book club installments for months now. Your creation here is the best thing to come off the Internet since the beginning of the Internet. Thanks and keep up the stupendous work."--Maggie G.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 8-19-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Ann, a reader at the book club, sent me an email the other day and before she signed her name she closed with these words: "You take good care."

I can't explain it, but those simple words continue to stay with me. Every time I think about them, I feel loved and cared for.

I've never met Ann, but the words she wrote rescued me the other day. Everything I tried to do was a struggle. Nothing was going right, and then I heard Ann saying, "You take good care."

It's the kind of good-bye that's not an ending; it's a blessing. "I don't know what's waiting for you, but, 'You take good care.'"

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

You take good care,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

P.S. Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery, a memoir, by Shannon Applegate, is a fascinating read. Sample the book, enter the drawing for a free copy. Go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/alt/headstone/

Dear Reader Column 8-18-05

Join my email book club. Over 300,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Remember if a book isn't a good match for you, hit that delete key. Keep the book club fun and guilt-free. And if you have a minute, drop me a line. I always love to hear from readers. It's the best part of my job.

From my Email Bag:

"Hi Suzanne, I have enjoyed your selection of books and your daily column. I stumbled on to this site 2 weeks ago and now look forward to reading it every day. Usually I read business books, but I read your selection of 'Murder at Midnight' and I enjoyed it. So this may change. Sincerely a new fan." -- George G.

"Suzanne, after a period of not reading with you for about one year, I'm back on the book club. I missed it so much. I usually go on to fully read most of the books you e-mail us, and I love every single one of them. I always buy them and send them to my mom, sister and brother in Spain and they love them too. We've created our own family book club. We all thank you for such great reading times!" -- Barbara

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

P.S. Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery, a memoir, by Shannon Applegate, is a fascinating read. Sample the book, enter the drawing for a free copy. Go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/alt/headstone/