Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 06-30-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I don't actually leave on vacation until next Friday, July 7th, but yesterday my mind packed up and hit the road. Every time I try to work on something and I need a little thinking power to get the job done, my brain flat-out refuses to help. Instead it's donned in sunglasses, shorts and flip flops, carrying a bottle of sun lotion in one hand and waving bye-bye with the other. And when I yell, "Come back here. It's not vacation time yet; we need to get some work done," it responds like an unruly teenager with selective hearing.

It's gonna be a challenging day. The only thing I seem to be good at are shortcuts. How can I get this "to-do" list done faster? No one will notice if I cut corners, will they? I need time to pack.

Music always inspires me to write, but today instead of helping me find the right words, I've found the beat--ooh, listen to that tune--and the next thing I know I'm dancing around the room, dreaming of my vacation.

Too bad you don't live down the street, you could come over today and be my dancing partner---but only if you can pack to the beat!

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. To enter June's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway all you need to do is email and tell me why you need chocolate chip cookies! Send your entry by June 30th to:
enter-to-win@emailbookclub.com

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-29-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

My son stopped by the other day and in the middle of a wandering conversation about life he commented, "It was so good to see Uncle John when he visited last Christmas. You know, I still have one of the semi-trucks that he gave me for my birthday when I was a kid."

Uncle John, my husband's brother, was a long-distance truck driver when our son was young and every now and then we'd get a phone call, "I'll be in the area tonight and I thought I'd stop by." And sure enough later that evening, a big blue semi-truck would show up in front of our house. We lived on what used to be the outskirts of the city, so there was still plenty of room to park his rig. Climbing up into the cab of a semi--it was a dream come true for an eight-year-old boy and his Uncle John always brought a gift, too. It wasn't ever anything elaborate: a toy truck or maybe a T-shirt, but they were keepsakes for a little boy.

"I remember I used to wake up in the middle of the night and look at the semi-truck sitting on my shelf and wonder, 'Where was Uncle John on the road tonight?' I wish I would have told him how much his gifts meant to me," my son said. "Maybe I should buy Uncle John a present?"

But I suggested that instead of buying a gift, he should write down the "Uncle John Story" that he just told me. I assured my son that in his Uncle John's mind it would be a bestseller--one of those stories he'd love reading over and over again.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. To enter June's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway all you need to do is email and tell me why you need chocolate chip cookies! Send your entry by June 30th to:
enter-to-win@emailbookclub.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Amazing contests this week! Have the author come to your book group, win a feather quill pen & chocolates, and of course signed free books from these terrific authors: Katharine Weber, Triangle; M.J. Rose, Lying in Bed; Laura Jensen Walker-June, Reconstructing Natalie; and Paul LaRosa, Tacoma Confidential. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-28-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

The May Chocolate Chip Cookie Winner was Linda Clutz. I baked two dozen of my famous cookies and shipped them to her. To see Linda's dunking techniques and to read her winning entry, go to:

http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cookiewin.html

I'd love to bake for you, too! To enter June's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway all you need to do is email and tell me: Why you need chocolate chip cookies! It's as easy as that.

Send your "Why I need cookies" entry, by June 30th to:

enter-to-win@emailbookclub.com

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-27-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I was flying back home and it was the most interesting conversation I've ever had at 28,000 feet in the air, or anywhere for that matter.

She's a good daughter, about my age, and every year right before summer officially begins in Florida, she battens down the hatches on her 80 year-old father's waterfront condo. The first year she did the deed, everything looked secure, so she closed the door and they headed back to Indianapolis. But when she brought her dad back in the fall, it was apparent that someone had sublet their condo without permission.

"It was all new to me," the woman sitting next to me on the plane said, "but since you live in Florida, you probably know all about sewer rats, don't you?"

No, couldn't say that I'd ever had the privilege of meeting one, but I had the feeling I was going to hear all about them.

Apparently sewer rats aren't content with their underground decor, and why should they be when, in the summer, there are perfectly good condos going to waste? So they pack their bags and move in.

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

It's a sewer rat knocking on your toilet seat.

Yep, rats swim up through the sewer pipes, lift the lid on your toilet seat, walk right into your vacant condo, and make themselves at home for the summer--first one out gets dibs on the master bedroom!

Sewer rats are no fools. While most of us are spending the six weeks before summer trying to get into shape so we look good in our swimsuits, sewer rats are working out with a personal trainer, building up their biceps, for the big push--on your toilet seat.

Actually when you think about it, sewer rats are performing a kind of public service. No need to pay a house sitter to watch your place over the summer, sewer rats will gladly house sit your condo for free.

Heck, they'll even water your plants if you leave your cable TV hooked up. And a little suggestion; it would be a nice gesture if you left some cheese as a thank you gift. Everybody likes to be appreciated--even sewer rats.

"But I fixed those sewer rats good the second year," my seatmate continued. "I researched it on the Internet. You fill up your toilet with anti-freeze, strap duct tape around the rim of your toilet seat and then top it off with something heavy like bricks."

I could see it now--a kind of hot fudge sewer rat sundae challenge. If a sewer rat can hold his breath long enough to swim through the anti-freeze, rip through the duct tape with those razor sharp incisors and heave-ho, push that lid open, it's paradise for the summer.

And I'd have to say if a sewer rat could make it through all that, I think he's earned his keep, don't you?

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. Congratulations to the winner of Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen: Kathleen Rakestraw Kay, Ginger Bowles, Linda Scott, Brenda Wall, Kristin Ems, Mallory Rosenfeld, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Michelle Schulz, Pat Gorczyca, Marie Lazaro, Marisol Roberts, Eileen Sautter, Diana Brown, Deborah Bizek, Maureen Uleau, Peggy Zinck, Gabrielle Infusino, Barbara Merritt, Susan Cravotta, Karen Stringfellow, Ray Caldito, Sheryl LeProwse, Sarah Justice, Pat Lawrence and Suzy Lancaster.

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-26-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I always love to hear from readers and I answer all of my mail. Feel free to write anytime. And don't forget to check out the AuthorBuzz link. You'll find it right after my column on Monday and Thursday.

From my Email Bag:

"Suzanne, I'm a full-time stay-at-home mom who works very part-time as a copywriter/editor for my 'pre-children' job. Two of my sisters, a couple friends and I all had our children within the same four-year period, so we're all experiencing the amazing changes (and challenges) of parenting at the same time.

During a conversation in which several of us were waxing nostalgic about our lives before kids--going off to dinner at a moment's notice, having a lazy Saturday morning, having a living room free of brightly colored toys--I heard myself say, once again, 'I really miss reading.'

Just reading. Getting out a good book and soaking up the story, imagining the characters' faces and voices, seeing the settings in my mind, laughing or crying along with the story. I have always loved reading, even as a kid, and had thought that I would write a book one day.

I realized, if I miss it so much, why not just do it? I had been saving a list of books from your book club that I planned to either check out or buy some day. I thought, why wait? Surely, I deserve something for me that I love to do. I could most certainly make time in each day for reading.

So, I got a couple books from the library, and I jumped in with both feet. Let me tell you, the fire is back. I love it. My eyes can not move quickly enough across the page. Now, I'm finding I have to discipline myself to not use any free moment to grab my book--there are chores to do, plus, I do love hanging out with my kids--ages four and almost three. But, after our nighttime routine--baths, PJs, snacks, books, brush teeth, prayers, bed--I've made it my new rule: 10 p.m. is the end of my 'work day' and that's when I pull out my book. It's been wonderful. Thank you for helping me bring that spark back."--Sincerely, Sheri Wisniewski, Michigan

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

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Amazing contests this week! Have the author come to your book group, win a feather quill pen & chocolates, and of course signed free books from these terrific authors: Katharine Weber, Triangle; M.J. Rose, Lying in Bed; Laura Jensen Walker-June, Reconstructing Natalie; and Paul LaRosa, Tacoma Confidential. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-23-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Thirty years ago, I had to shut down a restaurant that I owned, so when a book club reader wrote saying that she had to shut down their family restaurant and she was having a hard time dealing with it, it was one of those times when I could honestly say, "I know how you feel."

I was a mess when I realized I was going to have to close my restaurant. Not only did I feel like the biggest loser in the city, I also owed money to suppliers and to the government and I was broke. So I wrote each one of them a letter and included $5.00 as my first payment; apologizing for the small amount, but emphasizing they would--without fail--get a payment from me on the first day of every month until the bill was paid. My intentions were honest, which must have come through in my letters because not one single supplier charged me interest. In fact, some of them sent letters thanking me--only the government caused me grief.

What a loser I was. Twenty-two years old, deep in debt, I felt like I might as well hang it up, because I'd never recover from this mistake. I was so miserable that for a few hours one afternoon, I actually sat in the hall closet with a quilt over my head.

Shutting down a business requires grieving. It's as if someone died, and in a way, a family member has. People understand the need to grieve when someone close to you dies, but when you suffer a loss like a business, or you didn't get the promotion that you'd been grooming yourself for all last year--it's a sad thing. Part of your dream is gone and before you can move on, you need to say goodbye in your own way.

"Grieving is a hard and lonely task," I told my reading friend.

There is a favorite quote of mine. I say it to myself when I feel lost and it always brings me a brief respite. I'm saying it out loud for you today:

"If I knew the way, I'd take you home."

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I just finished reading a wonderful book. It's a fictional tale of adventure based on actual events--Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. You won't want to miss it. Here's the link to sample the book, http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=805&site=8

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-22-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I'm honest when someone asks me, but this is one time, I thought about telling a fib. After all, it's an opinion she's asking for, right? Who's to say what's right or wrong? Yes, they look good on her, but I knew they would look even better on me. But no matter how I tried to justify it, and believe me I worked all the angles, I just couldn't bring myself to tell her that she shouldn't buy them.

It was no use, I was going to have to tell her the truth--"The shoes look great on you, they're to die for. You'd be crazy not to buy them."

Okay, there, I'd said it. Now I could only hope she'd change her mind--please, oh please, oh please, change your mind. Don't buy those shoes, because I'm in love with them and there isn't another pair on the rack.

Yeah, it's petty, it's silly--after all, they're only shoes. But everybody sinks this low on occasion. Flashlights, houses, shoes--we all have our weak moments, and mine was in the T.J. Maxx store in Manhattan.

One of my business appointments had to reschedule, so I had three hours to shop and I spent 30 minutes of my shopping time following the "how do these shoes look on me" woman around the store.

People carry around "undecided" items all the time, eventually deciding not to buy them. I could only hope for such good fortune. I hid behind racks, pretended to look at purses, when really I was keeping tabs on the woman with the $498.00 dollar shoes--marked down to $25.00--hoping she'd ditch them at the last minute, set them down somewhere before she checked out, and I could swoop in for the shopping spoils.

But apparently this woman loved the shoes as much as I did, and the more she kept filling up her cart with discounted treasures, the deeper "my" shoes were buried--never to be seen by "me" again.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Win wonderful books all signed by this week's great authors plus other prizes. Debra Borden, Lucky Me; Mariah Stewart, Final Truth; Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck, The Dressmaker; and Gayle Lynds, The Last Spymaster. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-21-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Usually when I'm in New York City, it's all business. There's never any time to be a tourist. Instead my days are spent hailing cabs and running from appointment to appointment. The first few times I had to flag down a cab, I was a shy girl--raised my hand just a little bit and gave a delicate wave--please pick me. But after losing a few cabs to seasoned New Yorkers, I've become much more aggressive, especially if it's 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

There's no shortage of cabs at 5 p.m., you see plenty of them driving down the street, but their signs are turned off. They're heading back to the shop for a shift change and since they're officially off duty, they can pick and choose their last customer.

"Where are you going?" is the magic question. If it's on the cabby's way home, it's your lucky day and you can catch a ride. Otherwise, he'll wave you off.

It was not my lucky day, last Tuesday when I was in Manhattan. Four cab drivers in a row turned me down and in the middle of switching shoes--heels to tennies, figuring it was going to be a long walk back to my hotel--a young man rode up in his Manhattan Pedicab.

"Hop in," he smiled and tipped his hat. A man on a bike with a passenger cab attached to it--I told him I didn't think so. But he was quick to remind me that he'd already seen four cabbies turn me down. "It'll be fun," he assured me. And the next thing I knew we were weaving in and out of Manhattan rush hour traffic.

When I realized I could easily reach out and touch the cars next to me, I started having second thoughts about my Pedicab decision. Here I was sitting in an open-air car attached to a bicycle, no helmet, no knee pads, and no roll bar. Had "Consumer Reports" done a crash test on these things? But since I'd already committed and we were making good time--this guy could really pedal--I decided to sit back and enjoy the ride.

After a few blocks, I have to admit I did feel a bit like royalty, rolling down the middle of Times Square. When I was in high school, I wasn't the Homecoming Queen, so I never got to sit on the back of an open air convertible and wave at the people along the parade route, but today was my Cinderella day. I gave a royal smile and wave to the "common-folk" we rolled by, who were desperately trying to hail a cab.

Twenty minutes later when we pulled up in front of my hotel, Selim, my Pedicab driver, got off of his bike, opened the door, bowed slightly, took my hand and helped me down from my royal carriage. A slight kiss on the hand, and a handsome tip for my prince and it was "The End" of my storybook ride through the streets of Manhattan.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-20-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I always love to hear from you, especially if you're having a problem. Don't hold back; tell me about it right away so I can take care of it.

If you need the name of a book, want another copy of a recipe I featured, or if you miss just one day's read, send me an email and let me know, so I can get another copy right out to you.

You can also bookmark the Missed Read link, http://www.emailbookclub.com/miss and use it, if you want to get your missed read immediately. But I'm always happy to send it to you.

Summer is a busy time. Remember; feel free to hit the delete key if you've been on vacation or if the book just isn't a good match for you. Keep the book club fun and guilt-free reading.

From my Email Bag:

"Suzanne, I joined your book clubs a couple of years ago. A co-worker had been chiding me about finding 'my passion', which I lost and still seem to be too busy to rediscover. He's a huge fan of yours and got me hooked on your daily speed-reads. All through the year now, I squirrel away book ideas for the people in my life, books I never EVER would have even been aware of. So, thank you.

We readers love to get these glimpses into your life. You have the best way of looking at things the rest of us rush past; maybe finding my passion, as my co-worker encourages, should start with slowing down and looking more closely at the world like you do. After all, turns out we have a lot in common, both are 52, each drives an Avalon, both have wonderful husbands and have lost our mothers (reading your notes on coping with that has helped me a lot). Thanks for reading with us readers. Don't ever change......or maybe, keep changing: we love to hear all about it!"--Warmly, Jan

Thanks so much for writing and thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. Congratulations to the winners of Lull-a-bye, Little One by Dianne Ochiltree: Jeanette Milam, Sylvia Yoskowitz, Stacy Buchmoyer, Kathy Grega, Clayton Kutilek, Carmela Hauser, Abby Hurst, Heidi Lewis, Karla McMurrin, Karen Fellenstein, Heather Minneman, Joe Hingsbergen, Bryce Christensen, Lee Babb, Dottie Fasold, Matthew Hairell, Michelle DuBois, Ray North, Alyson Widen and Sandi Visconty.

NEW BOOK! I just finished reading a wonderful book. It's a fictional tale of adventure based on actual events--Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. You won't want to miss it. Here's the link to sample the book, http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=805&site=8

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing:
http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

Dear Reader Column 06-19-06

Join my email book club. Over 330,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I have two exciting opportunities for you this Monday morning.

I'm introducing a new Penguin Classic: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. Here's the link to sample the book and enter the monthly Penguin Classic give away:

http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19

And I just finished reading a wonderful book. I cried at the end, but I'm not really sure why. It's not what you'd call a tear-jerker by any means. It's just a fictional tale of adventure based on actual events--Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. You won't want to miss it.

If you're on the run, use the Print Friendly Version of the sample and take it with you.

Here's the link to sample the book,

http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=805&site=8

Read it on your computer, get the printed copy and of course I have free copies. Twenty-five copies of Water for Elephants for lucky readers. Sample the book, then send me an email telling me what you thought of the book and you're entered in the drawing. It's as easy as that!

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Win wonderful books all signed by this week's great authors plus other prizes. Debra Borden, Lucky Me; Mariah Stewart, Final Truth; Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck, The Dressmaker; and Gayle Lynds, The Last Spymaster. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/path_go.cfm?x=815&site=19