Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 01-31-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 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 my favorite hotel in New York City. Their brochure guarantees luxurious signature bedding with crisp linens, thick mattresses and piles of pillows for a perfect night's sleep. But that's not why I keep coming back. It's my favorite hotel, because I look great au naturel in their mirrors.

Thinner, firmer--I'm inspired. Why even my writing flows smoother when I'm staying in my favorite hotel. Out of town on business, incognito, I'm a different Suzanne in one of their hotel rooms--and I look different, too.

"It must be low lighting," a friend suggested when I called to tell her about the "new" me. But I assured her, it wasn't. Sitting on top of a towel on the desk chair, typing on my laptop, listening to music, periodically glancing into the mirror in front of me--don't know how they do it, but without a doubt, a more tightened, toned body is looking back at me. I love it!

Forget about the chocolate on my pillow, no complimentary breakfast for me, this hotel knows what a girl really wants--and their mirrors deliver!

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books worth your time. Win free copies of books you'll be so glad you discovered: Ed Hardy, Keeper and Kid; Michele Zackheim, Broken Colors; Bob Livingstone, The Body Mind Soul Solution; Allison Brennan, Killing Fear; and Richard Doetsch, The Thieves of Faith. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-30-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

A Crock Pot Challenge from Amy...

"Hi Suzanne, I love your recipe section, but wondered if you have any favorite crock pot recipes? The only one you list is the one for your famous stuffing, but maybe you have others. With all the working moms out there reading with you, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy having some new ideas for the crock pot. But I do have to warn you that I'm not a huge fan of cream of mushroom soup, and so many crock pot recipes involve it."--Thanks! Amy

(Suzanne replies:) Amy, I love a challenge. At first I couldn't think of any and then I dug through my recipes and came up with two great dishes that I used to make, Ginger Pork and a Mediterranean Pot Roast.

For a copy of the recipes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/24q6pk

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

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

P.S: Author Eileen McDargh reads at the book club every day with us and she has 10 copies of her latest book, Gifts from the Mountain, Simple Truths for Life's Complexities to give away to readers. Simply send an email to: enter-to-win2@emailbookclub.com and you're entered in the drawing.

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-29-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I filled out a New Patient form in a doctor's office the other day and one of the Tell-Me-About-Yourself questions was, "What's the biggest cause of stress in your life?"

My answer: Me.

It was an instantaneous response. At first I was kind of amused, 'That was a good one Suzanne, pretty funny.' But then when I started to cross out "Me" and tried to think of a "real" answer, I realized that I had it right the first time--and that was a little scary.

I didn't want to seem like a nut when the doctor reviewed the form, so I considered some other multiple choice answers.

A.) Work.

Okay, work is stressful sometimes--and why? Well, let's see, there are deadlines, but then again, maybe "Me" has just-a-little bit to do with the stress in my work. I'm my own boss, I set most of my own deadlines, so exactly who is stressing me?

B.) My husband.

Yeah, there must be something that he does to cause stress in my life. Let's see, he gives me a foot rub every night, encourages me in any new thing I want to try, and is constantly telling me to lighten up on myself. That doesn't sound stressful to me.

So what's up? Why does this stress keep following me around all the time? Wherever I go it seems to be there.

Hmm. Maybe that's a clue.

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

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

P.S: Author Eileen McDargh reads at the book club every day with us and she has 10 copies of her latest book, Gifts from the Mountain, Simple Truths for Life's Complexities to give away to readers. Simply send an email to: enter-to-win2@emailbookclub.com and you're entered in the drawing.

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-28-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

One last chance to enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway! The deadline is January 31st.

I'm ready to bake, are you ready to eat some cookies?

If you've never entered the Chocolate Chip Cookie drawing before, because you're concerned about the calories, let me assure you that you'll be eating cookies for a good cause. Consider every dunk-and-munch of the tasty chocolate chip cookie, your contribution to my better mental health. Baking is a stress-reliever for me and things have been pretty stressful lately, so please, help me out and enter the cookie drawing today!

I'd love to bake for you and the cookies taste great. But don't take my word for it--to see photos of five previous cookie winners and to read their "cookie testimonials"--and to enter this month's drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/2thnwu

And be sure to check out today's Authorbuzz link (it's featured after my column every Monday and Thursday). Visit AuthorBuzz today and you'll meet five authors, including Ed Hardy, whose book Keeper and Kid, I'm reading right now. Author Allison Brennan is giving away 30 copies from her No Evil trilogy; and Richard Doetsch, has two books, The Thieves of Faith and The Thieves of Heaven to give away to book club readers.

Have fun visiting AuthorBuzz, and enter this month's Chocolate Chip Giveaway! Somebody has to win and it might be you--270 people won a free book in the recent Clear My Bookshelf Giveaway, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/clear.html

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

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

P.S: Author Eileen McDargh reads at the book club every day with us and she has 10 copies of her latest book, Gifts from the Mountain, Simple Truths for Life's Complexities to give away to readers. Simply send an email to: enter-to-win2@emailbookclub.com and you're entered in the drawing.

AUTHORBUZZ: New authors, old favorites--all wonderful books worth your time. Win free copies of books you'll be so glad you discovered: Ed Hardy, Keeper and Kid; Michele Zackheim, Broken Colors; Bob Livingstone, The Body Mind Soul Solution; Allison Brennan, Killing Fear; and Richard Doetsch, The Thieves of Faith. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-25-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 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 not a doctor, but I've been playing one for the past week. Instead of just going to the doctor I've been trying to diagnose myself. Symptoms: a queasy stomach all day long, why, just the smell of food practically does me in. Can hardly eat, but I have a real craving for Macintosh apples.

Maybe it's a virus, maybe it was bad fish, maybe it's an ulcer, maybe it's stress. Maybe I should quit diagnosing myself and call the doctor. I know my husband would vote for that remedy.

"Just call and make an appointment, will you Suzanne?"

The anticipation leading up to a doctor appointment is almost as bad as the "misery" that's finally driven me to call for an appointment. I fret, I worry: it might be something serious, the doctor might order tests; needles, blood work, X-rays, I might have to drink that disgusting chalky-tasting stuff. Or, what if I'm not really sick--boy wouldn't I look stupid? I should tough it out a little longer. When I was a kid, that was my mother's prescription, "Tough it out Suzanne, it will go away." But I've been toughing it out for a week now and it's interfering with my work. So I finally made the call and got an appointment for the very next day.

All that wasted diagnostic time (I could have been writing instead of playing doctor), all that pre-appointment fret and worry. All for naught...and that's pretty much what the doctor said, "Not to worry Suzanne, we'll run a little blood work, you probably have a low grade virus. Oh, yea, and granted, it's one of those far out possibilities--after all you're 53 and you've been enjoying hot flashes for a year now--but just to rule it out, we'll run a pregnancy test, too."

My doctor was amused. I was not--and not to worry--I'm not.

Feeling better already!

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: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-24-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 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 ready to bake, are you ready to eat some cookies?

Every month I bake homemade Chocolate Chip cookies for readers. If you've never entered the Chocolate Chip drawing before, because you're concerned about the calories, let me assure you that you'll be eating cookies for a good cause. Consider every dunk-and-munch of the tasty chocolate chip cookie, your contribution to my better mental health. Baking is a stress-reliever for me and things have been pretty stressful lately, so please, help me out and enter the cookie drawing today!

I'd love to bake for you and the cookies taste great. But don't take my word for it--to see photos of five previous cookie winners and to read their "cookie testimonials"--and to enter this month's drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/2thnwu

And be sure to check out today's Authorbuzz link (it's featured after my column every Monday and Thursday). Visit AuthorBuzz today where you'll meet five authors, and you could win a signed book, or be in an author's next book.

Author Barbara Delinsky is giving away signed copies of The Secret Between Us and Eli Gottlieb has ten signed copies of his latest literary thriller, Now You See Him and author Marcus Sakey is giving away five signed copies of his latest book--and one winner will appear as a character in his next novel!

Have fun visiting AuthorBuzz, and enter this month's Chocolate Chip Giveaway!

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Win free copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors: Barbara Delinsky, The Secret Between Us; Marcus Sakey, At The City's Edge; Lee Child, Killer Year: Stories To Die For; Eli Gottlieb, Now You See Him; and Jenny Gardiner, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-23-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

"Why is it there? What does it do? How does it work?"

When I was a kid nobody had to orientate me to who, what, where, when, why, and how. Those questions came built-in. I found the answers intriguing, but my parents, on the other hand, wished I'd just be quiet.

"I don't know, Suzanne."

Hmm, it was a mystery. And when my parents couldn't tell me the answer, it made me even more determined to find out.

Most of the time when you do something wrong, you know it's wrong when you're doing it. Tommy Bowden and I on the other hand, were innocent of "knowing." And that's why the two of us stripped the bark off our neighbor's old oak tree, because nobody could tell us what was underneath. Innocent and guilty at the same time. Unfortunately guilty trumped innocent in the eyes of our parents.

It looked like a neighborhood pow-wow. Everyone was huddled around the oak tree, including my parents and Tommy's mom and dad. Wow, something must have happened. So Tommy and I went to investigate. And when my mother asked, "Do you know who did this?"

Out of the mouths of "innocent" babes came, "Oh we did that!"

And again my mother wished I'd just be quiet.

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: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-22-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Writing has taught me that simpler is better. Take it easy, slow down Suzanne and simply say what's on your mind. Maybe I should use impressive words, sonorous adjectives, or make the sentence complex. But writing isn't really any different from other things in life. Too much eye shadow--what was I thinking? The first Dove Bar tasted divine, so I ate another one--my stomach rebelled. I realize he was trying to do me a favor, but when the man at the deli put a little bit more of everything on my sandwich yesterday. It was too much, I had to disassemble it.

Sometimes life gets to be too much. I don't know where to begin, so I start writing. It's not easy. Fear gets in the way and I can't get to the place where I need to be, to say what's on my mind. But if I keep at it, eventually one single line in the midst of my jumbled thoughts is staring back at me. It feels good to read it, and I realize it's the answer I was looking for.

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: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-21-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

There's something NEW at the book clubs today!

Frequently readers have asked for a way to keep track of books they're reading and now you can. We've developed a new Book Forum that lets you create your very own personal bookshelf and you can have other "special interest" book shelves. Books you'd like to read some day, books you've read, a list of books about your hobbies, or you can make an all-time favorite bookshelf--whatever you'd like to create.

Of course you can leave comments about a book you've read, too, and that's what I've been doing. I've been looking up some of my favorites at the Book Forum: Bird by Bird, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, The Reincarnationist, Mistakes Were Made but Not by Me, A Complaint is a Gift, and even The Little Engine That Could. I've accumulated a long list, but every day I add a few more titles to my bookshelves, like Blaize Clement's new book Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues.

Even though my world is online and all about email, I'm not a very "techy" person, but the nice thing about our new Book Forum is that once I spent a few minutes with it, I felt like a pro.

Here's the link to the new Book Forum.
http://supportlibrary.com/fm/guest.cfm

Go there and nose around, and be sure to Sign Up--the button is at the very top of the page.

After you've visited the Book Forum, drop me a line. I'd like to hear your comments and suggestions.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Win free copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors: Barbara Delinsky, The Secret Between Us; Marcus Sakey, At The City's Edge; Lee Child, Killer Year: Stories To Die For; Eli Gottlieb, Now You See Him; and Jenny Gardiner, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54

Dear Reader Column 01-18-08

Join my email book club. Over 350,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Today's the last day to enter the drawing--I'll be your personal shopper--and I'll pick up the tab. If you missed yesterday's Barefootin' column, go to: http://tinyurl.com/2j6yda

These are just a few of the emails from Barefootin' readers:

"Suzanne, I love, love, love the pink toenails that match your scarf! But my feet won't even see the light of day for months, I'm afraid. I live near Buffalo, NY and our sidewalks are covered with either snow or salt. Yuck. Barefootin' in my mind."--Mary

"Love the way your fingernails, toenails and scarf all MATCH. We won't be doing any outdoor barefootin' this weekend. Temperatures in IL will drop to two and who knows what the wind-chill will be. You Floridians have no concept of what "brrr" really means!"--Sharon R.

(Suzanne replies) The scarf was a gift from bestselling author Barbara Bretton--she made it herself. It's cashmere, warm and cuddly. I love it! Barbara reads at the book club every day and yes, even she emailed, "Suzanne, I'm still smiling at that photo. Is that bright pink object around your neck...?"

"My children and I are known in the neighborhood as 'the hillbillies'. We never wear shoes in the summer and often not in the winter. My neighbors are shocked when my kids run over pebbles or woodchips without a care in the world. I even go to the mailbox without shoes and we live near Chicago where it is currently 24 degrees. Thanks for the laugh."--Lori

"I am a Barefooter myself. I never have shoes on unless I have to go somewhere and as soon as I get back, off come my shoes. Everyone has always kidded me about being barefoot, winter and summer, but I love it. Plus my floors are usually clean, as I can not stand to feel something under my feet. That helps to keep my floors clean!"--Elsie B.

"I have a three-year-old daughter. Much against my husband's wishes (he says we track too much dirt in) we go barefoot together all summer. We especially love it when it rains, and we immediately grab umbrellas, roll up our pants legs, and go puddle-jumping, which means not jumping OVER the puddles, but jumping IN them."--Adrian B.

"I love your outlook on life. Going for a walk barefoot, would really be interesting for my co-worker and me. We walk at the mall, because in Michigan, well you know the rest...We don't like the S word (snow). I wonder if they allow barefoot walking in the mall."--Pattie and co-worker Wanda

"I hardly ever wear shoes in the summertime unless I absolutely have to. I even used to hike in the woods barefoot, and let me tell you, that does toughen up your feet! It also helps you keep a good grip in the slippery parts, and when you do slip and end up in a stream, feet dry much faster than boots."--Melanie

"Suzanne, loved the barefoot photos! The high this Sunday in Cincinnati is supposed to be 14'F. Walking barefoot in 47'F weather actually sounds pretty good to me. Actually, walking ANYWHERE in Florida right now sounds pretty great."--Nancy W.

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: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/32qr54