Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 05-28-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I am enjoying the Memorial Day holiday with my family. Tomorrow, Guest Columnist, Dan Seidman, author of THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF INFLUENCE will be stopping by the book clubs, so be sure to welcome him.

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is FOOLS CROW by James Welch. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/May12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: BIG SKY COUNTRY (Fiction) by Linda Lael Miller

The illegitimate Sheriff Slade Barlow wasn't acknowledged by his father until the land baron willed Slade half his ranch, stirring up the old man's "real" son. Joslyn Kirk, once the queen of everything, has returned to repay everyone her stepfather cheated. Joslyn needs to learn she's responsible only for her actions, such as her effect on the lawman's heart.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on BIG SKY COUNTRY to find out more about the book and the author, Linda Lael Miller. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

 

 

Dear Reader Column 04-09-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I'm doing a little hoot-in' and holler-in' today because this is National Library Week! I spend a lot of time working with libraries, but I don't think that I even really appreciate them like I should. Libraries are pretty amazing when you think about it. We can check out books for free, sit in a comfortable reading chair, there are plenty of skilled librarians ready to recommend a good title, or help us research a business question, and in my library here in Sarasota, Florida, I'm even entertained by fish swimming overhead. (There's an arch-style fish tank over the entrance to the children's library.)

Libraries were one of those things I took for granted, until the first time I read that because of budget cuts some libraries were going to have to shut their doors. How could this be? It felt like the end of the world was sneaking up on me.

So let's celebrate. Would you do me a favor this week? Email your local library and thank the director and staff for the great job they do everyday, and please thank them for the book club, too. You'll find your library's email address above my Dear Reader column, or if you can't find it, send the email to me and I will forward it to your library. Thanks for your help. I sure do appreciate it. Or how about showing up on their doorstep with some party hats and noise makers? Librarians know by now that all of us who read at the book clubs are little nutty!

Be sure to email Suzanne@DearReader.com and let me know that you sent your library a thank you. I have 10 free books to give away to readers and I'll enter your name in the drawing. If you're a librarian and you've never tasted my chocolate chip cookies, I'd love to bake for you and your coworkers. Send me an email. (Well, I can bake for the first four librarians I hear from, I only have a single oven.)

Take part in our Library Week Celebration. Send an email to your local library thanking them for the book club, enter-to-win free books and dunk and munch some chocolate chip cookies!

It's time to party! Three cheers for librarians! They're one of a kind!

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

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

(Feel free to send your email for your library to me and I will make sure your library receives it.) Email me at: Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: WHERE WE BELONG (Fiction) by Emily Giffin

Marian Caldwell has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door...only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. As they embark on a journey together, the two women discover that the place where they belong is where they least expect it.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on WHERE WE BELONG to read more and to email author Emily Giffin, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-04-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I met the Easter Bunny yesterday in Red Bug Slough Preserve here in Sarasota, Florida. Not only is the Easter Bunny a professional basket and egg hider, he's an environmentalist, touting a master's degree in Environmental Science. So in case you're wondering what a slough is, the big white bunny explained it to me this way, "A slough, pronounced 'sloo,' is simply a creek that runs through a marsh."

My husband and I have decided that this particular slough with its creek, picnic tables, a wooded area with trails, a playground, and plenty of parking and brand new bathrooms, is the perfect place to celebrate Easter with our family this year. Normally a few days before Easter, I'm focused on what to serve for the holiday dinner, but this year I'm planning an elaborate egg hunt in the woods, for our two young grandsons, complete with clues on pink and green signs--"This Way! Turn Left! Go Back, You Missed Some Eggs!" My husband and I are hiding 40 eggs in groups of five, keeping track of all the eggs on a map, so we don't leave any behind. The big hunt ends with a hidden Easter basket filled with goodies.

This isn't the first time my husband and I have organized a big egg hunt. When Bailey, our granddaughter (who's now 17 years old), came to visit for Easter vacation when she was seven, instead of searching for Easter eggs in our yard, we took her on a treasure hunt. Eggs were hidden on the beach, in trees, behind statues, and Bailey and Grandpa paddled to an island to retrieve some hidden eggs, too.

My husband put together a memory book with pictures for Bailey to remember her Easter Treasure Hunt. If you'd like to see it, go to: www.dearreader.com/print/easter-2002.pdf

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: RED WEATHER (Fiction) by Janet Mcadams

Imagine being absent in your own life. Imagine how an unresolved mystery could keep you from committing to anything--a marriage, a culture, an identity. When Neva Greene was fifteen, her parents disappeared. She thought they would soon return for her, but it's been over a decade.

Discovering a long-overlooked clue to their disappearance, Neva follows their trail to Central America. As violence and unrest grow around her, Neva meets a man whose tenderness toward her seems to contradict his shadowy political connections.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on RED WEATHER to read more and to email author Janet Mcadams, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-03-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Angel food cupcakes topped with pink frosting and jelly beans are going to be my Easter dessert this year. Since I had never made the recipe before, I tried it this past weekend and the cupcakes were winners!

Enjoy!

Angel Food Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 egg whites from large eggs (enough for 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and beat at high speed until egg whites are frothy, approximately one minute.

Add cream of tartar, salt and vanilla to egg whites. Mix at high speed until egg whites are almost stiff, approximately four minutes.

Add one cup of sugar, gradually, while mixing on low speed. Scrape bowl.

Mix flour and remaining 1/2 cup sugar together and spoon 1/4 of mixture over egg whites, folding gently between each addition.

Pour batter into cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown and cracks are very dry.

Enjoy!

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: PATTERNS OF GRACE by Debbie Macomber

For years I've written devotions for Daily Guideposts. Now my wonderful friends at Guideposts have put together a compilation of these devotions in a lovely little book titled PATTERNS OF GRACE.

In my devotions, you will learn how God transformed my marriage and my heart, how a Bible verse helped simplify my life, how I learned not to just pray but to listen, and how I see God's fingerprints throughout my life.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on PATTERNS OF GRACE to find out more about the book and the author, Debbie Macomber. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 03-27-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

How to Bake a Perfect Life was a Target Club Pick, The Lost Recipe for Happiness won the RITA in 2010 (bringing this author's total number of RITA awards to six). This author lives on the skirts of Pikes Peak, she loves gardening and all big dogs, and she's a long distance walker who's traveled a portion of the Camino de Santiago Compestela, with plans to finish the walk in the near future--and that experience led her to write The Garden of Happy Endings (which will be released in April 17th).

A talented author, with an amusing combination of favorite foods (olive oil, peaches and good ale), let me introduce today's Dear Reader Guest Columnist, Barbara O'Neal. Send Barbara an email, she's waiting to reply, and read about her giveaway at the end of today's column. Welcome to the book clubs Barbara...

Last year, my beloved gave me a stupendous Christmas present: he paid a landscape designer to help me create a plan for food and flowers in a gigantic garden in my backyard. Then, he hired a crew of workers to dig and place the beds according to the plan, and in March, he set me loose.

It was one of the best summers I've had in decades. I grew corn and squashes, roses and lavender, tomatoes and petunias and a whole lot more. Every morning, I wandered outside with the cats to see how things were doing. Every evening, we puttered--weeding or plucking or deadheading or harvesting.

And all through the spring and summer, I wrote a book about a woman who finds herself coming back to life after a bitter season of loss by working in a garden. At summer's end, both book and garden were put to bed. The cats and I went back inside, peering hopefully at the frozen ground every so often. We finished off the potatoes, then the butternut squashes.

Over the past week, a vigorous row of daffodils has popped up from the bare ground. They took me by surprise, as they do every year. It seems like it's January forever, blah and dull, with no color or cheer anywhere around, and the dark closing in early. I would hibernate with a pile of research materials and the internet if it were left to me--however a certain dog insists we have to walk even if it is blustery and freezing. January lasts forever, and February is merely cruel--teasing me with a shift in light, a hint of possibility, only to send a blast of winter again, snow and freezing winds.

And then March blows in, and all at once, it seems like every branch in the neighborhood is swollen with pregnant buds, and crocuses are scattered over someone's lawn, and there are the first green shoots of spring bulbs announcing the official news that there is LIFE in that ground. Even if it froze to nothingness, here it is again, showing up.

Just like my garden is waking up, I realize that my book is almost ready to bear fruit, too. It will arrive in April, telling the story of Elsa Montgomery, a woman who has lost her faith after an unspeakable tragedy. Hibernating all winter with an old friend who has become a priest, Elsa begins to awaken in the spring when the priest talks her into heading up a community garden. THE GARDEN OF HAPPY ENDINGS was born as surely in my garden last year as perhaps new gardens will be born out of the book. Which is just like the cycles of summer and fall, winter and spring, isn't it?

I will be giving away several copies of my books. One lucky reader will win an Advance Reading Copy of THE GARDEN OF HAPPY ENDINGS. I will also give away five copies each of HOW TO BAKE A PERFECT LIFE, and THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS. Good luck, and happy reading!

Barbara O'Neal
http://www.barbaraoneal.com/
email:  http://www.barbaraoneal.com/contact-me/

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE OF JOHN THOMPSON, A FUGITIVE SLAVE by John Thompson. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/March12Classics

AUTHORBUZZ: THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X (Fiction) by Julia London

The shocking news that the dashing steward, Harrison Tolly, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Ashwood, is the rightful heir to his father's estate comes at an inopportune time. With a wedding on the horizon and a baby on the way, a new life of privilege and prestige would be a blessing but for one problem: He is desperately in love with a woman he cannot have.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X to find out more about the book and the author, Julia London. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 02-23-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

From my Email Bag:

And...enter to win a copy of my book, Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life.

(Note from Suzanne:) Sherry, a reader at the book club, wrote to me (below) about last Wednesday's column, about Cristina, a second grader in Indiana. I appreciated Sherry's comments, but I especially loved the signature lines Sherry uses at the end of her emails.

"Dear Suzanne, I'm shedding a happy tear for Christina while reading about your 'nudge.' That was such a sweet thing you did! It's interesting that God puts thoughts in our hearts to share with those in need. I'm also hooked on 'Chocolate,' [last] week's read. Thanks for all the personal things you add to the book club." Sherry, in East Texas

Semi-retired teacher, substitute, part-time baby-sitter, lackadaisical housekeeper, devoted wife and mom Wannabe writer, too

"Suzanne, I just have to tell you, Wednesday's column gave me HUGE goose bumps and I shed a tear. I've been reading with you since 2001, and you never fail to touch my heart. So good to read with friends like you!!"--Sandy

* If you missed the column, go to: http://tinyurl.com/DR0215

"Hi Suzanne, Yesterday was my husband's birthday and you made it special. [From your book, 'Muffins and Mayhem'] I made 'Ron's Goulash' for dinner. It doesn't sound fancy, but it hit the spot on a winter evening in northern New England. Then came the birthday cake. I made your 'Grandma Hale's Red Velvet Cake' and used her special frosting recipe. My husband is still raving about his birthday supper. We both thank you."--Peggy

* Enter-to-win a copy of my book, Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life. Send an email to: Suzanne@Emailbookclub.com. Put "Muffins and Mayhem" on the subject line, and include your name and address in the body of the email, in case your name is drawn.

"Suzanne, I have read it many times before, but [in Monday's column] it seemed to have specific meaning for me. "Keep the book club guilt free." I am only half way through a 600 page book and I had one of the book club books, on reserve at the library. The library book had to be picked up by Friday. No way am I going to finish my current book by Friday. So I took your advice and canceled the reservation on the book. Today I put my name at the bottom of the reservation list. Really--it's not like the library won't loan me the book in a couple of months!! Suddenly I felt much more relaxed. Thanks."--Linda

"Dear Suzanne, my dear father-in-law once said that his goal everyday was to make someone smile. Even if he had to become the fool himself to do it. Doing the little things to brighten someone's day can be the difference of feeling alone, and knowing somehow it will all turn out okay. Your columns are my favorite way to start my day after I have read my devotions. I have even shared them with a friend, who is trying to write her first book and get it published. Keep spreading the joy."--Bee

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: IN STITCHES (Memoir) by Dr. Anthony Youn

For anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, a hilarious fish-out-of-water memoir about a young Korean-American nerd turned renowned plastic surgeon that will make readers stand up and cheer. Heartfelt, candid, and laugh-out-loud funny, IN STITCHES is one man's bumpy path to finding his passion--and learning to be comfortable in his own skin.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on IN STITCHES to find out more about the book and the author, Dr. Anthony Youn. Send him an email, he'd love to hear from you.

*Meet authors, sample their books and enter for a free giveaway. It's fun and it's at AuthorBuzz.*

(Mystery)
DEATH DROPS: A NATURAL REMEDIES MYSTERY by Chrystle Fiedler

(Fiction)
FAR FROM HERE by Nicole Baart

(Memoir)
ROLLING PENNIES IN THE DARK by Douglas MacKinnon

(Memoir)
IN STITCHES by Dr. Anthony Youn

(Mystery)
ONE BOOK IN THE GRAVE: A Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

 

 

 

Dear Reader Column 02-15-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

Timing is everything. It's a magical moment when I feel a little nudge, when a voice inside of me whispers, "Suzanne, say hello to the person standing next to you," or "Make the phone call you've been thinking about, now is the time."

"Nudge, nudge." Two weeks ago after I received an email from Ms. Anderson, a second grade teacher, I felt a nudge to make a Valentine and send it to one of her students, and I'm so glad I did.

Let me give you a little back story about my connection with Ms. Anderson. Based on the book, Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown every year, each child in Ms. Anderson's class draws and colors their own Flat Stanley character. In the original Flat Stanley story, when a bookshelf falls on Stanley he's flat as a pancake, can slide underneath any door, can even slide right into an envelope. So Stanley's parents decide to send "Flat" Stanley to visit the relatives.

Every year a second grader, from Ms. Anderson's class, sends me their Flat Stanley for a two week visit. After I mail Flat Stanley back with a letter and photos about his adventures, I continue to be the child's pen pal buddy for the rest of the year. But when Alan, this year's Flat Stanley buddy moved away, Ms. Anderson emailed to let me know Cristina, a new student in her class, would be my pen pal for the rest of the year, and that Cristina would be sending me a Valentine soon.

After I read Ms. Anderson's email, even though I was exhausted and there wasn't any expectation I would send a Valentine to Cristina--"nudge, nudge, make Cristina a Valentine and send it to her today." So I cut a Valentine heart out of pink construction paper, added lace from paper dollies I use to serve desserts, a stem from leftover flowers, a touch of ribbon, and then I wrote a note to Cristina in the middle of the card.

It was a beautiful old fashioned Valentine, and later in the week Ms. Anderson emailed again.

"Dear Suzanne,

I just had to write and tell you how thoughtful your Valentine's Day card was to Cristina. She has had a difficult start to her week. Someone she was very close to in her family passed away last weekend. When she came to school today, I could tell that her heart was pretty heavy with hurt. I presented her with the package you mailed to her. She felt so special. It was like a ray of sunshine in her time of hurt and sorrow. Thank you for being such a sweet person, Suzanne. Cristina was very excited to show her classmates the Valentine you handmade, just for her.

I wanted to tell you that your package had perfect timing. You helped give a kind little girl encouragement during a hard time."

Timing is everything..."nudge, nudge."

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: SAVE ME (Fiction) by Lisa Scottoline

Rose McKenna volunteers as lunch mom in her daughter's elementary school to keep watch over her bullied daughter. When the unthinkable happens, Rose must make a split-second, no-win decision that will alter her life and her family forever.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SAVE ME to find out more about the book and the author, Lisa Scottoline. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 02-08-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com


Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

I love to give things away. When I'm packing up a prize for a reader, I imagine their smile when they open the box. It's fun to win and someone always does. It might as well be you. So be sure to enter today's Valentine book giveaway, a copy of Everything Romance: A Celebration of Love for Couples by Todd Hafer. To enter the drawing, send an email to: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com and be sure to put VALENTINE on the subject line. I'll draw a winning email tomorrow and pop the book in the mail to you--in time for Valentine's Day.

Congratulations to the winners of the Bow-Wow Giveaway: Theresa Brown, Kristina Kammerer, Diana Mora, Liza Allen and Cheryl Upchurch.

Last week I featured author and guest columnist, Susan Breen. Congratulations to the five lucky readers who won a copy of her book: Barbara Goettler, Sheryl Hand, Linda Hitchcock, Jean Lesslie and Mary Ellen Weiler.

I hope you enjoyed Monday's guest column by author John Clement. If you missed it, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JClement John answers all of his mail and his replies are delightful gems.

Next week we I'll be featuring sister act and writing duo, Frances and Ginger Park. How did two sisters/authors collaborate on a memoir about owning a sweet boutique in downtown Washington for over a quarter of a century? Chocolate Chocolate: The True Story of Two Sisters, Tons of Treats, and the Little Shop That Could.

Looking for a Valentine chocolate delight? Chocolate Lava Cake, is the perfect sweetheart dessert. You'll find the recipe and recipes that book club members have submitted at: http://tinyurl.com/SuzanneRecipes

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

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

KIDSBUZZ: Meet new authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus enter to win a free (signed!) copy of the featured books from Rebecca Elliot, ZOO GIRL; Marta Szemik, TWO HALVES; and Orel Protopopescu, THELONIUS MOUSE. For a chance to win a free copy, say hello to the authors, and more, see www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz

AUTHORBUZZ: WORDS SPOKEN TRUE (Fiction) by Ann H Gabhart

Adriane Darcy was practically raised in her father's newspaper offices. With ink in her veins, she can't imagine life without the clatter of the press and the push to be first to write the news that matters. Their Tribune is the leading paper in Louisville in 1855. When Blake Garrett, a brash young editor from the North with a controversial new style of reporting, takes over failing competitor the Herald; the battle for readers gets fierce.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on WORDS SPOKEN TRUE, find out more about the book and the author, Ann H Gabhart. Send her an email, she'd love to hear from you.

Dear Reader Column 01-19-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and
receive her daily column at: DearReader.com

Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win:
Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

A young reader sent me the cutest email the other day:

"I represent a small reading club in my school. My friends asked me to interview you. So I am here for my first email interview (also my first interview). Will you please answer these Q's however stupid or aggressive they seem to be? I am also a bookworm like you. Here goes... Yours hopefully,"--Viju

One of the things that my young friend wanted to know was what my hobbies are. I told her that one of my more interesting hobbies is people-watching. Nothing better than sitting on a park bench in the sun, watching people come and go. But for serious observers, like myself, there are two prime people-watching days of the year: the Friday after Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas. I go to the stores with no agenda other than to observe what's going on around me, so it's a stress-free activity. Personally, I favor the day before Christmas. The procrastinators--last minute, crazed shoppers--are out in droves. They want to find the perfect gift and have good intentions, but they are left with only two hours before the stores close. So, unfortunately, many of them reach for one of those pre-packaged Christmas gifts made up for their own personal holiday gift-giving salvation.

This past year I had the privilege of being one of Santa's little helpers when I helped a frantic husband pick out some clothes for his wife. I could see that he was in trouble when he kept pulling different sizes off the rack, holding up hangers one in front of the other--trying to eye the difference. Fortunately, he said his wife was about my size. I sure hope she had my same taste in clothes. (I steered him away from a sequined, hot pink sweater with matching pants.)

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@EmailBookClub.com
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

*Meet authors, sample their books and enter for a free giveaway. It's fun and it's at AuthorBuzz.*

(Mystery) Lucky in Love by Deborah Coonts

(Fiction) Night Swim by Jessica Keener

(THRILLER) Hitler's Silver Box: A Novel by Allen Malnak

(Fiction) The Philosophical Practitioner by Larry Abrams

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* * *

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Martyred by Richard E. Kim. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/January12Classics

Dear Reader Column 01-17-12

Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily column at: DearReader.com

Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader,

My email box was filled with responses, and from my count, the tongues won!

(If you missed my column about the boiled tongue dinner,
go to: http://tinyurl.com/boiled01-11-12 )

From my Email Bag:

"We used to eat tongue when I was a kid. I'm sure my mother peeled off the taste buds before serving it. Inside is a muscle, so it's meat. It isn't bad, although I haven't had it for over 50 years and I wouldn't eat it now, knowing what it is."-Jan Busche

"Oh Suzanne...your column about boiled tongue brought back memories. My dad worked as a butcher when I was growing up. Many times he would bring home pieces of meat that you could not find in the meat case of the local grocery store. I remember opening meat wrappers and finding tongue inside. Yuck! My mom never cooked the tongue, but my grandmother would. Of course none of the kids would eat it! Thanks for bringing back memories."--Elaine Schwendeman

"Was it a sharp tongue? Or a sassy one?"--Vicki Huber

"I enjoy reading your daily column every day but today is definitely one of the most thought provoking and humorous ones to date. I cannot imagine that sign in a restaurant nor anyone actually wanting to eat a tongue. I wonder what it would taste like?"--Betty Warner

"Personally, as a kid, one of my favorite school lunches was tongue sandwich! Mom would cook one for dinner, then use the remainder for sandwiches during the week. Not bad! Love to read with you Suzanne."--Joyce

"I'm sure you have already heard this, but beef tongue is quiet good. My Mom use to make a stew from tongue in a red tomato sauce. The first time she made it--boiled--us kids where mortified. We didn't want to eat the cow's tongue!!! We would eat every other part of the cow (almost) but not the tongue. Back then you didn't get something else if you didn't like what was for dinner, so we tentatively ate it and found it isn't so bad. The next time my Mom made it, after boiling it she cut it into pieces and put it in the tomato gravy with veggies and my brothers where none the wiser. It tasted like beef stew. Try it sometime, you might be surprised."--Gayle

"Oh, Suzanne. Beef tongue is a traditional Jewish dish, so I would imagine that there is some interest in it in Florida. You're such a good cook that I'm a little disappointed to hear you bash something that you've never even tried! I would like to challenge you to cook (and try) tongue. It tastes like tender beef, and no, you don't eat the surface skin."--Suzanne Meister

(Suzanne replies)

I'm adventurous and love to try new things, but since there isn't time to experience every little thing life has to offer, I think I'll pass on this one.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@EmailBookClub.com
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Martyred by Richard E. Kim. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/January12Classics