Dear Reader

DearReader Column 06-15-07

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,

When you believe in yourself, you can do anything. But sometimes if you're not able to really "Believe" you might need to pretend for a while--and you might even need some props to help you do it. I did.

Hang on; I might ramble a bit...

Years ago I used to publish a business magazine and in the beginning I didn't know a thing about publishing. So for quite a while I felt like a "pretender." My husband and I shared the same office and whenever someone came in and wanted to talk to the person in charge of the magazine, they'd always insist on speaking to him.

It drove me nuts. Getting angry at my husband would have been real convenient and felt pretty good, too. But instead we talked about it and decided, possibly, I was sending out the wrong cues to visitors. Our office was small, my desk was in the middle of the room, and I dressed casually. We concluded that people assumed I was a receptionist and that's why they always insisted on talking to my husband. (Which was kind of ironic, considering my husband always wore blue jeans to work.)

Nevertheless, I cut my hair very short (those were the days of the "corporate bob"), and I started wearing a suit to work. And my new look worked. Nobody ever walked into our office again and assumed it was my husband who was in charge.

The suits and I were buddies for a little over a year, but then the strangest thing happened. Every morning, first thing when I'd wake up, I'd feel an itching sensation all over my body. The itching went on for four days before I finally realized what was going on--I didn't want to wear a suit to work anymore. The first day I dressed down, I was really nervous about going to work, afraid my old problem would reoccur--but it never did.

And when I thought about it later, I realized that changing my hair and clothes really had nothing to do with solving my problem. I was the one who had changed, because I wasn't pretending anymore.

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

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

Dear Reader Column 06-14-07

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,

Watch for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway next week. If you've never entered, you should.

A note from Bev, one of May's Chocolate Chip Cookie Winners:

"Dear Suzanne, you can't imagine how excited I was opening 'Dear Reader' [last] Monday, and seeing my name listed in your cookie winners! The cookies arrived Tuesday afternoon in good shape and I took them to the June E. Nylan Cancer Center in Sioux City, IA, with me today. The response was tremendous!

I regret that we ran out and I had to fill in with my own cookies, which did not taste as good as yours. I think the 'heaping' cups of chocolate chips and the large size tipped the scale in your favor. This was so much fun! What a conversational topic as I went around the wards dispensing cookies and coffee. Thank you so much for adding to the good moments of life with all those special things you do. By the way, the personal letter with the cookies meant more to me than you will ever know."

Gratefully, Bev Weikel

*To see a photo of Bev and some of the cookie eaters, go to:

http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cookie16.html

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Find out about great books from these terrific authors plus a chance to win signed copies: Jennifer O'Connell, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume; Shane Gericke, Cut to the Bon; Tanya Lee Stone, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl; Robert Dunn, Meet the Annas; and Chris Grabenstein, Whack A Mole.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-13-07

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 tried to write a normal column today about something going on in my world, but instead, I kept coming back to this topic--blowing my nose.

Mother said I should always tell the truth and perhaps today is one of those times when a little white lie would make for more respectable reading material. But I was sick for over two weeks with a horrible virus and truthfully, blowing my nose is still one of the major activities in my day. There's an art to it. I've become an expert and I feel a responsibility to pass on the things I've learned to others. Mother taught me to share, too.

Okay, so some readers are ready to hit the delete key, figuring I'm still ravaged with fever, sick, and out-of-my-mind. Others are flush with embarrassment, imagining the details I'd need to use to describe such a personal, possibly disgusting topic and some readers--are this very minute--looking around to see if anyone is reading over their shoulder--they're embarrassed--but intrigued.

It started out with a sniffle, a dainty event--my Grandmother's lace hankie would have sufficed. But mid-way through the virus, I had to pull out the big artillery; a man-sized tissue in one hand and the other hand firmly braced against a wall, a car, or the person next to me--whatever was handy at the moment. Because my nose blowing had now reached wind speeds high enough to be classified as a Category One Hurricane, according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Beauford (every hurricane has a name) was scary. The noise was deafening, long and loud hair-raising honks, grab another tissue, and come up for air. It was never ending. How could anyone produce such great quantities? A big blow from Beauford and my three cats and even my husband hid under the bed. When I ventured out to stock up on supplies, children screamed and ran from me in horror, but nevertheless, I needed to be prepared.

Getting ready to tackle Beauford was a lot like getting ready for hurricane season here in Florida. The two have things in common.

SUZANNE'S HURRICANE/ BEAUFORD CHECKLIST

* Stock up on tissue and chicken soup (I'm not kidding, my doctor wrote on his prescription pad the name of a restaurant that had great take-out chicken soup with matzo-balls).

* Blow out gentle puffs, but cover your windows with sturdy 5/8 inch thick sheets of plywood, so you're ready if the big one comes.

* Keep your mouth slightly open when it's time for the big blow to prevent damage to your ear drums, and store loose items so they won't blow away.

* Secure valuables and remove your jewelry to avoid possible damage and injury.

* Take a deep breath (through your mouth) before you blow your nose, so you don't black out.

* Put important documents in waterproof containers.

* Use tissues--not washable handkerchiefs--and have plenty of big, sturdy, trash bags to haul away the man-sized debris.

* Have hand tools ready for after the "storm;" screwdrivers, a shovel and a pick axe to loosen any tough clogs.

* When you hear the all clear siren, it's time to clean up--wipe your nose to make sure nothing else is hanging around.

Thanks for reading with me. (I promise a normal column tomorrow.) It's so good to read with friends.

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

Dear Reader Column 06-12-07

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,

Frequently readers email asking if it's okay if they pass the daily read on to friends--absolutely!

Jean's even started her own "book club"...

"Dear Suzanne,

I wanted to let you know how appreciated you and your book selections are.

Last year, a writer buddy and I read your selections of Water For Elephants and fell in love with the story. She bought the book and so far it's still making the rounds of our writers' group.

There have been other books you've featured between then and now that we've enjoyed, too, but I thought you'd particularly love hearing what's going on this week.

I've been a Hank Williams fan since I was 4 years old and listening to him live on the Grand Ole Opry. So when you began sending around Lovesick Blues this week, I had to share it. I sent it to my writer buddy, who's also a Hank fan, and she's sending the selections on to her son in Illinois--which is giving mother and son something to talk about. Lovesick is also going to two guys in the military, one aboard the USS Ronald Reagan and the other who's special forces and soon off back to Afghanistan. They're sending back raves via e-mail too.

So thanks for what you do, for your lovely selections, and all your hard work. You have no idea the joy you spread."

Jean Jenkins, San Diego

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Find out about great books from these terrific authors plus a chance to win signed copies: Jennifer O'Connell, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume; Shane Gericke, Cut to the Bon; Tanya Lee Stone, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl; Robert Dunn, Meet the Annas; and Chris Grabenstein, Whack A Mole. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-11-07

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 mother told me the day before she died that what was really important in life, was love. It was a strange sentiment to hear her convey, because my mother had a hard time showing her love. But somehow at the end, she must have gotten a glimpse of what I saw and felt the other night.

It's four in the morning. Paul, my grandson, is in All Children's Hospital and I'm spending the night with him. There are four cribs in the room, each one has a baby in it and there's a mom, dad, or grandparent like me, sitting in the chair beside it. I've never been comfortable sharing a room with anyone, but this evening, even though we're all strangers, instantly there's a bond. Each one of us is hoping to hear good news when the doctors make their rounds in the morning. Each one of us is hoping nothing bad happens during the night.

There's a curtain in-between each baby's crib, but there's really no privacy. You can't help but overhear. Across the room, a husky man is leaning over a crib whispering to his four month old daughter, "Don't worry honey, Daddy will always take care of you." And then he rings for the nurse, because Daddy's trying to figure out how to safely give his baby girl a hug. She just had a tumor removed from her brain and he doesn't want to hurt her.

It's hard 'not' to hear, and it's even harder to hold back the tears. A doctor is trying to help the mother next to me understand why her newborn baby's brain didn't develop like it should, and so her daughter will need a lot of special assistance when she's growing up. Then a nurse wheels the baby's crib out of the room, they need to do more tests. And the mother is left alone. I hear her crying.

Across the room from my grandson a mother is trying to sleep in the reclining chair next to her baby's crib. She brought her baby here from Michigan, because the doctors at the hospital where she lives kept telling her nothing was wrong. But she knew something wasn't right. And now she's been told that her new baby boy can't hear or see, and won't be able to do much of anything except "be." But simply "being" is plenty for this mother to love. She's hoping to be able to take her son home in a few days, so his brothers and sisters can get to know him.

My grandson is finally asleep and I lay him back in his crib. I'm tired. The days and nights are long in the hospital. But tonight I'm at ease. The doctor says in a couple more days we'll be taking home a healthy boy. I felt a little guilty hearing such good news.

I've always thought my job, my purpose here on earth, certainly must be something more dramatic than simply loving and taking care of the people around me. So I've strived to be clever, artistic, and talented in business. But as I sit here at four in the morning, looking around the room and looking at my grandson, I realize I've been looking at life all wrong. It's not complicated, there's nothing to prove. My mother was right. It's really very simple. What's really important is love.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Find out about great books from these terrific authors plus a chance to win signed copies: Jennifer O'Connell, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume; Shane Gericke, Cut to the Bon; Tanya Lee Stone, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl; Robert Dunn, Meet the Annas; and Chris Grabenstein, Whack A Mole. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 06-08-07

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,

"When it gets tough, I get going. You can make it through anything. Whatever the challenge, I'm up for it." That's the little speech I've given myself through the years to get me over the rough spots. And it's true. I am pretty darn resourceful. I can take a punch, regroup, and bounce back quickly.

But I admit there have been times in my life when, even though I was up for the challenge, the rough spots got way too rocky--even for me. And I had to ask someone for help.

"I need your help." I don't know why those words are always so difficult for me to say. It feels like defeat when I hear myself saying them, but in reality, I've learned that when I say them, they're a gift to me and to the person I say them to.

Years ago, when a doctor handed me a red and white cane--because I couldn't see where I was going--I gave myself the "When it's tough, I get going" speech, and I thought things would be fine. But a friend of mine saw my situation differently and wanted to know why I wasn't asking the people around me for help. And when I told her I didn't want to bother anyone, she replied, "Suzanne, you're one selfish woman."

Just where was this coming from? Here I was walking around bumping into walls, couldn't keep my eyelids open so I could see and my "friend" was chiding me for being selfish because I wasn't asking for help?

But then she explained: "Suzanne, when someone asks for your help you're happy to lend a hand and it makes you feel good, doesn't it? You're being selfish, because if you won't ask for help, you're robbing the people who care about you of an opportunity and the chance to feel good about helping a friend." And she was right.

Fortunately, I was able to retire my red and white cane a long time ago, but wouldn't you know it, that tough stuff still knows my address. And that's okay, I'm still up for the challenge but now I'm willing to ask a friend for help along the way.

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: My Antonia by Willa Cather and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/358deh

Dear Reader Column 06-07-06

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,

Thanks for taking the time to send me an email. I know you're busy and I appreciate it.

From my Email Bag:

"I just wanted to say that--You 'do' ROCK. No matter how much I dread what I'm facing for the day at work, I can always count on a touch of sunshine that is my 'daily read' from Suzanne. Thanks for making a difference and thanks for all the wonderful books you've turned me on to. Have a GREAT day!"--Sharon L.Memphis, TN

"I am sure you get tons of letters about how the book club is important to our lives. I think I have written to you before about working nites, and what a pleasure it is to receive your emails when I get up. Even my husband says 'Your friend is on the email' and I feel that way too. Keep up the fun stories and recollections. You don't know how it helps all of us with our situations in life and how we relate to things. It's good to know we are not alone..take care Suzanne..."--Helen

"Hi Suzanne,I love your daily emails. I usually wait until Friday to read them all one time. It's like saving yourself a big piece of chocolate. Your desire for it builds and you enjoy it more when you're finally able to sink your teeth in it, giving you that feeling of 'heaven', if only just for a little while."--Young C'bean Reader Sheena

(If your email is in today's column, let me know and I'll send you a free, "just-because" book.)

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

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

Congratulations to the winners of Writing Poetry: From the Inside Out by Sandford Lyne: Phyllis Hanlon, Doug Nonemaker, Patty Grove, Phil Baker, Deborah S. Christmas, Reba Welge, Mary Lynn Carubba, Susan Casey, Angie Guffey, Karen Hoskins, Jayne Kasten, Felecia Fair, Mya Martin-Glenn, Selma F. Blackburn, Claudia Chyle Smith, David Leingang, Toni Goldfarb, Marlene Gillette, Lynne ONeill, and Marlene Steele.

AUTHORBUZZ: Five terrific books that are all must reads and free copies for lucky readers: Charles Martin, Chasing Fireflies; Carla Neggers, Abandon; Sophia Nash, A Dangerous Beauty; Angela Henry, Diva's Last Curtain Call; and Jane Orcutt, All the Tea in China. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: My Antonia by Willa Cather and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/358deh

Dear Reader Column 06-06-07

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,

Almost every day I thank my Grandma Hale because she took a lot of pictures when I was a kid and then she performed a miracle--she put the pictures into a photo album.

When Paul, my grandson, was born five months ago I promised myself I was going to put together photo albums, just like Grandma Hale did for me. Taking the pictures has been easy. My digital camera fits in my pocket, so I can always have it with me, and it's so simple to use, that it's almost impossible to take a bad picture. But performing Grandma's miracle--that's been my downfall.

Hundreds of photos were safely stored on my computer, but unless I planned on lugging my laptop around with me, nobody else would ever see them. Figuring out how to print the photos was always on my "to-do" list, but I never seemed to get around to it. So when my husband asked me what I wanted for a birthday gift last month, I asked him to teach me how to electronically order prints, and then help me put the pictures into photo albums. And that's what we did on my birthday. Not only did we print out all the pictures of Baby Paul, we printed out all the digital pictures we'd ever taken. There were over 600 photos!

It's one of the best birthday presents I've ever received and it sounds a bit sappy, but it truly is going to be 'the gift that keeps on giving.' I love to sit and look through the photo albums and I know that some day, Baby Paul will, too.

*If you'd like to see some of my favorite pictures, and win a photo album for your pictures, ( I have four albums to give away to readers) go to:

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

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: My Antonia by Willa Cather and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/358deh

Dear Reader Column 06-05-07

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,

Stop the world I want to get off. That's kind of how I'm feeling this morning. There's nothing awful facing me today, but for some reason I want to take a little break. I'm not looking for an Exit sign, just a nice, comfortable rest stop, a place to sit a spell and rest.

I love to walk through neighborhoods and look at the houses and their landscaping and the first thing I always take notice of are the resting places: porches, little out of the way coves, lounge chairs with pretty cushions, big trees with plenty of shade underneath them, (just right to spread out a quilt and take a little nap,) balconies with tables for two--the perfect place to eat breakfast or lunch--but the thing is, I rarely see anyone doing any resting.

And I'm just as guilty, which is strange, because the places to sit and relax were the first things I noticed when my husband and I were looking at our own home. There's a front porch, big enough for a rattan sofa and two chairs, a side porch surrounded by an ornate railing with my flower gardens in view, and in the back of the house a patio enclosed with bamboo trees and typical jungle-looking Florida plants. There's even a handcrafted mosaic bench positioned underneath our big Avocado tree--it's picture perfect for lovers to sit side-by-side, holding hands. But the only courting going on underneath the Avocado tree is between two squirrels that play together in our yard. The bench is their favorite place to sit mid-afternoon.

It's easy to picture myself resting in these places, and I do feel more peaceful when I look at these inviting places, and it feels good to know, if I should ever decide to sit down and rest, that I have a place to go--and since I feel like taking a rest, maybe I should give it a try.

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: My Antonia by Willa Cather and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/358deh

Dear Reader Column 06-04-07

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,

For two days I lost it--the skill to bake a decent chocolate chip cookie. Not being able to bake a chocolate chip cookie may not sound like a big deal, but it was a devastating experience.

I mixed up the recipe like I always do, slid the 12 plops of cookie dough into the oven, but the dough just sat there on the cookie sheet, and that's not the way it's supposed to work. The cookie dough is supposed to spread, but when I pulled the baking sheet out of the oven, instead of cookies, I had 12 nicely browned chocolate chip hockey pucks.

Thinking I must have left something out, I mixed up another batch, but I got the same results. Okay, now I was really peeved. My oven was brand new--it couldn't be the oven--there must be something wrong with the ingredients. So I went to the market and bought new flour, sugar, chips, baking soda, salt, butter, vanilla, eggs, everything I needed to try again, but I still ended up with 12 nicely browned hockey pucks.

Now I was really worried. This wasn't just a cookie-baking hobby gone bad, what if I couldn't ever bake a decent chocolate chip cookie again? No more giving away cookies to readers, no more handing out cookies to the gardener, the neighbors, my doctor or sending them to friends. I wanted to try again, but I knew I couldn't face another failure, so I went to bed. Things always look better in the morning--I hoped.

There's something inside of me that kicks in when things are at their worst, in fact I've done some of my best work when things were at their worst. And so the next day I began--again. But this time I didn't rule out anything, not even my new oven, and that's where I discovered the problem. The oven wasn't getting hot enough.

After my oven was fixed I knew what I had to do, but I was kind of afraid to try again. What if it wasn't really the oven? What if it was just me? I always thought baking was just for fun until I couldn't do it anymore, and then I truly realized what baking cookies means to me. And so it goes...

The good news is, fixing the oven fixed my baking problem. And I was able to bake cookies for the May winners of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. Congratulations to Sandy Youngblood, who plans on sharing the cookies with the teenage girls in her Girl Scout Troop; Misty Smith who is going to share the cookies with her softball team, The Dewey Decimators; and finally Bev Weikel, who volunteers at the cancer center and wrote, "I thought it would be extra special to have some of your cookies to share with the patients." Thanks to everyone who entered. Watch for the June Cookie Contest soon.

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Five terrific books that are all must reads and free copies for lucky readers: Charles Martin, Chasing Fireflies; Carla Neggers, Abandon; Sophia Nash, A Dangerous Beauty; Angela Henry, Diva's Last Curtain Call; and Jane Orcutt, All the Tea in China. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: My Antonia by Willa Cather and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/358deh