Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 08-31-07

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,

Enjoy the long holiday weekend. My column will be here on Monday if you want to tune-in and I'll be giving away leftovers. Cool, left-over stuff that's been sitting on my shelf for quite a while that I just haven't gotten around to giving away. Hats, cows, cookie droppers (the kind I use when I bake my chocolate chip cookies), lanterns (I have one in my bedroom), book bags and bubble machines (I have one of those, too.) Turn on a bubble machine and all kinds of magic happens. Tune-in Monday for the Left-Over Giveaway.

From my Email Bag:

(In response to yesterday's "picture-perfect" column.)

"Dear Suzanne, thank you for understanding the way I choose to live. Yes, I could keep my house picture perfect and miss all that I love; frog catching with my two-and-a-half year old granddaughter, laying on our backs making pictures of the clouds, holding her little brother and inhaling his sweet babiness. There are always our shared books, she snuggles into my lap as I read to her using all my character voices, melting when she giggles and reaches around my neck saying you're funny Grammie. My paternal grandmother barely spoke English. Our conversations were difficult, but whenever I think of her I remember her wonderful smelling kitchen, the dusting of flour as she taught me how to make homemade noodles and how to earn the trust of a homeless cat. Was her house neat and picked up? I don't know and further more, I don't care. I can only hope that my grandchildren remember me half as fondly as I remember mine. I need to go and make a mess."--Catherine Lee

"Suzanne, the 'family photos' concept is a grand slam. Maybe you should copyright the term 'family photos' similar to three peat. Excellent. Thank you for the daily reading."--John

"Suzanne, I just wanted to thank you for being so dedicated in your effort to share books with us in the book club. Some topics are more interesting to me than others, but you have definitely got me interested in reading again. I have been caught in a rut of reading only what my children want read to them. Now I'm able to read books for my own enjoyment and more at my level. Thanks again!"--Carmel

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.DearReader.com

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-30-07

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,

Every other Wednesday, before my housekeeper shows up, somehow I manage to find a place to hide our messy stuff. After she leaves, everything looks tidy, the air smells clean and it feels like our house is just the right size. When I look around I see a quaint, comfortable, historical home, but as the week progresses, my house gets smaller and smaller. I pull things out of the drawer, but some things never make it back. Why keep putting my tennis shoes and hat back in the closet, when I'm just going to have to retrieve them again tomorrow morning when I go for my walk? If company were coming--company who I felt the need to hide the everyday me from--in thirty minutes, I could have myself hidden away again. But maybe as long as the house is clean, what's the harm in having the real me, hanging out--all over--in every room?

Perhaps I should think of the everyday stuff sitting out in the open around my house, as "family photos." My hat is really a "picture" of me--I'm just not in it at the moment. The playpen in the middle of my living room, each time I walk by it I'm reminded of Baby Paul. Those newspapers haphazardly stacked in the corner, they're a picture-perfect shot of my husband. He loves to read the Wall Street Journal. And the plastic ball with the noisy bell, the next time I step on it with my bare feet, instead of chastising myself, "Why the heck don't I keep that thing picked up?" I'll think of Abby, my gray kitty and how cute she looks when she's batting it around the floor.

There's a limit to everything and I suppose there's even a limit to how many "family photos" one house can possess. But for right now, my little mental ruse is working. When I look around, my house isn't filled with messy stuff--it's filled with "family photos." "Oh look at that, my husband let his chili bowl sit out overnight and the heat from it left a ring on my new end table. What a treat!" It's one of those "forever" family photos I'll never forget. Now every time I walk by my brand new end table, the one that took me months to find, that "picture" will always remind me of my husband, and how much he loves my chili. Isn't that sweet?

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Books that are jewels and jewels that come with books...discover these wonderful authors and their newest novels: Sarah Addison Allen, Garden Spells; M.J. Rose, The Reincarnationist; Whitney Gaskell, Mommy Tracked; Carolyn Haines, Revenant; and Nancy Bush, Electric Blue. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-29-07

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,

Who won the "very cool" shirt?

Congratulations to John Thompson. The shirt's in the mail, you should receive it any day now.

John's in the military and his current assignment is in Virginia, but he said he joined the book club in 2004 when he was serving in Iraq. "My mother's neighbor is a retired educator and sent me several books while I was there. One of the books had a bookmark, for the book clubs, in it and that was my start. You guys have been all over the world with me."

John entered the shirt give away because...

"I believe my wife would look great in your very cool shirt, Suzanne, but I'm hesitant to enter the contest. You see after 18 years of marriage I still cannot select clothes that appeal to her. I consider myself to be a well dressed man, but apparently that skill does not traverse genders. My assertion is that since you and my wife are similar in appearance, then your taste in clothes will match."

Picking out clothes for someone is a tough assignment, John. I hope the shirt's a winner, be sure to let us know!

Thanks for reading with me John. It's so good to know I've been reading with someone like you.

Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I'm giving away more books this week, I have 20 Westerns to giveaway to readers. So if you like a good Western be sure to enter the drawing. It's easy to enter, all you need to do is send me an email and include your mailing address, please. Send your email to [email protected]

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-28-07

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,

At the moment, I'm going nuts, crazy, out-of-my-mind insane, being too hard on myself--all the things I'm so good at doing. I could teach a class on it. Feeling anxious, can hardly catch my breath and my chest is tight. But before you whip an email off suggesting I'm having a heart attack, or you decide to dial 911: "I'm not sure of her address, but she's a writer who lives in Florida and she's having chest pains. Send an ambulance." I assure you, it's probably nothing because the last time this happened to me, I immediately went to the doctor, they did an x-ray and the pain in my chest turned out to be gas.

Yeah, I didn't believe them either, so the doctor held up the x-ray and pointed to the spot. (For those of you who are curious, gas looks cloudy on an x-ray.) And there were so many clouds it looked like a doozey of a thunderstorm was ready to let loose. 'Where's my umbrella?' Talk about embarrassing.

But it wasn't my first time.

Years ago, when I was publishing a business magazine, whenever a new restaurant was getting ready to open in the city, the owners would always have a first-night, private party. They wanted to "get the word out" in the community and the new kitchen staff needed a trial-run, so the media was always invited and I'd get an invitation.

Free food has never been a very big deal to me, but this particular invitation was for a restaurant specializing in seafood. I love fresh shrimp, and sure enough, there were two heaping platters, with sides of horseradish cocktail sauce on the buffet table--I couldn't resist. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I ate way-more than my "socially-acceptable" share of the jumbo delights, washing them all down with a couple of glasses of white wine. Then I jotted down a five-star rating on their "How did we do?" card, went home, put on my pjs and went right to sleep. Woke up forty minutes later and felt like I was dying. Bent over, crawling around the bathroom floor; my chest, stomach, intestines, everything below my neck down to my knees was cramping. "Take me to the Emergency Room!"

Two nurses were waiting outside of the Emergency Room door for my husband and me, just like in the movies. And when they immediately wheeled me straight back into an exam room, no waiting, no paperwork, nobody asking, "What's your mother's maiden name?"--it was confirmation--I must be dying. I'd never seen so many doctors in one room. Am I allowed to die if no one has called my HMO for pre-authorization?

"Suzanne, we're going to have to do emergency surgery, you must have blockage somewhere." And they wheeled me off to x-ray. A surgeon was on his way, nurses were starting to prep me for the operating room and that's when a doctor holding my x-ray appeared. "I have good news and bad news, Suzanne. The good news is you don't need surgery. The bad news is you have really bad gas. We can give you something for it, but it will probably take hours for everything to clear out. How many of those jumbo shrimp did you eat?"

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I'm giving away more books this week, I have 20 Westerns to give away to readers. So if you like a good Western be sure to enter the drawing. It's easy to enter, all you need to do is send me an email and include your mailing address, please. Send your email to [email protected]

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-27-07

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,

One of the reasons I started the book clubs in 1999 was to make it easy for people to get back into the habit of reading. I never know for sure what will hook a reader, but after reading Carol's email, I know how I "snagged" her and exactly what day it was.

Enjoy Carol's letter and if you missed the Parakeet column that ran on August 7th, 2002, you'll find it at: http://tinyurl.com/2yzhc4

"Dear Suzanne, I will never, never, forget the first few times I ventured into your world! I used to read only under duress, i.e., when an instructor gave us a time limit on a paper which was to be written about an assigned book.

You absolutely 'snagged' this reluctant reader with your one of your columns. I'll never forget the one about the woman you went to interview at her house. If I remember correctly, you were interested in hiring someone for your business. This goes back, oh, I don't know, maybe three or four years ago.

The parakeet column was soooo honest, forthright, and hilarious; you absolutely HOOKED me from that moment on. I told my husband that night about this totally unusual piece I had read which preceded the samplings from the book club. My dear, your writing has such a definite purpose.

Did you know that countless folks like me have to have something intriguing to get them going with this business of reading? Your absolutely marvelous columns do just that! I am just amazed at your honesty and willingness to put yourself and everything about you out there, for all the world to read. It really is such a wonderful thing that you do!"--Fondly, Carol Moe

*To read the Parakeet column, go to: http://tinyurl.com/2yzhc4

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Books that are jewels and jewels that come with books...discover these wonderful authors and their newest novels: Sarah Addison Allen, Garden Spells; M.J. Rose, The Reincarnationist; Whitney Gaskell, Mommy Tracked; Carolyn Haines, Revenant; and Nancy Bush, Electric Blue. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-24-07

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 cat chose me. Abby was a stray cat and I guess one day she just decided she was tired of living in the streets, wanted a home, and she chose mine. Just a little bit of a thing, still a baby, she'd sit in my driveway and meow. Her cries were so sweet; I couldn't resist going outside to see what she wanted. I'd give her some food, pet her, give her a few snuggles and then I'd go back inside.

The little bundle of joy didn't give up. Day after day she'd sit in my driveway and watch me working through my sunroom window. Then she'd call out to me, I'd go outside to see her and finally one day we came back inside together. Abby chose me. I had no idea I needed her, but she was patient with me.

Maybe other things in life can choose me too, if I let them? Maybe I don't need to spend so much time looking, trying to figure everything out. I do my best writing when I don't really think about it. One key, then another, the words come easily, and when I have trouble writing, it's me that's standing in the way. But thankfully the words are patient, because just like Abby, they know where they belong.

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

*Couldn't resist showing you a picture of Abby, go to:

http://www.emailbookclub.com:80/photo/abby.html

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. If you don't enter the August Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway, you can't win. The deadline is August 30th. To enter this month's Cookie giveaway, go to: http://tinyurl.com/ywwzmt

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-23-07

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,

Thanks for taking the time to write. Reading your emails--it makes my day! It truly is a small world, when Ruth was a young girl she went to family reunions in the same park, in Iowa, that I did.

If you missed my family reunion column, you'll find it at: http://tinyurl.com/2y7jk5

"Suzanne, your column today brought me back to when I was a child and the Hildebrandt Reunion was held at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque. It was a 'must attend' event for our family. Family Reunions are alive and well in Iowa to this day. During June, July, August our local newspaper has a listing of family reunions being held and there are always at least three somewhere in the area for that week.

I have been instrumental in keeping three family reunions going. We almost give up in despair when only a handful of the older members are faithful attendees, but then the next year a young family with several children will come, so we continue on. They will be our future."--Ruth Tucker

"Dear Suzanne, I have enjoyed your column and the book excerpts and have gone on to read several of the complete books you suggested. I was struck today by your column about 'family reunions'. Like you, I am an only child, but grew up with very few relatives. When my widowed mother passed away 2 1/2 yrs. ago (at 91) the hardest thing for me has been losing that last link to my childhood. I have three cousins, but I didn't grow up near them so there is no one left to whom I can say, 'Remember when' for all those stories.

I never knew my grandparents who died before I was born. I was very, very fortunate to have wonderful parents and we were a close threesome so I miss them all the time. I hope your family reunion is successful...thanks again for your columns and your book selections."--Shirley Henion

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Have an author attend your bookclub, win copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors: Wendy Corsi Staub, Lily Dale: Awakening; Lauraine Snelling, Breaking Free; F.P. Lione, Clear Blue Sky; Debbie Macomber, Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life; and Joshua Henkin, Matrimony. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-22-07

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 think it's a conspiracy, but when I told my daughter about it the other day, she insisted I was way over-thinking things. In fact she hinted some concern about my mental stability. But I don't think it's just a coincidence that when my two-year cell phone contract ended, and I turned down the phone company's offer to extend it, that now my cell phone doesn't work right any more.

Coincidence--I think not! It's a conspiracy. Because the exact same thing happened the last time I refused to renew my contract.

"Why renew when I can simply go month-to-month?" I told the man at the cell phone company. "The service isn't going to cost me any less if I renew and sign on the dotted line." And that's when the salesman threw in a free phone, extra minutes, a tutor to explain how to use all those buttons on my phone that I haven't known how to use for the last two years, a lesson in text-messaging (my daughter would be thrilled) and he even offered to send someone over to give me a foot rub to sweeten the deal. Believe me, it was tempting, but nevertheless I still said no.

And thirty minutes later my phone started acting up. Coincidence or conspiracy?

No question in my mind, my cell number has been put on "the list." The bring-her-to-her-knees list, so they mess with her service. Dead air in the middle of my conversations, 'Service Unavailable' flashing on my screen, and somehow they even loosened a screw inside of my phone, so now whenever I'm talking I have to keep my hand real still, or the rattling screw noise competes with my conversation. They know exactly what they're doing, 'Give that Beecher woman crummy service, force her to come in and buy a new phone, and then we'll get her--she'll have to renew her contract.'

Coincidence or conspiracy? It's not a question any longer, I finally have proof. So the next time my daughter calls I'm giving her an update on her mother's "imaginary" phone problems. Line-by-line, I'll read her my list of the strange things that have suddenly gone wrong with my phone, and my sanity will be vindicated. That'll show her!

On second thought, in reviewing my list, maybe I'd better leave out the part about how the phone company somehow got inside of my phone and loosened that screw, because my daughter might think it's not the phone that has a...

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I'm giving away books this week, 15 books in every book club. So be sure to enter the drawing. It's easy to enter, all you need to do is send me an email and include your mailing address, please. Send your email to [email protected]

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-21-07

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,

The "elevator pitch." It's a common practice in the business world. You should be able to explain what you do for a living in a mere 100 to 150 words. Yes, the savvy business person has their "elevator pitch" prepared, rehearsed and ready to deliver at a moment's notice, in other words, the time it takes for an elevator ride. Each word is carefully chosen and delivered with such excitement and conviction, that by the time those elevator doors open, they've made the sale.

But not me. If the guy standing next to me in the elevator asks what I do for a living, well I better hope that we both entered the elevator on the ground floor and we're traveling 33 floors up to the penthouse, and that several other people are getting on and off in between. Because ever since I became a writer, most of my elevator pitch is spent stammering, searching for the right words, which is kind of ironic, since stringing sentences together is what I do every day.

Rattling off a couple of "what-I-do" sentences never used to be a problem: "I own a restaurant and we serve breakfast and lunch. I own a business magazine. I run a non-profit meal program." Telling someone what I did for a living was a no-brainer, as it is for most people. But the problem now is, when I tell someone I'm a writer, they always ask that dreaded follow-up question, "What do you write about?" and that's when I'm speechless and my elevator pitch falls apart.

Like a little kid, one foot then the other, shifting from side to side; I smile, hoping they'll remember my warm friendly face, instead of the idiotic response that I'm sure to deliver.

"Well, sometimes I write about something funny, sometimes I write about something sad, sometimes I write about how I bought a shirt and it only looks good on me as long as I don't wear anything on the bottom half of me. It really kind of depends." At this point I feel like a dope, they think I'm dope and who could blame them?

So what it comes down to, and it's more than a little embarrassing considering I write for a living, is that when someone wants to know what I write about in my column, I don't know what to tell them. I love writing the column every day, but for the life of me, I can't seem to explain what it's about.

Can you help this struggling writer with her elevator pitch? What's the "Dear Reader" column about? Any ideas?

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

P.S. I'm giving away books this week, 15 books in every book club. So be sure to enter the drawing. It's easy to enter, all you need to do is send me an email and include your mailing address, please. Send your email to [email protected]

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c

Dear Reader Column 08-20-07

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 I was a kid every summer I'd go to the big Shappel family reunion in Dubuque, Iowa, with my Grandma and Grandpa Hale. (Shappel was Grandma's side of the family.) Everyone would bring a dish to pass and any ill-will that family members had amongst themselves, they certainly never let it be known at the reunion, because everyone had a grand time, including me.

It was the only time when I didn't feel like an only child. Cousins, shirt-tale cousins, first cousins twice removed--all the way down the family tree, relatives would smile and give me a hug because I was one of the family. The food was great and I always left feeling a little less alone in the world.

Family reunions--it's one of those traditions that I think has probably disappeared, but I miss it. Everyone on my side of the family, grandparents, mom and dad, they're are all gone now, so I sent out emails to my husband's brothers, hoping to get them together at our house for Christmas this year--for a family reunion. The last time we were all together was over 15 years ago. My husband's dad is 87, so I've been playing the age card, tugging at heart strings, throwing in a little friendly guilt, writing anything I can think of to get us all together, because I know it would be a wonderful time. Something we'd always remember.

I've already gotten one firm commitment and a tentative yes from another brother--two down, one to go. If you've thought about trying to get your family together, for a reunion, I'd be happy to share some of my "persuasion lines" with you. Feel free to use them if you think they might help.

"Dear John,

There's a little thing I do sometimes when I'm trying to make a decision about something, to help me weigh the pros and cons. I draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper, write 'Pros' on one side, 'Cons' on the other, and then I list the positives and negatives about the idea.

Well, here's my idea: I think you should come and spend Christmas with us this year for a good old-fashioned family reunion. I've already taken the liberty of drawing a line down the middle of a piece of paper, and for the life of me, I couldn't come up with any negative reasons why you wouldn't want to come.

Here's the positive side of the list:

1. Baby Paul is here now and you could meet him. He's pretty cute.

2. Family is important, even though we can drive each other nuts at times; we're pretty cute, too.

3. There are several places for you to stay--private places. Places where you could get away from family and regroup, if you needed to.

4. I know your favorite food is lasagna and I would gladly make it for you two or three times when you visit.

5. Bob and I sure love it whenever we get to see you, but we don't get to see you often enough. We miss your company and your smile.

6. Your dad was thrilled when I told him I was emailing you an invitation.

So that's a pretty good list, huh? Will you come to the family reunion at Christmas? We sincerely would love for you to come and visit."

The email must be a winner because my father-in-law called the other day (He sounded so cute) when he said that after he read one of my "family reunion" emails, he wished he didn't live in the same city as my husband and me, so he could have gotten one, too.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: Have an author attend your bookclub, win copies of books you'll read and never forget from these terrific authors: Wendy Corsi Staub, Lily Dale: Awakening; Lauraine Snelling, Breaking Free; F.P. Lione, Clear Blue Sky; Debbie Macomber, Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life; and Joshua Henkin, Matrimony. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c