Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 08-17-07

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,

Congratulations to Marjorie Haines, this year's Garage Sale Giveaway winner! I personally called Marjorie to give her the good news and from talking to her, I think the bottle's found the perfect home.

Marjorie's Garage Sale entry:

"Dear Suzanne,

I don't remember when my family first started its special tradition of 'passing the pot' around on special occasions, but it was at least 34 years ago. My sister Jo, who is two years older than I am, made a ceramic pot in an art class, and somehow she gave it to one of us as a joke. It became a tradition to 'honor' someone on a special occasion by giving that person the pot, along with a poem.

When I saw the wonderful garage sale bottle with stopper, I thought it would be fun to use that as a token to pass from one member to another in our Book Discussion Group. I started the group in our community about three years ago, and each month we meet at a different person's house. I'd love to be able to start a new tradition of having the host/hostess for the current month hand the bottle off to the host/hostess of the next month--a bit like passing a baton in a relay race! I hope I win!"--Marjorie Haines

Be sure to tune in next week. I'll be giving away 15 books in every book club and one of the books might as well go to you. So watch for the announcement in my column and don't forget to enter.

Have a wonderful weekend.

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

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

Dear Reader Column 08-16-07

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,

Are you hungry? I'm ready to bake. If you're a professional "dunker" and you'd like to take my famous chocolate chip cookies for a spin in a cold glass of milk--be sure to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie give away.

Last month I baked for Brenda and her co-workers; Karen and her husband Tom and their 13 year-old daughter Kathryn; and Nancy--who'd lost her own baking groove, but after only two of my cookies--dunk, dunk, chomp, chomp, she was inspired to start baking again.

If you don't enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway, you're missing a lot of fun. To see last month's smiling cookie faces, and to enter the August Cookie give away, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/ywwzmt

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Tell an author your horror stories, read a book about a book, and discover all these terrific authors this week: Brenda Janowitz, Scot on the Rocks; Fan Wu, February Flowers; Marilynn Griffith, Turquoise; Matt Bronleewe, Illuminated; and Colleen Coble, Abomination. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 08-15-07

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,

I bought a shirt the other day in a store I don't usually go into. 'Why look if I can't buy?' Everything is so expensive, but the sign in the window was a tease: "Once a Year Sale--70 percent off!"

The shirt was on the sale rack and when I tried it on and was admiring myself in the 3-way mirror, the sales person was oohing and aahing about how cute it looked on me, and I had to agree. The shirt did look great. "Wrap it up. I'll take it!" But the next day, when I tried it on at home, I discovered a slight problem.

The shirt still looked great on me, but not if I had to wear something on the bottom half of my body. Let me explain. (That sentence really needs an explanation.) Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

When I originally tried on the shirt in the store, I envisioned wearing it with crop pants. But when I got home and tried crop pants on with the shirt, they looked terrible. Tried a skirt on with the shirt, but it didn't look any better. Tried a pair of jeans on with the shirt, and I looked even more bizarre. Tried on almost every "bottom" piece of clothing I owned with this very cool shirt, but I still looked ridiculous. It was very depressing.

So, I now own a very cool shirt that looks great on me, just as long as I don't wear anything on the bottom half of my body.

The troublesome shirt? I could take it back and exchange it, but the 70 percent off sale was only for one day. So now the only thing I could possibly exchange my very cool shirt for, in this very expensive store, is one pair of underwear. It's very depressing.

Would anyone out there like a very cool shirt? The tag is still attached, it's never been worn--I stand corrected--it's only been worn long enough to try on every "bottom" piece of clothing in my closet.

To see a photo and enter the Very Cool Shirt Giveaway--I'm not kidding, I'm giving the shirt off my back to a book club reader--go to: http://tinyurl.com/2wx6n7

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

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

Dear Reader Column 08-14-07

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,

This month's Penguin Classic is posted for you to sample. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2ory4c and be sure to enter the Classic drawing.

I overdo it every year. When I see Concord grapes in the grocer's aisle, I buy at least four huge containers, then I hurry home and start eating. There's an art to eating concord grapes and when I was a kid, I perfected it in my Grandma Hale's backyard. Grandma's grapevines grew alongside of her garage and in the fall when the vines exploded with big, purple Concord grapes, I could spend an entire afternoon reading a book and popping grape after grape into my mouth.

Pinch, splash, and swallow--three easy steps are the secret to my technique. If you're a grape-eating beginner, let me explain. You never eat more than one grape at a time and you never actually bite into the grape.

Here's the step-by-step: Pick up one single grape, open your mouth--get ready now--pinch the grape, the juice splashes into your mouth, the grape follows right behind, and then you swallow--seeds and all. Toss the skin aside, quickly grab another grape, pick up the pace now--speed is part of the artistry--pinch, splash and swallow, you've got to keep the grape beat going. No fine wine for me, just pop those grapes into my mouth one after another and I'm intoxicated.

Yes, it was my one and only way to eat grapes--until yesterday, when a friend of mine asked if I'd ever made a Concord grape pie. Grapes in a pie? It didn't sound too appetizing to me, but it did sound bizarre and I was intrigued, so I gave it a try.

Let me tell you, there's also an art to baking a Concord grape pie. I perfected it in my kitchen last night and I've got the purple-stained fingers to prove it. Surprisingly, the pie was delicious. The recipe, photos, and baking mishaps--the seeds were a little tricky--are at: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/grape.html

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

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

Dear Reader Column 08-13-07

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 love it when I find a fantastic book and it's from a small independent publisher. This week you can sample The All-American Industrial Motel by Doug Crandell, from Chicago Review Press--and the publisher is giving away 10 copies to readers. The book is a memoir (nonfiction has always been my favorite) and I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Let's get right to it. You'll find the sample from The All-American Industrial Motel and info on how to enter the book giveaway when you go to:

http://tinyurl.com/2b6ynr

After you've sampled the book, please send an email and let me know what you thought of it. I'll share all of your emails with the author. I know Doug would love to hear from you.

*Tomorrow at midnight is the deadline for entering the Write a Dear Reader Contest. For details go to: http://tinyurl.com/349g6k

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: Tell an author your horror stories, read a book about a book, and discover all these terrific authors this week: Brenda Janowitz, Scot on the Rocks; Fan Wu, February Flowers; Marilynn Griffith, Turquoise; Matt Bronleewe, Illuminated; and Colleen Coble, Abomination. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

Dear Reader Column 08-10-07

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,

Only four days left until the Write a Dear Reader Contest deadline!

Linda's almost ready to send in her entry, how about you?

"Hi, Suzanne, I'm almost ready to submit my entry to the contest and I have to tell you what an interesting exercise this has been for me. I write a lot, but only for myself, and being restricted by a word limit has been illuminating to say the least! I write, I count, then I edit. And then I do it again, and again...and again. It's been amazing to discover how wordy I am and how much I can omit without losing the essence of my thoughts.

Even if I don't win, I will have learned a valuable lesson in the art of writing. I'm glad I don't have to count commas, though, I'd never have a chance to win! (And I wish I had a computer program that would count the words for me) I laughed to myself while writing THIS little missive, because three times I deleted two words and substituted one!"--Linda Kalend

If you haven't entered yet, go on, give it a try. I'd love to hear from you. You could win 54 books, (most of them signed) a book bag, and the winning columns will run at the book clubs while I'm on vacation.

Have fun! Simply tell me a story, tell me what's on your mind. For more "how-to" information, deadline details and a list of prizes go to: http://tinyurl.com/349g6k

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

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

READ THE CLASSICS: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/3x9eam

Dear Reader Column 08-09-07

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 discoveries I've made about writing the Dear Reader column is that sometimes when someone's reading my column, by the time they've finished, they're not thinking about my story any longer, they're reliving one of their own. And that's wonderful.

Thanks for taking the time to write and sharing your stories with me. I always love to hear from you.

From my Email Bag:

"Dear Suzanne, my mom and I used to make ceramic stuff. When I looked at the picture of the garage sale 'treasure' bottle, I had to smile. My mom made what could be a twin to your bottle! She is no longer with us, but for some reason, I decided to keep that bottle. I remember how much fun we had while she was working on it, and so no matter how ugly it is, (and believe me, it's ugly!) I guess I'll hang on to it. I certainly don't need another one, but thought I'd share my bottle story with you..."--Toni H.

"Suzanne, I am probably one of thousands writing to comment on your column about your Mom and her husband and their 'hobby' of garage sales. Bud, my dear brother has frequented all the garage, yard, basement, church, you-name-it sales in Ohio...and in all the states he visits, for many years. I guess it truly gets in the blood! When my daughter was getting married and we were in the midst of the last minute chaos...yes, the afternoon of the 7 :00 p.m. wedding...brother, who had flown in from Ohio, had to check out the yard sales in Richmond before getting ready for the big event! He got back to the house about 5:00 p.m. and HAD to unpack all his finds...and like your mom's husband, tell me all the stories, where he had been, etc. I was tearing my hair out by this time, but somehow we all got to the church. Thanks for listening! I look forward to your daily column!"--Jan T.

"Suzanne: It's difficult not to reply to all your Dear Reader comments. I have to tell you about an incident that happened many years ago, in l963, when I went with my husband to visit his folks in Ohio. It seems it was a weekly jaunt to go to the garage sales in this town and the evening we were visiting, the men in the family had just returned from a sale with a truck full of 'stuff.' Well I made the trite remark that it seemed like they had everything but 'the kitchen sink'--and you guessed it--they pulled out a kitchen sink they had bought that evening. Your column today brought back those memories, thanks."--Shirley T.

Enter the book club Garage Sale Giveaway! Can you give this year's garage sale "treasure" a good home? Read all about it, take a look, send me an email, and you could be this year's lucky winner. All the info's at: http://tinyurl.com/3a36d3

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: This week explore books that explore the erotic, the mystery of twins, the power of movies and life in 19th century South Wales: Bonnie Leon, To Love Anew; Elizabeth Arnold, Pieces of My Sister's Life; Annette Blair, Sex and the Psychic Witch; Colette Gale, Unmasqued: An Erotic Novel of the Phantom of the Opera; and Valerie Block, Don't Make a Scene. Go to:
http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

WRITE A "DEAR READER" COLUMN, get it published, win 54 books, (most of them signed) and a book bag. Can you help me out while I'm on vacation this year? For guidelines, deadline and prizes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/349g6k

READ THE CLASSICS: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/3x9eam

Dear Reader Column 08-08-07

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,

For a long time now, I've felt I was put here on earth to do the "little things." But I've always had a difficult time writing one or two sentences to explain exactly what I mean by "the little things."

When I experience someone else doing the little things for me, there's no mystery, instantly I recognize the feeling and I smile, because it feels so good.

Little things are nothing fancy, life would go on very nicely without them, but I do believe that "little things" make people feel special. At least that's how they make me feel. A little extra touch added to something--nothing that makes a big change in my life--but something that makes life a little softer, a little sweeter.

When my neighbor, my cooking buddy John, returns something he's borrowed, it always comes back to me with a little extra touch. A kind of Cinderella story, it was a plain old rolling pin when he borrowed it, but when it came back to me, it looked like a Williams-Sonoma window dressing--a delicate bow and long pink strands of raffia hanging down from one of the handles. And ever since then, whenever I need a rolling pin, I always reach for a different one, because I'm not quite ready to part with one of the "little things."

I was reminded of the "little things" just the other day when I sent cookies out to Brenda, a book club reader. When Brenda entered the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway she sent an email that said she's the person who's always doing the "little things" for other people. Well Brenda didn't use those exact words, but she told me that she is the person who makes sure birthdays are recognized and she frequently bakes cookies "just because" and shares them with the people she works with--and to me, those are some of life's little things.

And Brenda did a little thing for me, too. When she emailed a photo of herself and her coworkers, eating the chocolate chip cookies I'd sent, Brenda also emailed a photo of the first things she saw when she opened my box of cookies--a letter I'd written to her, alongside of my business card.

The photo she sent made me smile. It was such a nice thing for her to do, no doubt about it, Brenda's a woman who really understands what it means to do the "little things."

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

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

P.S. Write a Dear Reader column, get it published, win 54 books, (most of them signed) and a book bag. Can you help me out while I'm on vacation this year? For guidelines, deadline and prizes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/349g6k

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of last week's giveaway for Deadly Appraisal by Jane Cleland: Bev Stevenson, Vivian Henriksen, Donald Smith, Joyce Cephas, Kerry Pharis, Rhoda Ebersole, Arthur Harriman, Dee Laswell, Ellen Dark, Tolly Roehm, Charissa Canfield, Sally Gerretsen, Pam Huckins, Eleanor Stalnaker, Sarah Thiele, Bob Pendell, Norma Vieweg, Lynn Sue Pierce, Diane Dininno and Kay Martinez.

READ THE CLASSICS: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/3x9eam

Dear Reader Column 08-07-07

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,

There's still 7 days left! August 14th is the deadline for the Write a Dear Reader Contest.

Tracy's busy working on her entry. Have you sent yours in yet?

"Dear Suzanne, I am having so much fun trying to put together a column to submit. I haven't written this much in years and right now I'm basically writing every night. I used to love to write and now your column gives me the inspiration to do just that. Don't let me fool you, it hasn't been easy. It's hard work. I write and write and then I rewrite some more to discover the next day, I don't really like what I wrote to begin with. Then I start all over again.

Truth be told, I'm a little obsessed with wanting to win the big prize. I send my husband glimpses of what I have written to see if it holds his interest or makes sense and I always preface with: 'Don't forget, I really want those books.' It's important he understands what's riding on this...hee, hee."--Tracy

If you haven't entered yet, go on, give it a try. I'd love to hear from you. You could win 54 books, (most of them signed) a book bag, and the winning columns will run at the book clubs when I'm gone.

Have fun! Simply tell me a story, tell me what's on your mind. For more "how-to" information, deadline details and a list of prizes go to:

http://tinyurl.com/349g6k

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

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

P.S. It's Garage Sale time! Can you give this year's garage sale "treasure" a good home? Read all about it, take a look, send me an email, and you could be this year's lucky winner. All the info's at: http://tinyurl.com/3a36d3

READ THE CLASSICS: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/3x9eam

DearReader Column 08-06-07

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/

They lived in Wisconsin most of the year, but spent the winter months in Florida. And every winter-warm Florida afternoon, around three o'clock, my mom and her husband, Ron, would pull into my driveway, open up the back of their van, and holler for me to come out and see their new "stuff." I don't think the two of them had ever stopped at one single garage sale when they were in Wisconsin, but when the snowbirds landed in Florida, they became garage sale junkies.

Every morning Ron would buy a copy of the local newspaper, circle the garage sale ads, and make a map based on "location" and then they'd hit the road--my mother, Ron and their dog, Brandy. And every afternoon, the garage sale trio would return with more "stuff." It wasn't that they needed any more "stuff"--the fun was the "story" behind the stuff.

"See that cooler," Ron said, "we were looking around at a sale in Venice and when the lady asked me if I saw anything I was interested in, I spotted this cooler sitting way back in her garage. It didn't look like it was with the garage sale items, so I asked if it was for sale."

At first the woman said no, but then she seemed to get caught up in her own buying and selling atmosphere, "What would you give me for it?"

Five bucks was Ron's offer.

"Sold! And it's even filled with my husband's beer," the woman was smiling, "You can take that along with you, too."

What a deal. Ron was beaming as he was showing me the blue cooler filled with ice and beer. He didn't really need a cooler, or the beer, but it wasn't the cooler or the beer that Ron was buying, it was the story. And Ron must have told four slightly different versions of the "cooler" story, before my mother and he left my house later that evening.

My mother isn't with us any longer, but Ron still stops by a garage sale every now and then, even in Wisconsin. He called me the other day and described his latest "find" over-the-phone. "It's real unusual and I was wondering if you wanted to give it away at the book clubs? Everyone seemed to really like the wooden bowl your mother and I found. Remember?"

A few years ago I gave away a huge wooden bowl to a book club reader. The bowl was one of Mom and Ron's garage sale finds--one that I had been keeping out-of-sight in my closet. I couldn't imagine that anyone could possibly fall in love with that bowl, but as the old saying goes, "There's someone for everyone," well, it seems to be that way with "stuff," too. The big, I'm talking really big wooden bowl wasn't for me, but when I took a picture of it and asked if anyone could offer a good home to the monstrosity, hundreds of readers responded.

So this week I'm looking for a home for one of Ron's latest garage sale "finds." It's a--well, I'm kind of at a loss for words to describe it, but I guess you'd say it's a bottle with a stopper in the top. A very large bottle, with a very, very, unusual design.

Take a look, you'll find a photo at http://tinyurl.com/3a36d3. And if you've fallen in love with Ron's latest garage sale treasure and can give it a good home, send your email to:

[email protected]

Simply tell me why you'd like the bottle and you're entered in the Garage Sale Drawing. And just think of the great story you'll have to tell your friends if you win!

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: This week explore books that explore the erotic, the mystery of twins, the power of movies and life in 19th century South Wales: Bonnie Leon, To Love Anew; Elizabeth Arnold, Pieces of My Sister's Life; Annette Blair, Sex and the Psychic Witch; Colette Gale, Unmasqued: An Erotic Novel of the Phantom of the Opera; and Valerie Block, Don't Make a Scene. Go to:
http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

READ THE CLASSICS: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and enter the free Penguin Classic's Drawing. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/3x9eam

** Write a "Dear Reader" column, get it published, win 54 books, (most of them signed) and a book bag. Can you help me out while I'm on vacation this year? For guidelines, deadline and prizes, go to: http://tinyurl.com/349g6k