Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 07-31-09

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

Dear Reader,

Bailey, my 15 year old granddaughter, has been visiting for 10 days and she headed back to Wisconsin yesterday. It was a fabulous visit; cooking, designing and printing drawings on t-shirts, making gummy bears and bubble gum, visiting the library, going to the beach, shopping (on several occasions,) baking cupcakes, making potholders and searching Sarasota for more loopeys when Bailey ran out, (loopeys are the pieces of material you use to make the potholders,) taking pictures and putting them in a photo album for Bailey to take home, inviting relatives over for a family dinner, getting soaked at the water park and then getting soaked at Sea World. We sat in the Soak Zone and Shamu didn't let us down. My husband and I took Bailey and 2 1/2 year old grandson Paul, on a three day Sea World excursion. We even ate dinner with Shamu and were treated to a VIP show. It was a memorable vacation, but this Grandma is pooped.

So starting this very minute, Grandma is off duty. I'm heading out to my screened-in front porch to do a little lounging with a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, (light on the sugar) a couple of books, and a notebook and pen (in case I'm inspired) and my bottle of colored bubbles. If you haven't entered the colored bubble giveaway yet, today's the last day to enter. Go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/avocado-072809.html

I hope you enjoyed this week's book. I'll talk to you on Monday and next week I'll share some photos.

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

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

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Read the "Between the Lines" feature interview with Jonathan Kellerman then read about great thrillers from: Brad Thor, JoAnn Ross, Heather Graham, Debra Webb, Joan Johnston, Nate Kenyon, Kathleen George, Phillip Margolin, April Star, Karin Slaughter, David Liss, Jeremy Duns, Ann Parker, P.D. Martin, Karen E. Olson and Steven M. Thomas. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

Dear Reader Column 07-30-09

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

Dear Reader,

Today I'm celebrating reader ideas. Alison Wohlwerth took the recipe flyer that promotes the book club and added one of her own favorite recipes. Personally I love avocado, tomato and Feta cheese, so it's a winner with me. But feel free to substitute one of your favorite recipes on the flyers before you share them with friends.

"Thanks for giving us so many different options for the book club. It's always such a pleasure to open your e-mails and read your column, then go on to the book excerpt. I printed out your flyer, but I modified it in Publisher. The recipe I included on my flyer, I found it in a Ralphs Supermarket magazine (it's from one of their employees) and despite the unwieldy name, it's a keeper!" -- Alison

Pam Hooper sent me a link to an article about one of my favorite toys, bubbles. It took 15 years of research, but Tim Kehoe finally developed colored bubbles that won't stain when they pop. Of course I ordered some, and I have colored bubbles to give away to six readers today, too.

To see Alison's recipe flyer (which you could use to make your own) and to enter the colored bubble giveaway, inspired by Pam, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/avocado-072809.html

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

Enjoy the day,

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

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise that there are five that deserve your attention: Linda Lael Miller, The Bridegroom; Dakota Banks, Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One; Barbara Bretton, Laced with Magic; Candace Calvert, Critical Care; Nina Bruhns, Shoot to Thrill. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 07-29-09

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

Dear Reader,

Congratulations to this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie winners. This month I'm baking for book club readers and their favorite librarians.

"I love my local library, the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch of the Greensboro Public Library, because the staff is friendly. It's located in a park with beautiful trails. They have great service (my books are always on reserve for me, ready to be picked up) and they even have a self-serve check out. In addition, it has a great movie and books-on-cd collection which is very entertaining in these budget tense times. It also has a fire place in the reading area with the periodicals. Overall, it's a great place to be!"--Karen Madrone

"I would love to win a bag of cookies for my local library, the Bucks County - Levittown Branch. Last week, when I went to return my books, everyone was upset because our legislators were thinking of cutting back library funding by 50%! That would mean serious problems for my branch! So the librarians were sponsoring a petition and also asking patrons to sit and write letters to the congress representatives which they would send out the next day. I am hoping our letters and petition will stop this foolish idea of funding cuts for a program that we need more than ever. In the meantime, maybe your cookies and some appreciation would boost the morale of some great people who always smile and help us readers!" --Debbie Beck

"The Canyon Hills library is a small branch that gets the books I want from the big library and calls me when they come in. It is really cool because they stay open until 6:00pm on Saturday night so you can shop all day and still get to the library for your new reads. They also train us to be tech savvy by not charging us for reserved books if we will check them out on the scanner ourselves. But if you have problems, they help you and still don't charge you. Very nice people at Canyon Hills." --Eileen LaMorte

Cookies are on the way. Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

Dear Reader Column 07-28-09

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

Dear Reader,

There are dishes in my flower garden. Treasures I spied in a junk store. Sometimes they're marked "as is" but "as is" looks beautiful surrounded by multi-colored penta, orchids and impatiens. The tea cups and saucers are my favorite. I slide the saucers down into the mulch, so it covers the bottom of the plate. I don't bother to try and keep them clean. It's natural that they wouldn't be. They live in the rugged outdoors.

It's a delicate balance trying to enjoy the flowers without making a mental to-do list. That corner of the flower bed needs more mulch, it's rained the past three days so I should check for snails, and of course there's a constant supply of weeds. But I seem to notice the imperfections more than other folks do. There's a steady stream of joggers and walkers who pass by my house every day, and they're constantly thanking me for giving them such an inspirational view, weeds and all.

Life's imperfections are part of the beauty. The small weed growing in front of the saucer with gold trim, its leaves are feather-light, its trunk thin and wiry. Perfectly framed by the saucer, it's no longer a weed, but another "as is" addition to my garden.

* If you'd like to see one of my flower gardens, and the china frogs that my neighbor "stole" temporarily, go to: http://tinyurl.com/kqtj7x

** Read an interview with thriller writer Jonathan Kellerman and "meet" other authors. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

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

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

SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Read the "Between the Lines" feature interview with Jonathan Kellerman then read about great thrillers from: Brad Thor, JoAnn Ross, Heather Graham, Debra Webb, Joan Johnston, Nate Kenyon, Kathleen George, Phillip Margolin, April Star, Karin Slaughter, David Liss, Jeremy Duns, Ann Parker, P.D. Martin, Karen E. Olson and Steven M. Thomas. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 07-27-09

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

Dear Reader,

Three weeks ago I offered book club readers the opportunity to become part of an author's writing process. It was a first at the book clubs and apparently we should do it more often. I will let author Nate Kenyon tell you about his experience...

"When I first approached Suzanne about running a 'Be a First Reader' contest, I had no idea that it would end up being one of the most remarkable experiences I've had as a writer. It seemed like a neat idea; I needed feedback on the book I'd just completed, and the book clubs were a great place to get some. But I never thought it would change the way I look at the reader-writer relationship--and change the way I think about books entirely.

The contest was simple: email me for the chance to win a signed copy of my just-released novel The Bone Factory, and a copy of my new work, Sparrow Rock." The winners would get to read the new book before anyone--even my agent and editor. The twist was that I was looking for real feedback on the draft. I wanted to know what I did well, and what didn't work. I wanted honesty and--yes--some hard work.

The response was no less than astonishing. Moments after Suzanne's column went up, the emails started pouring in. And they didn't stop. After one week we were approaching 1,000 entries. But it was the nature of these emails that amazed me. People told me their life stories; they told me about their passionate love affair with books; they talked about wanting to write themselves, or be an editor, or just get a glimpse into the writing process.

They were begging to be involved. And I loved it.

I sent the five winners an email and offered a PDF to start, since we were on a tight deadline. Two of them read the PDF I sent in a couple of hours--before I could even get to the post office to mail the package. Their responses were far better than I'd hoped for--in fact, all of the feedback I've received so far has been thoughtful and incredibly helpful. One even caught a huge, yet subtle, technical error I'd made--an error that very likely would have slipped through entirely!

Clearly, writing and publishing is changing. Email, social networking and other technologies are breaking down the walls between the solitary life of a writer and the readers they need to reach. But to me, this was far different than getting a Facebook message from someone who loved my books--this was getting readers involved in the process of shaping a novel, long before it was released to the public.

In that way, it's sort of like market testing in the business world. And that's pretty neat. But what's stuck with me about the experience is the love and enthusiasm for the written word that we all shared. That, and the amazing community that has been formed here at the book clubs. I'd like to thank them--and all of you--for allowing me to be a part of it.

I've always thought of books as uniquely personal things shaped and delivered by each writer. But I don't anymore. I'll be looking for more feedback early on in the process for all my projects now--and my new 'first readers' will surely have a hand in how my stories turn out. It's a brave new world out there for writers, readers and publishers--but it's an exciting one.

Thank you all. I hope we can all share our stories with each other for many years to come."

All my best,
Nate Kenyon

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise that there are five that deserve your attention: Linda Lael Miller, The Bridegroom; Dakota Banks, Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One; Barbara Bretton, Laced with Magic; Candace Calvert, Critical Care; Nina Bruhns, Shoot to Thrill. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 07-24-09

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

Dear Reader,

Today's the last day to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. It's a special treat this month, if you're a winner I'll bake a batch for you and also one for your favorite library. Readers love chocolate chip cookies and their hometown library. Here's a sample of the hundreds of entries I've received and there's still time to enter.

"The North Tonawanda Library is fantastic. There is always something going on. Story hours for babies, twos, 3-5s, and older, and of course there is a wonderful Summer Reading club for children. Even a Summer Reading Club for adults. Each book read earns a raffle ticket for chances on baskets of goodies. The entire staff is very friendly and helpful. They deserve cookies for being so wonderful."--Paula Belair

"I love visiting the library, I am an avid reader 3-4 books per week. The name of my library is White River Township in Greenwood, Indiana. The staff is great. I just reserve my selections online and stop by the library and pick them up. I am a social worker at a busy hospital and I love to lose myself at night with a good book. I have read several of your picks, and I enjoy your column each day. Thanks for sharing,"--Evelyn Elliott

"I am a big fan of the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks, California. Their collection is awesome, whether it is books, periodicals, movies, etc. The staff is very friendly and informative. They provide a welcome respite from the outside world. I always look forward to visiting my local library!"--Aline Reynders

"I love my local library! The staff is so friendly and helpful at the Salida Library! The atmosphere is so warm and inviting...I could spend the whole day there. I'd even like to work there."--Michelle Tuller

"The Temple Public Library is everything a library should be--a place to browse, to read, do research, to see displays of interesting items, to see students working (or not), children viewing the posters of pets up for adoption at the local shelter--in short, a real center to our city. Judy Duer, the library director, is not only wonderful at keeping the library going during these times of budget cuts, and during times of construction and lack of air conditioning, she is also an incredible volunteer. If you should choose my entry, I would be thrilled to have all the cookies go to Judy and her fantastic staff at the Temple Public Library!"--Margot Cox

To see last month's winners and to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest, go to: http://tinyurl.com/kq2n99

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

Dear Reader Column 07-23-09

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

Dear Reader,

My husband and I are at Sea World today with two of our grandchildren. Bailey, our 15 year old granddaughter is visiting from Wisconsin and 2 1/2 year old Paul came along on vacation, too. It's a three day get-a-way; two days to roam around SeaWorld (we're even eating lunch with Shamu tomorrow), a little lounging by the hotel pool, and then we'll do a little shopping before we head back home to Sarasota. Bailey loves to shop with Grandma. Last year we had to buy her an extra suitcase to carry home all her new clothes.

There may be a 13-year age difference between Bailey and Paul, but one thing they have in common is bubbles. You're never too old for bubbles and Grandma has all kinds of bubble equipment. Hand-held battery operated bubble machines, bubble machines that light up in the dark, curly-qu bubble wands, and old fashioned bubbles where you have to do the work yourself, dip the wand and blow, big beautiful bubbles.

All this talk about bubbles--be sure to enter today's fun giveaway. I have 5 handheld automatic bubble machines for readers (I'll even be sending the batteries). There's nothing worse than opening up a fun gift, reading "Batteries required" and you don't have batteries. I hate to wait, don't you? Enter the drawing and if you're a winner, please send a photo. I sure would appreciate it.

I hope you're enjoying this week's book. After you finish today's installment, enter the Bubble Giveaway, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/contest-bubble-071709.html

** I love to bake and give cookies away. If you love to eat cookies and you'd love to pass a bag of cookies along to your local library, be sure to enter this month's giveaway. Go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cookies070109.html

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

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

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise that there are five that deserve your attention: Eric Wilson, Haunt of Jackals; Denise Robbins, Killer Bunny Hill; Julie Kramer, Missing Mark; John Gilstrap, No Mercy; Christine Wells, Wicked Little Game. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 07-22-09

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

Dear Reader,

I renew myself through the act of giving. Most days giving isn't an easy thing to do. The hard part for me isn't letting go, nobody has to earn what I want to give them. The hard part is finding the time to give.

Then again, there are days when it's an easy task, feels built right in. The act of giving, the feelings that come with it, they are embedded deep in my soul. They fill my heart--there's no room for any problems that happen my way. And even if trouble does find its way through--the giving outshines it.

The act of giving changes who I am. Some days I know I need to give, but I feel all used up. A few weeks ago, when I desperately needed my eye injections, could barely keep my eyelids open, there was a tugging in my heart. It sounds a bit bizarre, but I knew I needed to bake bread and give it away. At first it was a struggle to bake, but by the time I handed the loaf of bread to my neighbor, even though my eyelids were still rebelling, my spirit had been renewed.

Repeating again and again the act of giving, the kindness and goodness of doing for others, it always gives the best back to me.

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

Dear Reader Column 07-21-09

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

Dear Reader,

Today's the day for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway! The first time I ever made chocolate chip cookies I was simply mixing up dough and baking cookies. But through the years the recipe has changed. I still measure the flour, baking powder and salt, add two eggs, vanilla, sugar, butter and chips, but there's love in my cookies.

I love to bake and give cookies away. If you love to eat cookies and you'd love to pass a bag of cookies along to your local library, be sure to enter this month's giveaway. To enter the giveaway and see some of last month's satisfied winners, go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/cookies070109.html

When you enter, include your name and address (in case you're a winner) and tell me the name of the library you use (and a favorite librarian, if you have one). You'll win a bag of cookies for yourself and a bag of cookies for the folks at your favorite library.

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics

 

Dear Reader Column 07-20-09

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

Dear Reader,

If you have a question this week, feel free to send an email. Karen's email (below) not only inspired me to talk about writing, but to let you know that this year's "Write a Dear Reader Contest" will begin on August 17th. Watch my column for the prizes and submission dates. It's going to be a lot of fun, you could win a surplus of books and your column will be published at the book clubs. So be sure to enter.

A Question from Karen...

"Good Morning Suzanne,

Thanks so much for your daily emails and for sharing your experiences with us. I love your writing style and I especially admire how you can motivate and inspire people through your writing. By reading your daily emails, I feel now inspired to improve my writing skills and hopefully become a good writer one day. My biggest challenge is to be able to organize my ideas and put them into writing. Could you give me some tips to improve my writing? Would you mind sharing with me how you learned and mastered this skill?"--Karen Aguilar

(Suzanne replies:)

Dear Karen,

When people ask me a question about writing I'm never quite sure where to begin, which is kind of amusing, because that's the best way to describe my writing style, too.

I never know where to begin and that scares me. I'm the kind of person who likes to think she's in control of a situation. I grew up living in a household that was out of control most of the time...well...that's a story for another day. But if I were sitting down to work on a column today, I would let my mind wander. When I thought about the household I grew up in, even if that's not what I wanted to share with readers, I would just keep typing and see what followed that thought. Maybe it's simply something I needed to get off my mind, in order for me to write. Or maybe talking about the kind of tension I grew up with is the topic I need to write about. But it's painful, I'm afraid to go there--'what would readers think?'

Every time I start to write anything, I feel like a brand new writer. I don't think most writers fear their craft like I do, but since I'm constantly searching for the good in something, maybe fear is what allows me to write in the first place. Maybe fear motivates me to try to figure things out. 'What's going on inside of Suzanne?' One of the greatest gifts I can give to somebody else is to share with them what's really in my heart. Talk about my fears and joys, when I succeed and when I feel like a failure, because if I'm feeling these things, for certain someone else out there is feeling the same way, too.

A friend of mine gave me some solid writing advice one day when I was having trouble getting started, "Suzanne, if you'd just get out of the way then you could write." And it's true.

When I try to analyze, sort and sift while I'm in the process of writing, it's Suzanne trying to be in charge. But I don't need to take charge--because "Suzanne knows what to write, if she'll just get out of the way."

Thanks for reading with me Karen. It's so good to know I'm reading with a friend like you.

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

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise that there are five that deserve your attention: Eric Wilson, Haunt of Jackals; Denise Robbins, Killer Bunny Hill; Julie Kramer, Missing Mark; John Gilstrap, No Mercy; Christine Wells, Wicked Little Game. Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/JulyClassics