Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 01-17-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

I'm a work in progress. My latest undertaking is reminding myself to let "Stand down," be the first words I think about before offering my opinion. I'm a problem solver by nature, so when someone shares a problem or worry with me, inevitably my two-cents worth is on the tip of my tongue, and I feel obliged to share it. But the truth is that unless someone asks, nobody really wants or needs my opinion. Everyone has their own journey in life and who am I to think it's my calling to be one of their supporting actresses? In fact, most of the time, what people really want and need, is for someone to listen to them. This includes my daughter.

My daughter frequently calls for my advice, which I take as a compliment. But the other day, when she called to talk about a problem she was having, she prefaced our conversation saying, "I'm not looking for advice this time Mom, I called because I need my mama to listen." So I did, and by the time my daughter said good-bye, she had worked out a solution on her own.

I'm not the only person who's learning how to stand down. A book club reader sent me this email bravely sharing her personal "assignment" for the New Year...

"Suzanne, I have a bad habit of giving too much advice, too often," she wrote. "I know our parents are a big influence on us, and my dad was always full of advice, no matter the subject. Unfortunately, I do the same, rarely noticing that my advice is usually not sought. Therefore, my assignment [for this year] is to 'shut up.' It won't be easy however, but even if I simply cut down, I'll be pleased with myself."--Suzanne K.

So there you have it, some advice for the New Year from book club reader Suzanne K., and myself--sometimes you should stand down and simply listen. (Whoops, that doesn't count as advice, does it?)

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

 

Dear Reader Column 01-16-17

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

(Suzanne is sharing one of her favorite columns today.)

There are three phrases of simple words that have come to my rescue and made a difference in my life.

"If I knew the way, I'd take you home."

A sentiment I share when I just can't find the right words to comfort someone. From a song by the Grateful Dead, for some reason when I heard those lyrics long ago, they've stayed with me. I reach for them when I wish I could tell someone why such a terrible thing has happened, but I can't. So instead, I wrap my arms around them with words and whisper, "If I knew the way, I'd take you home."

"Thank you very kindly."

Somewhere along the way, instead of simply saying "Thank you" I find myself saying, "Thank you very kindly." I'm a fan of the old Andy Griffith show, maybe that's where I picked up the sentiment, and I'm sure glad I did. Because "Thank you very kindly," causes people to pause for a few seconds. I even hear their smile through the phone, and I have to say it makes me feel good, too.

"You take good care."

Thirteen years ago, Ann, a reader at the book club sent me an email and before she signed off, Ann closed with these words, "You take good care." I can't explain it, but those simple words continue to stay with me. Every time I think about them I feel loved and cared for. I've never met Ann, but the words she wrote rescued me again just the other day. Everything I tried to do was a struggle. Nothing was going right and then I heard Ann whispering, "You take good care." It's the kind of good-bye that's not an ending, but rather a blessing.

I don't where your life's journey is today, or where it will take you, but I'm thinking of you today... "You take good care."

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

Dear Reader Column 01-13-17

Dear Reader,

There was a blue gift bag sitting at the end of my driveway, right next to the bubble machine I turn on every day. Inside the bag was a huge bottle of premium bubbles (the really good kind), a greeting card with a Superman logo peeking through the front of it, and a gift card (for buying bubbles). Inside the Superman card was this note... "People like you, who naturally go above and beyond, make this world a better place for all of us. Thank You So Much--For All the Bubbles!--Bob the Biker"

Little things make the biggest difference in life. Maybe not big right away, because sometimes a little thing needs time to travel from one person to the next. But a simple, little "Thank you," from one person to another is all it takes, and soon those grateful words are traveling down the road, around the corner, and over to the next town, one person to another, with no end in sight.

Thank you notes are words of inspiration that I tuck away to re-visit on a day I need reassurance that I'm on the right path, or when I'm sending a thank you note to someone and I need help finding words to say to express my feelings. When I reread thank you notes they take me back to the child-like feelings of the joy and fun I felt the first time around. Oh, if we could only all say thank you with the unedited thoughts and words of a child.

A handwritten, homemade card is one of my keepsakes...

"Hello, My name is Atussa. I just want to thank you for making me happy every time I pass by your house. I just wanted to thank you because you make me very happy. I love how you make people happy. We bought a big bottle of bubbles for you as a present. I hope you have fun with the bubbles. Have a happy bubble life. From, Atussa"

Thanks...

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

 

Dear Reader Column 01-12-17

Dear Reader,

"What's my assignment for today?" It's my question for 2017. Instead of a New Year's resolution, I'm focusing on the word 'assignment,' and I think I've chosen a winner. Because so far I've been keeping real busy with "assignments."

I had three assignments over the past weekend. Not big things, but that's fine with me, because my speciality is to take care of the little things in life. My husband and I were walking into Lowe's early in the morning, when up ahead I noticed a car with the hood up and a man standing in front of it, staring at the engine, his body language shouting, "You've got to be kidding me!"

So this was my first assignment. Nudge, nudge, 'Say something to the man about his car trouble,' so I did. "Car trouble so early this morning?" Art had just finished a shift at the hospital and was making a quick stop at Lowe's on his way home. He had jumper cables, and in just a few minutes he was on his way.

Now that I knew what to listen for, the assignments kept coming. My friend owns a vintage clothing store. I have a backup key in case she loses hers. Early Saturday morning another assignment came my way. I vacuumed, organized and dusted everything in the store and filled her flower pots with plants. And then the man who serves hot dogs to the homeless every Sunday called and asked if I could fill in for him.

It's going to be an exciting year with something new to look forward to every single day. And I'm not the only book club reader who's chosen a word for the year.

Emails from Readers:

"Suzanne, first I have to share my chuckle this morning. Reading your column and note on your word pick 'assignment,' first thing I thought of was work and then for some reason the old show Get Smart popped into my brain and I started to laugh as the Don Adams character was always on assignment."--Lorraine B.

"I have chosen a 'word of the year' for many years.... This year my word is 'be.' I want to learn to be present, be content, be mindful, be peaceful. It is a tall order for such a little word, but like you, the word just found me. I hope you will continue to update us on the progress of your assignment!"--Maureen

"Suzanne, when I read [that 'assignment' was] your 2017 word, what came to mind was the TV show Mission Impossible: 'Your mission (or assignment) should you choose to accept it...' followed by the tape melting or going 'poof.' Not to mention the warning--'If you fail, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of you or your actions!' I hope none of your assignments go poof, or result in anyone disavowing you. I think I will choose a 2017 word too--right now 'tenacious' and 'encouragement' are battling it out in my mind. Enjoyable as always"--Melanie

"I really like the idea of picking a word to focus on for the year. Last year...I don't know about you, but despite all of the regular life stuff that happened, there were quite a few shadows in my 2016. My word for 2017 is hope. Even when everything around you is crumbling, there is still hope. I hope you have a good day."--Tess

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

Dear Reader Column 01-11-17

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Kathleen Rooney, writes about a subject dear to my heart in today's guest column.

Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press and a founding member of Poems While You Wait. She works as a senior lecturer in English and Creative Writing at DePaul University where she teaches, among other things, a workshop on The Writer as Urban Walker. Her new book is the much talked about, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.

Enjoy Kathleen's guest column and please send her a "Welcome to the book club email." And when you email, not only will you get a reply, you'll be entered in the drawing for a copy of her new book, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.

Email: kathleenmrooney@gmail.com

Welcome to the book club author Kathleen Rooney...

Back in the early era of a particular piece of office machinery, the word "typewriter" was used to refer to both the machine itself and the person who used it to do her work.

These days, obsolete as typewriters in both senses have become, I myself am a proud typewriter and the owner of a collection of twelve typewriters and counting.

My dear friend Eric, a brilliant poet and self-taught typewriter repairman, gave me my first machine--a semi-portable Smith-Corona with snappy teal green keys--back in 2011.

Since then, I've come to see that the characteristics of typewriters that many people consider inconvenient--their slowness, their inability to delete or erase, their noisy clacking--are the very traits that cause me treasure and use them.

Eric and I and about two dozen other Chicago-area poets are part of an organization we co-founded called Poems While You Wait, a team of poets and our typewriters, who do commissioned poetry on demand. For a donation of $5 which goes to a literary non-profit, we set up our machines in a public place--a street fest, a planetarium, a library--and accept poem requests from passers-by. The machines themselves captivate people who might otherwise keep walking. The typewriters draw them in, either out of nostalgia if they're older, or curiosity if they're a child who perhaps has never seen such a device before.

My collection currently ranges from the coveted, candy apple red Olivetti Valentine to the humble and tiny Smith-Corona Skyriter, which used to be used by secretaries who had to travel, a kind of precursor to the laptop. Still, I hesitate to call myself a "collector," per se. Because I actually use my machines rather than strive to keep them in pristine condition. Rotating through the eleven that I keep here at home and the one that I keep in my office at DePaul University where I teach, I write poems, letters, thank you notes, quotations and all sorts of other ephemera on them. The thought of letting them sit idle in their cases or of merely displaying them holds no appeal to me.

The fact that a typewriter is a single-purpose machine keeps me coming back. I can't check Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Tumblr on any of my twelve typewriters, nor can I browse the Internet. The absorptive focus my twelve typewriters can give me stands as a gift that years of subsequent technological advances simply can't compete with. The typewriter is dead! Long live the typewriter!

--Kathleen Rooney

Email and welcome kathleenmrooney@gmail.com to the book club. When you do you'll be entered in the drawing for one of five copies of her new release, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

Dear Reader Column 01-10-17

Dear Reader,

One of my life "assignments" is to remember people on their birthdays. I call and sing Happy Birthday, or I send a real card through the mail. Not every card I send is for family, or someone I know as a good friend. Some of the cards I send are to nurses, doctors, or clerks in stores I frequent.

Birthday cards are a little bit of magic, full of joy and smiles. An adult becomes a child when someone remembers their birthday. A child sees a kindness in action and they carry on the fun birthday "assignment" when they grow up.

Remembering Birthdays Resonated with Readers:

"I loved reading [Thursday's] column, about your aunt sending you a birthday card every year. It brought back memories for me. While I was in college I got a part-time job in a florist that ended up being my first career. My boss, Tom, was like a father figure, older brother, call it what you like. We remained friends for many, many years and he use to call me every year on my birthday. Tom died about six years ago and on [my first birthday] after his death, I felt this overwhelming sadness come over me. It would be the first year without Tom's call, and I realized how much I missed him. To my complete surprise the evening of, I got a call from Tom's wife. You can't imagine what that call meant."--Suzanne D.

"Your column really spoke to me. I send birthday and anniversary cards to family members and a good number of friends. My mom always sent cards as well. When she passed away last year, that was something that was mentioned, 'Mema never forgot my birthday.' I think it's important that everyone feels special on their special day, and I want to be sure I'm doing my part to make that happen. Blessings,"--Sara M.

My best birthday gift in the past was my aunt calling to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me. She can't carry a tune, but the off key sentiment was a staple of every birthday. Aunt Helen is still alive at 92 but no longer remembers my birthday, so for the past two years I have really missed her special gift to me. But the memory is always fresh! I love reading with you,"--Nancy

"Reading your column reminded me of my grandfather. He always gave me a card with a dime in it. Now a dime back in the 30's was a fortune to a little girl. The other week I came across a card my grandfather sent to me. I must have kept that card for a reason, because on the front there was a little girl with blonde hair. (Her hair was yellow cotton pasted on her head.) I know that's why he sent it to me, and I don't feel he realized that it was a 'Get Well' card! I was eight years old at the time, and I knew he still loved me because there was the usual dime in the card. Thanks for bringing back a long forgotten memory!"--Loretta B.

* This month's Penguin Classics book is TOMORROW IS NOW, by Eleanor Roosevelt. Click the link below to start reading, and be sure to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA4999&c=CLASSICS

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 01-09-17

Dear Reader,

I'm on the lookout for assignments in 2017. In fact the word assignment is my New Year's Resolution. I came up with the idea to choose a word for a new year's resolution after reading Debbie Macomber's book, One Perfect Word: One Word Can Make All the Difference. Debbie chooses one single word to intentionally focus on at the beginning of each new year. Wisdom, balance, brokenness and desire have been some of her past choices. She says the act of choosing a word has not only changed herself, but those around her.

After reading Debbie's book I decided to choose my own word for 2017, but then thinking back over 2016 I realized that a word had already chosen me--assignment. Now the word assignment could feel tiring and restrictive if I thought back to school assignments, or the list of job assignments my mother would tape to the refrigerator every Saturday morning before she went to work. But this past year, whenever the word 'assignment' would pop into my head, immediately I'd smile, a big old smile, and I'd feel a sense of excitement like someone just handed me a gift. And the truth is, they did. Because when the word assignment comes to mind, I always find an opportunity to be part of some little thing, in someone else's life. These assignments I get aren't earth-shattering things, but they are cherished little treasures of life where I find joy.

So I'm excited about 2017 because I'm keeping the word 'assignment' close to my heart. The plan is to get up in the morning, drink my one cup of coffee for the day, and boldly announce, "I'm ready for today's assignment!"

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 01-06-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

It's the little things in life that continue to amaze and make me smile. I was in awe the other day when I discovered that one of my friends and coworkers is a crackerjack apple peeler. Yes indeed, it's a sight to behold as she gently slips the blade underneath the apple peel, then around-and-around the apple circles the knife until the maestro holds up one long curly strip of red apple peel. (I should invite my friend over to peel the next time I'm making apple pies.)

My friend's talent makes me wonder what amazing talent(s) you might possess. I'd love to hear from you about it and email a photo too, if you have one. To inspire you to give apple peeling a try, today I'm giving away six cute and colorful fruit knives for inspiration. Enter the giveaway, email me: Suzanne@DearReader.com

Over the holidays I featured my annual Book-A-Day giveaway. The lucky 14 winners are:

Linda S., Nancy G., Susan P., Alyssa F., Joanne B., Joan B., Gina H., Diane R., Susan S., Joanne H., Donna C., Wendy W., Gladys A. and Pauline B.

Can you peel the apple in one swoop, or what's your talent? I'd love to hear from you.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

 

Dear Reader Column 01-05-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

Without fail, every year when I was growing up, my grandmother's sister, Aunt Inez, would send me a birthday card. A simple card with a handwritten note, maybe a stick of Wrigley's Spearmint gum tucked away inside, maybe not. It didn't matter. Either way, I looked forward to that birthday card, and my aunt continued sending one, even when I was all grown up.

When she died, I'd have to say my first thought was, 'Oh no, I won't be getting a birthday card from Aunt Inez anymore.' That might sound selfish, but when you really think about it, it's not. Rather it's confirmation that my aunt's small gesture over the years, taught me that little things we do for each other, make a big difference. I doubt my aunt ever realized how her birthday cards helped shape who I am today.

I keep track of not only family birthdays, sending out an email to alert family members of upcoming birthdays, including dates and addresses, I also send birthday cards to numerous friends and acquaintances. People love getting birthday cards in the mail, it makes them feel special, just like I felt all those years. My aunt taught me a beautiful lesson, a reminder of how little things, even a birthday card, can make a difference in someone's life.

Birthdays need a party with decorations, cake, candles and 'make a wish,' too. So there's always a big party at my house for family birthdays. Paul, my grandson was born on December 22, so close to Christmas, but I always make sure there's a birthday celebration before Santa shows up. Ten-year-old Paul loves to go to antique and second hand stores. My husband and I found 20 vintage model cars, four months ago, at a garage sale and it was very difficult for us not to show them to Paul right away. But I'm so glad we waited. He loved them.

This year's birthday party theme was a Classic Car Birthday. Take a look at the photos. http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/party-12-16.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise this title deserves your attention:

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Dear Reader Column 01-04-17

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
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Dear Reader,

When she's not writing, author Stacie Ramey engages in Netflix wars with her children or beats her husband in Scrabble, all while watching the Florida Gators and Penn State Nittany Lions play (Go Gators).

Stacie is the author of The Sister Pact, which was named a 2016 YALSA Popular Paperback, and one of the Pennsylvania School Librarian Association's top 40 books of 2015. Her sophomore novel, The Homecoming, about a young man who returns to his estranged family to finish his senior year after the suicide of his girlfriend came out November 2016.

Please email and say hello to Stacie, and when you do you'll automatically be entered in her book drawing. She has three copies of The Homecoming, to give to book club readers. Email: stacieswritinglife@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting the book club Stacie. Take it away...

Where's My Super Suit?

I'm not one of those people who claim that writing is my superpower. Even if writing isn't my superpower, that doesn't mean I don't need to wear my super suit when I'm writing. I totally do. And this is why.

I'm not just an author.

I'm a mother of three. An aunt. A speech-language-pathologist. A wife. A sister. A critique group attender and leader.

People ask me how I do all of these things and still have time to write books. It's not easy. So I take a little help from my superhero friends. I suit up. Just like Superman or Batgirl, I put on my writing uniform and I get to work.

Do I work in a really cute writing office in my house? I do not. Think open-floor plan. Think house-full of teenagers. Think televisions blaring sports events. I do not plug in or tune out. I write while life goes on around me, and I like it that way. I don't need earbuds or headphones or even a writing soundtrack. I just need myself, my laptop, and my writing jeans. That's right. I have writing jeans.

They change year by year, but one thing always remains the same, they are ridiculously soft and filled with holes. Since ripped jeans are in style, I'm in style. But when they aren't, I don't care. I just know when I am wearing my ripped jeans I feel young and energetic and totally myself. And myself is an author of young adult books.

So when I want to get in the writing zone, when I need to crank out my daily quota of words, I reach into my closet and grab my jeans that are always, always clean and waiting for me. Like Batman's Batsuit, they call to me. Because they know that without them I'm just a person and not a superhero at all. Without them I can't save the city. And I definitely can't connect with my readers. So, thank you, ripped jeans. Stay clean. Stay with me. Stay. I can't do this without you.

--Stacie Ramey

Email Stacie and say hello. When you do you'll be entered in her drawing for a copy of her latest book, The Homecoming. Email, stacieswritinglife@gmail.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com