Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 09-14-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Share your love of reading, the things that bring you joy in life, your most embarrassing moment, childhood memories, or your hopes and dreams for your future. It's just for fun, so enter this year's Write a DearReader Contest. For rules, deadlines, and prizes, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

When you take the time to share your love of reading and what it's done for your life, you're giving a powerful gift to others. Thank you so much for telling other people about the book club.

When I was a kid I read books, but it wasn't until I was all grown up and in the middle of a personal crisis that I truly realized how reading could change my life. Thirty years ago when I owned a magazine I was worried I'd have to shut down my business and I'd never be able to recover from the financial loss. Desperately wishing "Suzanne" had come with an Instructional Manual, because I felt in-over-my-head, suddenly I realized that in fact, I was surrounded by them. And just like the 33 flavors of ice cream there was an instructional manual for any situation in which I found myself.

Instruction manuals can save me a lot of time, worry and frustration, but I can't read them in the middle of an emergency. I have to read them ahead of time, so I'm ready. That's one of the reasons I make time to read every day. Books--the thoughts and ideas in them--are my life instruction manuals. I discover new ideas, take the time to reflect, and then when I go out into the world and live, I'm prepared for the journey.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

* Congratulations to this September's chocolate chip cookie winners: Patti B., (Durand Public Library), Sandy L., (Whittemore Public Library) and William B.

The lucky winners of As the Tide Comes In by Guest Author Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall: Pat H., Patti F. and JoAnne S.

And Willie L. is the winner of Dim Sum of All Fears by Guest Author Vivien Chien.

KIDS BUZZ: Enter to win two great books for kids and teens: Children's Choice Award Finalist Laura Gehl's DELIVERY BEAR, a funny heartfelt story about being yourself; and Christina Matula's THE SHADOW IN THE MOON: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-13-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Have you entered this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest yet? Be bold. Write about one of your most embarrassing situations. Here's one of mine.

I get myself into some bizarre situations, and yesterday was a doozy. I'd eaten a chicken salad sandwich right before I left for an appointment. Thank heavens I decided to do a vanity check in my rear view mirror, because there was a hunk of chicken salad stuck between my front teeth.

The light changed and I had to flow with the traffic, but my mind was on that chicken salad. It's not as if anyone could see it, but I knew it was there, and I'm the best person to drive myself crazy. And I did. I usually have floss in the glove compartment, but there wasn't any. I checked.

So--being the ingenious troubleshooter that I am--I started taking an inventory. What did I have close at hand that could flush out this piece of chicken salad?

A pearl, chandelier, pierced earring....now that would do the trick. And I just happened to be wearing a pair. I know it's not recommended, but I can drive and do other tasks--like putting on lipstick--so taking off one earring and sticking the end of it between my teeth was an easy assignment. The chicken salad problem was quickly remedied. But now I had a different problem. For the life of me, I couldn't get that earring out from between my teeth.

The traffic was getting heavier. I had to keep both hands on the wheel, and now I was driving down the road with an earring hanging between my front teeth.

I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything about it until I hit the next long red light. The best I could hope for was that the person in the car next to me would be a teenager--with their own piercings--who'd merely think I was starting a new trend.

Start writing and enter the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest. For rules, deadlines, and prizes, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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 these titles deserve your attention:

(Mystery) THE FRANGIPANI TREE MYSTERY by Ovidia Yu

(Mystery) BLUE FIRE by Katherine Prairie

(Fiction) RIVERS OF ANGELS by Abbe Rolnick

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-12-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Jan Drexler, today's guest author, brings a unique understanding of Amish traditions and beliefs to her writing. Her ancestors were among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and their experiences are the basis for her stories.

Jan's latest release is The Sound of Distant Thunder. She's also written The Prodigal Son Returns, A Mother for His Children (winner of the 2013 TARA award), and A Home for His Family (finalist for the 2016 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award), as well as Hannah's Choice, Naomi's Hope, and Mattie's Pledge.

Please welcome Jan Drexler to the book club. She'd love to hear from you. Email: jandrex@juno.com

Mother Was a Teacher

Bookcases lined the back wall of her classroom. Thirty copies of music books, thirty copies of arithmetic books, thirty copies of fourth grade readers, and one shelf of very special books. The teacher's favorites.

Six rows of five desks each filled the middle of the room, wearing carved initials like beauty marks and sporting inkwells that were only good for holding contraband.

Chalkboards behind Mother's big desk modeled perfect handwriting for her students, with lists of spelling words and announcements of practices for the Christmas Pageant. From the art closet behind that wall drifted the chalky, sour scent of tempera paint and wet clay.

Large windows filled the east wall, radiators creaking and groaning under the windowsills on cold mornings. A lucky student could spend a minute or two watching red and gold leaves dance in the wind before Mother called him back to his work.

They don't make teachers like Mother any more.

She prepared for school each day the way a soldier prepares for battle. Mother taught in the roughest school in our city with children from the poorest homes. Her students--her children--came to her raw and unformed. The battle was to train their minds and capture their imaginations.

She was a tireless warrior.

The most important fifteen minutes of the day came after lunch. Students rushed in from the playground, energized and windblown from their hour of running home for a quick meal, and then back again to take a turn on the swings before the bell rang.

Whispers would silence quickly when Mother brought a chair to the front of the room. She would sit in front of her students, open a book, and start reading. Her gentle voice brought Charlotte and Wilbur to life. Her enthusiasm for Henry and his paper route inspired entrepreneurs. Stuart Little's red sports car was the stuff of dreams. Mother opened doors to new worlds for fifteen minutes, every afternoon.

Mother assumed the children forgot about her and their classroom when they left the big brownstone school on the hill to make their way in the world. They would start businesses, learn trades, start families. Some even went to college.

But Mother's students always remembered her. She was the teacher who read to them.

-- Jan Drexler
Email Jan and welcome her to the book club, jandrex@juno.com

* Have you entered yet? For rules, deadlines, and prizes for the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

Today's the last day to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. You'll be dunking and munching just like when you were a kid. Click here to enter.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

RIVERS OF ANGELS (Fiction) by Abbe Rolnick

Long before the recent devastating hurricanes, Puerto Rico's fate was sealed...

When a prostitute is beaten, no one realized that this seemingly minor event will light a fuse that blows apart the old, corrupt social order. Pursuing healing of the wounded young woman and other poor workers, community members become targets of ruthless entrepreneurs planning to reap big profits while despoiling the island's rich environment.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on RIVERS OF ANGELS to read more and to email author Abbe Rolnick, you'll get a reply.

KIDS BUZZ: Enter to win two great books for kids and teens: Children's Choice Award Finalist Laura Gehl's DELIVERY BEAR, a funny heartfelt story about being yourself; and Christina Matula's THE SHADOW IN THE MOON: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival. For a chance to win a free copy and learn more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

* * *

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. I have a Penguin totebag to share with a lucky reader. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable totebag.

Dear Reader Column 09-11-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

The Classics have arrived! Every other month I feature a new Penguin Classic for you to sample--and this month you may even win your own copy.

The link to read the Classics will be right after the signature line at the end of my column. It looks like this:

This month's Penguin Classics book is THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, by John Rollin Ridge. Read this month's Penguin Classics book and enter-to-win for your chance to win the adorable tote bag or a copy of the book. Click here.

The link will be there all month long, so whenever you feel like reacquainting yourself with old classic friends, or making new ones, just click on the link and start reading.

I confess when I was in high school, I wasn't a bit interested in reading the Classics, so I'd skim through just enough to pass a test, or I'd ask a friend to give me the short-take on the book. Shame on me. I didn't know what I was missing. But on the other hand, now that I'm older, I think I have an appreciation for the Classics that wasn't within my reach when I was young.

A special thank you to Penguin Classics for sponsoring the Classic Book Club and for giving away a Penguin tote bag, just like the one I use. Penguin is also offering five copies of this month's Classic, The Life and Adventures Of Joaquin Murieta, by John Rollin Ridge. (When you click on the link to enter, you can specify the book or tote bag in the box where you enter your shipping address.) Click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher

For rules, deadlines, and prizes for the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

** AUTHORBUZZ **

BLUE FIRE (Mystery) by Katherine Prairie

Tanzanite. This rare blue-violet gemstone piqued my curiosity and inspired this second Alex Graham thriller. A daring act reveals an incredible secret deep in a Brazilian mine, and catapults geologist Alex Graham into the world of a powerful arms dealer. She heads to Tanzania, to her father whose cryptic message started her quest. But her enemy is closing in.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on BLUE FIRE to read more and to email author Katherine Prairie, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-10-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Need a writing idea so you can enter this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest?

Okay, here you go...

Am I normal? (I sure hope I'm not--just a side note.)

My dream childhood was to be...

The lessons I've learned about shaving.

Things in my life that I wish I could get a do-over.

I'm a little quirky when it comes to...

Caramel apples and salt water taffy...

Oh how I wish my father/mother would have told me...

I'll never forget the day that...because it changed my life.

I was so embarrassed, but hey, now I can write about it and enter the Dear Reader Writing Contest.

Remember, you don't need to be a writer. Just write for fun.

For rules, deadline, cash prizes and to read last year's entries, click here.

* If you'd like to have some of my chocolate chip cookies, be sure to enter this month's Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. I'll bake, the cookies will be delivered to your door (so no PO Box addresses), and you'll be dunking and munching just like when you were a kid. Click here to enter.

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

Waiting to read your entry,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE FRANGIPANI TREE MYSTERY (Mystery) by Ovidia Yu

The smart, unconventional Su Lin is very loosely based on my grandmother who was the first girl in her province to go to university. She loved trees and stories and I'm sure she would have loved the chance to investigate a dead woman found under a frangipani tree. I based Inspector Le Froy on her hero, Inspector Rene Onraet, who set up Singapore's Special Branch.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE FRANGIPANI TREE MYSTERY to read more and to email author Ovidia Yu, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-07-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

It's a seasonal thing at the book club and the season has arrived. It's chocolate chip cookie time! Once a month (except during the hot, not-chocolate-friendly summer months), for the past twelve years I've put on an apron, baked chocolate chip cookies and shipped them out to readers.

I baked cookies when I was growing up, but I never really understood the magic of chocolate chip cookies until I baked them for business owners as a thank you. Years ago I started "Meals For Madison," a weekly free meal program, for whoever showed up for lunch, which was usually 50 to 60 people. Cooking and serving a meal, it was a perfect match for me, but I soon realized that it was too big of a task for me to do alone. So I contacted business owners in the community and invited them to send 10 employees to help serve at one of my Friday meals. One business person knows another and soon restaurant owners offered to cook the main course, a paper company provided plates, napkins and utensils, an ice cream distributor invited me into their huge freezer every week to pick out the flavor of the week to serve at the meal. The concept was a recipe for success!

Instead of sending a handwritten thank you note to each business owner who donated to the Friday meal, I baked two dozen chocolate chip cookies and personally delivered them. Those chocolate chip cookie "thank yous" became as popular as the free meal--actually those cookies were coveted. On one thank-you trip, when I handed the bag of cookies to the owner's secretary, and suggested she might sneak a cookie out of the bag, she quickly said, "Oh no, not until the boss gets back. He told me when Suzanne shows up with the chocolate chip cookies, the bag should go directly on his desk."

If you'd like to have some of my chocolate chip cookies, be sure to enter the giveaway today. I'll bake, the cookies will be delivered to your door (so no PO Box addresses), and you'll be dunking and munching just like when you were a kid, click here.

* For rules, deadlines, and prizes for the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 09-06-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

It can't be a coincidence.

My husband and I have five cats: Barry, Mama, Natie, Claire and Cooper, and it never fails, when they're urping up a hairball, it's one, two, three urps before they get that thingdislodged. While I was cleaning up the latest urp yesterday, it got me to thinking about what else comes in threes?

Three bears (Mama, Papa and Baby Bear) and the beds that were too hard, too soft and just right. Three blind mice, rock-paper-scissors; location, location, location; blood, sweat and tears; a three ring circus; the Three Stooges; three piece suits; "on your mark, get set, go!" And of course, third time's a charm, but on the other hand, three strikes--you're out! So there are plenty of folks who are looking over their shoulders, because they believe bad things do happen in threes.

But then there's "The rule of three." The (Latin-omne trium perfectum) principle that suggests, things that come in threes tend to be more humorous, satisfying and effective, than any other number of things. Maybe? Unless you're a cat. Three urps to remove a hairball is definitely satisfying and effective. But humorous? I don't think Barry Mama, Natie, Claire, or Cooper would agree.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

P. S. There's even a number three principle in the Dear Reader Writing Contest: First, Second and Third Place with three cash prizes, and the three winning entries will be featured in my column. For rules, deadlines, and prizes for the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise these titles deserve your attention:

(Fiction)
STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY by Katharine Weber

(Fiction)
THE CAST by Amy Blumenfeld

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

 

Dear Reader Column 09-05-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Today's inspiring guest author, Jessica Honegger, is the Founder and co-CEO of Noonday Collection, a socially responsible business that uses fashion to create meaningful opportunities for people around the world. Jessica launched Noonday Collection in 2010 as a fundraiser for her and her husband's adoption of their son from Rwanda, but the brand soon grew into a multi-million dollar business that today impacts 4,500 artisans across the globe.

In 2015, Inc magazine named Noonday Collection the 45th fastest growing business in the US. Jessica shares the full Noonday Collection story, and challenges women 'to get out of their comfort zones and go scared' in her new book, Imperfect Courage.

Jessica would love to hear from you. Please do email welcoming her to the book club. When you do, you'll automatically be entered in two drawings: a $50 gift card to the Noonday Collection (the company she owns--that offers pretty amazing things), and a copy of her book Imperfect Courage. Email: hello@jessicahonegger.com

4 Ways to Grow as a Leader

When I founded the socially responsible accessories brand Noonday Collection in 2011, I quickly realized there was so much I had to learn about leadership. My winding career journey had brought me from getting a degree in education to training midwives in Bolivia to flipping homes. Not exactly a straight path to CEO-ship. But what I've realized is that you who don't have to have all the answers to lead well. You just have to grow as you go, and then take what you've learned and share it. To that end, here are my top four pieces of advice for growing as a leader:

1. Empower others. Sometimes you have to be willing for something to be 80% right and done by someone else, instead of 100% right and done by you. Leadership is about stepping aside and making space for others to step forward. It's saying, "I'm going to withhold my power in order for someone else to exercise their power." This practice helps develop team members who feel empowered to exercise their gifts.

2. Along those same lines, listening is more important than being right. This is true in relationships and in business. What people want most is to be heard, and when you put your need to have things done the way you want them above your team's need to be heard, you cause people to feel diminished. Instead of communicating "This is what I want, and that's that," communicate "I acknowledge that you have something to bring to the table" instead.

3. As a leader, it's vital to have rhythms for your life and hold yourself to them--both for working, and for resting. I'm a future-oriented person, so it's hard for me to make space for rest. I am always thinking ahead to the next thing I could be doing. But committing to a life rhythm that includes space for rest helps me remember that ultimately, rest is what's going to allow me to keep going for the long haul.

4. "It's Lonely at the Top" is a myth. Or at least, we can make it a myth. Particularly for women in leadership positions, it is so important to have a "brain trust" of other successful women to build you up, give you feedback, and celebrate your successes. The leadership path can feel so lonely at times; but we have the power to create a culture of collaboration instead.

Whether you are launching a business or simply want to grow as a leader, I hope these lessons serve you well. And remember, you don't have to have it all figured out to lead well. You simply have to grow as you go, and bring others along with you!

-- Jessica Honegger

Please email and welcome Jessica to the book club. When you do, you'll automatically be entered in two drawings: a $50 gift card to the Noonday Collection (the company she owns), and a copy of her book Imperfect Courage.

This year's Write a DearReader contest is underway. Guidelines, how to enter, last year's winning entries, and two new features of the contest, find all the info here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

 

Dear Reader Column 09-04-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

Pop off the lid on the Quaker Oats round container, and underneath you'll find a scrumptious recipe. It's one of my favorites.

Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup, plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Serving Tips:

Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS.

Variations: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit.

High Altitude Adjustment: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

* For rules, deadlines, and prizes for the 14th Annual Write a DearReader Contest, and to read last year's winning entries, click here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

THE CAST (Fiction) by Amy Blumenfeld

Twenty-five years ago, a group of ninth-graders produced a Saturday Night Live-style videotape to cheer up their ailing friend. On the silver anniversary of the tape, the friends reunite but nothing goes as planned and it leads to a weekend of moral dilemmas and life-altering choices. Winner of the 2018 IPPY Gold Medal in Popular Fiction and International Book Award finalist for Best New Fiction.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE CAST to read more and to email author Amy Blumenfeld, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 09-03-18

AUTHORBUZZ: Click here to discover new books,
"meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader,

In honor of Labor Day, I'm not laboring today. My column will return tomorrow.

After you finish eating grilled hot dogs, burgers and brats, how about starting to work on your entry for this year's Write a DearReader Contest? Prizes, guidelines, how to enter, last year's winning entries, and two new features of the contest, find all the info here.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

** AUTHORBUZZ **

STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY (Fiction) by Katharine Weber

Duncan Wheeler's car accident has left him paralyzed and haunted by a death. Why live? His desperate wife Laura brings home a helper monkey. Can she help Duncan adapt to this altered life? Or does she hold the key to his exit? Set in New Haven, this is the story of a marriage, and how the accident and this little monkey both affect their marriage, bonding them in new if bittersweet ways. A Kirkus starred review.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY to read more and to email author Katharine Weber, you'll get a reply.