Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 07-10-2020

Dear Reader,

Grease, gravy and pink buttercream frosting stains, these are all signs of a great cookbook. Yes indeed, it's the "dirtiest" cookbook I own and several of my favorite recipes are inside.

Email me one of your favorite "dirty" recipes (no story about it required), and your name will automatically be entered in a drawing for a cookie scoop, like the one I use. The winner won't be drawn until Monday, so you can still enter over the weekend. Email Suzanne@DearReader.com.

Book club reader Leslie R., sent in one of her favorite "dirty" recipes, along with a story...

"Suzanne, yesterday I had two very ripe bananas so I made a batch of my favorite banana rolls, from a very dirty Chiquita Banana Recipe Book. You know, one of those little paperback cookbooks, probably free when you mailed in so many Chiquita banana stickers.

Anyway, I had three rolls that had to go into an extra baking pan. Hot out of the oven, I frosted the rolls and decided I would run the extra three over to a friend, who had knee replacement surgery last week. My husband volunteered to take them since he was running an errand. I texted my friend, she said she would put the garage door up, and he could come in and put them on her kitchen counter. A half hour later she texted that since it was going to storm, she wanted to put the garage door down, did I know when my husband was coming?

Total panic, I told her he should have dropped them off 30 minutes ago at least. Did he put them on someone else's kitchen counter? My husband doesn't have a cell phone, so I had to wait for him to come home and solve the mystery. Come to find out, he had put them on a counter in her garage, on top of a box, just out of my friends reach. She had to wait for her husband to come home to retrieve them. So much for hot-out-of-the-oven! Below is the recipe, although I 'cheat' and use a bread machine to make the dough. The ingredients are listed in the order I put them in the bread machine.

2 mashed, very ripe bananas
1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup melted butter
1/8 cup warm water
1 tsp ground cardamom (my secret ingredient)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp yeast

I let the bread machine do its job, but if you do it by hand, let the dough rise until doubled. Rollout into a flat rectangle, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped pecans, and roll up. Cut up and place the slices in a buttered pan. Let rise an hour and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting." -- Leslie R., Centerville Washington Township Library

*I've promised to feature photos of some of my vintage hats, but I've been receiving such delightful emails from readers, that I've put off that column until this coming Monday. Have a safe, enjoyable weekend.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 06-16-2020

Dear Reader,

A reminder, there are two ways to win at the book club this week and two fun, bird-themed kitchen towels waiting to be delivered to (two) lucky book club readers.

First, look at the photos I've posted. My daughter sent me pictures of what she discovered in her backyard. Guess what kind of baby birds are pictured, and you'll be entered in one of this week's giveaways.

Second, share a bird story with me and you'll be entered in this week's second giveaway. Email: Suzanne@DearReader.com

Please Welcome Today's Guest Author...

Allison Montclair grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of her own. Allison's new mystery, set in 1946 London, is "A Royal Affair."

Zoos in War and Plague

I am a zoo lover, as is my spouse. So much so that we spent the first two days of our honeymoon visiting the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. [How we spent our nights is none of your business!] I have been following the plight of zoos during the pandemic, and find myself comparing their current crisis to that of the London Zoo during World War Two, which I've been researching for my own work.

Zoos may not leap immediately to mind when one thinks of essential services, but they are. They bring the world's diversity to us for education and study. They preserve the endangered while allowing us to study how to bring them back from the brink of extinction.

And in WWII, they provided much-needed morale to their equally endangered human hosts. The London Zoo stayed open despite the Blitz, despite rationing, despite the exodus from the city. Pretty young women were recruited to become guides, their smiling, uniformed ranks captured on camera and sent around the country to cheer it up. Rota the lion, who lived in a suburban house in Middlesex until the advent of meat rationing forced his owners to donate him, was "given" by the Zoo to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to celebrate Allied victories in North Africa. Churchill gleefully fed Rota steaks while British Pathe newsreel cameras cranked away, turning the creature into a symbol of British might.

The Zoo suffered during the war as well. Wayward bombs destroyed various animal houses. A more somber effect was the decision, anticipating the effects of the bombing, to put to death all the poisonous inhabitants, lest they be unleashed on an unsuspecting populace. That these should have been killed but not the predators of the mammal family who would be more likely to attack humans I personally attribute to the perceived public fears of the crawly versus the furry.

Once the war had ended, the Zoo faced the problem of replenishing its population. One interesting source of renewal: Demobilised soldiers returning from every part of the globe; from deserts, from jungles and from islands. Many brought back living souvenirs, and when confronted with the needs of the Zoo, or the desires of their families, creatures plucked from their war-torn habitats were given a new home where they could be on display. [In my mind, this was accompanied by the frenzied shrieks of "I'm not 'aving that 'orrid thing in my 'ouse!"]

Our zoos today face drastic drops in revenue from being closed to visitors. They keep going nevertheless, feeding and caring for their denizens. Don't omit them from your charity. They are essential.

-- Allison Montclair

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

THE HOUSE OF LONG AGO by Steve Berry & M. J. Rose

The time has come for Cassiopeia Vitt to sell her ancestral home. It sits on a Spanish bluff, by the Mediterranean, and bears the name Casa de Hace Mucho Tiempo, The House of Long Ago. Inside her family home Cassiopeia revisits memories of her rebellious adolescence and now regretful days when she often found herself estranged from her parents. She also revisits her father's private art collection. Each of the fifteen paintings is a masterpiece, together representing an investment in the ten of millions of euros--which she intends to donate to museums. But when an art expert declares all the paintings fake and suggests her father may have been involved with something illegal, Cassiopeia embarks on a quest to find answers.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE HOUSE OF LONG AGO to read more and to email authors Steve Berry & M.J. Rose, you'll get a reply.

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

Dear Reader Column 06-05-2020

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 thing dislodged. While my husband was cleaning up the latest urp yesterday (my husband and I divide up household duties--urping is on his list), it got me 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, always three sneezes in a row; 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. It's "The Rule of Three."

But then there's the other "Rule of Three." The (Latin--"omne trium perfectum") principle 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 and neither does my husband as he's cleaning it up...

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Dear Reader Column 05-28-2020

Dear Reader,

Each day at the book club I share a story from my life, but today, inspired by this past Monday's column, readers tell stories of their own...

"Suzanne, about a half a century ago, I was a student nurse working the ER rotation at a nursing diploma school. I was on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, when an ambulance brought in a man who'd been found unconscious on the sidewalk. From the look and smell of him, we were pretty sure he was homeless. After he was checked for injuries and found not to have any recent trauma, we prepared to admit him since he remained non-responsive. One of the nurses asked me to help her bathe him. We removed his filthy clothes and started the gargantuan task.

As we each began with a basin of water, to clean one of the man's extremities, the nurse I was assisting quietly hummed. Soon the two of us dumped dirty water from our basins and the nurse began to hum again as we started on the other extremities. Again we dumped the dirty water and started washing his chest and pelvis. Once again we dumped dirty water and then rolled the man onto his side and began cleaning his back. After we finished his bed bath and changed the damp sheets out from under him for clean ones, he looked so much better--and smelled so much better, too. As the nurse began to remove the packed-in dirt and grime from under his fingernails, the man stirred. Then he opened his bleary eyes. He took a few minutes to focus and then said, 'I was dreaming I was in heaven and angels were singing to me.' The man sounded so disappointed to find himself alive and where he was--and I've always remembered that evening." -- Barb R.

"Hi Ms. Suzanne, I always enjoy your column each and every day, but [Monday's column] ran 5 stop signs to my heart and soul, and brought me to tears when I read the words the older woman, you were helping, said "...and I didn't realize until you hugged me just now, how much I miss the simple touch of another person."

This season of virus mandated changes and the pending 'new normal' they speak of, just break my heart, and the older woman's comments sum up exactly why. I understand the necessity of the changes, but that doesn't make them easier to bear. When a local newscaster cited an 'expert' who said this whole virus thing could mean the end of the handshake, and then he took to social media asking followers what they thought, thus began a bevy of responses proclaiming it was a happy day for them, we should evolve past it and instead look each other in the eye, or bow.... I cried, because not one of those people even thought that such a change wouldn't even be possible, for those of us who are blind or visually impaired. And when I chimed in [on social media] just long enough to point out my feelings, only one single solitary soul replied back to me. He said when this was all over, he'd be proud to both shake my hand and give me a hug, and just like when I read your column, I cried and I wasn't ashamed. Frankly I don't want to remain in a world where (giving someone a hug) can't be a part of my experience. Whether people realize it or not it's important for animals, babies, children, and seniors--for all of us.

So thank you for giving the older woman such a glorious and priceless gift. I envy her. My parents are gone now and due to our current reality and the isolation that comes with physical distancing (I hate calling it social distancing as it's so much more than that), I haven't hugged a living, breathing human being related to me or otherwise since February 19th, when I did hug a cousin of mine. The tears flowed unashamedly, because I was grateful for the gift she'd given me that night when she came to call with needed supplies, and the gift of her very presence and touch.

So thank you again Suzanne for meeting us all where we live and demonstrating empathy and compassion; and were we ever to meet it'd be my joy to shake your hand and give you the biggest hug ever. I appreciate you more than you could know. And thanks for teaching me the joy of saying, 'Take good, good care.'" -- Robin

Thank you for sharing your stories--and thank you for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Take good care,

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

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

(Fantasy) DRAGON LOST by Donna Grant

(Fiction) QUEEN MOVE by Kennedy Ryan

(Fiction) EDEN by Jamie Lisa Forbes

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

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

* This month's Penguin Classics book is BLACK SHACK ALLEY, by Joseph Zobel. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column 05-13-2020

Dear Reader,

Praised by readers and reviewers alike for her "gentle stories of hope," guest author, Kim Vogel Sawyer, wrote today's column: "You Can Take the Teacher Out of the Classroom, But..."

Kim and her former-military husband, Don, are empty nesters who relish time with their three adult daughters and a passel of granddarlings. When Kim isn't writing, she enjoys quilting, singing, and visiting ghost towns.

Say "Hello," authors always enjoy hearing from readers.
Email: Kim@KimVogelSawyer.com

You Can Take the Teacher Out of the Classroom, But...

In my previous life (before writing for a living), I was a school teacher. Loved it. Really, really loved it. But the opportunity to write full time came along, and I couldn't resist grabbing hold of the career I'd dreamed about from the time I was old enough to pick up a pencil. So I've spent the past fifteen years out of the classroom.

Enter COVID-19. Schools abruptly closed, parents became instant teachers, and families were thrown for a loop. My youngest daughter works nights. In health care. She feared bringing the virus home to her family. So she called, and...long story short...Gramma became Teacher Gramma.

Amazing how much things have changed, technologically speaking, since I closed my classroom door. Back in "my day," I taught using white boards and text books and practice worksheets. My granddaughters, who are first and second graders, each came with an app-loaded iPad. Their teachers emailed activity boards with links to videos and the girls responded on the iPad. ZOOM meetings on my computer let the girls see their teachers and classmates a few times a week. I was supposed to be teaching my Wugmumps, but they ended up teaching me a few things, too!

The situation started out pretty stressful, with the girls uprooted from their home and friends, and me being thrown into a role for which I felt woefully unprepared despite my many years of being a classroom teacher. But you know what? It really turned out to be a special time of bonding. My grandkids are growing up so fast. I've had three completely uninterrupted weeks of time with the littlest ones--to teach them, but also to listen to them. To play with them. To get a glimpse at how their little brains work and what things are important to them. We've gone on nature hikes, made paintings of dinosaurs, read countless stories, sang together, and made bird-feeders out of pinecones and peanut butter. We've giggled and, yes, shed a few tears, too. Yesterday as I was helping the second grader with regrouping 3-digit addition, she said, "I'm going to miss having you as my teacher, Gramma." I've never received higher praise.

The evening the girls and I sat on the back porch, listening to thunder roll and sipping hot cocoa while a rainbow formed in the clouds, I realized that years from now I'll look back on this time as one of my most precious life chapters. And to think we had it because of a virus.

-- Kim Vogel Sawyer
Email: Kim@KimVogelSawyer.com

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 BLACK SHACK ALLEY, by Joseph Zobel. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column 05-07-2020

Dear Reader,

Every day, I can freely give to everyone the gift of "the benefit of the doubt."

When I read those words the other day, I stopped and went back and read them again--and then sat with them for awhile. Especially in the midst of this pandemic, it truly is a gift I can give to someone every single day.

Giving the gift of "the benefit of the doubt" reminded me of a column I wrote a long time ago.

It's all in how you look at it...

I'm driving to the supermarket and the man driving the car in front of me, he's going so slow, it's driving me crazy. You'd think he was in a funeral procession. But when I think about it, okay, perhaps someone close to him did just die, and getting to the supermarket, well, he's just not in a hurry. Eventually he'll get there.

Or maybe Abby, his cat, is very ill and he knows that sometime tomorrow he's going to have to take Abby to the vet and say goodbye to her. Suddenly I feel much differently about the guy driving the car in front of me. Or possibly the man in the car in front of me is on his way to his granddaughter's birthday party. Grandpa's bringing the cake, the cake is on the front seat belted in for protection, but he doesn't want the cake to slide around or Alley's name might get smished in the frosting on top of the cake.

It's all in how you look at something...

"Suzanne, your gardening column this morning reminded me of something that happened 45 years ago. When I was driving my mother, to what was going to be my home in a few months, I stopped the car right in the middle of the street and pointing to a house said, 'Oh look how beautiful they are, I want those at my house.'

My mother couldn't imagine what I was looking at; I explained what caught my eye were the scores of little, yellow flowers sprinkled throughout the large front lawn. Mom explained that those weeds were dandelions, and to please not tell anyone what I thought, so as not to be embarrassed. But to this day I still think those lovely, little, bright, yellow flowers looked so beautiful against the lush, dark green grass. Once again, you have brought back a wonderful memory." -- Jo, a reader at the book club

Yes, things are all in how you look at them...

I'd love to hear from you. Email me at: Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Suzanne Beecher

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

AUTHORBUZZ

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

(NonFiction)
THE PLEASURE PLAN by Laura Zam

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

 

Dear Reader Column 05-04-2020

Dear Reader,

George and Alice make me smile everyday. George has been courting Alice, but she's been making him work hard for her attention. It's the male red-bellied woodpecker's job to carve a round hole in a partially decayed tree, and then excavate down inside the limb around 11 to 14 inches for the nest. The female goes inside, and if she approves, she comes out of the nest and 'rat-tat-tats' on the tree near the "front door" of the nest, announcing she likes what she sees.

Alice may have given her approval, but I think she must have decided she'd like a bigger master suite or an additional bathroom, because George has been working hard on the nest again. It's hilarious. He goes down into the nest, chips away at the wood, then sticks his head out the hole of the nest, shakes his head back and forth and a "sand storm" of sawdust falls to the ground. That boy is definitely in love. He's been working non-stop for the past couple of days. But yesterday, I saw Alice popping her head out of their new home all day long. She looked content and I'm finally assured that I'll see babies soon.

Sitting on my side porch, binoculars handy when I want to admire George and Alice close up--watching them makes me feel calm in the midst of the chaos and never fails to make me smile.

What's making you smile these days? This is my address:
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

THE PLEASURE PLAN (NonFiction) by Laura Zam

Has the virus left you stressed? Time for some pleasure! Based on my essay in The New York Times' Modern Love, This book is a memoir and sexual healing guide. This wild ride features 30 pleasure-enhancing methods, including hypnosis with a bawdy therapist, and more. I wrote this book to empower women to take charge of their sexual health.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE PLEASURE PLAN to read more and to email author Laura Zam, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-30-2020

Dear Reader,

The boxes that have been hiding in closets and underneath beds for years--and years--I finally know what's in them, thanks to my husband's sorting and tossing the past few days. Some "precious" things that we've saved over the years--it's a treat to see them again. Other things--"what the heck were we thinking?"--and "what the heck is it?"

What have you been doing lately? Readers share today...

Hi Suzanne, you asked about what people are doing in lockdown. Well, my husband and I (sounds like the Queen--well I am English, your daily emails cross the pond!) 'were' going on a cruise so now we are 'visiting' different countries each day and cooking local dishes. We even have 'sea' days when we relax more, read newspapers, watch a film etc. Today we are 'visiting' Italy and having Mediterranean style risotto. Kind regards." -- Francine

"Hello Suzanne, yesterday, I saw two teens in our neighborhood taking a walk holding a long wooden rod between them. Took me a minute to figure it out! Clever. Cheers!" -- Linda F.

"Suzanne, I've been going through old photo albums. I had 74 albums in boxes stored in closets and the attic. I wanted to organize them, so I went through them all and enjoyed the memories and laughed at funny pictures. I texted lots of them to friends and family, so they could smile, too. Sending the pics made them respond and we had text conversations. I got to chat with people I hadn't talked to in a long time." -- Joanne H.

"Dear Suzanne, I've always enjoyed your book club musings, but am especially appreciating them now during this time of isolation. Thank you! You asked what is making us smile right now? I'm a Canadian from Calgary, Alberta, living in Los Angeles. Calgary is Zone 3 for planting, and we have a very short growing season and a late spring. Here in LA there have been spring flowers for several weeks already. I am thrilled by all the flowers! Just going for a walk around the neighbourhood every day, I see an amazing variety of flowers of all colours and blossom on the trees. It's fantastic! During this difficult time the flowers are making me smile. I take photos of them and text them to friends and family. Thanks for all you do," -- Fiona C.

"My new routine is filled with homeschooling my special needs son. Frequent sentences spoken in my house include 'Look at the bear in your hand...which basket has a bear that matches it?' and 'Look at these pictures and point to the one that does not belong.' It can be stressful and tedious at times, but there is also laughter, slow mornings, and walks around the block. I am hoping that we hold onto that when the world comes crashing back." -- Jodie B.

"Dear Suzanne, It's so wonderful to wake up knowing that your post will wait there for me. <smile> I would like to say thank you so much to you, and to all the people making it possible. Now, more than ever, we need the magical support of books." -- Agnes S., Bloomingdale Free Public Library, NJ

"Hi Just a note to say thanks for all the hard work you do to make this a success. Appreciate all especially at this time in our lives." -- Ann Marie W.

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:

(Fiction) TAKEN WITH YOU by Carrie Ann Ryan

(Fiction) THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN by Viola Shipman

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

Dear Reader Column 04-28-2020

Dear Reader,

Please welcome today's guest author Amelia Grey. She has published 18 Regency romances. Amelia's books are most frequently described as witty and delightful with heart-stealing characters. She's currently finishing a trilogy about three young widows who made their own way in life without husbands, until they meet that special man. The current release Gone with the Rogue is the second book in her First Comes Love series.

Amelia is giving away three signed, print copies of her first book The Earl Next Door. Email her at ameliagrey@comcast.net for a chance to win a copy.

Growing up, I always wanted my own room. I come from a family of seven siblings. A true middle child, I like to say. Two sisters and a brother older, and two sisters and a brother younger than me. Add my parents to that number and a three-bedroom house with one bath and it equals enough life experiences to fill a book--or several.

One of the documented and accepted traits of a middle child is that they feel left out. You would think that in a family with nine people one of us would get lost, but not in our brood. There was always someone who knew where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing. No secrets in our family. Seven kids shared two bedrooms with bunkbeds, so if you wanted to be alone, you had to be the first one up in the morning or the last one to go to bed at night. Other than those times, you were out of luck.

It wasn't all bad. Having no time to yourself meant there was always someone to play with, talk to, or argue with. We never had to walk to school or church by ourselves or sleep alone after watching a scary movie. We had someone to help with homework, housework, a bully at school, or our first broken heart. We had fun together playing outside, spraying each other with the water hose in the heat of summer, romping through a pile of colorful leaves in autumn, and skidding on traces of icy frost in the chill of winter.

Another middle child trait is that they are never the favorite. Life was too busy for my parents to have darlings, but they had rules and discipline for those of us who broke them. Which we did. Occasionally. But punishment was never that we had to eat everything on our plates. If we didn't want it, no problem. Someone around the dinner table was happy to finish it for us--except maybe boiled okra.

On Saturdays our parents would load us in the car, putting two kids between them on the bench seat up front and stuffing the other five of us in the rear. Seatbelt laws weren't enforced back then. In an hour, we'd be having a picnic of fried chicken and potato salad, and frolicking in the emerald-tinged waters of the Gulf Coast.

I never felt the angst of a middle child growing up, and now I'm glad I didn't have a room of my own. I enjoy memories of my childhood. That must be the reason I write children, and brothers and sisters in most of my books. I know a lot about them, and I have a lot of stories to tell.

-- Amelia Grey
Email me to be entered in the drawing to win a copy of my book, The Earl Next Door, ameliagrey@comcast.net.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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

THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN (Fiction) by Viola Shipman

Does your garden tell a story? Mine does. And it's the inspiration behind my new novel which explores the unlikely relationship between two very different women brought together by the pain of war, but bonded by hope, purpose--and flowers. If you love gardening, multi-generational sagas filled with hope and history, or just adore books and flowers, my new novel is the spring "pick" for you!

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN to read more and to email author Viola Shipman, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column 04-24-2020

Dear Reader,

Have you joined the party yet? Today's your final opportunity to pass on some good feelings and a "Thank You" to your library, in celebration of National Library Week. Your Thank You gifts have brought smiles to me and library staff everywhere. There's still time to email a note, and when you do, you'll be entered in today's fun giveaway for a dozen Peacock feather gel pens. Email me at: Suzanne@DearReader.com Be sure to include your current mailing address.

From My Email Box:

"Dear Mason Librarians, First, I miss you. I miss your knowledge that you cheerfully share, your guidance and your help. Thank you for supporting the Online Book Clubs. I have enjoyed Suzanne Beecher and the Online Book Clubs for years. Thank you for always being there for me and all the library patrons of the city of Mason. The city would not be the same without you. Sincerely," -- Sharon B.

"Hi Suzanne, First, thank you for the online book club--it is so much fun to read every morning! A big thank you to the librarians at the Eden Prairie, Minnesota (Hennepin County) library. The library was closed for a year, and then reopened just days before the 'stay at home' edict came out and the library had to close again. I truly feel sorry for these wonderful librarians who worked so hard to re-open and have books available that we had reserved. What wonderful people they are! Thank you again Suzanne!" -- Patty J.

"Dear Mammen Family Community Library, I spend hours at a time with you every week. Often I find that the time just runs away from me because I get so captivated with all the books, DVDs, displays and classes. There is never a time when I cannot find something to keep me interested and busy. Along with all the amazing things you offer your staff is the friendliest, most helpful anywhere. There are beautiful grounds, benches and gardens out on the various patio areas to just sit and enjoy the view with your book in hand. Your library is not just a building to me. It encompasses all things community. Your presence makes my life more enriched. Your devoted friend," -- Maria K.

"Suzanne, the Stillwater Public Library has modified circulation checkouts due to the pandemic. If desired, curb-side pick-up is available; pick up at the entrance door, or pick up at the parking ramp. In fact, they will even have someone deliver checked out books right to your front step. What a deal! The library staff knows how much those of us who are dedicated bibliomaniacs are missing the library. Thanks for all you do." -- Joan A.

"A big thank you to my local library--Klamath County Library Service District located in Klamath Falls, OR--I have subscribed to your daily email, through them, for many years and they deserve an additional thank you for continuing to provide library services even during these disturbing pandemic times!" -- Penny T.

"Dear Suzanne, I would like to thank you and the Sarasota County Library for the online book clubs these many years. They uplift me and bring a smile to my face. I am so very grateful to all. Take care," -- Bonnie L.

"I would like to thank the librarians and staff at the Mid-Continent Public Library in Kansas City, MO., for providing the Online Book Club! Also a big Thanks to them for always being so helpful and friendly and making my every visit a great experience! Thank you," -- Kathryn D.

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

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com

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