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| Enzo's Store Opens! |
Enzo's Store is open for business. As a crowd of Enzo fans continues to gather around this lovable mutt, we are supporting this organic development with a few cool Enzo items you might enjoy, from hats and mugs to T-shirts, tote bags and bumper stickers featuring some of this canine character's most beloved sayings. GoEnzo ball caps are now available. Dancing zebra mugs, I "heart" Enzo T-shirts, and many items spouting "Enzoisms" such as "That which you manifest is before you," are coming soon. Check it out at the GoEnzo store.
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Garth's Event Calendar |
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Hope to see you there!
July 21
Lake Washington Book Club
Seattle, WA
July 22
Book Club Girl
Radio Interview
4 pm PDT / 7 pm EDT
August 3
The Front Porch
Seattle, WA
6:00 pm
August 12
Borders Books and Music
San Jose, CA
7:00 pm
August 13
Towne Center Books
Pleasanton, CA
11:00 am
August 13
Capitola Book Cafe
Capitola, CA
7:30 pm
August 14
Pilgrims' Way Community Bookstore
Carmel, CA
2:00 pm
August 15
Monterey Historics
WCMS booth
Monterey, CA
12:00 noon
Further event updates and information can be found on Garth's snazzy new website! |
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Readers' Two Cents |
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If I were a dog, I would make a fuss of you. I would wag my tail for all the times that you made me smile, I would bark and jump for the times that you made me laugh, I would snarl for the times that you got me angry; I would lean my muzzle on your knee for the tears that you made me shed, and I would whine with ears lowered for the ones that I hardly held back; I would lie down on the floor, with my legs up, for the deep love that you brought me. But I'm just a human being...and I can only use my words (and my bad English) to thank you, for all the emotions you made me strongly feel. From my heart, which sometimes has "doggy beats"...thank you for The Art of Racing in the Rain.
--Emiliana
You are on the top of my list of favorite authors; all 3 of your books were excellent reads! I've never finished a book with the desire to start reading it again right away until I discovered your work. Raven was incredible-what a story; it was so imaginative and kept me interested up to the last page. And I have just loaned out How Evan Broke His Head to my sister. I hope you get to Minnesota for a book signing; I have never been so awed by an author before but I love your writing and am impatient to see what's next. Hurry up and write another!!! But I suppose it doesn't quite work that way. Thank you for the great books!
--Jenny
Hello Garth!
My name is Torben and I live in Düsseldorf, Germany. Ok, why do I write you this letter?
It's very important for me to do this because I want you to know that your book The Art of Racing in the Rain really changed and -in other words- saved my life somehow.
I know, this sounds dramatic...perhaps it sounds more dramatic than it really was back then but powerful enough to write you this letter. As a big thank-you and to pay a compliment to you for your great book.
--Torben
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| Paperback Hits NYT Bestseller List! |
 The Art of Racing in the Rain arrived in paperback this June. It immediately jumped to #5 on the New York Times bestseller list for paperbacks. The paperback is also the #2 paperback bestseller in the Pacific Northwest and the #3 bestseller in Chicago. The new size and softer cover makes it perfect for stuffing into a beach bag or a picnic bag!
Garth hasn't had much time to celebrate The Art of Racing in the Rain's success...sort of. He's been busy on the paperback tour, visiting bookstores and book clubs in California, Colorado, and Texas. However, he still managed to find a few moments to loosen up with school teachers in Katy, TX.
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| One Website To Rule Them All... |
Garth's snazzy new website is finally up and running. The website includes a picture gallery, Enzo e-cards, a forum to meet other fans, sound effects, and more. Some of the features are similar to those on Garth's previous websites, but others are completely new. Many thanks to the website designers! The new website has been in the works for some time. During the testing process, Garth and several adult testers discovered the true extent of their internet skills when several children (one of Garth's sons included) found all of the website's features in less than thirty seconds. The kids also discovered website features that the rest of us (gulp) never found. So where do you stand on the internet savvy scale? Better than Garth and his assistants, we hope! Check out the new website here, and let Garth know how you like it.
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| Talk With Garth!Article Headline |
On July 22, Garth will join Book Club Girl on blogTalkRadio to dicuss The Art of Racing in the Rain. The interview will include a call-in portion, where you can call in to talk with Garth and ask him questions. The call-in number is 347-945-6149, and the broadcast begins 4 pm PDT (7 pm EDT), July 22, at the blogTalkRadio website. |
| Garth Takes On Twitter |
First, his publicists insisted he join Facebook. And, after some initial reluctance to try out this new technology, Garth discovered he liked it. Of course, as soon as Garth grew comfortable with Facebook, the publicists had another suggestion: Twitter. And Garth discovered that he liked it too. In fact, he's starting to like it too much...it's so easy!  Find out how you like his tweets at Garth's Twitter Page.
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| Have You Seen Enzo? |
When Enzo's involved, odd things can happen. Like this.
Garth held a poster contest for several of his book tour stops this June. Contestants printed out the poster from his website, found interesting sites to put it up, and then took pictures. Someone left their poster up a little long, and Enzo's newest friend, McLovin from Houston, decided to inspect it a little closer. None of us ever guessed that Enzo was a secret ambassador for canine-feline friendliness (crows are a totally different matter).
You can download a printable Lost Dog Enzo poster here. Print it, post it somewhere cool, and take a picture of it. Send the picture to lostenzo@garthstein.com and you can win a GoEnzo ball cap like you see in The Enzo Store.
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| Garth Stein: Closet Gourmet |
 Garth's next published work is...not what you were expecting. He has contributed a recipe to Literary Feast, a collection of recipes from Northwest and nationally acclaimed authors, including Greg Bear (or, to be precise, Greg's wife), Kit Bakke, Alexander McCall Smith, and Jacquelyn Mitchard. Garth's addition is his recipe for Clams with Sausage, Beans, and Pasta. He's been cooking and perfecting it over the past decade or so. The book was published by the King County Library System Foundation, and profits will benefit local literary and learning programs. If interested, you can order it online here.
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| IndieBound Summer PickArticle Headline |
 Indiebound, a collection of independent booksellers around the nation, chose The Art of Racing in the Rain for its summer reading group picks. Keeping Enzo company are such books as The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery with Alison Anderson as translator, and Couch, by Benjamin Parzybok.
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| Grazie Italy |
Back in May, Garth visited Italy for the Torino Book Fair, held in Turin. Enzo's name needed no translation over there, where The Art of Racing in the Rain becomes L'Arte di Correre Sotto La Piogia. It wasn't all fun and games, though. Garth learned that Turin was the home of the breadstick--grissini in Italian--and also learned some very important words for ordering food (such as vino).
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| On The Road |
 Garth visited Sacramento for the paperback book tour. He shared a few chapters from The Art of Racing in the Rain, as well as plenty of Q&A and anecdotes, including the infamous Tape Worm. Garth also met "Super Fan" Henry, who has become one of Garth's Facebook chums. If you have a Facebook page, and haven't found Garth's Facebook page yet, he would love to friend you too. 
After Sacramento, Garth's next stop was high altitude in Aspen.
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| Lessons from Enzo: Chapter 9,10,11 |
"Alas! Our driver is not where he had hoped to be! Yet he is still in control of his car."
Unexpected problems can arise anywhere, on the track or in ordinary life. But instinctual, automatic reactions can make those problems worse, or create new ones.
On the racetrack, a driver can't stop a skid. Once it happens, the driver has to let friction and the tires' traction take car of the problem. If he panics, though, and reacts or overreacts in the wrong way, he can create worse problems. The skid puts him at a disadvantage, but a spin from a wrong correction will lose the race or cause injury. The driver must learn to control himself, his panic, and his instincts.
When Eve becomes suddenly ill, she panics and accidentally leaves Enzo alone in the house. Enzo then has to deal with being alone, with no food and no thumbs to escape with, for three days. When Denny returns, he finds everything in a mess and is concerned that Enzo might've died. All three have to fight against their instinct to panic and overreact.
For Enzo, he tried to control his instinct to panic and go crazy trying to escape. He used logic to figure out how long he had to survive on his own, and what he needed to do to survive. Yet the appearance of the zebra and the massacre of the stuffed animals suggest that he didn't completely conquer his instinct to panic.
How well do you think Eve, Enzo, and Denny reacted to the problems they encountered? In your opinion, what kind of demon possessed the zebra? What kind of demons could possess your own zebra? Continue this conversation with other fans at www.garthstein.com/forum/! If you signed up a while ago and your account on the forums hasn't been activated yet, please email Garth's Assistant and make some noise. Everyone who has signed up previous to this newsletter has been activated, and should be able to log on and post now.
Segment authored by S. Walker.
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| Challenge Spotlight |
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Congratulations to last newsletter's Challenge winner, Stonecircle from Vermont!
For this newsletter's drawing, send in the answer to the following question, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a gift bag. The drawing will be held at the end of July, giving you plenty of time to enter.
Question: Which Hollywood actor has the movie rights to The Art of Racing the Rain, and hopes to produce it as a movie?
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| Enzo's Challenge |
And just for fun... Find the following words:  Watkins Glen Enduro Champion Torque Horsepower Skid Friction Renault Destiny Circuit Flouret Miata
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We would appreciate your feedback about this newsletter. Please feel free to contact us if you have any comments or suggestions! Thanks again for your support! We hope that Enzo's insightful words continue to inspire greatness in your life and love among your friends and family. Sincerely, Garth Stein, Terra Communications, Inc., and the Go Enzo Team Contact Us | |
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