This May, The Art of Racing in the Rain celebrated its hundredth consecutive week on the New York Times bestseller list since its paperback release in June of 2009. Yes, it really has been that long!

Without you--all of the readers, book clubs, librarians, and community read participants who laughed, cried, and triumphed with him--Enzo's tale would never have become the contemporary classic it is today.
 

Do you want to share Enzo's story with your whole family, but have doubts as to the appropriateness of some of the scenes? Revised for readers in the 8-12 age group, Racing in the Rain: My Life As A Dog tells Enzo's story without the adult material young readers don't need to see yet.

Racing in the Rain is already heating up bestseller lists in the Pacific Northwest.

The Art of Racing in the Rain goes to the races again with Evan York, who raced the newly designed US Legends modified dirt car at the inaugural race in Stanley, North Carolina. Evan, son of racecar driver Kevin York and an up-and-coming kart racer himself, drove to second place in his Heat Race and third place in the Main Race. Way to go, Evan!

Ray Evernham, owner of the East Lincoln Speedway, designed the US Legends Modified in partnership with SMI and US Legend Cars International. Last weekend's race was both the premiere for the car and the first in a planned series of dirt track races.

After the race, Evan reported," That was a lot of fun. I had some awesome battles. That was some of the best racing I've had in a long time. I can't thank Garth Stein and Enzo enough for supporting Dad and I to run the inaugural race in the U.S. Legends Modified dirt cars at East Lincoln Speedway."

Many of you know the e-novel Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices was released on May 3rd. How many of you also managed to see it being written as well?

Thirty-six authors took turns writing a separate chapter before a live audience. Together, these authors represented the best voices in contemporary and literary fiction, nonfiction, comedy, romance, mystery and thriller, and young adult genres. Called "The Novel: Live!", the event raised over $10,000 for charity and showed the audience what a writer's life looks like.

Garth Stein and Jennie Shortridge, two of the authors involved in the project, collaborated for three months of planning to pull off the around-the-clock writing marathon.

Download the full story here.

Garth had a great time chatting with the members of London's "Old Park Avenue" book club during their discussion of Art of Racing in the Rain. Although unable to travel in person, Garth's voice and face traveled digitally to England, where the club's members posed beside a handy street sign with their canine companions.  

 

 

Said one member: "This book has the highest rating so far of all the books we have read. The privilege of having Garth join us with his joyous personality adding insight into the book was truly memorable and we are all very thankful for him for having given his time so generously." 

The cover to the right is the UK cover for The Art of Racing in the Rain. Each international version has a different cover. See them all at Garth's online gallery.

It's summer, or as close as we get to it here in the NW, which means grilling!

Chicken Souvlaki

2 lemons
2 Tblsp chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
kosher salt
2 or 3 chicken breasts
skewers for grilling

Zest your lemons into a mixing bowl, and then juice those lemons into the same bowl. Add in your oregano, pepper flakes, olive oil, garlic and a healthy pinch (1/2 tsp or more) of kosher salt. Whisk until it emulsifies.

Slice chicken breasts into "tenders" by first removing the tenderloin on the inside. Then cut the breast in half lengthwise and lop off the two tails. Cut the remaining lobe in half lengthwise or depthwise, using your judgment, so you end up with about 7 tenders of more or less equal size for each breast. Put these tenders in a one gallon plastic bag, add the marinade you just made, smoosh around, seal it and stuff it in the refrigerator for an hour (I recommend putting the plastic bag into a bowl "just in case," but if you like to live dangerously, salmonella-wise, you can skip that part.

If you use bamboo skewers, soak 'em. If you use metal, get 'em out of the drawer. Prepare your grill. Skewer your chicken. Grill them for five minutes on each side until done.

Easy. When I make it for my family, I serve it with warm pita wedges, kalamata olives, hummus, baba ganoush, slices of red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, maybe some feta cheese for those who like it. And I make up some tahini sauce, which is really easy if you buy the paste in the store--be sure to add some lemon juice to your tahini!

As every racing fan should know, it's Indy 500 season! How well do you know this year's roster of drivers? Enzo does--what else does he have to do all day but follow the news on TV?

Who do you think Enzo would back for this year's race? Send in your answer by June 15 to be entered in a drawing for a GoEnzo cap!

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