| Greetings!
Wine, Whoopie Pie, and words for your next book discussion!
We offer you a brand new print edition of Reading Group Choices, packed with new selections, a delicious Food by the Book!, a delightful Wine by the Book!, interesting author 1-On-Ones, book group news, and of course, some new discussible selections-all in this month's Reading Group Choices Newsletter.
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| Reading Group Choices 2010 Released! |
Reading Group Choices is proud to announce the release of Reading Group Choices 2010: Selections for Lively Book Discussions.  The 2009 guide marks the 16th annual edition of the print edition, which once again includes reading recommendations of some of the publication industry's best authors. Reading Group Choices 2010: Selections for Lively Book Discussions includes over 75 new titles for recommended reading and book group discussion. Titles by such reading group favorite authors as Barbara Delinsky, Khaled Hosseini, Elizabeth Noble, Geraldine Brooks, and Dennis Lehane, as well as work from debut authors have been selected for inclusion. The guide also includes valuable resources available to reading groups and book clubs all over the world. To order copies of Reading Group Choices 2010 - or any of the other annual editions from 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004 - visit the store, email us, or call us toll-free at 1-866-643-6883. Purchase a Copy
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| More Discussible Selections |
 Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah-two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.  The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti, the story of Lily Crisp's life, reveals the multiple layers of a woman's healing heart. Lily retreats to a French farmhouse after her husband of 26 years dies. She examines her loss-as well as some complications with an long-ago affair. Annie Vanderbilt's debut novel offers reading groups an engrossing journey through the complexities of love, death, and new beginnings. After creating the perfect beat, DJ Darky goes in search of  Charles Stone, a little-known avant-garde jazzman, to play over his sonic masterpiece. His quest brings him to a recently unified Berlin, where he stumbles through the city's dreamy streets ruminating about race, sex, love, Teutonic gods, the prevent defense, and Wynton Marsalis in search of his artistic-and spiritual-other. Ferocious, bombastic, and laugh-out-loud funny, Slumberland is vintage Paul Beatty and belongs on the shelf next to Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, and Junot Diaz.  From the acclaimed bestselling author of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank comes a historical novel about Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau. Born in 1805 on the Lewis and Clark expedition, Charbonneau was the son of the expedition's translators, Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau. Across the Endless River portrays this mixed-blood child's boyhood and his youth in the American frontier. Thad Carhart's novel becomes a haunting exploration of identity and passion as eighteen-year-old Baptiste is invited to cross the Atlantic in 1823 with young Duke Paul of Württemberg. Rich in the details of life in both frontier America and the European court, Across the Endless River is a captivating novel about a man at the intersection of cultures, languages, and customs. |
| More Reading Group Choices Winners |
 Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader, has won the 2009 Baccante literary prize and will receive it September 26 during the sixth annual International Women's Fiction Festival, located in Matera, Italy. The prize judges called the book "an amazing journey through the world of publishing, a debut that turned a self-published story into a massive global success. . . The Lace Reader is a richly evocative book guaranteed to sweep the reader along in a headlong rush of events, against the brilliantly-described backdrop of modern-day Salem, Massachussetts and with a fascinating cast of characters, guaranteed to keep readers captivated all the way to the shocking ending."
 Samantha Harvey's The Wilderness has garnered another nomination. Her book is one of 10 longlisted for The Guardian First Book Award. Established in 1999, The Guardian First Book Award is open to all first-time authors writing in English, or translated into English, across all genres. Along with five other judges, five reading groups will be included in the voting process. The winner will be decided in December. |
| Upcoming Book Club Bashes |
 Reading Group Choices' Barbara wil be heading out to many bookstore book club bashes, library book discussion sessions, festivals, and book club panels in the coming months. The Baltimore Book Festival is hosting a panel called Book Club Toolkit: Tools and Tips for Starting and Improving Your Book Club. Heather Johnson, the Book Club Madam with Storie delle Sorelle Book Club, will moderate the session with panelists from book clubs in the Baltimore-area.
It's scheduled for September 26, 12:00 Noon at Mount Vernon Place, 600 Block of North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
Charm City book club members-come on down for a guaranteed fun time!
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| Your Own Discussible Choices |
Congratulations to Laura and The Blackey Library Book Club for winning the random drawing for this month's Discussible Book Choice! "We just finished reading and discussing Garden Spells. It was a quick fun read that everyone enjoyed. We discussed many different issues that were woven into the book (abuse, magic, self-image, family interdynamics, love, and re-inventing yourself). Our most complex question of the night was whether we would actually eat of the apple and see the biggest/strongest impacting event in our lives if we could. Most of us said "No" but a few said "Yes". Our reasons were very enlightening about each individual." Laura, The Blackey Library Book Club, Jeremiah, KY We enjoy hearing from book club members and sharing their choices with everyone. Please let us know about your group's discussible choices - you may win a book-related prize for every member of your reading group! More Discussible Choices |
| Top Ten Southern Novels |
Oxford American: The Southern Magazine for Good Writing has conducted an online survey among 134 writers to pick 500+ best Southern novels and why you should read them. Here's the Top Ten - why not include one in your schedule of discussions?
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| Presidential Pick |
 President Obama brought along some "beach reads" for his Martha's Vineyard vacation and one was a Reading Group Choices' selection - Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. Wonder if he has time to join a reading group?! |
| National Reading Group Month |
 October is National Reading Group Month! Reading groups enjoy and share the pleasure, adventure, knowledge, self-awareness , and solace that come within the covers of books. Celebrate the joy of literary conversation! Cheers! | |
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Thanks for keeping the joy of shared reading alive,
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| Confections-More Than Just Baking |
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Gesine Bullock-Prado was miserable as head of her celebrity sister's (Sandra Bullock's) production company, so she and her husband left the trappings of their Hollywood lifestyle behind. They ended up in Vermont, where they started the gem known as Gesine Confectionary. Her book about the adventure, Confections of a Closet Master Baker, is chock-full of eccentric characters, beautifully detailed descriptions of her baking process, ceaselessly funny renditions of Hollywood nonsense, and Gesine's mouth-watering recipes. The ingredients in her story will appeal to anyone who has ever considered leaving the life they know and completely starting over. Gesine has written a exclusive message to you, Reading Group Choices' reading group members, along with a reading group yummy recipe- Reading Group Whoopie! in this month's Food by the Book! 
And, Laurie Forster, our Wine Coach®, has included some Pinot Noirs in this month's Wine by the Book! that complement the Reading Group Whoopie! Books, food, and wine-makes for a Whoppie! book group discussion!
Visit Gesine in her 1-On-One
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