  Letter from Jill. A. Tardiff (NYC)
Greetings!
The sages say the number seven is the perfect number, a symbol of abundance and change. Now in its seventh year, "October is National Reading Group Month"--celebrating the joy of shared reading--exemplifies their wisdom.
National Reading Group Month is observed by 1000s of book clubs and reading groups, independent bookstores, and libraries throughout the country. Our 10-chapter National Reading Group Month programs play host this year to more than 45 nationally known authors and will be attended by 100s of book-lovers. Our Great Group Reads 2013 Selections--the jewel in the crown--is a stellar list chosen by our dedicated 23-member GGR Committee (congrats!) and is studded with books from small presses and lesser-known mid-list releases from larger houses (U.S./Canada inclusive). Looking forward to 2014, there are plans to enlarge the NRGM all-volunteer staff, invite book-club/reading-group luminaries to the Advisory Board, and create and make available a Great Group Reads Selections mobile app.
To echo the words of former U.S. Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, it takes a village--in the instance of the Women's National Book Association and National Reading Group Month, it takes a community of the book.
My gratitude and appreciation for everyone involved with this endeavor for their expertise, dedication, tenacity and patience including Roz Reisner (NYC), Great Group Reads Selections Chair and Linda Rosen (NYC), Great Group Reads Selections Admin and the 23-member GGR Selection Committee (see complete roster below); Susan Walker, National Reading Group Month Event Coordinator; John Niernberger, Conscious Images, Web Master; Susan Vianna, Fishergate, Graphic Designer; Ashley Centeno, The Office, Hoboken, NJ.
To Valerie Tomaselli, WNBA National President and Gloria Toler, WNBA National Treasurer--for keeping me sane. To Carin Siegfried, WNBA National Vice-President and Mary Grey James, WNBA National Communications Officer for their public relations and social media support.
Chapter NRGM event organizers Leslie Adams (Seattle); Lee Fairbend (Nashville); Kate Farrell (SF); Linda Gray (Seattle); Annette Haley (Detroit); Daphne Kalotay (Boston); Jessica Keener (Boston); Susan Larson (NOLA); Mary McCarthy (Nashville); Tabitha Whissemore (DC); Rachelle Yousuf (LA); numerous volunteer assistants and committee members.
Chapter presidents (not mentioned above) Bebe (Sarah) Brechner (Nashville); Jane Kinney-Denning (NYC); Kristen Knox (Charlotte); Willetta Heising (Detroit); Dawn Rennert (Boston); NC Weil (DC).
Advisers (and friends) Carol Fitzgerald, Founder/President, Reading Group Guides; Mary Mackay, Marketing Director, ALA Publications, American Library Association; Charlie Mead, Publisher/Owner, Reading Group Choices; John Mutter, Editor-in-Chief, Shelf Awareness; Mark Nichols, Development Officer, American Booksellers Association; Serenity Gerbman, Director, Literature and Language Programs, Humanities Tennessee - and, to a special someone.
And last but certainly not least the Sponsors, Friends and Partners of National Reading Group Month (see complete roster below).
If I have forgotten anyone--gomensai! My sentiments are transparent.
October is National Reading Group Month! Enjoy this time! I know I certainly will!
Kind regards,
Jill A. Tardiff
WNBA National Reading Group Month Chair
WNBA UN DPI/NGO Chief Representative
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National Reading Group Month 2013
Official Sponsors and Friends
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The Sponsors and Friends of National Reading Group Month are committed to celebrating the joy of shared reading--and, to reading groups everywhere. The Women's National Book Association (WNBA) thanks them for their invaluable support and generosity.
Current Sponsors
Gold/Premier Sponsor
Atria Books
Silver Sponsors
The Crown Publishing Group, Extra Libris
Great Books and More to Go with Them
HarperCollins Publishers (2007 Founding Sponsor)
Harper, Harper Paperbacks, Harper Perennial,
Amistad, Ecco, William Morrow,
William Morrow Paperbacks
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Other Press
Sourcebooks
Friends of National Reading Group Month
American Booksellers Association
Book Group Buzz--A Booklist Blog
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction
Kobo--A Rakuten Company
Reading Group Choices--Selection for Lively Book Discussion
Reading Group Guides--The Online Community for Reading Groups
Complete List of Sponsors, Friends, Content Partners (Blogs, Guides), Publisher Partners (Author Appearances), Bookstore and Library Partners available on the National Reading Group Month website.
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Great Group Reads -- 2013 Selections
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Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Knopf)
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (Harper Perennial)
Big Brother by Lionel Shriver (Harper)
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (Hogarth)
David by Ray Robertson (Biblioasis)
The House Girl by Tara Conklin (William Morrow)
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (Penguin Books)
Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt (Algonquin Books)
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Reagan Arthur Books)
Margot by Jillian Cantor (Riverhead Books)
Mary Coin by Marisa Silver (Blue Rider Press)
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg (Grand Central Publishing)
Nowhere Is a Place by Bernice L. McFadden (Akashic Books)
The One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier (Sourcebooks Landmark)
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books)
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell (Amy Einhorn Books)
The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Harper Perennial)
Schroder by Amity Gaige (Twelve)
Sparta by Roxana Robinson (Sarah Crichton Books)
Wash by Margaret Wrinkle (Atlantic Monthly Press)
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Back Bay Books)
Great Group Reads 2013 Selections downloadable PDF.
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Jill and Roz wish to thank the members of the Selection Committee for their dedication and tenacity--a job well done as always. Bravo!
Leslie Adams (Seattle); Bebe (Sarah) Brechner (Nashville); Sally Brewster (Charlotte); Marsha Toy Engstrom (SF); Lynn Henriksen (SF); Pat Klemans (Detroit); Kristen Knox (Charlotte); Michele Leber (DC); Rachel Manwill (DC); Carolyn Martin (Seattle); Pamela Milam (Network Member); Naomi Milliner (DC); Lorine Kritzer Pergament (DC); Elissa Pugh-Arguello (Nashville); Quressa Robinson (NYC); Linda Rosen (NYC); Rachel Slaiman (NYC); Lois Van Stipdonk (Detroit); Mary Wasmuth (Boston); Rayme Waters (SF); Rachelle Yousuf (NYC); Marika Zemke (Detroit)
Great Group Reads 2013 Selection Committee readers' bios.
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| NRGM Chapter Events |
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We are so excited about our upcoming National Reading Group Month programs held during October by our ten chapters:
WNBA-Boston with the Boston Book Festival
(Sat., Oct. 19; 12:30-1:30PM)
WNBA-Charlotte with "bibliofeast" co-sponsor Park Road Books
at Maggiano's Little Italy (Mon., Oct. 14; 6:00-9:00PM)
WNBA-Detroit with event co-partners Novi Public Library
and The Book Beat (Wed., Oct. 9; 6:30-8:30PM)
WNBA-Los Angeles with event partner Vromans Bookstore
Pasadena (Mon., Oct. 14; 6:30-8:30PM)
WNBA-Nashville with "coffee with authors" co-partners Nashville Public Library and Parnassus Books, in collaboration with the Southern Festival of Books (Sat., Oct. 12; 9:00-11:30PM)
WNBA-New Orleans with event partner Tulane University Bookstore at the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women -Tulane University (Wed., Oct. 16; 7:00-8:30PM)
WNBA-NYC with event partner Strand Bookstore, Rare Book Room.
(Wed., Oct 23; 7:00-9:00PM)
WNBA-San Francisco with event partner Books Inc. in collaboration with Litquake San Francisco's Literary Festival (Sat., Oct. 19; 1:00-3:00PM)
WNBA-Seattlewith event partner University Book Store
(Thurs., Oct. 24; 7:00-8:30PM)
WNBA-Washington, D.C. with event partner Politics and Prose Bookstore/Coffeehouse at the National Press Club
(Thurs., Oct. 1; 7:00-9:00PM)
Full list available here.
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Thanks to our 41 participating authors:
Wilton Barnhardt (Lookaway, Lookaway: A Novel, St. Martin's Press)
Charles Belfoure (The Paris Architect, Sourcebooks Landmark)
Jillian Cantor (*Margot, Riverhead Books)
Marjorie Celona (Y: A Novel, Free Press)
Diane Chamberlain (Necessary Lies, St. Martin's Press)
Tara Conklin (*The House Girl, William Morrow)
Dianne Dixon (The Book of Someday, Sourcebooks Landmark)
Pamela Binnings Ewen (An Accidental Life, B&H Books)
Michèle Forbes (Ghost Moth, Bellevue Literary Press)
Amity Gaige (*Schroder, Twelve)
Nora Gaskin (Until Proven: A Mystery in Two Parts and Time of Death, Lystra Books/Literary Services, LLC)
Susan Gregg Gilmore (The Funeral Dress, Broadway Books)
Reyna Grande (The Distance Between Us: A Memoir, Washington Square Press)
Lauren Grodstein (The Explanation for Everything, Algonquin Books)
Tracy Guzeman (The Gravity of Birds, Simon & Schuster)
Michael Harvey (The Innocence Game, Knopf)
Tommy Hays (What I Came to Tell You, Egmont USA)
Dara Horn (A Guide for the Perplexed, W.W. Norton & Co.)
Caroline Leavitt (*Is This Tomorrow, Algonquin Books)
Miriam Karmel (Being Esther, Milkweed Editions)
Jessica Keener (Women in Bed: Nine Stories, The Story Plant)
Cassandra King (Moonrise, Maiden Lane Press)
Laurie R. King (The Bones of Paris, Bantam)
Rebecca Lee (Bobcat and Other Stories, Algonquin Books)
Jill McCorkle (Life After Life, Algonquin Books)
Bernice L. McFadden (*Nowhere Is a Place, Akashic Books)
Leslie Maitland (Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed, Other Press)
Jamie Mason (Three Graves Full, Gallery Books)
Cathie Pelletier (*The One-Way Bridge, Sourcebooks Landmark)
Virginia Pye (River of Dust, Unbridled Books)
J.M. Redmann (Ill Will: A Mickey Knight Mystery, Bold Strokes Books)
Suzanne Rindell (*The Other Typist, Amy Einhorn Books)
Ray Robertson (*David, Biblioasis)
Roxana Robinson (*Sparta, Sarah Crichton Books)
John Searles (Help for the Haunted, William Morrow)
Elizabeth L. Silver (The Execution of Noa P. Singleton, Crown Publishers)
Erica Spindler (Justice for Sara, St. Martin's Press)
John Milliken Thompson (Love and Lament, Other Press)
Larry Watson (Let Him Go, Milkweed Editions)
Chris Wiltz (Shoot the Money, Premier Digital Publishing)
Margaret Wrinkle (*Wash, Atlantic Monthly Press)
*A Great Group Reads 2013 Selection
Thanks also to our program moderators:
Nina Cardona (Nashville NPR host/reporter), Ann Kingman (Books on the Nightstand), Bill Kenower (Author Magazine) Amanda McTigue (Going to Solace, Harper Davis Publishing), and Elizabeth Nunez (Boundaries, Akashic Books).
And special appreciation to Jillian Cantor, Ray Robertson, and John Milliken Thompson for their enthusiasm (and energy!) while taking part in multiple chapters' NRGM programs around the country.
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President
For further information on the national board, chapter presidents, committee chairs, please go to the WNBA website.
You may also download a pdf of the information here.
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| Library & Other Events |
Readings 'Round the Sound (Seattle, Wash.)
Readings' Round the Town (New Orleans, La.)
Readings 'Round the Bay (San Francisco, Cal.)
Find out more here.
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A Special Word About the U.S. Fund for UNICEF
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UNICEF makes the world better for kids.
The Women's National Book Association is proud to have a special relationship with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. For 63 years Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has been a part of annual Halloween celebrations in the United States. Remember the T-O-T Collection Boxes? During October is National Reading Group Month, WNBA has wonderful opportunity to support its U.S. initiatives such as Public Policy and Advocacy, End Trafficking, the UNICEF Snowflake, UNICEF Tap Project, Eliminate Project, George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.
 We encourage you to be generous. Donate to end the preventable deaths of children, and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.
October is Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF--Join the Kids Helping Kids® Movement.
http://www.trickortreatforunicef.org/
Check out Field Notes posted by Laura Marano, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Ambassador. Best. Halloween. Ever.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Resources
Get Your Boxes!
 Be a part of history this Halloween, Join kids, families, and teachers across the country in raising monies for saving and improving children's lives around the world.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to save and improve children's lives. Learn how the U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work at: http://www.unicefusa.org.
#TOT4UNICEF
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Great Group Reads 2013 Selections--A Sampling
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 The Great Group Reads Selection Committee worked hard all spring and summer, not just reading, but thinking about what makes a book good for discussion and posting their comments on our private blog. The readers are from WNBA chapters around the country--strangers for the most part, but we developed a real sense of community over discussions about our books. The final list of 21 titles contains books for every taste; below are short reviews of 3 of the books with comments by some of the readers, and a full-length review of Ordinary Grace by Rayme Waters (SF).
~ Rosalind Reisner (NYC), Great Group Reads Selection Committee Chair
 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(Knopf, 978-0307271082)
This powerful and engrossing story is told by Ifemelu, a young woman who decides to leave the U.S. and return home to Nigeria. She recalls her years of being torn between two cultures, never sure where she belonged and haunted by the loss of her great love, Obinze. Bebe (Nashville) said, "One of the most phenomenal books I've read this year. Deeply thoughtful and strongly contemporary." Marika (Detroit) said, "What a book! Adichie writes a novel of Nigerian immigrants living in the U.S. and their *otherness* that piqued my interest from page one. There are so many different themes interplaying in this novel." Mary (Boston) said, "A pleasure to read for its fresh, original perspective on many compelling subjects. I loved the writing, the richness of detail and sharpness of characterization." Ifemelu's story about race and identity will provide much food for thought for readers and reading groups.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra 
(Hogarth, 978-0770436407)
This utterly engrossing novel is set in Chechnya during 2004 and the 11 years preceding, years of warfare that tore villages and families apart. Akhmed, a village doctor, brings a young girl to a nearby hospital, hoping it will be a place of safety for her after her father's arrest; this humanitarian act sets off a complicated chain of events. Caught between the rebels and the federal government, and worn out by long years of brutal fighting, all the characters are compromised in some way; their survival is never certain, keeping the reader on edge as we become hopelessly attached to these people. Marra's eloquent, lyrical writing is exactly right for a story that deals with the duty we owe to others and the moral ambiguities of behavior in wartime. Rachelle (LA) found that there's plenty for book groups to discuss: issues of family, parent/child relationships, love, gender, the tragic effects of war on the average citizen, the guilt of survivors, and so much more." Lois (Detroit) said, "I think anyone who liked The Kite Runner would find this book of the same caliber." Leslie (Seattle) said, "I was hooked from the first page by this set of unforgettable people trying to survive the vicious perpetual war. I admire Anthony Marra for the way he slowly revealed the intertwined lives of all the characters. "
 House Girl by Tara Conklin
(William Morrow, 978-0062207395)
Lina Sparrow, a young lawyer in New York, is working on a class-action lawsuit that seeks reparations for the descendants of American slaves. Through her artist father, she hears about a controversy in the art world: were the paintings of revered pre-Civil War artist LuAnne Bell really the work of her slave Josephine? A descendant of Josephine--if Lina can find one--would help give the lawsuit a human face. In alternating chapters, we follow Lina's search to build the legal case and Josephine's life in 1852 as the "house girl" on the Bell plantation in Virginia. How Josephine came to paint, how she felt about her paintings, and what became of her as she attempted to find the Underground Railroad are beautifully portrayed in tandem with Lina's unfolding understanding of Josephine's life. Bebe (Nashville) said, "I really liked the unusual idea of a slave being an artist and the exposed reality that so many talented lives were obscured." Linda (NYC) said, "A heartwarming, heartbreaking, beautifully crafted novel; I found it a pageturner."
 The One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier
(Sourcebooks Landmark, 978-1402287619)
Pelletier returns to the fictional town of Mattagash in northern Maine, a place she knows only too well, introducing us to the endearing and eccentric characters whose lives straddle the line between tragedy and comedy. Each chapter is told from a different point of view. Mailman Orville Craft, on the verge of retirement, feels insulted by his nemesis Harry Plunkett's tacky mailbox. Harry has troubles of his own, stemming from his Vietnam-era service. Edna, dissatisfied with her marriage, longs for a more artistic, exciting life. And then there's Billy Thunder, small-time, no-goodnik drug dealer, whose return to Mattagash sets the cat among the pigeons. Long-simmering resentments, issues of thwarted love and ambition, loneliness, and miscommunication all converge on the eponymous bridge in a confrontation that's both hilarious and heartbreaking. Mary (Boston) said, "Hidden beneath the funny and engaging surface were some compelling themes-guilt, death, redemption, marriage, community, and an overall question about whether it's possible to find meaning and vitality when you're past your prime." Linda Rosen (NYC) said, "Pelletier's writing brought me right onto the bridge and into the Mustang. I read this on vacation, but it's not a beach read. I've already recommended it to friends and will to my book club."
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 Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
(Atria Books, 978-1451645828)
Reviewed by Rayme Waters, (SF) Great Group Reads Selection Committee Member
In his sublimely crafted novel, William Krueger makes meaning out of the human tragedy and spiritual triumph that defines 'the awful grace of God.' Set in fictional New Bremen, Minnesota in the summer of 1961, Ordinary Grace is a small town murder mystery that throws back the veil of nostalgia at page one as deaths, accidental and otherwise, shake the community.
Tragedy is best narrated by adolescents, and thirteen year-old Frank Drum comes of age in the pages of Ordinary Grace drip by painful drip. He's got a kid brother who is a target for bullies, a saintly father that the rougher element of town doesn't respect, an unhappy mother who clings to the shreds of her faith and, soon, a dead sister, one with a nearly angelic musical ability who is found churning in the waters below the town's railroad trestle. Kruger solves the mystery of her death in a meditative style that recalls the philosophical passages of To Kill A Mockingbird. But the central question of Ordinary Grace is not who is guilty, but whether faith in God, marriage, and community can be sustained against awesome odds. This level of moral questioning done with Krueger's deft skill is what makes Ordinary Grace a cut above.
There is a near stumble in the book. In creating a Sioux character named Warren Redstone, Krueger comes dangerously close to stereotype. Redstone is drawn just roundly enough to escape the fate of caricature but perhaps his inclusion, and the somewhat muddy character of Emil Brandt, betrays Krueger's background in serialized crime fiction where characters get more than one book to show their facets.
It is a gem of a book that has a title with meaning beyond market appeal and a precious jewel of a novel that allows that meaning to resonate. I can't tell you why Ordinary Grace is such a perfect name for this story without spoiling it, but I can say one of Krueger's characters literally delivers the reason in one of the book's best scenes.
A dozen years ago The Life of Pi promised that if you read it, you would come to believe in God. As a non-believer I was tantalized, but found the offer to be false. Krueger makes no such grand promises but, in ways artistically divine, he delivers.
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Book Clubs are Good for Writers!
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By Lisa Braxton (Boston)
One of the best decisions I made when I moved to the Boston area 10 years ago was to join a book club. As a writer who spends much of her spare time in isolation with her work, I relish the book club meetings. We women gather monthly over potluck meals, glasses of sparkling wine, and desserts that leave us with mild regret. The book selection could be a literary novel, ethnic fiction, a presidential biography, or a bodice ripper bordering on the erotic.
We are a sorority of sorts, women in our 40s, 50s, and beyond, catching up on each others' lives and providing each other with emotional and spiritual sustenance, while always preserving time for the discussion of the book.
I have watched these women identify stilted dialogue, uncover the layers of a main character's motivations, rail against a novel's ending, and engage in a grueling debate over the necessity of an adverb. That's why when I recently completed the latest draft of The Talking Drum, the novel that I've been working on for the past five years, I knew I wanted my book club to read it.
Having your book club select your manuscript for discussion has its benefits:
- You know they'll read your work. I've had friends promise to read my manuscript but then never heard from them again. However, book club members are committed to attending the meetings and they hate to show up having not read the book.
- You know you'll get feedback. At my meetings we assign one member to facilitate the discussion, guaranteeing that the conversation will stay on topic and get to the heart of members' opinions.
- You'll get proofreading and copy editing services for free. You may want to have paid professionals clear your writing of typos, grammatical mistakes, and passages that just don't work, but it doesn't hurt to have more than a dozen pairs of eyes flagging anything that seems amiss.
- You'll have an automatic fan base. Your book club friends are your support group. They'll want you to succeed. They'll appreciate being brought into the process during the early stages. They'll be your ambassadors, telling others about your writing and their role in helping you.
To get the most out of the experience, I gave my book club friends some guidance. I included a questionnaire with the manuscript copies I handed out to get the kind of feedback I wanted. Also, I assured them that they didn't have to spare my feelings during the discussion, that I wanted them to be as candid as they would be for any other written work. To make it easier on them I asked a member who has a home with an open concept layout to host the meeting. That way I could be in a separate area, mere feet away. I was able to hear the discussion and they were able to forget that I was there.
Book club input likely won't get your manuscript ready for publication but you can get thoughtful, constructive feedback in a supportive environment.
Lisa Braxton is immediate past president of WNBA/Boston. She earned her MFA in creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University. Read her blog at: www.lisabraxton.com.
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Little Free Libraries: A Novel Idea
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By Linda Prout (NOLA)
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The small wooden box nestled in the butterfly garden looks like a birdhouse, but actually it is a library full of books. A sign on top of the Little Free Library invites neighbors to "Take a Book. Return a Book." Every day joggers, dog-walkers, and children biking to school stop to select a new book or leave a favorite they want to share. Todd Bol built the first Little Library in the shape of a one-room schoolhouse in memory of his mother, a teacher and avid reader. He put it in his yard in Hudson, Wisconsin, and he explains that so many people wanted one, he "accidentally started a nonprofit." In 2009 he and Rick Brooks from Madison, Wisconsin, started the Little Free Library organization to promote literacy, the love of reading, and building a sense of community. Since then, stewards have installed over 7000 libraries in all 50 states and 35 countries worldwide.
 Book lovers who want a Little Free Library can order one from the organization, or they can build their own design using recycled materials. In New Orleans, a church built ten using Katrina debris and installed them in neighborhoods throughout the city, while a group of school children covered four more with mosaics of Louisiana flowers made with Mardi Gras beads. Each library needs a steward to maintain it and make sure it stays filled with books that are appropriate for the community.
A registered library receives a numbered sign and a place on the website's Google map. Some libraries have their own Facebook pages to tell about new books, library events, and community news. For example, Jefferson Park Ave, LFL No. 2214, invited people to see its new flip-flop lights, also "Announcing our NEW Summer hours: 24/7--a lot like our Spring hours!" For more information, visit www.littlefreelibrary.org .
Linda Prout is a member of WNBA-NOLA and an ambassador for Little Free Libraries. She opened the first Little Free Library in Louisiana in her butterfly garden in New Orleans's West Bank.
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