APRIL'S CHOICE!

Susan Wigg's book "Just Breathe," will be the selection for April 2009. The club will take place on April 18th, 2009 at Fat Man's.


Amazon.com writes this about "Just Breathe:"


Bestselling author Wiggs (Snowfall at Willow Lake) keeps her romance reputation going with this feel-good story of a wronged woman who gets out on her own and gets going. Sarah Moon, a comic-strip writer, is happily married to Jack Daly—until she comes home to find him entwined and naked with a business associate he had badmouthed to her just hours earlier. After five years of marriage, including months of infertility treatments because of Jack's cancer, infidelity is the last straw, and Sarah pack ups and leaves Chicago for her hometown of Glenmuir, Calif. Sarah uses her comic strip, Just Breathe, to vent her frustration and relieve her stress. The character, Shirl, is undergoing fertility treatments, getting a divorce and moving back in with her mom. (Comic strips open each section of the novel). And in Glenmuir, lo and behold, Sarah's dreams come true. She finds out she's pregnant, and begins a friendship with her high school nemesis, Will Bonner, who's now the town fire captain and a single dad whose lonely daughter reminds Sarah of herself as a young girl. Wiggs takes serious situations and weaves them into an emotionally wrought story that will have readers reaching for the Kleenex one moment and snickering out loud the next.

More information to come about the book with discussion questions, and other stuff hopefully.

As always...HAPPY READING!

THANKS LESLEY!

This past Saturday, March 21, Lesley Kagen let us call her, and she talked to us from the comfort of her Wisconsin home. A very down to earth person, she is informative in her ways of explaining different things relating to the book field, publishing world, and her own experiences.

Thanks to her pushes, the cover of "Whistling in the Dark," was going to have blond girls, and no where with a red head. She faught to have the picture changed, and with some gusto, they listened to her. She said that people do look at the cover, and notice the tinest detail in the pictures associated with the books themselves.

As for the actual title, Lesley said that we are alsomt all the time "Whistling in the Dark," as in we don't always know whats going on around us all the time, or if ever.

Her book was a fascinating read, that it went along as a sort of mystery, but never did I feel as though I was reading one. She classified her book as "Literaray fiction." Which is sort of blend of genre's of books if you will. She is not really writing a mystery, not really a romance, not really a drama persay, but something that hauls the labors off all different kinds of books.

We all enjoyed listening to her talk about how hard it is to go into the writing business. It's a labor of love when it comes to something like that. It's amazing that, she told us about 14,000 books ( around that number) come out every week. And for her books to really get off the ground is fascinating. They all believed at Penguin, that her books weren't going to become that popular, so they thought. After a fan following, her books became popular, and they way it sounded, they were sorry that they didn't believe in her.

She said it all depends on every last detail. From the book cover, to what is said in the book.

A very interesting book, and an interesting woman to hear talk to us. She is knowledable about what she does. You can tell that she enjoys writing her books and bringing them to life.

We want to thank Lesley Kagen for taking the time to let us call her, and talk to us about her book. It was informative and entertaining for us all. If you are interested in having Lesley speak at your bookclub, contact her. See is shes available. It's something worth having her do if you want.

Next up on the list, it's April's book!

A Few Things to Think About the book from LitLovers.com

1. Sally combines childish innocence with a surprisingly mature discernment of life. You might talk about those opposite qualities—the ways in which they evidence themselves in the book. In fact, just talk about Sally as a character.

2. Do you find the adult characters as interesting—or as well drawn—as Sally and her sister?

3. You might talk about Kagen's portrayal of a 1950's close-knit neighborhood—the kind of community we yearn for as offering a safe haven for growing up. Yet, in Whistling, beneath the surface lurks a darker world. For those who grew up in that era, it seemed a safer world . . . or is that being innocent, naive, like Sally?

4. Were you surprised by the ending?

MARCH'S CHOICE

For the month of March, the choice is "Whistling in the Dark," by Lesley Kagen.

The book is described as the following:

"Funny, wise and uplifting, Whistling in the Dark is the story of two tough and endearing little girls...and of a time not so long ago, when life was not as innocent as it appeared."

What happens with the girls? You will have to read along with us to find out.

I am pleased to say that Lesley has agreed to talk with us as did Susan Richards, and Kate Jacobs. It will be a tri-fecta of writers, which will be exciting to all of us. I hope.

I will hopefully be back with discussion questions or other tid bits. As always readers...HAPPY READING!

Hello Kate Jacobs!

Well readers, we got another treat in February. Kate Jacobs, decided to call into our book club on the February 21st meeting. It was a Saturday morning, at 9:30am Eastern time. Kate was calling from California, which we all know is a three hour difference. So, as she told us, we became her first morning book club. Awesome for us, which we are more memorable that way.

A lot of the book clubbers had questions for her, ranging from how she started writing, to "Friday Night Knitting Club" itself. She talked about herself, her books, and what she might do in the future. Which, if you didn't already know, "Friday Night Knitting Club" is in talks or is being made into a movie with Academy Award winning actress Julia Roberts. Very exciting.

We want to thank Kate for calling in and talking with us. She told me that I was one of only 4 men who have contacted her, over her thousands of emails and letters from women. I am proud to be one of the four. Thank you Kate! She also graciously told us that she would send us autographed book places to our book club, since she talked to us. Very nice, and very cool. As I say, it's an extreme pleasure to have an author talk to our little book club. We are much appreciated by that.

The club seemed to enjoy the book for the most part. They said it was a little confusing to start at the begining, but it got better as the book progressed. In any case, it doesn't matter if you are female, or in my case male. The meaning behind the book is what really hits home. Read the book, and you will see what I mean.

Again, thank you Kate Jacobs!