Brave the Snow: Support Your Local Bookstore

Today's guest blogger and bookseller Jamie Layton tells us how bad the snow is for local independent stores of all kinds and asks you to help them weather the storm.

Let it snow, make it go, oh NO!

It seems “snow” is the four letter word that best describes February 2010. With accumulated amounts ranging from 24 to 50 plus inches across large portions of the mid-Atlantic region and the northeast, there really doesn’t seem to be another word that better sums up the last month. Word has traveled via Facebook of friends snowed in first for a long weekend then, after a few days hiatus, for almost another week. Schools are scrambling to make up snow days and even down here we’re scrambling to make up a ‘wind event’ day, the Outer Banks equivalent of a northern snow day.

While the grocery and big box stores made out just fine with sales precipitated by a flurry of pre- and post-blizzard pantry stocking, a lot of small independent businesses out there got socked pretty hard by all the wintry weather.

Here at the beach, for example, we usually anticipate and experience a strong Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend. Lots of people take advantage of the three day weekend to get away for a little winter beach respite. A lot of restaurants and businesses that close for a few months over the winter season actually open up especially for that weekend and the traffic it brings. Unfortunately for us, the northern snow still had a lot of people either stuck at home or who found that just trying to get around the neighborhood enough of an adventure for the weekend.

In the blizzard plagued areas many local businesses were completely shuttered by the storms and are now struggling to somehow make up for them. A small business is much more immediately affected by a few days of lost sales than a chain or franchise and in this economy, and during a traditionally slower season such as winter, they can be left reeling by Mother Nature’s non-business friendly attitude.

So as drifts recede and hopes for spring eternal rise, please make a little extra effort to patronize your local businesses. Sure, you could still order books online even when you couldn’t get the car out of the driveway for three days, but is there anybody there who knows your reading tastes and can suggest a good book when you tell them ‘I just loved The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’? And even though the chain grocery store might have a good deal on flowers, isn’t there a local florist in your neighborhood for whom even the small purchase of ten dollars worth of tulips means quite a bit more? Choose the corner coffee shop for your Sunday morning latte instead of 'that other place' and you might pleasantly discover that all lattes are not created equal (nor do they all cost five bucks).

These local business owners are your neighbors, possibly your friends, and it is a documented fact that they contribute way more to your local economy than any chain or big box enterprise and, conversely, were hurt much more by the recent winter wonderland.

I realize as I write this that the forecast calls for yet more snow in some regions. But there’s one more weekend left in February for indy businesses to try and salvage something from this disastrous month. Please bundle up, pull on your mittens, get out there this weekend and make your planned (or impulse!) purchases local. Each person who walks through the door helps us weather the storm.

--Jamie Layton, Duck's Cottage, Duck, NC

Chris Cleave: Little Bee

Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee and today's guest blogger, talks about how much book clubs mean to writers and just how generally great they (we) are.

This month I’m working my way east across the USA, visiting twenty-four cities to talk with readers about books. I’ve been in San Francisco, San Diego, LA, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, and right now I’m on a plane flying over snowy white peaks on my way to Denver. This tour is great – crazy, fun, out-of-control amazing. Contrary to all the doom-and-gloom that’s written about the state of the literary scene, I can report that American readers still turn out in large numbers to talk about books, and that the events are electrifying, good-natured, irreverent, unique and thrilling. Every evening’s event is hosted by a book store or a library or a church or a community centre, and it seems that always, right there in row one, there is a group of friends from a book club. They’re the ones who will give you the biggest smiles when you stand up to speak, and who will ask the greatest questions, and they’re also the ones who will make your life hell if they think you’re wriggling out of giving a real answer. Reading groups keep writers honest and they make book events fun – teamed up with fine bookstores, they are the glue that holds the literary community together.

At the event in San Francisco, the whole of a reading group showed up because they’d had an argument about the ending of Little Bee and they wanted me to tell them who was right. Six members reckoned Little Bee probably died. Seven thought she probably lived. They looked at me sternly, demanding answers. A hush descended. Whichever way I answered, metaphorical fists were going to fly. Naturally I did what any noble, fearless writer would do: I weaseled out and gave a non-committal answer including the words “allegory” and “sorry”. Later, in the signing line, almost every member of that book club looked me fiercely in the eye and whispered: But seriously – between you and me – what actually happens at the end?

As a writer I am sure that a good novel should provide more questions than answers – that it should be the start of an enjoyable conversation between friends. So you can imagine how happy I am when book clubs roll up their sleeves like this. Pretty often also, book clubs bring such a diversity of skills and experience to bear on a text that their collective interpretation will be fascinating to the writer. People shouldn’t underestimate the impact that a good book group discussion can have on an author. Storytelling is a two-way street: the audience is involved in the creative process. An interesting discussion of a previous book will affect the way the next one is written. This is one of the many ways in which good readers help writers to get better.

Book groups matter, and as a writer who visits many book clubs, I can reveal that there are exactly two kinds. Type A book clubs are very serious entities. Every member will read every word of the book in question at least once, and the subsequent discussions will centre on literary tropes and textual analysis. Type B book clubs are more sociable affairs. The group will convene, everyone will drink two or three glasses of wine and the laughter level in the room will rise until, five minutes before the end of the allotted time, someone might casually mention: Oh and by the way, did anyone read the… you know… the book? I love both kinds of book groups equally, and for the same reason: because they are taking literature as a good starting point for a conversation between friends.

On this tour I have met book clubs large and small, from a delightful group of three work friends in San Diego who had established a clandestine reading chapter as an antidote to a soulless corporate environment, to the gigantic, city-wide book group that is the Santa Monica City Reads program. They chose Little Bee for their book this year, so I was privileged to participate in the most extraordinary event: a big auditorium entirely full of people who had read my novel and come prepared with great questions. There was even a dramatic performance from the book performed by two actresses, and beforehand a group from the Santa Monica Public Library had been out on the city’s street corners, reading excerpts of the book through a megaphone. Under the Californian sunshine, people were talking about literature at bus stops and in shopping malls. At times like these, a writer must seriously ponder whether he might in fact have died and gone to heaven.

On this trip I have met book clubs both studious and lighthearted, young and old, offline and online. I met someone yesterday (she is worth following on Twitter @mawbooks) who belongs to a multinational book group that convenes via a Skype video-conference. Today I am joining in a book group discussion on Twitter with a bunch of people in Holland. And at this evening’s event in Denver I’m sure that once again there will be book groups in the audience, and that they will enjoy each other’s company, exchange notes and swap books, and have the best time. High tech or low tech, book groups are alive and well in these days.

I’d like to say more about how much it means to me when book clubs choose to read my books, and how much I have learned from readers, and how grateful I am for the extraordinary reception that book groups have given to my work – but this flight, like this piece of writing, is on its final approach into the Mile High City, and all portable electronic devices must now be switched off and securely stowed along with your tray tables, which must now be locked in the upright position. So quickly, before I hit Denver (the highest altitude at which a book tour can be performed without requiring supplementary oxygen), please let me just say a heartfelt thank you to book clubs everywhere for keeping good literature alive, whether you read my own books or not.

--Chris Cleave, Author of Little Bee (www.ChrisCleave.com)

Shakespeare Reading Group: 38 Plays in 38 Days

Today's guest blogger Ingrid Jendrzejewski explains why she decided to do something as crazy as read all of Shakespeare's works in ridiculously short period of time and why she thinks you should join her.

Extreme Shakespeare: Reading Shakespeare's 38 plays in as many days

There is nothing like being stuck in bed with the flu to make one reassess life.

Two weeks ago, I was in such a state. I felt miserable. I couldn't concentrate on reading, and the tv screen was just a little too bright for my headache. There was nothing to do but sit and think about all the things I'd planned to do in life that I hadn't yet accomplished.

Reading all of Shakespeare's plays was up there on my list.

I remember reading Shakespeare as a student and always assuming that of course I'd have his complete works read within, oh, a year or so after graduating. Somehow, however, years have passed and I haven't read one new Shakespeare play since my university days. That
realisation made me feel more ill than the flu.

I decided that as soon as I got better, things were going to change. I promised myself that I would not let another year pass without reading all of Shakespeare's plays from beginning to end.

Now, my life is somewhat chaotic. Things come up and time seems to evaporate around me. The casual reading-around-the-edges-of-everyday-life approach hasn't worked to date. Therefore, I knew that if I wanted to actually complete this goal, drastic measures were required.

A challenge was in order. I decided to try to read one play a day until I got through each and every play. It would be a huge time commitment, but in less than a month and a half, I would have accomplished my goal.

These kinds of crazy schemes sound great in theory, but my track record with New Years' resolutions made me wary of trusting myself once the flu was out of my system and normal life resumed. I told my friends and family that I was attempting this reading challenge so that I'd have to face Uncomfortable Questions should I get behind.

However, the whole point of reading Shakespeare is to enjoy great literature and I wanted the process of reading to be fun and full of positive, inspiring energy. Simply blackmailing myself into
succeeding with the threat of humiliation didn't seem in the spirit of the project.

It then occurred to me that perhaps there were other people in the world who felt a painful lack of Shakespeare in their lives. Perhaps, if I could find them, we could read the plays at the same time and support each other in reaching our reading goals.

That was the beginning of the 38 Days: 38 Plays project.

As soon as I felt well enough to look at computer screens, I propped myself up on some pillows, sat in bed with my laptop and threw together a website for the project. I decided to start reading on the 1st of March and spend the rest of February looking for brave, like-minded individuals who wanted to tackle this reading challenge with me.

The website 'launched' on the 17th of February. Within a few days, the site had nearly 1000 hits, the Facebook group had over 65 members and over a dozen people had decided to throw their hat in the ring. Several people have written to me saying that although they're not able to commit to reading all 38 plays, they have set their own Shakespeare-reading goals which they intend to complete during the 38:38 period. I must admit, I am delighted and amazed at
the response so far.

There are still a lot of unknowns. I worry that I do the plays a disservice by reading them so quickly. (My hope is that such an intense, whirlwind tour through these plays will provide an overview that will enrich and inspire further reading.) I'm hoping that there will be enough interest to sustain motivation and discussion throughout the 38 days. I'm hoping that everyone who participates has a wonderful experience. I'm hoping that all the people who have
signed up to this project aren't my mother in disguise, trying to make me feel good. I'm hoping and hoping and hoping that I can actually manage to read a play a day for 38 days.

Any and all are welcome to join us and I welcome comments and suggestions. Whether or not all of us reach our individual reading goals, I'm hoping that the experience will prove enjoyable to everyone who participates.

-- Ingrid Jendrzejewski, 38 Plays: 38 Days

Look for an update on how Ingrid and the rest of the brave souls are doing coming soon!

Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project

Today's guest blogger Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project talks about reading groups (our favorite topic) and why they make her happy.

One thing that contributes most to my happiness is book groups. I’m in three groups, myself!

One group is a traditional book club. We meet once a month, eat dinner, and talk about a book – usually a novel, but not always. We mix classics with contemporary fiction.

The other two groups focus on children’s and young-adult literature. I’m a kidlit fanatic, so it’s great fun for me to get together with other people who share this passion for Suzanne Collins, Madeleine L’Engle, and C.S. Lewis.

When I describe these two kidlit book groups, people are often intrigued, because they’ve never heard of a book club with a theme like that.

As I’ve been thinking about happiness, though, I’ve realized that having a book group that focuses on a particular interest is a great way to make friends, learn more, and have conversations about a topic or genre that engages you deeply.

A few of my friends belong to a book group that worked its way through Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past. When they’d finished that, they started on Trollope.

I know of another book club that focuses on foreign-policy books. It’s made up of people who majored in political science or history, but are working in professions that don’t give them a chance to tap into this passion.

I’ve heard from several groups that focus on spiritual books.

I’ve also heard people who have started reading groups that choose books that will help them learn more about happiness! That makes me very happy to hear.

-- Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

Mahbod Seraji: Rooftops of Tehran

Community and college reads are becoming more and more popular and we here at ReadingGroupGuides.com couldn't be happier. For what is a community or college reading program, but a really, really big reading group? In today's guest post, Mahbod Seraji author of Rooftops of Tehran talks about his experience with Villanova University.

Rooftops of Villanova

As a debut novelist, the selection of my book Rooftops of Tehran for Villanova University’s One Book program was an amazing honor. In its fifth year, earlier selections of this prestigious initiative have included Khaled Hossini’s The Kite Runner in 2005, followed in successive years by Timothy Tyson’s Blood Done Sign My Name, Immaculee Illibagiza’s Left to Tell, and Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle.

I had no idea, prior to arriving at the campus, how much time and effort had gone into preparing for my visit. As the program sponsors told me at breakfast, the One Book program was a year-long initiative in which the committee involved students, parents, faculty and even members of the community to foster a climate of cultural and intellectual engagement through reading and conversation.

I was truly impressed by the reach of this program when I received a call from Philadelphia’s NPR studios for an interview on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. Marty, a nationally celebrated radio personality who occasionally sits in for Fresh Air’s Terry Gross, eased me into the interview with a professionalism that made our conversation a delightful experience.

At lunch I was introduced to the members of the selection committee. A few had brought their personal copies of the book to the lunch, which I signed with great willingness and joy, although I wished I knew each person better to write something special in their dedication.

Right after lunch we rushed across the campus to the library for a book signing event and an exclusive conversation with 25 honor students and some faculty about cultural aspects of life in Iran. The line of students waiting to get their books autographed was long; many told me they loved the story of Pasha and Zari. I thanked them while secretly feeling overwhelmed with a feeling of melancholy recalling my own wait in a line 30 years earlier at my alma mater, the University of Iowa, to get a signature from the late Phillip Dunne, the Hollywood screenwriter and two-time Oscar recipient who adapted How Green Was My Valley for John Ford. Life goes by quickly!

After a brief late afternoon rest, I met with a young and intelligent reporter from the school newspaper, The Villanovan, before heading out to the cafeteria. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. To say my heart skipped a beat may very well be a cliché—but I know what I felt. There were red roses placed at every table, following the motif on Rooftops’s cover and the symbol of so much more in my story. The director of food services, his chefs and their staff had read my book and liked it so much that they had cooked every dish I had mentioned in my novel, including Khoresht Badmjan, Shish Kebab, Jujeh Kebab, Mast-o-Khiar, and Dolmeh. They had even made my favorite Akbar Mashdi ice cream, a truly impossible recipe to follow, especially for those who have never had it. The food was fabulous, and I had the opportunity to meet everyone who worked in the kitchen. The extent of their genuine kindness and the lengths they had gone to open their hearts, minds, and lives to Rooftops was simply awe-inspiring.

My speech was scheduled to start at 7:30 that evening and I was taken to a room to rest at 7:00. I was told that the venue accommodated 500 people but they weren’t sure how big of a crowd to expect. I personally would have been happy with 200, but I didn’t say anything. At around 7:30 one of my sponsors came up to take me to the ballroom. A bit frazzled, she whispered, “We have a little problem.”

“What?” I asked, my heart racing. No one showed up, was the first thought that flashed through my mind.

“The room is full,” she said. “We have added another 100 chairs but people are standing up in the back of the room, sitting in the aisles, and we have turned away at least 50 people because of the fire code. We think we have about 750 people in there already.”

The ballroom was packed and a hum buzzed in the air as I entered with my heart pounding as it always does before every speech I have ever given. The lights in the hall were dimmed but the podium and the small stage were well lit. Two large projection screens were placed on either side of the stage. I’m a professional speaker and I have never been timid on stage, but something about this experience felt different to me. Normally people listen to me discuss other people’s books. These people had come to hear me talk about my book. In the back of my mind and in my heart I promised God that I would never speak ill of another writer’s work for as long as I shall live.

I spoke of my early years in this country, and how difficult the burden of revolution, the hostage crisis, and the Iran-Iraq war had been on a 19-year-old struggling to make it in the U.S. I spoke of the financially difficult days when I had to choose between buying lunch or a pack of cigarettes (I often chose the latter). I told them of how despite a difficult life in those early years, I chose to stay in the U.S. with a promise to myself to write a book about the people whose sheer existence in my life gave me the strength to survive any adversity. I said that in my book I wished to show that we are all people regardless of our culture, race, sect, or country of origin. People are people, I said. We all laugh, we all cry. We all want safety, security, health, and peace for ourselves and for our children. I said that I picked my main characters Ahmed, Faheemeh, Doctor, Iraj and Zari to tell a story that I hoped would bring our people closer, make us realize that we share a universal truth, and that we have more in common than we sometimes realize. I also emphasized that in countries like Iran the actions of the government do not always represent the will of the people, and that we must never form a perception of a nation based on the actions of its official rulers.

I could tell that my audience was listening. I was told not to be offended if people left as Q&A started. But no one left. Almost everyone waited through the end of the program. As I came down from the stage, I did so with some trepidation; sometimes people don’t like to have common perceptions challenged. But I was instantly approached by many who congratulated me on the book and the talk. I was then taken to a table outside the hall, where a long line of people were waiting to get their books signed. I was thrilled. Only in America, I thought, people listen to a man who comes from a country that’s labeled as an enemy, and don’t interrupt him, don’t heckle him, and wait in line for an hour to get his signature. Openness and tolerance, as well as understanding and celebrating differences of opinion, are gifts that Americans are blessed with.

Since the visit I have received over one hundred emails from students, parents, and faculty. One writer wrote: “You have certainly achieved your goal of humanizing the Iranians… You have also opened my eyes to a culture and a people of which I knew very little about, other than negatives.”

I was more than pleased with those words. Reflecting back on the whole experience, I imagined myself sitting on the rooftop of a campus building at Villanova waving to Ahmed, Faheemeh, Iraj, Doctor and Zari in Iran as they waved back from the rooftop of my old house in Tehran. For that remarkable image, I can only say: Thank you, Villanova; my friends send their bests!

-- Mahbod Seraji, Author Rooftops of Tehran (http://www.rooftopsoftehran.com/)

We're working on a blog series about the trials, tribulations, benefits and experiences of college and community reading programs. If your an organizer, author or participant in one of these great programs, we'd love to talk to you. Email me at dana@bookreporter.com

Book Clubs in the News

In this month's round up of Book Clubs in the News checkout a festival celebrating Zora Neale Hurston, a book focused community center, a new online reading group and details on an unauthorized Oprah biography.

QuillandQuire.com: New Literary Community Center in Toronto
Local Toronto book club facilitator Marilyn Herbert opens a community center focused on books, book clubs and other literary programming.

PRLog.org: Random House joins with Webjam to Create Online Reading Group
Random House is hoping to tap into the social networking craze by creating an online reading group for its Vintage imprint and allowing readers to interact with other readers from around the world.

Winter Park/Maitland Observer: Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival Attracts Readers
Zora Neal Hurston has made the Florida town of Eatonville a popular destination for readers with its annual festival honoring her life and work. The festival is held in January and attracts some 250,000 visitors.

NY Daily News: New Unauthorized Oprah Biography Due Out This April
The queen of talk TV and book clubs alike is about to be exposed by bestselling author Kitty Kelly. Kitty says she’ll be even handed but odds are this book won’t be selected for Oprah’s book club.

What do you think? Will online book groups ever be as popular as the meet in person kind? What about the book on Oprah? Interested enough to buy it? Let me know! Comment here or email me at dana@bookreporter.com!

-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Book Club Retreat: To plan or not to plan...

Today's guest blogger Denise Neary gives us the skinny on planning and re-planning a book club retreat when the snow just won't stop.

Thinking about planning a book club retreat? Forget the planning. Wait until the last minute, and pull something out of your sleeve!

Last summer, our daughter/mother book club decided to have a retreat. We decided on the weekend in February that includes Presidents’ Day and Valentine’s Day since it seemed to have the least conflicts: no major exams, no big sporting events, no major religious celebrations, no school holidays. We were golden. Everyone was in.

The plan was to stay at a friend’s stunningly beautiful house in St. Michaels, Maryland. About a 90 minute ride from our suburban DC homes----a perfect distance away, not too far and not to close.

We held the dates, and plans were made. Lot of plans: a visit to a local library to talk about book clubs; reservations at some wonderful local restaurants; goodie bags full of books and treats for the girls (while they would say they are all too old, who doesn’t like a goodie bag?); amazing letters from some of the authors we have read, cheering the group for their time together.

When the forecast called for snow on February 5th, I did a secret whoop of delight. We had planned the perfect weekend----we never get two snowfalls in a row in DC. Never. Ever. Ha! It snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed. And then it snowed a little more. Snowmageddon.

What to do?

A secret admission---I hate rescheduling. I didn’t even propose it but St. Michaels was out. Our resourceful group did what it does. We focused on the key components of the retreat: the chance to be together and the opportunity for a book club discussion.

One of the Moms offered to host the girls for a Friday night stay-over at her house. Retreat Part 1 was set. And then we found a great place to stay in DC for Saturday night at an incredible rate. Thanks to Magellan Vacations for that! They are a travel agency that specializes in lovely properties in wonderful cities and I had called them in despair. “Here is what I need,” I said sadly. A big room where the girls can spend some time together and a bunch of rooms for the Moms. Brigette, the fabulous agent, found us exactly that for a great price at the Melrose Hotel.

Part 1 was lovely. Our group’s name is the Red Balloons, so we had red heart balloons tied to each of our chairs and though not selected with Valentine’s Day in mind we thoroughly enjoyed discussing Pride and Prejudice. Is there a better path to a lovely weekend than one created by Jane Austen?

After the meeting, the girls opened up their goodie bags. And while they are a very sophisticated group of 16 year-olds, they were definitely channeling their inner toddlers as they pulled out their new books. While they received lovely gifts, the one they spent the most time on was a little book of letters to them from their favorite authors. I still can’t believe such busy people would do such a generous thing---but they did, and I am so glad they did.

Saturday morning we headed off to Part 2 of our retreat in DC. Once we arrived, the girls spent some time exploring the room while the Moms were mostly interested in making sure that there was wine chilling for later. I have to thank both Brigette from Magellan and the Melrose Hotel for terrycloth robes for each girl at the hotel. Because really, what does a book club retreat need more than comfortable clothes for sitting around in?

I have a lot of favorite parts of the weekend----but my absolute favorite occurred Saturday afternoon. Through a stroke of good fortune, author Maureen Johnson had agreed to Skype in and talk to the group.

The girls were more than prepared. They reviewed her website, to make sure they wouldn’t ask her questions she had already answered. They wrote everything down, for fear that they would be star struck. And they provided each other with helpful critiques and information (e.g., that’s stupid; she already answered that; ohmigodherbirthdayisthisweek). I think they were excited.

Did you ever have the chance to meet someone you admire, and meeting them makes you realize that your high expectations were set entirely too low, as you simply had no idea how perfect the encounter could be? Thanks to Maureen Johnson, our group knows that feeling.
In our half hour together, she:

• Gave us a new name (once the Red Balloons, we are now the Talking Chairs----which is all she could really see from her side of her call)


• Encouraged the girls to call an emergency reading of Wuthering Heights (there is a debate among the group about whether she called the book cracktastic or cracktacular!)


• Spoke in the most generous way about her colleagues’ achievements and talked about librarians screaming for John Green and Scott Westerfeld as if they were rock stars.


• Talked about how she does her job and made the girls feel smarter, cooler and better just for admiring her so much.

We ended our conversation by singing happy birthday to an embarrassed author!

That evening we visited the Kennedy Center for a Millennium Stage performance and then went back to the Melrose for dinner. There restaurant is called The Library, so we couldn’t resist.
Then it was gab time. The girls were off to their room to don their hotel robes, watch movies in bed and gab. We Moms retreated to another room, to gab grown-up style: solving the world’s problems while sipping wine. And then the same thing happened in each of the rooms. The lights were eventually turned off, but everyone continued to talk. I can’t remember how long it has been since I’ve done that. It was a lovely.

Our Sunday morning accomplishment was finding the perfect cafe for breakfast. We were seated near a window on a main street in Georgetown where we thoroughly enjoyed a Valentine’s Day treat: watching men with flowers walking up the street to their sweethearts. All of us wrote our own internal stories of love and romance as we headed home from a wonderful weekend.

So, the retreat was not the one we had planned. It was definitely busier and a little more frenetic. But so fun. And I think it was a good thing for our girls to learn the improvisation skills that will come in handy so many times in their lives! The moral of the story? Things may not turn out exactly how you plan, but they can still be pretty great.

--Denise Neary, Book Club Mom and Retreat Planner Extraordinaire

Kirk Farber: Postcards from a Dead Girl

In today's guest post, author Kirk Farber talks about his new novel POSTCARDS FROM A DEAD GIRL. Sometimes in these intro paragraphs I like to sum up what the author is talking about and hopefully get you interested enough to read on. In this case I think Kirk's blog title says it all. Enjoy!

HUMOR, HEAVY THINGS, AND THE UNEXPLAINED

It’s no secret that many first novels are often heavily autobiographical. My debut, Postcards from a Dead Girl, is about a young man who’s receiving postcards from an ex-girlfriend who might not still be with the living. So I can’t really claim auto-bio there.

But one autobiographical element that is there is how the main character, Sid, and I both know what it’s like to lose a parent at an early age. In the novel, Sid has actually lost both parents by his mid-twenties. I lost my Mom when I was eighteen. In Sid’s life, his dead mother’s spirit speaks to him through a bottle of Bordeaux.

Okay, that’s where the similarity stops.

But my mother was a very funny person and if she really wanted to pull off that kind of trick, she just might. Not so far, though, and it’s been twenty years.

Back in the day, she was always very positive, active in the community, and loved being around people, so when she was diagnosed with cancer and had to stay home on the couch for a while recovering from the chemo, her spirit wasn’t having it. Once I came home from school, and found her staring at the ceiling, motionless. I called out to her a few times, and she didn’t respond. Just when I was about to panic, she pointed at me and winked. “Gotcha!” That wasn’t funny to me then, but now I think it’s hilarious. Even at the heaviest moment of her life, she kept things light.

I think that’s part of why I mix humor with the heavy things in Postcards from a Dead Girl. And why I like to read books with similar qualities.

I wonder sometimes if those early experiences also have to do with why I’m drawn to the melancholy aspects in fiction —the sad, the strange, the unexplained. I love the unexplained. Feels real to me. Because life is rarely all tied up in a nice bow. Book clubs seem to share in that love of the unresolved--something about the never knowing that is wonderful to debate and speculate and maybe even joke about.

It’s like the vivid dreams I’ve had about my Mom over the years, where I tell her everything that is happening in my life and she listens to every word and just smiles at me and then I wake up.

Was that really her? I guess I’ll never know. But I sure enjoyed the visit.

-- Kirk Farber, Postcards from a Dead Girl (www.KirkFarber.com)

Books on a Plane: Top 5

Last week was a travel week for me. I was lucky enough to leave the cold and head out to Palm Springs, CA for the TED Active conference. As always I got on the plane armed with books. When headed to the west coast, I used to be able to read an entire book on the plane, but now I seem to be a little too sleepy for that. So I’ll start a book on the plane and then continue reading in my hotel room. It’s funny, though I watch a fair amount of TV at home, I rarely turn it on in a hotel room. But I digress. This trip I took along Wendy Wax’s Magnolia Wednesdays (which will be on the shelves March 2nd) and The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. Though very different, both were very enjoyable.

In addition to my sleeping (hopefully sans drool), my munching on ridiculously overpriced airport food, and my reading, I do enjoy a fair amount of people watching while in the airports and on the plane. This trip, I was happy to note that despite all the new gadgets and gizmos, I still saw a lot of people with good old fashioned books. Here are the top 5 books to take on a trip from my completely unscientific survey:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Vergese
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Associate by John Grisham

I did see a couple of eReaders and there were certainly plenty of people tuned into their iPods or texting like nobody’s business. But still even with all of that... we readers were out in force and I for one was glad to see it.

--Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Kathleen Grissom: The Kitchen House

Guest blogger author Kathleen Grissom joins us today to talk about researching her historical novel THE KITCHEN HOUSE, and how all the little bits and pieces came together and took on a life of their own.

Before I could begin to write my story, I knew that I would have to do intense research. The Kitchen House is set in Virginia in the late eighteenth century. However, as I was raised and educated in Saskatchewan, Canada, I knew very little about that time period in American history.

I began my research by visiting every restored plantation and historical site that was within driving distance of our home in central Virginia. I soon discovered that they were treasure troves of history. One became a favorite and drew me back again and again. Known as Prestwould Plantation, it is located two miles north of Clarksville, Virginia. Their brochure states that “Prestwould is one of the most extensively documented remnants of late eighteenth century rural life to have survived in Virginia and that the survival of many of the original outbuildings makes Prestwould an unusually complete example of life on a great plantation.”

At this restored site, the main house is built of stone quarried on the plantation in 1794-1795, and back from it, as was common to that time, the small kitchen house stands alone. At the other historical sites I most usually focused on the kitchen house, but here I felt drawn to the main house.

A friendly outgoing gentleman gave my husband and me our first tour. When I spied a long, blue, purse-type object on a dresser in one of the bedrooms I asked its purpose. The tour guide was happy to explain that Lady Jean Skipworth, the original mistress of the place, was a botanist. He explained that the painted metal container was a vasculum, a tool that Lady Jean Skipworth used on her excursions into the woods.

It was used for carrying newly collected plant specimens. While he spoke, a chill ran through me and though I didn’t understand why, I sensed that this information was pertinent to my story.

I had a similar experience in the dining room. There, suspended from the ceiling and hanging low over the table, was a huge butterfly-type wing. Cords draped from it and were secured to a hook on the wall. We were told it was a fan; while people from the big house dined, slave children pulled the cords to move the air about. On seeing it, I had another chill and felt a deep sense of familiarity, yet knew that I had never before seen something like this.

At the time I did not give thought as to how I would use these bits of information, but when I began to write and to follow along behind the characters, to my astonishment, they, of their own accord, availed themselves of these objects. A final surprise came after I finished the manuscript. On rereading it, I discovered that, without intention, the layout of the big house I described in my book was eerily close to that of Prestwould.

When I set out to do research, I had no idea how I would apply the information that I gathered. It turned out that I had no reason to worry. The characters simply took what they needed to tell their story.

--Kathleen Grissom, author of The Kitchen House

Super Fab Book Club Names – Part Deux

“And though home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit answered to, in strongest conjuration.” – Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewut

For many of us, books and our book clubs are our homes away from home. So thanks to all of you who invited me into your “homes” by sharing your book club names and origins. These are just some of the many wonderful responses.

Covers - West Des Moines, Iowa
Sally Bartlett explains how there is more to this name than meets the eye: “My neighborhood book group's name is Covers, which is actually a play on words. Our town home association is called Hunter’s Cove, so Covers is not only book 'covers,' but also one who lives in Hunter's Cove (we all do). Of course, we enjoy getting under the covers and reading our book group selections, too!”

Chick Lits – Jonesboro, Arkansas
Ronda Watts says: “Our name is kind of a play on Chiclets gum. We are all in our late 40's or older and are teachers / librarians / school counselors so we all had experience with the gum and we are chicks who love lit!!”

Wild Women Who Read - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pamela Lockman says: “We got our name because the original members were all friends from either work or part of the Wild Women group, a bunch of Winnipeg (mostly) teachers or women who worked in related fields, who get on a really nice bus once a year and head for a spa weekend in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. We leave Friday after work, and get back Sunday evening. It's a great weekend! ”

Eclectica - Edmonton & St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
Jan Mutch explains: “The name springs from the eclectic types of reading we choose. Other than the usual 'bookclub' books like Water for Elephants and The Shadow of the Wind, we've read poetry, plays and lots of nonfiction. The group is in its' 11th year and started as a group of friends. I joined to broaden my reading selections (I used to read mystery/thrillers exclusively) and it worked!”

Look for still more interesting, thought provoking and just plain entertaining names to come. Got a great name? It’s not too late to share. Email me at: dana@bookreporter.com

--Dana Barrett

Super Fab Book Club Names

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
-- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

I’m sure there are plenty of book clubs with ordinary names and plenty with no names at all and while I am sure they are just as sweet smelling I can’t help but love a fun book club name with a great back story. Check out these great groups and the origins of their names:

The Bitchin’ Wives Book Club - Ozark, MO
Andrea M. Miller says: “We are a group of fabulous girls knocking on the door of 30. We all have husbands and children and love them dearly but don’t want to be defined by just that role (part of the reason for forming the club). We are each unique and crafty. And finally…..every time I say the name I have to smile!”

Cracked Pots – Blufton, SC
Mary Gade explains the name this way: “We had read The Cracked Water Jug story one day in the meeting and felt it was a good name for us. Each of us has our own unique flaws but felt we could each contribute something to make our world a better place to live.”

Beyond Twilight Book Club - Muskegon, MI
Lisa Johnson says: “We are a fun group of 9…moms, teachers, homemakers, etc…who met on Facebook. We mostly knew each other through our kids' school or our neighborhood, but not all of us were "friends". One day I randomly sent out a "Flair" that said something about my love for Twilight. I wanted to see if I was alone…and I wasn't! So this led to a lot of chatting with these random girls, which led to a movie get-together for the premiere, which led to our discussing books and wanting to get together more. And thus, the Beyond Twilight Book Club (BTBC) was born! It has now become a book/dancing club but we always discuss the books before we dance ;)”

Don't you just love the idea of a dancing book club? These book clubs are just the tip of the iceberg. Look for more interesting, thought provoking and just plain entertaining names to come. Got a great name? You can still get in on the action. Just shoot me an email: dana@bookreporter.com.

--Dana Barrett

New or Used, Buy or Borrow

I have a confession to make. I love books. One could even say my love for books is bordering on addiction. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads this blog or knows me at all – but they say acknowledging the problem is the first step to recovery, so here it is. I love books. I love wandering through the aisles of a bookstore and seeing all the new titles. I love browsing online and reading the reviews. But most of all I like buying and owning (and yes, of course, reading) new books.

Is this really a problem? I mean things could be worse, couldn’t they? I could be addicted to some dangerous substances or something crazy expensive like designer shoes (which I do in fact, like). But here’s the problem…between the struggling economy, the ever dwindling amount of storage space in my house and the number of books on my list…I have got to stop - or at least slow down.

Let’s face it, I’m not going to stop reading, so now I have some decisions to make; buy or borrow, new or used, keep or give away.

Here’s the plan;

• Buy new and keep if it’s an author I already love and am collecting. Hardcover or trade paperback only.
  
  
• Buy new and give away if I love it so much I have to have all my friends read it (I can always buy another).
  
  
• Buy used if it’s a mass market paperback and I’m planning to leave it on a plane or in a hotel room.
  
  
• Borrow if I’ve never heard of it but you say it’s good. Then buy if I loved it.

Hmmmm. Not sure this plan is really limiting my buying. In fact I may have just talked myself into buying more. What can I say? I will probably not become a financial planner any time soon but I’ll never have a shortage of books.

Surely you are more practical than I am. How do you decide?

--Dana Barrett

Johanna Moran: The Wives of Henry Oades

In today's post, guest blogger and author Johanna Moran talks about the origins of her new book THE WIVES OF HENRY OADES. Based on a real life legal case, the interest in the story was for all intents and purposes passed down by her parents.
More than a half-century ago, my father, a law professor, came across an abstract on the Oades case, and brought it home to my mother, who was attempting to write short fiction in her nonexistent spare time.

Henry Oades was an Englishman who’d come to California from New Zealand, where his wife and children had been abducted, and in time given up for dead. Many years later, Oades remarried in America. When his first wife showed up, alive, on his doorstep, he was tried not once, but three times for bigamy.

My mother was intrigued and gave thought to fleshing out the principals, but that’s as far as she got. She might have had three kids down with mumps that week or a spectacular birthday party to host. In any event, writing and five children never did mesh. She squirreled the abstract away, perhaps thinking she’d get to it eventually. She gave it to me about ten years ago, saying, “Daddy always thought it would make a good story.”

What I discovered upon reading it was that the abstract did not delve into the interior life of either wife, and I was glad. I had my own vision almost immediately.

To start, I considered my own marriage. It’s my first, but it’s my husband’s second. How outraged would I have been in wife number one’s shoes, how confused in number two’s? I imagined dutifully accompanying my husband halfway around the world, enduring and surviving horrific hardship once there, only to ultimately discover that he had “moved on.” I pictured, too, opening the door to find my husband’s long-thought-dead wife standing there, fully prepared to push me aside and resume her position.

Over the years, my mother, two sisters, and I have hashed out the issues in The Wives of Henry Oades at length, revealing much about ourselves at the same time. Marriage, I found, is a delicious subject to anatomize, particularly aloud with others. I’d love to be a fly on the wall—better yet, a participant in a chair, at every book club discussion—to hear what choices other women would make when faced with the same situation.

--Johanna Moran, The Wives of Henry Oades

Overcoming Bookpickaphobia

book•pick•a•pho•bi•a: - noun
A persistent, irrational fear of making a bad book club selection. This could be a book that everyone in your group hates or one that people like but doesn’t lend itself to conversation, or simply a book that makes even your closest book club ally scratch her head and wonder what the heck is wrong with you.

As someone who is often responsible for making book club selections, I have to admit I am often overwhelmed by bookpickaphobia. I mean it’s hard to please all of the people all of the time, right? Here are some of my concerns:

1. I don’t want to pick a book that everyone else is reading. I guess that’s something left over from my rebellious teenage days.


2. I don’t want to NOT pick something that everyone else is reading. I would hate for my group to be the only people in the world who have not read Water for Elephants or The Help.


3. If I pick something too sweet and innocent – will everyone think I’m a prude?


4. If I pick something too racy – will I offend someone?


5. I don’t always have time to read a book before I suggest it. If I take a chance on something that sounds good or I’ve heard good things about and no one likes it will I have let the group down?


6. What if I did read the book ahead of time and really loved it and everyone else hates it? What does that say about me?

Like any phobia – I recognize that these fears are irrational. And though I do have these thoughts as my hand reaches to take a book off the shelf or write an email with my latest selection, I am comforted by the knowledge that book club members are some of the best people I know. Even if they don’t love my selection, we still manage to have a good conversation in a supportive and positive environment.

But then there is flip side; sometimes a risky pick pays off. Everyone loves it and is glad to have been exposed to something new. So, I’ll put my fears aside and keep on trying. No risk, no reward, right? Take that bookpickaphobia.

--Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Variety is the Spice of Life

My book club met last night at the Whole Foods Market on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. We're a new group, (only three months old) and open to the public. We met to discuss THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz and we had an interesting discussion about a fascinating book.

I think what made the conversation so interesting is that we all came to the book from such different places. So far we're a small group - but our ages vary as do our places in life (married, single, kids, no kids, etc.). We're from different parts of the country, in different lines of work and have different religious and political views. Of course we also have different experiences reading and some knew more or less about the history and current political situation in the Dominican Republic (which is where a good bit of the book takes place). In fact, the only thing our group has in common is our love of reading and a desire to talk about books. (And okay yes, a love of cheese and crackers too).

Every book group I've been a part of has been open to the public, so I have had the lovely experience of sitting in a room once a month, with women from all walks of life (and even the occasional guy) and seeing the world and the books from so many different perspectives. This is something I treasure and wanted to share with you. I guess what I'm saying is if you're looking for a book group and had rejected the idea of joining a group where you don't know anyone, think again. It's a wonderful experience that will really open your eyes and your heart.

Are you a member of library or bookstore group? Or is your book club full of the wonderful women from your college or neighborhood that you've known for years? Have experiences you want to share? We'd love to hear how your book club experience enriches your life and your reading! Feel free to comment here or email me at dana@bookreporter.com!

And by the way, if you've thought about reading THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO or started it and struggled with it a bit - hang in there. It was slow going at first - but very much worth it by the end.

--Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Starting the Discussion: Part 2

In last month's newsletter we asked how you get your book club discussion started and as always you responded with a wonderful variety of options and suggestions. I published several of your responses earlier this week in the post Starting the Discussion: How do you break the ice? Here are some more of your wonderful ideas.

Nancy Chamberlin says:
We usually start ours book club meeting with the questions/discussion guides on the "Reading Group Guides" website. We don't do all the questions, just ones that would lead to good discussion by us rather than just regurgitating the book. Usually just one or two questions generates lots of discussion and further questions of our own.

Linda Bentzen of the Mountain Mamas Book Club in Sheridan, Wyoming says:
The Mountain Mamas Book Club meets at noon at a local restaurant. We mainly visit until our orders are taken. Then the person who chose the book we read begins the discussion. We discuss throughout our meal and usually for another hour after eating. We have a great time.

Mary Gade of the Cracked Pots Book Club in Bluffton, South Carolina says:
We have a book group of eight that that meet once a month. We usually have a book that is on the reading guide list so it's very easy to start our discussion. Whoever is hosting the meeting that month starts by reading the first question and everyone takes turns answering if they wish. We all take turns then reading the questions. Has worked great for us as we stay focused on the book. We do sometimes get a bit off track as we relate to the question. We usually know a couple months ahead what book we are going to read so the questions for the next book are handed out at the end of the meeting.

As a quick aside...I am loving the names of these book clubs, aren't you? If you have a minute either comment here on the blog or drop me a note (dana@bookreporter.com) and let me know what your group's name is and how you came up with it!

-- Dana Barrett

Dolen Perkins-Valdez: Wench

Today's guest blogger, author Dolen Perkins-Valdez talks about how an interest in old stories and a love of history led her to write WENCH. The book is fictional account of a bit of real history. It tells the story of a resort that opened in 1851 in Xenia, Ohio that was frequented by southern slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses. The book takes that real situation and uses fiction to examine what it would have been like for these women.

Once, while giving a presentation to an audience at UCLA that included distinguished history professors, I apologized for not being a "real" historian. At the end of my presentation, one of those historians in the back raised his hand. He told me that I was, indeed, a "real" historian and that the quality of my work proved it.

Over the years I have met many people who, like me, have an interest in historical narrative. Whether it be an interest in the Victorian era or the Middle Ages or the Industrial Revolution, many people who are not formally trained possess an extensive knowledge of another era. I have learned that, often, these "armchair" historians have the most interesting stories to tell. Their passion is not of the professional kind. It is personal, and they make it come alive for me as they share this heartfelt connection. I even love to hear about people's genealogical findings, and their discovery of ancestors who accomplished everyday heroic acts.

Even so, I never set out to write a historical novel. Now I understand that it must have been inevitable given my interest in old stories. My debut novel WENCH began when I stumbled upon a fascinating footnote of history. While reading a biography of W.E.B. DuBois, I learned that during the 1850s, there was a summer resort near Xenia, Ohio notorious for its popularity among slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses. I was stunned to learn this little-known historical fact. I decided to do a bit of excavation and learn more. At the time, it was very popular among the country's elite to visit natural springs. This particular resort opened in 1852, and its owner did not expect that it would become popular among slaveowners. Advances in transportation, however, allowed southerners to make the trip north each summer. I knew that Ohio was a free state and many of its residents were ardent abolitionists. I was fascinated to learn that because they did not enjoy vacationing with these southerners and their slave entourages, they stopped coming and business declined. The place closed in 1855.

I wanted to know more about these women who visited the resort with their masters. However, most slaves did not leave written historical records. I found myself entering an imaginative territory that would prove to be much more fertile than documents. I began by asking myself the following questions: If the women entered free territory, why wouldn't they attempt to escape? Is it possible that they actually loved the men? As I made my way through draft after draft, I discovered that these were not questions easily answered. Even the answers I thought I would find turned out to be much more complicated than I'd imagined. The attachments these women had to their masters had many layers. As I approached the end of the novel, I myself did not know how my main character Lizzie would end it all. The journey of writing Wench was probably as emotional for me as it has been for the readers who have e-mailed me about their captivating reading experiences of it.

I know that your book club will enjoy discussing this book because it raises so many questions about love and survival, race and gender, motherhood and sisterhood. Although I began with many questions of my own, I ended with even more. Rather than try to answer them, I left them for the reader to decide. I hope you enjoy my heartfelt interest in this historical narrative, one filled with everyday heroic acts.

Starting the Discussion: How do you break the ice?

Does your book club ever struggle to stop the chit chat and begin talking about the book? Or do you resist being the group leader because you're not sure how to get the discussion going?

I have lead many book club meetings over the last several years, and I pretty much always start the same way. I let everyone get situated with their wine or coffee and snacks and a little bit of gossip and then I'll get everyone's attention and ask if they liked the book. I'm pretty casual, so often that's usually all we need to get started.

If that's not enough to get the ball rolling, I'll also ask if everyone finished the book and if they didn't, why not. And if all else fails, I'll jump to a particular character or plot line that I want to discuss and jump right in. The other thing I always do - because the book clubs I have typically led have been open to the public - is to go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves and maybe say one little extra thing besides their name. Like where they live or what they do or how long they've been coming to the book club. Of course if you already know each other well, that would just be silly. Though you never know - you could go around the room and have people say what their favorite book club book has been - or their favorite author - and you might learn something about each other that you never knew.

In last month's newsletter we asked how your group starts the meeting and here's what you had to say:

Mary Healey of The Farmington Woods Book Group in Avon, CT says:
We open every meeting with the facilitator of the month giving us a brief biography of the author. Very often this gives us insight into the views expressed in the book. We just had a good example of this at this month's meeting. We were told of the many pets Sara Gruen has in her home and her extraordinary love for animals. That certainly explained the empathy shown for the circus animals in Water For Elephants. It also led to the opening discussion question where this fact becomes an important fact in the story.

Ellie Simon from Boquete, Panama says:
Our club has been operating for almost three years. We are all American ex-patriots who live in a small mountain town in Panama. Our group usually distributes, in advance of our meeting, a list of questions for discussion. Frequently we use the questions that are bound within the book or made available at the publisher's website. Occasionally, we have to make up our own questions by following the general template of other books we've read. So we begin our discussion by starting with the first question. That is, we do that after we finish with updates and gossip!

Ruth Schroeder of the Oshkosh Public Library Morning Book Club says:
We begin our book club meetings by relating some detail of the book to our personal lives. The leader reads each book a month ahead of time so that she can assign us our "homework" question. For example, when we discussed Come and Get It by Edna Ferber, we each recalled the means by which we were called home for meals as a child. This has been a great way for us to get to know each other. We then proceed to rate the book on a scale from one to five. We seem to have the best discussions when the ratings include both high and low scores. Someone has usually researched background on the author which they present before we start to actually discuss the book.

Look for more great tips from readers coming later this week!

So Many Books, So Little Time

Today's guest blogger, Denise Neary, an avid reader and the leader of a mother/daughter book club talks about figuring out what to read when there is so much to choose from.

As I would guess is true for everyone who reads Reading Group Guides, selecting books to read is a tough business for me. Trite but true-- so many books, so little time.

The holidays present the delightful dilemma of lots of new books. Do I read the ones I requested, or the ones that people gave me, first? It is a lot of pressure!

Sometimes I like a book so much that I read it too fast---I am so busy finishing it that I don’t take the time to enjoy it. And when someone gives me a book, I want to be able to tell them something specific that I enjoyed in reading it.

Unlike many avid readers, I can only read one book at a time. I read (and enjoy) a variety of books, some widely accepted as literature and some decidedly not considered literature.

As is also true for most people reading Reading Group Guides, I have considerable assigned reading during the year---my book club books. I love it when I am “assigned” something wonderful to read. And even if the selection is less than my dream come true, I am happy to step into another world.

Each year, I try to reread a classic. This year, it was Pride and Prejudice. Now that was lovely holiday reading---and if you go too fast with that book, you are really missing the wonder of Jane Austen.

There are some authors I just have to read---Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, Roddy Doyle, John Irving, Alice McDermott, Anne Tyler, Jennifer Weiner.

I made a promise to myself when I was about 16 that I would always read at least one book on the New York Times bestseller list per year---although a complete misuse of the spirit of that promise, as well as the creation of an expanded bestseller list, let me coast on What to Expect When You are Expecting for a few critical years.

I am jealous when people tell me about books they are reading that I haven’t yet read. I am actively aware that I will never catch up----books are being written faster than I can read them----so I aim for reading as many wonderful things as I can.

If I am between books, I have a highly scientific way of selecting my next read. I use public transportation as a guide----which books are grabbing the attention of my fellow commuters? I look for rapt attention; I especially listen for sighs and laughs. If I see a tear roll or hear an actual laugh, it is all I can do not to grab the book out of the hands of its reader.

Reread a classic? Visit with a favorite author? Try a new author, or someone who “everyone” is reading? Everyone should have such dilemmas.