From Mother to Daughter

With this being a hugely transitional year for me, (my daughter is about to leave for college), and with Mother’s Day fast approaching I couldn’t help but reflect on the love of reading that my mother passed to me and of course I passed to my daughter.

My mom is the consummate learner. For as long as I can remember she was off to a class or a lecture. And still to this day, she is taking classes and pursuing learning. And I don’t just mean a pottery class one day and a macramé class the next, I mean she delves into a serious subject like ageing or a discipline like ballroom dancing and studies; takes classes, goes to lectures, travels to conferences, and of course reads.

So, being the goofball I am who mostly wants to escape with a good story, my mom and I generally don’t read the same things. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t her influence that got me reading in the first place. You see one of my mom’s big passions is health. Just as she gently nudged my hand away from the bag of chips and towards the granola, she also turned off the TV and shooed me into my room with a book.

Now, her plan for a healthy mind and body for her daughter didn’t entirely work as I do still love me some chips and a healthy dose of TV, but I also (as you probably know) love books. And though we often try to do the opposite of what our parents did, I often found myself shooing my daughter off to her room with a book.

And it worked. My daughter loves books too. (I’m sure it didn’t hurt that she spent many of her childhood hours roaming her mommy’s bookstore and even working behind the counter). Of course when she was small I read to her, but once I stopped reading to her, I started reading with her. Not always of course, but if she loved a book or series (like Harry Potter, for example) I would read it too. I loved being able to talk about the characters with her and being a part of a world she loved. This tradition has continued into her teen years, but now we recommend books to each other. The most recent book we shared was Jasper Fforde’s SHADES OF GREY. It's a great book, by the way and I have found myself referring back to in other conversations with my daughter.

I expect over the next few years, my daughter won’t have too much time for extracurricular reading, but I hope in and between and when college is done we’ll continue to share our love of books. And I know just as my Mom gave the gift of reading to me, I was able to give it my daughter and she will take that with her wherever she goes.

And to my mom this Mother's Day; my heartfelt thanks.

-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Book Clubs in the News

What do robots, dogs, singers and financial columnists have in common? They all have book clubs and they are all featured in this month’s Book Clubs in the News!

NewScientist.com: The Robots’ Book Club
Who knew computers could read books? Well apparently they can. They can even tell you what the book is about and identify central themes. Sort of. What’s next, robot book clubs?

KitSapSun.com: Reading Dogs?
I know I made an April Fools joke about reading dogs, but this time I’m serious. All across the country, programs are springing up where kids gain confidence in their reading skills by reading aloud to their fuzzy four legged friends.

WashingtonPost.com: Color of Money Book Club
Book clubs are not just for fiction anymore. There seem to be book clubs out there for every kind of book you can think of, from software manuals to law books to your more obvious genre specific clubs. Check out this online book club run by Personal Financial Columnist Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post. Read the best books on managing your money and your life and discuss them online. You can even win a free book!

MySpace.com: Like to Read? And Sing? Have I got the book club for you!
The Bushwick Book Club in Brooklyn is in their own words “Songwriters who will read a book and write songs about/relating to it and play them for an astounded and appreciative audience. And other people who like books and music and nights involving books and music at the same time.” I’m astounded. And wish I lived closer ‘cause I’d totally go.

Is your book club doing something totally different? We want to hear about it! Feel free to comment here on the blog, or email me at dana@bookreporter.com.

-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

Authors Helping Authors

In today's guest post, regular contributor Denise Neary shares a really cool author helping author story she came across. I hope I would be willing to go out of my way for someone like Jennifer Weiner does in this story no matter how successful I became. Not everyone would. But of course, that's what makes this story so special.

I love reading Jennifer Weiner’s funny, smart, and insightful blog, A Moment of Jen and was intrigued by this comment on the site in early March:

"If I’ve got one regret about my career, it’s that I’ll never get to be a debut novelist again, never feel the excitement and the terror that goes with it being your first time out of the gate, when you’ve got no audience, no track record, nothing but hope, and a willingness to do whatever you can to get your book into readers’ hands."

Weiner urged her readers to help spike the sale of Sarah Pekkanen’s debut novel, THE OPPOSITE OF ME. And, thanks to the considerable forces that are Weiner and Pekkanen, the book was a bestseller before it was officially published.

How did that happen?

Serendipity, talent, hard-work and generosity all around.

Writers Weiner and Pekkanen share an editor, Greer Hendricks, but don’t know each other. Pekkanen was weepy when Hendricks told her that Weiner liked the advance copy THE OPPOSITE OF ME.

Pekkanen, working hard to promote her new book, created a contest, “Sarah Spike Day” on her website to encourage people to order the book on a certain day. She announced some great prizes (As an aside, when did authors turn into human public relations machines?)

Weiner heard about the contest, and upped the ante. Weiner offered to send a signed copy of one of her books to each person who pre-ordered the book on March 3. At first, Pekkanen wrongly assumed that Weiner was generously offering to give away one copy of each of her seven best-sellers. Wrong. One copy per order. Weiner gave away hundreds of her books---all to help a new writer start off on the right foot, to share her readers with another audience, and to take delight in helping a new writer succeed.

A great book started its life as a best seller. A debut author had the moment of a lifetime. And a generous experienced author had the thrill (and the significant associated postal duties) of helping make that all happen.

It is goodness with a capital G.

-- Denise Neary, Regular Contributor

Library Lovers Unite

Earlier in the week I gave a shout out to my hometown library and libraries in general in honor of National Library Week. I was trying to keep it light and fun 'cause that's how I roll. But there are serious funding issues libraries are facing right now and if we want to keep the doors open for our children and our children's children, we need to step up. Mary Bonelli from Charlotte, NC wrote telling me about the library situation in her hometown and I thought it was something you should all be aware of. Her letter is today's post:

About a month ago, the Charlotte City Council announced that they were closing 12 of the 24 branches in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library system. The book loving community in Charlotte were completely taken by surprise and shocked at this announcement. They had previously talked about cutting hours and closing on certain days. They needed $2,000,000 in two weeks to keep the libraries open through the end of the fiscal year; June 30th.

The community rallied to do the best the could to raise this money and to voice their sadness, concerns and disappointment about the closings. The community was able to raise approximately $235,000; not enough to save the libraries. But because to the community's outrage, City Council held an emergency meeting and came up with a plan. They went back to their original thinking and have cut 85 of the original 140 jobs, each branch will be closed 2 days a week and will have shorter hours.

This will keep the libraries safe until the next fiscal year begins on July 1st. If the funding is not available in the new fiscal year, they are saying they will only be able to keep the main branch in Uptown Charlotte open and the children's library, ImaginOn, also in Uptown Charlotte.

How sad and scary that this is happening in a city like Charlotte, NC that has enjoyed being such a boom town for the 20 years that I have lived here. We are a fairly wealthy and philanthropic city, but this is a reality for us. With the way the economy has been over the last several years, I have personally seen a huge jump in library usage. I have always used the library to get a large percentage of my reading material to keep my personal budget under control. In a time when others are looking to save money, it is truly sad that this important resource could be gone.

For more details on this story and how you can help, visit the library's website. To donate, click here.

Thanks for bringing the importance of community libraries to our attention on your website and wish us luck in getting some budget money come July!

Sincerely, Mary Bonelli

Jeffrey Stepakoff: FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA

Today's guest author is Jeffrey Stepakoff whose debut novel FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA is quickly becoming a bestseller. I met Jeffrey last week and liked him right away. We had one of those "small world" moments when you realize you know some of the same people and have probably unknowingly crossed paths in the past. As we talked I could see that Jeffrey was a rare breed. A guy that not only talks but actually listens. And as you'll see in this post, also one that believes in love (and will openly admit it!).

Do you believe in love at first sight? Or to put a finer point on it, do you think you know when you’ve met “the one?” I guess I’ve always been a bit of a romantic. Still, I never really believed in such things – until I met my wife. Or maybe I should say, met her the second time.

One beautiful summer night, when we were in our twenties and just starting our careers, we both went to a party and ended up sitting right next to each other outside on the patio of a restaurant in Atlanta. It was the first time we met. We talked that night, and there was a spark, but in the morning I left for Los Angeles to start a job, and she settled into a job and a life in Georgia.

Eight years later, through a series of entirely unforeseen events, she moved to Los Angeles, to an apartment right around the corner from me. A mutual friend gave her my number, which she held onto for six months. But she finally called me and we talked on the phone one night for over three hours.

We made a date for a few days later and when she opened the door, I remember thinking that I now knew what the word breathless actually meant. We sat together on her sofa for a few minutes and she showed me some photographs of our mutual friends. I just smiled and nodded, my heart pounding, as I realized that never in my life had I ever met a woman who made me feel this way. It was an instinctive involuntary thing, like breathing, only at that moment I was aware of it.

We had dinner at an Asian restaurant in Venice and we were so engulfed in conversation they had to kick us out so they could close the place.

There was a kiss, and not long after we were married.

My wife is convinced that we were meant to be together, that it was inevitable, you know, destiny. I can’t refute that. But I also wonder about why we met, but it then took destiny eight years to bring us together.

In FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA, Lily wonders a lot about “the simple timing of things.” She wonders about how timing played a part in everything from what happened to her brother to when she met Jake.

Do you believe in true love? Do you think timing plays a part in our how things play out in our lives? How did you meet your partner? These are some great questions to consider, along with the others in the FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA Reading Group Discussion Guide.

And when you do start thinking about these things, send me an email. I’d love to know your thoughts!

Here’s to always believing in fireworks!

--Jeffrey Stepakoff, Author ( http://jeffreystepakoff.com/)

Love Thy Library as Thyself

It's National Library Week! Woo hoo... So, roll out the barrels, grab your party hats and run, don't walk to your nearest library.

This year National Library Week's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library" and we here at ReadingGroupGuides.com love reading and love reading communities so we're happy to take part in the celebration.

I have so many fond memories from my childhood of being in The Springfield Township Library or the library at my elementary school. I remember being kind of in awe of the quiet and the books and feeling so lucky to have a library card. I remember the librarians as being so nice and helpful, and so very, very tall behind that big checkout counter.

And though I certainly go to the library a bit less now than I did then, I want to make sure they continue to thrive. Especially in these tough economic times when our libraries provide free access to books and computers, homework help, assistance with resumes and job searches, accurate financial information, adult education courses, assistance for new Americans, CDs, DVDs and much more.

Be a part of National Library Week by visiting your local library. And hey, take a friend a long, or your kids.

Another way you can participate is to help libraries in the US get the funding they need. There are only two days left to get in touch with your senator and ask them to sign the "Dear Appropriators" letter that will go to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them to support the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program in the FY2011 budget. Learn more about the budget and get instructions on how to contact your Senator by clicking here!

Discussing THE HELP

This month, regular contributor Heather Johnson shares her book club's discussion of THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. Have you read it yet? Let us know what you think!

This month my book club met to discuss Kathryn Stockett’s bestseller, THE HELP. Two members nominated it in our last round of book-choosing (that has never happened before) so we were all expecting it to be really good. This book seems to be everywhere right now! Several of our members were approached in the salon while reading it; people wanted to say either that they loved the book or that they couldn’t wait to read it. These comments from complete strangers definitely added to our high expectations.

Eight members of the club got together over brunch on a lovely, Spring-y Saturday afternoon and we jumped right in to our discussion of the book …

We all agreed that Stockett did a wonderful job with most of her characters, especially Aibileen and Hilly. Some of us felt that Skeeter’s character needed “something more” to make her completely believable, and we all wanted to see more about Celia (who we loved!)

As the conversation continued, we realized that we each had different perceptions of racism based on where we were raised. The women who were raised in Northern states felt that racism today is a far cry from what is described in the book; they view modern racism as an underlying current rather than an in-your-face reality. Those raised in Southern states disagreed. One gal shared that in her Southern hometown the local high school still has separate proms – one run by the school and one run by a parent committee – and that students understand implicitly which one they are to attend, based on their race. This was absolutely shocking to some members while others had heard of this practice. Our discussion then detoured to the current trend of racism toward people of Hispanic and Middle Eastern descent before we pulled the conversation back to the book.

We went on to discuss some of the historical events going on around that time (the murder of Medgar Evers, the murder of the New York Civil Rights workers in Mississippi, and so on) and how we expected more violence to be present in the book. We discussed whether this absence was a strength or a weakness (ie. Did Stockett cop out?), but we didn’t really come to a solid conclusion.

My club rates the books we read on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest). Each member uses her own criteria and usually compares the current book to others we’ve read. This book received an 8 from almost every member – it was definitely a hit with my club.

I didn’t think of this ahead of time, but this would have been a great book to pair up with a non-fiction account of the Civil Rights movement in the South. That would have given an entirely new dimension to the discussion, don’t you think?

-- Heather Johnson, Regular Contributor

Jean Hanff Korelitz: ADMISSION

Today's guest blogger, author Jean Hanff Korelitz talks about talking. Did you know authors like to do it? Jean assures us they do...so don't be shy about asking an author to come speak at or call into your club!

For the past nine years I’ve run a “Meet the Author” book group in my home as a benefit for a local transitional housing organization in Princeton, NJ. How is it a benefit? Each member of the group makes a donation to the organization. And why are they willing to pay for an activity most people engage in for free? Because “Meet the Author” isn’t just a metaphor for reading our monthly selection; the author of the novel, memoir, non-fiction book or biography is always present for our discussion.

I mention this because people are sometimes surprised by how completely open I am to phoning book groups who are discussing my novels, when the fact is that I really believe in this rare and (generally!) wonderful exchange of ideas between author and reader. I am intensely grateful to the nearly 50 writers who have travelled to my home to speak with twenty strangers, so saying yes to book groups reading ADMISSION or one of my earlier novels is my way of saying thank you and passing the goodwill along. (For the record, we don’t pay the authors who appear at our book group, though I guarantee that every book group member will purchase the book, a courtesy that any group inviting an author should absolutely observe.) I love speaking to readers who have forged their own relationships (sometimes good, sometimes bad) with my characters, and who sometimes see things in them that have escaped me. I love discussing the issues my novels have raised with thoughtful people, and getting their perspectives, and I love – as who would not? – hearing that I’ve touched a reader, or that the shape of the story I’ve made has been appreciated. (I’m a passionate reader – most writers are – and I know that one of the great pleasures in life is telling the author of a book I’ve loved how wonderful the experience of reading that book has been.)

One of the themes that has emerged in my own book group over the years is the fact that novelists – at least the ones who’ve appeared at the Meet the Author book group – usually do not know what will happen in their novels when they begin to write, or even, sometimes, until the writing is well underway. Again and again, authors report that they were unaware of the direction their story would take, or what their characters would do, until those elements of the novel revealed themselves. As the only writer in my book group, it isn’t news to me that we can be fairly clueless when we set out to write a novel. Sure, we may have a glimmer of an idea as we begin, a wisp of a character, a notion of a problem that needs to be solved, but the fact remains that we set out in the dark and the lights come on only gradually. By the time a novel is completed – if we’ve done our job well – our work will feel sure-footed, inevitable and unforced, but that is something we achieve along the way. “Did you know that was going to happen?” My fellow book group members always ask the visiting author. And it’s pure unadulterated fun for me to watch their amazement when the author tells them: “Actually, no.”

There’s a lot to talk over in ADMISSION. What is it like to be one of those gatekeepers at selective universities, sifting through thousands of brilliant, exciting and promising young applicants and making such impossible decisions? What does it feel like to be actively resented by just about everyone you meet? How do you carry a secret without letting it infect you, impede you and destroy your potential for connection with other people? If your book group is reading ADMISSION, please don’t be shy!

Get in touch with me by emailing sgasst@wmeentertainment.com and writing “Forward to Jean Hanff Korelitz” in the subject line. I’ll do my best to phone in and join the conversation.

--Jean Hanff Korelitz, Author

Seattle Writers Band Together to Give Back

In today's guest post, Seattle writer Jennie Shortridge introduces us to the Seattle7Writers. On their website they describe themselves as "A collective of Pacific Northwest authors creating connections between writers, readers, librarians and booksellers to foster and support a passion for the written word." Now that's something we here at ReadingGroupGuides.com can get behind!

Will Work for Meaningful Contribution to Society
Seattle writers band together to give back


We writers are an odd bunch. We choose lives in which we sit alone all day in front of computers. Not in cubicles, not in rows of other computers, mind you, but completely, entirely alone. All day. Did I mention every day?

Now, this is fine if you’re deep in the “introvert” range of the Meyers-Briggs scale, but for those of us who nose over the line into the “extrovert” category, it can get a little lonely.

Lucky for me, I live in Seattle, a holy grail convergence zone for writers. Sure, the Pacific Northwest is dark and dismal nine months each year, but it’s excellent (either in spite of or because of all that moisture) for quite a few things: coffee, music, natural beauty, bookstores, and many of the authors that fill those shelves.

When I first moved here five years ago, I didn’t know a soul, but that didn’t last long. I met Garth Stein (before the dog book) at an event we were both reading at, and liked him immediately. It’s hard not to—he’s pretty much the most likable guy on the planet. As writers are wont to do when frustrated by writing, we met for coffee. It became a regular thing, and soon other writers were joining us. Before long, there were seven of us.

What is now formally called Seattle7Writers, an awareness and fundraising nonprofit comprised of over 20 published authors, started simply as a coffee klatch, a kvetching, laughing, celebrating bunch of friends who got what each other was going through on a daily basis. We could clink to the good stuff—a good cover, a manuscript turned in—and offer condolences on the not-so-good stuff—a delayed pub date, a request for massive revisions, even sometimes the “orphaning” of a comrade (the state of an author whose agent or editor has left for greener pastures in another company).

The core seven now gather monthly for business, and by business I mean juggling the demands of putting on several fundraisers at a time, collecting and distributing donated books for pocket libraries throughout our community (in shelters and prisons), and the myriad other requests we receive and ideas we generate.

One of our aims is to energize and connect reading communities. We provide book groups with ways to connect with us, offering ourselves up to attend meetings by phone or Skype, or when possible, in person. We put on events at bookstores and libraries where book groups can come and chat with several authors at a time, perhaps get to know authors in the community they weren’t already aware of, and of course, support those local booksellers and libraries. And, yes, we ask for charitable donations at these events, or deduct it from the price of books. This year, our fundraising efforts are supporting a wonderful program in Seattle, Writers in the Schools, a residency program that puts real writers in schools, helping kids write.

It’s exhausting, and it’s amazing. Groups of writers in other cities are now considering organizing as well, the most lovely tribute of all to the work we do.

Lest you think we’re workaholics, the entire group is invited quarterly for social time, that precious couple of hours where we laugh hard at our stumbles and mourn together over titles not chosen, readings ill-attended. If not for the company of these writers, we’d all still write. We’d still publish and tour and do the work we do. We just might not be as happy, or as fulfilled.
____________________________________________
--Jennie Shortridge, author of When She Flew and founding member of Seattle7Writers.org.

Other core members are co-founder Garth Stein, Erica Bauermeister, Kit Bakke, Carol Cassella, Randy Sue Coburn, and Mary Guterson. “Friends of Seattle7” include Jamie Ford, Susan Wiggs, Stephanie Kallos, Erik Larson, Tom Robbins, and many more.

Visit www.seattley7writers.org for more information.

Holly LeCraw: THE SWIMMING POOL

I took Holly LeCraw's debut novel, The Swimming Pool on my last business trip and found myself glued to it whenever I had a spare moment. Then I finished it and tried to explain what it was about to a co-worker and couldn't. Not easily anyway! So when I got Holly's guest post I was glad to see she struggled to answer that question too. But she does. Read on - and then grab a copy. You won't want to be the only who hasn't read this book.

While I was writing my first novel, The Swimming Pool, I often relied on sympathetic metaphors to keep my spirits up. My favorite was from William Faulkner, who once said that when he was writing a novel, he felt like a one-armed man trying to build a chicken coop in a hurricane.

I think it’s that lingering memory of flying nails, not enough hands, two-by-fours at crazy angles, that makes it so hard for me to answer the question “What’s your book about?” Maybe it doesn’t feel like a whole chicken coop to me just yet. Maybe it never will, because I remember when it was only a big pile of lumber—the lumber being expressions I saw on my characters’ faces (isolated, unhelpfully, from any actual scenes), and crises I knew they had, but didn’t at first know the origin of, and terrible choices that I suspected they were going to make, even though they are not evil people. I also told the story from multiple points of view, and cut back and forth in time, because that’s where the truth of the story seemed to lie—in spirals and interconnecting circles rather than straight lines. (As Faulkner also said, beating me and everyone else to it, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”) So maybe all this helps to explain why it’s taken a long time for me to wipe the bewildered look off my face when asked again, patiently, what my book is about, and think of an answer besides, “Life.”

For the record, though, The Swimming Pool is about a young man, Jed McClatchey, who is mired in grief for his parents, who died seven years previously—his mother in a still-unsolved break-in/murder. Jed falls in love with an older woman, Marcella Atkinson, who he then learns was his late father’s mistress; as one might imagine, complications and revelations ensue.

Two little sentences. One thing leading to another. Now, was that so hard? Well, yes. I hope that anyone reading The Swimming Pool would agree that those sentences begin to describe the story—but only begin. The book is certainly about the powerful, illicit passion that Jed and Marcella feel for each other. But it’s also about the longing Jed feels for his lost mother, and the fury he feels toward his dead father, and the protectiveness he feels for his sister and her young children. It’s about the tenderness Marcella always yearned for from her ex-husband, and the love she thought she had found with Jed’s father, and the fearful yet unshakable devotion she feels for her daughter. And it’s about the ways that all these loves and loyalties collide, like stones thrown in a pond, the ripples unceasing.

While I was working on the book, I was fortunate enough to be in a wonderful writing group. One evening, I presented a section for critique and everyone started arguing–nicely–about Jed, and why he’d acted in a particular way in the scene they’d read. Now, in a group like that, the whole point is to listen to feedback and criticism and decide how—or if—you’re going to revise, based on that feedback. I was taking notes and thinking, gee, this is all really contradictory, Jed must be a real mess–but then, as this conversation swirled around me, I realized that people had different viewpoints not because the scene was poorly written (I hoped) but because Jed had become truly complex. His motivations had ceased to be simple straight lines, because no one’s are. He had become a real character. He, and his fellows, are bundles of motivations that crisscross and intersect and fight against each other, and that spring partly from instinct and personality, partly from experience.

So what’s The Swimming Pool about? It’s about decent people making some dreadful choices, and about why. It’s about how parents will do anything to protect their children—even, sometimes, from the parents themselves. It’s about grief, and how difficult it is to move on, especially if there are mysteries unsolved, and anger unresolved. It’s about the ultimate loss of control: losing a loved one with no warning. It’s about falling in love, and losing love, and then somehow being ready to fall in love again.

It’s a novel. It’s not real life. But, like all novels, that’s what it’s about.

--Holly LeCraw, Author

Sarah Addison Allen: THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON

In today's guest post, the magical and marvelous author Sarah Addison Allen shares her love of food and book clubs. She even gives us a cake recipe to try. If anyone wants to make it and bring me a slice, I won't object!

I’m a little obsessed with food. That’s probably no surprise to those of you familiar with my books. I loved researching edible flowers for Garden Spells, and Southern and rural candies for The Sugar Queen. But I probably had the most fun with The Girl Who Chased the Moon. The book takes place in a small North Carolina barbecue town (research that took me to dozens of BBQ restaurants across the state) and one of the main characters specializes in Southern cakes (research that required a lot of baking).

Speaking of food -- and I’m always speaking of food -- I’m continually impressed with how book clubs create food-themed events around the books they read. I have a feature on my website that allows clubs to send photos of their themes, and it’s been a mouth-watering joy to see. To help brainstorm ideas, I’ve included recipes on my site that correspond to each book, and I thought I’d share this one from The Girl Who Chased the Moon. It’s a true Southern favorite, also a favorite of magical baker Julia in the book.

Hummingbird Cake
"Food historians generally cite Mrs. L.H. Wiggin's recipe published in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living magazine (p. 206) as the first printed reference to Hummingbird Cake. Mrs. Wiggins did not offer an explanation of the name. Evidence strongly suggests this cake was popular in the south and known by several different (and equally interesting) names." Foodtimeline.org

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together. Add eggs and oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and pecans. Stir in the bananas last. Spoon the batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in 350 degree oven, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Part of a book club question for The Girl Who Chased the Moon asks, “What food is your region or state known for?” Send me an e-mail with your favorite local foods. I’d love to talk food with you!

-- Sara Addison Allen, Author

Discussing THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE

The first Thursday of the month is always good for me. That's book club day. Yesterday was no exception. It was April Fool's day, which I always enjoy AND book club day to boot. Since I am in the process of piloting a public book club for my company at Whole Foods Markets around the country, I actually have to drive quite a way to get to the store where I am the leader. And yesterday traffic was for fools! It took me over an hour to get there and by the time I did I was late and flustered.

I rushed in ready to go and was happy to find the group had waited for me. We were discussing THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley, a book I really enjoyed but could barely remember as I had read it too far in advance! (Has that ever happened to you?). I was rolling the dice a little when I chose the book as I knew it was lighter fare, but thought that maybe the setting and quality of writing would make up for any shortcomings.

As it turned out, the group had mixed feelings. Some really enjoyed it and others just thought it was "cute" and weren't particularly thrilled.

The book is a British cozy mystery with a very precocious 11 year old female protagonist. It's not juvenile, but it is sweet.

Our discussion jumped around a bit in part due to my traffic-frayed nerves, but largely because there wasn't much to talk about. We did hit on whether or not we found Flavia (the main character) to be believable, and we all agreed that we wish there had been more depth and development in the relationship between Flavia and her father.

Bottom line? I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it but maybe not to everyone and maybe not as a book club pick. I will also allow myself more time to get there next time and perhaps come up with an appropriate zen mantra for use when traffic sucks.

-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor

City of Topeka Announces New Book Club for Dogs!

We all know how popular book clubs are becoming. Your mom is in one, your daughter and your sister too. Then the men got in on the act. Well now it's time for the dogs.

The people of Topeka decided a city wide book club was a great idea, but they wanted to take it one step further. To the dogs. The idea was that reading a book together once a month would bond the city's dogs and help keep the angry early morning barking to a minimum. They also felt a doggie book club (tentatively called "Yes We Read") would help with the whole idea of re-use. First the human reads the book, and then they lend it to the dog - or sometimes the reverse.

Overall the dogs have been wagging their tails over the plan and are looking forward to getting together to discuss their first pick, The Art of Racing in the Rain later this month.

Using the new Google Translate for Animals App, spokesdog, Fluffy Frank raised some concerns over the lack of opposable thumbs, but the for the most part the community seems satisfied with receiving page turning aid from their humans. For those whose humans are too busy, the Kindle has been the answer.

Selections under consideration for upcoming months are Must Love Dogs, Marley & Me and The Call of the Wild.

For more information on starting a doggie book club in your town email me at dana@bookreporter.com. Or don't.

Happy April 1st!

--Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor