Barbara's blog

Just finished The False Friend by Myla Goldberg (October 2010)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Sheila (expert blogger!), where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I started My Hollywood by Mona Simpson. (August 2010)

Publishers Summary: A wonderfully provocative and appealing novel, from the much-loved author of Anywhere But Here and A Regular Guy, her first in ten years.

I received a galley from a publisher that is not a reading group choice. But a great little book! I have to tell you about it. What a Difference a Dog Makes: Big Lessons on Life, Love, and Healing from a Small Pooch, is a charming and bitter sweet memoir by Dana Jennings. This is small book is an uplifting tale perfect for gift-giving -- dogs-lovers, everyone dealing with illness, care-givers, feel-good people.

Publisher summary. A must-read for every dog lover—a short, tender, and uplifting tale of a cancer survivor and the life lessons shared with him by his beloved family dog.

Our dogs come into our lives as “just the family pet,” but before we know it they become drinking buddies and fuzzy shrinks, playmates and Cheerios-munching vacuum cleaners, alarm clocks and sleeping partners. And, in their mys­terious and muttish ways, our dogs become our teachers.

When Dana Jennings and his son were both seriously ill—Dana with prostate cancer and his son with liver failure—their twelve-year-old miniature poodle Bijou became even more than a pet and teacher. She became a healing presence in their lives.

Do you remember the best summer of your life?

Marjorie Hart's book, Summer at Tiffany, is a charming and fun memoir about Marjorie's summer of 1945, working at Tiffany & Co in New York City. She and her roommate would become the first women to work on the sales floor at Tiffany & Co. How excitingI I would love to work there -- jewels galore! Marjorie chats about her amazing summer and how amazing about book clubs are (we know that!) Welcome, Marjorie, to On the Bookcase.

Marriage and the new British political alliance?

Claire Cook, author of The Wildwater Walking Club and Must Love Dogs speaks with us about reinventing ourselves -- a consistent theme throughout her books. Seven Year Switch, her seventh novel, is released today. Here are Claire's tips to reinventing your self.

What's Your Seven Year Switch?

I'm so thrilled to welcome Claire Cook to On the Bookcase. Claire is the author of seven novels, including The Wildwater Walking Club and Must Love Dogs. Her seventh novel, Seven Year Switch, has been released today!! Claire chats about reading groups, crafts, and a trip to Costa Rica?

MUST LOVE READING GROUPS

I'm so please to welcome Hyatt Bass, author of The Embers, to On the Bookcase. Hyatt talks with us about the writer and the reader and the lovely balance between the two.

Soon after I sold The Embers to my publisher, I went

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
   BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Yesterday, I spent the day in publishers' offices discussing upcoming reading group picks. There are so many great ones. 

Off to BEA (NYC) via Acela Express train from Baltimore Washington Airport Station to Penn Station. On the train up, I am finishing up My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Olivera. Great reading group pick -- American Civil War, the horrors of war, medical history, nursing, women's lives, a little romance.

Then, onto Damaged: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery by Alex Kava (July, 2010)  Here a summary supplied by the publisher.

On Pensacola Beach, the Coast Guard prepares for a Category 5 hurricane that has entered the Gulf of Mexico. When the air crew patrols the waterways, they spot a huge fishing cooler about a mile offshore. Drug traffickers have been known to dump coolers with smuggled product to avoid detection and pay fishermen to retrieve them. But when the crew open this cooler, they’re shocked by what they find: body parts tightly wrapped in plastic.

I'm packing to go to New York City for my annual trip to Book Expo America (BEA) -- leaving tomorrow. I discuss with publishers and authors their reading group picks for the new year. It is plenty of work but great fun -- seeing old friends and meeting new. Throughout the summer, I will let you know some of the interesting gems I picked up.

This year, there is something new and I'm really thrilled about it.