July 22, 2006


Dear Bookclubbers,

OK, I can finally send out a newsletter since things are shaping up at last for the summer meeting. Before I bring you up to date, I should say that the meeting at Donna’s a few weeks ago was fantastic. We had a super turnout and managed (barely) to surprise Marion with a small celebration of her milestone birthday. It seems most everyone enjoyed Three Weeks with My Brother, and we also digressed and talked about a lot of other stuff. Typical!

I think we had pretty much decided on Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See for our first fall meeting. In light of the fact that the Dhali Lama is coming to Buffalo, there was interest in reading one of his books at some point. Do we want to do that for September (the month of his visit) and postpone the Lisa See book to October? My one thing is that I want to try to make sure that Shirley and Grace can make the night of the Snow Flower and the Secret Fan so that they can interject stuff from their recent trip to China. Also, that would be two non-fiction choices in a row. Everyone think about it, and we will have a VERY brief business part at the start of the August meeting.

As for that meeting, hopefully everyone knows that we are on for August 8th at my house. I’d like to have people seated and get rolling shortly after 7 PM since we have a lot going on that night and some of the special guests have a distance to travel. If people could arrive around 6:45 PM and get going on food and drinks, that will be awesome. I will probably put some people that know my kitchen in charge of supervising getting the food and beverages put out so that I can spend a few minutes with the special guests getting a feel for what they are comfortable talking about, etc. Speaking of food and drinks, I have totally misplaced the list that said who is bringing what. If you can let me know again, that would be appreciated. Also please remember that not everyone can bring wine, but the appetizers and desserts can be simple, not time consuming! Those of you who can also help with set up or cleanup, I will definitely be counting on you!

Right now (please keep in mind that I haven’t started the book), I am hoping that the special guests can comment on their writing process in the context of stuff that Anne Lamott has written. I envision this discussion being a little more controlled and more listening on our part than our usual meeting. Think about questions on aspects of writing that you would like to ask.

Let me review the special guests and their writings.

Diane Bridenbaker: local author of Tricked, a mystery set in Glenwood and dealing with the dog show world. Diane has just completed her second book. Copies of Tricked can be obtained ahead of time by stopping at the Fireside Inn on a Wednesday night. She is usually there and has copies of the book with her. I’m sure she will bring some to the meeting as well. As an aside, Diane is the former owner of the Whistling Thistle Gift Shop. Catherine has been in touch with her and mentioned that Diane has left over stock from the store. Anyone who used to like to pick up a few items there may be able to tap into that reserve. Talk to Catherine if you want details on that.

Margery Facklam: author of tons of children’s books. Most, but not all, have a scientific slant. Marge’s late husband was my high school biology teacher and they co-authored many books as well. When asked what her personal favorite is, she answered The Big Bug Book because her son, Paul did the illustrations for that. That book is out of print, but she will bring some of the last copies to the meeting in case anyone would like to purchase one.

Peggy Thomas: Marge’s daughter and also an author of children’s books. Her most recent is Joshua and the Giant Frog. Many of her books deal with wildlife and conservation issues.

Our homegrown writer types include our own Peggy Healy Stearns. Peggy has been a highly accomplished creator of children’s educational software for many years and is recently trying her hand at children’s books. She has attended several writing workshops working toward that goal. Marilyn Dickhut’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Dickhut (aka Beth), also hopes to join us that night. Beth is a high school English teacher and is writing poetry in her free time. She has had several poems selected by the Buffalo News for publication. As I am writing this she is attending the prestigious Iowa State Creative Writing workshop.

I took a few of Margery and Peggy’s books out of the library. I will start them around so that you can see what they are like. I will put a club rooster inside one of the books. Please look at the books quickly and pass them on, crossing your name off the list when you do. If I can’t get my online library account working, I may have to get them back to renew them…oh, well. If I can obtain any samples of Beth’s poetry or Peggy’s stories, I will try to circulate them as well.

I think I better stop writing this letter and get reading. Please call or e-mail me and let me know what you are bringing.

Jan

PS: If anyone that had me order Bird by Bird for them hasn’t paid, please get me a check for $10.74.