Book Groups Are Good

Had a fun and illuminating time at a Baypath College (Longmeadow, MA) event yesterday. It was entitled "Are You A Bookie?" and was a gathering of book groups in the area. There were appropriate snacks (tea and cucumber sandwiches -- really!), bookstores peddling books, authors reading and answering our salient or dumb questions, and of course, a slew of book groups. It was a great networking and info gathering opp. We also took away with us a huge list of book club reads, recommended by authors as well as the book groups. Suzanne Strempek Shea moderated, and as always was a gracious and accessible host. Leslea Newman, poet laureate of Northampton read and entertained us with her hilarity. Also, a young (16-year-old) writer named Amanda Butcher, Rebecca Flowers (an NPR Player and author of Nice To Come Home To, and Alan Hunter, Curry (?) College prof and author of Stories We Need To Know (he also hasa a great accent, perhaps Australian). So, put it on your calendar for next year, and also check out a similar event sponsored by the fantastic Odyssey Bookstore on Wednesday, June 10th.