What Do You Want From Me? by Doreen Orion

What Makes A Book Club Great?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:31:50 -0500

This Chapel Hill, NC book group has only recently started and its members are all in their 20s. Oh, you are, too! Don't give me that look! I wondered how the youngin's would react to QUEEN OF THE ROAD, ie could they relate to the midlife crisis catalyst? What about the other ahem "older" issues? But, the gals assured me that they could relate: One of them, in fact, just had an early life...

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Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:21:18 -0500

If you've read QUEEN OF THE ROAD (and really, if you haven't - aren't you tired of my nagging? Read the thing already. Geez) you know we love Disney. Back, L to R: Chrissy, Karen. Middle, L to R: Debbie, Paige, Vikki, Julie. Floor, L to R: Pam, Barb. MIA: Marianne. So, when Pam emailed to invite me to call in to her Winter Garden, FL book club, mentioning that several of the gals worked at...

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Burly Men

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:24:02 -0500

I think I'll start a new series (to be continued until we put the house on the market), called, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Here's the first installment: That's Tim and his bud, Samson (who, by the way is afraid of heights), hanging the chandelier* in the hallway. I accompanied them on their lunch break (that's about all the pitching in I'm willing to do on Project Nerd's project days)...

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She Hates Me

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:59:33 -0500

This book club in Longmont, Colorado found out about QUEEN OF THE ROAD from a member, Roni's, daughter. Front Row: Erin, Karin, Roni, Jean Back Row: Mary, Martha, Gennie, Barb I'm multigenerational! Oy, I need a drink. Anyway... I called in and we were having a lovely discussion, when Karin exclaimed, "I'm not done with your book yet, but I have to tell you, I didn't like you at all in...

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A Boulder Book Club

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:15:40 -0500

My lovely neighbor, Susan, is in an equally lovely book club in our utterly lovely town. Although all the ladies work or have worked for The City of Boulder, I must say, they did an admirable job of not discussing super-duper, top secret government business when this Royal visited. One of the ladies wanted to know if I the descriptions of myself in QUEEN OF THE ROAD were accurate. So, I told...

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Newport Coast Book Club

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:41:50 -0500

I feel terrible after seeing this picture. For once, I didn't ask the book club what martini they were drinking. In my defense, I think it was because they were so organized, it didn't even occur to me they might be imbibing. I mean, they had written down their questions and gave them to their President, Marilyn to read. Don't believe me? Well, getta load a this: (The placard in the clubhouse...

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Book Club Connections

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:20:52 -0500

I just love 'em. And, the club I called in to recently in Arcadia, California was a great example. L. to R.- Linda, Susie (in chair), Rachel, Carla, Sarah, and Kathy (in chair). Susie chose QUEEN OF THE ROAD because her son's girlfriend, Golda, had read it for her book club in La Jolla, and I had called in for their discussion. (I guess I didn't make too much a fool of myself - or, maybe I...

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Matrimony

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:50:45 -0500

Joshua Henkin gives good book group. Although my book club always meets at restaurants (as I've said, we're lazy), I recently entreated the gals to make an exception and meet at my house so we could "invite" Joshua Henkin. He's the author of MATRIMONY (a New York Times notable book - you know how I love to name-drop) and calls in to book clubs all over the country. I figured this would be a very...

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Queens of... Various Things

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:20:44 -0500

Oh, yeah. Those Baltimore gals sure can party. (And occasionally, when they do, they're known as Baltimorons, like my college boyfriend - but never this group.) L to R back row: Jen Eckstein, Pamela Steinik, Meri Bomse, Janet Garman, Jen Osterweil, Risa Huber L to R front row: Jen Stein, Debra Woodward, Marni Rogow, Stacy Haynes They all coronated themselves in honor of reading QUEEN OF...

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How Did I Ever Miss Barbeque?

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:26:31 -0500

When Wendy emailed me about her Once A Month Book Club in Lexington, NC, she said they always meet at a restaurant where the only requirement is that it serve alcohol and chocolate. I knew I'd love this group. This was actually the very first group I've call in to that met at a restaurant. I wondered how they managed that. Can you guess? From left to right are: Karen, Julie, Jennifer R. and...

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Jubilee

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:06:23 -0500

It's pretty cool, I think, that there seem to be so many book clubs forming - still. That was the case with another pretty new one I called in Denver. In all the clubs I've done, there have only been a handful of men, but it seems this one had an honorary Y-chromosome present - Lisa's husband, who she told me, was listening in. Apparently, he read QUEEN OF THE ROAD after she did. (Sorry about...

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An Educated Book Club

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:13:52 -0500

This was the 3rd meeting of this fabulous club in Dover Plains, NY. The gals plan to alternate a classic with a contemporary selection. (QUEEN OF THE ROAD was the contemporary, but I know you're thinking, "soon to be a classic." Yeah, me too.) Left to right, standing: Judy Wright, Ellen Turner, Lynne Bondi, Coleen Deon (the hostess with the mostess, as my father would say). Left to right,...

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Evergreen

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:17:12 -0500

Don'tcha just love the name of that town? It's only about an hour from Boulder, but we've actually never been there. (Isn't that always the case? I mean, I grew up in NY, but the first time I ever went to the Empire State Building was when I took Tim there.) Anyway, if the town is as fabulous as the book club I called in to, we need to high-tail it over. I suspect it is, because almost all the...

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What's In A Name?

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:12:42 -0500

When JoAnn contacted me to call in to her Peninsula, OH book club, she said it had picked QUEEN OF THE ROAD based on the "clever" title. Oh my. Although everything inside the book is entirely my creation (except for Tim's rebuttal chapter, of course - see the previous blog post. He thinks what he's saying in Chinese on the cover is, "I am not an idiot!"), the cover itself... not so much. As...

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QUEEN OF THE ROAD in Traditional Chinese

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:26:34 -0500

Isn't it gorgeous? Courtesy of Marco Polo Press (and Marco Polo thought he got around) in Taipei, Taiwan, this is the Traditional Chinese version of... well, I don't need to tell you, do I? (Thanks so much to my fabulous editor there, Weijen Wu for emailing this to me.) Yes, I know. How could it not be gorgeous with your Queen placed so prominently on the cover? Obviously, the Taiwanese are a...

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