January 31, 2009
Announcement
2009 begins a new year for Book Club Queen and we are excited to share it with all of you!The newsletter will come out four times a year - January, May, September, and December. Please keep an eye for us in your inbox as these months approach.
In addition, the content has changed. Each edition will bring you fantastic book news, contest updates, feature announcements, and articles from the Queenies.
Read on because we have a very special "shout out" to our subscribers.
Contests, Contests, Contests!
Two great chances for you to win free books!Check out Favorite Book?
OR
Reader Book Reviews for your chance to win.
Contests run each month.
Upcoming Author Features Include...
Walking Man by Tim BrownThe Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox
Seven Laurels by Linda Busby Parker
Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace by Catherine Johnson
And many, many more!
Visit Features 1, Features 2, and Features 3 to read one of our exclusive author interviews.
Book clubs, old fashioned
or back in style?
My dad used to say things that were “out of style” would eventually be back “in” someday. This was a method of reasoning he used when trying to convince me to buy big headbands, bell-bottomed (now called flare) jeans, or Chuck tennis shoes. Funny enough, during my teenage years, all of these were “in” once again, just like when my dad was sixteen in 1967.
Over the past few years I’ve started to notice that some old-fashioned habits for women are starting to reemerge in pop-culture. The Red Hat Society, Needlework, Horseback Riding, and Scrapbooking are all hobbies that mimic old-fashioned ideas or else take something that was popular and give it a new-age spin.
Don’t believe me? Here are a few interesting facts:
Scrapbooking originated in 15th Century England with “Commanplace Books.” Women kept recipes, quotes, old letters, and anything else significant from their lives in these.
The Red Hat Society is organized around teatime. Teatime dates back to the Tang Dynasty in the Chinese Empire and almost every ancient culture has some form of teatime or high-tea in their history.
Needlework, or knitting, was a pastime for women even before electricity. Mothers and daughters would sit by the candlelight in the evenings knitting clothes for their families.
So, what about book clubs?
Many people assume Oprah Winfrey created the reading group as we know it today. While it may be true that she mainstreamed it, she certainly was not the creator!
In the 1800s, society women began coming together to discuss reading, instead of congregating in sewing groups or for church functions. They were not included in the conversations of men at this time so the “reading group” became a social circle through which women could debate the same issues as their male counterparts. This beginning eventually led to what we now consider a book club.
With Oprah’s help the book club became a thing that all could participate in - not just Ladies Who Lunch or teachers and librarians. Now the modern-day book club joins the growing list of cultural items resurfacing in today’s pop culture.
Top 10 Banned Books
of the 20th Century
#10 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#9 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
#8 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
#7 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#6 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#5 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
#4 Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
#3 Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
#2 Ulysses by James Joyce
#1 1984 by George Orwell
A Shout Out
We have a very special announcement for our wonderful subscribers.Book Club Queen is currently looking for a guest reviewer to help with Author Features over the next three months!
There is such a high demand for features on our site that we are looking to incorporate a guest reviewer that can reach out to visitors with the same enthusiasm, passion, and well-written reviews/interviews that the Queenies currently do.
What this Entails:
This site is a result of our love for books and reading which has magically turned into something much bigger than we could have ever realized. Because our aim has always been to share our book club knowledge as well as recommend great books to our readers, we don't charge for our services. The books we choose to feature go through a very selective process before the author is invited to participate on the site. What this means is that THIS IS NOT A PAID POSITION.
We are looking for a reader who has about 3-5 extra hours a week and is interested in reviewing books and interviewing feature authors for the site. The person we seek must be motivated by a love of reading and not compensation. We know there are plenty of you out there just like us who love to read and would enjoy sharing your opinions with other book lovers.
You will not have to purchase the books, we will send you a copy to keep for your review (free books!) and there will be a time line for when reviews and features must be returned to us.
If you have any interest in becoming the Guest Reviewer at Book Club Queen (complete with your own profile and recognition), please email Queenie D: bookclubqueen@gmail.com.
Please include the following: 1. First and Last Name 2. Location 3. Hours per week available 4. Main Reading Interests 5. 200 Word Review of the Last Book You've Read
We can't wait to bring one of you on board!
Have a friend who would enjoy Book Clubbers?
We would be honored for you to share our news with any book lover you know!
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