Reading!...Taking It to the Streets

The March wind roars Like a lion in the sky, And makes us shiver As he passes by. (Author Unknown)

I like March and its wind – trees blowing, flags slapping against their poles, white capped waves on the Chesapeake, and children all bundled up at the bus stop. That wind shakes the entire world loose, bringing fresh air and ideas.

One fresh idea is Reading! … Taking It to the Streets program, bringing Reading Group Choices and some of its authors to you at a panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book. Please come and join the discussion! Besides our panel, here are some of the other great writers who are appearing at the VA Festival of the Book: Barbara Kingsolver, Judith Viorst, Michael Connelly, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jennifer Haigh, and many, many more. It should be a fantastic event!

Thanks so much for all your emails about books-to-movies. Here are a few that I thought were interesting.

Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison is one of my favorite "book to movie" books.

 -- Susan Reading (yes, this is my real last name)

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden was a great book to movie. I found that I could totally concentrate on the story, and the gorgeous landscapes and costumes, because the storyline was familiar. -- Pattie Morrison

Two good examples of books to movies: The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain by Anne Proulx -- Dorothy Halligan

Speaking of The Shipping News, I love the last two paragraphs in that book. Every time I read it I cry. The last line speaks volumes – it totally sums up the entire book. “And it may be that love sometimes occurs without pain or misery.”

What is your favorite last paragraph or last line of book? Please email me.

Thanks for keeping the joy of reading alive.

Barbara
bmead@readinggroupchoices.com