Mahalo nui loa – Hawaiian for thank you very much – to the dozens of book groups I’ve spoken with from around the country that have picked Lost Kingdom as their monthly or quarterly read. I’ve met some of these groups in person and have skyped with some and phoned in to others. It’s been a wonderful experience and now that Lost Kingdom is just out in paperback, I hope to meet with even more groups (including a wonderful group in Kentfield, Ca. that invited me to join them to discuss the book over a feast of kalua pig, poi, and coconut layer cake — so ono!)
Book Group Pick: Lost Kingdom
Mahalo nui loa – Hawaiian for thank you very much! – to the dozen or so book groups I’ve heard from around the country that have picked Lost Kingdom as their monthly or quarterly read. I’m truly grateful to all of you – from Liz Epstein’s Literary Masters groups (10 book groups in the San Francisco Bay Area) to Catherine Hartman’s lovely group of Stanford alum and other book-loving friends in Chicago to Jason Poole (The Accidental Hawaiian Crooner) who also organizes a reading group in Pittsburgh. I’m especially grateful to Julie Robinson of Literary Affairs, who organizes book events and moderates book groups in Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles area, for choosing Lost Kingdom as one of her recommended reads. Here are some questions to discuss on Lost Kingdom that come from Liz Epstein at Literary Masters. Hope they’re helpful and if you have other questions, I’d be delighted to skype or phone into your book group for a chat if my schedule permits.
Chapter Chat
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| Wine and words: A perfect pairing Photo from Jupiter Images |
Last week, I spent half an hour on the phone with a book group from Minnesota. Based on the laughter and high spirits I heard on the other end of the line, these fifteen or so women seemed to be having a rollicking good time together.
One explanation may be that they were sampling some of the wines that make appearances in The House of Mondavi – the Charles Shaw brand sold at Trader Joe’s (better known by its nickname of Two-Buck Chuck) and the Robert Mondavi Private Selection. As one of the members quipped, “Sadly, we just couldn’t afford Opus One!”
I was also fascinated to see that the group had just begun a blog called Chapter Chat. I’ve been in a book group now for eight years (it’s the impetus for my reading Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.) What a good idea.