Book Club: Elegant Gathering of White Snows

Last night my book club and I was able to present my first book since I started the club back in November '04! (We pick one book each per year and then draw randomly to decide when we're going to read that book.)

I had selected Kris Radish's The Elegant Gathering of White Snows and had contacted Kris to call in and talk with the club, which she did.

It was an amazing night, probably one of our best book clubs ever.

The book is about 8 women living in rural Wisconsin who decide in a moment that they will get up and just start walking to rid themselves of their demons. Their walk becomes an international phenomenon and they are able to move on with their lives and take the steps they need to take to improve their lives from that point forward.

Ms. Radish is an amazing speaker, probably the best call in we've had, and was willing to answer any questions we asked, plus a few of her own invention. She discussed her new books as well, and her work as a feminist, a columnist, and a mom.

I will definitely be reading some of her other books, and she mentioned her latest "Annie Freeman's Fabulous Travelling Funeral" has been optioned for a movie.

If you're interested in her books or learning more about her, go to her website at http://www.krisradish.com

If you run a book club, many authors will be happy to call in and sometimes visit your club in person. So far, we've had Phillip Gulley, Leah Stewart, and Kris Radish call in, and Patrick Sanchez actually came. It's a lot of fun to get the author's background stories and points of view and to ask questions to things you hash over and can't quite come up with the answers to yourselves.

Also, we'll be featured in the May issue of Washingtonian Magazine as one of the featured book clubs. Look for the Lit Chicks. :-) I was interviewed for it right after my accident. Hope I sounded coherent. hehe