Well, that's a wrap on my first book club book of the Summer, Water for Elephants. A light but engaging read, the novel following a young man who joins the circus in the 1930s proved to be a great story, leaving plenty to be discussed. I particularly loved older Jacob's happy ending (though I would have liked to hear more about his life with Marlena). I was also pretty shocked to learn that it's Read more

We're chugging right along with Water for Elephants, and chapters 11-15 had plenty of action. Camel finds himself in dire straits, Jacob finally musters the courage to kiss Marlena, and the circus loses one of its performers. I hope you're all ready to chat, because I know I am — and don't forget that you can always start your own discussions in my book club community group! Here are a few Read more

Well kids, we're almost halfway through Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, and I'm totally hooked. In fact, I'm having a hard time avoiding all of the photos from the movie set and sadly have already seen a few spoilers. Anyway, in the second installment of my Summer Book Club, the plot thickens as Jacob and Marlena grow closer, Jacob undergoes a few "initiation rites," and we finally meet Rosie Read more

Hopefully by now you've started reading Water For Elephants, because it's time to start discussing! The chapters absolutely flew by for me and I was instantly absorbed in the dichotomy of Jacob's past and present lives. I want to hear all of your initial thoughts, so here are a few talking points to get the ball rolling: Jacob's recount of his younger years with the circus are obviously the Read more

Last week I revealed my very first Summer book club book, and hopefully by now most of you have either bought, borrowed, or downloaded a copy of Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. I can't wait to start discussing Jacob Jankowski's trip down memory lane to his days working for the circus. To kick us off, let's all spend week one reading chapters 1—5 of the novel. I'm here to be your guide, but Read more

Welcome back, Buzz Book Club readers! We've reached the end of Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume. This section contained some of my favorite essays of the entire book, and I'm excited to chat about them with you after the jump. But more about that in a second. First, for those of you new to my book club format, here's how it works: every week I'll suggest Read more

Welcome back, Buzz Book Club readers! This week's section of Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume really brought back memories as the authors reflected on a wide range of Judy Blume novels, from It's Not the End of the World to Tiger Eyes. But more about that in a second. First, for those of you new to my book club format, here's how it works: Every week I'll Read more

Welcome back, Buzz Book Club readers! This month, we're focusing on how one of the iconic authors of my youth affected tons of women writers by reading the essay collection Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume. This week, we read another group of essays by writers who had some very different thoughts on how Blume's writing affected their lives. But I'll get Read more

Welcome back, Buzz Book Club readers! This month, we're focusing on how one of the iconic authors of my youth affected tons of women writers by reading the essay collection Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. So far, I've been impressed with just how many of the writers had similar experiences reading and learning from Blume's books — but I'll get to that Read more