A reporter from the Sacramento Bee called me late last month to ask about what I knew about the tenure of most book clubs. She was doing a piece about the Elk Grove Book Club that was celebrating its 70th anniversary. We marveled as we realized the cultural and political times this group had shared together --- World War II, the fabulous '50s, the swinging '60s, and on and on. I told her that among our 5,200 registered book clubs, only 265 have existed more than 10 years. We then talked age for a bit as the oldest member of the Elk Grove is 88; the group's last charter member just died earlier this month. With our registered groups we see that we have 3,900 groups with no members over age 65. You can read the article here (please note that free registration is required).

New York has been danky gray. Lots of rain, cloudy skies and gray. Gray has become my least favorite color as a result. We’ve resorted to drinking huge mugs of hot cocoa to keep warm. And yes, we're reading books, LOTS of them, in between dreaming of warm places. In the spirit of keeping away the wintry blahs that plague us here in the Northeast, Teenreads.com brings you some pretty cool special features, promotions and a couple of contests thrown in for good measure. All are bound to ease your winter blues, no matter where you live.

I can remember the first time someone read me THE CAT IN THE HAT. I sat thinking that all those rhymes were just way too much fun to hear, and it started my love of all things Seuss. I am betting ALL of you had this book read to you when you were young or perhaps you read it to yourself. Thus it's really fun to share that THE CAT IN THE HAT is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.

I can remember the first time someone read me THE CAT IN THE HAT. I sat thinking that all those rhymes were just way too much fun to hear, and it started my love of all things Seuss. I am betting ALL of you had this book read to you when you were young or perhaps you read it to yourself. Thus it's really fun to share that THE CAT IN THE HAT is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. 

For me, February seems to go by in the blink of an eye. They call it the "Cruelest Month" because of the weather, but I think the frenzied pace renders the month doubly cruel. Maybe it has something to do with it having two fewer days than every other month! I always have to put in extra effort to find time for myself during February, and honestly, I often realize the week has gone by at such a hectic pace that I have barely remembered to breathe, let alone indulge in the few activities --- knitting, swimming, reading, cooking and spending time with friends and family --- that add balance to my life.

I am writing this Thursday night as I jot notes of things to take with me to South Carolina tomorrow when I head to the South Carolina Book Festival in Columbia. Confession here. I hate packing to fly. The fact that everything I want for 72 hours needs to fit into one bag is true pressure. I think I have the books picked out. I am going with an advance reading copy of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini, best known as the author of THE KITE RUNNER, which will be in stores on May 27th. I started this one this week and I am itching to read more. I also am bringing BECAUSE SHE CAN by Bridie Clark, an "insider tale" of the publishing industry like THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA got inside the magazine biz. It sounds like a complete romp and the kind of book I can disappear into on the plane when there is way too much moving around and I have trouble concentrating. And because I am headed south, I also have with me Cassandra King's QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS, which will be in stores on March 6th. Three days; three books. Got that piece right.