books@random
   alfred a. knopf

The following is a list of excerpts, online discussion groups and additional resources to help you form a reading group, choose books, and lead discussion.

Excerpts:

Read excerpts from the following books here on the Vintage site:

• All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
  
• A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
  
• The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
  
• Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
  
• The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
  
• I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn
  
• A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines
  
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
  
• Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
  
• My Dark Places by James Ellroy
  
• Personal History by Katharine Graham
  
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
  
• A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons

Q & As:

Q & As are also available from the following authors:

• Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives, Oprah's Book Club November Selection!
  
• Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory
  
• Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain
  
• Bernard Lefkowitz, author of Our Guys
  
• James Salter, author of Burning the Days

Plus, read comments from:

• Rick Bragg, about his bestselling memoir All Over but the Shoutin'
  
• Joan Jacobs Brumberg about her groundbreaking work The Body Project

Online Discussion Groups

• Publisher's Weekly Online reading groups
  Publisher's Weekly Online offers an article about the growing popularity of book groups as well as links to several online discussion forums and resources.

• The Academy of Achievement's Virtual Book Club
  The Academy of Achievement hosts monthly chats with authors ranging from Elie Wiesel to Martha Stewart.

• WashingtonPost.com's Talk Central
  The online edition of the Washington Post offers online discussions on a variety of topics as well as dozens of sample chapters from fiction and nonfiction titles.

Organizations:

• Great Book Foundation: 35 E. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60601 (312) 332-5870

• American Association of University Women (AAUW): 1111 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 785-7700

• Association of Book Group Readers and Leaders (ABGRL): P. O. Box 885, Highland Park, IL 60035 (847) 266-0431

Book Reviews Online:

The following newspapers offer online book sections, including reviews, excerpts, online events listings, discussion forums, and more.

• The Boston Globe
  
• The Chicago Tribune
  
• The Los Angeles Times
  
• The New York Times
  
• The San Francisco Chronicle
  

Books:

• The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson. (HarperPerennial, NYC, 1997)

• The Reading Group Handbook by Rachel Jacobsohn. (Hyperion, NYC, 1994)

• The Reading Group Book by David Laskin and Holly Hughes (Penguin, NYC, 1995)

• What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers by Mickey Pearlman (HarperCollins, NYC, 1994)

• The New York Public Library Guide to Reading Groups by Rollene Saal (Crown, NYC, 1995)

• ...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer (Berkeley, NYC, 1985)

• The Book Group Book by Ellen Slezak, ed. (Chicago Review Press, NYC, 1995)

• Read All Your Life: A Subject Guide to Fiction by Barbara Kerr Davis (McFarland & Company, Inc., 1989)

Publications:

• Reading Group Choices: Selections for Lively Book Discussions by Paz and Associates, Nashville. Each booklet lists 26 books selected by and advisory board and includes author biography, summary, and discussion questions. Order online, or write to Paz and Associates at 2106 20th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Single copies are available for $2.50, checks payable to Paz and Associates. Ten or more copies can be purchased in bulk at $0.75 a piece. (800) 260-8605

• Reverberations: The news journal of the Association of Book Group Readers and Leaders. Annual membership in the Association, which maintains a database of groups and leaders, oversees and info sheet exchange program, and liases between groups and publishers, is $18.00 (P.O. Box 885, Highland Park, IL 60035)

• Reading in Company: Starting a Reading Group: Sponsored by the Arizona Center for the Book (P.O. Box 334438, Phoenix, AZ 85067-4438)

• An Introduction to Shared Inquiry: A pamphlet sponsored by The Great Books Foundation, 40 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 (800) 222-5870

• Reading Woman: A quarterly newsletter containing short reviews and excerpts from works of fiction and nonfiction by both men and women. Subscriptions cost $15 and are payable to Reading Woman, c/o Bering Communications, P.O. Box 19116, Minneapolis, MN, 55419 (800) 844-1271

• Between the Lines: A 12-page quarterly that reviews fiction, biography and history. Write to Between the Lines, Box 88, Fairview, NC, 28730 (704) 628-9750 for a free copy.

• Select Fiction: A guide to great literary fiction that you may not have heard about. Write to P.O. Box 1069, Sharon, CT 06069 for a subscription.

Reading Group Guides:

Vintage Books is pleased to provide book lovers with the most informative, accessible, and provocative Reading Group Guides available--all free of charge. In each guide you'll find:

• a description of the book
• discussion topics and questions
• author biography
• suggestions for further reading

Ask for them at your favorite bookstore, download them here on our Web site, or call us at 1-800-793-BOOK.

Teacher's Guides are also available on selected titles.

Reading Group Support Kits:

Reading Group leaders and members are encouraged to borrow Reading Group Support Kits from booksellers. These kits include a taped interview and reading by the author, reviews, and bookmarks for use during group meetings.