Better World Books Podcast: Wendy Wax

Posted by Dana on 03.03.2010 at 7:01 pm

I met Wendy Wax, author of Magnolia Wednesdays and The Accidental Bestseller several years ago through work and we became friends.  Good friends.  The kind of friends that know each others families and drink wine together whenever possible.

So, reading a book by a friend has an interesting quality to it, as does interviewing them.  When reading, I think “Hmmm.  That living room she is describing sounds a lot like her living room” or better yet ” I think I might know who she based that character on!”.  While interviewing Wendy I struggled not to lapse into our usual chit chat about the struggles of the day – and I didn’t jump in to admit that indeed I was the friend who went ballroom dancing with her in the name of research.

Read more…

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Have your say » | Tagged Author Podcast, Author Interview Podcast, dana barrett, Magnolia Wednesdays, The Accidental Bestseller, Wendy Wax

Better World Book Club: The Accidental Bestseller

Posted by Dana on 06.19.2009 at 8:12 am

Don’t forget to sign up for the Better World Book Club.  We pick a new book each month that you can discuss with us here on the blog or take back to your neighborhood book club.  We even set you up with everything you need for your meeting…. a synopsis of the book, discussion questions and even a great recipe.  You can sign up by going to manage subscriptions now.

You can also catch the selections AND discuss the book here on the blog.

Our Latest Pick

THE ACCIDENTAL BESTSELLER by Wendy Wax

Last month I promised you a great beach read for June…so here it is.  To me a beach read is not necessarily all lightness and fluff, but rather a page turner where you care about the characters and are left feeling upbeat or hopeful at the end.  Wendy Wax’s latest doesn’t disappoint.

The Accidental Bestseller does for (or to) publishing what The Devil Wears Prada did for fashion mags:  gives you an under the covers look into a world you wouldn’t otherwise get to see.

Wendy uses the backdrop of the publishing industry to explore friendship, marriage and career and introduces us to four unique women who struggle with all of it.

Here’s a couple of questions the book brought up for me:

Does you career define you?  What would you do if you woke up one morning and it was over?

Do your friends have to know everything about you in order for them to truly be your friends?

How much would you risk to help a friend?

And here’s some trivia for you…there’s a character named after me somewhere in the book.  The first person to comment here on the blog with the page number I appear on gets a $25 gift certificate!

For more discussion questions and a tasty summer recipe, check out the book club email and feel free to leave some comments and let me know what you thought of the book!

– Dana

2 Comments » | Tagged Better World Book Club, Beach Read 2009, Better World Book Club, Summer Read 2009, The Accidental Bestseller, The Devil Wears Prada, Wendy Wax