By Bill Quain
I don’t know about you, but we are a book family. We love books! As another summer season opens at the Jersey Shore, I started thinking about how books bind us together, whether we’re on vacation, at home, or on the road. When we read a good book, we can’t wait to recommend it to other people. Half the satisfaction we get from finding a good read is discussing it with other people who appreciate books. That’s why book clubs have become so popular.
My wife Jeanne belongs to a book club here in Ocean City. They are in their 16th year or so. While some members have come and gone, there’s still a core group of women who pick a book, read it, and meet once a month on a Thursday night to talk about it. Oh yes, portions of the evening are dedicated to catching up with each other, and there is always an abundance of goodies to eat. But the thing that binds them together are the books.
Are you in a book club?
I’m always looking for feedback on my column, so let’s take a look at how books bind us together. I usually wait until the end of my column to make a pitch for emails from you, but I’m putting this right up front. I want to hear from book club members and from people who just like to talk about the books they’ve read. In the rest of this week’s column, I’m going to share some book stories that involve my family. However, I know you all have stories as well. Don’t be shy! Send me an email to bill@quain.com.
“No, it’s not — It’s my book!”
Most of my regular readers know I am an author. This August, I will release my 28th book. I began my writing career in the early 1990s. My first five books were commercial failures. But I hit gold with my sixth book, “Reclaiming the American Dream – The Keys to Financial Freedom”. That book became an international bestseller and was translated into several languages. It really did change my life.
My parents owned a small publishing company. My mother was an author, and they published her books, as well as several of mine. It was fantastic to work with my parents. Maybe I’ll write a column about that sometime, but I want to tell you a great story that happened with my seventh book “10 Rules to Break & 10 Rules to Make – The Do’s and Don’ts for Designing Your Destiny!”
“10 Rules to Break…” was the most fun I ever had writing a book. There is nothing like having your book appear in print for the first time and getting reports from the publisher as the sales increase. After about three or four weeks, we knew the book was going to be a big success.
We were living in Orlando at the time. Jeanne, the kids and I were at Disney World waiting for the monorail, when Jeanne saw a woman holding the “10 Rules to Break…” book in her hand. “Hey,” Jeanne exuberantly shouted to the woman, “That’s my husband’s book!”
The woman looked up, quite startled, and said “No, it’s not — It’s my book! I just bought it!” We all had a good laugh about that.
Over the years, we’ve had lots of sightings. I’ve sold more than 2 million copies of my books. I’ve also had the pleasure of speaking all across the United States, as well as Europe and Asia, delivering the messages from my books.
Our family has book launch traditions.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, I turned out a new book every 14 to 15 months or so. For each new release, my daughters and I celebrated by jumping into the pool with our clothes on. We’d hold hands and take the plunge. It was a great tradition! (Note: we lived in Florida at the time!) Both of my daughters are in their 30s now, so we probably won’t be jumping into a pool together this fall when my new book comes out.
However, a new book launch tradition has begun in the Quain family! On July 16, we’ll all be in Arlington, Va. for the release of my daughter Amanda Quain’s third book, “Dashed.” There is a difference between my writing and Amanda’s writing. I write nonfiction books, but Amanda does something much more difficult – she writes novels. Amanda’s book launch parties are much more sophisticated than just jumping into a pool. Her writing is more sophisticated as well. Her first three novels have been Jane Austen retellings, a type of writing called “fan fiction.” And here’s some exciting news — following the release of “Dashed”’ on July 16, Amanda (a 2009 graduate of Ocean City High School) is scheduled to do a book signing at Sunrose Bookstore, right here in Ocean City, on July 20!
OK, now it is your turn.
Let’s kick off the summer with a few weeks of columns about the books that bind us. We’d like to hear about your favorite books – whether it’s the ones you wrote or the ones you read. Or maybe it’s a book that is inside you. While you may not feel you have the time to write it, maybe you would share the title with us anyway. We’d love to hear your stories. Drop me a line at bill@quain.com.
As I say each week “I’ll see ya in the papers!”
Bill is a Professor in Stockton University’s Hospitality Management Program. He is the author of 27 books, and a highly-respected speaker. Even though he is almost totally blind, Bill is a long-distance runner and runs the Ocean City Half Marathon each year. He lives in Ocean City with his wife Jeanne, and his Guide Dog Trudy. Visit www.billquain.com or email him at bill@quain.com.
