December Party It Up: Trickster's Celebration

Planning your own book group/get-together for this book? Here are some party ideas from author Tamora Pierce herself!

Invite: Decorate with crows and crowns.

Food: Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Chinese in a pinch; mangos, papaya, star fruit (shown)

Décor: Swaths of colorful silk, posters of Indonesia

Movies: Richard Lester's Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee, and Charlton Heston - Tamora said, "I swiped one of the ways I write sword fighting from these." Also watch A League of Their Own for, as Tamora put it, "women being active and themselves."

Party It Up: Sweetgrass Basket Celebrations!

Planning your own book group/get-together for Sweetgrass Basket? Here are some party ideas from author Marlene Carvell.

Invite: An invitation in the shape of a basket; Mohawk baskets are unique in that they usually have a lid. The lid could lift to show the details of the party.

Food: Pumpkin muffins or zucchini bread (squash is one of The Three Sisters) and apple cider.

Décor: Mattie's treasured possession is the basket her mother made for her. Party participants could be asked to bring a favorite basket to help set the mood.

Movies: Rabbit-Proof Fence

Craft: Print bookmarks with the Hiawatha Belt design found on the cover. have participants choose a word that they associate most closely with the book. Write that word in English on one side and in Mohawk on the other.

October: Party It Up with The Sweet Far Thing!

Planning your own book group/get-together for The Sweet Far Thing? Here are some party ideas from the fabulous Libba Bray!

Invite: Victorian high tea or London debutante's ball OR an evening in the Realms. The first could have an invitation in calligraphy on cardstock, wrapped in a velvet ribbon. The second could be an evite or webpage with flashy-flash bits so that it looks magical and creepy. (Really, you can be both magical and creepy. I promise.)

Food: Scones, cream tea, cherry punch, finger sandwiches. But not with real fingers.

Décor: Could be fashioned after Felicity's tent at Spence, with dramatic curtains of damask or velvet. Peacock feathers (or homemade peacock wallpaper). A Victorian-style portrait of Eugenia Spence.

Movies: A Room with a View, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Forsyte Saga, Moulin Rouge

Craft: Make personalized fans, ostrich feather “crowns,” your own fortune-telling deck or Order pendants, paint mendhi designs on your hands, illustrate maps for the Winterlands/Borderlands.

Janet Lee Carey: Party in Seattle!

If you are in the Seattle area this weekend, come out to celebrate the release of readergirlz co-founder Janet Lee Carey's latest YA fantasy novel, STEALING DEATH at Parkplace Books in Kirkland:



It's this Saturday at 6:30 pm. Even better: Janet supports PlayPump, Water for Thirsty Villages, with some of the proceeds from her novel. Hooray, Janet!

Book Party With Kendra!

Kendra is big into set design, so author Coe Booth thought up some great ways to have a Book Club party that's themed just for this month's featured read. Her awesome ideas:

Invite: Playbill-designed evites, inviting guests "Backstage at the Theatre!"

Food: Kendra has a bit of a sweet tooth, so serve her favorite snacks: Chick-o-Sticks, small cups filled with dry Lucky Charms and other sweet cereals, and (of course) Devil Dogs!

Décor: Hang large sketches and blueprints of set designs. Place wooden miniature models of various theatrical sets on tables all around the room.

Movies: High School Musical, Fame, and the TV show Glee

Craft: Provide paint, paintbrushes, and artist smocks. Have partygoers paint the model sets during the party.

May: Red Glass Party Ideas!

Wanna host a book party in honor of Red Glass? Laura Resau has some ideas for a colorful, musical fiesta!

Invite: Star-shaped invitations with The Little Prince quotes Under the Same Moon, Like Water for Chocolate, El Norte, The Motorcycle Diaries

Food: Mangos, fruitcake (um, if you're not into fruitcake, how about quesadillas?), red Jell-O -- and lime juice squeezed over EVERYTHING!

Décor: Scatter around little white flowers and hard corn kernels, red glass beads or marbles, chicken feathers, a map of the US, Mexico, and Guatemala (to trace Sophie's route)

Movies: Under the Same Moon, Like Water for Chocolate, El Norte, The Motorcycle Diaries

Craft: Learn to dance salsa, meringue, or cumbia; make corn tortillas