Book Clubs

Greetings, Book Clubbers!

Is your book club considering reading and discussing one or more of my books? Jolly good! Whether you choose a seafaring adventure or a Doyle and Fossey science mystery, there promises to be plenty of animated, thoughtful discussion and activity. (Click here for discussion guides.) Here are some suggestions to help make your book club gathering memorable:

FOR THE SEAFARING ADVENTURES

Serve a sailor’s meal:

HARD TACK: If you have access to a kitchen during the meeting, you can make hard tack together. (Hard tack was also called “ship’s biscuit” or “hard bread.”) Click here for the recipe.

SALT BEEF or SALT “HORSE”: A strip of beef jerky for every participant.

PLUM DUFF: A favorite food of the sailors was plum duff. Because this has to boil for 4-5 hours, it must be made ahead of time. Click here for the recipe.

To be really authentic, serve your sailor’s meal on wooden plates or planks. Drink from metal or wooden cups. Eat with your hands.

Play a sea shanty or two:

Click here for some terrific, free sea shanties. Some of the sea shanties also include video.

Don’t forget to consult the discussion guides.

FOR THE DOYLE AND FOSSEY SCIENCE MYSTERIES

Dress the part:

INCOGNITO – To avoid detection, Drake and Nell must sometimes conduct surveillance while in disguise. Everyone must come to the book club wearing glasses, fake nose, and moustache.

LOOK OFFICIAL: Wear a lab coat with your name on it. Shove a pencil behind your ear. Carry your lab notebook. A magnifying glass (if you have one). Anything else you can think of.

Eat and drink the part:

Make some blueberry muffins, Drake’s favorite, either ahead of time or as a group. Click here for the recipe.

Drink coffee. Decaf. Black.

Choose one of the experiments / activities in the back of the book(s), and do together.

Don’t forget to consult the teacher’s guides.

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Would your book club like to chat with me by phone?

Click here for more information on how to “Skype an Author.”