Read It Forward’s Comments (group member since Jan 18, 2011)

Read It Forward’s comments from the Read It Forward group.

Wendy wrote: "this would be great if i had a bookshelf lol mine are all in boxes =/"

Wendy, I feel for you! I recently moved from NYC to Colorado and have yet to get my books out of storage. Will be like Christmas morning when I do!

Beth wrote: "Great contest! I'll get right on it, although I may have to wait until tonight to either email it or post it on Facebook. I have a bookcase that my husband built for me."

How nice, Beth! Can't wait to see. Thanks so much for sharing.

READ IT FORWARD IS GIVING AWAY A BOOKSHELF FULL OF FABULOUS BOOKS!

We want to know how you live with your books. Send us a photo/video of your bookshelf to enter to win a bookshelf full of books!

Visit ReadItForward.com for info on how to enter our biggest sweepstakes yet!

* Tweet your photo/video to us @ReadItForward #shareyourbookshelf
* Post your photo/video on the Read It Forward Facebook wall
* Email your photo/video to readitforward@randomhouse.com

We’ll share your photo with the Read It Forward community, and you’ll be automatically entered in a fantastic sweepstakes. In mid-January 2013, winners will be randomly selected from among the photos/videos submitted. Prizes include:

* ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER: An IKEA bookshelf and 25 books, chosen by the winner from among books featured on ReadItForward.com

* TWO RUNNERS UP: 10 books, chosen by the winner from among books featured on ReadItForward.com

Visit ReadItForward.com for details and complete rules, terms, and conditions.

Check out our Q&A with Donald Spoto author of The Redgraves: A Family Epic, where he tells us about his most surprising discoveries writing this family biography:

Read It Forward Interviews Donald Spoto, author of The Redgraves

What famous family would you like to read about?

Beth wrote: "I do have a favorite, though: DOC by Mary Doria Russell"

Doc is one of my very favorites, too, Beth! Did you see our Read It Forward video chat with Mary Doria Russell and Sarah McCoy? So fun!

We also featured a great guest review of Doc by one of our bookseller friends at Tattered Cover Book Store.

Tom Reiss's The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo tells the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo. History that reads like fiction!

The Black Count has been nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best History/Biography of 2012. VOTE TODAY!

Check out our Read It Forward post on The Black Count.

What's your favorite true story of a historical figure? Would you rather read history or historical fiction?

Da Chen's latest novel My Last Empress: A Novel is a very unusual love story, filled with ghosts and grief, where bewitching concubines, treacherous eunuchs, and fierce warlords battle for supremacy. He takes us into an epic saga of 19th century China, so it's historical fiction, too.

You can learn more in Da Chen's essay for Read It Forward.

What's your favorite love story?

Hey RIFers on Goodreads! Join Crown Publishing TONIGHT 10/12 @ 7:30 p.m. ET for a LIVE FACEBOOK CHAT with Gretchen Rubin author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life.

https://www.facebook.com/CrownPublishing

Hope to see you there! If you've read either of Gretchen's books (her Happiness Project is quite the phenomenon), leave a comment with your thoughts!

SEY wrote: "Rachel Carson was a woman ahead of her time. There has been other well written stories of her life.
William Souder is a well known biographer but I hope this is not just "cashing in on her annivers..."

Thanks so much for writing in, SEY! Do come back and tell us about your Big Read. It's cool when communities do that, and even better when they can get adults and kids reading together.

Beth wrote: "Beth wrote: "One thing you can be sure of in my reviews: good punctuation and grammar. :-) "

Beth, we look forward to your review of BUDDY - thank you!

Here's an idea for you: would you consider writing a short piece (~250 words) for RIF about good punctuation and grammar in reviews? An editorial approach . . . I get the feeling this is important to you and it might get a lively conversation going among RIFers!

Beth wrote: "I prefer biographies to memoirs. It seems in the last couple of years that so many memoirs have come out, that everyone seems to think their life is a story worth selling. I've never read a memoir ..."

Beth, what would do without you! Thank you for all your insightful comments and great book recommendations. Would you consider writing a review of one of the books featured on RIF.com?

William Souder's new book On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson's powerful manifesto that launched the environmental movement.

Are you a biography fan? Do you prefer biographies that explore the life of famous, influential people or memoirs that record a writer's personal journey?

Jonathan Kozol's new book Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America is sure to prick the conscience of his readers and drive heated debate about education in the U.S.

While Kozol's work always has a timeless appeal, this newest book is perfectly timed for election season, when the candidates are discussing their plans for the children of our country.

Do you read political books during election season? What are some of your favorites?

Linda wrote: "the one i remember most was about the old movie star stewart granger, whose real name was jimmy stewart. it was just a facinating read about the way hollywood used to be. was reading in a library..."

Linda, that's a great story about how we can lose ourselves in books! Thanks for sharing.

We love Marc Eliot's celebrity biographies. He digs deep and turns up great never-before-told stories, all without being mean-spirited or salacious. He really allows us inside the lives of some of Hollywood's brightest stars: Walt Disney, Cary Grant, Jimmu Stewart, Clint Eastwood, and most recently, Michael Douglas.

Enjoy Marc Eliot's Read It Forward list of 10 Things You Didn't Know about Michael Douglas.

RIFers! We want to know: what are some of your favorite celebrity biographies?

Beth, I couldn't agree more about THE HOT ZONE! I haven't yet Preston's other book but based on your recommendation, I will!

RIFers! Shani Boianjiu's The People of Forever Are Not Afraid: A Novel lands in book stores this week and has reviewers raving.

Recently published in The New Yorker, and the youngest recipient ever of the National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35, Shani is a writer to watch. Her debut will knock your socks off.

Check out Shani Boianjiu's Read It Forward essay on the Israeli urban legend that inspired one of the most intense moments in The People of Forever Are Not Afraid.

Reading her novel, we were shocked at how little we knew about the Israeli army and its young recruits. It made us think about other books we read and loved - books that introduced us to a topic we'd never before explored.

What are some books you've read that left you thinking, "Wow! I never realized how little I knew about ___ and now I'm completely fascinated...."

Linda wrote: "I always look at the jacket covers to see what they also do (if i haven't read them before)."

Linda, I always do this too! Thanks for sharing a great list.

Wow, Beth, that's quite a list! Thanks so much for sharing. I agree with you that they balance two careers well. Their life and work and books are of a piece.

Vincent Lam has a great backstory. It was while working as a doctor aboard an Arctic cruise that Lam had a chance encounter with renowned author Margaret Atwood. She agreed to read his short stories, and later sent him an email announcing “Congratulations. You can write.” Atwood mentored the young author, and was instrumental in bringing Lam to his publisher, Doubleday Canada.

What do you think of authors - especially novelists - who have full careers in another field? We're thinking of Ethan Canin (also a doctor) - do you know of any others? How do you think having another life outside of writing affects their craft?

Enjoy Vincent Lam's Read It Forward essay on his debut novel The Headmaster's Wager.