Local Book Club part of Iowa Author Success Story
- Crows Reading Prose Book Club
The Adel-based book club, Crows Reading Prose, has been meeting nearly every month for 4 years.
Its 12 members consist of Adel ladies, past and current, who enjoy gathering in one another’s homes for food, wine, and good conversation about their latest pages.
Book club members are Becky Mantell, Carol Wells, Christee Lee, Jo Berry, Jeannie Havnen, Kathleen Green, Marie Hansen, Michelle Messer, Nancy Hogstad, Sandie Laust, Suzanne Davidson, Teresa Burke and Jean Blaser.
The book club formed organically, starting first as a women’s fellowship group at the Adel Methodist Church, then as bi-annual sleepovers at the “Methodist B&B in Muskie (Muscatine)”.
It was Jean Balser, who longed for camaraderie and serious literary discussions, who first suggested they form a book club, with a series of rules to hold each other accountable such as attendance, 12 available memberships, and a scribe to recap and share notes from each meeting. Rotating turns as moderator would allow each member to suggest a book to be read.
The group has had several guest authors at their meetings including Iowa writers Mary Gottschalk and Carol Bodensteiner. Carol’s memoir, Growing Up Country was well received by the group and prompted the author to invite the club to be “beta readers” for her first novel, Go Away Home.
Go Away Home is a coming-of-age story about Liddie Treadway, a determined and independent woman seeking her dreams. Readers join her as she faces the conflicts, choices, joys and heartaches of love and life set in Iowa, circa World War One.
Before the novel was printed, each member read an early manuscript. Carol was invited back to the book club where feedback was shared about character development, structure, and overall appeal.
Carol then went back to the draft and made many of the suggested changes.
- Carol Bodensteiner and her novel, “Go Away Home.” Photo courtesy of carolbodensteiner.com
Crows Reading Prose club members were honored that the author granted them the opportunity to be part of the editorial process.
Go Away Home is now the Silver Medal winner for Historical Fiction in the Readers Favorite International Award competition.
Adel can share in Carol’s success, knowing that the thoughtfulness of its community members helped bring an Iowa author’s work to the limelight.
Read an excerpt of Go Away Home and learn more about Carol Bodensteiner at www.carolbodensteiner.com.
