Bookmark the Blog

Avi talks about war, childhood, and his inspiration for The Button War.

In The Button War, master of historical fiction Avi delivers a fierce account of the boys in a war-torn Polish village who are determined to prove themselves with a simple dare that spins disastrously out of control. Reading Group Choices interviewed him about the book, his methodology for writing, and the culture created in his striking novel.

Reading Group Choices: Why did you pick buttons as the object of the boys’ dare in The Button War?

read more

Shawn Francis Peters writes a heart-pounding account of the “Minneapolis Monster” in his newest book, The Infamous Harry Hayward.

Shawn Francis Peters recently visited Verona Public Library in Wisconsin to read and discuss his work with an audience. Shawn also kindly took the time to answer our questions after he shared part of his book!

Reading Group Choices: What book changed your life?

Shawn Francis Peters: When I was in high school in Baltimore in the 1980s, I read Truman Capote’s classic true-crime book In Cold Blood.

read more

Memoirist, humorist, singer-songwriter: Michael Perry’s latest book, Danger, Man Working, draws on 15 years of writing.

Michael Perry recently visited Reading Group Choices in Madison, Wisconsin, to read and discuss his work with an audience. Michael also kindly took the time to answer our questions after he shared part of his memoir!

Reading Group Choices: What book changed your life?​
Michael Perry: When I was in third grade our family received a box of secondhand clothes. When we opened it a worn copy of All Quiet on the Western Front tumbled out.

read more