Progressive Book Club Chooses Lionel Shriver's So Much For That as November 2010 PBC Pick

New York City (PRWEB) November 5, 2010

Progressive Book Club (http://www.progressivebookclub.com), the on-line liberal literary portal, is pleased to announce that its November PBC Pick is Lionel Shriver?s So Much for That, newly selected as a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction.

Rare is a work of fiction that enlarges our understanding of a central question in American life. Rarer still is the publication of such a timely and relevant book by a writer more celebrated for her brilliance abroad than in her own country ? until now.

PBC?s editors are thrilled to present So Much for That as the club?s latest choice because its compelling prose and engaging characters illuminate the terrible contradictions of American health care ? with a surprisingly uplifting story.

"With a resurgent Republican Party whose battle cry is 'repeal Obamacare,' it is critical that we remind ourselves of the continuing stakes," explained PBC's CEO, Elizabeth Wagley

A provocative, darkly comical and moving literary achievement, So Much for That challenges our nation's core assumptions about marriage, family, and the American Dream. With a harrowing storyline and sympathetic characters, Shriver?s novel deepens our empathy for those with serious illness facing challenges of the failing economy and health-care system.

New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani applauds So Much for That as a ?visceral and deeply affecting story? about how illness affects people?s relationships, and how their efforts to grapple with mortality reshape the arcs of their lives?. (Shriver?s) understanding of her people is so intimate, so unsentimental?it lofts these characters permanently into the reader?s imagination.?

So Much For That is the 29th PBC Pick for Progressive Book Club since the club?s launch in June 2008. Other selections have included The Backlash by Will Bunch, Food Matters by Mark Bittman, Netherland, by Joseph O?Neil, The Big Short, by Michael Lewis, The Way of the World by Ron Suskind, The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones, The Power of Progress John Podesta, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, True Compass, By Edward M. Kennedy, Our Choice by Al Gore, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, and The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.

About Progressive Book Club

Progressive Book Club finds and promotes books that can change America, harnessing the power of the Internet to create an important new platform for progressive authors and ideas. PBC members buy selected books at significant discounts, while designating a portion of every purchase for organizations and issues to which they are most committed. Combining sales with exclusive online feature content, Progressive Book Club is a new and vibrant forum that has transformed the traditional book club model.

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New Book Cheerleads Miracles in Foster Care System

Mount Vernon, OH (PRWEB) January 24, 2012

In the 1970s Paula Ann Kyle lived in seven different foster homes. It is this experience that she mines in her new book?????On the Edge of Unthinkable? (published by iUniverse). ?This is my gift of hope to today?s foster children,? she says.

This three-generation memoir describes Kyle?s journey in the foster care system, starting in 1974 when she and her two sisters were abruptly taken from their family and unceremoniously deposited in three separate foster homes. ?On the Edge of Unthinkable? ultimately describes the ramifications Kyle?s childhood had on many relationships throughout her life.

Readers will read about the heroes of Kyle?s childhood, including her dedicated case manager and her final foster parents, all of whom she credits in great part with her success.

Despite the many negative reviews of foster care, Kyle maintains that it can and does work miracles. ?As a former foster child I could never find a story with a positive outcome,? she says. ?It has been almost two years since this story was launched into production in a previous issue; it has become obvious to me that, especially foster children, read this story in different code of hope and inspiration.?

In addition, Kyle has been pleased with the book?s early reception. ?It has been used,? she notes, ?by both high school classes and university-level social work classes.?

About the Author

Born in Camp Pendleton, San Diego, California in 1961, Paula Ann Kyle could have never imagined the winding road life had in store for her. From her turbulent beginnings as a Marine and, eventually, Army brat, being shuttled from one military base to another along with her siblings, to the trauma and heartache of losing her mother at the age of 11, the horrors that were to follow were all parts of the path toward becoming the confident and charismatic women she is now. Kyle became a wife and mother of two children. Now residing in small town in Ohio, Kyle enjoys the serenity of her cabin in the woods. Kyle?s newest and most joyful role is being a grandmother to three beautiful grandchildren.

iUniverse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is the leading book marketing, editorial services, and supported self-publishing provider. iUniverse has a strategic alliance with Indigo Books & Music, Inc. in Canada, and titles accepted into the iUniverse Rising Star program are featured in a special collection on BarnesandNoble.com. iUniverse recognizes excellence in book publishing through the Star, Reader?s Choice, Rising Star and Editor?s Choice designations?self-publishing?s only such awards program. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, iUniverse also operates offices in Indianapolis. For more information or to publish a book, please visit iuniverse.com or call 1-800-AUTHORS. For the latest, follow @iuniversebooks on Twitter.

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