May 29, 2015

The end of May marks the most anticipated publishing event of the year --- BookExpo America (BEA) at the well-air conditioned, but insanely difficult to get to, Javits Center. Publishers, authors, literary agents, booksellers, librarians and internet gurus (like us) from all over the country, and the world, come together to preview books of the upcoming season. While one can walk around, view thousands of upcoming titles, collect author-signed books and, yes, eat some free candy here and there, there are also a variety of panels featuring authors and industry people...including our very own Carol Fitzgerald. Wearing her iconic turquoise (ter-kwaz, as Anjelica Huston would say), Carol talked with six Buzz Authors whose upcoming books were dubbed "Buzz Books of the Show." The authors were Julie Checkoway, Garth Risk Hallberg, Dan Marshall, Otessa Moshfegh, Damon Tweedy and Ruth Ware. The TBRN #squad enthusiastically cheered her on from the peanut gallery.

Later in the day, we attended a panel that, we think, takes home the BEA 2015 best-talk trophy. It may even trump last year's highlight, Walter Isaacson's talk about the importance of collaboration in the workplace --- which is saying a lot considering we're still checking up on those Isaacson Google images. This year's winner was Harvard professor Amy Cuddy (not to be confused with Kid), who spoke with Julianne "Ever Heard of Her?" Moore about her forthcoming novel, PRESENCE. You might remember Cuddy from her highly viewed TED Talk on body language --- at 26 million views, it's the second most watched TED Talk ever. Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" ain't got nothing on Cuddy! Although Emily was initially disappointed that there were no presents, she soon fell under the spell of Cuddy and Moore's easy chemistry and mesmerizing intelligence. As Nikki put it, "They gave you the gift of knowledge."

Cuddy is an acclaimed social psychologist, and it was clear from the way she spoke so eloquently about her subject that she is deeply passionate about her area of expertise. It didn't hurt that Moore is super charismatic and, as an actress, was able to bring a unique and personal perspective to Cuddy's scientific observations. Also, she glows. Cuddy's main point was that our body language has a huge effect on our immediate and future environments. Not only is the way we carry ourselves a mode of communicating with others, it is also a manifestation of the way we feel about ourselves. So it's not just about appearing confident; if we hold ourselves confidently, we'll actually start to feel more confident. Which is amazing news for us 20somethings, who could use all the confidence we can get as we're going on job interviews...and dates. Cuddy also mentioned body language as a way to combat anxiety and fears --- things we're interested in reading more about when her book hits stores in early November!

Wait, it actually strikes us right! now! that the exclamation point is pretty much the power pose of punctuation! How powerful do we seem! Score! But seriously! Exclamation points are a way of communicating enthusiasm and investment, and make our readers trust us! No matter what we say!

Our Beach Bag of Books 2015 Contest is now live on the site. From now until Monday, July 27th at noon ET, you have the chance to enter to win a selection of the featured titles here. We have some great summer reads in the promotion this year, so be sure to enter for your chance to be one of five lucky winners. Along with some titles, you'll also receive some special treats. Scroll down in the newsletter to read more about the contest and see the books we're giving away. Best of luck to all of you!

And speaking of contests, we have a mega one. After merging over a year ago, Penguin Random House has just launched their new combined website, PenguinRandomHouse.com. In celebration of their bringing their books and authors under one umbrella website, they’re hosting a contest that will award one winner with five books from their favorite genres every month for a year. We did the math; that's 60 books that you would be making room for on your bookshelves. Nice prize, eh? Click here to enter.

In honor of the paperback release of WE ARE NOT OURSELVES on June 2nd, author Matthew Thomas shares the top five books he read in his 20s that influenced his thinking and writing. Compounded with a dazzling list of honorable mentions, his picks are a literary lover’s dream come true. Check it out on our blog here.

If you happen to be in a book group, then we want to hear from you. We invite you to take the 2015 Book Group Survey, presented by ReadingGroupGuides.com, here. Of course, your time is valuable and thus those who complete it can enter to win prizes, so scroll down to learn more! But please only do this if you are in a book group. We want good intel here; no faking allowed!

And if you didn't attend BEA this year and pick up totes full of new releases, here are three books we think you should check out.

Deeanne Gist’s TIFFANY GIRL is the compelling historical story about a progressive “New Woman,” Flossie Jayne, the girl behind Tiffany’s chapel, and the love that threatens it all. As preparations for the 1893 World’s Fair set Chicago and the nation on fire, Louis Tiffany seizes the opportunity to unveil his state-of-the-art, stained glass, mosaic chapel. But when his dream is threatened by a glassworkers’ strike months before the Fair opens, he turns to the female students at the Art Students League of New York. Flossie Jayne, a beautiful, budding artist, is handpicked by Louis to help complete the Tiffany chapel.

ELENA VANISHING by Elena Dunkle and Clare B. Dunkle is the story of 17-year-old Elena's struggle with anorexia. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war.

In MY PARIS DREAM: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine, author Kate Betts writes about her dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college --- and not without trepidation --- she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay.

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. Niche publishers --- shoutout to Ellora's Cave!
2. Julianne Moore everything
3. American Express Business Lounge access
4. Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak co-authoring a book about their "complicated" relationship
5. Beach season...and maybe picking up surfing

Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

• BEACH TOWN by Mary Kay Andrews
• THE BOOK OF LIFE by Deborah Harkness
• THE FINISHER by David Baldacci
• THE GLAM GUIDE by Fleur De Force
• I TAKE YOU by Eliza Kennedy
• KILLER INSTINCT by S.E. Green
• KILLER WITHIN: Killer Instinct #2 by S.E. Green
• ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews
• OPENING UP by Lauren Dane
• SINNER by Maggie Stiefvater
• THE UNDERGROUND GIRLS OF KABUL: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

Click here to enter the contest.

A lot of you are probably familiar with Tumblr --- that social media website where you can engage in your favorite fandoms, share images, stories, memes and quotes and connect with people from across the globe.

One of the cool things about Tumblr is that it has a HUGE book presence, including authors, readers, publishers, bookstores and everything in between. You can connect in Tumblr’s book club, share photos of your favorite-book-inspired manicure or participate in genuine discussions with authors about your favorite (or least favorite) character.

And even cooler still, it’s someone’s JOB to make sure that all of this “book content” runs smoothly. Teenreads.com talked to that person --- officially called the Head of Publisher Outreach --- for the latest "REAL TALK Publishing" interview, and we're very excited to share this super modern, ever-changing and fun part of the business.

Read the interview to get all of Rachel Fershleiser’s insights on “the bookternet,” learn what it’s like to work at a startup, discover some of Tumblr’s newest book-themed initiatives and hear why this is the best time to work in the book world.

Click here to read Part 1.

Click here to read Part 2.

Click here to read Part 3.

We invite you to take our 2015 Book Group Survey. The results of this survey will be shared with publishers and authors for the purposes of creating programs and promotions to enhance your book club experience.

If you belong to more than one group, as you answer the survey please select one group to answer the questions about. If you would like to supply replies about another group, please take the survey again once you have completed it.

Those who complete the survey will be eligible to win one of the following prizes:
1 (one) Grand Prize - $250 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice.
10 (ten) First Prizes - $100 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice.
50 (fifty) Second Prizes - $25 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice.

The survey will be open through Wednesday, July 15th. If you are in a book group, we would appreciate your participation!
 

AND SOMETIMES I WONDER ABOUT YOU: A Leonid McGill Mystery by Walter Mosley (Mystery)
Leonid McGill is approached by an unemployed office manager named Hiram Stent to track down the whereabouts of his cousin, Celia, who is about to inherit millions of dollars from her father's side of the family. Leonid declines the case, but after his office is broken into and Hiram is found dead, he gets reeled into the underbelly of Celia's wealthy old-money family. It's up to Leonid to save who he can and incriminate the guilty --- all while taking care of a number of personal matters. Reviewed by Jane Krebs.

BEACH TOWN by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Greer Hennessy, a movie location scout, must find the perfect undiscovered beach town for a big budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town but finds a formidable obstacle in the town mayor, Eben Thibadeaux. A born-again environmentalist, he has seen massive damage done to the town by a huge paper company and has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. The only problem is that he finds Greer way too attractive for his own good, and knows that her motivation is in direct conflict with his. Reviewed by Amie Taylor.

BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT by Neal Griffin (Thriller)
Ben Sawyer was a big-city cop, until he nearly killed a helpless suspect in public. Now a detective in the tiny Wisconsin town where he and his wife grew up, Ben suspects that higher-ups are taking payoffs from local drug lords. Before long, Ben is off the force. His wife is accused of murder. His only ally is another outcast, a Latina rookie cop. Worse, a killer has escaped from jail with vengeance on his mind, and Newburg --- and Ben Sawyer --- in his sights. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

BURNING DOWN GEORGE ORWELL’S HOUSE by Andrew Ervin (Fiction)
Ray Welter, who until recently was a high-flying advertising executive in Chicago, has left the world of newspeak behind. He decamps to the isolated Scottish Isle of Jura in order to spend a few months in the cottage where George Orwell wrote most of his seminal novel, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR. A few of the local islanders take a decidedly shallow view of a foreigner coming to visit in order to sort himself out, and Ray quickly finds himself having to deal with not only his own issues but also a community whose eccentricities are at times amusing and at others downright dangerous. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

THE CANTERBURY SISTERS by Kim Wright (Fiction)
Not only has Che Milan’s longtime lover abruptly dumped her, but her eccentric, demanding mother has recently died. When an urn of ashes arrives, along with a note reminding Che of a half-forgotten promise to take her mother to Canterbury, Che finds herself reluctantly undertaking a pilgrimage. Within days she joins a group of women who are walking the 60 miles from London to the shrine of Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, reputed to be the site of miracles. The women swap stories as they walk, each vying to see who can best describe true love. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

DEAD GIRL WALKING by Christopher Brookmyre (Thriller)
Famous, beautiful and talented, Heike Gunn has the world at her feet. Then, one day, she simply vanishes. Meanwhile, journalist Jack Parlabane has lost everything: his career, his marriage, his self-respect. A call for help from an old friend offers a chance for redemption --- but only if he can find out what happened to Heike. Pursued by those who would punish him for past crimes, Parlabane enters the secret-filled world of Heike’s band, Savage Earth Heart, whose members each seem to be hiding something. He must dredge up old secrets to find Heike before it’s too late. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

DON’T GO HOME: A Death on Demand Mystery by Carolyn Hart (Mystery)
Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is hosting a party to celebrate successful Southern literary icon Alex Griffith and his bestselling new novel, Don’t Go Home. But not everyone in town is ready to give him a glowing review. As Annie attempts damage control, her friend Marian Kenyon gets in a heated argument with Griffith. It’s a fight Annie won’t soon forget --- especially after the author turns up dead. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

DRY BONES: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson (Mystery)
When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum --- until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe and the federal government. Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE FORGOTTEN ROOM by Lincoln Child (Thriller)
Jeremy Logan is an "enigmalogist" --- an investigator who specializes in analyzing phenomena that have no obvious explanation. Here, Logan finds himself on the storied coastline of Newport, Rhode Island, where he has been retained by Lux, one of the oldest and most respected think tanks in America. Just days earlier, one of its most distinguished doctors began acting erratically and killed himself in a truly shocking fashion. Terrified by the incident and the bizarre evidence left behind, the group hires Logan to investigate what drove this erudite man to madness. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

HOPE AND OTHER LUXURIES: A Mother's Life with a Daughter's Anorexia by Clare B. Dunkle (Memoir)
Clare Dunkle seemed to have an ideal life --- two beautiful, high-achieving teenage daughters, a loving husband, and a satisfying and successful career as a children's book novelist. But just after one daughter successfully conquered her depression, another daughter developed a life-threatening eating disorder. Co-published with ELENA VANISHING, the memoir of her daughter, this is the story of one family's fight against a deadly disease, from an often ignored but important perspective: the mother of the anorexic. Reviewed by Amelia Kidd.

HOW TO START A FIRE by Lisa Lutz (Fiction)
When UC Santa Cruz roommates Anna and Kate find passed-out Georgiana Leoni on a lawn one night, they wheel her to their dorm in a shopping cart. Twenty years later, they gather around a campfire on the lawn of a New England mansion. What happens in between --- the web of wild adventures, unspoken jealousies, and sudden tragedies that alter the course of their lives --- is charted with sharp wit and aching sadness in this meticulously constructed novel. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

I, RIPPER by Stephen Hunter (Historical Thriller)
I, RIPPER is a vivid reimagining of Jack the Ripper’s personal story entwined with that of an Irish journalist who covered the case, knew the principals, charted the investigation, and, at last stymied, went off in a bold new direction. These two men stalk each other through a city twisted in fear of the madman’s blade, a cat-and-mouse game that brings to life the sounds and smells of the fleshpot tenderloin of Whitechapel and all the lurid acts that fueled the Ripper headlines. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

JACK OF SPADES by Joyce Carol Oates (Psychological Thriller)
Andrew J. Rush has achieved the kind of critical and commercial success most authors only dream about. He also has a loving wife, three grown children, and is a well-regarded philanthropist. But Rush is hiding a dark secret. Under the pseudonym “Jack of Spades,” he writes another string of novels --- dark potboilers that are violent, lurid, even masochistic. Eventually, Rush’s reputation, career and family life all come under threat --- and unbidden, in the back of his mind, the Jack of Spades starts thinking ever more evil thoughts. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

THE MAKING OF ZOMBIE WARS by Aleksandar Hemon (Fiction)
Josh Levin is an aspiring screenwriter teaching ESL classes in Chicago. His laptop is full of ideas, but the only one to really take root is Zombie Wars. When Josh comes home to discover his landlord, an unhinged army vet, rifling through his dirty laundry, he decides to move in with his girlfriend, Kimmy. It's domestic bliss for a moment, but Josh becomes entangled with a student, a Bosnian woman named Ana, whose husband is jealous and violent. Disaster ensues. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

MY PARIS DREAM: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine by Kate Betts (Memoir)
As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college --- and not without trepidation --- she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

ROBERT B. PARKER’S KICKBACK: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins (Mystery)
What started out as a joke landed 17-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility in Boston Harbor. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges. Judge Joe Scali gives speeches about getting tough on today’s wild youth. But Dillon’s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn’t buying Scali’s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

SOLITUDE CREEK: A Kathryn Dance Novel by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised, sending people running for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half-dozen people die and others are seriously injured, though there was no fire. Kathryn Dance --- a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert --- discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE SUBPRIMES by Karl Taro Greenfield (Fiction)
In a future America that feels increasingly familiar, you are your credit score. Extreme wealth inequality has created a class of have-nothings: Subprimes. Their bad credit ratings make them unemployable. Fugitives who must keep moving to avoid arrest, they wander the globally warmed American wasteland searching for day labor and a place to park their battered SUVs for the night. THE SUBPRIMES follows the fortunes of two families whose lives reflect this new dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-financially-fittest America. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

TIFFANY GIRL by Deeanne Gist (Historical Fiction)
As preparations for the 1893 World’s Fair set Chicago and the nation on fire, Louis Tiffany seizes the opportunity to unveil his state-of-the-art, stained glass, mosaic chapel. But when his dream is threatened by a glassworkers’ strike months before the Fair opens, he turns to the female students at the Art Students League of New York. Eager for adventure, the young women move to boarding houses and assume new identities as the “Tiffany Girls.” Flossie Jayne, a beautiful, budding artist, is handpicked by Louis to help complete the Tiffany chapel. Reviewed by Michele Howe.

WATER FROM MY HEART by Charles Martin (Fiction)
Charlie Finn earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs. He travels to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter. Reviewed by Susan Miura.

ELENA VANISHING by Elena Dunkle and Clare B. Dunkle (Memoir)
Seventeen-year-old Elena is vanishing. Every day means renewed determination, so every day means fewer calories. This is the story of a girl whose armor against anxiety becomes artillery against herself as she battles on both sides of a lose-lose war in a struggle with anorexia. Reviewed by Cheyenne C., Teen Board Member.

OFF THE PAGE by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer, illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert (Fantasy, Romance)
Meet Oliver, a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale and transported into the real world. Meet Delilah, the girl who wished Oliver into being. It’s a miracle that seems perfect at first --- but there are complications. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to play Oliver’s role in the pages of Delilah’s favorite book. But just when it seems that the plan will work, everything gets turned upside down. Reviewed by Christi Sheehan.

SHADOW OF THE WOLF by Tim Hall (Young Adult Fiction, Folklore)
In the first book of a trilogy that retells the story of Robin Hood, Robin Loxley is seven years old when his parents disappear without a trace. Years later the great love of his life, Marian, is also taken from him. Driven by these mysteries, and this anguish, Robin follows a darkening path into the ancient heart of Sherwood Forest. What he encounters there will leave him transformed. Reviewed by Alison S., Teen Board member.

BATTLE LINES: A Graphic History of the Civil War by Ari Kelman and illustrated by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Comic Book, Graphic Novel)
The graphic novelist Jonathan Fetter-Vorm and the award-winning historian Ari Kelman team up to create a unique portrait of a brutal and defining event in American history: the Civil War. The result is Battle Lines, a monumental graphic history --- rendered in Fetter-Vorm's sweeping full-color panoramas, and grounded in Kelman's nuanced understanding of the period --- offering a series of wholly new perspectives on the conflict that turned this nation against itself. Reviewed by Jess Costello.