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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
February 20, 2004 |
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Passionate Reading |
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It's been a while since there has been a movie with as much buzz as we are hearing about "The Passion of The Christ" (it seems to be better known as "The Mel Gibson Movie"), which opens in theatres on Wednesday, the 25th. An accompanying book called THE PASSION is now in stores and I take a look at it this week. You can see my comments by clicking on the cover above. We are running a poll on FaithfulReader.com asking how many of you plan to see "The Passion of The Christ." Please click the link below to let us know what you think.
For those of you following our suspense/thriller feature, we have an interview with Reed Arvin and a review of THE LAST GOODBYE. This book has been gathering raves and I am happy to share that our reviewer, Joe Hartlaub gives this a "highly recommended."
I typically do not read the nonfiction books about news events. I find I can get all the info that I want --- in fact too much usually --- from the usual media sources. One exception is the book about the Andrea Yates case --- ARE YOU THERE ALONE? by Suzanne O'Malley. I read this last weekend and review it below. We also have an interview with O'Malley.
The response to our Mystery Mayhem promotion has been terrific. I am happy to announce our next author --- Rita Mae Brown. Brown and her cohort Sneaky Pie Brown have been a hit series of cat mysteries. Next will be WHISKER OF EVIL, due in stores on March 30th. Want to be one of our 20 advance readers? Then drop a note to Mystery@bookreporter.com with your name and street mailing address by Friday, March 5th.
A few weeks ago I told you about my delayed departure in the Indianapolis airport where I escaped and enjoyed the long wait with THE BOOK OF JOE by Jonathan Tropper (I had mistakenly mentioned he was a debut novelist, missing that his previous book PLAN B also was a novel), which will be in stores on March 30th. This week kick off a spotlight of Joe with a new feature called One to Watch. If you are interested in being one of 10 advance readers of THE BOOK OF JOE, drop us a note with your name and street mailing address by Friday, March 5th.
Have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
Are you planning to see the movie, The Passion of the Christ? Tell us here.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Suzanne O'Malley, Author of ARE YOU THERE ALONE?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates |
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When she drowned her five young children in 2001, Andrea Yates became a national obsession. In ARE YOU THERE ALONE?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, Suzanne O'Malley blows past the tabloid explanations to give us a factual --- and surprising --- explanation of the crime. Diana Keough asks her some pointed questions; Carol Fitzgerald assesses the book itself. |
Read the interview with Suzanne O'Malley, author of ARE YOU THERE ALONE? and a review here.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Reed Arvin and Reviews THE LAST GOODBYE and See Our Next Author, Clinton McKinzie, Author of CROSSING THE LINE |
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In an interview with Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek) Reed Arvin, author of THE LAST GOODBYE, talks about the major themes in his latest book, his decision to write novels after a successful career in the music business and a humorous --- yet slightly embarrassing --- incident that occurred while he was doing research for his next thriller.
THE LAST GOODBYE by Reed Arvin (Suspense/Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Attorney Jack Hammond has nothing but suspicions when his friend --- a recovering addict --- is found dead in his apartment with a syringe stuck in his arm. Jack believes this "overdose" was in fact murder and that his friend's obsession with a woman might have led to his untimely demise.
CROSSING THE LINE by Clinton McKinzie is on-sale 4/27
-Read about CROSSING THE LINE
-Read about TRIAL BY ICE AND FIRE, which will be available in paperback on 3/2
-Read about Clinton McKinzie
-Enter to be one of 20 advance readers of CROSSING THE LINE by sending your name and mailing address (street address, not email address) to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 27.
CROSSING THE LINE
In CROSSING THE LINE, FBI agent Mary Chang is hot on the trail of Hidalgo, a murderous drug lord who recently relocated to a Wyoming canyon. Determined to bring Hidalgo to custody, Chang enlists Special Agent Antonio Burns and his renegade brother, Roberto. Despite Mary's and Anthony's efforts, their plans soon descend into a world of loss, betrayal and terror. |
Read our Suspense/Thriller Spotlight here.
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ONE TO WATCH: Jonathan Tropper, Author of THE BOOK OF JOE |
Jonathan Tropper is an author we are watching. Here's the plot of his latest: Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, and never looked back. Fifteen years later, he wrote a novel that savaged everyone in his hometown --- then became a national best seller and huge hit movie. Lucky for Joe, he never planned on going home --- until now...
Want to be one of our 10 advance readers of THE BOOK OF JOE? Then send your name and mailing address to Contests@bookreporter.com by Friday, March 5th. |
Read more about Jonathan Tropper and THE BOOK OF JOE.
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Laurie R. King, Read a Second Excerpt from THE GAME and Meet Our Next Author, Rita Mae Brown, Author of WHISKER OF EVIL |
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Laurie R. King's latest Mary Russell novel, THE GAME, will be in bookstores on March 2, 2004. Read more about the book and author by checking out the graphics above and the link below.
Now Featuring:
-Read Two Excerpts from THE GAME
-See Our Advance Readers of THE GAME
-Read Critical Praise of Laurie R. King's work
-Browse Author Fast Facts
Rita Mae Brown is the author of the Sneaky Pie mystery series. Her latest WHISKER OF EVIL will be in stores on March 30th along with the paperback of the TAIL OF THE TIPOFF. Want to be one of our 20 advance readers of WHISKER OF EVIL? Then send your name and snail mail address to Mystery@bookreporter.com by Friday, March 5th.
Here's the plot of WHISKER OF EVIL: A mysterious death in a Virginia farm town has the locals scratching their heads --- while frisky feline Mrs. Murphy and her friends, fat-cat Pewter and a corgi named Tee Tucker, uncover clues as they curl their way around a cold-blooded killer.
Read more about this book and Rita Mae Brown by clicking on the links below. |
Read our Mystery Mayhem feature here.
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CHARMING GRACE by Deborah Smith |
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Deborah Smith delivers laugh-out-loud humor southern-style in CHARMING GRACE, in the tradition of her optioned-by-Disney 2002 book, SWEET HUSH.
An ex-beauty queen and former Atlanta TV
personality Grace Bagshaw Vance fiercely guards the poignant history that brought her and her deceased husband, Harp, together in Dahlonega, Georgia's legendary poor boy-rich-girl love story. But Grace's secrets are about to become the stuff of tabloids, thanks to action-movie superstar Stone Senterra. The good-hearted but clueless star and his muscle-bound sister, Diamond, invaded Dahlonega to film the story of Vance Harp's fatal heroism as an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Determined to sabotage the filming of "Hero," Grace pulls every trick in the book. It's up to Stone's wry and unflappable Cajun bodyguard, ex-con Boone Noleene, to salvage Stone's film. But soon Grace earns Boone's respect - and his passion - and the good-hearted ex-con must choose between loyalty to the man who gave him a second chance and the woman who's won his heart. |
Click here to read an excerpt of CHARMING GRACE and Grace's blog.
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This Week's Book Reviews and Features |
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THE AMATEUR MARRIAGE by Anne Tyler (Fiction)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Anne Tyler's newest novel --- among the most poignant and heartfelt in her canon --- chronicles the story of a couple who, after thirty years together and raising three children, realize that they are unsuited for each other.
LOVE MONKEY by Kyle Smith (Fiction)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
If you think single girls have it rough, wait until you read this novel --- Kyle Smith's answer to Chick Lit and one man's story of life, love and the pursuit of happiness in the Big Apple.
BET ME by Jennifer Crusie (Chick Lit)
Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet, even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again --- but it appears that fate has other plans in store for them.
CADILLAC BEACH by Tim Dorsey (Fiction)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Unconventional protagonist Serge Storms returns in Tim Dorsey's wacky and offbeat sixth novel. It appears that Serge's late grandfather may have been involved in the aftermath of a notorious 1964 jewel heist --- and Serge is determined to find out exactly how he died.
THE EPICURE'S LAMENT by Kate Christensen (Fiction)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
An irascible middle-aged man who lives like a hermit in his family's crumbling mansion verbally abuses everyone with whom he comes in contact --- with riotous and often bittersweet results.
THE BONE PARADE by Mark Nykanen (Thriller)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Ashley Stassler is an artist who has received much acclaim for a series of bronze sculptures that group families together, depicting them in moments of excruciating physical and emotional pain --- but the art world has no clue as to how he creates such authentic and gruesome human representations.
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT by Anita Brookner (Fiction)
Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
Anita Brookner, the Booker Prize-winning author of HOTEL DU LAC and MAKING THINGS BETTER, presents a story about the changes in relationships over time, and how our life choices can both reflect the past and direct the future.
LOVE IN THE DRIEST SEASON: A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker (Memoir)
Reviewed by Andi Shechter
Journalist Neely Tucker has written a powerful and wrenching memoir of the many struggles he and his wife faced in their efforts to adopt a baby girl in Zimbabwe.
GIANT KILLERS: The Team and the Law That Help Whistle-blowers Recover America's Stolen Billions by Henry Scammell (Political Science)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
Veteran author Henry Scammel focuses his attention on the False Claims Act --- an anticorruption law passed in 1986 that has emerged as one of the nation's most potent weapons against corporate greed --- and exactly what it has been able to accomplish.
NAPOLEON: A Political Life by Steven Englund (Biography)
Reviewed by Robert Finn
This masterful biography, written by a respected French history scholar who has taught courses on Napoleon at the University of Paris, brings new and remarkable analysis to the study of modern history's most famous general and statesman |
Read the reviews and features here.
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Poll: Which do you remember most in the books you read? |
Which do you remember most in the books you read? (Please pick only one)
Plot
Characters
Setting
Dialogue
Other (Please specify) |
Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: Give us a one-line synopsis of the last book that you read. |
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Give us a one-line synopsis of the last book that you read. |
Answer the Question of the Week.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading -- TWO Prizes! |
Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.
This week we have some great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of THE LAST GOODBYE by Reed Arvin and DANCE WITH ME by Luanne Rice. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on February 27th. |
Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
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As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below.
Those of you who wish to send mail to Bookreporter.com, please see the form on the Write to Us page. We were forced to move to this format after we were inundated with SPAM at the other address. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us.
Quick observation --- we have noticed that many of you have been changing your Internet providers in the past month. If you do, please be sure to "take us along" by signing up for the newsletter in your new name!
Happy reading! Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, FaithfulReader.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.
--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
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