December 10, 2004

The Boxed Gift Set -- And What to Buy Kids/Teens on Your List

Last weekend I spent some time at my local bookseller as my younger son created a wish list of books that he wanted for the holidays. There in the paperback area I saw the perfect gift idea --- the boxed set, which is a collection of books by an author, smartly packaged together. I confess that I rarely think of boxed sets for books, but rather typically explore these for my favorite music artists. For those of you who do not want to give "just a book," may we suggest these? Later in this newsletter we spotlight one of the boxed sets that caught my eye. Read on for more info and don't forget to explore these when you are "conquering your holiday shopping lists" this weekend. By the way, we often find that books are more of a "last-minute" holiday purchase, don't you? 

Is anyone else noting that they are buying a fair number of "to me/from me" presents this holiday season? I realize that in my shopping spree last Friday night and Saturday there seemed to be a fair share of "one for them and one for me" shopping going on. Be honest, I am sure I am not alone.

We are betting that you probably have at least a couple of children and teens on your holiday list. With this in mind Tom Donadio, our Editorial Manager, has lined up lists of kids and teens titles that are perfect for holiday giving. Among the selections for teens are standouts including Carolyn Mackler's third novel VEGAN VIRGIN VALENTINE, in which an overachieving high school senior must reevaluate her priorities; LUNA, an unforgettable novel by Julie Anne Peters about a teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance; and G.P. Taylor's SHADOWMANCER, a compelling and breathtaking fantasy full of danger, suspense and unexpected plot twists. See our complete list of teen suggestions here.

For children, Tom has compiled an equally robust list that includes CHASING VERMEER, THE SEA OF TROLLS, PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS (by two adult authors you will know, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) and LAUGH TILL YOU CRY. More about all of these titles, as well as a robust list of picture book suggestions may be found here. We also have a roundup of Holiday Books for Kids that can be found here.

This week we announce our latest Suspense/Thriller author, Richard Montanari, whose book THE ROSARY GIRLS will be in stores on February 15th. THE ROSARY GIRLS is chilling and edgy with the kind of plotting that defines a suspense title. We are looking for 20 advance readers to read the book and let us know what they think about it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Wednesday, December 22nd.

Bookish moments this week included watching the film adaptation of THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN. This may be the best book to movie project that I ever viewed, which was such a pleasant surprise. Wednesday night I went to a Barnes & Noble author event at the Lincoln Center store and saw Nelson DeMille discussing NIGHT FALL. The room was packed for this event and I enjoyed hearing the questions from those in the audience who had read the book. By the way, NIGHT FALL hits the New York Times list at #1 this week for those of you who track bestsellers. To catch Nelson on tour, see tour dates at NelsonDeMille.net.

Have a great week. Repeat after me: "There is a book for everyone on my shopping list." And if you shop Amazon.com, may we ask that you use the link at the bottom of this note. It's a great way to support Bookreporter.com as we see a royalty from the sales!

--Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Shop Amazon with this link to support Bookreporter.com.

Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Richard Montanari, Author of THE ROSARY GIRLS

Richard Montanari, author of THE ROSARY GIRLS, is our new featured Suspense/Thriller author. THE ROSARY GIRLS will be in stores on February 15th.

New this week for Richard Montanari:
-We are looking for 20 advance readers to read the book and let us know what they think about it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Wednesday, December 22nd.
-Read more about Richard Montanari
-Visit Richard Montanari's website: RichardMontanari.com

More about THE ROSARY GIRLS:
Richard Montanari has written an astounding novel that pits two besieged detectives against a fiercely intelligent serial killer. Relentlessly paced and vividly told, THE ROSARY GIRLS is a smart, emotionally complex, fiercely gripping thriller from an author who takes chances, breaks new ground, and leaves readers haunted and moved long after the last page is turned.

ONE TO WATCH: CAGE'S BEND by Carter Coleman

Our newest One To Watch author is Carter Coleman. His novel, CAGE'S BEND is written in the tradition of Pat Conroy's THE PRINCE OF TIDES. It's the dramatic story of the unraveling of a tight-knit Southern family. It will be in stores on January 7th.

New This Week:
Read our second excerpt.
See our list of advance winners.

Here's more about CAGE'S BEND:

Cage, Nick, and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal American family of the 1960s and 70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boy --- star athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular; Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son, and Harper, 10 years younger, chases after his older siblings, trying not to be left out. With the tragic death of Nick in the 1980s, the breakdown of the family begins. Cage's guilt triggers incipient mental illness, and the next two decades find him swinging between mania and depression, between grim institutions and comebacks. Harper, who achieved early success on Wall Street, is torn between wanting to help his brother and seeking escape from his ghosts via an endless stream of women. Told in the alternating voices of Cage, Harper, and their parents, CAGE'S BEND is the story of a family damaged by tragedy and unfulfilled dreams, and renewed by the unshakable bonds of love.

Read more about Carter Coleman and CAGE'S BEND here.

Bookreporter.com Talks to Joel Osteen, Author of YOUR BEST LIFE NOW

Diana Keough, contributing writer to FaithfulReader.com, interviewed Joel Osteen, author of  the New York Times #1 bestseller, YOUR BEST LIFE NOW: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. Osteen explains why he decided to write the book, addresses critics who believe that his overall message is too positive, and discusses what he hopes readers will take away from his writing.

Read our interview with Joel Osteen, author of YOUR BEST LIFE NOW here.

Now Available And Perfect for Holiday Giving and Getting: The Shopaholic Gift Set from Sophie Kinsella

Attention shoppers (and non-shoppers too)! The first three novels in Sophie Kinsella's bestselling "Shopaholic" series are now available in one beautiful boxed set. In CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, Kinsella introduces readers to Becky Bloomwood, a recent college graduate who is hounded by debt and seemingly incapable of controlling her urge to purchase. The hilarious adventures of this self-obsessed and shopping-obsessed (and sometimes whiny) young woman continue in SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN and SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT. After reading these three books, you'll be eager to purchase SHOPAHOLIC & SISTER, the latest installment in this laugh-out-loud series. Can we say --- Great holiday gifts?

Click here for more about the Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic Boxed set.

Special Feature: Preview of John Grisham's THE BROKER, due in stores on January 11th 

John Grisham's latest is an international thriller called THE BROKER. It will be in stores on January 11th. Here we bring you a special feature:

Read more about THE BROKER.
Read an excerpt from THE BROKER.
Listen to John Grisham talk about the book.
Listen to an audio excerpt.

Read our Special John Grisham Feature here.

LIFE EXPECTANCY by Dean Koontz (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Dean Koontz's newest nail-biter is the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man born to an extraordinary legacy --- a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death, and everything in between.

MANTRAPPED by Fay Weldon (Fiction)
Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
What would happen if a man were to wake up one morning as a woman? Or a woman as a man? Would his personality change completely? Would hers? After brushing past each other on the stairs above their local Laundromat, Trisha and Peter soon find out. 

THE FIRST DESIRE by Nancy Reisman (Fiction)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
A sister's disappearance in 1929 is the portal into the intertwined and intricate lives of one family in this absorbing read by debut novelist Nancy Reisman.

THE STAGGERFORD MURDERS and THE LIFE AND DEATH OF NANCY CLANCY'S NEPHEW by Jon Hassler (Mystery)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Denizens of an old hotel solve a years-old murder almost without realizing it. And, in another story, a boy from the same town befriends a cheerless, aging fellow in need of a buddy.

TELLING TALES edited by Nadine Gordimer (Fiction/Short Stories)
Reviewed by Rob Cline
This remarkable collection of short stories captures the range of emotions and situations of our human universe. All twenty-one writers featured in this anthology have given their stories --- chosen by themselves as representing some of the best of their lifetime work as storytellers --- without any fee or royalty.

In case you missed these reviews last week (we know that you, like us, are in the midst of the holidaze), here they are again:

DOWNTOWN: My Manhattan by Pete Hamill (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Tom Callahan
Pete Hamill has written a brilliant tribute to the city he loves. Part history, part memoir, and part elegy, this book follows the growth of Manhattan from its roots as a Dutch trading post on the lower tip of the island to its inevitable expansion uptown to Times Square and upwards to the sky.

WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES by Debbie Macomber (Romance)
Reviewed by Maggie Harding
Emily Springer is a widowed mother who decides to leave her hometown to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston. Charles Brewster --- a history professor, seasoned curmudgeon and resident of Boston --- wants to avoid Christmas altogether. Through an Internet site, Emily and Charles arrange to swap houses for the holiday.

THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy, by T. R. Reid (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Roz Shea
If you don't read another book on America this year, this is the one to pick up.  Author and American journalist T. R. Reid provides an infinitely readable, witty, analytical and information-packed description of the New Europe.

HALLELUJAH! THE WELCOME TABLE: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes, by Maya Angelou (Cookbook/Memoir)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
Throughout Maya Angelou's life, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment and connection. HALLELUJAH! THE WELCOME TABLE is a wonderful collection of recipes and a lifetime of memories by the renowned poet and author. 

THE COVENANT by Naomi Ragen (Thriller)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
A young family in Israel is torn apart when terrorists kidnap the father and child, threatening to kill them if their demands are not met. But four old women who formed a bond called the Covenant while interred at Auschwitz step up to take on the terrorists. 

THE LAST DARK PLACE by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Mystery)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
In Stuart M. Kaminsky's eighth mystery featuring Abe Lieberman, the veteran Chicago detective and his Irish partner Bill Hanrahan --- known on the streets as the Rabbi and the Priest --- have their hands full with dark matters both professional and personal.

THE ROAD TO PURGATORY by Max Allan Collins (Fiction)
Reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Michael O'Sullivan returns from the jungles of Bataan a war hero and finds himself being asked by Eliot Ness to join another war -- between the government and Al Capone's gang.   

DARWIN'S WINK: A Novel of Nature and Love, by Alison Anderson (Fiction)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
An American conservationist strives to save an endangered bird on a tiny island. But Nature isn't the only force working against her. And, as she realizes what she is up against, the stakes get higher. 

THE FAMILY TRADE: Book One of The Merchant Princes, by Charles Stross (Fantasy)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
In this fast-paced, quirky introduction to a new fantasy series, Miriam finds herself in a parallel world where her own true family rules --- and Miriam's life is in imminent danger. 

NAUGHTY OR NICE by Melanie George (Historical Romance)
Reviewed by Maggie Harding
While caretaking her crumbling familial estate and struggling to make ends meet, Lady Francine Fitz Hugh meets Lucien Kendall, a handsome young man chosen by Fancy's late brother to be her guardian.

How much of your holiday shopping is done?
All of it
75%
50%
25%
I have not started yet.

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 STATE OF FEAR by Michael Crichton, LIFE EXPECTANCY by Dean Koontz and THE FACTS BEHIND THE HELSINKI ROCCAMATIOS by Yann Martel.

Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on December 17th.