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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
June 8, 2007
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Miles of Aisles of Books
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Last weekend's Book Expo America (BEA) trade show was a booklover's dream as I wandered the aisles perusing titles, listened to authors and editors, and made endless notes on books we want to share with you in the upcoming months. Our staffers and I split up so we could cover more ground, and we convened this week to compare notes and start planning what we think will be a very exciting fall.
I had the pleasure of meeting Andrea Portes, the author of HICK, whose interview we share this week, and later I heard Justin Evans talk about A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD, which we review this week, during the Emerging Authors panel. Also on that panel was Anita Amirrezvani, the author of THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS. As you may recall I really love this book, which is the story of a young Iranian rug weaver in the 17th century. It just hit stores this week. For those of you who like to read books around a theme, I have for you an idea of reading THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini and PEONY IN LOVE by Lisa See (in stores on June 26th). Each book has women who are somehow oppressed and without voices, and the plots involve how they come to find strength within themselves. As I saw each of these authors speak last weekend (Hosseini and See were breakfast speakers on Saturday), I could visualize readers moving through these titles to get a look into the heads and hearts of these women.
At the Emerging Authors panel, I also got to meet Nancy Horan, whose book, LOVING FRANK (in stores on August 7th), I mentioned last week. We grabbed a few moments before her panel where I had great fun talking with her about Frank Lloyd Wright and his love, Martha "Mamah" Borthwick, who is the subject of her novel. Horan lived in Oak Park, and her experiences there coupled with my memories of my visits to Taliesin made for a very lively conversation. I was sorry it had to end so she could participate on the panel. There will be more to come from what we saw and heard at the show in the weeks to come.
My older son accompanied me to a number of publisher parties last Saturday night, and both the boys went to the show with me last Sunday where we spent four hours on the floor. They both have their own "must read" titles and thus school cannot end too soon around this house. Baseball wrapped up for my younger son last night with his team winning the Championship. It's been a terrific season as there were a great group of kids on the team and an equally great group of parents in the stands. We talked books a lot, many an advance reading copy was shared and I enjoyed coming up with titles that I thought each might enjoy. I am going to miss those evenings at the field. I think we all were sorry to see it end last night, even though we closed the season on such a high note.
Also on this week's lineup --- Our Summer Beach Bag of Books title is BETWEEN THE TIDES by Patti Callahan Henry. Patti's writing hits a new stride in this one, which takes place in the Low Country. I read it months ago and share you'll feel the sand between your toes as you read it. Contest details are here, and you have until Thursday, June 14th to enter.
A book just hit stores this week that struck a real chord with me. It's called HOW: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything...in Business (and in Life) and the author is Dov Seidman. The book talks about it's not WHAT we do in life, but rather HOW we do it that sets us apart. The details on how you handle things has a lot to do with how you are viewed and your success, or lack thereof. I give this concept a lot of thought both at work and at home, thus a book on this subject got my attention. I saw Dov on "Good Morning America" earlier this week where he was interviewed by a very engaged Robin Roberts. It's a lot more than a business book since I saw applications for this as I went through my week visualizing how it's got lessons for PTO meetings and the baseball field as much as the boardroom. For more info about the book, click here.
Last weekend's episode of "The Sopranos" was so action-packed that I found myself watching it a second time on Tuesday night to catch the story setup more closely. I love it when a show is written so well that there are innuendos and subliminal messages throughout that are driving the action. I hope the Sunday finale is as good. You know how often the playoffs are better than the Super Bowl; I hope that's not the case.
I like series programming on television, like "24" (though this was a really poor season on that show) and "Prison Break," which has dead-on clever plotlines that keep me tuning in. So much about television that works is about good writing, thus I was intrigued when I saw that Nick Santora --- the co-executive producer and writer of "Prison Break," who also has credentials writing "Law & Order" and "The Sopranos" --- has written a new sharply honed thriller, SLIP & FALL, which will be exclusively available at Borders and Waldenbooks starting Monday, as well as online via Borders.com here. You can view a video of Nick talking about SLIP & FALL here on his website.
After an action-packed week, I am looking forward to hammock and pool time this weekend. There's a stack of manuscripts and books with my name on them. Quick reminder to everyone --- Father's Day is next Sunday. You have suggestions from us here. Have a great week.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Andrea Portes, Author of HICK
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Nightlife columnist Andrea Portes recently published her debut work of fiction, HICK --- a gritty coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old runaway's misadventures while escaping her rural home and neglectful parents in search of a "better life" in Las Vegas. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Alexis Burling, Portes reveals the various inspirations behind her protagonist, Luli, and discusses why she chose to chronicle such a tumultuous and confusing period of her character's adolescence. She also explains how her own upbringing in rural Nebraska worked its way into the story and creates the perfect soundtrack for her novel.
-Read a review of HICK here.
-Read an excerpt from HICK here.
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Click here to read our interview with Andrea Portes.
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Teeing Up the Latest Golf Books
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The months of April, May and June always yield a plethora of outstanding golf books, and this year is no exception. Titles covering golf history, instruction and the game in general can be found filling the shelves of your favorite bookstore. Bookreporter.com's Stuart Shiffman takes a look at seven such offerings. And the timing couldn't be more perfect, as the U.S. Open Championship gets underway on June 11th and Father's Day falls on the 17th. This has the potential to be an exciting --- and special --- week for golf-loving dads everywhere!
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Click here to read our Golf Books Roundup.
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Our Summer Beach Bag Contest: Spotlight This Week on BETWEEN THE TIDES by Patti Callahan Henry
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Every week from May 18th through August 24th a different title in the Bookreporter.com Beach Bag of Books promotion will be featured with a review and contest prize --- a beach bag stocked with that book, plus summertime essentials that tie in to its theme. Five FABULOUS beach bags will be given away each week, as well as five copies of the book to additional winners.
Our fourth spotlighted title is BETWEEN THE TIDES by Patti Callahan Henry. It's the story of Catherine Leary whose father’s last request is for her to confront her past, unravel a family secret, rediscover her heart and start a new chapter of her life. In a royal blue and aqua beach bag, winners will find a royal blue and turquoise towel, grapefruit bergamot body souffle from H2O+, a blue shower flower, ginger peach tea bags, coconut cookies, seashell candies and a beach ball cookie. We have five to give away, as well as five additional prizes of copies of BETWEEN THE TIDES.
To enter to win, answer the question below:
How old is Catherine now?
You can find the answer by reading an excerpt here.
Send your answer to the question above, along with your name and snail mail address, to Summer@bookreporter.com by Thursday, June 14th at 11:59PM.
BETWEEN THE TIDES by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Catherine Leary must return to the scene of a childhood tragedy because of her father's dying wish and his young colleague's desire to write an article about him. Hoping to stop her family's secrets from being exposed, she travels to her once-beloved Lowcountry town --- and embarks on a poignant trip into the past. Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.
-Read more about BETWEEN THE TIDES and Patti Callahan Henry here. |
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Click here to read all the details of our Summer Beach Bag Contest.
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Now in Stores: GIDEON by Jacquelyn Frank
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GIDEON by Jacquelyn Frank (Paranormal Romance)
The acclaimed and captivating Nightwalkers series continues! For a thousand years, Gideon has healed his people. But to save the one woman who needs him most he must earn her forgiveness and regain her trust…before it’s too late for them both. |
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Click here to read more about GIDEON.
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Now in Stores: DARK ANGELS by Karleen Koen
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DARK ANGELS by Karleen Koen (Historical Fiction)
The long-awaited prequel to Koen's beloved THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, DARK ANGELS is a feast of a novel that sparkles with all the passion, extravagance, danger, and scandal of seventeenth-century England.
Unforgettable in its dramatic force, here is a novel of love and politics, of romance and betrayal, of power and succession --- and of a resourceful young woman who risks everything for pride and status in an era in which women were afforded little of either.
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Read more about DARK ANGELS here.
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Featured One to Watch Author: Carol Goodman, Author of THE SONNET LOVER
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One of our five featured One to Watch authors this week is Carol Goodman. In her fifth novel, THE SONNET LOVER --- which releases on June 12th --- the tantalizing question of whether Shakespeare penned a series of passionate sonnets praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read a new excerpt from THE SONNET LOVER.
-Click here to see Carol Goodman's backlist.
More about THE SONNET LOVER:
Did Shakespeare pen a series of passionate sonnets, unknown to modern scholarship, ardently praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty? This tantalizing question is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher. But the letter’s author, Rose’s star pupil, is not telling. A troubled, enigmatic young man, he plunged to his death in front of the college’s entire faculty, an apparent suicide. Determined to find the truth, Rose journeys from New York to Italy, back to the magnificent Tuscan villa where as an undergraduate she first fell in love.
Lush, lyrical, and enthralling, THE SONNET LOVER vividly brings to life the Tuscan countryside and the fascinating world of the Renaissance poets. Unmatched in her ability to evoke atmosphere and intrigue, Carol Goodman delivers her most ambitious and satisfying work to date, a seductive novel that skillfully propels its reader headlong to the final suspenseful page.
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Click here to read more about Carol Goodman and THE SONNET LOVER.
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Featured One to Watch Author: Holly Peterson, Author of THE MANNY
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The start of summer is the perfect time to discover Holly Peterson, whose book THE MANNY releases on June 19th. It's the story of a work-crazed TV producer who hires a male nanny, or manny, to attend to her son, who is less than attended to by his workaholic dad. What ensues? A terrifically fun romp of a book.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read a new excerpt from THE MANNY.
-Click here to see critical praise for THE MANNY.
More about THE MANNY:
What’s a Park Avenue working mom to do when her troubled son desperately needs a male role model and her husband is a power workaholic? If she’s like the gutsy heroine of Holly Peterson’s astute new comedy of manners among the ill-mannered elite, she does what every other woman on the block does. She hires herself a “manny.”
A solid middle-class girl from Middle America, Jamie Whitfield isn’t “one of them” but she lives in “the Grid,” the wealthiest acre of real estate in Manhattan, where big money and big media collide. And she has most everything they have --- a big new apartment, full-time help with her three children, as well as her very own detached Master of the Universe attorney husband. What she doesn’t have, however, is a full-time father figure for their struggling nine-year-old son, Dylan. But the rich haven’t yet encountered a problem they can’t hire someone else to solve.
Enter the manny.
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Click here to read more about Holly Peterson and THE MANNY.
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Featured One to Watch Author: Adriana Bourgoin, Author of NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST
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Our third featured One to Watch author is Adriana Bourgoin, whose superbly insightful debut, NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST --- which is now available in stores --- captures the crushing fears, exhilarating joys and ceaseless surprises of one woman’s passage to motherhood.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST.
More about NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST:
Gretchen Fox is a planner and list-maker by nature, perfectly suited to her job as a hotel catering manager. And in her cautious, look-before-you-leap way, Gretchen was waiting until the time was absolutely perfect before she had a baby.
Her body, however, had other ideas. Now Gretchen is discovering what a big difference a little blue line can make --- to her marriage, her career, and her state of mind. As Gretchen spends sleepless nights pondering all the reasons she’s not ready to become a mother, she starts to question every other area of her life too. Even her relationship with Meredith and Louisa, her closest friends since their days together at Smith College, undergoes a sudden, dramatic shift.
As she’s inducted into a new world of anti-motion sickness wristbands, emergency supplies of ginger ale, and hormone fueled crying jags, Gretchen realizes that all the planning in the world couldn’t have prepared her for the wonderful, extraordinary journey that lies ahead…
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Click here to read more about Adriana Bourgoin and NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST.
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Featured One to Watch Author: Katie Roiphe, Author of UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS
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Katie Roiphe's previous books include THE MORNING AFTER, LAST NIGHT IN PARADISE and a novel, STILL SHE HAUNTS ME. In her latest, UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS --- which goes on sale June 26th --- she explores seven unconventional Edwardian marriages and the crises that occured in each of them.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS.
-Click here to see Katie Roiphe's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS.
More about UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS:
Katie Roiphe’s stimulating work has made her one of the most talked about cultural critics of her generation. Now this bracing young writer delves deeply into one of the most layered of subjects: marriage. Drawn in part from the private memoirs, personal correspondence, and long-forgotten journals of the British literary community from 1910 to the Second World War, here are seven "marriages a la mode" --- each rising to the challenge of intimate relations in more or less creative ways.
Every chapter revolves around a crisis that occurred in each of these marriages --- as serious as life-threatening illness or as seemingly innocuous as a slightly tipsy dinner table conversation --- and how it was resolved…or not resolved. In these portraits, Roiphe brilliantly evokes what are, as she says, "the fluctuations and shifts in attraction, the mysteries of lasting affection, the endurance and changes in love, and the role of friendship in marriage." The deeper mysteries at stake in all relationships.
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Click here to read more about Katie Roiphe and UNCOMMON ARRANGEMENTS.
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Featured One to Watch Author: Brett Battles, Author of THE CLEANER
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Brett Battles is our fifth One to Watch author featured this week. His debut novel, THE CLEANER, is a furiously paced thriller that marks the beginning of a series featuring Jonathan Quinn, a freelance operative and a professional "cleaner" whose job it is to dispose of bodies and tie up loose ends. The book will be in stores on June 26th.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THE CLEANER.
More about THE CLEANER:
Meet Jonathan Quinn: a freelance operative with a take-no-prisoners style and the heart of a loner. His job? Professional "cleaner." Nothing too violent, just disposing of bodies, doing a little cleanup if necessary. But in Brett Battles’s electrifying debut novel, Quinn’s latest assignment will change everything, igniting a harrowing journey of violence, betrayal, and revenge.
The job seemed simple enough: investigating a suspicious case of arson. But when a dead body turns up where it doesn’t belong --- and Quinn’s handlers at "the Office" turn strangely silent --- he knows he’s in over his head. With only a handful of clues, Quinn scrambles for cover, struggling to find out why someone wants him dead...and if it’s linked to a larger attempt to wipe out the Office.
Quinn’s only hope may be Orlando, a woman from his past who’s reluctant to help but who may hold the key to solving the case. Suddenly the two are prying into old crimes, crisscrossing continents, struggling to stay alive long enough to unbury the truth. But as the hunt intensifies, Quinn is stunned by what he uncovers: a chilling secret...and a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy --- with an almost unimaginable goal.
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Click here to read more about Brett Battles and THE CLEANER.
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This Week's Reviews and Features
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ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE BETRAYAL by Eric Van Lustbader (Thriller)
Martin Lindros, Jason Bourne's only friend in Central Intelligence, goes missing while on a mission in which the fate of the country hangs in the balance. Bourne locates Lindros quickly enough, but little does he know that he has begun to set in motion a plot that will culminate in revenge against himself, CI and the United States. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
-Read an excerpt from THE BOURNE BETRAYAL here.
-For more, visit Eric Van Lustbader's site, www.EricVanLustbader.com.
ON CHESIL BEACH by Ian McEwan (Fiction)
Ian McEwan's new novel about newlyweds' disastrous wedding night may be slender, but it's thick with riches and rewards. Set in the pre-sexual revolution 1960s, ON CHESIL BEACH is a brilliant, controlled exploration of a single evening that quickly grows out of control. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
-Read an excerpt from ON CHESIL BEACH here.
THE SLEEPING DOLL by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
Making her first appearance in THE COLD MOON, special agent Kathryn Dance returns to lead the manhunt for escaped murderer Daniel Pell, a self-styled Charles Manson who is about to unleash a wave of terror. To track down Pell before he destroys more lives, she must enlist the help of people from the killer's past. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
-Read an excerpt from THE SLEEPING DOLL here.
THE PESTHOUSE by Jim Crace (Fiction)
Jim Crace's new novel inevitably will be compared to THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy --- but it should be read and considered on its own merits as a post-apocalyptic story of love and survival. The author uses contemporary American strengths and weaknesses to imagine a bleak future. Reviewed by Bethanne Patrick.
THE LAST SUMMER (OF YOU & ME) by Ann Brashares (Fiction)
Can Alice and Paul, two people who were emotionally brother and sister, continue to love each other as adults while leaping the divide into romantic intimacy? And what of the third "sibling," tomboy Riley? Find out in this first adult novel from the bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.
THE FOURTH ORDER by Stephen Frey (Thriller)
New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey has crafted an explosive thriller --- his first stand-alone in three years --- that exposes one of the financial world's darkest practices and lands a talented deal-maker in a web of international intrigue. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE LONG ROAD HOME: A Story of War and Family by Martha Raddatz (Current Affairs)
Martha Raddatz delivers a grim yet inspiring account of a single battle in the Iraq war that marked the point when illusions about the ease of the United States' mission there were stripped away and the reality of the conflict became apparent to all but the most ardent supporters of the war. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
FELLOW TRAVELERS by Thomas Mallon (Historical Fiction)
FELLOW TRAVELERS is a very real and touching story of thwarted love disguised as a smart historical novel, which means that this new book from highly acclaimed author Thomas Mallon deserves a wider audience than simply fans of historical fiction. Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick.
THE BIG GIRLS by Susanna Moore (Fiction)
At the heart of this electrifying novel --- which is set in a substandard women's prison --- is a crime of unfathomable horror and its effect on several profoundly different lives, each altered by a surprising connection to the others. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD by Justin Evans (Psychological Thriller)
A bizarre series of incidents from a new father's childhood, which has been submerged for the longest time, becomes the potential for the destruction of everything he holds dear. This psychological thriller will leave you questioning the things you remember and frightened of the things you've forgotten. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
OUR FIRST REVOLUTION: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers by Michael Barone (History)
The ideals of freedom and individual rights that inspired America's Founding Fathers can be traced directly back to one of the most pivotal events in British history --- the late-17th-century uprising known as the Glorious Revolution. In OUR FIRST REVOLUTION, Michael Barone brings the story of this unlikely and largely bloodless revolt to American readers. Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds.
PRISONER OF TEHRAN: A Memoir by Marina Nemat (Memoir)
Thrown into Tehran's infamous Evin prison for her political activism, Marina Nemat faced a terrible choice: either marry one of her captors and convert to Islam, or her family would face torture and punishment, perhaps even execution. How she dealt with this agonizing dilemma and emerged from it a free and happy woman is the substance of this arresting book. Reviewed by Robert Finn.
SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE by Austin Grossman (Fiction)
When a dangerous evil genius escapes from prison and is believed to be behind the disappearance of a well-known superhero, a makeshift group of like-powered friends assembles to bring him to justice. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.
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Click here to read this week's reviews and features.
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Poll and Question of the Week: Book Dedications
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Poll:
Do you read the dedications in books?
All of the time
Some of the time
Never
-Click here to answer our poll.
Question:
If you wrote a book, to whom would you dedicate it?
-Click here to answer our Question of the Week.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading --- Two Prizes!
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Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.
This week we have two great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of
LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN by Janet Evanovich and SLIPKNOT by Linda Greenlaw.
Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on June 22nd.
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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 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. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us.
Those who are subscribed to the Bookreporter.com newsletter by July 1, 2007 automatically are entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month one winner will be selected to win the following five books: LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN by Janet Evanovich, NORTH RIVER by Pete Hamill, ON CHESIL BEACH by Ian McEwan, ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE BETRAYAL by Eric Van Lustbader and THE SLEEPING DOLL by Jeffery Deaver. Madeline from Chattanooga, TN was last month's newsletter winner. She won BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child, THE GOOD GUY by Dean Koontz, LETHALLY BLOND by Kate White, LYING WITH STRANGERS by James Grippando and THE OVERLOOK by Michael Connelly.
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.
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