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July 15, 2011

Bookreporter.com Newsletter July 15, 2011
 
Floating in the Pool and Swinging in the Hammock...With Books!

It’s coming…soon…the NEWLY REDESIGNED site for Bookreporter.com. This week we finished the beta version, and we have it out with more than 150 folks for testing and comments. Their feedback will help guide us the rest of the way to launch, which is very exciting. When we hit send on the last beta-test email last night, it was a nice feeling. I realized that 15 years ago this month, I was in very much the same place as then we were beta testing our first website for launch. Even after all these years, moments like this bring the same anticipation wondering what readers are going to think.

Speaking of a fever pitch, the excitement surrounding both the last Harry Potter movie and the release of George R.R. Martin’s latest book, A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, book five in his A Song of Ice and Fire series have had my news feeds jumping this week. I confess I was too slow on the draw to get Potter tickets for the weekend; this is what happens when a) I am traveling a lot, and b) Cory’s friends are away for the summer, and thus I am not being prompted to drive them --- “and oh if you want a ticket, too.”

I have not yet watched "Game of Thrones" on HBO, which is an adaptation of the first Martin book. I do not like being out of the loop like this, but there has been no time for me to watch it all at once the way I would like! I have been advised that, when I do, I am going to be as addicted to Martin as the droves of folks who have been hitting the stores to line up for his events. While he has been a bestseller, this show has pumped his popularity to a new high. Yesterday, when I was buying a My WiFi card (which allows up to five WiFi-enabled devices to connect at once) at the Verizon store, the saleswoman there was caught up in Martin fever and was talking up the new book as soon as she heard what I did for a living! Nice to see this kind of excitement about books and book-related products. By the way, I read that A DANCE WITH DRAGONS sold more than 250,000 copies on its first day of release! We’ll have our review soon, but you can check out more about it and an excerpt below in this newsletter.

When we left off, I was at ThrillerFest, AKA Summer Camp for Thriller Writers. One of the authors honored was Diana Gabaldon, who is an excellent speaker, though I think she may be the fastest talker I ever have heard present at a writer’s conference. It’s the 20th anniversary of the first book in her Outlander series, and hearing those words had Greg racing from the room to buy a copy for her to sign; of course, he used my credit card! I do love that he was that impressed by her talk that he was prompted to act quickly!

She had some interesting thoughts on characters. There are three kinds: Onions are the kinds you need to peel away to get to know them, mushrooms are those who grow as you write them, and hard nuts are either historical characters or people you need to research. Think about that the next time you read a book! And she said there are many cliffhangers at the end of book seven in the series for a reason. At the end of book six, it wrapped so neatly that people did not think there would be a seventh book. Well, hearing that, she decided to leave no doubts at the end of book seven.

R.L. Stine charmed, delighted and amused the audiences at both his Spotlight interview and the awards ceremony with some rockingly funny stories, such as the teacher who came up to him at a conference and asked if she could take his picture --- because the kids at her school thought he was dead! He tells stories like that with total deadpan humor. He made a remark that isn’t it nice that thriller writers make up stories about scary things, as if there is not enough going on in the world to terrify us already. He’s a huge success, but when you talk to him, he's just one really nice guy. Greg met an illustrator for the Goosebumps series years ago when he was in elementary school. When we walked away from R.L. the other night, he said, "It’s hard for me to believe I am now hanging out with the author who wrote those books I loved. When I was in 3rd grade, I never would have imagined this!"

One of my favorite panels was moderated by Jeff Ayers and had the members of the Operation Thriller author tour on it. This USO program sends thriller writers armed with books to visit U.S. troops. Last year, Steve Berry, David Morrell, Douglas Preston, James Rollins and Andy Harp visited Kuwait and Iraq on a rather whirlwind tour. They dressed in their fatigues for the panel and shared anecdotes about what was clearly a life-changing trip for each of them. Steve said he has been all around the world doing research and on book tours visiting many countries, but this is a trip that he thinks about every day. The commitment and professionalism of the troops inspired all of them, and their awe about this dovetailed with their amusing anecdotes about dropping into the bases seated on a C-130 without seatbelts!

This year’s Operation Thriller author lineup is Clive Cussler, Sandra Brown, Kathy Reichs, Mark Bowden and Andrew Peterson. Details and dates of Operation Thriller are kept secret for security reasons, but I look forward to hearing and sharing more as details become available.

On Saturday night, Greg and I attended the Thriller Awards ceremony, and I was thrilled (pun intended) to see Chevy Stevens win Best First Novel for last summer’s STILL MISSING. Unfortunately, she could not attend the ceremony. STILL MISSING was the first-ever Sneak Peek title we featured on Bookreporter.com, allowing a group of early readers to preview it. To see it come full-circle like this was a fun moment. Chevy’s latest, NEVER KNOWING, was just featured in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight and is in stores now. It’s one terrifying book with some very unexpected twists and turns.

Karin Slaughter accepted her Silver Bullet Award (it was a huge trophy --- think Super Bowl-size award; I know, I got to hold it!) in recognition of all her contributions as founder of SaveTheLibraries.org, an initiative that raises awareness of libraries’ importance in communities. Click here to learn more about it! You can see the rest of the Thriller Award winners here.

By the way, I left the conference wanting to re-read EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett (order from IndieBound or Amazon) and THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth (order from IndieBound or Amazon). I read them when I was a “less-educated” reader and now would like to take what I know about plotting and re-read them!

Last weekend after ThrillerFest, I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon reading when I was not napping! I started with Megan Abbott’s new mystery, THE END OF EVERYTHING (order from IndieBound or Amazon). Lizzie and Evie are 13-year-old best friends who spend all their time together, and then one day Evie disappears. Lizzie is the person people turn to for reasons why and clues as to what might have gone awry; she finds herself at the center of the panic that surrounds her neighborhood and the rest of the town. The story winds and turns, and by the time you close this slim volume --- just 256 pages --- you want to talk to someone about what you read. It's in stores now, and we'll have our review next week!

Then I turned to NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman (order from IndieBound or Amazon), which is coming out on July 26th. Three young women in a small town in Massachusetts all send the men they love off to fight in World War II. Not everyone returns, and this character-rich story traces what happens to their lives into the Sixties. It drew me in from the beginning (once I got all the couples straight), and from there I found myself reading late into the evening and in the early mornings savoring the story. It will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. And I heartily recommend pairing it with THE SOLDIER’S WIFE to get very female points of view about World War II.

IRON HOUSE by John Hart, who’s won a pair of Edgar Awards for his novels THE LAST CHILD and DOWN RIVER, is now in stores. I read IRON HOUSE last month and loved it. One of the personal highlights of my recent trip to New Orleans for the American Library Association Annual Meeting was talking to John about IRON HOUSE. Joe Hartlaub has our review and says, “IRON HOUSE is not necessarily for the squeamish, but John Hart, as he has demonstrated in his previous books, creates prose shot through with a rough and raw beauty that is compelling and riveting even through its darkest passages.” IRON HOUSE is also the No. 1 IndieBound pick for July!

Another thriller --- featuring a healthy dose of humor --- we’re reviewing this week is ORIGINAL SIN by Beth McMullen. This was another Sneak Peek title we previewed for some readers in the winter and features Sally Sin, a former U.S. operative turned wife and mother. Just as she’s settling into suburban motherhood, her past catches up with her and leaves her with some tough choices. Sarah Rachel Egelman has our review and says, “ORIGINAL SIN is a great first outing for this debut author and a fine introduction to a fun, mysterious and likable character.” There is a scene in the book where Sally is sitting outside her son’s preschool that has me howling. Last week at ThrillerFest there was a panel where folks from the CIA talked about their jobs where lives are on the line. All I could think of was that to go from that to ordinary life could be quite a leap, and ORIGINAL SIN humorously captures that sentiment.

Fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series may be interested in "THERE ARE THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW" ABOUT STIEG LARSSON AND ME by Eva Gabrielsson with Marie-Françoise Colombani. Eva was Stieg’s longtime partner until his sudden death before the release of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Her memoir really sheds some light on Stieg, his life and his writing. Barbara Bamberger Scott has our review and says, “Stieg Larsson is a modern heroic figure whose life deserves a thorough look. This book reveals some of the reasons why that may not be possible anytime soon, and why even in progressive countries like Sweden, the wheels of justice, finance and women’s rights still turn slowly --- very slowly.”

Changing genres, we have some other great reviews for you to check out, too. Jennifer Weiner’s latest, THEN CAME YOU, was released this week. It’s about three women from very different backgrounds and how they deal with the issues of motherhood, surrogacy and donorship. Jana Siciliano reviews it and says, “THEN CAME YOU is the offspring of some very good characters and plot lines, and is a book for which many a beachgoer will find room this summer in canvas bags all across the shores of the U.S. and beyond.” We also have an interview with Jennifer that you can read here.

FRENCH LESSONS by Ellen Sussman is a book some of you got to preview earlier this year in our Sneak Peek program. We received lots of great feedback from readers who felt themselves being dropped right into the streets of Paris, much as I did. It’s about the interweaving lives of foreigners and their translators during one day in Paris. I enjoyed each story and then had that satisfying moment when I saw how they all intertwined. Hillary Wagy has our review and says, “FRENCH LESSONS is a literary treat that will entice readers to escape through the romance of strolling the arrondissements, museums and cafés of Paris with three American students paired with three French tutors, all with secrets, sexy smiles and erotic desires.” And a belated Happy Bastille Day!

This week we’re launching a Paperback Spotlight for LEFT NEGLECTED by Lisa Genova, which will be in stores on July 26th. LEFT NEGLECTED was one of my first Bets On picks of 2011, and thus I’m excited that it will soon be available in paperback. You can read my thoughts about it here. I dare you to ever pick up your BlackBerry while driving again after reading this one! And if you’re in a book group, you will want to strongly consider LEFT NEGLECTED! Happy to share that we have 20 paperback copies of LEFT NEGLECTED to give away to readers who enter here by Friday, July 22nd at noon ET.

RICH BOY by Sharon Pomerantz, another Bets On pick, is now out in paperback. It follows Robert Vishniak as he makes his way up and down New York’s social ladder after leaving his humble roots in Philadelphia for college in Massachusetts. You can read my reaction to it here. LOVE IN MID AIR by Kim Wright is another 2010 title I really enjoyed that is now being released in paperback. It’s about a woman who begins reconsidering her married life after a chance meeting with a stranger aboard a flight. It’s another excellent book club pick. You can read all our New in Paperback selections for this month here.

This week we also have comments for YOU'RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz from some of the winners in our contest when we featured the book in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight. Check them out here!

Monday morning I am San Diego-bound for Comic-Con, which is the most exhausting convention of the year. It is a total sensory overload from morning to night as the show does not end on the floor, but rather moves onto the streets of San Diego, and there’s always something to look at or watch. The only quiet time is spent in my hotel room. That said, I love seeing what’s going on beyond books in pop culture --- and will be on the prowl for the big books that we want to cover on GraphicNovelReporter.com. And for those of you who are wondering, I am NOT going to be wearing a costume.

I am ready for a weekend of floating in the pool and swinging in the hammock…with books! I have an advance copy of the new Lee Child book, THE AFFAIR (pre-order from IndieBound or Amazon) that Greg has ordered me to finish quickly! VERY quickly! It is a prequel to KILLING FLOOR, the first Jack Reacher novel, and releases September 27th.

Here’s wishing you a “booktacular” week of reading!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)


 

Now in Stores: A DANCE WITH DRAGONS by George R.R. Martin

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book Five by George R.R. Martin (Fantasy)
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance --- beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

-Click here to read an excerpt from A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
 

Click here to read more about A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.

 
An Interview with Jennifer Weiner, Author of THEN CAME YOU

Jennifer Weiner is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, as well as the writer and co-producer of “State of Georgia,” currently airing on ABC Family. Her latest novel, THEN CAME YOU, is another timely tale that interweaves themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and donorship, the rights of a parent and the measure of motherhood. In this interview, Weiner discusses her passion for writing books geared toward women, and expresses her opinions concerning the amount of press that female writers receive for both literary and commercial efforts in comparison to males. She also reveals the initial inspiration for the driving force behind THEN CAME YOU and shares insights about characters who continually surprise her.

THEN CAME YOU by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
Three women --- two seeking to earn money by donating their eggs, and one wealthier woman who believes a baby will ensure a happy ending for her marriage --- come together in this unexpected love story. Jennifer Weiner once again takes readers into the heart of women’s lives in a timely tale that interweaves themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and donorship, the rights of a parent and the measure of motherhood. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

-Click here to read a review of THEN CAME YOU.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THEN CAME YOU.

 

Click here to read an interview with Jennifer Weiner.

 
Now in Stores: IRON HOUSE by John Hart

IRON HOUSE by John Hart (Thriller)
At the Iron Mountain Home for Boys, orphaned Julian survives only because his older brother, Michael, is fearless and fiercely protective. Decades later, Michael is an enforcer in New York’s world of organized crime. But when he revisits the place he was born and the brother he lost so long ago, he will encounter a whole new level of danger --- violence that leads inexorably to the one place he’s been running from his whole life: Iron House. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read an excerpt from IRON HOUSE.
 

Click here to read a review of IRON HOUSE.

 
New Paperback Spotlight and Contest: LEFT NEGLECTED by Lisa Genova

LEFT NEGLECTED by Lisa Genova (Fiction)
Sarah Nickerson, like any other working mom, is busy trying to have it all. One morning while racing to work and distracted by her cell phone, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In that blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her over-scheduled life come to a screeching halt. After a brain injury steals her awareness of everything on her left side, Sarah must retrain her mind to perceive the world as a whole. In so doing, she also learns how to pay attention to the people and parts of her life that matter most.

To celebrate the paperback release of LEFT NEGLECTED, we're giving 20 readers the chance to win a copy of the book, which will be in stores July 26th. All you have to do is fill out this form by Friday, July 22nd at noon ET.

-Click here to read a review of LEFT NEGLECTED.
-Click here to read an excerpt from LEFT NEGLECTED.
-Click here to read critical praise for LEFT NEGLECTED.
-Click here to read more about LEFT NEGLECTED in our Bookreporter.com Bets On feature.
-Click here to read Lisa Genova’s bio.
-Click here to see Lisa Genova’s backlist.
-Visit Lisa Genova’s official website, www.LisaGenova.com.

 

Click here to see our Paperback Spotlight feature for LEFT NEGLECTED and enter the contest.

 
Now in Stores: FRENCH LESSONS by Ellen Sussman

FRENCH LESSONS by Ellen Sussman (Fiction)
Josie, Riley and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons. A single day in Paris will change the lives of these three Americans, as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning the truth about language, love and loss as their lives intersect in surprising ways. Reviewed by Hillary Wagy.

-Click here to read a review of FRENCH LESSONS.
-Click here to read an excerpt from FRENCH LESSONS.

 

Click here to read more about FRENCH LESSONS.

 
Now in Stores: "THERE ARE THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW" ABOUT STIEG LARSSON AND ME by Eva Gabrielsson

“THERE ARE THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW” ABOUT STIEG LARSSON AND ME by Eva Gabrielsson with Marie-Françoise Colombani (Memoir)
Here is a love story of a man and woman whose lives came to be guided by politics and love, coffee and activism, writing and friendship. Only one person in the world knows this story well enough to tell it with authority. Her name is Eva Gabrielsson, and she and Stieg Larsson shared everything, starting when they were both 18 until his untimely death at the age of 50. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
 

Click here to read a review of "THERE ARE THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW" ABOUT STIEG LARSSON AND ME.

 
Now in Stores: ORIGINAL SIN by Beth McMullen

ORIGINAL SIN: A Sally Sin Adventure by Beth McMullen (Thriller)
After falling in love and making a quick exit from her nine-year career, ex-spy Sally Sin does her best to become Lucy Hamilton, a stay-at-home mom in San Francisco. Not even her adoring husband Will knows about her secret agent escapades. But when the agency becomes desperate to get her back on the job, how can Sally or Lucy or whatever her name is save the planet while keeping her family's world from spinning out of control? Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

-Click here to read an excerpt from ORIGINAL SIN.
 

Click here to read a review of ORIGINAL SIN.

 
Bookreporter.com Bets On: TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante

TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante (Fiction)
I like books that I can describe really succinctly, like TURN OF MIND by Alice LaPlante. Here’s the story. Dr. Jennifer White has Alzheimer’s. Her neighbor --- her best friend, the godmother of her daughter --- has been found dead in her home. All clues point to Jennifer, who was a hand surgeon before she became too incapacitated to work, and she cannot remember if she killed her friend or not. It’s brilliantly done as you weave in and out of Jennifer’s world as it unravels.

Since I finished it, whenever I misplaced something, or forgot a word or phrase, I found myself reflecting on the panic and frustration that surrounded Jennifer's life. What if I never remembered? What must that be like? It's a book I have been telling people about for months; four chapters in, I knew it was going to be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Praise has been flying everywhere for TURN OF MIND; among the news, it was an IndieBound #1 selection for June.

-Click here to read a review of TURN OF MIND.
-Click here to read an excerpt from TURN OF MIND.
-Click here to read our interview with Alice LaPlante.

 

Click here to see all the titles we’re betting you’ll love.

 
Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading Contests and Features

Summer is upon us! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Features. We will be spotlighting a different title or two on select days from Tuesday, May 31st through Wednesday, July 27th, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book(s) and enter. Some days may even feature special bonus prizes, including beach items, a beach tote stocked with goodies, and additional books. We also will be sending a special daily newsletter to announce the day's title(s), which you can sign up for here.

Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, July 18th at noon ET.

-Click here to see this year's featured titles.
-Click here to receive our special newsletter announcing each day’s prize book.

 

Click here to read all the details of Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading Contests and Features.

 
July’s New in Paperback Roundup

July’s roundup of New in Paperback titles includes THE CONFESSION, John Grisham’s latest bestseller about a murderer who must try to save an innocent man from death row; Daniel Silva’s THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR, which marks the return of art restorer Gabriel Allon as he gets pulled into a race across the globe; SPIDER BONES by Kathy Reichs, in which forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan tries to uncover the intriguing mystery linking three corpses found at three different locations; THE TEMPLAR SALVATION, Raymond Khoury’s highly anticipated follow-up to his much-talked-about debut, THE LAST TEMPLAR; RICH BOY, Sharon Pomerantz’s story of a middle-class Jewish boy who creates a new identity to suit the highest circles of Manhattan society; and SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO, in which Mary McDonagh Murphy commemorates more than half a century of Harper Lee's classic, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
 

Click here to see our New in Paperback feature for July.

 
Sign Up for Bookreporter.com's Fall Preview Contest Alerts

Fall will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great fall book picks with our Fall Preview Feature and Contest. We will spotlight a different title or two on select days beginning August 1st and ending August 31st, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter. You can check out all our featured titles when we unveil them on Friday, July 29th. We also will be sending a special daily newsletter to announce the day's title. You can sign up here to receive the daily newsletter.
 

Click here to sign up for Bookreporter.com's Fall Preview newsletters.

 
This Week’s Reviews
MAINE by J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction)
The setting for this summer-friendly read is a perfect beach retreat, and the highly imperfect Irish-American family that inhabits it. When four women of different generations and sensibilities collide, fireworks --- not just the Fourth of July kind --- ensue. Reviewed by Kathy Weissman.

-Click here to see the reading group guide for MAINE.

HOTWIRE: A Maggie O’Dell Novel by Alex Kava (Thriller)
On a crisp fall evening in western Nebraska, what started as a group of kids filming their drug-fueled party ends in an explosive light show, leaving the victims apparently electrocuted, with odd scorch marks as the only evidence. While Maggie O’Dell tries to make sense of the dif­ferent stories, sifting through what is real and what is hallu­cination, she realizes that the surviving teens are being targeted and systematically eliminated. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

I’M FEELING LUCKY: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards (Memoir)
After half a decade on the “outside,” Douglas Edwards skillfully reminisces about his frantic and memorable years as marketing director and brand management expert for the ubiquitous Google organization. His absorbing memoir is a must-read for anyone who ever hit that special icon on their PC desktop. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.

ONE DOG NIGHT by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Noah Galloway is living with a horrible secret and the fear that his rebuilt life could be shattered. Now his dread has become a certainty, as he finds himself arrested for the arson murder of 26 people. What he needs is defense lawyer Andy Carpenter, who is not in the market for a new client. So Noah plays his hole card: a shared love for Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, and the knowledge of what her life was like before Andy rescued her. Reviewed by Maggie Harding.

JOY FOR BEGINNERS by Erica Bauermeister (Fiction)
In this moving tale, Kate throws a party for her female friends to celebrate her cancer recovery. Together they strike a bargain: Kate will do something that has always terrified her (white-water rafting) if each woman will accomplish one challenging task Kate chooses for her. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

-Click here to see the reading group guide for JOY FOR BEGINNERS.

WE ALL FALL DOWN by Michael Harvey (Mystery)
Chicago cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly is racing to save his city from a deadly new foe: a biological weapon unleashed underground. When a light bulb falls in a subway tunnel, it releases a pathogen that could kill millions. Kelly’s hunt for the people who poisoned his city takes him into the underworld of Chicago’s West Side gangs and the even more frightening world of black biology, where scientists play God. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

THE ASTRAL by Kate Christensen (Fiction)
The Astral is a huge rose-colored old pile of an apart­ment building in the gentrifying neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. For decades it was the home of the poet Harry Quirk, his wife, Luz, and their two children. But Luz has found (and destroyed) some poems of Harry’s that ignite her long-simmering sus­picions of infidelity, and he’s been kicked out. Now he must reckon with the consequence of his literary, marital, financial and parental failures. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

VERY BAD MEN by Harry Dolan (Thriller)
Names in a manuscript: The cops see black words on a page; the killer sees red. Editor David Loogan, who we first met in BAD THINGS HAPPEN, finds a package on his doorstep that links to a fresh murder and points to several more planned attacks. Can the killer be stopped before he has crossed off all the names on his list? Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

FUN & GAMES by Duane Swierczynski (Thriller)
Charlie Hardie, an ex-cop still reeling from the revenge killing of his former partner's entire family, fears one thing above all else: that he'll suffer the same fate. Languishing in self-imposed exile, Hardie has become a glorified house sitter, until he finds himself squared off against a small army of the most lethal men in the world: The Accident People. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

BEFORE VERSAILLES: A Novel of Louis XIV by Karleen Koen (Historical Fiction)
Louis XIV is coming into his own as king especially now that Cardinal Mazarin, who was ruling until he was of age, has died. Now he finally has the opportunity to rule on his own. Unfortunately for Louis, there are distractions, both financial and matters of the heart, that pull him in opposite directions as king of France. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.

 
Click here to read this week's reviews.

 
Poll and Question of the Week: Books to Be Read --- and THE Book of Summer

Poll:

How many books are on your to-be-read list right now?

1
2-4
5-7
8-10
More than 10
None

-Click here to answer our poll.


Question:

What do you think will be THE book of summer 2011?

-Click here to answer our question.


 

Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Can Win THREE Books!

Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.

This week we have three great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman, THE SIXES by Kate White, and THE WILD ROSE by Jennifer Donnelly. Tell us what you are reading here and rate the titles 1-5 by noon ET on Friday, July 29th to ensure that you are in the running to win these books.

 

Click here for more details about Word of Mouth.

 


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