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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
June 1, 2012 |
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Speed Planting, Then Leisure Reading |
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Last Friday, after we hit send on the newsletter, I zipped out to the local nurseries looking for plants. I wanted interesting flowers this year, thus when I found black petunias with yellow stripes as well as citrus-colored ones and yellow calla lilies I was smiling. By the fourth nursery, I had amassed a wild array of plants in bright colors (Note: There are no turquoise ones). I managed to plant 36 containers of flowers in six hours on Saturday; yes, I counted at the end and thought, “Okay, maybe you overdid this!” But the explosion of color in the back of the house is spectacular and looking at it makes me smile.
But planting meant I was not reading, which had me pressing dirt around flower stems with urgency. When the gardening gloves came off I plucked Chris Bohjalian’s THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, which will be in stores on July 17th from my stack of advance reading copies. I have been a fan of Chris’ since MIDWIVES. Here he’s written a historical love story, where he looks at his Armenian heritage. I love the way he brings this period to life in a part of the world that I know so little about. For all the history classes I took through the years, I never knew about Armenian genocide. He writes about it in blistering detail, but layers the story set in 1915 with a contemporary one as a novelist traces her family's roots. It’s been a hectic week, but I have been enjoying the moments that I have to read it.
The three-day weekend means there was a four-day work week this week and the pace was fast and furious, especially since most of us will be out next week at BookExpo America (BEA), where booksellers, librarians, book group leaders and bloggers preview the upcoming fall/winter titles. For those of you in the New York metropolitan area who would like to attend this show, you have the opportunity to attend on Thursday, June 7th as “Power Readers.” Read further in this newsletter for details on how you can do that!
We know the opportunity to experience the show live will be limited to those located in the Tri-State area, unless you're scheduled to be in NY during this time, and there are BIG events happening on Monday through Wednesday that are not open to the public. So we are really excited to share that some of the most high-profile events including the Author Breakfasts each morning from 8:00-9:30 and the three Buzz Sessions will be live-streamed as well as some key stage events.
Besides the breakfasts, here are some dates and times to note. BEA Adult Editors' Buzz, June 4, 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm & June 5, 11:00 am - 11:30 am; BEA (Young Adult) Editors' Buzz, June 5, 10:00 am - 10:50 am & June 6, 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm; BEA (Middle Grade) Editors' Buzz, June 6, 11:00 am - 11:50 am & June 7, 11:00 am - 11:30 am; and AAP Librarians Book Buzz, June 5, 2:15 pm – 3:30 pm & June 6, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm. We will have a link to these on Bookreporter.com, but you can also click here for more details.
Meanwhile…back on Bookreporter.com we have a number of books you can read right now. We start with a review of two Women Fiction Author Spotlight features. First up is WIFE 22 by Melanie Gideon. In WIFE 22, Alice Buckle has been married for 20 years and has a fairly routine life. Then she becomes “Wife 22” in an anonymous online study, and is assigned a Researcher 101, who turns out to be a tempting new connection. Norah Piehl interviews Melanie, where she explains her inspiration for Alice’s character. She also shares her opinions about marriage, social media and friendship. In her review, Norah says “Too often, when couples are in the thick of career-building and child-raising, their obligations to themselves and to each other get lost. Gideon understands this challenge intimately and portrays it clearly and fearlessly.”
THE BOOK OF SUMMERS by Emylia Hall is our second Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight feature. When she is 16, Beth Lowe uncovers a life-shattering secret, bringing her sacred summers with her mother abruptly to an end. Now, years later, Beth receives a package containing a scrapbook, a haunting record of a time long forgotten. Reviewer Melanie Smith says, “In every page of this breathtaking novel is a strong sense of place and humanity. Readers will really appreciate the solid, artistic, beautifully descriptive quality of Emylia Hall’s writing.... Those who enjoy fiction and family dramas should love THE BOOK OF SUMMERS, a touching, emotive read about love and the value of family.” Melanie also interviews Emylia, where she gives insight into the book’s various characters, and draws comparisons between its settings and her own childhood summers in Hungary.
One of our new Paperback Spotlights this week focuses on THOUGHTS WITHOUT CIGARETTES by Oscar Hijuelos. Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing, and his story takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship with his family and culture changes forever.
Our second Paperback Spotlight is for TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal. Judith Whitman always believed in a certain kind of love, but she’s only experienced it once --- with her first love, Willy Blunt. Twenty years later, Judith’s marriage is disintegrating and full of secrets, and she holds the phone number of the man who believed she meant it when she said she loved him.
We’re still offering copies of GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS by Lisa T. Bergren as part of our latest Historical Fiction Author Spotlight. It’s the summer of 1913, and Cora Kensington’s life on the family farm has taken a dark turn. Not only are the crops failing, but someone dear to Cora is failing as well. In one fateful afternoon, a stranger comes to call, and Cora discovers a terrible secret about her past…a secret that will radically change her future. Click here to read more about the book and enter to win a copy by Thursday, June 7th at noon ET.
Meanwhile, no matter what the calendar says, summer has arrived at Bookreporter.com and this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contest and Feature. We will be spotlighting a different Summer Reading title each day from Monday through Thursday, offering a daily contest that starts at noon ET where you can win one of five copies of the book! Check the site now to see if you were a winner this week when we featured GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES by Jennifer Close, THE CRANES DANCE by Meg Howrey, and MAINE by J. Courtney Sullivan. Note you must enter each contest each day, so sign up for our Summer Reading Contest newsletter to be sure you get our daily mailings with entry info. You also can check the site each day. Next week’s contest titles are THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty, the aforementioned TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER, and FATHER'S DAY: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son by Buzz Bissinger. Click here for details on these books and how to enter.
This week, Bookreporter.com's Seventh Annual Father's Day Contest and Feature continues with a great collection of TEN books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, including THE COLDEST NIGHT by Robert Olmstead, DAMAGE CONTROL by John Gilstrap, THE FAMILY CORLEONE by Ed Falco, IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS by Erik Larson, LEHRTER STATION by David Downing, MAN MADE by Joel Stein, ON PAR: The Everyday Golfer's Survival Guide by Bill Pennington, ONE SHOT AT FOREVER by Chris Ballard, OPERATION NAPOLEON by Arnaldur Indridason, and TO THE LAST BREATH by Francis Slakey. Five winners will receive all the books we’re featuring, along with a cooler that is touted to keep contents cold for two days, a striped beach towel, sunblock and Dunkin' Donuts coffee. There is a theme going here of items that can keep dads reading poolside and wide awake to read at night. Enter to win here by Tuesday, June 12th at noon ET.
And speaking of Father’s Day, we’ll be celebrating for the next two weeks with some of our author friends in our Father's Day blog series. We’re sharing a variety of pieces --- both entertaining and emotional ---- from a diverse list of authors through Father’s Day. Similar to our Mother’s Day Month blog series, our Father’s Day series serves to celebrate dad, and our contributors have done that with equal parts wit and wisdom. Among our featured authors are Dan Zevin, Benjamin Busch, Mark Sullivan, Francis Slakey, and many more!
And we promised you something else special this week. And here it is….we are kicking off a month-long blog series today with pieces from authors who recorded their own audiobooks in celebration of Audiobook Month. I got the idea for this a few months ago when I heard that Stephen King was going to be recording THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE. It got me thinking about what it must be like for authors to read their own words for listeners. We have quite a lineup for you in the next few weeks. We are kicking off this weekend with Richard Miniter, the author of MASTERMIND: The Many Faces of the 9/11 Architect, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and his piece is quite brilliant. Over the weekend, we will “hear” from Anna Quindlen and Jack Gantos.
This week, we have a review of Leslie Maitland’s CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed. I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie at Winter Institute in New Orleans were she told me the background of her memoir about how her mother and grandparents fled Germany in 1938 for France, where, as Jews, they spent four years as refugees, the last two under risk of Nazi deportation. This sweeping account of one family’s escape from the turmoil of war-torn Europe hangs upon the intimate and deeply personal story of Maitland’s mother’s passionate romance with a Catholic Frenchman. Reviewer Jana Siciliano says, "If you are looking for a real-life love story filled with heartfelt romance, adventure, the drama of war, and the aftermath of a life lived when this love doesn’t work out, then CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME will bewitch you."
A few weeks ago my husband came back from lunch with his close friend, Moe Schwartz, and told me that a friend of his daughter’s had written a book. The book was CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME, showing just how small the world can be sometimes. Tom is reading it now and enjoying it, so I guess you can say this was a real word of mouth book in our house.
We also have a review of AS THE CROW FLIES: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson. Embarking on his eighth adventure, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter, Cady, is getting married to the brother of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti. When he sets out to find a new site for the nuptials on the Cheyenne Reservation, the scouting expedition ends in horror as he witnesses a young Crow woman plummeting from Painted Warrior’s majestic cliffs. Reviewer Joe Hartlaub says, “I am not as familiar with the Longmire books as I should be (a shortcoming I intend to begin remedying immediately), but Johnson’s style is such that readers both new and familiar feel welcome. From the first paragraph, the atmosphere is akin to being invited to come in and sit for a spell: there’s a story to be told.”
By the way, this weekend A&E will begin airing a new series called "Longmire." I had a chance to preview the series opener last weekend, and it’s really well done. I have had the pleasure of meeting Craig on a couple of occasions, thus it’s really nice to see Longmire getting the chance to build a bigger audience via the small screen.
We’ve updated our Young Adult Books You Want to Read feature. This month’s additions are INSURGENT by Veronica Roth, BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore, CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein, and THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW by Robin Wasserman.
Our poll continues this week; we want to know how many bookshelves are in your house. Be sure to weigh in here! During the week, we heard from Sharon Elliott-Fox, who said, “I just checked and I have 65 shelves of books --- all at least 4 feet long and several are 6 feet long.” Also, my author friend, Keith Raffel, wrote that he has 92 shelves, including some for cookbooks. I still need to count mine and will have that for your next week. Keith said I would have more bookshelves if I was not requiring room for knitting paraphernalia; he is not wrong!
We have opened a new Word of Mouth contest this week! Let us know what you’re reading for a chance to win THE CONVICTION by Robert Dugoni, HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL by Robert Goolrick, and THE RED HOUSE by Mark Haddon. I have read all three, and they will be nice prizes for five winners.
I read a terrific piece from Christian Zabriskie, where he talks about the need for public libraries, that will give you a lot of food for thought.
This week in New Jersey three high school students were arrested in conjunction with charges that they bullied a 15-year-old student who committed suicide. A few months ago, I told you all about WONDER by R.J. Palacio, and now I am happy to share that Random House Children’s Books has launched a Choose Kind campaign to encourage students, educators, families, and readers of all ages to combat the nationwide rise in bullying with every day acts of kindness. I so encourage people to explore this.
I think I will be working a lot this weekend in anticipation of next week’s convention. There’s something kinda humorous that prepping for a book convention will give me less time for reading! Cory is off to take some SAT2 tests tomorrow, which continues the alphabet soup that is called Junior Year in high school. When he reminded me he was doing this earlier today I realized that June really crept up quickly. Here’s to a great week of reading ---- and to your getting to share BEA events via live streaming. Much more on the show next week!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Melanie Gideon, Author of WIFE 22 |
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Melanie Gideon’s debut novel, WIFE 22, follows Alice Buckle, who has been married for 20 years and decides to participate in an anonymous online marriage study. But when she gets assigned to Researcher 101, she makes a compelling new connection that will challenge everything she knows about her life. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl, Gideon explains her inspiration for Alice’s character. She also shares her opinions about marriage, social media and friendship, and gives a glimpse into her next book.
WIFE 22 by Melanie Gideon (Fiction)
Alice Buckle sees herself as a wife, mother, drama teacher, Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions. Then an anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” shows up in her inbox. She becomes Wife 22 and is assigned a caseworker (Researcher 101). Along the way, she shares her innermost thoughts and secrets in this survey, and her confessions end up making some sparks fly. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Melanie Gideon’s bio.
-Click here to see the 25 readers who were selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.
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Click here to read our interview.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Emylia Hall, Author of THE BOOK OF SUMMERS |
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Emylia Hall’s debut novel, THE BOOK OF SUMMERS, tells the story of a girl who grows up torn between her childhood home in England and her mother’s new home on the Hungarian countryside. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Melanie Smith, Hall gives insight into the book’s various characters. She also draws comparisons between its settings and her own childhood summers in Hungary, shares some details about Hungarian culture, and reveals what she’s working on next.
THE BOOK OF SUMMERS by Emylia Hall (Fiction)
Erszebet Lowe relives blissful childhood summers spent visiting her mother in Hungary while exploring an artistic scrapbook. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Hungary presents an irresistible draw for Erzsi’s mother, who abandons her daughter to return to her homeland but then devotes great attentions to her during yearly visits.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Emylia Hall’s bio.
-Click here to see the 25 readers who were selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.
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Click here to read our interview.
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Now in Stores: A BLAZE OF GLORY by Jeff Shaara |
A BLAZE OF GLORY: A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh by Jeff Shaara (Historical Fiction)
In the spring of 1862, the Confederate Army in the West teeters on the brink of collapse following the catastrophic loss of Fort Donelson. Albert Sidney Johnston is pulling out of Nashville and must defend the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. And if Generals Ulysses Grant and Don Carlos Buell capture the railroad, the war in the West likely will be over. However, Johnson is onto them and is poised to attack Grant's encampment near the Shiloh church. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read a review.
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New Paperback Spotlight: THOUGHTS WITHOUT CIGARETTES by Oscar Hijuelos |
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THOUGHTS WITHOUT CIGARETTES: A Memoir by Oscar Hijuelos (Memoir)
Oscar Hijuelos has enchanted readers with vibrant characters who hunger for success, love and self-acceptance. In his first work of nonfiction, Hijuelos writes from the heart about the people and places that inspired his international bestselling novels.
Born in Manhattan's Morningside Heights to Cuban immigrants in 1951, Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing. The son of a Cuban hotel worker and exuberant poetry- writing mother, his story, played out against the backdrop of an often prejudiced working-class neighborhood, takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship to his family and culture changes forever. During a sojourn in pre-Castro Cuba with his mother, he catches a disease that sends him into a Dickensian home for terminally ill children. The yearlong stay estranges him from the very language and people he had so loved.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Oscar Hijuelos’ bio.
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Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight.
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New Paperback Spotlight: TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal |
TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal (Fiction)
As the veneer of her happy life in California is beginning to crack, Judith Whitman recalls the serenity she felt decades earlier, when she was 17 and living in her father’s house in Nebraska. There --- before her marriage to a banker, before the birth of her daughter, before her career as a film editor --- Judith met Willy Blunt, a carpenter whose pale blue eyes and easy smile awakened in Judith the reckless girl he alone imagined her to be. If she were to encounter Willy again, could Judith reconnect with her purer, better self? Tom McNeal points us toward the answer in this heartwrenching, captivating story about who we are with the ones we love, and who we are without them.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Tom McNeal’s bio.
-Click here to visit Tom McNeal’s official website.
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Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight.
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Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading Contests and Feature
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Summer is just around the corner! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contest and Feature. We will be spotlighting a different title on select days through July 31st, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter. We also will be sending a special daily newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, June 4th at noon ET.
This year’s featured titles include:
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Click here to read all the contest details and see our featured titles.
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Bookreporter.com's Seventh Annual Father's Day Contest and Feature: Best Books for Dad
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Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? From now through June 12th, readers will have the chance to win a collection of 10 books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five winners will receive all the books we’re featuring, along with a cooler that is touted to keep contents cold for two days, a striped beach towel, sunblock and Dunkin' Donuts coffee.
This year's featured titles are:
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Click here to read all the contest details and see our featured titles.
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Featured Historical Fiction Author: Lisa T. Bergren, Author of GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS |
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We have 25 copies of GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS, the first installment of Lisa T. Bergren's Grand Tour series, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 7th at noon ET.
GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS by Lisa T. Bergren (Historical Romance)
It’s the summer of 1913, and Cora Kensington’s life on the family farm has taken a dark turn. Not only are the crops failing, but someone dear to Cora is failing as well.
In one fateful afternoon, a stranger comes to call, and Cora discovers a terrible secret about her past…a secret that will radically change her future.
The first book in the Grand Tour series will take readers on a journey of cultural refinement, but moreover, explores what truly informs a person’s sense of identity.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to see the book trailer.
-Click here to read Lisa T. Bergren’s bio.
-Click here to visit Lisa T. Bergren’s official website.
-Click here to connect with Lisa T. Bergren on Facebook.
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Click here to read more in our Historical Fiction Author Spotlight.
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Featured Women’s Fiction Author: Mary Kay Andrews, Author of SPRING FEVER |
SPRING FEVER by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Annajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They’ve been divorced for four years, she’s engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she’s ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she’s been given a second chance.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Mary Kay Andrews’ bio.
-Click here to visit Mary Kay Andrews’ official website.
-Connect with Mary Kay Andrews on Facebook and Twitter.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight.
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BEA Power Reader Day --- Sign Up Now for This Event on Thursday, June 7th! |
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BookExpo America (BEA) is held each year with an eye on sharing with booksellers, librarians, book group leaders and bloggers the upcoming fall/winter titles. For the first time ever, this year the show (which is being held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City) will be open to the general public on Thursday, June 7th from 9:00-3:00 for a select group of “Power Readers,” which is comprised of avid readers from the book reader community. As the BEA folks know our readers are “Power Readers,” they have given us a special link where you can sign up to attend this event at a special rate of $45.
The day promises to be exciting with many opportunities to hear about books and authors, and there will be swag bags from Random House Publishers, who are sponsoring this day.
Want to attend? Then go to this link, click “Activate My Invite & Register” and then "Activate my Invite, Register Now." Use our special code WL48X and enter “Book Reporter” for Bookstore Name (and no, we are not a store, but the system is set up like this).
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Click here to read more about BEA Power Reader Day and register to attend the event.
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Contests Running on Other Sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com |
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We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!
Teenreads.com
THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater
Teenreads.com’s latest Sneak Peek feature spotlights THE RAVEN BOYS, which kicks off an all-new series by Maggie Stiefvater. The book releases on September 18th, but we have 100 specially formatted early reader editions to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and share comments about it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, June 14th at noon ET.
Short Story Writing Contest
Inspired by ANOTHER JEKYLL, ANOTHER HYDE by Daniel and Dina Nayeri, Teenreads.com is inviting readers (and aspiring writers!) to write a story in which you reinvent a classic story or character, making it modern and, most importantly, your own! Write your story in no more than 1,200 words. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 15th at noon ET.
Kidsreads.com
JUSTIN CASE: SHELLS, SMELLS, AND THE HORRIBLE FLIP-FLOPS OF DOOM written by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Justin is going to start fourth grade --- but first, he has to survive the summer. Kidsreads.com is giving 5 readers the chance to win a copy of JUSTIN CASE: SHELLS, SMELLS, AND THE HORRIBLE FLIP-FLOPS OF DOOM. The deadline for entries is Monday, June 18th at noon ET.
ALEX AND THE AMAZING TIME MACHINE written by Rich Cohen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Alex Trumble is a pretty ordinary kid --- except for the fact that his IQ borders on genius, and he loves to read books on vortexes and time travel. But when two angry hit men kidnap his big brother, Alex’s life changes fast. Kidsreads.com is giving 5 readers the chance to win a copy of ALEX AND THE AMAZING TIME MACHINE. The deadline for entries is Monday, June 18th at noon ET.
ReadingGroupGuides.com
THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty
ReadingGroupGuides.com is celebrating the upcoming release of THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty --- a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both --- with a special contest. 40 readers will have the opportunity to each win an advance copy of the book, which will be in stores June 5th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
GOLD by Chris Cleave
ReadingGroupGuides.com is celebrating the upcoming release of GOLD by Chris Cleave --- the story of two longtime friends and rivals who each desperately want to win gold at the 2012 Olympics --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which will be in stores July 3rd, for their group. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman
NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, when their children are on the cusp of their own adulthood. The paperback edition releases on May 15th, and ReadingGroupGuides.com is celebrating with a special contest. One group will receive 12 paperback copies of NEXT TO LOVE, while 25 additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
SILVER SPARROW by Tayari Jones
ReadingGroupGuides.com is celebrating the paperback release of SILVER SPARROW by Tayari Jones --- a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle --- with a special contest. One group will receive 12 paperback copies of SILVER SPARROW, while 25 additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
FaithfulReader.com
STARDUST by Carla Stewart
An East Texas widow, determined to start over, inherits a rundown motel. But when her first guest is her dead husband's mistress, pregnant and stricken with polio, a change of plans leads to a change of heart. FaithfulReader.com is celebrating the release of STARDUST with a special contest that will give 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Carla Stewart’s latest novel. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 15th at noon ET.
SUBMERGED: Alaskan Courage, Book One by Dani Pettrey
FaithfulReader.com is celebrating the release of SUBMERGED, which kicks off the Alaskan Courage series, with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of Dani Pettrey's debut novel. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 15th at noon ET.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT: Secrets of Roux River Bayou, Book 3 by Kathy Herman
In FaithfulReader.com's latest monthly contest, 25 readers will be awarded a copy of RELENTLESS PURSUIT, the final book in Kathy Herman's Secrets of Roux River Bayou suspense series. As an added bonus, one of these lucky winners will receive a Cajun-themed gift basket, "From The Bayou," which represents a collage of what makes Louisiana cuisine unique. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 15th at noon ET.
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This Week’s Reviews |
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THE LOST ONES: A Quinn Colson Novel by Ace Atkins (Thriller)
Fresh from 10 years as a U.S. Army Ranger, Quinn Colson finds his hands full as the newly elected sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi. An old buddy running a local gun shop may be in over his head when stolen army rifles start showing up in the hands of a Mexican drug gang. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
RAILSEA by China Mieville (Science Fiction)
On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can’t shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski Minchak.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed by Leslie Maitland (Memoir)
Leslie Maitland’s mother and grandparents fled Germany in 1938 for France, where, as Jews, they spent four years as refugees, the last two under risk of Nazi deportation. This sweeping account of one family’s escape from the turmoil of war-torn Europe hangs upon the intimate and deeply personal story of Maitland’s mother’s passionate romance with a Catholic Frenchman. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
AS THE CROW FLIES: A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson (Western/Mystery)
Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter, Cady, is getting married to the brother of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti. When he sets out to find a new site for the nuptials on the Cheyenne Reservation, the scouting expedition ends in horror as he witnesses a young Crow woman plummeting from Painted Warrior’s majestic cliffs. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE YARD by Alex Grecian (Historical Mystery)
Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only 12 detectives --- known as “The Murder Squad” --- to investigate countless murders every month. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own...one of the 12. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
BEAUTIFUL SACRIFICE by Elizabeth Lowell (Romantic Suspense)
Archaeologist Lina Taylor has devoted her life to studying ancient Mayan artifacts, but the professor’s structured, studious life spins out of control when some valuable and important Mayan artifacts go missing. Lina is recruited to recover the missing pieces, which, she discovers, may be being used by fanatics determined to create chaos and usher in annihilation. Reviewed by Hillary Wagy.
FUN HOUSE: A John Ceepak Mystery by Chris Grabenstein (Mystery)
By-the-book officer John Ceepak and his wisecracking young partner, Danny Boyle, have to babysit the buff and boozy kids partying it up in a Jersey shore rental house for TV’s summertime hit “Fun House.” But even Ceepak and Danny can’t stop one young cast member from being murdered --- and others from being threatened with the same fate. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH by Heather Barbieri (Fiction)
Nora Keane’s carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she --- along with the rest of the world --- learns that her husband, a prominent Massachusetts attorney general, has been cheating on her. Heartbroken and humiliated, Nora takes refuge with her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island in Maine, a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides. Reviewed by Maggie Harding.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
DRIVEN by James Sallis (Thriller)
Driver has ended his life of crime, become Paul West, and founded a successful business back in Phoenix. Walking down the street one day, he and his fiancee are attacked by two men, and while Driver dispatches both, his fiancee is killed. Sinking back into anonymity, aided by his friend Felix, an ex-gangbanger and Desert Storm vet, Driver retreats, but finds that his past stalks him and will not stop. He has to turn and face it. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
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Young Adult Books You Want to Read |
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As you may or may not know, our company, The Book Report Network, has a number of websites about books and authors in addition to Bookreporter.com. Throughout the year, Bookreporter.com features adult books on Teenreads.com, our site for young adult readers, that we think will have definite appeal to a teen audience. In the spirit of sharing, we are now spotlighting a selection of titles each month from Teenreads.com that we believe are great reads that you might enjoy.
Here are our latest featured titles:
INSURGENT by Veronica Roth (Dystopian Thriller)
Tris' initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction. Instead, war now looms, and in these times, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable --- and even more powerful. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.
BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore (Fantasy)
Eight years after GRACELING, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea, but the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. When Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle --- disguised and alone --- to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the 35-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Reviewed by Benjamin Boche.
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein (Historical Thriller)
In 1943, a British spy plane crashes in Nazi France, leaving the passenger “Verity” to be captured by the Gestapo and her best friend, Maddie, behind. When Verity’s captors tell her to confess or be executed, she writes her confession page by page --- uncovering her past, how she became friends with Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wreck, desperately hoping to make it home. Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gómez.
THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW by Robin Wasserman (Historical Thriller/Mystery)
With her best friend murdered and her boyfriend Max, the main suspect, gone, Nora can barely manage to keep afloat. All she knows is that the entire nightmare is related to the ancient book translation they had been working on for a school project. Then she receives a coded message from Max begging her to join him in Prague. They have a chance to clear his name and finally solve a 400-year-old mystery --- which includes instructions on building a machine to talk to God. Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman.
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Click here to see all the young adult books we recommend you read.
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This Week’s Poll and Word of Mouth Contest |
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Poll:
How many shelves of books do you have in your house or apartment? (Note: We are referencing shelves on bookcases here each as an individual shelf.)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
More than 10
I do not own any books.
I am not sure how many I have.
-Click here to answer our poll.
Word of Mouth:
Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from June 1st to June 15th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE CONVICTION by Robert Dugoni, HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL by Robert Goolrick, and THE RED HOUSE by Mark Haddon.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
-Click here to enter the contest.
-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, 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.
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