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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
March 22, 2013 |
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Colorado Bound!
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I am not big on office meetings, thus when we have one, I try to make it matter. Recently I heard from a colleague who conducts staff meetings standing up, which urges swiftness to dialogue. I have not gone that far, but I insist that those who “sit at the table” bring ideas! A couple of weeks ago, we hatched one for our version of March Madness. We researched alumni and faculty from each school. From there, we culled a list of authors --- and their books --- and chose one to represent each school on our version of the “bracket.” On our lineup, you will see well-known authors and titles, and names that will be a lot less familiar. The result is “Slam Dunk: Reading Through the Madness!” Greg came up with the original concept. And I thank Eric, Nikki, Alina, Vicky, Olivia and Justin for getting on board with it. We’ll progress our bracket as the tournament continues. May the best book win!
As the lineups were announced on Sunday, we were working from our pre-bracket research, and Greg yelled "Poe is out" when UVA did not make the cut! VERY amusing.
Did you feel Mercury moving back into place this week? I sure did starting Sunday afternoon. Of course, it did not happen without one last snafu. On Saturday afternoon, I was reading an advance copy of Gregg Hurwitz’s TELL NO LIES (releasing August 20th) on my iPad. When I went back to turn it on, the screen would not light. Lovely. With 20 pages to go, I was left hanging. LUCKILY his editor also had given me a print galley, thus I raced upstairs and grabbed that to see how things ended up. It’s my favorite book of his. I loved the characters; each of them drew me in, especially Evelyn. One more thing…TELL NO LIES is set in San Francisco, which is Gregg’s hometown and one of my favorite cities. A few years ago, the Bouchercon World Mystery convention was held there. Gregg and I had breakfast one morning at The Palace, and the hotel gets a mention in the book. Nice!
The past few months, I’ve been raving about Therese Anne Fowler’s latest book, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, and so of course I’m THRILLED to be making it my latest Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. We look forward to sharing our review and interview with Therese next week, as the book releases on Tuesday, March 26th. She stopped by the office yesterday, and we had a great catch-up; you can see a picture of the two of us above.
Our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight of Jane Green has entered its final week, and so we have a review of her latest, FAMILY PICTURES, which is now in stores. Two women live on opposite coasts, but their lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They are both in their 40s and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. Reviewer Norah Piehl says, “[T]he emotions underlying their stories are genuine, as is the way each woman uses a traumatic event to take stock of --- and ultimately reinvent --- her own life.” Norah also had a chance to talk with Jane about the book and her career thus far, and you can read that interview here. Good reading.
We kicked off our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight of GARDEN OF STONES three weeks ago with our review of the book. This week, as we wrap up the feature, we have an interview with the author, Sophie Littlefield. Lucy Takeda is just 14 years old when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are taken to the Manzanar prison camp, where they must endure its harsh living conditions. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever...and spur her to sins of her own. Our reviewer Melanie Smith interviewed Sophie about her motivation for writing such a moving and powerful tale with fascinating mother-daughter relationships and vividly descriptive settings, and you can read that interview here.
We have THREE more Women’s Fiction Author Spotlights to tell you about this week --- and ALL three will be “Bets On” selections when they release on April 9th. First up is Patti Callahan Henry’s latest novel, AND THEN I FOUND YOU. Katie Vaughan has a secret, something tucked away in her past. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend, Rowan, whom she wants to love with all her heart. But when she discovers a small velvet box hidden in Rowan's drawer, she panics. For the first time in her life, Katie knows that she won't fully love Rowan until she confronts the demons from her past, and it's time for her to act.
I had heard the back story on this book, and it’s so heartwarming. About 24 years ago, Patti’s younger sister Barbi had a baby that she put up for adoption. Three years ago, around the time of her 21st birthday, that baby, Catherine, found Barbi on Facebook through Patti; she originally found Patti through her books. The family always had wondered what happened to the baby who had been part of their own family for a few short hours. Patti hits a new stride in her writing by embracing this theme of a child put up for adoption and the emotional impact that both the birth family and the family who chooses to love a child of adoption face. She is clear that this is a novel and not her sister’s story. She has mined the feelings that rolled through her family to create a book that both tugs at the heart and offers closure. And it does both.
We have 50 copies of AND THEN I FOUND YOU 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, April 4th at noon ET. Want to read more about the story behind the book? Read the short story called “Friend Request” that Patti wrote with Barbi.
Next up is THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig. As a lawyer in a large Manhattan firm, just shy of making partner, Clementine Evans has finally achieved almost everything she’s been working towards --- but now she’s not sure it’s enough. Her long hours have led to a broken engagement, and she feels her messy life crumbling around her. But when the family gathers for her grandmother Addie’s 99th birthday, a relative lets slip hints about a long-buried family secret, leading Clemmie on a journey into the past that could change everything.
For those who love family sagas that are rife with all kinds of secrets, this is a book for you. We have 25 copies of THE ASHFORD AFFAIR 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, April 4th at noon ET.
Our last new featured Spotlight title of the week is PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert. Growing up in the 1930s, there is no more magical place than Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey --- especially for seven-year-old Antoinette (nicknamed “Toni”) and her brother, Jack. However, both their father and Jack face the dangers of war, while their mother has ambitions of her own --- and Toni is determined to take on a very different kind of danger in impossible feats as a high diver. Yet they are all drawn back to each other --- and to Palisades Park --- until the park closes forever in 1971.
As I read this book back in January, I became caught up in Eddie and Adele Stopka’s story, as they started out working the Park running concessions. Amusement parks in the ’60s were very different from the extravaganzas we know now like Disney theme parks, and PALISADES PARK captures the energy of these very different times. I’m happy to say that we have 25 copies 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, April 4th at noon ET.
Our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight for HEART OF PALM continues. In Laura Lee Smith’s debut novel, we meet the Bravos, whose small southern town is faded, and the people there are going through the motions. A land deal that’s in the works could completely change things --- but it all hinges on the Bravos’ next move. We’re giving away 25 copies to those who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 28th at noon ET. HEART OF PALM will be a “Bets On” selection when it releases on April 2nd.
Our Sneak Peek: An Early Look at an Upcoming Book feature for WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD continues. Susan Crandall’s story takes place in the summer of 1963 and introduces readers to nine-year-old Starla Claudelle, who runs away from home to be with her mother in Nashville and is offered a ride by a black woman who is traveling with a white baby. As the two unlikely companions make their long and sometimes dangerous journey, Starla’s eyes are opened to the harsh realities of 1963 southern segregation. The book doesn’t release until July 2nd, but we have 50 advance copies to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and share their comments about it by May 2nd. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 28th at noon ET. WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD also will be a “Bets On” selection when it releases.
We have 15 new reviews for you this week, and I’d like to take this opportunity to spotlight four of them.
Hugh Howey’s first novel, WOOL, is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure that originated as a self-published short story on the Web. Fans quickly spread the word, which led to rising sales and Hugh’s decision to continue the story in four additional installments. So even before the print edition (which is available in both hardcover and paperback) appeared in stores for the first time last week, more than 400,000 eBooks had been sold, and the book has been optioned for a movie by Ridley Scott. Stephen Hubbard proclaims that WOOL “is a tremendously well-crafted tale, and a recommendation to read it is quite easily offered. If this is any indication of what we can expect from Howey in the future, then his next works will be eagerly awaited indeed.” Read more about the book and an interview with Hugh. By the way, I first learned of this book from Anna Knapp, one of our former chat hosts, when I caught up with her in October.
THE UNCHANGEABLE SPOTS OF LEOPARDS by Kristopher Jansma is another debut novel that’s been getting lots of buzz; I met him at Winter Institute. From the jazz clubs of Manhattan to the villages of Sri Lanka, this book’s narrator will be inspired and haunted by the success of his greatest friend and rival in writing, Julian McGann, and endlessly enamored with Julian’s friend, Evelyn, the green-eyed girl who got away. After the trio has a disastrous falling out, desperate to tell the truth in his writing and to figure out who he really is, Jansma’s narrator finds himself caught in a never-ending web of lies. Here’s what Norah Piehl had to say in her review: “Will Jansma's novel be most appealing to those who fashion themselves writers or ‘book people’? Sure, but this mind-blowing spiral of a book also will appeal to anyone who enjoys their fiction as playful as it is intriguing.” We also have an interview with Kristopher that you can read here.
Linda Greenlaw’s latest work of nonfiction is LIFESAVING LESSONS: Notes from an Accidental Mother. Through hard work and determination, Linda had created a life of peaceful independence, living on a rugged island off the coast of Maine. Then came Mariah, a troubled 15-year-old who arrives on the island to stay with her uncle. But when it is revealed that Mariah has suffered terrible abuse at his hands, the island comes together to rescue the teenager from further harm. The residents nominate Linda, who is not exactly the picture of maternal warmth, to be Mariah’s guardian. Roz Shea has our review and says, “Greenlaw writes with pathos and humor about the tenuous relationship that develops as the horrific truth about the girl’s uncle comes to light.” Linda has led such an interesting and full life. This new chapter shows readers yet another side of her; I loved it!
We also have a review of Cécile David-Weill’s much-talked-about novel, THE SUITORS. After Laure and Marie learn of their parents’ plan to sell the family’s summer retreat, L’Agapanthe, they devise a scheme for attracting a wealthy suitor who can afford to purchase the estate. This place of charm and nostalgia is the perfect venue to exercise proper etiquette and intellect, though not all its visitors are socially savvy, especially when it’s a matter of understanding the relationships between old money and the nouveau riche. Melanie Smith says in her review, “THE SUITORS is an eccentric, humorous novel that many readers should enjoy. I loved reading about all the social edicts and rigid etiquette of the French elite.” Fans of “Downton Abbey” especially will want to take a look at this book.
Our current Word of Mouth contest will be up for one more week. Let us know what you’re reading by Friday, March 29th at noon ET, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of LEAN IN: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, LIFE AFTER LIFE by Jill McCorkle, and ORDINARY GRACE by William Kent Krueger.
This week, we learned that Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE, is letting her fans choose the US cover of her new novel, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS, which releases on October 1st. Voting on three potential book covers has begun on Elizabeth’s Facebook page and runs through Sunday night, March 24th at 11:59pm, with the winning design revealed on Monday at 5:00pm. Please don’t miss out on this fun opportunity. It’s not every day that an author asks his or her readers for their input on a huge decision such as this!
Happy to share that one of our staffers, Josh Mallory, was featured prominently in Monday’s edition of the New York Daily News in a piece about THE LOVE SONG OF JONNY VALENTINE by Teddy Wayne, which he reviewed for us in February. Click here for the story, and you can see Josh’s review here.
Tom, Cory and I head for Crested Butte, Colorado on Sunday morning for a ski trip to celebrate Cory's high school graduation. Now this is going to be one nostalgic trip for Tom and me. We met in Crested Butte in 1982, and it was the first stop on our three-week ski/island honeymoon in 1985. Greg learned to ski there, and we took both boys back the summer of 2006. It’s a great ski town with a lot of old charm. While Vail is my favorite mountain to ski, the Butte is a very special place to me. In fact, years ago I came very close to quitting my magazine job to become their Marketing Director. It makes me wonder if Bookreporter.com ever would have happened if life took that turn.
Speaking of turns, I have not skied in 19 years….a lot of life got in the way. Thus I have blues and greens lined up for the week and am trying to figure out how to tuck a book into the top of my ski suit (which happily still fits) in case reading on top of the mountain becomes an option worth exploring. Trust that I am not up for my “9:30-4:00 pound the mountain” schedule of old. I am dreaming of purple skies. And I will have my report next week along with what I read between turns. And I already found two bookstores to explore --- Townie Books and The Angling Bookstore. I will report back next week!
Happy Passover to all our friends celebrating at the beginning of the week! Read on….
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Jane Green, Author of FAMILY PICTURES
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In Jane Green’s latest novel, FAMILY PICTURES, two women’s lives intersect when a shocking secret is revealed. Green talks to Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl about her fascinating female protagonists, along with the book’s contrasting settings and the huge surprise at the center of the story. She also reveals which of her main characters she fell in love with immediately, some of her favorite books and writers (particularly in the suspense genre), and the plot line of her next novel, which she has completed already.
FAMILY PICTURES by Jane Green (Fiction)
Two women live on opposite coasts, but their lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They are both in their 40s and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. 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 Jane Green’s bio.
-Click here to visit Jane Green’s official website.
-Connect with Jane Green on Facebook and Twitter.
-Click here to see the 50 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 Sophie Littlefield, Author of GARDEN OF STONES
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Bookreporter.com’s Melanie Smith talks to Sophie Littlefield, whose latest novel, GARDEN OF STONES, revolves around a mother who makes the ultimate sacrifice for her daughter in the dark days of World War II. In this interview, Littlefield discusses her motivation for writing the book, the fascinating mother-daughter relationship that is central to the plot, and the novel’s vividly described settings. She also shares much about her firsthand experiences and perceptions in visiting Manzanar, how she went about understanding the psychological aspect of captivity for the Japanese Americans, and why she incorporated taxidermy into the storyline.
GARDEN OF STONES by Sophie Littlefield (Fiction)
Lucy Takeda is just 14 years old when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are taken to the Manzanar prison camp, where they must endure its harsh living conditions. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever...and spur her to sins of her own. Reviewed by Melanie Smith.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read critical praise.
-Click here to read Sophie Littlefield’s bio.
-Click here to visit Sophie Littlefield’s official website.
-Connect with Sophie Littlefield on Facebook and Twitter.
-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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New Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry
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We have 50 copies of AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry, which releases on April 9th, 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, April 4th at noon ET.
AND THEN I FOUND YOU by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Katie Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.
She’s made them before. Now it’s time to do it again.
Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. She wants the facts to move from her head toward her heart and settle in with deep love, something past admiration and comfort. But when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan’s drawer, she panics.
It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Patti Callahan Henry’s bio.
-Click here to visit Patti Callahan Henry’s official website.
-Connect with Patti Callahan Henry on Facebook and Twitter.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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New Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig
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We have 25 copies of THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig, which releases on April 9th, 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, April 4th at noon ET.
THE ASHFORD AFFAIR by Lauren Willig (Historical Fiction)
As a lawyer in a large Manhattan firm, just shy of making partner, Clementine Evans has finally achieved almost everything she’s been working towards --- but now she’s not sure it’s enough. Her long hours have led to a broken engagement and, suddenly single at 34, she feels her messy life crumbling around her. But when the family gathers for her grandmother Addie’s 99th birthday, a relative lets slip hints about a long-buried family secret, leading Clemmie on a journey into the past that could change everything...
Growing up at Ashford Park in the early 20th century, Addie has never quite belonged. When her parents passed away, she was taken into the grand English house by her aristocratic aunt and uncle, and raised side-by-side with her beautiful and outgoing cousin, Bea. Though they are as different as night and day, Addie and Bea are closer than sisters, through relationships and challenges, and a war that changes the face of Europe irrevocably. But what happens when something finally comes along that can’t be shared? When the love of sisterhood is tested by a bond that’s even stronger?
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Lauren Willig’s bio.
-Click here to visit Lauren Willig’s official website.
-Click here to connect with Lauren Willig on Facebook.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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New Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert
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We have 25 copies of PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert, which releases on April 9th, 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, April 4th at noon ET.
PALISADES PARK by Alan Brennert (Historical Fiction)
Growing up in the 1930s, there is no more magical place than Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey --- especially for seven-year-old Antoinette, who horrifies her mother by insisting on the unladylike nickname Toni, and her brother, Jack. Toni helps her parents, Eddie and Adele Stopka, at the stand where they sell homemade French fries amid the roar of the Cyclone roller coaster. There is also the lure of the world’s biggest salt-water pool, complete with divers whose astonishing stunts inspire Toni, despite her mother's insistence that girls can't be high divers.
But a family of dreamers doesn't always share the same dreams, and then the world intrudes: There's the Great Depression, and Pearl Harbor, which hits home in ways that will split the family apart; and perils like fire and race riots in the park. Both Eddie and Jack face the dangers of war, while Adele has ambitions of her own --- and Toni is determined to take on a very different kind of danger in impossible feats as a high diver. Yet they are all drawn back to each other --- and to Palisades Park --- until the park closes forever in 1971.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Alan Brennert’s bio.
-Click here to connect with Alan Brennert on Facebook.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest: HEART OF PALM by Laura Lee Smith
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We have 25 copies of HEART OF PALM by Laura Lee Smith, which releases on April 2nd, 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, March 28th at noon ET.
HEART OF PALM by Laura Lee Smith (Fiction)
Utina, Florida, is a small, down-at-heels southern town. Once enlivened by the trade in Palm Sunday palms and moonshine, Utina hasn’t seen economic growth in decades, and no family is more emblematic of the local reality than the Bravos. Deserted by the patriarch years ago, the Bravos are held together in equal measure by love, unspoken blame, and tenuously brokered truces.
The story opens on a sweltering July day, as Frank Bravo, dutiful middle son, is awakened by a distress call. Frank dreams of escaping to cool mountain rivers, but he’s only made it 10 minutes from the family restaurant he manages every day and the decrepit, Spanish-moss-draped house he was raised in, and where his strong-willed mother and spitfire sister --- both towering redheads, equally matched in stubbornness --- are fighting another battle royale. Little do any of them know that Utina is about to meet the tide of development that has already engulfed the rest of Northeast Florida. When opportunity knocks, tempers ignite, secrets are unearthed, and each of the Bravos is forced to confront the tragedies of their shared past.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read critical praise.
-Click here to read Laura Lee Smith’s bio.
-Click here to visit Laura Lee Smith’s official website.
-Connect with Laura Lee Smith on Facebook and Twitter.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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Sneak Peek: An Early Look at an Upcoming Book --- Our Latest Featured Title: WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by Susan Crandall
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At Bookreporter.com, we have the opportunity to read many great books well in advance of their release dates. Now, with our Sneak Peek Feature and Contest, we are offering our readers the chance to preview select early picks --- and share feedback on them. We know that readers champion books that they love, and we want you to be part of the excitement of upcoming releases as early as possible.
Our latest Sneak Peek Feature spotlights WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by Susan Crandall, a wise and tender coming-of-age story about a nine-year-old girl who runs away from her Mississippi home in 1963, befriends a lonely woman suffering loss and abuse, and embarks on a life-changing road trip. We have 50 advance copies to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases on July 2nd, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 28th at noon ET.
We really want to hear what you have to say about WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD, so if you will have time to read it and answer some questions by Thursday, May 2nd, please enter this contest. If not, we will have more opportunities like this in the future.
WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by Susan Crandall (Historical Fiction)
The summer of 1963 begins like any other for nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three, but is convinced that her mother will keep her promise to take Starla and her daddy to Nashville, where her mother hopes to become a famous singer --- and that one day her family will be whole and perfect.
When Starla is grounded on the Fourth of July, she sneaks out to see the parade. After getting caught, Starla’s fear that Mamie will make good on her threats and send her to reform school cause her to panic and run away from home. Once out in the country, Starla is offered a ride by a black woman, Eula, who is traveling with a white baby. She happily accepts a ride, with the ultimate goal of reaching her mother in Nashville.
As the two unlikely companions make their long and sometimes dangerous journey, Starla’s eyes are opened to the harsh realities of 1963 southern segregation.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read Susan Crandall’s bio.
-Click here to visit Susan Crandall’s official website.
-Connect with Susan Crandall on Facebook and Twitter.
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Click here to read more in our Sneak Peek Feature and enter the contest. |
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Bookreporter.com Bets On: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
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Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler (Historical Fiction)
Before F. Scott Fitzgerald was a literary darling, he was a young World War I army lieutenant who fell hard for a spirited Southern belle named Zelda Sayre, who lived in Montgomery, Alabama. The life he and Zelda would lead together in New York, Long Island, Paris, Hollywood, and on the French Riviera made them legends even in their own time. Set amidst the glamour of the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation’s vivid world abroad, Z by Therese Anne Fowler brings Zelda and Scott’s romantic, tumultuous, extraordinary journey to life. It is one of the most highly anticipated books of the season; when I read it, I immediately saw why.
Just as we were able to see into the life of Hadley, the first Mrs. Hemingway in THE PARIS WIFE, here we meet Zelda, who clearly charmed Fitzgerald. We see not only how she inspired him, but also the tensions between them. The way their lives spiraled up and down flow through the prose. Their moves from dark and light sides made their lives rocky and their highs and lows both inspired and inhibited creativity. While we know Scott as the writer, I was not aware of Zelda’s talent until I read Z.
Many literary characters swing in and out of this book, so those who loved THE PARIS WIFE will want to read this. And those who read LOVING FRANK will be fans as well. These stories of the women behind their famous men are so intriguing. In each, the woman played a key role, and a topic for discussion is where would these men have been without them. There is LOTS of literary and sociological chatter for book groups in Z!
Z releases on March 26th.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Therese Anne Fowler’s bio.
-Click here to visit Therese Anne Fowler’s official website.
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An Interview with Hugh Howey, Author of WOOL
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Hugh Howey’s first novel, WOOL, is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure that originated as a self-published short story on the Web. Fans quickly spread the word, which led to four additional installments of the tale and eBook sales of over 400,000. The highly-anticipated print edition, which is available in both hardcover and paperback, is now in stores. In this interview, Howey explains where the idea for the story came from and the advantages of breaking the narrative down into several shorter pieces. He also talks about the two drastically disparate views of human nature that the book presents, along with his upcoming projects, which include two more books in this current series.
WOOL by Hugh Howey (Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction/Adventure)
In a ruined and toxic landscape, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside. His fateful decision will unleash a drastic series of events. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
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Click here to read the interview. |
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Now in Stores: LIFESAVING LESSONS by Linda Greenlaw
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LIFESAVING LESSONS: Notes from an Accidental Mother by Linda Greenlaw (Memoir)
Through hard work and determination, Linda Greenlaw had created a life of peaceful independence, living on a rugged island off the coast of Maine. Then came Mariah, a troubled 15-year-old who arrives on the island to stay with her uncle. But when it is revealed that Mariah has suffered terrible abuse at his hands, the island comes together to rescue the teenager from further harm. The residents nominate Linda, who is not exactly the picture of maternal warmth, to be Mariah’s guardian. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to visit Linda Greenlaw’s official website.
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Click here to read a review. |
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Featured Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight: WHAT TEARS US APART by Deborah Cloyed
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WHAT TEARS US APART by Deborah Cloyed (Romance)
The real world. That’s what Leda desperately seeks when she flees her life of privilege to travel to Kenya. She finds it at a boys' orphanage in the slums of Nairobi. What she doesn’t expect is to fall for Ita, the charismatic and thoughtful man who gave up his dreams so as to offer children a haven in the midst of turmoil.
Their love should be enough for each other --- it embodies the soul-deep connection both have always craved. But it is threatened by Ita’s troubled childhood friend, Chege, a gang leader with whom he shares a complex history. As political unrest reaches a boiling point and the slum erupts in violence, Leda is attacked…and forced to put her trust in Chege, the one person who otherwise inspires anything but.
WHAT TEARS US APART releases on March 26th.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Deborah Cloyed’s bio.
-Click here to visit Deborah Cloyed’s official website.
-Connect with Deborah Cloyed on Facebook and Twitter.
-Click here to see the 25 readers who were selected to read and comment on the book.
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Click here to read more in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight. |
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Special Contest: Win a Copy of AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini Before It Releases on May 21st
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In January, we introduced our Enduring Bestseller Spotlight, which gives us a chance to go back and revisit books from years past that have affected us deeply --- books that have moved us, made us laugh, or struck other emotional chords. Our debut titles for this exciting new feature were THE KITE RUNNER and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini --- and now we have a giveaway to tell you about that you won't want to miss out on.
If you’ve read one or both of Hosseini's books, we’d love for you to share your thoughts about them, which we then will post on the site. Please fill out this form by Thursday, April 11th at noon ET, and you will be entered to win one of 25 copies of Hosseini’s highly anticipated forthcoming novel, AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED, which releases on May 21st.
AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini (Fiction)
Khaled Hosseini has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe --- from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos --- the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.
-Click here to read more about the book.
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Click here to enter the contest. |
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This Week’s Reviews
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SIX YEARS by Harlan Coben (Thriller)
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. When Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for…but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life is turned completely inside out. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE UNCHANGEABLE SPOTS OF LEOPARDS by Kristopher Jansma (Fiction)
From the jazz clubs of Manhattan to the villages of Sri Lanka, Kristopher Jansma’s narrator will be inspired and haunted by the success of his greatest friend and rival in writing, Julian McGann, and endlessly enamored with Julian’s friend, Evelyn, the green-eyed girl who got away. After the trio has a disastrous falling out, desperate to tell the truth in his writing and to figure out who he really is, Jansma’s narrator finds himself caught in a never-ending web of lies. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
-Click here to read an interview with Kristopher Jansma.
NIGHT MOVES: A Doc Ford Novel by Randy Wayne White (Thriller)
While trying to solve one of Florida’s most profound secrets, Doc Ford is the target of a murder attempt by someone who wants to make it look like an accident. Or is the target actually his friend, Tomlinson? What their small family of friends don’t know is that their secret pasts make it impossible for the two of them to go to the law for help. There is an assassin on the loose, and it is up to them to find the killer --- before he (or she) finishes the job. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
OLEANDER GIRL by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Fiction)
Orphaned at birth, 17-year-old Korobi Roy has been troubled by the silence that surrounds her parents’ deaths. She dreams of one day finding a love as powerful as her parents’, and it seems her wish has come true when she meets the charming Rajat, the only son of a high-profile family. But shortly after their engagement, a heart attack kills Korobi’s grandfather, revealing serious financial problems and a devastating secret about Korobi's past. Reviewed by Jane Krebs.
MARY COIN by Marisa Silver (Historical Fiction)
In 1936, a young mother resting by the side of a road in Central California is spontaneously photographed by a woman documenting the migrant laborers who have taken to America’s farms in search of work. Little personal information is exchanged, and neither woman has any way of knowing that they have produced what will become the most iconic image of the Great Depression. Reviewed by Jennifer Romanello.
THE SUITORS by Cecile David-Weill (Fiction)
After Laure and Marie learn of their parents’ plan to sell the family’s summer retreat, L’Agapanthe, they devise a scheme for attracting a wealthy suitor who can afford to purchase the estate. This place of charm and nostalgia is the perfect venue to exercise proper etiquette and intellect, though not all its visitors are socially savvy, especially when it’s a matter of understanding the relationships between old money and the nouveau riche. Reviewed by Melanie Smith.
BANISHED: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain with Lisa Pulitzer (Memoir)
For the first 14 years of her life, Lauren Drain's childhood was fairly normal. However, once her atheist father was seduced by the charismatic leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church, her life suddenly became a frightening experience of religious fanaticism and cult-like mind control that lasted for years before she was banished from the group and forced out on her own. Reviewed by Amie Taylor.
A THOUSAND PARDONS by Jonathan Dee (Fiction)
Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point --- and everything they have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly. As she is confronted with the biggest case of her career, the fallout from her marriage, and her daughter’s increasingly distant behavior, Helen must face the limits of accountability and her own capacity for forgiveness. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
BORN ON A MOUNTAINTOP: On the Road with Davy Crockett and the Ghosts of the Wild Frontier by Bob Thompson (Biography)
In the road-trip tradition of Sarah Vowell and Tony Horwitz, Bob Thompson follows Davy Crockett's footsteps from the Tennessee river valley where he was born, to Washington, where he served three terms in Congress, and on to Texas and the gates of the Alamo, seeking out those who know, love and are still willing to fight over Davy's life and legacy. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
THE LEVIATHAN EFFECT by James Lilliefors (Thriller)
THE LEVIATHAN EFFECT is a thriller that poses the frighteningly real question: In this age of weather technology and global warming, what if a Category 5 hurricane was a weapon of international warfare? Only the Homeland Security secretary and an ex-CIA agent stand in the way of a terrorist attack on American soil that could have devastating impact. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
ROOM NO. 10: A Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novel by Åke Edwardson (Mystery)
A woman is discovered hanged in a hotel room in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chief Inspector Erik Winter wonders whether her family is holding back some secret that might help identify the murderer. At the same time, Winter becomes convinced that there may be a connection between this crime and one of his first cases as a young detective that concerned a young woman who disappeared --- from the same room in the same hotel. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
BEAR IS BROKEN: A Leo Maxwell Mystery by Lachlan Smith (Mystery)
Leo Maxwell’s older brother Teddy, a successful yet reviled criminal defense attorney, has been shot and lies in a coma. Leo quickly realizes that the list of possible suspects is much larger than he could have imagined. The deeper he digs into Teddy’s life, the more questions arise. Somewhere, the person who shot his brother is still on the loose, and there are many who would happily kill Leo in order to keep it that way. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
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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!
ReadingGroupGuides.com
“What Are You Reading?” Monthly Contest Feature
Let us know what your group is reading in March, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is UNTIL I SAY GOOD-BYE: My Year of Living with Joy by Susan Spencer-Wendel and Bret Witter, a moving and inspirational memoir by a woman who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have 12 copies of the book, which releases on March 12th, to give away to three groups. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 2nd at noon ET.
20SomethingReads.com
HER: A Memoir by Christa Parravani
When a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive. We are celebrating the March 5th release of Christa Parravani's memoir, HER, with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 2nd at noon ET.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
In anticipation of the February 5th release of SCARLET --- the second book in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, which retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood --- we’re giving five readers the opportunity to win a copy of both CINDER and SCARLET. The deadline for entries is Thursday, March 28th at noon ET.
Teenreads.com
Spring Fling 2013
We are celebrating the weather warming up and the flowers beginning to bloom with our first-ever Spring Fling Contest! Between now and Tuesday, April 30th, teens can enter to win a prize package that includes all of our featured titles along with some necessary springtime essentials.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
In anticipation of the February 5th release of SCARLET --- the second book in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, which retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood --- we’re giving five readers the opportunity to win a copy of both CINDER and SCARLET. The deadline for entries is Thursday, March 28th at noon ET.
FaithfulReader.com
FaithfulReader.com’s Monthly Contest
In our latest monthly contest, 30 readers will receive a copy of LOVE IN THE BALANCE, a second historical romance from Regina Jennings following her debut novel, SIXTY ACRES AND A BRIDE. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, April 9th at noon ET.
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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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