Blog
Jeff Hobbs, the bestselling author of THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE, is back with a powerful portrayal of American homelessness. SEEKING SHELTER, which releases on February 4th, follows a single mother of six in Los Angeles courageously struggling to keep her family together and her children in school amidst the devastating housing crisis. For many years, Jeff and his family have enjoyed Christmas Day gatherings with the mother of one of their best friends, whom they affectionately call “Nonny.” Nonny’s most recent Christmas present to Jeff was a book by Haruki Murakami, and neither the giver nor the recipient realized how just perfect this gift would be.
Kay Chronister’s latest novel, THE BOG WIFE, is about five siblings in West Virginia who unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured. In her holiday blog post, Kay fondly recalls receiving as a Christmas gift an updated and revised edition of the beloved 1977 bestseller, GNOMES, an illustrated survey of gnome life, history and lore. Read on to find out what fascinated her about the book as both an avid reader of fantasy novels and a graduate student studying literature.
In her holiday blog post, Carolyn McBride shares some family history and a cookbook that inspired her to finish writing her holiday novella, SANTA OVERBOARD, which was published this fall. When Carolyn’s mother passed away in 2019, she became the keeper of the family heirlooms and channeled this transition from daughter to family matriarch into her coming-of-middle-age novel, THE CICADA SPRING. Not surprisingly, some of the treasures she found in her mother’s house guided her in developing her latest tale of a female boat captain restoring her inner compass on a rollicking cruise of second chances.
We kick off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Amanda Peters, whose nationally bestselling debut novel, THE BERRY PICKERS, is now available in paperback. This Bookreporter.com Bets On pick won the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Her first collection of short stories, WAITING FOR THE LONG NIGHT MOON, releases on February 11th. Amanda’s grandfather passed away when she was just a teenager. One Christmas, her grandmother gifted her one of many books that he would read aloud to his family. Amanda has long cherished that book for a very special reason.
Carol Fitzgerald wrote a lovely tribute to the late Nelson DeMille in the September 20th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter, and she encouraged readers to share their own thoughts about Nelson and his work. It is clear from the comments we compiled here that this beloved author will be missed, and his numerous books will be cherished for many years to come.
On Tuesday, September 17th, I learned the very sad news that Nelson DeMille passed away. He had been fighting esophageal cancer for about nine months. When I saw a note in my inbox last Tuesday night from his children, Lauren and Alex, I literally yelled “No!’ so loudly that my husband came in from the other room to see what had happened.
Books, algorithms, civics and dragons. Oh my!
The National Book Festival, hosted by the Library of Congress, is one of my favorite days of the year. August 24th marked the festival’s 24th anniversary!
It’s been held on the mall, it’s been held at the convention center, it’s been virtual, and it’s been hybrid.
Question my devotion? Here’s some evidence.
In Linwood Barclay’s new thriller, I WILL RUIN YOU, a teacher’s act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. The teacher, Richard Boyle, runs into trouble when he introduces his students to a novel that is not on the curriculum. This subplot inspired Linwood to share his thoughts on book banning and his experiences with it.
We wrap up this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Ann Hood, whose books include the novels THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST and THE KNITTING CIRCLE, and the memoir FLY GIRL. In her latest work of fiction, THE STOLEN CHILD (an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On pick), an unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child’s fate. Ann loved reading with her children, Sam and Grace, as they bonded over Babar, Madeline and every Roald Dahl book. But sadly, there was one story that they were never able to finish.
THE WIVES, a recent Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, is a captivating memoir that tells the story of Simone Gorrindo’s experience of joining a community of army wives after leaving her New York City job. Simone has fond memories of her mother reading her bedtime stories each evening. In fact, she loved this part of the day so much that, at the age of six, she came up with an ingenious way of extending the time they spent together right before calling it a night. Simone’s daughter, who is now seven, has adopted this same strategy, and Simone wouldn’t have it any other way.
