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Book Group in the Summertime
Book group in the summertime means that we sit outside at my house, and that means we use the plastic wine glasses instead of the glass ones. They still bring the wine.
This week, we discussed THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett. We loved the characters and talked about how we especially were drawn to Meg, with more than one of us commenting that we missed her. Some of us listened to the audiobook, while others read the hardcover. The audio got high marks.
What was interesting is that no one noted that the book was too long. In fact, just as I have heard from other readers, there was a desire to revisit these characters at a later time to see what they are doing. I love when I can wrap my head around characters like that, and they stay with me.
Next up, we are reading MAD MABEL by Sally Hepworth. Most members of the group have not read Sally in the past, so I am looking forward to this discussion. I think this book is her sharpest, which is really saying something.
Also, in early August, I am hosting a pool party here with the book group and their husbands and children. Fingers crossed for good weather!
I am thrilled to announce a BIG contest featuring a beloved book group author and her newly released book.
One book group will win up to 10 copies of Lisa Scottoline’s latest psychological thriller, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, which will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, and will get to talk to Lisa in October or November.
In addition, we are awarding 10 readers a single copy of the book, with a promise that they will read it and give us their feedback on it. They also will tell their book group members about the book and recommend that they discuss it this fall.
But even if you are not chosen to receive copies of the book, you and your group can still win a virtual chat with Lisa. We have four of these discussions to give away.
Here’s the book's premise: Julia loves her life in beautiful Tuscany but misses her best friend, Courtney, back in the States. One night, Julia calls Courtney and reaches her as she’s arriving at her grandmother’s farm in Pennsylvania. Her grandmother has been murdered. Julia flies home the next morning in support of Courtney. The local police believe the murder was a burglary gone wrong, but the women have serious doubts, so they enlist hotshot Philly lawyer Bennie Rosato to assist. When events take a deadly turn, Julia becomes the target of a murderous conspiracy.
To enter the contest, all you have to do is fill out this form by Wednesday, August 19th at noon ET. Good luck to all who enter!
In the meantime, click here for the discussion guide and here for our Bookreporter review. We will feature my interview with Lisa and my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
We have THREE “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews to share with you in this newsletter.
First up is Jenny Jackson, whose latest novel, THE SHAMPOO EFFECT, was announced as July’s “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick on the day of this interview (it also is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection). Set in a seaside Massachusetts town inspired by Ipswich, where Jenny grew up, the book explores themes of friendship, romantic entanglement, generational differences, imposter syndrome, and coming of age in one's 30s.
Jenny talks about her writing process and balancing her role as Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf with her writing career. I note the book's layered, unfolding mystery quality, with readers constantly wondering about character connections and motivations. Jenny knew key character traits from the start --- Caroline's complicated relationship with her mother, Bailey's fierce independence, Augusta's traditional old-money conservatism, and Fran's exasperated, low-maintenance personality (partly inspired by her best friend). Rotating points of view is central to Jenny's authorial voice and thematic goals, and the characters’ backstories were largely established before writing.
Jenny discusses how the book captures shifting attitudes toward sexuality and parenting across generations. And she also shares the origins of the title. I selected THE SHAMPOO EFFECT as a Bets On pick, just as I did Jenny's debut novel, PINEAPPLE STREET.
Click here to watch the interview or here to listen to the podcast.
I also had the pleasure of talking to Beatriz Williams about her new novel, WHEN YOU LOVED ME, which is a Bets On selection.
Set on fictional Winthrop Island, this multilayered story combines historical fiction, mystery, romance and family drama. The Winthrop Island series has allowed Beatriz to build a rich, interconnected world where characters evolve across multiple books. WHEN YOU LOVED ME has a piece that will have readers marveling at how the island’s inhabitants survived during a harsh winter when the snow was unrelenting.
Beatriz talks about the deliberate choices behind the novel's various narrative perspectives, as well as the multicast recording for the audiobook. She shares personal background on her football experience at Stanford, which directly inspired the character of Ben Ressler, an NFL player at the center of the story. And towards the end of our discussion, Beatriz reveals what’s next for her.
Click here to watch the interview or here to listen to the podcast.
Last but certainly not least is the fun interview I had with John Searles, whose new novel, SINGLE GIRLS, is a work of dramatic fiction set in the 1960s. It focuses on Helen Gurley Brown and the team of women she assembled who transformed Cosmopolitan into one of the best-selling magazines of all time. A future Bets On selection, the book has been compared to “Mad Men” and “Sex and the City.”
John worked at Cosmopolitan and shares his encounters with Helen through the years. The novel is deeply informed by real events, Helen's memoirs, published biographies, and his personal knowledge of the editors who worked there. John had always wanted to write about Helen and had told her so during their friendship, but he had been constrained by publishing expectations to stay within his established genre: suspense/thrillers. The audiobook is narrated by his friend, Amy Ryan, who starred in the film adaptation of his earlier novel, STRANGE BUT TRUE.
I worked at Mademoiselle, and during our conversation, I talk about my background there and how I navigated my early career before leaving Condé Nast and starting The Book Report Network almost 30 years ago.
Click here to watch the interview or here to watch the podcast. We will feature my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
Ben Reeves’ highly anticipated debut novel, EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT, is July’s #1 Indie Next pick and an instant New York Times bestseller. An upcoming Bets On pick, this much-talked-about book is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe --- especially when it feels most impossible. It will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.
Rebecca Munro has our review on Bookreporter and says, “I’d urge readers who are recently bereaved to tread lightly, but EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT is a balm, a salve, a gift. And perhaps, most potently of all, it is an urgent reminder to do the thing that you will wish on your deathbed you could have done one last time. For all you know, you could have only minutes remaining to do it.”
Click here for the guide and here for more of Rebecca’s thoughts on the book. I will share my interview with Ben and my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
Another future Bets On selection is Rachel Beanland’s new novel, THE HALF LIFE. Her previous books, FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER and THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE, were Bets On titles as well. This time, she has written a story of love, complicity and awakening, featuring a woman who is forced to choose between loyalty to her husband and country and to the Italian locals who show her the high cost of American exceptionalism.
According to Rebecca Munro in her Bookreporter review, “Eileen is a spectacularly developed and distinctly unique character whose reckonings with American exceptionalism and her own coming of age are undeniably tied. Add to this the little-known history of American submarines in the Atomic Age, and you have a true masterwork.... Full of probing questions of complicity and autonomy, populated by richly rendered, complex characters...THE HALF LIFE is Rachel Beanland at her best.”
Click here for the full review and here for the guide. Also, don’t miss my interview with Rachel and my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
We also have added guides for these five books:
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COUNTRY PEOPLE: Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason’s new novel, which is July’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick, revolves around a year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown (aka Vermont).
For more July selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
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HELPLESS: Set against a world where public image and private fear collide, Jessica Knoll’s latest novel follows a woman pushed to the edge and asks what happens when survival feels impossible without crossing lines we once believed were unmovable.
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AN INFINITE LOVE STORY: When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him in a sweeping love story by Chanel Cleeton set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race.
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THE KINGS OF VEGAS: Longtime collaborators Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman have teamed up once again for a gripping, high-stakes novel of family power, ambition and inheritance set inside the volatile world of a Las Vegas casino dynasty.
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THE TIDE COMES AROUND: Yuliana Kim-Grant’s debut novel has been described by THE APOLOGY author Jimin Han like this: “At the heart of the story is a wonderfully complicated and deeply feeling Korean American character who is determined to understand the sibling she lost no matter the cost to herself.”
Each month, we share the discussion guides that you have accessed most frequently on our site. Here are the 10 most popular guides from June.
Here’s a reminder to let us know what you’re reading with your book group this month. Be sure to fill out this form by Wednesday, July 29th, and we’ll share some of these selections with you in the July 31st newsletter.
We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview afternoon event last Wednesday. I talked about 34 books releasing between July 7th and August 4th, along with 16 from September, that we wanted to get on your radar. You can watch the presentation here and see a list of the featured titles here.
Next month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview afternoon event will take place on Wednesday, August 12th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on books releasing between August 11th and September 1st, in addition to some titles releasing in October, that we think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up.
The big-screen adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s beloved 2003 memoir, READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN, has released in New York City and Los Angeles and will be opening in theaters nationwide throughout the summer.
Greenwich Entertainment is giving you the chance to win tickets to see the movie at a theater near you. Click here for all the details. I had the opportunity to screen Reading Lolita in Tehran, and I enjoyed it very much. For book group readers who loved the book, you will not want to miss this highly anticipated film. I strongly recommend it!
Read on, and here's to a great discussion for you and your group.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
P.S. For those of you who shop online, if you use the store links that appear on our site for shopping, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop/IndieBound. As you check out the discussion guides and various features on our site, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!
New Special Contest & Author Chat Opportunity:
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lisa Scottoline
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
In THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline's latest psychological thriller, a woman risks her life to help her best friend find justice for a tragic crime --- and realizes she has more power than she ever knew. This fast-paced, twisty and shocking new novel of suspense will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
In this very special contest, we are giving one book group the opportunity to win up to 10 copies of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, along with a virtual book group chat with Lisa in October or November.
Additionally, we are awarding one copy of the book to 10 readers who will agree to read it and give us their feedback on it, share it with their book group, and recommend it for a discussion this fall.
Even if you are not selected to win copies of the book, we are giving four readers and their book groups the chance to chat virtually with Lisa in October or November.
To enter the contest, please fill out this form by Wednesday, August 19th at noon ET.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lisa Scottoline (Psychological Thriller)
Julia Pritzker loves her new life as a wife and mother in beautiful Tuscany --- except that she misses her best friend, Courtney, back in the States. One night, Julia calls Courtney and reaches her as she’s arriving at her grandmother’s farm in Pennsylvania. A dreadful premonition overwhelms Julia as Courtney enters the house --- and makes a heartbreaking discovery. Her beloved grandmother has been murdered, and the killer is escaping out the back door.
Rushing to support Courtney, Julia flies home the next morning. The local police believe the murder was a botched burglary, but the women suspect something much more sinister and enlist hotshot Philly lawyer Bennie Rosato to assist. But events take a deadly turn, and Julia becomes the target of a murderous conspiracy.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Lisa Scottoline's bio.
- Click here to visit Lisa Scottoline's website.
- Click here for Lisa Scottoline's book tour schedule.
- Connect with Lisa Scottoline on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Click here to enter the contest.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's interview with Lisa Scottoline
and her Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
New Guide: EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL
AND NOTHING HURT by Ben Reeves
July’s #1 Indie Next Pick and
an Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT by Ben Reeves (Fiction)
Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgment. He’s stoic, gentle and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life eventually must end. Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter, Layla, who live across the hall. Despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive --- and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Don't miss Carol's interview with Ben Reeves and her Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
New Guide: THE HALF LIFE by Rachel Beanland
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE HALF LIFE by Rachel Beanland (Historical Fiction)
When 23-year-old Eileen O'Malley meets charismatic naval officer Paul Archer in a Charleston department store, she doesn’t expect to fall so hard, so fast. But soon she has a ring on her finger and is following him to La Maddalena. Eileen joins a makeshift community of navy wives who are hell-bent on making the island feel a little more like home. But for Eileen, whose brother died in Vietnam, home is a loaded word, and she begins to love the place for all the ways it is not like where she comes from. Still, it doesn’t take long for her to be confronted with the complexities of being an American abroad. Soon, Eileen’s marriage falters and her loyalties begin to shift as she is drawn into a web of secrets --- and to a local journalist who forces her to imagine a life beyond the one she’s been handed.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
THE HALF LIFE will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's interview with Rachel Beanland
and her Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
New Guide: COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason
July’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason (Fiction)
Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories, and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog in a land with no truffles. He is also a bit lost, 12 years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the faraway forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms. No sooner does he arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales. Then Miles stumbles upon a bizarre --- perhaps ridiculous --- local legend, which might not be just a legend after all.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's “Good Morning America” Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson
and WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams
THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson (Fiction)
I loved Jenny Jackson's debut, PINEAPPLE STREET, so I was excited to read her new novel, THE SHAMPOO EFFECT. This time the setting is seaside Massachusetts in a town called Greenhead, which is inspired by Ipswich, where Jenny grew up. Caroline is there for a writing fellowship and plans to get a long work of fiction done. Her mother is a bestselling thriller author, and Caroline has worked at a publishing house. But now she wants to be on the other side of it, as an author in her own right.
On the ferry ride over, Caroline encounters a young man, Van Whittaker, who she later learns has lived in Greenhead his entire life. Their whole “meet-cute” scene leads to another casual meeting and then some dates. Van has a close-knit group of friends who also are lifers in town. Through him, she comes to know them and is treated like an outsider right from the very start.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Jenny Jackson.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on THE SHAMPOO EFFECT.
WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams (Historical Romance/Mystery)
I love the Winthrop Island books by Beatriz Williams. With WHEN YOU LOVED ME, she shares a multilayered story that combines historical fiction, mystery, romance and family drama. This series has allowed Beatriz to build a rich, interconnected world where characters evolve across multiple novels.
Here we meet Lucy Cooper, whose father, Bud, has died recently. He had lived his whole life on Winthrop Island. For years, he sought to find a legendary pirate treasure, which was rumored to have been buried somewhere on the island more than a century ago. In doing so, he had mortgaged the house and his savings. So Lucy has come home with her precocious young daughter, Elise, to settle his estate, and she finds a huge pile of debt.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Beatriz Williams.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on WHEN YOU LOVED ME.
New Guide: HELPLESS by Jessica Knoll
HELPLESS by Jessica Knoll (Psychological Thriller)
It's been 12 years since Faye Heron broke Henry Spalding's heart. Henry was her college boyfriend, her first love, but Faye was in danger of being subsumed by him and the intensity of their connection. Now, Faye is one-half of a power-producing duo with her Hollywood husband. Henry is a married father running the family business. On the surface, both of their lives have essentially gone to plan. When a former and beloved college professor suddenly passes away, Faye and Henry find themselves back on campus for the funeral, circling something old and dangerous. But Henry is one of a kind. The kind who delivers a hypnotic apology for the way things ended. The kind who suggests they go back to the hotel for a drink. The kind who drugs and kidnaps her.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: AN INFINITE LOVE STORY by Chanel Cleeton
AN INFINITE LOVE STORY by Chanel Cleeton (Historical Romance)
It’s 1968, and the country waits with anticipation and excitement as America sets its sights on the Moon. And then comes the knock at the door. Joe Mitchell’s spacecraft has lost contact. He and his fellow astronauts onboard are feared to be dead. In her quiet moments, Joe’s wife, Vivian, relives their memorable story. As the investigation surrounding the lost spacecraft intensifies and the mishap is written off as an operator error, Vivian is determined to clear her husband’s name and uncover the mystery of what happened in space. When someone starts sending Vivian messages --- messages she believes only Joe could send --- she begins to wonder if their love is stronger than space and time, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her husband back to her.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE KINGS OF VEGAS
by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
THE KINGS OF VEGAS by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman (Thriller)
When Josie King left Las Vegas in the '90s, she never looked back. The daughter of gambling mogul Roy King, spirited math whiz Josie grew up on the casino floor but deliberately turned away from the family business. She’s been living a quiet life in LA as an accountant and a single mom when she finds herself summoned back to Sin City. Now, 15 years later, Josie's father has died unexpectedly, and her siblings are already gathered for the reading of his will...only to discover that in order to inherit, they must spend three years working together at the notorious family casino, The Jackpot. Josie’s pride won’t let her walk away from the family empire again, so she agrees to take charge of the casino’s finances. Las Vegas is more dangerous than ever, but Josie knows that to save the family business, she’ll have to wade in deeper.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an interview with Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE TIDE COMES AROUND
by Yuliana Kim-Grant
THE TIDE COMES AROUND by Yuliana Kim-Grant (Fiction)
Penelope, an American woman of Korean descent, has exiled herself to Los Angeles to escape a complicated love affair and her beloved brother’s suicide, the tragic consequence of another life-defining event that occurred years before. Filling her days of exile by babysitting for her deceased brother’s fiancée’s wealthy friends and working on her dissertation, Penelope can’t help but feel lost. But when Lauren starts an affair with a married neighbor, the circle quickly becomes a gauntlet of drawn knives on all of the neighborhood. Penelope realizes that she will never rest until she faces the consequences of her brother’s suicide and seeks revenge on the person she believes caused her family the most pain in life, so she returns to New York. Once back home, she creates her own upheaval by falling in love with someone she did not expect.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to visit Yuliana Kim-Grant's website.
- Connect with Yuliana Kim-Grant on Facebook and Instagram.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for July
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads. We also feature a number of other prominent selections, including the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the “Good Morning America” Book Club, Oprah’s Book Club, the PBS Books Readers Club, the “Read with Jenna” Book Club, Reese's Book Club, and the Target Book Club.
Below is a preview of July's “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks.” For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT by Ben Reeves
COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason
THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson
A REAL ANIMAL by Emeline Atwood
IN STORMY WEATHER by Chelsea Curto
LibraryReads
Top Pick: THE STORY KEEPER by Kelly Rimmer
IN STORMY WEATHER by Chelsea Curto
IF BOOKS COULD KILL by Kate Eberle
THE EXQUISITE TORMENT OF LOVING YOUR ENEMY by Brigitte Knightley
HELPLESS by Jessica Knoll
Barnes & Noble Book Club
THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson
“Good Morning America” Book Club
COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason
PBS Books Readers Club
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, join PBS Books Readers Club on Thursday, July 30th at 8pm ET for “Booking It Across America”. Hosts Fred Nahhat and Lauren Smith highlight several contemporary authors from across the nation whose work helps form the rich tapestry of American storytelling.
“Read with Jenna” Book Club
THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson
Reese's Book Club
A FOUNDING MOTHER: A Novel of Abigail Adams by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Target Book Club
EVERY VERSION OF YOU by Natalie Messier
Click here for July's Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks.
ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 15th Annual Book Group Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups
Bookreporter.com's 22nd Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature
Summer is here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature.
We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through mid-August, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win.
We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
From left to right: Kristin Harmel, Dervla McTiernan, Gillian McAllister
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are five virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Tuesday, July 21st at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Noelle W. Ihli about her latest novel, GRAY AFTER DARK, a thrilling tale of abduction and survival that is inspired by a true story.
Wednesday, July 22nd at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with F&F's own Kristin Harmel about her latest book, MEET ME IN PARIS. This captivating novel is about several intertwined stories of love, loss, courage and redemption set over the course of one magical week in Paris.
Wednesday, July 22nd at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Dervla McTiernan will talk about her new thriller, THREE REASONS FOR REVENGE, a gripping high-stakes novel of suspense about three seemingly unconnected people, caught in a lethal web of deceit and unhealed wounds.
Thursday, July 23rd at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Bryan Gruley will talk about his latest novel, RIVER DEEP, the second installment in his Bitterfrost thriller series. Attorney Devyn Payne is left navigating thin ice as her small-town community fractures in the wake of a shocking crime.
Tuesday, July 28th at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Gillian McAllister about her latest novel, CALLER UNKNOWN. A mother races against the clock --- and finds herself on the wrong side of the law --- in a desperate fight to save her teenage daughter.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers long-form, in-depth author interviews. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
Here are our latest interviews:
Other authors we've interviewed recently include:
Upcoming interviews include:
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Rachel Beanland (THE HALF LIFE)
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Nadia Hashimi (CITY OF WIDOWS)
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Sophie Chen Keller (LITTLE WONDER)
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Ben Reeves (EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT)
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Lisa Scottoline (THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE JETSETTERS comes a witty and wonderful novel about one unforgettable family and the journeys we take --- across oceans and through heartbreak --- to find our way back to love.
COUNTRY PEOPLE by Daniel Mason (Fiction)
Joyous, absurd and life-affirming, COUNTRY PEOPLE is a luminous exploration of marriage and parenthood, the nature of belief and the power of stories, and the ways in which we find connection in an increasingly fragmented world.
EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT by Ben Reeves (Fiction)
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, this unforgettable and exquisitely moving novel is about finding beauty, hope and meaning in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death.
A FOUNDING MOTHER: A Novel of Abigail Adams by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie (Historical Fiction)
From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A FOUNDING MOTHER is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time --- one whose voice, vision and valor still resonate powerfully today.
THE HALF LIFE by Rachel Beanland (Historical Fiction)
From the author of FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER and THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE comes a novel set on a remote Italian island about a navy wife’s reckoning with power, love and the price of staying silent in the Atomic Age.
HELPLESS by Jessica Knoll (Psychological Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author of LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE and BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN comes a smoldering erotic thriller with a singular, mind-bending ending.
THE HOUSEWIVES UNDERGROUND: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany (History)
THE HOUSEWIVES UNDERGROUND is the untold story of the women who debunked the Warren Report --- a riveting history of obsession, heartbreak and the myth of the great American century.
AN INFINITE LOVE STORY by Chanel Cleeton (Historical Romance)
When an astronaut is lost in space, his wife relives their epic love as she attempts to unravel what truly happened to him in this sweeping love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race.
THE KINGS OF VEGAS by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman (Thriller)
From bestselling writing duo Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman comes a sexy and suspense-packed thriller about the prodigal daughter of a Las Vegas casino empire who returns to take over her family business --- only to discover that she’s up against the Mob, the Feds and her own brothers.
THE LADY IMAM: How amina wadud's Life and Faith Changed the World by Carla Power (Biography)
From the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author of IF THE OCEANS WERE INK and HOME, LAND, SECURITY comes a timely and soul-stirring biography of one of the most influential Islamic woman scholars of today.
NASTY LITTLE SECRETS by Gabbie Hanks (Psychological Thriller)
An infamous murder case is blown back open when a crime writer’s sister goes missing --- and her bestselling book might be the key to solving the disappearance.
SOCIAL ANIMALS by Camille Perri (Fiction/Humor)
SOCIAL ANIMALS is a funny and sharp social commentary on community, privilege, dog ownership, and the ultimate power of finding your people (and your pets).
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Lisa Scottoline (Psychological Thriller)
In this “riveting, deeply felt and empowering thriller” (Laura Dave) from #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, a woman risks her life to help her best friend find justice for a tragic crime --- and realizes she has more power than she ever knew.
THE TIDE COMES AROUND by Yuliana Kim-Grant (Fiction)
THE TIDE COMES AROUND explores how we are all strangers, uncertain travelers in a world that is never quite what we think or might positively become.
VILLA COCO by Andrew Sean Greer (Fiction)
Andrew Sean Greer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of LESS, showcases his wit, sophistication and deep knowledge of focaccia in this tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills.
WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams (Historical Romance/Mystery)
A young widow returns to her late father’s New England estate, only to be drawn into the hunt for the rumored pirate treasure that consumed his life, in this thrilling and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of HUSBANDS & LOVERS.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they released in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS by Ocean Vuong (Fiction)
Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.
A FLOWER TRAVELED IN MY BLOOD: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland (History)
A remarkable new talent in narrative nonfiction delivers the epic true story of a group of courageous grandmothers who fought to find their grandchildren who were stolen.
THE HEIR APPARENT by Rebecca Armitage (Fiction)
THE HEIR APPARENT is an irresistible modern fairy tale about a British princess who must decide between her duty to her family --- or to her own heart.
THE LETTER CARRIER written by Francesca Giannone, translated by Elettra Pauletto (Historical Fiction)
THE LETTER CARRIER taps into the universal feeling of connection --- and what happens when that connection perhaps comes at the wrong time.
THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER by Jemimah Wei (Fiction)
In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.
WAYWARD GIRLS by Susan Wiggs (Historical Fiction)
Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.
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