February 27, 2004

One Fish
Two Fish
Red Fish
Blue Fish

Remember when that was "big time" reading and you wore a big grin on your face for mastering those lines? I think each of us can share a "Dr. Seuss moment of reading happiness." Maybe it was from reading one of his books to yourself, or perhaps it was from reading a book to a child. Next Tuesday Seuss will be honored with a Seussentennial celebration of his 100th birthday. This week I read THE BOY ON FAIRFIELD STREET: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss, a new book out by Kathleen Krull. For Seuss fans, it is quite a treat.

One thing to note in the book is the way his parents encouraged his creativity when he was young. For any of you who have a role in influencing young minds, this gives you a lot of food for thought. See our all things Seuss feature by clicking on the cover above.

This week we bring you our Chick Lit Roundtable, which gives you a chance to hear from 16 of the best-known --- and soon-to-be-known --- authors in this genre. We had a lot of fun reading their witty (these chicks have a sense of humor) and poignant replies. Click on the graphic above to hear what they had to say. My thanks to our staffers, Tom Donadio and Gena Bland, for doing a terrific job on this and the Romance Author Roundtable.

Joseph Finder, the author of the bestselling book, PARANOIA, has a special offer for Bookreporter.com readers --- a chance to win a PARANOIA T-shirt. Here's what you need to do to win. Send e-mail to info@josephfinder.com and write in the subject line --- Bookreporter.com Reader. In the body of the e-mail include your name, mailing address and size (L or XL only). Joe will select 15 Bookreporter.com winners randomly by Friday, March 5th at 11:59PM and send you a shirt.

This week our Debut Suspense/Thriller: One To Watch Feature has an author who has a debut series that we think is worth watching --- David Hewson. I have been reading A SEASON FOR THE DEAD each night this week and Hewson is pulling me in more and more with each page. Nic Costa, Hewson's protagonist is a connoisseur of Caravaggio's paintings. His writing about them is sending me to my old art books. See more about this book and Hewson below. We are looking for 10 advance readers for this book. Interested? Then send a note to debutsuspensethriller@bookreporter.com with your name and snail mail address by Friday, March 5th.

Did any of you catch Daniel Silva on the Today Show last Monday morning? His interview was terrific and gave readers new insight into his character Gabriel Allon and A DEATH IN VIENNA. If you missed it, we have an Author Talk with Dan this week that can catch you up on him and his latest book. By the way, last week a reader pointed out an error. I erroneously missed that Allon debuted in A KILL ARTIST, not THE ENGLISH ASSASSIN. Mea culpa.

Have a great week...in honor of Seuss, try to read to a young child this week. Perhaps you can share one of your favorite Seuss tales.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

In this interview Daniel Silva talks about his decision to write a series of books based on the Holocaust, the surprising information he learned while doing research for A DEATH IN VIENNA and the unforgettable experience he had visiting Treblinka.

A DEATH IN VIENNA by Daniel Silva (Thriller)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is sent to Vienna to discover the truth behind the bombing of an old friend, but while there he encounters something that turns his world upside down. It is a face --- a face that feels hauntingly familiar, a face that chills him to the bone and sends him on an urgent hunt for more: a name, a history, a connection.

For more about Daniel Silva, please go to DanielSilvaBooks.com

To enter to win a signed set of A DEATH IN VIENNA, THE CONFESSOR and THE ENGLISH ASSASIN sign up for Silva's newsletter at DanielSilvaBooks.com.

CROSSING THE LINE by Clinton McKinzie is on-sale 4/27

-Read about CROSSING THE LINE
-Read about TRIAL BY ICE AND FIRE, which will be available in paperback on 3/2
-Read about Clinton McKinzie
-See our advance copy winners

CROSSING THE LINE
In CROSSING THE LINE, FBI agent Mary Chang is hot on the trail of Hidalgo, a murderous drug lord who recently relocated to a Wyoming canyon. Determined to bring Hidalgo to custody, Chang enlists Special Agent Antonio Burns and his renegade brother, Roberto. Despite Mary's and Anthony's efforts, their plans soon descend into a world of loss, betrayal and terror.

This time we have our eye on the debut title in a new series from David Hewson. A SEASON FOR THE DEAD is in stores March 30th. Here's the plot:

A bizarre killing spree in modern Rome provides the backdrop for an electrifying blend of history and drama, sensuality and suspense in this first book in a new series, featuring Detective Nic Costa. The victims each had intimately known Sara Farnese, a woman whose silence Costa cannot crack and whose carnal history becomes more lurid and unfathomable with every revelation.

Want to be one of our 10 advance readers of A SEASON FOR THE DEAD? Then send your name and mailing address to debutsuspensethriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, March 5th.

Laurie R. King's latest Mary Russell novel, THE GAME, will be in bookstores on Tuesday, March 2nd. Read more about the book and author by checking out the graphics above and the link below.

Now Featuring:
-Read Three Excerpts from THE GAME
-See Our Advance Readers of THE GAME
-Read Critical Praise of Laurie R. King's work
-Browse Author Fast Facts

Rita Mae Brown is the author of the Sneaky Pie mystery series. Her latest WHISKER OF EVIL will be in stores on March 30th along with the paperback of the TAIL OF THE TIPOFF. Want to be one of our 20 advance readers of WHISKER OF EVIL? Then send your name and snail mail address to Mystery@bookreporter.com by Friday, March 5th.

Here's the plot of WHISKER OF EVIL: A mysterious death in a Virginia farm town has the locals scratching their heads --- while frisky feline Mrs. Murphy and her friends, fat-cat Pewter and a corgi named Tee Tucker, uncover clues as they curl their way around a cold-blooded killer.

Read more about this book and Rita Mae Brown by clicking on the links below. This week we add Fast Facts and Praise for Rita Mae Brown to our feature.

Among the books featured in this month's roundup of New in Paperback titles are four bestsellers that received much acclaim when first released in hardcover --- THE DANTE CLUB, an historical thriller from debut author Matthew Pearl; PATTERN RECOGNITION, William Gibson's first novel to be set in the present; Bruce Feiler's ABRAHAM, in which the author searches for the man at the heart of the world's three monotheistic religions; and THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Erik Larson's fascinating account of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.

THE GRANDMOTHERS by Doris Lessing (Fiction)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Doris Lessing --- an intelligent, provocative, influential and courageous writer --- has produced an outstanding collection of four short novels about intimacy among family, friends and lovers.

THE FIRST 48 by Tim Green (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
An investigative journalist mysteriously disappears just as she is preparing to write a front-page story on one of the most powerful Senators in Congress. Tom Redmon, a former cop turned lawyer, immediately begins searching for his missing daughter and will do anything to find her alive --- no matter what the cost may be.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS by Sarah Dunant (Fiction)
Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
Sarah Dunant, one of Britain's most innovative writers of literary suspense, has penned her first historical novel, about a young woman who comes of age in fifteenth-century Florence during the most tumultuous days in the city's history.

MOURNING RUBY by Helen Dunmore (Fiction)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Novelist, short story writer and prize-winning poet Helen Dunmore offers a memorable and heartbreaking meditation on history, family and the power of story to overcome tragedy.

BANDBOX by Thomas Mallon (Fiction)
Reviewed by Stephen M. Deusner
Set in the offices of a men's magazine during the Roaring Twenties, Thomas Mallon's sixth novel has style and flair to spare, capturing the heart and soul of New York in the Jazz Age.

THE FOREST LOVER by Susan Vreeland (Fiction)
Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
Award-winning author Susan Vreeland has written the magnificent story of Emily Carr, a fiercely independent woman who overcomes the confines of late Victorian culture at the turn of the twentieth century to become a major force in the modern art world.

ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU by Laurie Lynn Drummond (Fiction)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
In this noteworthy debut collection, Laurie Lynn Drummond makes clever use of her eight years in law enforcement to tell the stories of five female police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

GIVE ME A BREAK: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media... by John Stossel (Current Events)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Longtime television correspondent John Stossel, who has been exposing rip-offs and chasing con-artists for 30 years as an investigative reporter, explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters and greedy lawyers make your life worse --- even as they claim to protect your interests.

ILIUM by Dan Simmons (Science Fiction)
Reviewed by Pauline Finch
The first book in a remarkable two-part epic to be concluded in the upcoming OLYMPOS, Dan Simmons's ILIUM is a vast and glorious adventure beyond time and space, enormous in both scope and imagination.

READY TO ROLL: A Celebration of the Classic American Travel Trailer by Arrol Gellner and Douglas Keister (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
Viking Studio proudly presents this photographic romp through the free wheeling world of American RVing, focusing on the complete evolution of the trailer --- from the utilitarian Covered Wagon to the aristocratic Airstream and Aerocar Land Yacht --- and the people who drove these vintage vehicles.

Which of the following books are you most looking forward to reading?

Bad Business: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker
Bad Men by John Connolly
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Black Creek Crossing by John Saul
The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block
A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais
The Game by Laurie R. King
High Country by Nevada Barr
Holy Fools by Joanne Harris
The Last Goodbye by Reed Arvin
The Last Juror by John Grisham
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Whisker of Evil by Rita Mae Brown
I am not interested in reading any of these titles.

Special Question Prize This Week!

What is your favorite book that was made into a movie?

FIVE winners each will receive a copy of CINEMATHERAPY FOR THE SOUL by Nancy Peske and Beverly West. To qualify send your reply to our Question of the Week to Question@bookreporter.com by Thursday, March 11th at 11:59PM.

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

This week we have some great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of A DEATH IN VIENNA by Daniel Silva and 3rd DEGREE by James Patterson. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on March 12th.