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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
March 26, 2004 |
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Authors --- In Stores and on the Web |
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I am writing this note on Thursday night before I leave town for a weekend at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville. It was a busy week here as we tried to compress five days into four so I could get out of town.
This month's roundup of New in Paperback titles includes updates to three popular series --- LOST LIGHT, Michael Connelly's ninth installment in his Edgar Award-winning mystery series featuring LA detective Harry Bosch; THE QUILTER'S LEGACY, the New York Times bestselling fifth novel in the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini; and SHARPE'S HAVOC, Bernard Cornwell's 19th entry in his series set during the Napoleonic Wars. Nonfiction highlights include POWER FAILURE, in which Mimi Swartz explores the entire history of the now infamous Enron Corporation, and KRAKATOA, Simon Winchester's bestseller about the catastrophic eruption of the earth's most dangerous volcano. To read more about these titles, click on the link below.
Thursday afternoon my younger son and I interviewed Garth Nix, a fantasy author who writes for the children's market, but who also has a large circle of adult fans. Wednesday night I went to a store event where he did a reading and Q&A session. I was surprised at the diverse crowd that turned out to see him. We will share this interview with readers in a few weeks.
This week we have advance reader comments about the new Rita Mae Brown, David Hewson and Clinton McKinzie books. I love seeing feedback from other readers on books that I have read. I hope their comments inspire you to read as well.
This week we re-visit one our Chick Lit authors, Sophie Kinsella, whose new book CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? hit stores this week. I am going to a reading where Kinsella, a Brit, will be on Tuesday night. I look forward to meeting an author who keeps me laughing. Also, her new book had a very important lesson for any of us who have ever spilled the beans to a seatmate on a plane.
Passover will be the week after next. To celebrate we have two very different books to share. The first is CREATING LIVELY PASSOVER SEDERS: A Sourcebook of Engaging Tales, Texts & Activities by David Arnow, Ph.D. You can read more about this book by clicking on the link above. We also have a review of a fun Chick Lit title, THE MATZO BALL HEIRESS by Laurie Gwen Shapiro, as well as an interview with her. See below for details.
Our Poll this week is about watching author interviews on the web. We ask you to weigh in. I personally like watching authors on my own agenda, which is the genesis of this idea. I am not good at being in a store at 7 or in front of a television at 8. But I do love hearing what authors have to say! Almost as much as hearing what YOU have to say. Please weigh in.
Have a great week. And remember, if you are in Charlottesville this weekend, look for me!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
See our March New in Paperback titles here.
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CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? by Sophie Kinsella |
A new book from the author of the Shopaholic series --- and an update to our Chick Lit feature!
CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? by Sophie Kinsella (Chick Lit)
Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Emma Corrigan is incorrigible; she has secrets from everyone she knows. So what will she do when a stranger on a plane learns them all --- and spills them? |
Read our review of CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? and an excerpt here.
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Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: We Announce our April Author, Rick Riordan; Read An Excerpt from Clinton McKinzie's CROSSING THE LINE |
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Our new Suspense/Thriller Spotlight author is Rick Riordan, whose novel SOUTHTOWN will be on-sale 4/27.
New This Week:
-Read an excerpt from SOUTHTOWN
Also:
-Read about SOUTHTOWN
-Read Riordan's Bibliography
-Read About the Author
-Read Critical Praise
-Enter our giveaway to win an advance copy of SOUTHTOWN. We have 20 advanced reading copies of SOUTHTOWN by Rick Riordan to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. If you are interested, please send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, April 2nd.
SOUTHTOWN
Will Stirman stages a bloody escape from prison and sets out for Southtown, an area in San Antonio, to exact revenge on those who put him behind bars. Tres Navarre's boss, Erainya Manos knows why Stirman may be looking for her, but she's not talking. Sam Barerra, the other person with clues to the danger is fighting a losing battle with dementia. SOUTHTOWN is a story filled with greed, vigilanitism --- and deception.
Clinton McKinze, author of CROSSING THE LINE.
CROSSING THE LINE is on-sale 4/27.
New this week:
-Read a second excerpt from CROSSING THE LINE
-Read some advance reader comments about 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. |
Read our Suspense/Thriller feature here.
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Debut Suspense/Thriller: One to Watch --- A New Series from David Hewson |
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.
See what our advance readers have to say about A SEASON FOR THE DEAD. |
Read more about David Hewson and A SEASON FOR THE DEAD.
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Our Mystery Mayhem Author, Rita Mae Brown, Author of WHISKER OF EVIL |
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 THE TAIL OF THE TIPOFF.
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.
See what our advance readers had to say! |
Read our Mystery Mayhem feature here.
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Author Talk: Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Author of THE MATZO BALL HEIRESS |
In this interview with Bookreporter.com Co-Founder Carol Fitzgerald, author Laurie Gwen Shapiro talks about her inspiration for THE MATZO BALL HEIRESS, how she and her family celebrate Passover and the literary figures who have had a significant impact on her writing career.
THE MATZO BALL HEIRESS by Laurie Gwen Shapiro (Fiction)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Heather Greenblotz, the thirty-one-year-old heiress to the world's leading matzo company, typically celebrates Passover alone eating decidedly non-kosher food. But this year will be different, because Heather has granted the Food Network permission to film her family's Seder.
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Click here to read an interview with Laurie Gwen Shapiro, review of THE MATZO BALL HEIRESS and an excerpt.
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This Week's Book Reviews and Features |
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ABOUT MY SISTERS by Debra Ginsberg (Memoir)
Reviewed by Karen Campbell
Debra Ginsberg examines the mysterious, fascinating relationship between sisters as seen through the special bond she shares with her own three sisters.
CODEX by Lev Grossman (Thriller)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
While organizing a personal library of rare books for one of his firm's most important and mysterious clients, investment banker Edward Wozny realizes that there may be a unique medieval codex hidden among the volumes. At the same time, his obsession with a computer game deepens as he discovers surprising parallels between the game's virtual reality and the mystery of the codex.
SHADOW ACCOUNT by Stephen Frey (Thriller)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
This new thriller from bestselling author Stephen Frey pits a young Wall Street player against corporate conspiracy and White House intrigue in a dangerous game of double crosses, dirty tricks and deadly consequences.
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID by Whitney Lyles (Chick Lit)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride" is a refrain that plays repeatedly through Cate Padgett's mind as she endures month after month of ceremonies that will ensure her closest friends' domestic bliss. She wonders though about the state of her own uncertain future and her chance at marital happiness.
THE MEMOIR CLUB by Laura Kalpakian (Fiction)
Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
Six women, each with their own misgivings, take a university extension night class in Writing Your Memoir. The following semester, they meet privately at the home of one of the participants, and the memoir class soon becomes the memoir club.
IT'S ALL TRUE: A Novel of Hollywood by David Freeman (Fiction)
Reviewed by Brandon M. Stickney
Henry Wearie arrived in Hollywood as a young man and had instant success, selling a big-money script. He was on his way up but then stalled in the middle and eventually fell from there. IT'S ALL TRUE maps Henry's odyssey through a tantalizing Los Angeles that he both loves and resents.
A SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION by David Liss (Mystery)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
After a daring escape from eighteenth-century London's most notorious prison, private investigator Benjamin Weaver must face another challenge: how to prove himself innocent of a crime for which he has been wrongfully charged and convicted.
GHOST WARS by Steve Coll (Current Events/World History)
Reviewed by Robert Finn
GHOST WARS is a deeply researched and methodically detailed survey of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan from the Soviet occupation to September 11th, 2001 by a journalist who knows the region firsthand. |
Read the reviews and features here.
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Poll: Video Author Interviews on the Web |
There are very few places where readers can see authors interviewed, either on television or in person. If you could view author interviews on the web on demand, instead of at a set time, would you?
Yes
No
Not sure
Which authors would you like to see interviewed? (Check as many as apply.)
I would want to see interviews with bestselling authors.
I would like to see interviews with established authors.
I would want to see interviews with new authors.
I would not be interested in seeing authors interviewed on the web.
If there was programming that interviewed authors on the web, who should do the interviews? (Check as many as apply.)
A noted author.
A TV personality.
A book reviewer.
A panel of professionals and "civilian" readers.
The editors of Bookreporter.com. |
Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: Name three authors you would like to see interviewed on the web. |
Name three authors you would like to see interviewed on the web.
Our next question update will be on April 2nd. |
Answer the Question of the Week.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading -- TWO Prizes! |
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 THE GAME by Laurie R. King and HARD REVOLUTION by George Pelecanos. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on April 2nd. |
Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
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As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below.
Those of you who wish to send mail to Bookreporter.com, please see the form on the Write to Us page. We were forced to move to this format after we were inundated with SPAM at the other address. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us.
Quick observation --- we have noticed that many of you have been changing your Internet providers in the past month. If you do, please be sure to "take us along" by signing up for the newsletter in your new name!
Happy reading! Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, FaithfulReader.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.
--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107 |
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