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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
June 25, 2004 |
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Summer Means Lobsters, My Life and a Life Well Lived |
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Summer is officially here. And a special summer treat around our house is cooking --- and eating --- lobster. That's why we are happy to share a review of a new book, THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS with you this week, as well as an interview with its author, Trevor Corson. Click on the link above to read both. Trevor knows all things lobster. His website TrevorCorson.com has a wealth of information about these crustaceans, along with info about how to order them online (for all you landlocked folks) and a place for you to submit your own lobster stories. Pass the nutcrackers and a bib, please!
Speaking of summer...you have till Wednesday, June 30th to enter our Summer Contest to win one of 21 copies of GLADSTONE'S GAMES TO GO. Click on the above link for more details!
This week we also bring you not just one, but rather TWO, reviews of THE DOCTOR'S WIFE by Elizabeth Brundage, as well as an interview with her. Both our reviewers feel that this book will be a great title for your book club. See why by reading on below.
Lots of fanfare and news this week about President Clinton's book. We are curious. Are you reading it, or planning to? What do you think about it if you are? Drop me at note at Carol@bookreporter.com. Our review will run soon...our reviewer is still buried reading. We were humored by the piece on Slate where they read the book and summarized it for readers. Sort of a Cliff Notes for readers who want to be in the loop, but are not going to read the book!
There are people in life who have odds against them, but still maintain an incredibly positive attitude. Mattie Stepanek was one of these people. I am sure that you have heard about him this week as the story of his death at age 13 from a rare form of muscular dystrophy was everywhere. The night he died Larry King had a special retrospective where he looked at past interviews with him. In each piece Mattie was upbeat and hopeful about his future. In each he talked about his poetry and his goal in life to be known as a peacemaker. He crammed more into his 13 years than many others do in a lifetime. To celebrate him, click on the link above and take a look at one of the books of poetry that he wrote. I dare you to say it did not pluck your own heartstrings.
I am writing this newsletter early this week, as I leave Friday morning for the Christian Booksellers Association conference in Atlanta. We have quite a lineup for you this week.
Have a great week --- find some time to enjoy a great book.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
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Bookreporter.com Talks To Elizabeth Brundage, Author of THE DOCTOR'S WIFE |
Bookreporter.com Co-Founder Carol Fitzgerald recently interviewed Elizabeth Brundage about her debut novel, THE DOCTOR'S WIFE. Brundage explains how her real life experience as a doctor's wife influenced the characters and themes of the book. She also describes her love of painting and other forms of art, and shares how her past employment as a teacher has helped her give back to the community and ultimately become a better writer.
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE by Elizabeth Brundage (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub and Lourdes Orive
Michael Knowles is a successful OB/GYN at a prominent hospital, and his wife Annie teaches at a local college. But Annie is growing tired of being "the doctor's wife" and Michael has answered the call of an old flame to moonlight at the local women's health center, the city's only provider of abortions. The subtle cracks in their seemingly perfect life widen when anonymous threats arrive at their home. |
Read our interview with Elizabeth Brundage and two reviews of THE DOCTOR'S WIFE here.
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Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Tami Hoag, Author of KILL THE MESSENGER and Perri O'Shaughnessy, Author of UNLUCKY IN LAW |
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Tami Hoag, author of KILL THE MESSENGER, is our June Suspense/Thriller Author. KILL THE MESSENGER hits bookstores July 6th.
New This Week for Tami Hoag:
-Read a third excerpt from KILL THE MESSENGER
Previous Weeks:
-Read about KILL THE MESSENGER
-Read more about Tami Hoag
KILL THE MESSENGER
At the end of a long day, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.'s sleaziest defense attorneys, he's run down by a car, chased through back alleys and shot at. He narrowly manages to escape with his life --- and a package someone would kill for. Now he finds himself suspected of murder, and he's on the run from both the cops and a brutal killer. The key to saving himself and his ten-year-old brother may be the envelope with a message no one wants delivered: the truth.
Perri O'Shaughnessy, author of UNLUCKY IN LAW, is our latest featured Suspense/Thriller author. UNLUCKY IN LAW will be in stores July 13th.
New This Week for Perri O'Shaughnessy:
-Read a third excerpt from UNLUCKY IN LAW
Previous Weeks:
-Read about UNLUCKY IN LAW
-Read more about Perri O'Shaughnessy
UNLUCKY IN LAW
Nina Reilly takes on the most dangerous and difficult case of her career in New York Times bestselling author Perri O'Shaughnessy's latest thriller. An ingenious blend of forensic science, history, and gripping suspense, UNLUCKY IN LAW pits the tough but compassionate attorney against the most unbeatable adversary of all: the law. |
Read our Suspense/Thriller feature here.
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Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: M.J. Rose, Author of THE HALO EFFECT |
M.J. Rose is our latest Debut Suspense/Thriller Author. While she has written four other books, THE HALO EFFECT, which will be in stores on July 1st is the first book in her new Butterfield Institute Series.
Here is more about the book, which has as its protagonist, a sex therapist.
Lawyers, cops, forensic experts, FBI agents and CIA operatives are the expected heroes of suspense thrillers. But never before has a series featured a protagonist with the unlikely occupation of sex therapist. M.J. Rose breaks this ground with THE HALO EFFECT, the first book in an innovative new series featuring the sex therapy clinic The Butterfield Institute and psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow. A seductive mix of psychological suspense, intrigue and adventure, the novel takes a provocative look at sexual issues through the eyes of a woman who has devoted her career to studying and talking about them.
New This Week:
See a list of our advance readers
Read an excerpt from THE HALO EFFECT |
Read more about M.J. Rose and THE HALO EFFECT here.
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PIPSQUEAK by Brian M. Wiprud |
PIPSQUEAK by Brian M. Wiprud (Mystery)
This unique mystery features Garth Carson, a New York City taxidermy collector, and his gal Angie. After a murderous melee in an obscure antique store, Pipsqueak the Nutty Nut, a squirrel puppet that Carson voices, goes missing, and they find themselves entangled in a deadly swing band conspiracy and Soviet-era secrets. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub and excerpted. |
Click here to read a review of PIPSQUEAK.
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New in Paperback for June |
This month's roundup of New in Paperback titles features works from authors who continue to delight --- and surprise --- their fans. They include BLEACHERS, John Grisham's third departure from his popular legal thrillers; LUCIA, LUCIA, a heartwarming tale by Adriana Trigiani about a young woman who falls in love with a man who ultimately changes the entire course of her life; and THE VANISHED MAN, another brilliant thriller from Jeffery Deaver featuring forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs.
Among our nonfiction highlights are BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: An American Life, Walter Isaacson's comprehensive and engrossing biography of one of America's founding fathers; INVISIBLE EDEN, in which Maria Flook details the controversial investigation of how a fashion writer became the victim of a brutal, still unsolved murder; and THE REAGANS, an in-depth portrait of the late president and his loving, dedicated wife by bestselling biographer Anne Edwards. |
Read a listing of June New in Paperback titles here.
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This Week's Book Reviews and Features |
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THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS by Trevor Corson
(Nature)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
In Trevor Corson's engaging glimpse of lobsters' hidden habits and habitats, lobstermen and scientists alternately clash and cooperate as they try to solve the mysteries of the lobsters' dwindling numbers.
TEN BIG ONES: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich (Fiction)
Reviewed by Roz Shea
In Janet Evanovich's tenth Stephanie Plum novel, America's favorite bounty hunter faces a notorious gang in Trenton who wants her dead. With her colleague Ranger missing in action, Stephanie has to go into hiding --- and stumbles on to the secret location of Ranger's "bat cave." Is this the perfect place to disappear? Or will she get into more trouble than she knows by delving into his private world?
SONG OF SUSANNAH: The Dark Tower VI by Stephen King (Fantasy)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
The next-to-last novel in Stephen King's heart-stopping series, SONG OF SUSANNAH is at once a book of revelation, a fascinating key to the unfolding mystery of the Dark Tower, and a fast-paced story of double-barreled suspense.
THE BLACKBIRD PAPERS by Ian Smith (Mystery/Thriller)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
FBI agent Wilson Bledsoe investigates the murder of his brother, which at first appears to be racially motivated. Soon, however, he finds himself to be the prime suspect.
SECRET SMILE by Nicci French (Suspense)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
This is a diabolical story of perception, obsession, twisted love and pure evil. At the hands of a psychopath, what begins as an affectionate boy-girl acquaintance turns into a shattering, life-altering experience for a young woman and her family.
MISSING JUSTICE by Alafair Burke (Mystery)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
In Alafair Burke's second Samantha Kincaid mystery, the search for a missing judge leads the Deputy District Attorney into Portland politics and a labyrinth of crime, corruption and cover-ups.
MULTIPLE CHOICE by Claire Cook (Fiction)
Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
March Monroe is a middle-aged woman who returns to college. But sharing an internship with her royally ticked-off daughter is not March's only new challenge. She also must make decisions about her slightly tired marriage, a midlife crush, and the class that just may put her over the edge.
SOME DANGER INVOLVED by Will Thomas (Mystery)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Will Thomas's debut novel, set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar.
TWENTY-SEVEN BONES by Jonathan Nasaw (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Former FBI Special Agent E.L. Pender may be retired, but he jumps at the chance to help solve a particularly gruesome series of crimes in the U.S. Virgin Islands. |
Read the reviews and features here.
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Poll: Which of these books are you most looking forward to reading? |
Which of the following books have you read, are you reading or are you looking forward to reading? (Please check as many as apply.)
Cold Case Squad by Edna Buchanan
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim: Essays by David Sedaris
The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman
The Enemy by Lee Child
Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag
Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline
Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk
Ten Big Ones: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich
The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah
Unlucky in Law by Perri O'Shaughnessy
I am not interested in reading any of these books. |
Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: What book do you think best depicts the romance between a married couple? |
Our question of the month was inspired both by watching Nancy Reagan at her husband's funeral and by thinking about the movie, The Notebook, based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Sparks, which is in theatres on June 25th.
What book do you think best depicts the romance between a married couple?
Our next question update will be on July 1st. |
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 COLD CASE SQUAD by Edna Buchanan and TRANSMISSION by Hari Kunzru. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on July 1st. |
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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