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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
October 22, 2004 |
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Bookish Tourism |
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As you may know, our staff is rather farflung. This week Wiley Saichek, who works in Texas, came to see us in New York for the week. He and Tom Donadio spent time in the evening exploring bookstores all over the city. Over the years, Wiley has told me stories about visiting bookstores in every town and city that he visits around the country --- and his finds there. Years ago a number of Bookreporter.com readers gathered in St. Louis and Chicago --- their itinerary always included treks to bookstores.
With that in mind, we share a book called BOOKSTORE TOURISM: A Book Addict's Guide to Planning and Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles and Other Bookshop Junkies by Larry Portzline. Larry was distressed to hear of the number of independent bookstores around the country that were folding. Rather than just watch on the sidelines, he decided to take action. He organized trips to both New York and Washington, D.C. with one purpose in mind --- to visit and shop in independent bookstores. His expeditions got lots of press pickup and inspired this book. If you have ever thought about organizing a book trip with friends, this is the perfect guidebook. Among the perfect bookish cities to visit --- New York, Charlottesville, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Savannah! If you organize a trip like this, be sure to let us know. Click on the book above to learn more about BOOKSTORE TOURISM.
Our FaithfulReader.com website has been updated with five new interviews and sixteen new reviews. For those of you who enjoy gentler reads, or books with a Christian theme, click on the link above to explore this website.
Wednesday night I attended the screening of THE BROOKE ELLISON STORY, the last movie that Christopher Reeve directed, based on the life of Brooke Ellison, who was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident and went on to graduate with her Masters from Harvard and is now working towards her doctorate. Think about her situation and think about the challenges it poses. Brooke was there the night of the screening --- in fact it was her birthday and there was a large cake to celebrate it. She is a gracious person. Before the movie began Dana Reeve and her children made an appearance and Brooke gave a welcome speech that was all about enjoying each moment --- and living. It was an emotional evening, in a good way. The movie airs Monday night on A&E at 8PM ET. Click on the book above to read more about it.
Leaves are falling here. I work at home on Fridays and I chart the seasons by the state of the leaves on a tree right outside my window. The colors are changing way too fast and some branches already are bare! For those of you with children, or grandchildren, who celebrate Halloween in a big way, may we suggest you peruse our Halloween feature on Kidsreads.com?
Are you in a book group? Want your group to speak with Chris Bohjalian about his new book, BEFORE YOU KNOW KINDNESS? Then visit Chrisbohjalian.com, read an excerpt, and then enter to win an hour long call for your reading group with him. While you're there, listen to an audio exclusive about the importance of reading groups, and sign up to receive a free bookplate signed by the author.
Have a great week.
--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
Read more about the BEFORE YOU KNOW KINDNESS contest here.
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Bookish Prizes |
The past few weeks have been all about awards and award nominations. This week we bring you a listing of:
The National Book Award Nominees
The Booker Prize for Fiction Winner
The Barry Award Winners
The Anthony Award Winners
The Shamus Award Winners
The Macavity Award Winners |
See the new award winners and nominees here.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Charlene Baumbich, Author of the Dearest Dorothy series |
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"When the story calls, I listen," says Charlene Baumbich, and for her many loyal readers, Baumbich's fictional evocations of the antics of the residents of Partonville make them seem like old friends, and provide endless pages of enjoyment. Cindy Crosby recently interviewed the irrepressible Baumbich for FaithfulReader.com and we are sharing that interview here. They chatted about the delightful characters who populate the Dearest Dorothy series, her love of a well-told story, the importance of intergenerational relationships, and her confessed addiction to White Castle hamburgers. |
Read our interview with Charlene Baumbich here.
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THE KILLING HOUR by Lisa Gardner is Now in Paperback |
Lisa Gardner is the New York Times bestselling author of such suspense novels as THE PERFECT HUSBAND, THE OTHER DAUGHTER, THE THIRD VICTIM, THE NEXT ACCIDENT, and THE SURVIVORS CLUB. In this special interview with Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub, and Wiley Saichek), Gardner discusses the themes and characters in her latest novel, THE KILLING HOUR, as well as the writers who have most influenced her and the bone-chilling details of her next book.
THE KILLING HOUR by Lisa Gardner (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Two girls have disappeared, and rookie FBI agent Kimberly Quincy is determined to bring the methodical and vicious criminal who is responsible to justice --- a killer who takes the lives of two victims at a time. Quincy knows the killer's deadline can be met, but she'll have to break some rules to beat him at a game he's had time to perfect. |
Read our interview with Lisa Gardner and a review of THE KILLING HOUR here.
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WHY I WORE LIPSTICK (To My Mastectomy) by Geralyn Lucas |
WHY I WORE LIPSTICK (To My Mastectomy) by Geralyn Lucas (Memoir)
Reviewed by Jill McAfee
Twenty-seven-year-old Geralyn Lucas was working in a dream job in television when she received the stunning news: she had breast cancer. But instead of a tale of woe, Lucas has written an empowering story about how she went through her surgery, recovery and reconstruction.
After you read our review, for more about this book, go to WhyIWoreLipstick.com |
Click here to read a review and excerpt of WHY I WORE LIPSTICK (To My Mastectomy).
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OVERDO$ED AMERICA by John Abramson, M.D. |
We all know that health care and prescription drug costs are skyrocketing, but few doubt the excellence of American medicine. John Abramson, M.D., an award-winning family doctor on the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School, reveals, in the same clear language that he used with his patients, how the corporate takeover of clinical research and medical practice is compromising Americans' health. You -- and your doctor -- will be stunned by his findings.
OVERDOSED AMERICA explains how to avoid getting taken in by the hype of medicine-to-generate-corporate profits, and how to reclaim your own health. |
Read more about OVERDO$ED AMERICA here.
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This Week's Book Reviews and Features |
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THE PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS by Stuart Woods (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
A brash detective enters the Hollywood fast lane in this new thriller by the bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series.
THE FALLS by Joyce Carol Oates (Fiction)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Joyce Carol Oates's latest novel is the story of the powerful spell that Niagara Falls casts upon two generations of a family, leading to tragedy, love, loss, and --- ultimately --- redemption.
ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE LAZARUS VENDETTA: A Covert-One Novel written by Patrick Larkin, series created by Robert Ludlum (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
For the past three decades Robert Ludlum's bestselling novels have been enjoyed by readers worldwide. His Covert-One series has been among his most beloved creations, and THE LAZARUS VENDETTA is the latest thrilling novel in this series.
WINTER HOUSE by Carol O'Connell (Mystery)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Never has police detective Kathy Mallory faced as many surprises as in the case before her now. It seems fairly straightforward at first --- a burglar has been caught in the act and killed by an ice pick-wielding homeowner --- until Mallory learns the identity of the homeowner.
LIVE AT 10:00, DEAD AT 10:15 by Elsa Klensch (Mystery)
Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
As a producer for the network newsmagazine "The Donna Fuller Show," Sonya Iverson is frustrated at always having to work on "fluff" --- but she never expected her big break to come in the middle of the annual American Fashion Awards dinner.
THEY MADE AMERICA: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovation, by Harold Evans (History)
Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth
This is a fascinating illustrated history of American innovators --- some well known, others unknown --- by the author of the bestselling THE AMERICAN CENTURY.
THE PACIFIC AND OTHER STORIES by Mark Helprin (Fiction/Short Stories)
Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds
Almost ten years since his last book, Mark Helprin returns with this collection of sixteen stories that display the remarkable scope, incomparable wit, and deft prose that have come to be his signature.
THE KING AND I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti's Rise to Fame by His Manager, Friend and Sometime Adversary, by Herbert Breslin and Anne Midgette (Music/Opera)
Reviewed by Robert Finn
This is a breezy, irreverent, gossipy, and titillating tell-all book about Luciano Pavarotti --- perhaps the greatest and most popular opera singer of recent times --- by his longtime publicist and manager.
LIVING TO TELL THE TALE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Autobiography)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez evokes his life from his birth until the 1950s in this first volume of his warm and gripping autobiography.
ALICE WALKER: A Life by Evelyn C. White (Biography)
Reviewed by Carole Turner
Evelyn C. White has penned the first full-length biography of Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE COLOR PURPLE and an American icon who was an outspoken advocate of freedom and civil rights for all. |
Read the reviews and features here.
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Poll: Reading Before Sleep |
Do you read before you go to sleep at night?
All of the time
Some of the time
Never |
Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: What Book Kept You Up At Night? |
Name the last book that kept you up reading a lot longer than you planned.
Our next question update will be on October 29th. |
Answer the Question of the Week.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading -- THREE 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 HOUR GAME by David Baldacci, MAGICAL THINKING by Augusten Burroughs and THE VIRTUES OF WAR by Steven Pressfield.
Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on October 29th. |
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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