July 1, 2005

Kindred Bookish Spirits

I spent last weekend in Chicago at the American Library Association Convention. I love Chicago even with over 100 degree temperatures, which was what I found there all weekend. This was my first time at this conference and I enjoyed it immensely. The librarians I met were enthusiastic about their readers and I felt I was talking to kindred spirits when we met in the aisles and on the busses. While some were aware of our websites, many were not. May I ask you to print a copy of this newsletter and share it with your local librarians?
 
Sunday I had the pleasure of hearing Nancy Pearl talk about her new book MORE BOOK LUST, which yes, is a follow up to her first book, BOOK LUST. Once again she talks about more than 120 reading lists of books, by category. She was like a cheerleader for readers and books. I wish I remembered one-tenth of the books I read as well as she does those she was quoting from. I found myself scribbling notes about what she said making a new reading list. I called for a copy of her book as soon as I got back to the office and I look forward to interviewing her about it. I love passion and enthusiasm, and Pearl has both!
 
During this trip, I read SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See. A friend at the publisher sent it to me and said, "You have to read this!" I am so glad I did. It's a novel of the friendship between two women in 19th-Century China that reads absolutely beautifully. I learned so much about this period, which I will confess I was not that interested in before I started reading. See's writing drew me in and kept me excited from the first page. One of my real regrets from last weekend is that I did not get a chance to hear See speak at the Convention as she was doing her talk on Monday while I left on Sunday. I encourage you to read this book, and may I also suggest it as a great book club title. One challenge here: I dare you to not google "foot binding" after you are done. Once you read about this, I am betting you will be as drawn to see photos as I was. It's truly scary how torturous this treatment was for young girls.
 
On a lighter note, Monday night I went to a book party for a former magazine colleague of mine, Stephanie Lessing, whose debut novel, SHE'S GOT ISSUES, just hit stores. Stephanie worked in the promotion department that I ran at Mademoiselle. She was an extremely clever copywriter, who always nailed her copy on the first try. She also was very very funny. I hear her voice and I start laughing, even today. SHE'S GOT ISSUES is a rompish look at what goes on when one very naive woman joins a promotion department at a magazine. She loves shoes and fashion and clearly is miscast in her new role. Stephanie swears I do not appear in the book as the evil boss, and we both agree we did not know anyone quite like Chloe. It's fun light summer reading.
 
This week we have advance reader comments on UPSIDE DOWN by John Ramsey Miller. We have a new beach bag contest that boasts a fabulous prize --- the quilt seen on the cover of ENDLESS CHAIN. We also have a contest that Kristin Hannah is running on her website. So....for the holiday weekend, we are giving you lots of great reading.
 
For those of you who are wondering, yes, I did get to do some fun things in Chicago last weekend. I took one of the architecture river tours and got to the Oak Street Beach. No biking since it was sooooo hot. Thursday I am going to Denver for eight days and will be heading up the mountains for part of this trip. I am looking forward to seeing purple skies.
 
Have a firecracker Fourth.
 
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Read more about SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN here.

Bookreporter.com Talks to John Ramsey Miller, Author of UPSIDE DOWN

Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek interviewed John Ramsey Miller about his impressive feat of releasing three books --- INSIDE OUT, UPSIDE DOWN and SIDE BY SIDE --- in the span of just four months. Miller also shares tales of his less-than-smooth journey to having his work published, explains the personal attachments he has to his novels' settings, and discusses future possibilities for main protagonist Winter Massey and company.

UPSIDE DOWN by John Ramsey Miller (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Winter Massey is an ex-U.S. marshal whose career pitted him against some of the world's most ruthless criminals. Now a horrifying cycle of murder, and the plea of one terrified young girl, has grabbed his attention. But awaiting Massey is a chilling surprise --- and an assassin with a secret mission, a secret motive, and the perfect plan.

Click here to read our Advance Readers' Comments on UPSIDE DOWN.

Click here to read our interview with John Ramsey Miller and a review of UPSIDE DOWN.

Beach Bag Of Books: Spotlight on ENDLESS CHAIN by Emilie Richards and Weekly Beach Bag Giveaway

Whether your "beach" is on sand, your backyard deck or a grassy meadow in the country, the summer months mean it's time for "beach reading." Bookreporter.com is celebrating the lazy days of summer reading with a special feature, Bookreporter.com Beach Bag of Books.

Every week from May 20th through August 19th a different title will be featured with a review and author interview, as well as a contest prize --- a beach bag stocked with that book, plus summertime essentials that tie in to its theme. Five FABULOUS beach bags will be given away each week, as well as five copies of the book to additional winners.

Click here to read more about Bookreporter.com's Beach Bag of Books feature.

Bookreporter.com Talks To Laurie R. King, Author of LOCKED ROOMS

Bookreporter.com Co-Founder Carol Fitzgerald and contributing writer Shannon McKenna interviewed Laurie R. King, author of LOCKED ROOMS. King discusses the personality traits of the characters who populate this latest installment in her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery series, as well as the varied settings of her novels. She also shares details of her writing process, her background as a storyteller, and juicy tidbits about her next book, which is "sort of halfway between a Kate Martinelli and a Mary Russell." 

LOCKED ROOMS by Laurie R. King (Mystery)
Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
In this new adventure featuring Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, the investigative duo's case takes a personal turn when they visit San Francisco and delve into Russell's past. It seems that someone will go to deadly lengths to keep a disturbing secret from coming to light.

Click here to read more about LOCKED ROOMS.
Click here to read our Advance Readers' Comments on LOCKED ROOMS.

THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova: The Book Everyone's Talking About

THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova (Fiction)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
In this complex and elegant story by debut novelist Elizabeth Kostova, three people relay spooky tales in which curiosity, revenge, and hope compel them onward despite horrible and nearly certain peril. Their experiences intersect as they explain why they must hunt down the most famous vampire in history.

Click here to read a review of THE HISTORIAN.
Click here to read an excerpt of THE HISTORIAN.

For more information about Elizabeth Koztova and THE HISTORIAN, click here.

Mystery Mayhem: Jacqueline Winspear, Author of PARDONABLE LIES

Click here to read more about Jacqueline Winspear and PARDONABLE LIES.

Mystery Mayhem: Mary Jane Clark, Author of DANCING IN THE DARK

Click here to read more about Mary Jane Clark and DANCING IN THE DARK.

Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Perri O'Shaughnessy, Author of CASE OF LIES

Read more about Perri O'Shaughnessy and CASE OF LIES here.

THE HALO EFFECT by M.J. Rose is Now in Stores in Mass Market Paperback

Special Summer Contest: Win a Beach Bag from Kristin Hannah to Celebrate THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE --- Now in Paperback

To celebrate the paperback release of THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE, Kristin Hannah, author of BETWEEN SISTERS, ON MYSTIC LAKE and DISTANT SHORES is sponsoring a special Beach Bag Giveaway Contest on her website, www.KristinHannah.com. One very lucky reader will win a beach bag filled with prizes that, to me, embody both the spirit of summer and THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE.

Along with a signed copy of THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE, the winner will receive a pair of spicy red oven mitts, an authentic Italian cookbook, an oak and ivory picture frame, a CD of Frank Sinatra's greatest hits, a can for drizzling olive oil, and a darling celestial night-light. The contest runs from Tuesday, June 28th thru Wednesday, August 31st at 11:59PM.

This Week's Reviews and Features

THE TRAVELER by John Twelve Hawks (Fiction)
Reviewed by Alexis Burling
Gabriel and Michael Corrigan are two of the last known Travelers in existence. They have the ability to pass through various levels of reality in order to obtain enlightenment and use this knowledge to help others do the same. Maya, a Harlequin, is summoned by her ailing father to protect the Corrigan brothers from being captured by the Tabula, ruthless mercenaries who have hunted Travelers for generations.

TO THE POWER OF THREE by Laura Lippman (Mystery)
Reviewed by Andi Shechter
In Laura Lippman's latest stand-alone novel (following 2003's EVERY SECRET THING), the lives of three girls who have been best friends for years --- and the affluent community in which they reside --- are forever changed when one of them brings a gun to school to resolve a mysterious feud. 

SPECIMEN DAYS by Michael Cunningham (Fiction)
Reviewed by Roz Shea
In each section of Michael Cunningham's daring, highly original and poignant novel --- his first since THE HOURS --- we encounter the same group of characters: a young boy, an older man, and a young woman. This haunting and genre-bending work spans an American era from the 19th-century dawn of the industrial revolution, through post-9/11 to 150 years into the future.

CROSS BONES by Kathy Reichs (Thriller)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
In this gripping and explosive new thriller from internationally acclaimed forensic anthropologist and New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs, Temperance Brennan and Detective Andrew Ryan are on the trail of a modern murder and an ancient biblical mystery.

KILLING TIME by Linda Howard (Romantic Suspense)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
When chief county investigator Knox Davis witnesses the placement of a time capsule in his small Kentucky town in 1985, he never dreams that twenty years later the capsule will lead him to murder, mayhem and a mysterious woman who challenges him on every level.

MISSION ROAD by Rick Riordan (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
When an old friend appears at his door spattered with blood and wanted for attempted homicide, Tres Navarre doesn't have to think twice about where his loyalty lies --- or the consequences. In Rick Riordan's latest Navarre novel, the San Antonio private investigator must revisit the sins of the past to catch a killer about to get away with murder...again.

THE WATER ROOM by Christopher Fowler (Mystery)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Arthur Bryant and John May, two cranky detectives whose professional partnership dates back half a century, return in a case of multiple murder that twists through a subterranean course of the secrets, lies, and extreme passions that drive even ordinary men and women to the most shocking crimes.

SOMETHING BLUE by Emily Giffin (Chick Lit)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
With this compelling follow-up to her successful debut, SOMETHING BORROWED, Emily Giffin takes an unusual approach and offers another charming Chick Lit novel that will win her even more fans.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW by Kermit Roosevelt (Fiction)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
Recommended especially for those who favor the style of legal fiction followed by such authors as Scott Turow, this complex and ambitious novel takes readers behind the scenes of a fictional powerhouse Washington D.C. law firm and introduces a group of lawyers struggling to make their way in the firm.

LIE BY MOONLIGHT by Amanda Quick (Romance)
Reviewed by Hillary Wagy
New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick's new novel delivers passion, lust, adventure, and a suspenseful murder mystery along with a thoroughly modern perspective on one Victorian lady's view of the relationship between the sexes.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND ME: In My Anecdotage by Eli Wallach (Memoir)
Reviewed by H.V. Cordry
In Eli Wallach's anecdotal, witty and insightful memoir, the prolific yet humble star of film and theater --- whose career in show business spans over five decades --- tells the extraordinary story of his many years dedicated to his craft.

GHOSTING: A Double Life by Jennie Erdal (Memoir)
Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
In the early 1980s, Jennie Erdal was hired by a flamboyant British publisher she calls "Tiger" to be his specialist editor for Russian books. But she ended up becoming his ghostwriter for a huge nonfiction book on women, two glossy novels, and hundreds of newspaper columns --- all published under his own name. In this remarkable memoir Erdal relates how she became seduced into this peculiar job.

Click here to read this week's reviews and features.

Bookreporter.com Blog

What book are you most looking forward to reading this summer?

Please note: Our question of the week will update July 15th

Answer the Question of the Week here.

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 OVER HER DEAD BODY by Kate White and UNTIL I FIND YOU by John Irving. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on July 15th.