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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
May 12, 2006
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This Week on Bookreporter.com
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The Soundtrack of My Week....
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I typically work in silence, but this week I had a musical track running. I have been a huge Paul Simon fan since I was about 13. Tuesday his new CD, Surprise, hit stores and I raced to pick up a copy --- it's been cranked up on my stereo ever since. It's one of those rare works that you hear differently each time you listen --- and it's chock full of lyrics that make me think like some of my favorite books. These days my sons like Simon's music as much as me. Jesse Kornbluth, the co-Founder of The Book Report Network, knew this and asked my older son to guest write for him on his site, HeadButler.com. You can read their joint piece here. And yes, I am one very proud mom.
As you know I like innovative ways to introduce readers to books. This week I attended the screening of The Book Standard 2006 Book Video Awards that featured videos made by film students that promoted three different Bantam Dell Publishing Group titles --- THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN, STUART: A LIFE BACKWARDS and SHADOW MAN.. The students were winners in a contest where they were challenged to present books in a brief visual commercial. You can watch the winning videos here.
This week we are sharing a new Debut Suspense/Thriller author with you, Daniel Judson, whose debut novel, THE DARKEST PLACE, comes out May 30th. We have 10 advance reading copies to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. Send a note to DebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com with your name and mailing address by Friday, May 19th if you are interested. I have not yet read this title, but the description alone later in this newsletter had me move it to the top of my pile.
Like thrillers? Then you want to think about attending Thriller Fest, a thriller readers convention in Phoenix, Arizona from June 29th through July 2nd. See details below. And if those author names are not enough to lure you to attend, I'll share this. Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com's Thriller Reader/Reviewer Extraordinaire, is going to be chatting it up with readers and authors. Think about talking the genre with this master reviewer!
Next week I am off to Book Expo in Washington, D.C. for the industry's annual book conference. It's a chance to get a preview of the upcoming seasons' books. I am looking forward to this. For me it's my 11th convention and each time I attend I think about how far we have grown since the first. Did I share that we had nearly 500,000 unique readers last month on Bookreporter.com alone?
Next Friday we kick off our VERY popular Summer Beach Bag feature and weekly contests. Our first title is WHEN LIGHT BREAKS by Patti Callahan Henry. We're giving you a sneak peek at Patti's work this week with our interview with her. Next week, Shannon McKenna's review and our first beach bag contest. Yes, here comes summer!
Next week we'll also have an interview with Joseph Finder, whose new book KILLER INSTINCT is in stores on Tuesday.
We are leaving our poll about The Da Vinci Code and question up just one more week as we count down to the film's opening next Friday. If you have not voted yet, please do. I am going to an advance screening of the film on Thursday night and will have my comments in next Friday's newsletter.
Happy Mother's Day to all our readers who are moms! I am looking forward to reading in the hammock. Have a great week!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
List of titles reviewed and featured on May 12th.
List of titles reviewed and featured on May 5th.
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Click here to read more about the Book Standard Video Book Awards.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Patti Callahan Henry, Author of WHEN LIGHT BREAKS
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Bookreporter.com contributing writer Shannon McKenna interviewed Patti Callahan Henry, author of LOSING THE MOON, WHERE THE RIVER RUNS, and the newly released WHEN LIGHT BREAKS. In this interview, Henry characterizes writing a novel as an instinctual journey with no guarantees, and explains the basis for her love and belief in the power of storytelling. She also describes her affinity for the South Carolina Lowcountry and conveys what she hopes readers will take away from her books.
-Click here to read the guide for WHEN LIGHT BREAKS.
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Click here to read our interview with Patti Callahan Henry.
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New Featured Debut Suspense/Thriller Author: Daniel Judson, Author of THE DARKEST PLACE
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Daniel Judson, whose noirish page-turner THE DARKEST PLACE comes out May 30th, is our newest featured Debut Suspense/Thriller author. With a virtuoso's touch and a diabolical ability to layer suspense, plot, and character study into an engrossing crime novel, Judson makes a name for himself with THE DARKEST PLACE.
We have 10 advance reading copies of THE DARKEST PLACE by Daniel Judson to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. A description can be found by clicking the link below. If you are interested, please send your name and mailing address to DebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, May 19th, 2006.
More about THE DARKEST PLACE:
From Daniel Judson, Shamus Award winner and emerging master of the modern literary thriller, comes a riveting and accomplished crime novel set in the seedy underside of a celebrated beach town.
During a bone-chilling snap of record cold, a series of enigmatic drowning deaths plays out in a small Hamptons community on Long Island's Shinnecock Bay. Local college professor Deacon Kane, himself recovering from the accidental drowning of his only son years ago --- recovering slowly, with the help of alcohol and an addictive, messy affair with a married woman --- is implicated in the deaths.
As the police and several other interested parties watch his every move, Kane befriends a hypnotically alluring bartender named Colette and quickly continues his brutal downward spiral with little regard for self-preservation. How --- and whether --- Kane is connected to the young men is the question everyone wants the answer to. As it becomes clear that Kane himself may not know the extent of his own involvement, all must admit that something dark and sinister is at work in Southampton.
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Click here to read more about Daniel Judson and THE DARKEST PLACE.
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Featured Suspense/Thriller Author --- Lee Child, Author of THE HARD WAY
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Lee Child is one of our featured Suspense/Thriller authors. He's already a household name among thriller lovers, and with such page-turners as ONE SHOT, THE ENEMY and PERSUADER, Child has established himself at the forefront of the genre. THE HARD WAY, which comes out on May 16th, is Child at his fast-paced, thrilling best.
-Click here to see our Advance Copy Winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THE HARD WAY.
-Click here to read Lee Child's backlist.
-Click here to read Critical Praise for THE HARD WAY.
-Click here to read Author Fast Facts.
More about THE HARD WAY:
In Lee Child's astonishing new thriller, ex-military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he's thrust into an explosive situation that's about to blow up in his face. For the only way to find the truth --- and save two innocent lives --- is to do it the way Jack Reacher does it best: the hard way....
Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New York City night, watching a man cross the street to a parked Mercedes and drive it away. The car contained one million dollars in ransom money. And Edward Lane, the man who paid it, will pay even more to get his family back. Lane runs a highly illegal soldiers-for-hire operation. He will use any amount of money and any tool to find his beautiful wife and child. And then he'll turn Jack Reacher loose with a vengeance --- because Reacher is the best man hunter in the world.
On the trail of a vicious kidnapper, Reacher is learning the chilling secrets of his employer's past...and of a horrific drama in the heart of a nasty little war. He's beginning to realize that Edward Lane is hiding something. Something dirty. Something big. But Reacher also knows this: he's already in way too deep to stop now.
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Click here to read more about Lee Child and THE HARD WAY.
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New Featured Suspense/Thriller Author --- Gayle Lynds, Author of THE LAST SPYMASTER
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Gayle Lynds, the New York Times bestselling author of THE COIL, MASQUERADE, MOSAIC and MESMERIZED, is our newest featured Suspense/Thriller author. Her latest tale of intrigue and espionage is THE LAST SPYMASTER, which hits shelves May 30th and re-establishes her title of "The Queen of the International Spy Thriller."
-Click here to read our Advance Copy Winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THE LAST SPYMASTER.
-Click here to read Gayle Lynds's Backlist.
-Click here to read Fast Facts about Gayle Lynds.
-Click here to read praise for Gayle Lynds.
More about THE LAST SPYMASTER:
Charles "Jay" Tice was a spy's spy. The chief of the CIA's elite Clandestine Services, he was a legend throughout the world of international intelligence. But secretly he was also a traitor, reputedly selling information that will seriously compromise the security of the United States for decades to come. Since his treachery was exposed, Tice has been kept under strict surveillance in a maximum security prison.
Then one morning, his cell is discovered empty. Jay Tice has vanished --- without tripping an alarm or leaving any trace of his passing.
Elaine Cunningham is a hunter --- a CIA operative who specializes in finding people who don't want to be found. Young, gifted and a maverick, she is assigned to track Tice and bring him to ground before he disappears forever. But as she matches wits in a perilous game with one of the greatest spymasters of all time, she discovers there is far more at stake than an old spy's last run for freedom.
Lurking in the shadows are other hidden players with their own lethal agendas and, from Geneva to Washington, Berlin to New York City, a deadly conspiracy is coalescing. With only a few hours to go, and the future of millions in the balance, she must uncover the truth behind the legend of the last spymaster.
With THE LAST SPYMASTER, New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds has created her masterwork --- a compelling thriller of loyalty, betrayal, and the wheels-within-wheels world of modern espionage. Once again, she proves herself to be one of the most original and exciting writers in the field today.
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Click here to read more about Gayle Lynds and THE LAST SPYMASTER.
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New Featured One to Watch Author --- Sy Montgomery, Author of THE GOOD GOOD PIG
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We are so excited to be spotlighting Sy Montgomery as our newest featured One to Watch Author. Her heartwarming tale THE GOOD GOOD PIG --- which comes out May 30th --- is the unexpectedly sweet and compelling story of a pig named Christopher Hogwood.
-Click here to see our Advance Copy Winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THE GOOD GOOD PIG.
-Click here to read Sy Montgomery's Backlist.
-Click here to read praise for THE GOOD GOOD PIG.
More about THE GOOD GOOD PIG:
A naturalist who spent months at a time living on her own among wild creatures in remote jungles, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals than with people. So she gladly opened her heart to a sick piglet who had been crowded away from nourishing meals by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only survive but flourish --- and she soon found herself engaged with her small-town community in ways she had never dreamed possible. Unexpectedly, Christopher provided this peripatetic traveler with something she had sought all her life: an anchor (eventually weighing 750 pounds) to family and home.
Sy reveals what she and others learned from this generous soul who just so happened to be a pig --- lessons about self-acceptance, the meaning of family, the value of community, and the pleasures of the sweet green Earth. THE GOOD GOOD PIG provides proof that with love, almost anything is possible.
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Click here to read more about Sy Montgomery and THE GOOD GOOD PIG.
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Mother's Day Hat Box Contest on Bookreporter.com
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Our Mother's Day Contest is over and here are our winners. And don't miss out on your chance to get mom some books she'll LOVE for her special Day.
Our Featured Mother's Day Titles were:
CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM by Melanie Lynne Hauser, THE LOST MOTHER by Mary McGarry Morris, RECIPES FOR A PERFECT MARRIAGE by Morag Prunty, SUSANNAH'S GARDEN by Debbie Macomber, THE WOMAN AT THE WASHINGTON ZOO by Marjorie Williams and A YEAR IN THE WORLD by Frances Mayes:
To enter the contest readers were asked to tell us what book they remember their mother reading to them. Doctor Seuss's books, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT and THE POKEY LITTLE PUPPY were all favorites. Below are the winners and their responses if they gave them:
1. Wendy from Attleboro, MA:
One of my favorite stories that I remember my mother reading to me was "Peter Pan." The best part is that I was named after one of the characters. This is still one of my favorite stories and I love sharing it with my two young daughters. If I win I look forward to sharing the books with my mother just as she has shared her love of reading with me.
2. Nicholina from Santee, CA:
My Mom used to read me the Frog and Toad books; I asked for them over and over again. Now I read them to my daughter. They are her favorites, too.
3. Lynn from Apple Valley, Minnesota:
My favorite book that my mother read to me was "Curious George." I also have read it to my 3 children and also to my granddaughter! I'm an elementary school teacher and have also read it to my students! Curious George lives on! It started my own love of reading.
4. Theresa from Brooklyn, NY
Theresa gave the basket to her mother, who actually called to thank us!
5. Penny Jeffrey from Oconto, NE:
I was raised by my grandmother, so she is my "mom." She loved to read, read to me, and took me to the library regularly. Now she is gone, but I'm a librarian so I can carry on her legacy. Our favorite book was "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
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Click here to read what some other readers had to say.
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New Featured Chick Lit Author --- Meg Cabot, Author of QUEEN OF BABBLE
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Meg Cabot, author of the bestselling, critically acclaimed and immensely popular Princess Diaries novels, is our newest featured Chick Lit Author. From this New York Times bestselling writer comes QUEEN OF BABBLE, which comes out May 23rd, the charming and witty story of a lovable blabbermouth who can't seem to stay out of trouble....
-Click here to read our Advance Copy Winners.
-Click here to read a new excerpt from QUEEN OF BABBLE.
-Click here to read Meg Cabot's Backlist.
-Click here to read Fast Facts for Meg Cabot.
More about QUEEN OF BABBLE:
What's an American girl with a big mouth but an equally big heart to do?
Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn't that she doesn't have the slightest idea what she's going to do with her life or that she's blowing what should be her down payment on a cute little Manhattan apartment on a trip to London to visit her long-distance boyfriend, Andrew. But what's the point of planning for the future when she's done it again? See, Lizzie can't keep her mouth shut. And it's not just that she can't keep her own secrets, she can't keep anything to herself.
Unless she can figure out a way to use that big mouth of hers to save the day.
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Click here to read more about Meg Cabot and QUEEN OF BABBLE.
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THRILLERFEST --- You've Never Been Thrilled Like This Before!
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YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THRILLED LIKE THIS BEFORE!
Come to the first annual THRILLERFEST
Meet, mix and mingle with
more than 50 bestselling authors.
June 29 - July 2, 2006.
Arizona Biltmore
Phoenix, AZ
Lee Child (er, Jack Reacher) tries to beat the rap for murder
Tess Gerritsen directs a (mock) autopsy
Brad Meltzer auctions off the careers of thriller authors
John Lescroart has his day in court - at last!
Sandra Brown keeps us in heart-throbbing suspense
R.L. Stine touches the child in all of us
Doug Preston shines light into atavistic shadows
David Morrell debriefs us about FIRST BLOOD and RAMBO
Winners of the first-ever international thriller awards revealed!
A murder of authors signs the first-ever thriller anthology
Authors, Panels, Craft Workshops, Parties
www.thrillerfest.com
Sponsorship by International Thriller Writers, Inc.
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Click here to learn more about ThrillerFest.
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This Week's Reviews and Features
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ANYBODY OUT THERE? by Marian Keyes (Fiction)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
In her richest, most emotionally compelling novel to date, bestselling author Marian Keyes proves she has a handle on life on the other side of the pond. ANYBODY OUT THERE? is a gut-wrenching account of grief and healing that still delivers a measure of Keyes's sassy wit and family humor.
-Click here to read an excerpt from ANYBODY OUT THERE?
CRIME BEAT: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers by Michael Connelly (Current Affairs)
Reviewed by Tom Callahan
Before he became a novelist, Michael Connelly was a crime reporter, covering the detectives who worked the homicide beat in Florida and Los Angeles. In vivid, hard-hitting articles, Connelly follows the investigators, the victims, their families and friends --- and, of course, the killers --- to tell the real stories of murder and its aftermath.
FORTUNATE SON by Walter Mosley (Fiction)
Reviewed by Belinda Williams
In spite of remarkable differences, Eric and Thomas are as close as brothers. After tragedy rips their makeshift family apart, the lives of these boys diverge astonishingly. The two confront separate challenges, but one thing remains constant: their love for each other.
CHASING DESTINY by Eric Jerome Dickey (Fiction)
Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
Lives are changed when a man decides to return to his wife of 18 years, while his girlfriend --- who is known as much for her extraordinary beauty as for the sexy yellow motorcycle she rides through the mean streets of Los Angeles --- announces she's pregnant.
THE PRIEST'S MADONNA by Amy Hassinger (Historical Fiction)
Reviewed by Pauline Finch
In 1896, a parish priest suddenly came into possession of immense wealth. But no one knows for sure where this money came from. When he passed away under mysterious circumstances in 1917, his secrets died with him. Yet there is one other person who may have known all --- the priest's housekeeper and, some say, his lover.
THE GIRLS by Lori Lansens (Fiction)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
In her second novel, Lori Lansens offers a compelling character study of Rose and Ruby Darlen --- sisters, best friends, confidantes, and conjoined twins. When Rose, the bookish sister, sets out to write her autobiography, it inevitably becomes the story of her short but extraordinary life with Ruby, the beautiful one.
MY FATHER IS A BOOK: A Memoir of Bernard Malamud by Janna Malamud Smith (Memoir)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
On the twentieth anniversary of Bernard Malamud's death, Janna Malamud Smith explores her father's private, unpublished letters and journals to remember the life of a seminal writer of our time. She recalls his demanding, ambitious writing schedule and his marriage's fragile balance, but also his charm, humor and devotion.
DAYS OF RAGE by Kris Nelscott (Mystery)
Reviewed by Jennifer McCord
As racial tensions mount during the 1969 celebrity trial of the Chicago Eight, African-American PI Smokey Dalton is keeping a low profile with his son, who knows a dark secret about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. When Smokey finds a group of skeletons hidden in the wall of a building, his investigation leads him into Chicago's racist past and implicates some of the nation's most powerful people in a deadly 1919 riot.
IN PLAIN SIGHT by C. J. Box (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
J. W. Keeley blames one man for the death of his brother: Joe Pickett. And now Keeley is going to make him suffer. This thrilling tale of suspense, vengeance and murder is C. J. Box's sixth novel featuring the honest and hardworking Wyoming game warden.
QUITE HONESTLY by John Mortimer (Fiction)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
From the author of the hilarious Rumpole of the Bailey series comes an uproariously funny tale of crime and punishment gone awry. Written in classic British humor as a "he said/she said" type of story, QUITE HONESTLY narrates her version of reforming the parolee from the mentor's point of view and his version from the ex-con's point of view.
TORCH by Cheryl Strayed (Fiction)
Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
Grief is a visitor who comes to each of us differently, but our appointment with loss is inevitable. In her first novel, Cheryl Strayed addresses this universal theme with skill and unflinching compassion by creating exceptionally believable characters.
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Click here to read our reviews and features.
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Bookreporter.com Blog
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May 5th Entries:
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - Part 1 - Getting There, The Mystery Bookstore and the Book Prizes
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - Part 2 - Saturday's Panels and The Rockbottom Remainders
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - Part 3 - Sundays Panels and The Redeye
May 4th Entry:
Mysterious Doings
Sign up here to get notified each time this blog is updated.
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Click here to read the Bookreporter.com blog.
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Poll: THE DA VINCI CODE --- Countdown to the Movie..... |
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Have you read THE DA VINCI CODE?
Yes
No, but I want to.
No, and I do not want to.
Do you plan to see The Da Vinci Code movie?
Yes, as soon as it opens.
Yes, but not rushing to get there.
I will wait for the DVD.
I am not interested in seeing this movie.
Which of the following books on codes and speculative history have you read or plan to read? (Please check as many as apply.)
THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown
HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
THE JESUS PAPERS by Michael Baigent
LABYRINTH by Kate Mosse
THE LAST CATO by Matilde Asensi
THE LAST TEMPLAR by Raymond Khoury
THE MESSIANIC LEGACY by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
THE RULE OF FOUR by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
THE SECRET SUPPER by Javier Sierra
THE TEMPLAR LEGACY by Steve Berry
None of the above
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Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: What's the Appeal of THE DA VINCI CODE? |
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What do you think is the appeal of THE DA VINCI CODE? Why did so many people read it?
Please note: Our question of the week will update on May 19th.
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Answer the Question of the Week here.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading -- TWO Prizes! |
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Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.
This week we have two great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of AT RISK by Patricia Cornwell and KILLER INSTINCT by Joseph Finder
Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on May 26th.
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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. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us.
Those who are subscribed to the Bookreporter.com newsletter by May 31st, 2006 automatically are entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month one winner will be selected to win the following five books: AT RISK by Patricia Cornwell, CAGE OF STARS by Jacquelyn Mitchard, KILLER INSTINCT by Joseph Finder, THE MAN OF MY DREAMS by Curtis Sittenfeld and POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs. Last month's winner was Barbara from Albuquerque, NM who won BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS by Alexander McCall Smith, MY LATEST GRIEVANCE by Elinor Lipman, SAVANNAH BREEZE by Mary Kay Andrews, VANISHED by Karen Robards and WE ARE ALL WELCOME HERE by Elizabeth Berg.
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.
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