 |
|
Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
February 9, 2007
|
|
This Week on Bookreporter.com
|
|
|
|
|
When a How-To Book Reads Like a Novel...
|
 |
I am not big on "how to" books beyond cookbooks, thus my latest explorations into the world of knitting have proved interesting. Here is a recent experience. I showed up in the yarn store with three squares of knitting, which to me looked like the start of the back and two fronts of a sweater. My question? How do I make sleeves and the rest? I clearly had a design in my head and was trying to interpret it. Luckily, Doris and Nancy at the store I frequent, A Yarn for All Seasons, have learned that typically I will show up with something completely out of the box like this, with no pattern and no plan beyond "I think I am on the right track." I usually am not.
I also hold up pieces where "something" is wrong. And between the two of them they figure out "what" is wrong. While they are more than obliging, there are those moments when the store is closed and I am in a panic. Thus when I got my hands on a book just out called WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD KNITTERS by Marion Edmonds and Ahza Moore, I was flipping those pages like I was reading a novel. Page after page had "my mistakes" expounded, with solutions. Clearly for all my thinking I am the "only" one who has done these things, I am not alone; thus if you knit and need help like me, this is one to get NOW.
Here's a further reading update: Last weekend I huddled on the couch and read KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL and found myself learning more about the culture of Afghanistan, as well as the valiant story of Deborah Rodriguez, who was determined to help women in that country assert themselves. It's in stores in April and already has me plotting a new feature for ReadingGroupGuides.com with books about different cultures. Speaking of book clubs, we have an update on that website and six new offers for our Registered Book Clubs, including chats with Nicholas Evans (THE DIVIDE), Elizabeth Gilbert (EAT, PRAY, LOVE), Robert Alexander (RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER) and Lalita Tademy (RED RIVER) as well as a collection of books and homemade cake from Mary Kay Andrews, whose SAVANNAH BREEZE just hit stores in paperback, and canvas knitting bags with yarn, knitting needles and copies of THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB, which I am now reading and just loving. If you are in a book club and have not registered yet with us, click here for details.
This week we kick off a Suspense/Thriller promotion for David Morrell's SCAVENGER, which will be in stores on March 12th, It's the story of a desperate high-tech scavenger hunt, which I really enjoyed. We have 20 copies to give away to readers who want to enter. Send email with your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller1@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 23rd. Please note that we still are running our Suspense/Thriller offer for Michele Martinez's COVER-UP at SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com thru Friday, February 16th, so please be sure to pay attention to the correct address when you send your reply in.
Also launching this week is a new Debut Suspense/Thriller Author, Tim Maleeny, whose book, STEALING THE DRAGON, will be in stores on March 1st. Here's the gist of the plot: In the midst of a cutthroat mayoral election, a ship smuggling Chinese refugees runs aground on Alcatraz. With the entire crew murdered, the crime screams professional assassin. From the ancient Triads of Hong Kong to Chinatown's underground, this electrifying thriller penetrates the sinister and fascinating world of organized crime. We have 10 advance copies of STEALING THE DRAGON to share with readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to DebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 16th.
This week I spent a chunk of time meeting with my older son's guidance counselor about college. This is the way I see it. To get into college these days, you need amazing grades and SAT scores and a resume of achievements that will make yourself distinctive, which you should have started in the crib. Thus I think that this summer Greg should go to a third world country and while he is there bring one person (or probably two since someone I am sure out there already is curing one person) back to life from some unknown disease. I think this will "set him apart from the pack" applying to college. Forget that he has no desire for a medical career. The way I see it, you need something extraordinary at 17. I personally think keeping one's room clean, carrying laundry upstairs and bringing plates from the table to the sink also should be considered. But hey, I am being practical here and I think this whirlygig I am getting on about college is not.
Next week we are taking some days to look at colleges where I will be committing dollars to the tune of a starter home. The way I see it, I will have lots of reading and knitting time in the car as he drives us on this two-day tour. Let the college entry game begin! I welcome stories and encouragement. I see a blog, short story or novel coming out of this.
Have a great week. Stay warm. As we freeze here in New York, I seriously am questioning global warming since I am totally cold. Light up a fire and read.
Happy Valentine's Day to all. May cupid's arrow shoot a book you want to read your way!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
List of titles reviewed and featured on February 9th.
List of titles reviewed and featured on February 2nd.
|
|
|
|
|
New Featured Debut Suspense/Thriller Author: David Morrell, Author of SCAVENGER
|
 |
Our newest featured Suspense/Thriller author is David Morrell, whose innovative and award-winning CREEPERS was a hit with critics and readers alike. Morrell's follow-up to CREEPERS is SCAVENGER, coming out March 12th, and it is destined to thrill Morrell fans and garner him new ones as well.
We have 20 advance copies of SCAVENGER to share with readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller1@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 23rd.
More about SCAVENGER:
David Morrell's CREEPERS was a publishing event in 2005, a powerful, edgy, dark thriller by a master of the genre. A New York Times best-seller, it won the prestigious Bram Stoker Award and earned numerous critical raves. SCAVENGER, Morrell's latest novel, takes us in a harrowing new direction: a desperate high-tech scavenger hunt for a 100-year-old time capsule. Frank Balenger, the resolute but damaged hero of CREEPERS, now finds himself trapped in a nightmarish game of fear and death. To save himself and the woman he loves, he must play by the rules of a god-like Game Master with an obsession for unearthing the past. But sometimes the past is buried for a reason.
SCAVENGER is a brilliant, frightening hunter-hunted tale that layers modern technology over the dusty artifacts of earlier times. The result is a surreal palimpsest, one that contains the secret of survival for Balenger and a handful of unwilling players who race against the game's clock to solve the puzzle of the time capsule, only to discover that time is the true scavenger. Morrell's trademark action sequences are embedded with fascinating historical clues that make SCAVENGER a thrill-a-minute page-turner as well as a mesmerizing literary experience.
|
Click here to read more about David Morrell and SCAVENGER.
|
|
|
|
|
New Featured Debut Suspense/Thriller Author: Tim Maleeny, Author of STEALING THE DRAGON
|
 |
We are thrilled to introduce you to Tim Maleeny, our newest featured Debut Suspense/Thriller author. Tim's first dark and compelling page-turner is STEALING THE DRAGON, which hits shelves March 1st. Called "Tough, original, compelling - a perfect thriller debut" by Lee Child, STEALING THE DRAGON is bound to put Tim Maleeny's name on the map.
We have 10 advance copies of STEALING THE DRAGON to share with readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to DebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 16th.
More about STEALING THE DRAGON:
In the midst of a cutthroat mayoral election, a ship smuggling Chinese refugees runs aground on Alcatraz. With the entire crew murdered, the crime screams professional assassin. Is it a coincidence that Cape Weather's friend Sally --- trained to be a deadly force by a Chinese secret society --- has disappeared? The private investigator knows little about Sally's murky history as an orphan in Hong Kong. But she has saved his butt umpteen times, and Cape wants to return the favor. With help from a neurotic cop, a drug lord, and an autistic computer genius, he scours the darkest corners of San Francisco's Chinatown searching for the "snakehead" --- the leader of the human smuggling ring --- that will lead him to Sally.
>From the ancient Triads of Hong Kong to Chinatown's underground, this electrifying thriller penetrates the sinister and fascinating world of organized crime.
|
|
Click here to read more about Tim Maleeny and STEALING THE DRAGON.
|
|
|
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Robert Dugoni, Author of DAMAGE CONTROL
|
|
Robert Dugoni, one of our featured Suspense/Thriller authors, has graduated from his Debut Suspense/Thriller status --- where we last featured him for THE JURY MASTER --- and established himself as as a top contender in the genre. His newest work is DAMAGE CONTROL, a thriller about a gifted attorney whose perfect world is torn apart by secrets and a crime only she can solve --- if she can stay alive. The book hits shelves on February 14th.
-Click here to read a new excerpt from DAMAGE CONTROL.
-Click here to see our advance reader copy winners.
-Click here to read fast facts about Robert Dugoni.
-Click here to read critical praise for DAMAGE CONTROL.
More about DAMAGE CONTROL:
A rising star at her prestigious Seattle law firm, Dana Hill knows all about stress. She pours herself into her work and family with all the energy she has. But her carefully balanced life is about to be turned upside down. First a frightening medical diagnosis forces her to reassess her roles as a lawyer, mother, and wife to a man she suddenly no longer trusts. Then her life is rocked further by the shocking and brutal murder of her twin brother.
As Dana and Logan chase the faint trail of evidence from Seattle to Maui, they threaten the reputation, career, and future of a powerful man who will stop at nothing to protect what he considers his. But for Dana, for whom time has a special meaning, nothing --- not even her own life --- is more important than finding the truth. She has moved beyond fear and beyond anyone's attempts at damage control.
|
|
Click here to read more about Robert Dugoni and DAMAGE CONTROL.
|
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Michele Martinez, Author of COVER-UP
|
|
We are thrilled to be spotlighting Michele Martinez as one of our featured Suspense/Thriller authors. The bestselling author of MOST WANTED and THE FINISHING SCHOOL, Michele Martinez is an expert at weaving chilling tales of murder, corruption and scandal. Her latest, COVER-UP --- hitting stores March 13th --- is Martinez at her best.
We have 20 advance copies of COVER-UP to share with readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. Interested? Then send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 16th.
More about COVER-UP:
Television reporter Suzanne Shepard was a ruthless celebrity scandalmonger with a roster of high-profile enemies. But which one left her mutilated, lifeless body in the dark recesses of New York's Central Park? Federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas needs to find out.
Was it the sinister Park Avenue plastic surgeon with a secret past? Or the trendy personal trainer selling recreational drugs to his rich clients? Or the ambitious city power broker who also happens to be the father of one of Melanie's best friends? Sifting through the scandals that fueled the dead reporter's career is what keeps Melanie from obsessing about her own intense affair with sexy FBI agent Dan O'Reilly.
But there's more at risk than Melanie's heart. She's been receiving chilling e-mails from an anonymous "admirer" who knows way too much about the murder --- and about Melanie's every move. If Melanie doesn't find the killer soon, it will be her own death that makes headlines.
|
Click here to read more about Michele Martinez and COVER-UP.
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to our Valentine's Day Basket Winners!!!
|
|
The countdown to Valentine's Day is on! Stuck on what to buy your Valentine? Our featured Valentine's Day titles have the bookish answer: DATING UP by J. Courtney Sullivan, THE ESSENCE OF CHOCOLATE by John Scharffenberger, I LOVE YOU, LET'S MEET by Virginia Vitzthum, NOT QUITE A BRIDE by Kirsten Sawyer, SEDUCING HARRY by Judith Marks-White and STEALING HOME by Sherryl Woods. Our Valentine's Day Contest is over, but thanks to all the readers who entered and told us who they would like to spend Valentine's Day with --- we had some great responses.
-Click here to read more about our featured Valentine's Day titles.
-Click here to see our winners and read who they would like to spend Valentine's Day with.
|
|
|
|
|
Featured One to Watch Author: Elizabeth Crook, Author of THE NIGHT JOURNAL
|
|
We are thrilled to bring you Elizabeth Crook, author of THE NIGHT JOURNAL, as one of our featured One to Watch authors. Seductive and richly told, THE NIGHT JOURNAL, which came out in paperback on January 30th, is an enthralling tale and establishes Elizabeth Crook as a true literary talent.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read a new excerpt from THE NIGHT JOURNAL.
-Click here to read a Reading Group Guide for THE NIGHT JOURNAL.
-Click here to read critical praise for THE NIGHT JOURNAL.
More about THE NIGHT JOURNAL:
Elizabeth Crook's novel is a lavish and transporting tale of a young woman discovering the truth about her family's mythic past.
Meg Mabry has spent her life with her back turned to her legendary family legacy. In the 1890s her great-grandmother Hannah Bass composed starkly revealing diaries of her life on the southwestern frontier, first as a Harvey Girl at the glamorous Montezuma Resort in New Mexico and later as the wife of brilliant, and often absent, railway engineer Elliott Bass. A generation later, Hannah's daughter, Claudia Bass, a renowned historian known to all as Bassie, staked her academic career and reputation on these vibrant accounts, editing and publishing them to great acclaim, and establishing the Bass family as a pillar in the history of the American southwest.
|
|
Click here to read more about Elizabeth Crook and THE NIGHT JOURNAL.
|
|
|
Featured One to Watch Author: Karen Harter, Author of AUTUMN BLUE
|
|
Karen Harter, whose lyrical prose and compelling characters where showcased in her debut novel WHERE MERCY FLOWS, is one of our featured One to Watch authors. AUTUMN BLUE is Karen's newest title --- a finely-observed tale of family and community that is coming out in paperback on March 1st.
-Click here to read an excerpt from AUTUMN BLUE.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
More about AUTUMN BLUE:
Sidney Walker is doing her best at raising her three children alone. But lately her sweet teenage son, Ty, has become broodingly angry. When the deputy sheriff arrests Ty and later invades their home with a search warrant connected with another local crime, Sidney is overwhelmed. As much as she wants to believe her son is innocent, the evidence is too strong to ignore.
As autumn rolls across the landscape, Sidney fights to save her son from himself and give him renewed hope. Though her options seem to grow more limited, Sidney finds she is not as alone as she thinks, and the solution just may be in the most unlikely of people.
Karen Harter grew up in Seattle, Washington. From her parents, she learned early to appreciate the beauties and intricacies of family, nature and God which are prevalent themes in her writing. With her family of six she spent countless hours exploring, camping and fishing, often singing together around campfires or as they drove in the car.
|
|
Click here to read more about Karen Harter and AUTUMN BLUE.
|
|
|
Author Talk: Barbara Delinsky, Author of FAMILY TREE
|
|
Barbara Delinsky is the bestselling author of such novels as AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN, FLIRTING WITH PETE, THE SUMMER I DARED and LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE. In this interview, Delinsky talks about the inspiration behind her latest work of fiction, FAMILY TREE, and its various themes, such as race relations and the concept of family. She also sheds light on the disparities between attitudes of today's generation and those that preceded it, and explains why she favors New England as the setting for many of her books.
FAMILY TREE by Barbara Delinksy (Fiction)
Dana Clarke has always longed for the stability of home and family --- her own childhood was not an easy one. Now she has married a man she adores who is from a prominent New England family, and she is about to give birth to their first child. But what should be the happiest day of her life becomes the day her world falls apart. Reviewed by Jennifer McCord.
-Click here to read an excerpt from FAMILY TREE.
- In a book group? FAMILY TREE is our featured Newsletter Contest Book on ReadingGroupGuides.com. Click here for details on how to subscribe to the newsletter and receive up to 20 copies of FAMILY TREE for your group.
-Click here to see our Reading Group Guide for FAMILY TREE.
|
|
Click here to read an interview with Barbara Delinsky and a review of FAMILY TREE.
|
|
|
Author Talk: William Dietrich, Author of NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS
|
|
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Dietrich's latest work, NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS, is a historical thriller centered on the eponymous French dictator's invasion of Egypt in 1798. In this interview, Dietrich explains what first drew him to this particular time period and describes the mysteries surrounding the ancient structure that figures largely in the book. He also details the kind of research he performed in preparation for writing the novel and shares his own experiences touring through Egypt.
NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS by William Dietrich (Historical Thriller)
A medallion with mysterious markings lands in the hands of an American in 1798 Paris. Are the scratchings on it some kind of code, or is it just an old bauble? Some say it may hold the secrets of the pyramids, which is why Ethan Gage is running for his life. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
-Click here to read an excerpt from NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS.
|
Click here to read an interview with William Dietrich and a review of NAPOLEON'S PYRAMIDS.
|
|
|
|
|
Advance Reader Comments for THE STRANGLER by William Landay and MOST LIKELY TO DIE by Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub
|
|
We have comments from our advance copy winners for our featured Suspense/Thriller author William Landay (THE STRANGLER) and for our featured Romantic Suspense authors Lisa Jackson, Beverly Barton and Wendy Corsi Staub (MOST LIKELY TO DIE).
-Click here to read advance reader comments for THE STRANGLER.
-Click here to read advance reader comments for MOST LIKELY TO DIE.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This Week's Reviews and Features
|
|
STEP ON A CRACK by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge (Thriller)
With a James Patterson novel, readers expect vivid characters engaged in fast-paced action --- and STEP ON A CRACK delivers precisely that. What makes his latest thriller so appealing is the presence of NYPD Detective Michael Bennett, especially the tender moments between him and his beloved wife, Maeve. Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt.
-Click here to read an excerpt from STEP ON A CRACK.
IN BROAD DAYLIGHT: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri by Harry N. MacLean (True Crime)
On July 10, 1981, Ken McElroy was shot to death in Skidmore, Missouri. The forty-five people who witnessed the crime protected the killers with silence. In this powerful, true-life account --- originally published in 1989 --- Edgar Award-winning author Harry N. MacLean reveals what drove a community of everyday American citizens to commit murder. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.
-Click here to read an excerpt from IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
-For more, visit Harry N. MacLean's website, InBroadDaylightBook.com.
THE SUNDAY LIST OF DREAMS by Kris Radish (Fiction)
Connie Nixon's career as a nurse is over, her three daughters are grown up and on their own, and her marriage is kaput. She's finally free...and now the list of dreams that she has been making for 30 years comes true in ways she never could have expected. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS by Giles Blunt (Thriller)
In his fourth crime novel featuring Detective John Cardinal, Giles Blunt takes his lead character on a journey that includes death, mental illness and grief, while casting light on the healing process. The result of all the twists and turns through this morass makes BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS a book worth reading. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
SURVEILLANCE by Jonathan Raban (Fiction)
Jonathan Raban, most recently the author of WAXWINGS and MY HOLY WAR, has written an intelligent, provocative novel of an all-too-familiar near-future Seattle where fear and paranoia rule, and privacy and hope are an increasingly rare commodity. Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol.
HURRICANE PUNCH by Tim Dorsey (Fiction)
Spring has sprung, and the brave citizens of Florida are about to face two lethal forces: a killer storm season and two seasoned killers vying for the title "Florida's most-wanted psychopath" --- complete with dueling letters to the local newspaper. Serge A. Storms and his companion, Coleman, get ready for the wildest ride ever. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE GRAVE TATTOO by Val McDermid (Mystery)
No more urban serial killers for Val McDermid. The Scottish mystery writer's new book is a literary historical thriller involving Fletcher Christian, the man who faced down Captain Bligh in the mutiny on HMS Bounty and wound up exiled on Pitcairn Island. Or did he? Reviewed by Kathy Weissman.
A MARCH INTO DARKNESS: Volume II of The Destinies of Blood and Stone by Robert Newcomb (Fantasy)
The defeat and death of the evil Wulfgar should lead to rejoicing throughout Eutracia. But before anyone has time to settle, Prince Tristan and his band of heroes are once again forced to fight against the threat of doom in this middle chapter of a trilogy. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.
ACE OF SPADES by David Matthews (Memoir)
David Matthews recounts his life growing up in the racially divided Baltimore of the 1970s and '80s. Should he align himself with his single black father or with the Jewish mother he never knew? His classmates don't seem to want to see him as anything other than a freak of nature --- or at least as the exact opposite of whatever race they happen to be. Reviewed by Shannon Luders-Manuel.
CATHERINE THE GREAT: Love, Sex, and Power by Virginia Rounding (Biography)
How did Empress Catherine II of Russia rise from being merely princess of an obscure German city-state to ruling for 34 years with wisdom, guile and political smarts over the vast Russian empire? How much of what we "know" about her is really true? Virginia Rounding tells her story and answers at least a few of the many questions it raises in this ambitious political-sexual narrative. Reviewed by Robert Finn.
|
|
Click here to read our reviews and features.
|
|
|
|
|
Poll and Question of the Week
|
|
Poll:
Does the bookstore that you shop in usually have the books in stock of what you want to read?
-Always
-Most of the time
-Some of the time
-Never
-I do not buy books.
Where do you have the most trouble finding books?
-Chain Stores (B&N, Borders, Booksamillion, etc.)
-Big Box Stores (BJs, Costco, Wal-Mart, etc.)
-Independent Stores
-Airport Stores
-Used bookstores
-None of the above
-I do not buy books.
-Click here to answer our Poll.
Question of the Week:
What are some titles that you were looking for when you were in a store that were not available?
-Click here to answer our Question of the Week.
|
|
|
|
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 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 February 28, 2007 automatically are entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month one winner will be selected to win the following five books: THE DOUBLE BIND by Chris Bohjalian, FAMILY TREE by Barbara Delinsky, INNOCENT IN DEATH by Nora Roberts, writing as J. D. Robb, SHOPAHOLIC & BABY by Sophie Kinsella and STEP ON A CRACK by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Last month's winner was Sarah from Washington, DC who won BAD BLOOD by Linda Fairstein, DUST: A Richard Jury Mystery, by Martha Grimes, EXILE by Richard North Patterson, SKYLIGHT CONFESSIONS by Alice Hoffman and WHEN DARKNESS FALLS by James Grippando.
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.
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107
|
