 |
|
Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
November 16, 2007
|
|
This Week on Bookreporter.com |
|
Clapping for Books....
|
|
Now in Stores: WORLD WITHOUT END by Ken Follett
|
|
Holiday Basket of Cheer Contest on Bookreporter.com --- Spotlight on Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier, Authors of CANDY CANE MURDER
|
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Spotlight on News, Events & Pop Culture
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Spotlight on Faces & Places: Biography, Memoir & History
|
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Spotlight on Eat, Drink & Be Merry: Cookbooks, Entertaining Guides & Culinary Tales
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Healthy, Wealthy & Wise: Advice & How-To
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: J.D. Robb Celebrates the Release of the 25th Book in Her In Death Series
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: John Lutz, Author of IN FOR THE KILL |
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Steve Berry, Author of THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Kyle Mills, Author of DARKNESS FALLS
|
|
What's New This Month on FaithfulReader.com |
|
This Week's Reviews and Features
|
|
Poll and Question of the Week: Holiday Shopping
|
|
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading --- TWO Prizes
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clapping for Books....
|
When I last left off I was in Miami holding a raccoon at bay. Luckily my weekend at the Miami Book Fair continued much more smoothly with great times and terrific laughs. You can read the blog that tells you all about the adventures of me and my two intrepid boy readers here.
Wednesday night's National Book Awards ceremony reminded me yet again of why I love books and reading as I sat at the Marriott Marquis surrounded by bookish friends from the world of publishing. It was a ceremony that was much peppier than usual --- with some terrific speeches and memorable moments. Ann Binkley from Borders was kind enough to ask me to join her at the Borders table, so I did that instead of sitting in my usual spot in the press area perched above the main floor.
The evening opened with remarks from the emcee, Fran Liebowitz, who was at her best. She had the crowd laughing from the first sentence and delivered a monologue that referenced the Broadway and Writers Guild strikes. She said she was commiserating with the striking writers and have been honoring their fight since the last strike back in 1988. She also hit her stride talking about the books that were what she called "non-winners." Throughout the evening she noted the books that had not won through the years like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, clearly making the point that much great writing has gone un-awarded. Surely this warmed the hearts of those in the audience who were not leaving with a medal.
As Joan Didion approached the podium to accept her award for the Medal for Distinguished Contribution from Michael Cunningham, the crowd rose for a thunderous standing ovation. Didion endured this for about 15 seconds and then emphatically said, "Sit down" and the crowd promptly did. We clearly did not want that command a second time. Her speech, like her writing, was spare with each word mattering. In acknowleging her acceptance she also paid testimony to a legend who had won this before her as she said, "The last time I was here (which was in 2005) Norman Mailer was getting this award. There was someone who really knew what writing was for."
She went on to tell stories that assured the crowd of her gift for storytelling. I felt myself in Los Angeles as she spoke of her days there and her writing for Vogue. She talked of writing on deadline, writing not to word count but rather to character count. She spoke of the importance of fact-checking. Her class and elegance set a wonderful tone for the evening and setting the bar higher, not lower.
The Literarian Award for Outstanding Service in the American Literary Community was then awarded to Terry Gross. She was introduced by Ira Glass, who did a fabulous job of outlining her brilliant success as a commentator on NPR. Just listening to the lineup of authors that she had on her show during a three-week span was awe-inspiring and gave the audience a brilliant look at the depth and breadth of her interviews. If you did not respect her before that intro, by the time it ended you certainly did. Her acceptance speech was upbeat, and you saw her passion for authors and books and the enormous respect she has for the industry. Again she made me glad I was in the room.
This week we also share a wonderful tribute to Norman Mailer, written by Jesse Kornbluth, who founded Bookreporter.com with me and now passionately edits HeadButler.com.
My wildlife adventure with Rocky the raccoon last Friday in Miami seems to be catching. Alex in our office came in the other day and shared his encounter with a BAT the previous evening in his apartment in New York City. I now feel better about my bonding with Rocky; the bat would have put me right over the edge.
Here's wishing you all a GREAT Thanksgiving. I confess that this holiday snuck up on me and I have yet to find a perfect new recipe to make. I always like to try something new. Soooo if any of you have an idea for me, send it along. If I make your recipe, I'll send you a book. Be sure to tell me the kinds of books and authors you love. For the record, I will be giving thanks for all of you that day. It's a pleasure writing this newsletter for you all week. Grab the wishbone and have a great day.
By the way...this week we not only have our terrific Holiday Cheer promotion where CANDY CANE MURDER is the featured title. We also have our What to Give/What to Get feature --- books in 12 categories perfect for gift giving. Let the shopping begin! See you next week...read while the turkey is in the oven!!
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
|
Click here to read our review of TREE OF SMOKE.
|
|
|
|
|
Now in Stores: WORLD WITHOUT END by Ken Follett
|
WORLD WITHOUT END by Ken Follett (Historical Fiction)
The highly-anticipated sequel to Ken Follett’s THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, this historical epic of a 14th-century English town probes the lives of several youths as they grapple with growing up in the paradoxically stultifying and changing world around them. Their paths to adulthood are riddled with high-stakes dramas, all against the menacing backdrop of the Black Death. Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds.
-Click here to read an excerpt from WORLD WITHOUT END.
-Click here to read an interview with Ken Follett.
-Click here to see the reading group guide for THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, Oprah’s latest book club selection.
|
Click here to read a review of WORLD WITHOUT END.
|
|
|
|
|
Holiday Basket of Cheer Contest on Bookreporter.com --- Spotlight on Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier, Authors of CANDY CANE MURDER
|
|
The holiday season is upon us! At Bookreporter.com this means it's time for us to share the spirit of the season with you with our Holiday Basket of Cheer Contest.
Each week from November 2nd through December 14th we are spotlighting a different title that is perfect for holiday gift giving, and five readers have the chance to win a holiday basket filled with winter-themed items as well as two copies of the featured book. Why two? One is to keep, of course, and one is for someone on your holiday gift list. We also include festive wrapping paper and a ribbon to make the gift-giving hassle-free.
This week we are featuring CANDY CANE MURDER by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier, a festive collection of three mysteries in which murder also pays a visit!
Our Holiday Basket of Cheer is a woven basket stocked with holiday-themed items. Along with two copies of CANDY CANE MURDER and green-and-tan checkered wrapping paper and coordinating ribbon, winners will receive a cranberry orange-scented Illuminations candle, Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix, gourmet hand-cut vanilla marshmallows, sweet-smelling cinnamon sticks, delicious Chewy Peps peppermint candies, a copy of The Christmas Shoes DVD (based on Donna VanLiere’s book of the same name), a festive wooden bowl with a snowman and a large snowman cookie.
To enter to win, answer the question below:
How does Hannah explain Santa Wayne’s raspy voice to the children?
You can find the answer by reading an excerpt here.
CANDY CANE MURDER by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier (Fiction/Short Stories)
The holidays can be murder. CANDY CANE MURDER, a festive new collection of three mystery novellas by some of the top cozy writers, is as comforting as a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a bitter cold day. So pour yourself a cup, sit down by the fire and try to solve these holiday-themed whodunits. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.
-Click here to read a review of CANDY CANE MURDER.
-Read more about the authors of CANDY CANE MURDER and the book here.
|
|
Click here to read all the details of our Holiday Basket of Cheer feature.
|
|
|
|
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Spotlight on News, Events & Pop Culture
|
|
Headed out to do some holiday shopping? Before you go, check out our What to Give/What to Get feature with ideas in 12 categories.
We are spotlighting the various categories in the newsletter this week and in upcoming weeks. This week we're featuring News, Events & Pop Culture; Faces & Places; Eat, Drink & Be Merry; and Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. First up --- News, Events & Pop Culture.
Guys are notoriously hard to shop for, but the books in our News, Events & Pop Culture category may be just the thing for the politically involved, the history buff or the music lover on your list.
Our featured titles in this category are:
THE AGE OF TURBULENCE: Adventures in a New World by Alan Greenspan
I AM AMERICA (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
BOOM!: Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today by Tom Brokaw
CLAPTON: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton
LYRICS by Sting
THE WAR: An Intimate History, 1941-1945 by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
|
|
Click here to see our News, Events & Pop Culture category.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What to Give/What to Get Gift Guide: Spotlight on Eat, Drink & Be Merry: Cookbooks, Entertaining Guides & Culinary Tales
|
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, our Eat, Drink & Be Merry category features titles that will delight any connoisseur of good food, good wine and good books.
Our featured titles in this category are:
THE AMATEUR GOURMET: How to Shop, Chop, and Table Hop Like a Pro (Almost) by Adam D. Roberts
COOKING JEWISH: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family by Judy Bart Kancigor
DISCOVER CHOCOLATE: The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolate by Clay Gordon
THE HOUSE OF MONDAVI: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler
THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
PURE DESSERT by Alice Medrich
SANTA'S NORTH POLE COOKBOOK: Classic Christmas Recipes from Saint Nicholas Himself by Jeff Guinn
THE SNEAKY CHEF: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine
WHAT CAN I BRING? COOKBOOK by Anne Byrn
|
|
Click here to see our Eat, Drink & Be Merry category.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: J.D. Robb Celebrates the Release of the 25th Book in Her In Death Series
|
 |
J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, has written over 100 books in her illustrious career. On November 6th, CREATION IN DEATH, the 25th installment in her bestselling In Death series, was released. As Eve Dallas --- a lieutenant in the New York Police and Security Department --- hunts for a killer known as “The Groom,” who plagued the city nine years earlier, she realizes that this new wave of attacks is becoming alarmingly personal.
-Click here to read a review of CREATION IN DEATH.
-Click here to read an excerpt from CREATION IN DEATH.
-Click here to read fast facts about J.D. Robb.
-Click here to read J.D. Robb’s bio.
-Click here to see J.D. Robb's backlist.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.JDRobb.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to see advance readers' comments for CREATION IN DEATH.
More about CREATION IN DEATH:
NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save --- and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. When it becomes apparent that a gruesome killer known as “The Groom” has returned, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all.
|
|
Click here to read more about J.D. Robb and CREATION IN DEATH.
|
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: John Lutz, Author of IN FOR THE KILL |
 |
Edgar and Shamus Award-winning author John Lutz has written over 40 books, including SWF SEEKS SAME, which became the film Single White Female, and THE EX, a critically acclaimed feature for HBO. Lutz's newest thriller, IN FOR THE KILL, released on November 6th. After making his first appearance in DARKER THAN NIGHT, Detective Frank Quinn returns to face his toughest --- and most personal --- case yet. Hunting down killers is what he does best. But this time, Quinn is up against a psychopath who will test him as never before.
-Click here to read a third excerpt from IN FOR THE KILL.
-Click here to read fast facts about John Lutz.
-Click here to read John Lutz’s bio.
-Click here to see John Lutz's backlist.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read advance readers' comments.
More about IN FOR THE KILL:
A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they’ve been dismembered with careful precision. Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn’s nerves don’t rattle easily. But when the last names of a serial killer’s victims spell out “Q-u-i-n-n,” the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine. When one of the victims is linked to a woman he desires, Quinn realizes that he will be tested as never before.
|
|
Click here to read more about John Lutz and IN FOR THE KILL.
|
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Steve Berry, Author of THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL
|
With novels such as THE TEMPLAR LEGACY and THE ALEXANDRIA LINK, New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry has been celebrated by readers worldwide. December 11th marks the release of Berry's new suspense/thriller, THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL, in which former U.S. Justice Department agent Cotton Malone and his friend Cassiopeia Vitt embark on a quest to try to unravel an ancient riddle whose solution could destroy or save millions of people.
-Click here to read fast facts about Steve Berry.
-Click here to read Steve Berry’s bio.
-Click here to see Steve Berry's backlist.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.SteveBerry.org.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
More about THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL:
Backed by a secret cabal of powerbrokers, the Central Asian Federation has amassed a harrowing arsenal of biological weapons. Equipped with the hellish power to decimate other nations at will, only one thing keeps the Federation’s ruler from setting in motion her death march of domination: a miraculous healing serum, kept secret by an ancient puzzle and buried with the mummified remains of Alexander the Great --- in a tomb lost to the ages for more than 1,500 years. Together, Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt must outrun and outthink the forces allied against them and find the tomb before the Federation does.
|
|
Click here to read more about Steve Berry and THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL.
|
|
Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Kyle Mills, Author of DARKNESS FALLS
|
 |
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE SECOND HORSEMAN and FADE, DARKNESS FALLS --- which is now available in stores --- is Kyle Mills’s most provocative and riveting thriller yet. When a bizarre contagion begins to infiltrate Arabian petroleum reserves, the Department of Homeland Security sends Erin Neal to investigate. As the threat escalates, Erin realizes that the bacteria couldn’t possibly have evolved on its own.
-Click here to read an excerpt from DARKNESS FALLS.
-Click here to read fast facts about Kyle Mills.
-Click here to read Kyle Mills’s bio.
-Click here to see Kyle Mills's backlist.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.KyleMills.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
More about DARKNESS FALLS:
When a deadly bacteria begins threatening the world’s oil reserves, Erin Neal is sent in to investigate. It soon becomes clear that if this contagion isn’t stopped, it will infiltrate the world’s petroleum reserves, cutting the industrial world off from the energy that provides the heat, food and transportation necessary for survival.
|
Click here to read more about Kyle Mills and DARKNESS FALLS.
|
|
|
|
|
What's New This Month on FaithfulReader.com |
 |
FaithfulReader.com is our website for Christian readers with monthly updates of reviews and interviews, as well as discussion guides, book excerpts, a monthly newsletter and more. A special feature on the site is the Faithful Fifteen, in which authors answer a series of questions about writing and faith.
Here are some of the titles being featured this month on FaithfulReader.com:
1-2-3 MAGIC FOR CHRISTIAN PARENTS: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 by Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D. and Chris Webb, M.S., M.A.
ADDICTED TO COUNTERFEIT LOVE by Vikki Johnson
THE BEAUTIFUL FIGHT: Surrendering to the Transforming Presence of God Every Day of Your Life by Gary Thomas
DEAREST DOROTHY, IF NOT NOW, WHEN?! by Charlene Ann Baumbich
EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian D. McLaren
GROWING FRIENDSHIPS: Connecting More Deeply With Those Who Matter Most by Tracy Klehn
JOY COMES THIS MORNING by Norma DeShields Brown
MR. INSIDE by L. Frank James
A PROPER PURSUIT by Lynn Austin
A QUEST FOR MORE: Living for Something Bigger Than You by Paul David Tripp
THE SECRET THINGS OF GOD: Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You by Dr. Henry Cloud
TRUSTING GOD'S PEOPLE… AGAIN by Blake Coffee and Debbie Taylor Williams
WILD INDIANS… AND OTHER COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS: A Real Life on the Mission Field by Carol Martin
Also, please be sure to check out FaithfulReader.com's 2007 Holiday Roundup. With over 20 spotlighted titles, this feature is sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
|
Click here to visit FaithfulReader.com.
|
|
|
|
|
This Week's Reviews and Features
|
 |
BROTHER, I'M DYING by Edwidge Danticat (Memoir)Novelist Edwidge Danticat finds out she is pregnant on the same day that she learns her birth father is dying and her beloved uncle, who raised her in Haiti when her parents moved to America, is imprisoned by U.S. Customs and killed in detention. A National Book Award finalist, this is a deeply affecting story of home and family --- of two men’s lives and deaths, and of a daughter’s great love for them both. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
-Click here to read an excerpt from BROTHER, I'M DYING.
BOOM!: Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the ’60s and Today by Tom Brokaw (History)
With THE GREATEST GENERATION, Tom Brokaw defined for America what it meant to come of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Now, in BOOM!, he brings us into the tumultuous decade of the 1960s to explore how famous people, ordinary citizens and the national mindset were all affected by an unforgettable time of turbulence and change. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.
-Click here to read an excerpt from BOOM!.
SCHULZ AND PEANUTS: A Biography by David Michaelis (Biography)
Acclaimed biographer David Michaelis gives us the first full-length biography of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz: at once a creation story, a portrait of a native genius and a chronicle contrasting the private man with the central role he played in shaping the national imagination. Reviewed by H.V. Cordry.
THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER by Margaret Cezair-Thompson (Fiction)
From its haunting front cover --- with a vacant wood-carved chair and partially obscured poster of Errol Flynn’s movie Captain Blood --- to the final page of the Epilogue, THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER entrances the reader into a dream-like world that nevertheless seems too real to be fiction. Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt.
THE GHOST by Robert Harris (Political Thriller)
Robert Harris’s political thriller tells the story of a celebrity “ghostwriter” who has been assigned the duty of ghostwriting the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang. The prior ghostwriter mysteriously drowned in an apparent suicide. As the new “ghost” begins his own investigation, he uncovers more than he intended to and soon realizes his life may be in jeopardy as well. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz (Fiction)
A family curse, a tropical island, a love-stricken underdog, a kind and beautiful woman with a torrid past: it sounds like the setup for a typical romance novel. But while Junot Diaz's long-awaited THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO is romantic in its own way, this book is anything but typical. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
SANDWORMS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Science Fiction)
At the end of Frank Herbert’s final novel, CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. Based directly on Herbert’s final outline, which lay hidden in two safe-deposit boxes for a decade, SANDWORMS OF DUNE will answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.
BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA by Roland Merullo (Fiction)
The only thing certain about a journey is that it has a beginning and an end --- for you never know what may happen along the way. And so it is with this journey into the minds and souls of two very different men --- one of them in search of the truth, the other a man who may have already found it. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.
ENTERING HADES: The Double Life of a Serial Killer by John Leake (True Crime)
With unprecedented access to his diaries and letters, John Leake peels back the layers of deception to reveal the life and crimes of serial killer Jack Unterweger, and exposes the thrilling twists --- both in the United States and Europe --- that led to Unterweger’s capture and Austria’s “trial of the century.” Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
|
|
Read this week's reviews and features here.
|
|
|
|
|
Poll and Question of the Week: Holiday Shopping
|
|
Poll:
When do you start your holiday shopping?
I already started.
I start right after Thanksgiving.
I wait until December.
I wait until the absolute last minute.
I already am done.
I do not do holiday shopping.
-Click here to answer our poll.
Question:
What book will you be buying to give as a gift this holiday season?
-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 November 30, 2007 automatically are entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month one winner will be selected to win the following five books: DOUBLE CROSS by James Patterson, EVERLASTING by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon, THE HEIR by Barbara Taylor Bradford and STONE COLD by David Baldacci. Jessica from Brooklyn, NY was last month's newsletter winner. She won BOOK OF THE DEAD by Patricia Cornwell, EXIT GHOST by Philip Roth, NOW AND THEN: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker, PANDORA'S DAUGHTER by Iris Johansen and PROTECT AND DEFEND by Vince Flynn.
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
|
