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April 9, 2010

Bookreporter.com Newsletter April 9, 2010
 
Whirlwind Week

I got back from the beach late Sunday night, spent Monday unpacking and sorting out paperwork I had shipped back from Seattle and Portland (and okay, lots of skeins of yarn, most of it shades of, you guessed it, turquoise). I walked back into the office Tuesday, and three weeks away evaporated pretty quickly. Every once in a while I look in a mirror and see I am tan and remember that I was away; I also have some really funky lines on my neck as I was looking down to read a lot when I was in the sun. It’s been that kind of a week.

Let me start backwards. I was driving home last night talking to my mom when she shared the news that the town council in my hometown is thinking of closing the library to cut their budget deficit. Note: They are not thinking of cutting back hours at the library; they are considering closing it. In the local paper, a councilman is quoted as saying, "Our funding for the library is almost $900,000 this year. That’s a lot of money. When more than 50 percent of the funding goes toward salaries, we have to start looking at other options." He said out of about 13,000 residents in town, only 4,700 hold library cards. And he goes on to say, "I’m not against the library, but you have five libraries within the immediate vicinity that could be used by local residents and they provide very similar services." Well, you can imagine how this has me spewing fire, and I spent the rest of the drive home outlining to my mom how they need to mobilize to keep this from happening.

The timing of this discussion could not be more timely as April 11th kicks off National Library Week, which runs through April 17th; the theme is “Communities Thrive at Your Libraries.” Thinking about this sadly informed councilman, I urge you each to get a library card in your town if you do not have one already. I urge you to visit your library this week and check out a book, DVD or magazine. I urge you to ask your library staff if they are in need of support for their budgets with your presence at town meetings, your signature on petitions, or your Letters to the Editor. And I urge you to take a young person with you so they too can get wrapped up in this experience.

And RIGHT NOW Congress is drafting the federal budget for fiscal year 2011. It has never been more important than now that Congress fully funds the LSTA, the only annual source for federal funding to libraries. As Congress writes next year's budget, they need to understand that dollars from the state and local levels are at an all-time low, and libraries cannot continue to do their important work without this funding. Click here to get details to write your Senator. WEDNESDAY, April 14th is the deadline, so please move quickly on this. And if you can post on Facebook and wherever else you can spread the word.

For a while now, because of what I do for a living, I have created my own personal library here at my house. But I do remember when I was little and the library to me was the bookmobile that stopped on the corner, or taking a bus, or getting a ride downtown to the main branch, or when I made daily visits to the town library I reference above when I was in high school, college and first working. Those were the places that gave me the chance to become the reader I am today.

I will be sending the town council a note about how that library grew me into the reader who co-founded this company 15 years ago. If I had to be driven to another town, the personality of the library would not be one that was my own, and thus I am not sure that I would have had the same kind of relationship to the place and by extension discovered books and authors quite the same way. I visit other branches in our county now, and I did that when I was growing up. I visit other libraries when I am on the road. But nothing speaks to me quite the same as the library in my town. And I think you all know exactly what I mean.

Speaking of reading, this week I read a few books that lured me in and kept me flipping the pages. Right after I turned the newsletter over to the staff last week, I rewarded myself with an afternoon in a lounge chair on the deck reading Lisa Gardner’s LIVE TO TELL, which will be in stores on July 13th. I love Lisa’s pacing, which drives her story forward posthaste. Here her character, Detective D.D. Warren, looks into a case where a family seems to have been shot by a father before he takes his own life. Gruesome enough until a second case is uncovered with a similar scenario. What’s going on, and what ties these families together? The story is tight and fast and utterly absorbing. I blame Lisa for some of the stripes on my neck since I was not looking up much!

Elizabeth Brundage’s THE DOCTOR’S WIFE came out in 2004 and was a gripping tale of psychological suspense. Her upcoming book is A STRANGER LIKE YOU, which will be in stores on August 5th. Once again she has woven a twisted tale with well-crafted language. Set in California, she brings together the most unlikely group of characters to play out her story. Elizabeth writes here with an insider view of the movie business, which has me looking forward to talking to her next week about how she is informed about this. One of her characters, all of whom are quite complicated, was drawn from her experiences with meeting a veteran of Iraq, and I can tell she took great pains to deliver her soldier character realistically based on this. For the record, I am trying to figure out if the BMW on the cover is a 3.0 csi. We had one of those years ago, and they are quite sweet little cars.

Out this week is THE SWIMMING POOL by Holly LeCraw, which I loved and have been looking forward to sharing with you. I read it last September and teased you with it then with these phrases from the jacket --- “A heartbreaking affair, an unsolved murder, an explosive romance.” I thought I had copped out by not writing more, and then I saw Dana Barrett, our Contributing Editor on ReadingGroupGuides.com, said this: “I took Holly LeCraw's debut novel, THE SWIMMING POOL, on my last business trip and found myself glued to it whenever I had a spare moment. Then I finished it and tried to explain what it was about to a co-worker and couldn't. Not easily anyway! So when I got Holly's guest post I was glad to see she struggled to answer that question too.” Curious as to what Holly had to say? Well, click here. And, by the way, she nails it dead-on. Also, on ReadingGroupGuides.com, we're featuring a contest where book clubs can enter to win an author chat with Holly and copies of the book. Click here for details.

Right now I am absorbed in a YA title called BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. It’s about a very popular high school girl and her friends, and how their actions in one day spin out of control to some horrific consequences. That’s chapter one. Now hit rewind six times, and each chapter takes on a new look with a few twists, which show how subtle differences in actions bring different reactions. For the record, these ultra-cool girls are every high school girl’s nightmare, but also totally relatable. This is not a book you would describe and say, “whoa that sounds like a book Carol would like," but this week I have been sneaking in pages whenever I can. One of the women in the office read it and felt the same way (I joke we have a book group of two talking about this). I had the pleasure of having dinner with Lauren in San Jose in February, and I laughed reading the inscription in my book where she referenced nearly falling comatose from the chocolate desserts that night. You can read more about this book below as we link to it in our monthly feature about YA books that adults won't want to miss.

Looking over these notes I realize that while I love a great tight plot, characters really make a book work for me. I loathe when they are wooden; I love when I feel like they have drawn me in and are written so real that I feel like I know them. I don’t always need to like them; I do need to feel they are telling their story honestly and completely. Interesting observation. Ponder what draws you in.

Back in the all-too real world, we had a glitch in our system last weekend that knocked our current poll out for about a day. The problem, which of course had no rhyme or reason, has been resolved, and thus we’d love to find out your reaction to our current question, “Are you proud of the books on your bookshelf and what they say about you?” You can answer here. For the record, I am proud of mine, at least the ones that are visible. I confess that many of my shelves have a “second row.”

This week we have some great reader feedback on Sandra Dallas's recently released WHITER THAN SNOW, which you may read here. Looks like another winner from Sandra! As always, you can catch up with our daily Facebook postings here.


I know a lot of people were consumed with Spring Break and holidays last week, thus I am including links again to photos from my Seattle/Portland trip since I have gotten a number of notes from readers asking about them. Seattle photos are here, and Portland photos are here.

While I took about 200 photos, there are a lot of special moments that I failed to capture. One was the evening that I spent with the Seattle7Writers.org group the first night I was in Seattle. I wanted to share more with you about this group, and thus I was happy that Jennie Shortridge wrote this terrific blog piece about the group and how they have been working to support each other --- and give back to their communities. There is a great photo of the “core seven” on the blog. I truly hope this inspires authors in other locations to band together for this same common goal. Imagine if we had these folks rallying for the library in MY hometown?

Planning a quiet weekend here, which will be lovely. After our 10 days of summer-like weather, I think that spring is coming back, so I am going to be knitting the sleeves for two lightweight jackets I am making. I always underestimate how long sleeves take to make! Witness how many tank tops I have made! Oh, and for a moment of humor. Remember when I told you the menfolk here told me they had it “totally under control” to get packed for the beach? Well, I was doing the laundry the last day we were there, and as I was folding clothes, I was trying to figure out which underwear was my younger son’s and which was his friend “Son2A”’s. NONE looked familiar. Well, there was a reason for that. My son forgot to pack HIS, thus proving that I still am needed.

With that moment of motherhood in mind, stay tuned for next week’s Mother’s Day announcement. I have the power to make Mother’s Day last more than a day, and I am going to exercise that right here at Bookreporter.com. Get ready for the revolution! Happy reading…read on…and do not forget my plea for your local library.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

 

Now in Stores: THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU by Elizabeth Berg

THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction)
Elizabeth Berg composes a cast of characters headed to their 40th high school reunion in THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU, an emotionally rich novel that will speak to baby boomers and others contemplating the passage of time. Berg deftly weaves together stories of roads taken and not taken, choices made and opportunities missed, and the possibilities of second chances. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.


-Click here to read an excerpt from THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU.
 

Click here to read a review of THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU.

 
Author Talk: Anne Lamott, Author of IMPERFECT BIRDS

Anne Lamott’s latest novel, IMPERFECT BIRDS, examines such themes as destructive teenage behavior, the difficulties of communicating truth between parents and their children, and the fragile bonds of familial relationships --- as seen from the perspective of the troubled Ferguson family first introduced in ROSIE and its follow-up, CROOKED LITTLE HEART. In this interview, Lamott discusses why she chose to revisit Elizabeth and Rosie during this critical time in their lives, and sheds light on the motivations behind their questionable behavior. She also explains how she drew on her experiences with troubled teens --- as well as her own relationship with her son --- to better understand her characters, shares advice for families dealing with similar hardships, and reflects on what may lie ahead for Rosie in the future.

IMPERFECT BIRDS by Anne Lamott (Fiction)
Seventeen-year-old Rosie Ferguson is smart, athletic and beautiful. But there are disturbing signs that the well-adjusted teenage life Rosie claims to be leading is a sham, and that her mother’s hopes for her to remain immune from the world’s darker impulses are dashed. Slowly and painfully, Rosie’s parents are forced to confront the fact that their daughter has been lying to them --- and that her deceptions have profound consequences on them all. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

-Click here to read a review of IMPERFECT BIRDS.
-Click here to see the reading group guide for IMPERFECT BIRDS.

 

Click here to read an interview with Anne Lamott.

 

Now in Stores: THE BLACK CAT by Martha Grimes

THE BLACK CAT: A Richard Jury Mystery by Martha Grimes (Mystery)
Three months have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt-ridden after his lover's tragic auto accident, and he is now more wary than ever. He is deeply suspicious when requested on a case far out of his jurisdiction in an outlying village where a young woman has been murdered behind the local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
Click here to read a review of THE BLACK CAT.

 
Now in Stores: THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST by Deanna Raybourn

THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST by Deanna Raybourn (Historical Fiction)
Writer Theodora Lestrange sets out on an adventure to the eerie land of Transylvania, where she experiences horrific things thought only to exist in fairy tales. But will she also find a fairy tale love with the mesmerizing and mysterious Count Andrei Dragulescu? Reviewed by Amie Taylor.


-Click here to see the reading group guide for THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST.

Click here to read a review of THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST.

 

Featured Fantasy Author: Richelle Mead, Author of SUCCUBUS SHADOWS

Richelle Mead, the bestselling author of urban fantasy novels for both adults and teens, returns with SUCCUBUS SHADOWS, the fifth installment in her Georgina Kincaid series. These books tell the story of a reluctant succubus who can't touch the man she loves without dire side effects. She also must deal with Hell's middle management team and the many supernatural threats that come her way.

-Click here to read a second excerpt from SUCCUBUS SHADOWS.
-Click
here to read Richelle Mead's bio.

-Click here to see Richelle Mead's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for Richelle Mead's books.
-Visit Richelle Mead's official website, www.RichelleMead.com.
-Click here to see our finished copy winners.


More about SUCCUBUS SHADOWS:
Georgina Kincaid has formidable powers. Immortality, seduction, shape-shifting into any human form she desires, walking in heels that would cripple mere mortals --- all child’s play to a succubus like her. Helping to plan her ex-boyfriend’s wedding is a different story. Georgina isn’t sure which is worse --- that Seth is marrying another woman, or that Georgina has to run all over Seattle trying on bridesmaid dresses. Still, there are distractions. Georgina’s roommate, Roman, is cluttering her apartment with sexual tension. Then there’s Simone, the new succubus in town, who’s intent on corrupting Seth.
 

Click here to read more about Richelle Mead and SUCCUBUS SHADOWS.

 

Author Talk: Danielle Trussoni, Author of ANGELOLOGY

In this interview, Danielle Trussoni --- author of the acclaimed memoir FALLING THROUGH THE EARTH --- describes the slow evolution of her debut work of fiction, ANGELOLOGY, and discusses the research she performed on theology, historical periods and various religious orders to pen this novel about an ancient conflict between a secret society and the nefarious descendents of angels and humans. She also shares her thoughts on the antagonistic separation between science and religion, explains how living abroad has influenced her writing, and hints at what’s in store for her main character in the book’s sequel.

ANGELOLOGY by Danielle Trussoni (Thriller)
The great battle between Heaven and Earth still rages on, with dark angels living among us. The Fallen Ones are ethereal inhuman creatures whose power is altogether astonishing and terrifying. Their descendants, the Nephilim, are hybrids of angels and humans who populate the Earth, living in disguise and seeking perfection and domination. Angelologists now work to recover a celestial artifact that, in the wrong hands, will either salvage or doom mankind. Reviewed by Melanie Smith.


-Click here to read a review of ANGELOLOGY.
 

Click here to read an interview with Danielle Trussoni.

 
Author Talk: Joseph Monninger, Author of ETERNAL ON THE WATER

Joseph Monninger’s reverence of the outdoors is especially apparent in his latest novel, ETERNAL ON THE WATER, which chronicles a moving and tragic love story set amidst the trails of Henry David Thoreau’s legendary journey along the Allagash Waterway. In this interview, Monninger discusses how his personal surroundings and day-to-day life have helped to create the natural imagery and metaphors utilized in the book, and gives some insight into how his characters approach life and their relationship to one another. He also shares his thoughts on the coexistence of nature and technology, as well as the transcendentalist belief in living simply, and explains how he hopes his work will affect his readers.

ETERNAL ON THE WATER by Joseph Monninger (Fiction)
From the day Cobb and Mary meet kayaking on Maine's Allagash River and fall deeply in love, the two approach life with the same sense of adventure they use to conquer the river's treacherous rapids. But rivers do not let go so easily...and neither does their love. So when Mary's life takes the cruelest turn, she vows to face those rough waters on her own terms. Reviewed by Jamie Layton.

-Click here to read a review of ETERNAL ON THE WATER.
-Click here to see the reading group guide for ETERNAL ON THE WATER.
 

Click here to read an interview with Joseph Monninger.

 

What's New on GraphicNovelReporter.com

GraphicNovelReporter.com features new interviews with such leading creators as Peter Milligan, Jane Yolen and Jaime Hernandez. The most recent update to the site has news on all the latest graphic releases for kids, teens and adults, as well as news on upcoming films and TV shows, profiles of industry professionals, and much more. The nominees for the Eisner Awards were announced, and GraphicNovelReporter.com's own John Hogan was one of the judges. Click here to see the nominees. Stay on top of all graphic novel news with GraphicNovelReporter.com.
Click here to visit GraphicNovelReporter.com.

 
What's New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com

With more than 2,950 discussion guides now available, ReadingGroupGuides.com continues to be the leading place for book clubs to find all the resources they need on the web.

Our ReadingGroupGuides.com Blog continues to be a big hit among our readers. Throughout the month we are sharing postings from regular contributors --- including authors, librarians, book club facilitators, booksellers and experts in the publishing industry --- as well as special guests. The latest blog can be found here, and here are quick links to some recent posts:

-Discussing THE HELP
-Jean Hanff Korelitz: ADMISSION
-Seattle Writers Band Together to Give Back
-Holly LeCraw: THE SWIMMING POOL
-Sarah Addison Allen: THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON
-Discussing THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE
-City of Topeka Announces New Book Club for Dogs!


The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE AGE OF ORPHANS by Laleh Khadivi
BALANCING ACTS by Zoe Fishman
THE BOTTICELLI SECRET by Marina Fiorato
CHEF by Jaspreet Singh
THE COMPLETE PSALMS: The Book of Prayer Songs in a New Translation by Pamela Greenberg
DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL by Mary Sharratt
DEAD END GENE POOL: A Memoir by Wendy Burden
DEEP CREEK by Dana Hand
ELIZABETH GRANT: My Life - My Story by Marion Suzenne Witz and Carol Krenz
GUEST HOUSE by Barbara K. Richardson
THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE/A> by Maggie O’Farrell
HONEYSUCKLE SUMMER by Sherryl Woods
HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE by Margaret Dilloway
IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS by Thomas E. Kennedy
KABBALAH OF STONE by Irene Reti
KAPITOIL by Teddy Wayne
THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE: A Story of Surprising Second Chances by Amy Dickinson
MORNINGS IN JENIN by Susan Abulhawa
NEVER LET YOU GO by Erin Healy
NIGHT NAVIGATION by Ginnah Howard
NOTHING RIGHT: Short Stories by Antonya Nelson
PEARL OF CHINA by Anchee Min
POP-IN JAY POMP by Karin Steyn
THE QUEEN OF PALMYRA by Minrose Gwin
ROBIN AND RUBY by K.M. Soehnlein
THE SEASON OF SECOND CHANCES by Diane Meier
SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT by D.L. Bogdan
THE SERVANTS' QUARTERS by Lynn Freed
SMALL CHANGE by Sheila Roberts
SMALL ISLAND by Andrea Levy
THE STEPMOTHER by Carrie Adams
THE SWEET BY AND BY by Todd Johnson
SWEET TEA AT SUNRISE by Sherryl Woods
THE SWIMMING POOL by Holly LeCraw
VANESSA & VIRGINIA by Susan Sellers


Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

THE CROWNING GLORY OF CALLA LILY PONDER
by Rebecca Wells
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson
THE GIRLS FROM AMES: A Story of Women & a Forty-Year Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow
THIS ONE IS MINE by Maria Semple
THE WILDERNESS by Samantha Harvey
THE WINTER VAULT by Anne Michaels

The following guides are now available for Christian book groups:


BEADED HOPE by Cathy Liggett
THE BIG 5-OH! by Sandra D. Bricker

IN HARM'S WAY: Heroes of Quantico, Book 3 by Irene Hannon
NECESSARY HEARTBREAK: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness by Michael J. Sullivan
SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY by Siri Mitchell
 

Click here to visit ReadingGroupGuides.com.

 
Celebrate National Library Week (April 11-17)
National Library Week is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians. All types of libraries --- school, public, academic and special --- participate. This year's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library." Libraries and their communities are invited to a live Internet event, “An Evening with Neil Gaiman,” from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 12th. This event, which kicks off National Library Week (April 11-17), is coordinated by the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries and the Jessamine County (Ky.) Public Library (JCPL). As Honorary Chair of National Library Week, Neil Gaiman, the 2009 Newbery Medal winner for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, will speak to his lifelong love of libraries and the role they play in a democratic society by supporting intellectual freedom and privacy.
 
Click here to learn more about National Library Week.

 

This Week's Reviews

NOWHERE TO RUN: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box (Thriller)
Joe Pickett is in his last week as the temporary game warden in the town of Baggs, Wyoming, but there have been strange things going on in the mountains, and his conscience won't let him leave without checking them out. When he'd first saddled up, he'd thought of this as his last patrol. What he hadn't known was just how accurate that thought might turn out to be. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE EXECUTOR by Jesse Kellerman (Thriller)
Recently kicked out of their shared apartment by his girlfriend, perpetual graduate student Joseph Geist is desperate for some source of income. He searches the local newspaper and answers a curious ad. How is he to know that what seems to be the best decision of his life is the one that seals his fate?
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL by Mary Sharratt (Historical Fiction)
Bess Southers is a cunning woman sought out by people in her poor community to heal them and their animals. When accusations arise that she and members of her family have powers and use them for evil, the call of witch goes out and the hunt begins. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.

-Click here to see the reading group guide for DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL.


THE SOLITUDE OF PRIME NUMBERS by Paolo Giordano (Fiction)
Alice and Mattia are misfits who seem destined to be alone. When they meet as teenagers, they recognize in each other a kindred, damaged spirit. But Mattia accepts a research position that takes him thousands of miles away, and the two are forced to separate. Then a chance occurrence reunites them and forces a lifetime of concealed emotion to the surface. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

CONTESTED WILL: Who Wrote Shakespeare? by James Shapiro (History)
The literary controversy over whether or not William Shakespeare of Stratford really wrote those 37 classic plays is still with us. Renowned Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro has his own opinion (he thinks Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare), but he is more interested in exploring the battle itself. Who are these doubters? Why do they think as they do? How believable are their arguments? What does it all matter anyway? Reviewed by Robert Finn.


FROM AWAY by David Carkeet (Mystery)
Denny Braintree, a wisecracking loner devoted to model trains, finds himself stranded in late-winter Vermont. His night at the hotel begins with promise, but then his prospective one-night stand walks out on him. Leaving town, Denny is mistaken for Homer Dumpling, a popular native son who mysteriously disappeared from town three years earlier. Instead of correcting the mistake, Denny dons his new identity, and it’s a good thing he does --- the woman he had hoped to sleep with has turned up dead, and Denny is the chief suspect. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.

SWEATER QUEST: My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini (Memoir)
Knitting is both a practical and an aesthetic art with its own set of terminology and tools, its own history and (pardon the pun) a close-knit community. In SWEATER QUEST, author Adrienne Martini documents her year of working on a notoriously difficult sweater pattern and, in doing so, explores why she and so many others enjoy knitting. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.


SLOW FIRE by Ken Mercer (Mystery)
One morning, Will Magowan --- once a highly decorated LAPD narcotics detective --- opens his mail and finds a mysterious job offer to become the police chief of Haydenville, a tiny town in rural Northern California. Out of options, Will accepts the job. After moving to Haydenville, he discovers that the once postcard-perfect town is being corrupted by a criminal influence that threatens to destroy it.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
 
Click here to read this week's reviews.

 
Spotlight on Young Adult Books Perfect for Adults
As you may or may not know, our company, The Book Report Network, has a number of websites about books and authors in addition to Bookreporter.com. In February, Bookreporter.com shared a few adult novels on Teenreads.com, our site for young adult readers, that we thought would have definite appeal to a teen audience. In the spirit of sharing, we are now spotlighting a selection of titles from Teenreads.com that we believe are great reads that you might enjoy. This new feature will be updated monthly.

Here are this month’s selections:

BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver
BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I'LL BE DEAD
by Julie Anne Peters
FEVER CRUMB
by Philip Reeve
THE LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS
by Francisco X. Stork
OUT OF MY MIND
by Sharon M. Draper
SPLIT
by Swati Avasthi
TANGLED
by Carolyn Mackler
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY
by Jay Asher


Last month’s selections were ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL by Nora Raleigh Baskin, CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins, CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson, THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins, INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher, MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Francisco X. Stork, TRICKS by Ellen Hopkins, WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell, WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead, and WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson.
 
Click here to visit Teenreads.com for more great reading suggestions.

 
Poll and Question of the Week: Bookish Pride
Poll:

Are you proud of the books on your bookshelf and what they say about you?


Yes, I am proud of all of them.
Yes, I am proud of some of them.
No
Not sure
I don’t own enough books to answer this question properly.

-Click here to answer our poll.


Question:

Name up to five books on your bookshelf that “define” you.


-Click here to answer our question.


 
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Can Win THREE Books!
Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.

This week we have three great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU by Elizabeth Berg, THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE by Mary Higgins Clark and WRECKED: A Regan Reilly Mystery by Carol Higgins Clark. Tell us what you are reading and rate the titles 1-5 by noon ET on Friday, April 16th to ensure that you are in the running to win these books.


 
Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
 

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 April 30, 2010 automatically are entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month, one winner will be selected to win the following five books: THE BLACK CAT: A Richard Jury Mystery by Martha Grimes, DELIVER US FROM EVIL by David Baldacci, THE DOUBLE COMFORT SAFARI CLUB: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel by Alexander McCall Smith, EVERY LAST ONE by Anna Quindlen and THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE by Mary Higgins Clark. Audri from Westmont, IL was last month's winner. She won CAUGHT by Harlan Coben, HELL GATE by Linda Fairstein, HUSH by Kate White, SHATTERED by Karen Robards and THINK TWICE by Lisa Scottoline.

Happy reading! Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com, GraphicNovelReporter.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com and AuthorYellowPages.com.

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