July 20, 2012

Two trips to California down; one more to go! This week has been too busy for me to even feel jetlagged. The office is humming, I have been reading up a storm for future projects, and I am trying to schedule the events for my next trip.

As I wrote all day today, I was haunted by the shooting at the movie theater in Aurora. After attending San Diego Comic-Con, where the eager anticipation for the new Batman film was on everyone's minds and where I had been immersed in cosplay and comics chatter, hearing this news was shocking. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I, like all of you, wait for information to emerge on what caused the shooter to act in this way.

Before we get on with the new content on the site, I wanted to share a couple of items that I promised last week. First up, here is a blog post where I talk about the panel I attended in San Diego honoring Ray Bradbury and where Margaret Atwood, Joe Hill, Sam Weller (Bradbury’s biographer) and horror author Mort Castle talked about SHADOW SHOW: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury, featuring new stories from Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, David Morrell, Thomas F. Monteleone, Joe Hill, Dan Chaon, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Alice Hoffman, John Maclay, Gary Braunbeck, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Audrey Niffenegger, Dave Eggers, Kelly Link, Harlan Ellison and more.

I still need to write up more of my Comic-Con stories, and I hope to have that done for next week! My topline thoughts --- The quality of the graphic novels coming in the next year created an energy at the booths for graphic novel publishers that was palpable. It’s been wonderful watching some of the talent in the marketplace mature. Looking at the various entertainment offerings on the floor from movies, cable and broadcast television, I was amazed at the fractionalization of the marketplace. Audiences are drawn in miniscule numbers for viewership of most shows compared to the broadcast numbers of old. There are small kingdoms of fans and lots to see on air, thus making a hit is tougher than ever.

I am really pleased to share another blog post with coverage from ThrillerFest that was written by my son, Greg, and another staffer, Maureen Linehan. They both did a terrific job of sharing their impressions of this convention. Greg also surprised me; he had all the author contributors to LOVE IS MURDER who were in attendance at ThrillerFest autograph their stories for me and had it waiting for me when I got home. Really nice moment to get to read everyone’s notes!

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Susannah Cahalan and hearing her talk about her astonishing memoir, BRAIN ON FIRE: My Month of Madness, which will be in stores on November 13th. The book chronicles her illness and recovery from an autoimmune disease that attacked her brain. Let me set the stage for this. It’s 2009 and Susannah is 24 years old, working at the New York Post. She starts to exhibit strange behaviors, thinking there are bedbugs in her apartment, the lights in Times Square are overly bright, paranoia pervades her world, and she finally suffers a seizure that signals something is really wrong. With her mother as her medical advocate and her father as her emotional supporter, the race is on to find out what is wrong with her. She’s been told she parties too much, she has mono, she’s bipolar, but nothing is adding up.

A doctor, not the first on the case, has her perform one test --- the drawing of a clock, which she draws with all the numbers on one side --- and he starts to put the pieces together. A spinal tap and blood work are sent to the one lab at the University of Pennsylvania that can diagnose her --- and they find that she is patient number 217 with an autoimmune disease first diagnosed in 2007! The book is excellent as Susannah is a really gifted writer --- and she has the journalistic chops to have researched her “lost month,” which she remembers nothing about. You will hear more about this book in the months to come.

This week, we have a new featured One to Watch author, Vaddey Ratner, who has written a novel that I was blown away by when I read it --- and so was Greg. You may recall that two copies of IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN (on sale August 6th) came into the office a few months ago. Greg grabbed one and read 100 pages on his train ride home and emailed me to say, “This is an incredible book.” By the next day, he had finished it and was hounding me to read it so we could talk about it. When I got a few pages in, I saw why and knew that the voice of seven-year-old Raami was not going to be one I forget anytime soon. The book is set in 1975 after the Cambodian Civil War as Cambodia is overtaken by the Khmer Rouge. Raami and her family, who have a prosperous life, are ousted from their home and held in the clutches of the Khmer Rouge, who move them from camp to camp, where survival under primitive and abusive conditions become the world of her childhood. The genocide killing that follows kills more than two million people.

While this story is told as fiction, the author was five when her family was forced to leave their home, and thus the story is informed from experience, which made it even more powerful to me. I cannot imagine being a child going through the ravage, the destruction, the cruelty, the randomness of the violence…it is all so vividly told. But through it all is a message of hope and the reminder of the depth of the human spirit. Stories like this reach deep inside us and are, dare I say, life-changing? Vaddey sharing her story honors some of the lost. Reading it, I thought of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and, as I always do, wondered how my own family would have dealt with events like this. I am honored --- and I do mean that --- that we are sharing this book with our readers, with a chance for 50 people to win a copy of IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN and have a chance to comment on it. Enter here by Thursday, August 2nd at noon ET. And as I mentioned before, this will most definitely be a Bets On title.

By the way, both IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN and BRAIN ON FIRE were Buzz Books at BEA, two of the six titles that were spotlighted with extra attention.

Moving back to what is on sale now, we bring you an interview with Chris Bohjalian, our latest Historical Fiction Spotlight author, where he talks about THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, the Armenian genocide, his protagonist Elizabeth Endicott, and how writing this novel impacted him. Click here to read the interview conducted by Usha Rao. We also have our review, where Usha calls the book "a sober, elegiac and touching novel that does not flinch away from depicting the depths of human suffering, but is also able to illuminate the human capacity for survival and resurgence."

In THE FALLEN ANGEL, art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is back in this latest installment of Daniel Silva's popular series. Gabriel must fight the police and the Vatican to prove that a woman’s suicide is actually a murder. He manages to penetrate a criminal smuggling network and encounter an old enemy that threatens his life and puts the people he cares about the most in danger. Reviewer Kate Ayers says, "More than ever, Daniel Silva is at the top of his game with THE FALLEN ANGEL. The series has proven to be an extraordinarily intelligent look into the world of terrorism, with an almost frightening sense of pairing to the real-world happenings around us."

This week, we have two reviews of CREOLE BELLE, James Lee Burke's latest Dave Robicheaux novel. Joe Hartlaub reviews the hardcover edition of the book, which finds Dave so obsessed with a song given to him by a woman that he finds himself trying to solve her sister’s murder. Joe says, "CREOLE BELLE, which is by turns haunting, poetic, violent, somber and inspiring, is one of Burke's best novels to date.... If you only read one book this year, make it CREOLE BELLE. I predict that it will stay with you until the end of your days." Roz Shea reviews the audiobook and has this to say: "Listening to Will Patton narrate James Lee Burke’s latest Dave Robicheaux novel is nothing short of mesmerizing. It is difficult to believe that Burke can outdo himself, let alone any other noir novel author of this or the last century, but CREOLE BELLE will stand as a tour de force..."

In SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer, a book that is getting lots of buzz and attention, Sunny Mann has created the perfect life for herself until a fender bender sends her coiffed blonde wig flying out the window and unravels all her secrets. As her life comes undone, we come to relate to Sunny, who is an everywoman searching for the perfect life. Reviewer Sarah Rachel Egelman says, "I can't say enough good things about SHINE SHINE SHINE, and it's almost impossible to put the book down once you crack it open. Well-paced, well-plotted, and told with a fresh, lyrical and bold narrative style, Netzer’s debut novel is compelling, smart, strange and enjoyable."

We have two reviews of SLOUCHING TOWARD ADULTHOOD: Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest by Sally Koslow. It’s a book about why so many college graduates are moving back home after school is over. Koslow discusses the children’s inability or unwillingness to leave the nest. Our two reviewers, Alexis Burling and Jana Siciliano, share their differing opinions of the book. Lots of great conversation and food for thought here for those of us parenting twentysomethings and for those in their twenties. You can also read more about the book at SallyKoslow.com.

A reminder that we are offering a Sneak Peek of Priscille Sibley’s THE PROMISE OF STARDUST, a love story about a family torn apart by a medical crisis and the ethical dilemma of keeping a pregnant woman with no chance of recovery on life support for months in an attempt to give her unborn baby a chance. I read it a few weeks ago, and as soon as I closed it, I found myself wanting to talk about it with other readers. I loved the way it was crafted, and as the story unfolded, the issues became more and more complicated. While you may have one opinion at the beginning, the more you read, the more it may change. I cannot wait to hear what you think. The book doesn’t release until February 2013, but we have 50 specially formatted early reader editions to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and share their comments on it. We really want to hear what you have to say about the book, so if you will have time to read it and answer some questions by Tuesday, September 4th, please enter this contest by Thursday, July 26th at noon ET.

I have another Bets On selection this week, and it’s TIGERS IN RED WEATHER by Liza Klaussmann. In this book, Nick and her cousin Helena have grown up together sharing the summer heat and the glamorous midnight parties on their family estate in Martha’s Vineyard. But after the Second World War, they find their lives starting to fall apart. Now parents, they return to the Vineyard one summer in the 1960s to reclaim their childhood years. While on vacation, their children discover the victim of a brutal murder, an event that causes everyone’s lives to unravel. You can read why I selected this book here, as well as some background on the literary references tucked inside it.

It's that time of year again! The British Open is well underway, and golfers have been flocking to the courses in the sunny (yet unbearably humid) summer weather. Our own Stuart Shiffman has rounded up five titles you'll want to consider taking a look at, including a firsthand account of what it's like to coach Tiger Woods, a coffee table book on Arnold Palmer, two offerings that celebrate the famous Hogan-Fleck showdown, and a book outlining ways to improve your short game. I am sure my golf-addicted husband, who this weekend will alternate between playing golf and watching the British Open, will be checking this list for reading to improve his game.

Our Summer Reading contests resume on Monday, July 23rd at noon ET. Our prize books that week will be THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH by Heather Barbieri and GOLD by Chris Cleave.

As we announced last week, we’re already looking ahead to fall with our Fall Preview Feature and Contests. On select days in August, we will spotlight a different title and offer a daily contest to win five copies of the book. We also will be sending a special daily newsletter to announce each day's title. You can sign up here to receive the daily newsletter. Please remember that we do not automatically add you for any of these seasonal mailings; you must subscribe.

In our current poll, we are asking which of 21 July/August books you want to read. We’ve gotten a great response thus far, but still are extending the poll an extra week to give any of you who have been vacationing a chance to weigh in.

Our Word of Mouth contest continues for another week. Be sure to let us know what you’re reading for a chance to win the aforementioned THE FALLEN ANGEL and SHINE SHINE SHINE, along with ODD APOCALYPSE: An Odd Thomas Novel by Dean Koontz.

This week I was asked to comment on Oprah 2.0, Oprah’s online interactive, multi-platform reading club, for USA Today. We’ve talked about this concept at length in the office and decided that, while it was a good idea in theory, the online chatter didn’t generate the numbers that someone of Oprah’s stature should be producing. Read the article and my quote here. However, it’s clear that Oprah talking about Cheryl Strayed’s WILD did get it some really nice extra attention --- and sales. While “book fairy godmother” Oprah may not be able to gather readers to interact with her to discuss books online, she still has a touch for making readers aware of books.

I came across a funny video that I absolutely had to share with all of you. While rumors of Amazon’s plans to attempt same-day delivery service abound, a team of comedy writers mocks this idea with their own take on “Yesterday Shipping.” The video is quite humorous and is brilliant at portraying what happens when a company leaves itself open to trying too hard. I suggest that all of you check it out right here. By the way, please do not get me started on the impact on American retail as we know it if this same-day plan comes true.

On Tuesday I fly back to California, to Anaheim again (I am considering asking for the same room at the Hilton to keep things simple), where I will be attending the Romance Writers of America Convention. The conference opens with the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing sessions, which is open to the public. Hundreds of romance authors participate in this autographing event, and each year thousands of dollars are raised for Pro-Literacy Worldwide and local literacy organizations. The event will be located at the Anaheim Convention Center on Wednesday, July 25th from 5-8pm PT. You can read more about the event here. I already have heard from one of our readers who will be in attendance. If you are planning to be there, be sure to let me know. I literally walk the rows from table to table to say hello to old author friends, meet new ones, and find books we want to share with you!

Quiet weekend ahead…I have some reading to do, a garden to weed, and I want to move some flowers around now that it’s finally cool and the rain has loosened up the soil. Quite a lightning storm preceded this cool-down. My nephew Josh was stuck at LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday night into Thursday morning as the skies lit up and the planes were grounded. Let’s just say he had more of an adventure than he bargained for.

Here’s to a great week of reading ahead.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, Chris Bohjalian’s latest novel, follows Elizabeth Endicott, a wealthy, college-educated American woman as she tries to aid victims of the Armenian genocide, and meets a man who winds up falling in love with her. The story picks up in the present day with Laura Petrosian, who, after viewing a photo exhibit of Armenian refugees (some of whom have her last name), embarks on a journey to reconnect with her roots. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com's Usha Rao, Bohjalian talks about the warmth of Armenians, the challenges of writing across gender, and how the world came to forget the Armenian genocide.

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS by Chris Bohjalian (Historical Fiction)
THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, Chris Bohjalian's 15th book,is a spellbinding tale that travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012 --- a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, a subject his legions of fans have been asking him to write about for years. Reviewed by Usha Rao.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to watch the book trailer.
-Click here to read Chris Bohjalian’s bio.
-Click here to visit Chris Bohjalian’s official website.
-Click here to see the 100 winners selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Historical Fiction Author Spotlight.

CREOLE BELLE: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (Thriller)
Tee Jolie Melton, a young woman with a troubled past, visits Dave Robicheaux in a recovery unit in New Orleans and leaves him an iPod with the country blues song “My Creole Belle” on it. Dave becomes obsessed with the song and the vivid memory of Tee Jolie. When he learns that her sister has turned up dead inside a block of ice floating in the Gulf, he believes that putting the evils of the past to rest is more urgent than ever before.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read Joe Hartlaub’s review of the hardcover edition.
-Click here to read Roz Shea’s review of the audiobook.
-Click here to read an excerpt.

THE FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva (Thriller)
Called on to investigate the death of a beautiful woman in Rome, Gabriel Allon fights against police who have already ruled her death a suicide and the Vatican’s “don’t ask too many questions” rule to uncover the truth. But along the way, he must also penetrate a criminal smuggling network and encounter an old enemy plotting revenge that puts himself and those he holds dear on the razor’s edge of danger. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.

SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer (Fiction)
Sunny Mann has masterminded a life for herself and her family in a quiet Virginia town. But when a fender bender on an average day sends her coiffed blonde wig sailing out the window, her secret is exposed. As her facade begins to unravel, we discover the singular world of Sunny, an everywoman searching for the perfect life, and Maxon, an astronaut on his way to colonize the moon. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here for the reading group guide.

We have 50 copies of IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN by Vaddey Ratner, which will be in stores August 7th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, August 2nd at noon ET.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN by Vaddey Ratner (Historical Fiction)

For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus.

Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood --- the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival.

Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.

-Click here to read an excerpt.

-Click here to read Vaddey Ratner’s bio.

-Click here to visit Vaddey Ratner’s official website.

-Click here to read a Q&A with Vaddey Ratner.

-Click here to watch Vaddey Ratner discuss the book.
 

Our latest Sneak Peek Feature spotlights THE PROMISE OF STARDUST by Priscille Sibley, a debut novel about a family torn apart by a medical crisis and the ethical dilemma of keeping a pregnant woman with no chance of recovery on life support for months in an attempt to give her unborn baby a chance. We have 50 specially formatted early reader editions to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases in February 2013, and share their comments about it.

We really want to hear what you have to say about THE PROMISE OF STARDUST, so if you will have time to read it and answer some questions by Tuesday, September 4th, please enter this contest. If not, we plan to have more opportunities like this in the future. The deadline for entries is Thursday, July 26th at noon ET.

THE PROMISE OF STARDUST by Priscille Sibley (Fiction)
Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, 17 when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and 33 when he convinced her to marry him. Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything --- except the baby they’ve always wanted.

When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing --- a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support.

But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle’s pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt’s mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court --- armed with Elle’s living will.

Divided by the love they share, Matt and Linney will be pitted against each other, fighting for what they believe is right, and what they think Elle would have wanted resulting in a controversial legal battle that will ultimately go beyond one family...and one single life.

-Click here to read critical praise.
-Click here to read Priscille Sibley’s bio.
-Click here to visit Priscille Sibley’s official website.
-Connect with Priscille Sibley on Facebook and Twitter.

SLOUCHING TOWARD ADULTHOOD: Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest by Sally Koslow (Memoir)
Millions of American parents sit down to dinner every night, wondering why fully grown children are joining them --- or, more likely, grunting good-bye as they head out for another night of who knows what. Sally Koslow, a journalist, novelist and mother of two “adultescents,” digs deep to reveal what lies behind the current generation's unwillingness --- or inability --- to take flight.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Read reviews by Alexis Burling and Jana Siciliano.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to visit Sally Koslow’s official website.

TIGERS IN RED WEATHER by Liza Klaussmann (Historical Fiction)
TIGERS IN RED WEATHER by Liza Klaussmann is a wonderfully ambitious debut novel --- told in five voices with twists and turns --- that completely delivers as it rolls from page to page. The setting for most of the story is a vacation home called Tiger House on Martha’s Vineyard, which has been enjoyed by Nick (note: Nick is a woman) and Helena’s families since they were children. Following World War II, Nick married a man named Hughes, and Helena has married as well and moved to California.

Flash forward to the early ’60s, and they are on the Vineyard with their respective children, Daisy and Ed, trying to re-capture the innocence of their own youth. That idyllic thought is shattered when the young children stumble upon a woman who has been murdered, which upturns their lives. And suddenly a lot of secrets come to light, and the suspense ratchets up. It is so well done with both a mystery that will keep you guessing and well-drawn characters who have distinctive voices.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Emily Giffin’s bio.
-Click here to visit Emily Giffin’s official website.
-Click here to see the 25 winners selected to read and comment on the book.

Summer is officially here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contest and Feature. We are spotlighting a different title on select days through July 31st, so you have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter. We also are sending a special daily newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, July 23rd at noon ET. Our featured titles will be THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH by Heather Barbieri and GOLD by Chris Cleave.

We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!


ReadingGroupGuides.com

LAURA LAMONT’S LIFE IN PICTURES by Emma Straub
We are celebrating the forthcoming release of LAURA LAMONT’S LIFE IN PICTURES by Emma Straub --- the enchanting story of a midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood’s golden age --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win an advance copy of the book, which will be in stores on September 4th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 6th at noon ET.

TIGER HILLS by Sarita Mandanna
We are celebrating the forthcoming paperback release of TIGER HILLS by Sarita Mandanna --- an emotional saga about a young woman forced to make difficult choices following a gut-wrenching tragedy that change the course of her life forever --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win an advance copy of the paperback edition, which will be in stores on August 28th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 6th at noon ET.

THE HOMECOMING OF SAMUEL LAKE by Jenny Wingfield
We are celebrating the paperback release of THE HOMECOMING OF SAMUEL LAKE by Jenny Wingfield --- an unforgettable story about love and sacrifice, our responsibility to one another, and the profound meaning of family --- with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now available in paperback, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 6th at noon ET.

RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE by Susan Wiggs
We are celebrating the forthcoming release of RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE by Susan Wiggs --- in which one woman will rediscover her family and her dreams, and find a surprising new love, in the idyllic town of Avalon --- with a special contest. 10 readers will have the opportunity to each win 10 copies of the book, which will be in stores on August 28th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 6th at noon ET.

Newsletter Contest
Win copies of SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer for your group! To be a group to win 20 copies of this book, all you have to do is sign up for the ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter by August 1st. If you receive the newsletter in your mailbox, you already are signed up!

20SomethingReads.com

Beach Bag of Books
In our First Annual Beach Bag of Books contest, five readers each will receive a beach bag filled with some of this summer's hottest reads: GHOST CROWN: The Tracks, Book Two by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, SPRING FEVER by Mary Kay Andrews, TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal, and WHERE WE BELONG by Emily Giffin. Along with the books, winners will find their striped beach bag stocked with a polka-dot beach towel, Coppertone Sport Sunblock, and a plastic sports bottle to keep your drink cool. The deadline for entries is Monday, July 30th at noon ET.

Teenreads.com

BEFORE YOU GO by James Preller
We are celebrating the release of BEFORE YOU GO --- the story of a teen boy whose life keeps spinning out of control --- with a special contest. Five readers will have the opportunity to win a copy of James Preller's first young adult novel. The deadline for entries is Friday, August 17th at noon ET.

Fierce Reads
To celebrate the release of four books that are being featured in Macmillan's Fierce Reads campaign, we're giving five readers the opportunity to win them all! Enter by Tuesday, August 7th at noon ET for your chance to be awarded MONUMENT 14 by Emmy Laybourne, OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks, SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, and STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth.

SEVENTEEN ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BEAUTY and SEVENTEEN ULTIMATE GUIDE TO STYLE
We are celebrating the July 10th release of SEVENTEEN ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BEAUTY: The Best Hair, Skin, Nails & Makeup Ideas for You, a girl's handbook to celebrating her natural beauty, with a special contest. 15 readers will have the opportunity to win a copy of the book, along with SEVENTEEN ULTIMATE GUIDE TO STYLE: How to Find Your Perfect Look. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, July 24th at noon ET.

Grab Bag of Books
Winners of our latest Grab Bag of Books contest will each receive a copy of 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER by Jessica Brody, DRAIN YOU by M. Beth Bloom, THE FORSAKEN by Lisa M. Stasse, A LONG WAY FROM YOU by Gwendolyn Heasley, and SO CLOSE TO YOU by Rachel Carter. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, August 15th at noon ET.

Kidsreads.com

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...FOREVER! by R. L. Stine
Artie Howard has the worst first day of school in the history of first days of school. When it’s all over, he’s relieved knowing it can never happen again. Or can it? Artie relives the first day of school over and over, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it! To celebrate the paperback release of IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...FOREVER! by R. L. Stine, Kidsreads.com is giving 10 readers the chance to win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, July 24th at noon ET.

FaithfulReader.com

THE AMISH BRIDE: The Women of Lancaster County, Book 3 by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould
We are celebrating the August 1st release of THE AMISH BRIDE with a special contest that will give 75 readers the opportunity to win a copy of this third installment in Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould’s Women of Lancaster County series. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 13th at noon ET.

LIVING IN HARMONY: The New Beginnings Series, Book 1 by Mary Ellis
We are celebrating the August 1st release of LIVING IN HARMONY with a special contest that will give 75 readers the opportunity to win a copy of this opening installment in Mary Ellis’s New Beginnings series. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 13th at noon ET.

FaithfulReader.com’s Monthly Contest
In our latest monthly contest, 10 readers each will be awarded a copy of ABDUCTED, the second installment of Janice Cantore's Pacific Coast Justice Series, and BEES IN THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN: A Gilded Legacy Novel by Maureen Lang. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 13th at noon ET.

THE RECEPTIONIST: An Education at The New Yorker by Janet Groth (Memoir)
Janet Groth recalls the two decades she spent as a receptionist for The New Yorker in this memoir that details the comings and goings, marriages and divorces, scandalous affairs, failures, triumphs and tragedies of the eccentric inhabitants of the 18th floor. During those single-in-the-city years, Groth tried on many identities, but eventually she would have to leave The New Yorker to find her true self. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

MONKEY MIND: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith(Memoir)
Daniel Smith pulls no punches as he recalls how pernicious and perpetual anxiety kept him frazzled and frightened for many years. With humor, candor and spot-on insight from years of experience, he escorts readers through the twin minefields of anxiety and panic attacks that used to run and ruin his life. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

FIREPROOF: A Maggie O'Dell Novel by Alex Kava (Thriller)
Special agent Maggie O'Dell is called in to investigate a building fire with a human casualty. The local team insists the suspect is a rash and young perp, but Maggie thinks this is the work of a calculated and controlled criminal. As the acts of arson become more brazen, Maggie's professional and personal worlds begin to collide dangerously. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

STRONG VENGEANCE: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land (Thriller)
Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong finds herself investigating the murder of the oil-rig crew that had found the wreckage of the Mother Mary, a slave ship that once carried invaluable treasure. The crew uncovered something beneath the surface of the sea that was connected to a terrorist attack about to be launched by a mad American-born cleric who has recruited an army of homegrown terrorists. Caitlin now must find the connection between the secret treasures of the Mother Mary and the terrorists. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

GONE MISSING by Linda Castillo (Mystery/Thriller)
When the search for a young Amish teen turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case, she will have to call upon everything she has to give. But will she piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

WHAT COMES NEXT by John Katzenbach (Psychological Thriller)
When a retired academician witnesses a lovely young woman snatched off the street, he is unsatisfied by the police response and vows to find her on his own. She has been kidnapped and held prisoner by a married couple who have started an exclusive website, “What Comes Next,” on which viewers can watch, in real time, what befalls their victims. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

DEAD SCARED by S. J. Bolton (Thriller)
When a rash of suicides tears through Cambridge University, DI Mark Joesbury recruits DC Lacey Flint to go undercover as a student to investigate. Although each student’s death appears to be a suicide, the psychological histories, social networks and online activities of the students involved share remarkable similarities, and the London police are not convinced that the victims acted alone. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE DEMANDS by Mark Billingham (Thriller)
The Crime: Customers of a convenience store are taken captive. The Demand: The man needs to know what really happened to his son, who died an "accidental" death in prison. The Twist: What Detective Tom Thorne discovers upends everything he thought he knew about those he put away. But will it be enough to fulfill the wishes of the distraught and dangerous father? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.