November 21, 2012

As promised, our newsletter comes to you early this week so our staff can enjoy a well-deserved loooooong weekend. We’ve had a really busy fall.

I KNOW I am not alone in feeling like Thanksgiving has crept up on me. The natural order of things used to be pumpkin carving, handing out candy, turkey, and then snow. I think there are children of a certain age --- like four to seven --- in my area of New Jersey who have a new definition of Halloween, which is you buy a costume, wear it around your house, and then eat a lot of candy you bought for yourself. And then it snows. And THEN it’s Thanksgiving. This year, with Turkey Day the absolute earliest that it can be, things feel even more out of kilter.

We are having a quiet holiday this year. My parents are off to Atlanta to spend the holiday with my sister, and though we received some lovely invites, we have opted to stay home and have a nice family dinner, which actually was Cory’s idea. Last night we went out for pizza and pasta and scrawled our menu onto the back of a napkin. We all chimed up with what’s worth cooking and what’s worth buying. We brined the turkey last year, and we are doing that again this year. Years ago, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade would come down past our office building on Broadway and we went into the city a couple of times for that (it since has been re-routed to 7th Avenue), and so when I watch it on television, I still picture the balloons at eye level.

I still want to see Skyfall and Lincoln (heard a funny joke the other day that “Lincoln is doing well in theaters; this was not typically the case”), as well as The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I am one of those people who truly does not love going to the movies, though I love watching them. The idea of being someplace at a certain time and maybe being shut out of getting tickets does nothing for me. I truly would pay more to see a film from the comfort of my home, though Skyfall in IMAX does have a nice sound to it.

This week I watched part of Ken Burns’s documentary, “The Dust Bowl,” on PBS and we have the whole four hours DVRed for viewing. The parts I saw were excellent --- something in history that I had failed to learn much about. I forgot to share last week that we watched the HBO documentary about The Rolling Stones, “Crossfire Hurricane,” which we all enjoyed. Tom and the boys noted that the Stones got to a certain age in the film and then BAM everyone aged like 20 years, reminding us that their early and mid-years music is what we find to be the most memorable. I now am looking forward to reading MICK JAGGER by Philip Norman.

I have been enjoying ASHENDEN, a debut novel by Elizabeth Wilhide, which will be in stores on January 8th. ASHENDEN is a big house much like the one that we all are in love with called Downton Abbey (which will be back for Season Three on January 6th). As the book opens, a brother and sister, Charlie and Ros, have inherited their aunt’s much-loved house, and they must decide if they should keep it or sell it. We view the house over two-and-a-half centuries and come to know those who called it home or a place to work. I currently am up to the 1930s, and each chapter propels me into a different set of characters and their lives in the house.

Also this week, I read THE GOOD DAUGHTER by Jane Porter, the second in The Brennan Sisters series, which will be in stores on February 5th. It’s lovely light women’s fiction, the kind of book that is a delight to grab a cup of tea with and enjoy on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Nothing deep, but you definitely find yourself wrapped up with this big Irish family.

As promised, a couple of our newsletter readers --- David Abrams (who also is the author of FOBBIT) and Miriam Klein Kassenoff --- weighed in with their commentary about the Miami Book Fair, and I enjoyed sharing this experience vicariously. I love events like this where authors are the stars. I read a piece about NFL pitchmen this week, and it made me think about how authors are celebrities to us, but unless I am missing something, none of them are pitchmen for anything.

In stores this week is David Baldacci’s new thriller, THE FORGOTTEN, a sequel to 2011’s ZERO DAY. It marks the return of military criminal investigator John Puller, who finds out that the small town of Paradise, Florida is anything but a heavenly oasis. When Puller’s aunt is found dead in her home, the local police rule it out as an accident, but Puller finds evidence that it may well be murder. His belief is confirmed as evidence of strange and inexplicable events come to light. And when he learns the truth about the happenings in this once sleepy town, he knows that his discoveries will impact far more than Paradise. Reviewer Kate Ayers calls Puller “a formidable yet deeply human character. His life is far from perfect, but still he carries on with humor and passion. That is never more evident than with this surprising ending. Teeming with David Baldacci’s characteristic roller coaster pacing, THE FORGOTTEN turns its own pages.”

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of one of the most internationally-acclaimed publications in the fashion industry? In Grace Coddington’s captivating memoir, GRACE, the extraordinarily talented and fiercely dedicated creative director of Vogue takes readers into the world of designers, hairstylists, makeup artists, photographers, models and celebrities with whom she has created her signature images. The book journeys through her early years as a model, to her time as fashion editor at British Vogue, and finally her career at American Vogue that allowed her to become an international icon. Bronwyn Miller has our review and says, “GRACE is that rare mixture of beautiful coffee table book, with lush photographs and cute drawings by the author herself, and an in-depth, who’s-who in fashion --- a must-read for any and all fashionistas on your holiday list.” I already have gushed over this book --- and I will do that again here.

Another intriguing memoir you’ll want to check out offers a coming-of-age story with a window into the mysteries of the restaurant business. For Julia Pandl, the rite of passage into young adulthood included mandatory service at her family’s restaurant, where she watched as her father, the chef, ruled with the strictness of a drill sergeant. MEMOIR OF THE SUNDAY BRUNCH follows Pandl as she grows up in the weekly madhouse of her father’s Milwaukee-based eatery. In this wry memoir, she provides tender wisdom about the bonds between fathers and daughters and about the simple pleasures that lie in the daily ritual of breaking bread. Reviewer Sarah Rachel Egelman says, “MEMOIR OF THE SUNDAY BRUNCH is charming and entertaining, yet surprisingly deep. It is a unique take on family and responsibility, one that will have you laughing out loud and weeping. As an exploration of religion and faith, obligation and compassion, it hits the mark without hitting you over the head.”

Our latest Paperback Spotlight features CITY OF DARK MAGIC by Magnus Flyte, and 25 readers will win a copy of the book, which releases on November 27th. Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. Sarah Weston, a music student, lands a job at Prague Castle cataloguing Beethoven’s manuscripts for the summer. However, soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 13th at noon ET.

Meanwhile, our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight giveaway continues for Andrew Britton’s latest thriller, THE OPERATIVE, which will be available in paperback on November 27th. After retiring from a harrowing 10 years of fighting terror, Agent Ryan Kealey is looking forward to some much-needed downtime. But when a horrific and unexpected terror attack in downtown Baltimore kills dozens, including the wife of the CIA’s deputy director, the search for the perpetrators will lead Kealey into the marbled halls of the American government itself. If you would like to receive a copy of the book and comment on it, please fill out this form by Thursday, November 29th at noon ET.

Our Holiday Cheer feature is now live! We have plenty of titles to get you in the holiday spirit, and we’ll be adding more in the days to come. Our Daily Contests will start the week of November 26th when we'll be giving away THE PARIS WIFE by Paula McLain and two books from Sheila Roberts: MERRY EX-MAS and BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE. The contests kick off at noon ET on select days in November and December, and run for just 24 hours, so you will have to check the site each day to see what is being featured. As always, we’ll be sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. If you would like to sign up for these email alerts, click here.

Sometimes deciding what to get is as hard as deciding what to give. So next week we’ll be posting our annual “What to Give, What to Get” Guide --- a list of books that will give you tons of gift-giving ideas (and maybe a few to put on YOUR “to me/from me” list).

Also kicking off next week are our Author Holiday Blogs, which we’re bringing back for a FIFTH consecutive year. Starting Monday, November 26th and continuing into the new year, we will be featuring new blog posts from authors every day! This year’s contributors include Melody Carlson, Juliette Fay, Eric Van Lustbader, Paula McLain, Karen Robards, Wendy Corsi Staub and Lee Woodruff. While you’re waiting to read these all-new pieces about giving and receiving books during the holidays, click here to see some of last year's posts.

In this season of giving, we’d like to share with you a very special giveaway that just launched on our FaithfulReader.com site for A HEARTBEAT AWAY by Harry Kraus. Tori Taylor is a cancer surgeon who finds herself dying on her own operating table. After undergoing a heart transplant, Tori has memories of a homicide that she didn't witness. With her new heart, her previously ordered life is cluttered with chaos. Threatening memories, a search for the truth, and new opportunities for love and faith await. We're awarding 20 readers a copy of the book, and one of these winners will also receive a taste-tempting Grand Prize: a Harry's Gift Box from Harry & David that includes Royal Riviera pears, white extra-sharp cheddar cheese, hickory-smoked summer sausage, olive oil crackers and mixed nuts. The deadline for entries is Thursday, December 13th at noon ET, and you can enter the contest here.

Our poll question continues to ask when you start your holiday shopping. Are you a frantic Christmas Eve kind of person, or are you one of those meticulous planners who started in June? Click here to let us know! I will share my shopping style once the poll has ended.

In our Word of Mouth feature, we’re continuing our giveaway for the aforementioned THE FORGOTTEN, along with BRAIN ON FIRE: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan and THE LAST MAN by Vince Flynn. Enter by Friday, November 30th at noon ET for your chance to win.

For those of you shopping this weekend, please think about supporting your local stores. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses nationwide. It’s called Small Business Saturday, a national campaign sponsored by American Express that launched in 2010. Small businesses do so much good for our communities, thus it's time for us to do our part. On November 24th, let's get out and shop small! May I suggest a trip to your local Indie bookstore?

By the way, I have never been a Black Friday shopper; to me, that day is Avoid Shopping Friday.

I close thanking you for reading --- and wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving along with a weekend of enjoying family and friends. We all appreciate that you welcome this newsletter in your mailboxes each week. THANK YOU!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

PS. When you use the links below to purchase books, you also support Bookreporter.com as we have affiliate arrangements with each of them. Please consider this when shopping for books online!

THE FORGOTTEN by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Army Special Agent John Puller is the best there is, and he’s the one the U.S. Army relies on to investigate the toughest crimes. Now he has a new case, but this time, the crime is personal: His aunt has been found dead in Paradise, Florida. Before she died, she mailed a letter to Puller's father, telling him that Paradise is not all it seems to be. What Puller finds convinces him that his aunt's death was no accident but a cold-blooded murder. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to visit David Baldacci's official website.

GRACE: A Memoir by Grace Coddington (Memoir)
Known through much of her career only to those behind the scenes, Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington might have remained fashion’s best-kept secret were it not for The September Issue, the acclaimed 2009 documentary that turned Grace into a sudden, reluctant celebrity. With the witty, forthright voice that has endeared her to her colleagues and peers for more than 40 years, Grace now creatively directs the reader through the storied narrative of her life so far. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.

-Click here to read more about the book.

We are celebrating the November 27th release of CITY OF DARK MAGIC by Magnus Flyte with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 13th at noon ET.

CITY OF DARK MAGIC by Magnus Flyte (Urban Fantasy/Thriller)
Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood.

Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide.

-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to see the book trailer.
-Click here to read Magnus Flyte's bio.
-Click here to visit Magnus Flyte's official website.
-Connect with Magnus Flye on Facebook and Twitter.

THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Romance)
For 30 years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books. Then in May, the hundred-year flood swept through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store. Now the bank is pulling the lease on The Bridge. Despondent and without answers, Charlie considers the unthinkable. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly, everything changes. Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab.

-Click here to read more about the book.

MEMOIR OF THE SUNDAY BRUNCH by Julia Pandl (Memoir)
At age 12, Julia Pandl was initiated into the rite of the Sunday brunch while working at her father's Milwaukee-based restaurant with her eight older siblings. There she learned the ropes of the family business as well as life lessons that would shape her for all the years to come. Her time working at the restaurant was not just a time of growing up, but ultimately of becoming a source of strength and support as the world her father knew began to change into a tougher, less welcoming place. 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.

BOTH FLESH AND NOT: Essays by David Foster Wallace (Essays)
BOTH FLESH AND NOT gathers 15 of David Foster Wallace’s essays never published in book form, including "Federer Both Flesh and Not," considered by many to be his nonfiction masterpiece; "The (As it Were) Seminal Importance of Terminator 2," which deftly dissects James Cameron's blockbuster; and "Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young," an examination of television's effect on a new generation of writers. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

-Click here to read more about the book.

We have 25 copies of THE OPERATIVE by Andrew Britton, which will be available in paperback on November 27th, 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, November 29th at noon ET.

THE OPERATIVE by Andrew Britton (Thriller)
After more than a decade on the deadly front lines of the war on terror, Ryan Kealey believes he’s finally put danger behind him --- and some of his demons to rest. But his calm is shattered when he’s swept into a merciless terror attack during a charity gala in downtown Baltimore. Among the dozens of casualties is the wife of CIA Deputy Director John Harper. With normal channels of investigation obstructed, Harper turns to Kealey, the one man with the resources, expertise --- and freedom from government interference --- to pursue the awful truth.

Following a string of secrets and violence, Kealey blazes a trail from the confines of the innermost chambers of government and big business to the dimmest reaches of the human psyche, forced to match wits with a new nemesis aided by new allies, each with a unique agenda. Slowly, Kealey unspools an unimaginable conspiracy that suggests America may in fact be its own worst enemy.

-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Andrew Britton’s bio.
-Click here to visit Andrew Britton’s official website.

SWEET TOOTH by Ian McEwan (Historical Romance)
Cambridge student Serena Frome’s beauty and intelligence make her the ideal recruit for MI5. The year is 1972. The Cold War is far from over. England’s legendary intelligence agency is determined to manipulate the cultural conversation by funding writers whose politics align with those of the government. The operation is code named “Sweet Tooth.”

Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, is the perfect candidate to infiltrate the literary circle of a promising young writer named Tom Haley. At first, she loves his stories. Then she begins to love the man. How long can she conceal her undercover life? To answer that question, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage: trust no one.

-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 read critical praise.
-Click here to read Ian McEwan’s bio.
-Click here to see the 50 winners selected to read and comment on the book.

When do you start your holiday shopping?

I already started.

I already am done.

I start right before Thanksgiving.

I start right after Thanksgiving.

I wait until December.

I wait until the absolute last minute.

I do not do holiday shopping.
 

Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from November 9th to November 30th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of BRAIN ON FIRE: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan, THE FORGOTTEN by David Baldacci, and THE LAST MAN by Vince Flynn.

To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.

-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.