April 18, 2014

For years I was ahead of the tech curve. I had Astraltunes before I had a Walkman, before I had an iPod. My first cell phone was carried like it was in a little suitcase and had a receiver like a landline. My second was hard-wired into my car. I had a PalmPilot and one of the first BlackBerrys. I even have a Rocketbook somewhere, which was the eReader of choice before there was ever a thought about a Kindle, a Nook or a Kobo. I have been through three BlackBerrys that I only use for email; I will carry the one I have now 'til it dies. I also have a simple “dumb phone” that I use only for calling and texting. But somehow I really got behind the curve (cell phone upgrade was available two years ago), and I never got a Smartphone like most folks carry; I never hit the iPhone frenzy or coveted any of the endless Droid phones out there.

Last week, I finally capitulated and ordered the new Galaxy S5, which sounded really snazzy and I was assured was cutting edge with more gizmos on it than most other phones and a great camera. It showed up at the house on Wednesday; I still have not powered it up. (You can see both above.) I need the weekend for that. Luckily, both Greg and Cory are around for tutoring. When I got my iPad, Cory gave me assignments to do while he was at school, moving icons and the like. I flunked. This weekend, I am going to get my super tech groove back. Friends who I call may never hear from me again! Last time I got a new phone, I remember trying to figure out how to end a call. Greg said, “Just click ‘end.’” Duh!

Speaking of technology, I got an email from Bob, who is one of our readers, where he said, “Found the downside to using a Kindle. I have been using it exclusively for the past couple years. Mine froze (locked up) with 194 books on it second day of a 10-day vacation. So here I am with no books until it is replaced. Plus I had downloaded 20 to read. We are camping with no car to run to the store at our National Dog Show (Shetland Sheepdog) outside St. Louis at Purina Farms. Oh well into everybody's life a little rain must fall. So my life has gone to the dogs completely.” I so feel for Bob; I have had my iPad lose power with less than 20 pages of manuscript to read on more than one occasion.

My new appreciation of audiobooks has me realizing that I need to get some more of those in my car. Of course, for the last 41+ days, if I am without a book to listen to, I can turn on CNN in the car for their intense ongoing coverage of Malaysian Flight 370. I marvel at the seemingly endless and mind-numbing number of angles they are taking on this story. And can they ever run a storyline to death. I keep thinking “Where is the editor?” Time to hit the library for some more audiobooks! By the way, this is National Library Week. Celebrate by checking out a book!

We were saddened to hear of the death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who passed away yesterday at the age of 87. The Colombian-born author and journalist was the winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature and a pioneer of the Latin American “Boom” movement. He first won international fame with ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, a defining classic of 20th-century literature. Soon after we heard the news of his passing, staffer Nicole Sherman immediately volunteered to write a tribute piece, which you can read here.

Our Mother's Day Contest and Feature is back for a NINTH year! We are featuring 20(!) books that are perfect for gift giving for moms. For the next three weeks, readers will have the chance to win one of our 10 Bookreporter.com Mother's Day prize packages, which includes a selection of 10 varied and wonderful books, along with a marvelous array of gifts to treat yourself or Mom: Tazo Tea, a Divine dark chocolate bar, and a Crabtree & Evelyn bar of soap and bath sponge shaped like a flower. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, May 9th at noon ET.

Heather Gudenkauf’s upcoming novel is LITTLE MERCIES, and we’re giving 25 readers the opportunity to read the book well in advance of its June 24th release date and share their comments about it. Veteran social worker Ellen Moore is a fiercely dedicated children's advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for. When I read LITTLE MERCIES, I found myself completely caught up in Ellen’s plight. I am a longtime fan of Heather’s writing since her first book, THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE. To enter the giveaway, please fill out this form by Thursday, May 1st at noon ET.

We’re launching a new Women's Fiction Author Spotlight with debut author Nadia Hashimi, whose novel THE PEARL THAT BROKE ITS SHELL had me riveted when I read it a couple of weeks ago. In Kabul, 2007, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. A century earlier, her great-aunt, Shekiba, saved herself and built a new life the same way. Crisscrossing in time, the novel interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. We have 35 copies to give away to those who can read the book, which releases on May 6th, and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, May 1st at noon ET. As I mentioned before, if you have appreciated Khaled Hosseini’s work, you want to read this book.

Our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight of Kevin O’Brien, whose upcoming novel TELL ME YOU’RE SORRY releases on April 29th, continues for another week. Stephanie Coburn has barely recovered from her sister's mysterious suicide before her brother-in-law and his new wife are murdered. Stephanie never met the bride, but knew her sister and fears something is desperately wrong. Step by step, she and another victim’s son uncover a trail of brutal vengeance and a killer whose forgiveness can only be earned in death. We have 25 copies of the book to give away to readers who would like to read and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 24th at noon ET.

April is National Autism Awareness Month. In recognition of this growing, global concern, we've curated a collection of 20 books --- from adult to Young Adult and children's titles --- that revolve around autism and Asperger's Syndrome. With a mix of old and soon-to-be released titles, our selection is designed to give you a well-rounded understanding of this topic. Click here to take a look at our bookshelf.

My son Greg has updated this month’s History Books roundup with some wonderful selections for April, which cover many different time periods and major national and world events. Among these titles are THE BILL OF THE CENTURY: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act by Clay Risen, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF DIXIE: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South by Bruce Levine, THE LAST WHITE ROSE: The Secret Wars of the Tudors by Desmond Seward, and 50 CHILDREN: One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany by Steven Pressman.

Congratulations to Donna Tartt, the recipient of this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her latest bestseller, THE GOLDFINCH. Click here for the other winners in the categories of Letters and Drama and here for the full list of this year’s winners and nominees, including those for journalism and music.

Also, the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were awarded last Friday. Among the winners were the current Pennie’s Pick from Costco, A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki (Fiction), BEA’s Buzz book FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink (Current Interest), and BOLIVAR: AMERICAN LIBERATOR by Marie Arana (Biography), which we’re currently featuring in the aforementioned History Books feature for April.

The day after these awards were presented, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books took place on the campus of USC. While I was not able to go, Kathy Jund, a Bookreporter.com reader who attended for the 10th(!) time, was delighted to answer a few questions about the Festival for us. Click here to read her report and see some of the pictures she took at the event. Many thanks to Kathy for her insights!

World Book Night (WBN) takes place this Wednesday, April 23rd. If you’re going to be a book giver, we’d love for you to email info@bookreporter.com and tell us all about your experiences! In anticipation of the big night, the first-ever original World Book Night eBook will be available on Tuesday the 22nd. According to the WBN website, the eBook is “an original collection of ten short stories and essays by booksellers, librarians, and authors who are WBN participants. The WBN2014 ebook will be posted online for two weeks beginning April 22, 2014 at no charge, accessible for download to any device with a web browser as well as downloadable as a PDF to print.” For more about the eBook and World Book Night, please click here.

I finished reading 'TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY by Lauren Francis-Sharma, a brilliant debut novel releasing next Tuesday the 22nd, which will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Set in Trinidad with a story that unfolds over many decades, I found myself loving Marcia Garcia’s lyrical voice and feeling for her family’s struggles. Greg’s first nanny was from Trinidad, and I found myself thinking about Gillian and her stories of family “back home” as I was reading. For those in book clubs, there’s a lot to discuss in this book! I also finished THAT SUMMER by Lauren Willig, which was a recent Special Contest selection. Those who enjoy "Downton Abbey" will appreciate the historical backstory in this book, which also will be a Bets On pick.

I’ve started THE ONE & ONLY by Emily Giffin, which will be in stores on May 20th. It’s set in Texas where football is followed like religion. Shea Rigsby, who grew up in the college town of Walker, Texas, is obsessed with the football team. Her best friend is the head coach’s daughter, Lucy, and thus she has spent a lot of time around Coach Carr and his family. From the bits I have read about THE ONE & ONLY, Shea is about to find out a lot she did not know about the “Walker world” she thought she knew. Emily knows her football; yowser, I could see her with a mike on the sidelines!

My husband’s birthday was Wednesday, and he has perfected the art of stretching out his birthday celebrating. Dinner out Wednesday night…and Thursday night…and birthday cake tonight (you can see it above) after a golf tournament. He said he learned this all from me!

We're celebrating Easter with dinner at our house on Sunday. I'm making HeadButler.com Founder Jesse Kornbluth's Holiday Ham, which always is a crowd pleaser. My dad vetoed lamb as he has had an aversion to it since his Army days; I still wonder how they served it. My parents are joining us, and so are our friends Beverley and Don. I have a bunny tablecloth and napkins that I am crazy about, and I plan to traipse up to the attic to find some of our Easter decorations to “spring up” the house. I also will be arranging flowers after being inspired by Cara, the florist in Mary Kay Andrews’s upcoming book, SAVE THE DATE. When I go overboard with floral arranging, I am going to blame it all on MKA!

Please note that you are not imagining things. You are seeing a lighter than usual update this week. Our database server where we store all the content for the site chose Friday morning to act up, lock up, and from there we were not able to enter any of the latest reviews. It made for a less than fun Friday, and with the holiday we do not see this being fixed until early in the week, though the tech team has a plan outlined for the fix. We've included as much news as we were able to share above and later in the newsletter with apologies for the inconvenience. Please note that the Poll and Word of Mouth are not working on the site right now. We'll extend deadlines for both when things are up and running to give you plenty of time to enter.

Happy Easter to all our readers who are celebrating! Read on, and have a wonderful week.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win some books and goodies for you or the special lady in your life in our ninth annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Friday, May 9th at noon ET, readers will have the chance to win one of our 10 prize packages. Each package is filled with a selection of 10 of the varied and wonderful books featured below, along with a marvelous array of gifts to treat yourself or Mom: Tazo Tea, a Divine dark chocolate bar, and a Crabtree & Evelyn bar of soap and bath sponge shaped like a flower.

To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, May 9th at noon ET.

This year's featured Mother's Day titles are:

• APART AT THE SEAMS: A Cobbled Courts Quilt Novel by Marie Bostwick
• THE APPLE ORCHARD by Susan Wiggs
• BRIDGE TO HAVEN by Francine Rivers
• DARK WITCH: Book One of The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy by Nora Roberts
• DRIVING LESSONS by Zoe Fishman
• FOUR FRIENDS by Robyn Carr
• GOODNIGHT JUNE by Sarah Jio
• THE IDEA OF HIM by Holly Peterson
• THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank
• A LONG TIME GONE by Karen White
• MARRY SMART: Advice for Finding THE ONE by Susan Patton
• MRS. POE by Lynn Cullen
• THE MUSEUM OF EXTRAORDINARY THINGS by Alice Hoffman
• THE ONE & ONLY by Emily Giffin
• ONE HUNDRED NAMES by Cecelia Ahern
• THE QUAKER CAFÉ by Brenda Bevan Remmes
• THE ROAD TO TESTAMENT by Eva Marie Everson
• THE SAME SWEET GIRL'S GUIDE TO LIFE: Advice from a Failed Southern Belle by Cassandra King
• SHADOW SPELL: Book Two of The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy by Nora Roberts
• TEST OF FAITH by Christa Allan

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE APPLE ORCHARD by Susan Wiggs (Fiction)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs brings readers into the lush abundance of Sonoma County, in a story of sisters, friendship, and the invisible bonds of history that are woven like a spell around us.

ARCADIA by Lauren Groff (Fiction)
From the remarkable author of THE MONSTERS OF TEMPLETON comes a new novel of ideals, idylls and the impact when utopia clashes with free will.

BRIDGE TO HAVEN by Francine Rivers (Historical Fiction)
In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace and unconditional love, New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.

DRIVING LESSONS by Zoe Fishman (Fiction)
From the author of BALANCING ACTS and SAVING RUTH comes the funny, heartwarming and utterly relatable story of three women, each facing her own transitional moment, and all grappling with the idea of motherhood…

FAR GONE by Laura Griffin (Romantic Suspense)
To save her only brother, Andrea Finch must face down a criminal mastermind, the FBI and her own demons in this thrilling novel from the author of the bestselling Tracers series.

FOR SUCH A TIME by Kate Breslin (Historical Romance)
In 1944, blond-haired and blue-eyed Jewess Hadassah Benjamin will do all she can to save her people --- even if she cannot save herself.

THE IDEA OF HIM by Holly Peterson (Fiction)
Captivating and seductive, told in the whip-smart voice of a woman who is working hard to keep her parenting and career on track, THE IDEA OF HIM is a novel of conspiracy, intrigue and intense passion --- and discovering your greatest strength through your deepest fears.

THE LAST ORIGINAL WIFE by Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction)
Experience the sultry Southern atmosphere of Atlanta and the magic of the Carolina Lowcountry in this funny and poignant tale of one audacious woman’s quest to find the love she deserves, from New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank.

LOOKING FOR ME by Beth Hoffman (Fiction)
LOOKING FOR ME is a signature blend of keen emotional insight and Southern sensibility in a richly drawn story that will delight fans old and new.

LOVE ANTHONY by Lisa Genova (Fiction)
From award-winning New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova comes a heartfelt novel in the vein of Jodi Picoult, about an accidental friendship that helps a grieving mother understand the thoughts of her autistic son.

MRS. POE by Lynn Cullen (Historical Fiction)
The compelling national bestseller in the tradition of THE PARIS WIFE, MRS. POE is about a woman who becomes entangled in an affair with Edgar Allan Poe, played out against the atmospheric backdrop of 1840s New York City.

OFF COURSE by Michelle Huneven (Fiction)
From the acclaimed author of BLAME comes a daring novel of romantic crossroads --- and the high price of impossible love.

THE PELICAN BRIDE: Gulf Coast Chronicles, Book 1 by Beth White (Historical Romance)
A feisty young Frenchwoman gets more than she bargained for when she flees to the New World as a mail-order bride.

THE QUAKER CAFE by Brenda Bevan Remmes (Fiction)
THE QUAKER CAFE is a debut novel brimming with Southern heart about a small town where, regardless of what happens behind closed doors, the neighbors awake each morning and meet at the Quaker Café.

RUN, DON'T WALK: The Curious and Chaotic Life of a Physical Therapist Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center by Adele Levine (Memoir)
“M*A*S*H” meets “Scrubs” in this funny and heartfelt memoir about a physical therapist working inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

SAFE KEEPING by Barbara Taylor Sissel (Psychological Thriller)
In this chilling and emotionally charged mystery from highly acclaimed author Barbara Taylor Sissel, a mother must confront the unfathomable when her son is accused of murder, and while his life hangs in the balance, what she discovers will prove far more shocking than her darkest fears.

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

FLY AWAY by Kristin Hannah (Fiction)
FLY AWAY is the story of three women who have lost their way and need each other --- plus a miracle --- to transform their lives. An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss and new beginnings, this long-awaited follow-up to FIREFLY LANE reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness.