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Have a Firecracker 4th! And Here’s to Reading Poolside/On the Beach/Wherever You Escape
We closed the office at 1pm today so everyone can enjoy the holiday weekend, and we are not reopening until Wednesday. With the holiday on a Tuesday, it’s always tough to plan when to close the office. This break will be great!
Holiday weekends are fun for binge-reading, and I have an idea for this. Last weekend, I read DEATH ON WINDMILL WAY by Carrie Doyle, the first in her Hamptons Murder Mystery series. It was such fun reading (I know, what does it say about me that I call a murder mystery fun?), with a great cast of characters that includes her protagonist, Antonia Bingham, who is both an innkeeper and a chef. It gave me great background on the history of the Hamptons, as well as some mouth-watering food descriptions. I cannot wait to dive into the next two books! Armchair vacation travel with a mystery; I love it.
I am now reading THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END by Patti Callahan Henry, which will be in stores on July 11th. In it, Bonny Blankenship is an emergency room doctor at a hospital who commits a mistake; in doing so, she puts her career in jeopardy. She and her troubled daughter, Piper, head back to the house on the river where she spent idyllic time in her youth. There she will meet up with Lainey McKay, her best friend, who was her Summer Sister. Friendships like this are “go-to” ones, and they also bring with them a lot of checkered history. A perfect beach read. And I am juggling this with COCOA BEACH by Beatriz Williams. I definitely have my poolside reading lined up!
I did two really fun events this week: one in Rockville Centre in New York and one at the Avalon Free Public Library in New Jersey. I loved seeing people I knew, including Andrea in Rockville Centre and Rosalie and Dea in Avalon; there were other faces in both audiences that I recognized as well, including in Avalon one of our readers who I remember lives in Delaware where she is in a book group, but summers in Stone Harbor. If you are reading, remind me of your name! Estep Nagy, the author of WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP, which is being published on Monday, was in the audience in Avalon, as he is vacationing there for the summer. I asked him to present his book to the audience, which was such fun.
I was so happy to hear this week that BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, which won the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick when it released last August, is Oprah’s latest Book Club Pick. Now available in paperback, Imbolo Mbue’s debut novel explores the pitfalls and promises of the American Dream through an immigration narrative as it intersects with the recession. According to Oprah, the book is "about race and class, the economy, culture, immigration and the danger of the Us vs. Them mentality. And underneath it all comes the heart and soul of family love, the pursuit of happiness and what home really means." Click here to watch a video where Oprah explains why this is the book to read this summer.
In other news this week, the American Library Association (ALA) officially launched Book Club Central with Honorary Chair Sarah Jessica Parker’s inaugural book selection, NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US by Stephanie Powell Watts, which we reviewed when it released in April. Click here to learn more about this initiative and see why Parker chose NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US as its first pick.
Fiona Barton, on the heels of last year’s much-talked-about debut novel, THE WIDOW (a Bets On selection), is back with another electrifying psychological thriller, THE CHILD. During the demolition of an old house in London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton that has been buried for years. As journalist Kate Waters investigates this baffling case, she uncovers links to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from a maternity ward and was never found. But there is much more to the story, and Kate zeroes in on the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood.
Norah Piehl has our review and says, "[E]ven if astute readers have already put together the pieces long before the conclusion, they’re likely to keep reading to see how the tragic stories are resolved." THE CHILD also will be a Bets On pick; you can read my commentary in next week’s newsletter.
You have TWO chances to win a copy of THE CHILD, in different formats. It is one of the prizes in our current Word of Mouth contest, along with the aforementioned COCOA BEACH. Let us know by Friday, July 7th at noon ET what books you’ve finished reading, and you’ll be in the running to win both novels.
For those who would rather listen to THE CHILD, our Sounding Off on Audio contest is where you’ll want to go. We are awarding the audio versions of THE CHILD (read by Mandy Williams and Rosalyn Landor with a full cast) and THE SUNSHINE SISTERS (written and read by Jane Green) to the winners. All you have to do is submit your comments about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to, and you’ll have a chance to win both audio titles.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include USE OF FORCE, the 17th installment in Brad Thor’s thriller series featuring Navy SEAL turned covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath; FINAL TARGET by John Gilstrap, in which freelance operative Jonathan Grave faces his fiercest challenge yet (click here to read an interview that our reviewer, Dean Murphy, conducted with Gilstrap); and THE RIGHT SIDE by Spencer Quinn (author of the Chet and Bernie mystery series), the story of a deeply damaged female soldier home from the war in Afghanistan who becomes obsessed with finding a missing girl and gains an unlikely ally in a stray dog.
For months now, I’ve been raving about Mary Kay Andrews’ THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK (her first cookbook) and all the delicious dishes I’ve made from it, including cherry cola marinated ribs, scalloped potatoes, romaine grapefruit avocado salad and carrot cake. What I love is that MKA (as we call her around the office) has organized menus, as well as prose that shares her personal relationships with these recipes. So I am thrilled to announce a special contest that we launched yesterday on Bookreporter.com that will give five readers the chance to win their very own copy of THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, July 5th at noon ET. Your mouths are guaranteed to water as you come across recipes for cherry balsamic-glazed lamb chops, charcoal-grilled oysters, lemon bar trifle, and so much more.
In this week’s Summer Reading contests, we gave away the aforementioned COCOA BEACH, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena (a Bets On pick that’s now available in paperback), HARMONY by Carolyn Parkhurst, and THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING by Grant Ginder. Next week’s prizes will be BLACKOUT by Marc Elsberg and SAME BEACH, NEXT YEAR by Dorothea Benton Frank, with the first contest of the week going up on Wednesday, July 5th at noon ET.
We’ve updated our Young Adult Books You Want to Read feature, books we've recently reviewed on Teenreads.com that we think will appeal to an adult audience. This month’s titles are HOW DARE THE SUN RISE: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta and AN UNINTERRUPTED VIEW OF THE SKY by Melanie Crowder.
Our poll continues to ask if you have ever interacted with an author, either online or in person. Click here to let us know.
News & Pop Culture:
Reader Mail:
Barbara wrote this to Nicole and me after a missing prize title was tracked down for her: “Thank you both so much. We were just discussing Bookreporter.com this evening at our book club meeting. Rave reviews all around. We all look forward to the newsletter to see what's going on with you as much as the latest book info!”
Shirley wrote to comment on Laurie Frankel's THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS, saying, “It was a good book --- great for learning about transgender, a book about tolerance, a book about a heartwarming family, each quirky in their own way, each unique. A great read.”
Georgia Tann, the subject of Lisa Wingate's book, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS: Here’s a piece from the New York Post with more background on the story of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.
Listen to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence: In honor of the holiday, Penguin Random House Audio encourages Americans to listen to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They’ve partnered up with numerous bestselling authors and organizations, including PEN America and the National Coalition Against Censorship, who under the banner #WeThePeopleListen will all encourage their social media followers to listen to our founding documents here.
J. D. Vance, Author of HILLBILLY ELEGY on "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly": A wonderful piece aired last Sunday night that you can see here. Note her question close to the end that gave him pause.
"The Handmaid’s Tale": Finally got a chance to watch this on Hulu and caught six of the 10 episodes. I confess that I am not sure I would have enjoyed this as a book; I am not a fan of dystopian worlds, but I am fascinated by the show and the entire premise. Not what I would call easy viewing, but it’s very, very well done.
Sheryl Sandberg on "Super Soul Sunday": Terrific interview that you can see here.
Pizza Idea: Pizza with a lemon pepper crust topped with caramelized onions, fresh figs, goat cheese, mozzarella, prosciutto and arugula with a fresh squeeze of lemon on top (you can see a picture of it above). Compiled a number of different recipes to get this one. Loved it!
Tom tied for third place in his golf tournament last weekend. Greg had a great trip to Ottawa. Cory is off camping at the beach this weekend. If the weather is inclement this weekend, I am going to head into the office to get some packing done while things are quiet. We do not have a firm moving date locked down; hoping to settle that next week. The new space looked amazing when we stopped by yesterday afternoon; the paint and the carpet were still in progress, but it was coming together really, really well. Beyond that, pool floating is high on my agenda, as well as cooking/BBQing.
Here’s to a Firecracker 4th! Enjoy celebrating Independence Day whether or not you have a long weekend. Read on, and have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
Featured Review: USE OF FORCE by Brad Thor
USE OF FORCE by Brad Thor (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Armand Schultz
As a storm rages across the Mediterranean Sea, a terrifying distress call is made to the Italian Coast Guard. Days later, a body washes ashore. Identified as a high value terrorism suspect (who had disappeared three years prior), his name sends panic through the Central Intelligence Agency. Where was he headed? What was he planning? And could he be connected to the “spectacular attack” they have been fearing all summer? In a race against time, the CIA taps an unorthodox source to get answers: Navy SEAL turned covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath. Hired on a black contract, Harvath will provide the deniability the United States needs, while he breaks every rule along the way. Reviewed by Ray Palen.​
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE CHILD by Fiona Barton
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE CHILD by Fiona Barton (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Mandy Williams and Rosalyn Landor with a full cast
As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby? As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn --- house by house --- into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE CHILD will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. You can read Carol’s commentary in next week's newsletter.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Special Contest: Enter to Win a Copy of
THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK by Mary Kay Andrews
We are celebrating the arrival of summer with a very special contest that will give five readers the chance to win a copy of THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK, bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews’ first cookbook. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, July 5th at noon ET.
THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK by Mary Kay Andrews (Cookbook)
You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach.
From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic-glazed lamb chops and bacon-kissed green beans, to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, yuppie potato salad, and Coca-Cola cake, to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of charcoal-grilled oysters, home-cured gravlax, grits n’ greens casserole, and Meyer lemon bar trifle, this cookbook will supply ideas for menus and recipes designed to put you in a permanently carefree coastal state of mind all year long.
- Click here to visit Mary Kay Andrews' website.
Click here to enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com Talks to John Gilstrap,
Author of FINAL TARGET
John Gilstrap has cornered the market on hostage rescue thrillers told through dynamic characters who operate as a single unit. AGAINST ALL ENEMIES won 2016’s Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original Novel. His latest, FINAL TARGET, is the most intense of the series. Jonathan Grave and Boxers navigate southern Mexico’s jungle, where a single hostage is joined by 15 orphans, and the exfil helicopter pilot deserts the team. Gilstrap chats with Bookreporter.com’s Dean Murphy about winning the Thriller Award, the upcoming SCORPION STRIKE, the writing life, and a new subscriber-based YouTube feature.
FINAL TARGET: A Jonathan Grave Thriller by John Gilstrap (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Basil Sands
The mission: Drop into the Mexican jungle, infiltrate a drug cartel’s compound and extract a kidnapped DEA agent. But when Jonathan Grave and his partner, Boxers, retrieve the hostage and return to the exfil point, all hell breaks loose. Ambushed, abandoned and attacked on all sides, their only hope of survival lies inside a remote orphanage where innocent children have been targeted for death. Even if Grave can lead his precious cargo to safety across a hundred miles of treacherous jungle filled with enemies, he can’t shake the feeling that something bigger is at play: a vast conspiracy of international power players who take no prisoners --- and leave no survivors. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
Click here to read our interview.
Featured Review: MURDER GAMES
by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
MURDER GAMES by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini
Dr. Dylan Reinhart is a renowned, bestselling Ivy League expert on criminal behavior. When a copy of his book turns up at a gruesome murder scene --- along with a threatening message from the killer --- it looks like someone has been taking notes. Elizabeth Needham is the headstrong and brilliant NYPD detective in charge of the case who recruits Dylan to help investigate another souvenir left at the scene --- a playing card. Only someone with Dylan's expertise can hope to go inside the mind of a criminal and convince The Dealer to lay down his cards. But after thinking like a criminal, could Dylan become one? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE RIGHT SIDE by Spencer Quinn
THE RIGHT SIDE by Spencer Quinn (Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by Susan Bennett
LeAnne Hogan went to Afghanistan as a rising star in the military and came back a much lesser person, with a missing eye and half her face badly scarred. Shattered by one last blow --- the sudden death of her hospital roommate, Marci --- LeAnne finds herself on a fateful drive across the country, reflecting on her past and seeing no future. Arriving in the rain-soaked small town in Washington state that Marci had called home, she makes a troubling discovery: Marci’s eight-year-old daughter has vanished. As she becomes obsessed with finding the little girl, LeAnne and a new canine companion of hers are drawn into danger as dark and menacing as her last Afghan mission. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES
by Siobhan Fallon
THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES by Siobhan Fallon (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jorjeana Marie and Lauren Fortgang
Both Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw dutifully followed their soldier husbands to the U.S. embassy in Jordan, but that’s about all the women have in common. After two years, Cassie has become an expert on the rules, but newly arrived Margaret sees only her chance to explore. So when a fender-bender sends Margaret to the local police station, Cassie reluctantly agrees to watch Margaret’s toddler son. But as the hours pass, Cassie’s boredom and frustration turn to fear: Why isn’t Margaret answering her phone, and why is it taking so long to sort out a routine accident? Snooping around Margaret’s apartment, Cassie begins to question not only her friend’s whereabouts but also her own role in Margaret’s disappearance. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading
Contests and Feature
Summer is here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through August 24th, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our next prize book will be announced on Wednesday, July 5th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles include:
Click here to read all the contest details
and see the prize books being awarded in May, June, July and August.
INDECENT EXPOSURE: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Tony Roberts
As an eligible bachelor, man-about-town, and mover in the highest social echelons, Stone Barrington has always been the subject of interest and gossip. But when he’s unwittingly thrust into the limelight, he finds himself scrambling to take cover. Before too long, Stone is fending off pesky nuisances left and right, and making personal arrangements so surreptitiously it would take a covert operative to unearth them. Unfortunately, Stone soon discovers that these efforts only increase the persistence of the most troublesome pests…and when he runs afoul of a particularly tenacious lady, he’ll be struggling to protect not just his reputation, but his life. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
LOVE LIKE BLOOD: A Tom Thorne Novel by Mark Billingham (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Mark Billingham, Sagar Arya and Avita Jay
DI Nicola Tanner needs Tom Thorne’s help. Her partner, Susan, has been brutally murdered, and Tanner is convinced that it was a case of mistaken identity --- that she was the real target. The murderer’s motive might have something to do with Tanner’s recent work on a string of cold-case honor killings she believes to be related. Tanner is now on compassionate leave but insists on pursuing the case off the books and knows Thorne is just the man to jump into the fire with her. He agrees but quickly finds that working in such controversial territory is dangerous in more ways than one. And when a young couple goes missing, they have a chance to investigate a case that is anything but cold. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES by Seanan McGuire (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Seanan McGuire
Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter --- polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter --- adventurous, thrill-seeking and a bit of a tomboy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted. They were 12 when they walked down the impossible staircase, and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you for a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
HERE AND GONE by Haylen Beck (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Abby Craden
It begins with a woman fleeing through Arizona with her kids in tow, trying to escape an abusive marriage. When she's pulled over by an unsettling local sheriff, things soon go awry and she is taken into custody. But when she gets to the station, her kids are gone. And then the cops start saying they never saw any kids with her; if they're gone, she must have done something with them. Meanwhile, halfway across the country, a man hears the frenzied news reports about the missing kids, which are eerily similar to events in his own past. As the clock ticks down on the search for the lost children, he, too, is drawn into the desperate fight for their return. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
ANOTHER KIND OF MADNESS: A Journey Through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness by Stephen P. Hinshaw (Memoir)
Stephen Hinshaw never imagined that a profound secret was kept under lock and key for 18 years within his family --- that his father’s mysterious absences resulted from serious mental illness and involuntary hospitalizations. After years of experiencing the ups and downs of his father’s illness without knowing it existed, Hinshaw began to piece together the silent, often terrifying history of his father’s life. This exploration led to larger discoveries about the family saga, to Hinshaw’s correctly diagnosing his father with bipolar disorder, and to his full-fledged career as a clinical and developmental psychologist and professor. Reviewed by John Bentlyewski.
SMALL HOURS by Jennifer Kitses (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Tanya Eby and Dan John Miller
In the vein of Richard Russo and Tom Perrotta, SMALL HOURS is a gripping and suspenseful debut novel --- told hour-by-hour over the course of a single day --- in which a husband and wife try to outrun long-buried secrets, sending their lives spiraling into chaos. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
THE BIRDWATCHER by William Shaw (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Roger Davis
A methodical, diligent and exceptionally bright detective, William South is an avid birdwatcher and trusted figure in his small town on the rugged Kentish coast. He also lives with the deeply buried secret that, as a child in Northern Ireland, he may have killed a man. When a fellow birdwatcher is found murdered in his remote home, South's world flips. The culprit seems to be a drifter from South's childhood; the victim was the only person connecting South to his early crime; and a troubled, vivacious new female sergeant has been relocated from London and assigned to work with South. As our hero investigates, he must work ever-harder to keep his own connections to the victim, and his past, a secret. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
TANGIER by Stephen Holgate (Mystery)
TANGIER tells two parallel stories. In the first, we follow Christopher Chaffee, a disgraced Washington power broker whose father, a French diplomat, died in a Vichy prison in 1944 --- or so he had always believed until a letter, received decades after it was posted, upends his life. The second is a tale of espionage and betrayal, set in Morocco during WWII. Rene Laurent, Christopher’s father, struggles to maintain his integrity --- and his life --- in the snake pit of wartime Tangier. The stories slowly intertwine as Christopher unravels the mystery of his father’s fate, and Laurent becomes trapped in a web of lies and corruption and caught up, too, in the arms of a woman he knows he shouldn’t trust. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
PEGGY SEEGER: A Life of Music, Love, and Politics by Jean R. Freedman (Biography)
Born into folk music's first family, Peggy Seeger has blazed her own trail artistically and personally. Jean Freedman draws on a wealth of research and conversations with Seeger to tell the life story of one of music's most charismatic performers and tireless advocates. Here is the story of Seeger's multifaceted career --- from her youth to her pivotal role in the American and British folk revivals, from her instrumental virtuosity to her tireless work on behalf of environmental and feminist causes, from wry reflections on the U.K. folk scene to decades as a songwriter. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on July 3rd and 4th
Below are some notable titles releasing on July 3rd and 4th that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. For a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks releasing the week of July 3rd, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
July 3rd
THE LAKE: A Konrad Simonsen Thriller by Lotte and Søren Hammer (Mystery/Thriller)
The remains of a young woman are discovered in a lake north of Copenhagen. After months of fruitless investigation by the local police, the case is handed over to Konrad Simonsen. It soon becomes clear to Simonsen and his team that this unknown woman is the key to a world of trafficking, prostitution and violence.
July 4th
A GAME OF GHOSTS: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly (Supernatural Thriller)
It is deep winter, and the darkness is unending. A private detective named Jaycob Eklund has vanished, and Charlie Parker is assigned to track him down. Parker’s employer, Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has his own reasons for wanting Eklund found. Eklund is no ordinary investigator --- he is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings.
IN THE DAYS OF RAIN: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult by Rebecca Stott (Memoir)
Rebecca Stott both adored and feared her father, Roger Stott, a high-ranking minister in the Brighton, England, branch of the Exclusive Brethren, a separatist fundamentalist Christian sect. IN THE DAYS OF RAIN is her attempt to make sense of her childhood in the Exclusive Brethren, to understand her father’s role in the cult and in the breaking apart of her family.
A PARIS ALL YOUR OWN: Bestselling Women Writers on the City of Light edited by Eleanor Brown (Essays)
“My time in Paris,” says Paula McLain (THE PARIS WIFE), “was like no one else’s ever.” For each of the 18 bestselling authors in this warm, inspiring and charming collection of personal essays on the City of Light, nothing could be more true. While all of the female writers featured here have written books connected to Paris, their personal stories of the city are wildly different.
THE REASON YOU'RE ALIVE by Matthew Quick (Fiction)
After 68-year-old David Granger crashes his BMW, medical tests reveal a brain tumor that he readily attributes to his wartime Agent Orange exposure. He wakes up from surgery repeating a name no one in his civilian life has ever heard --- that of a Native American soldier whom he was once ordered to discipline.
THE STREAK: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball's Most Historic Record by John Eisenberg (Sports/History)
When Cal Ripken Jr. began his career with the Baltimore Orioles at age 21, he had no idea he’d beat the historic record of playing 2,130 games in a row set by Lou Gehrig. Was his streak or Gehrig’s the more difficult achievement? THE STREAK delves into this impressive but controversial milestone, unraveling Gehrig’s at times unwitting pursuit of that goal and Ripken’s fierce determination to play the game his way.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Young Adult Books You Want to Read
Here are this month's books we featured on Teenreads.com that we think will appeal to an adult audience:
HOW DARE THE SUN RISE: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Sandra Uwiringiyimana was just 10 years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn’t pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.
AN UNINTERRUPTED VIEW OF THE SKY by Melanie Crowder (Fiction)
It's 1999 in Bolivia, and Francisco's life consists of school, soccer, and trying to find space for himself in his family's cramped yet boisterous home. But when his father is arrested on false charges and sent to prison by a corrupt system that targets the uneducated, the poor and the indigenous majority, Francisco and his sister are left with no choice: They must move into prison with their father. There, they find a world unlike anything they've ever known, where everything has its price. With their lives upended, Francisco faces an impossible decision: break up the family and take his sister to their grandparents in the Andean highlands, or remain together in the increasingly dangerous prison.
Click here for more young adult books we recommend you read.
Our Latest Poll: Interacting with Authors
Have you ever interacted with an author? If so, how? Please check all that apply.
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Via the author’s website
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Via the author’s blog
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Written email
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Written snail mail
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On Facebook
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On Twitter
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On Goodreads
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On Instagram
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On Pinterest
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On YouTube
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Via a phone chat
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Via a Skype chat
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Face to face at a book signing
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Face to face at a book conference or festival
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I never have interacted with an author.
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I never have interacted with an author, but would like to.
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Other (Please specify)
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, July 7th at noon ET.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You're
Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from June 23rd to July 7th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE CHILD by Fiona Barton and COCOA BEACH by Beatriz Williams.
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 rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Sounding Off on Audio Contest: Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!
Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from June 1st to July 5th at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Fiona Barton's THE CHILD, read by Mandy Williams and Rosalyn Landor with a full cast, and THE SUNSHINE SISTERS written and read by Jane Green.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, 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.
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