Cold Weather = Fire in the Fireplace and a Book!
For the record, I used the extra hour last weekend at least 24 ways. If every weekend had an extra hour, it would be quite lovely.
My friend Beverley has grown butternut squash at her weekend house, by accident. She had a beautiful garden of zinnias. And when I saw it, I was thinking I should plant those next summer. Well, the zinnias begat butternut squash as her husband composted the zinnia seeds with some compost that clearly had butternut squash seeds in it. The result: MANY butternut squash. I was joking that she could open her own farm stand! We roasted some and made this wonderful butternut squash with chili yogurt and cilantro sauce dish as a side for dinner last Sunday. Next up will be butternut squash soup with pears and ginger. I think I have shared this recipe before.
As I went to buy longer knitting needles on Saturday, I learned that I was knitting on #2s, not #3s, so the scarf project will take even longer to finish. And in what may be a really crazy move, I bought some really gorgeous yarn to knit a skirt, which also will be done on #2 needles. It will be a short skirt, maybe even Twiggy mini-length if I get tired of knitting. And since I do not have enough projects started and may at some point actually finish one, I found this pattern for a reversible hat called the Hot and Cold Hat that I saw when I was at StevenBe in Minneapolis last year. I am stopping by The Yarn Attic to get yarn for that tomorrow. On that one, the pattern looks complicated, but the end result is really fabulous
I have been thoroughly enjoying reading ALL THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS by Elizabeth J. Church, which will be in stores on March 6th. It’s set in 1960s Las Vegas and features a troupe dancer named Ruby Wilde, who gives readers a fabulously well-written look into the life behind the scenes on the Strip. I am loving all the details. It will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, as was her previous book, THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF LOVE.
As you may recall, last March Simon & Schuster hosted their Book Club Matinee at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Since then, those who attended (and those who just knew about the program) have been asking if there was a video of the event available. People who were there had enjoyed it so much that they wanted to share it with their book groups. I am happy to let you know that we have links to those interviews, including my interview with Isabel Allende for a fabulous discussion about her writing and personal background. You can see our full conversation, along with other interviews from that day (including Lisa See, Lisa Genova, Ruth Ware and Megan Miranda), on Off the Shelf’s Videos page here. Enjoy!
Last month, booklovers and book club members from the New York City Tri-State area convened at the New York Society for Ethical Culture for Hachette Book Group’s sixth annual Book Club Brunch. Our staffer Rebecca Munro was there with a few friends, and in this blog piece she fills us in on the panels she attended and the authors she heard speak at this fun and informative event.
The National Book Foundation announced this week that the 68th Annual National Book Awards ceremony, hosted by Cynthia Nixon, will be streamed exclusively on Facebook Live, beginning at 7:20pm EST this Wednesday, November 15th. The ceremony will be available on the National Book Foundation’s Facebook page, and the stream will also be embedded at nationalbook.org. I will be attending this year and am looking forward to it, though I still have not decided what to wear!
Next weekend, I am heading to the Miami Book Fair. On Saturday, November 18th at 10am in Room 3314 in Building 3, I will be doing a presentation featuring great book club reads for fall and winter. In addition, I will be interviewing Ann Hood about her novel, THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST, and her memoir, MORNINGSTAR: Growing Up with Books, as well as her experiences talking to book groups. Click here for more details. At this program, I also will provide a guide to Miami Book Fair sessions of interest to book groups.
Also on that Saturday while I am in Miami, I am going to be interviewing Lisa See, the aforementioned Ann Hood and Will Schwalbe for Facebook Live. Once I have all the times figured out for these chats, I will post them on our Facebook page, and after they air, I will link to these in our pre-Thanksgiving newsletter. If you are headed to the Miami Book Fair, please be sure to say hello!
Now to this week’s update…
Lee Child is back with book #22 in his Jack Reacher series, THE MIDNIGHT LINE. Reacher takes a stroll through a small Wisconsin town and sees a West Point class ring in a pawn shop window. The ring is tiny, for a woman, and it has her initials engraved on the inside. Reacher wonders what unlucky circumstance made her give up something she earned over four hard years. Determined to find out, he buys the ring and sets off on a harrowing journey through the upper Midwest to track down its rightful owner. But the deeper Reacher digs and the more he learns, the more dangerous the terrain becomes, as powerful forces guard a vast criminal enterprise.
Joe Hartlaub has our review and says that THE MIDNIGHT LINE “keeps Child’s string of successes intact, even at this late date. He presents some of his best writing thus far in this tale of good intentions moving a noble man to action.”
THE MIDNIGHT LINE is one of the prizes in our Word of Mouth contest; the other is END GAME by David Baldacci, which we’ll review next week. Let us know by Friday, November 17th at noon ET what books you’ve finished reading, and you’ll have a chance to win both novels.
True-crime journalist turned sleuth Bailey Weggins returns with her most chilling case to date in Kate White’s latest novel, EVEN IF IT KILLS HER. Bailey’s new friend in college, Jillian Lowe, had everything going for her. All of that dramatically changed during her sophomore year, when a neighbor murdered her family. Now, 16 years later, Bailey is shocked to see Jillian at her book event. The accused is on the brink of being cleared of the crime through new DNA evidence. With the real killer on the loose, Jillian is desperate for Bailey’s help to identify him so she can finally have some closure. As the two uncover deeply guarded secrets, so shocking that they make Jillian rethink her entire relationship to her family, Bailey and Jillian find themselves in great peril.
Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum calls EVEN IF IT KILLS HER “a twisty mystery full of clues and red herrings that are hard to distinguish between. This makes for a very thrilling read. The end is a surprise, and most readers will gasp at the unveiling of the real killer.”
EVEN IF IT KILLS HER is just one of the books we’re featuring in this month’s New in Paperback roundups. Others include paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Michael Crichton, Wally Lamb, Eric Van Lustbader, Jennifer Chiaverini and Sara Paretsky; memoirs by Robert Wagner and the late sports broadcaster Craig Sager; and paperback originals like COUNT TO TEN by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi, the newest book in the Private series, and DARKEST HOUR: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink by Anthony McCarten (the film adaptation starring Gary Oldman as Churchill will be in theaters on November 22nd).
Other books we’re reviewing this week include ENDURANCE, astronaut Scott Kelly’s memoir about his record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station; THE HOUSE OF UNEXPECTED SISTERS, the 18th installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series; and HEATHER, THE TOTALITY, a debut novel about family, power and privilege from “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner.
It’s that time of year again: Our Holiday Cheer feature and contests are back! The giveaways 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 to see what is being featured. As always, we’ll be sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts. Our preview email with all the books to be featured will go out on Monday to those who have opted into the Holiday Cheer newsletter, and our first contest will go live on Tuesday at noon ET. Week one’s prize books will be LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES by Jamie Ford (a Bets On selection, PARTING SHOT by Linwood Barclay, and THE STOLEN MARRIAGE by Diane Chamberlain.
We featured our review of PARTING SHOT and my interview with Linwood in last week’s newsletter, and this week you can read my comments about the book as it is my latest Bets On pick.
Our poll continues to ask how many books are on your to-be-read list right now. Click here to cast your vote.
In this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest, we’re giving away the audio versions of Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, read by Heather Lind, and IT'S ALL RELATIVE: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree written and read by A.J. Jacobs. Submit your comments about the audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both audio titles. Be sure to enter by Friday, December 1st at noon ET.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Deborah wrote this as a reply to a reader email about Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton: "As for the issue raised about x-ray equipment not being used until after 9/11, I would urge readers to do a simple internet search. In 1989, the year in which Y is set, governments around the world were rushing to tighten security after the downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in late 1988. While not all airports had x-ray facilities, many did, and it was an issue constantly discussed in the media. Airports in the USA and abroad were indeed x-raying luggage, doing heightened security checks, searching passengers, and checking electronic equipment (and yes, we did have x-ray machines and electronics back in the dark ages of 1989). This was certainly long before 9/11 and is a fact of historical record. I realize not all readers were alive in 1989, but I was and can attest personally to having my luggage x-rayed and being subjected to security checks at airports on more than one occasion. As for other ‘jarring inaccuracies’ in Sue's books, it is worth noting that while reading Y, I too had a few questions about the year 1989. In every instance I checked out, I found she was spot on in her details. Perhaps Sue has a better memory of the 1980s than do her readers?"
Mabel noted about our question of what she would like to see on our site, “I would love it if some of the books you gave away were in Kindle format. I have rheumatoid arthritis and have had to switch to Kindle books because my hands have a hard time holding regular books --- hardback or paperback. I have won books in the past from BRC and loved getting them, but alas, I no longer enter any of the contests because I just can't hold paper books any more. Love your newsletter.” We definitely will explore this.
Books Spanning Generations: We got many replies to this question. I am going to compile these for the next newsletter.
Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express is in theaters today. Here’s a confession: I do not think I ever read Agatha Christie. Heresy, right? Must read at least one book before I see the movie!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: THE GETAWAY by Jeff Kinney, aka Wimpy Kid #12, hit stores this week. 3.5 million copies were printed. I love the idea of 3.5 million children reading a book, though I know with pass-along readership, this will have many more readers. I joke with his editor that I am the biggest Wimpy Kid fan!
Sad news this week as I lost a very dear friend from the book industry to lung cancer. Sally Dedecker was smart, kind, blunt (which I loved) and insightful. We would talk business for hours. We would cover books, authors, the book industry, work, life, my kids, and anything else that came along. I have had to stop myself many times this week from forwarding on an email to her, especially when people shared notes about her and how fabulous she was. I note this as a reminder to enjoy your friends as much as you can --- make calls, send notes, have lunch and spend time with them. I had that with Sally, though I always will have wanted one more call or email --- especially the notes that would follow on Saturday morning after she read the newsletter.
COLD weather on tap for the weekend. I grabbed both my down vest and my down coat on separate days this week. In the pocket of each, I found a set of keys to our old office. Last month, I found my missing car key in the cuff of a sweater coat. The message here: search outer garments for keys.
I am looking forward to reading THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT by Chris Bohjalian, which will be in stores on March 13th. I think it’s time for a fire in the fireplace and time to kick it back a notch for reading. I just finished listening to MANHATTAN BEACH, which ended as wonderfully as it began. I am now listening to Tom Hanks’ UNCOMMON TYPE, which he narrates. I am just on the first story and am enjoying it!
Cory is hobbling along on one crutch, doing a fabulous Tiny Tim imitation with his broken foot. Greg is magically home this weekend, and Tom said it is too cold to play golf, the latter of which amazes me!
As I am traveling to Miami next weekend for the Book Fair, this weekend will be about Thanksgiving planning. I am even going to set the table so it will be one less thing to do. And to think I used to tease my mom about this.
Read on, and have a great week. And to all our readers who are veterans, thank you for your service, and Happy Veterans Day!
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: THE MIDNIGHT LINE by Lee Child
THE MIDNIGHT LINE: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Dick Hill
Reacher takes a stroll through a small Wisconsin town and sees a class ring in a pawn shop window: West Point 2005. The ring is tiny, for a woman, and it has her initials engraved on the inside. Reacher wonders what unlucky circumstance made her give up something she earned over four hard years. He decides to find out. And find the woman. And return her ring. So begins a harrowing journey that takes Reacher through the upper Midwest, from a lowlife bar on the sad side of a small town to a dirt-blown crossroads in the middle of nowhere, encountering bikers, cops, crooks, muscle, and a missing persons PI who wears a suit and a tie in the Wyoming wilderness. The deeper Reacher digs, and the more he learns, the more dangerous the terrain becomes. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: ENDURANCE by Scott Kelly
ENDURANCE: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Scott Kelly
The veteran of four spaceflights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life. He describes navigating the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight: the devastating effects on the body; the isolation from everyone he loves and the comforts of Earth; the catastrophic risks of colliding with space junk; and the still more haunting threat of being unable to help should tragedy strike at home --- an agonizing situation Kelly faced when, on a previous mission, his twin brother's wife, American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot while he still had two months in space. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE HOUSE OF UNEXPECTED SISTERS by Alexander McCall Smith
THE HOUSE OF UNEXPECTED SISTERS: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (18) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Lisette Lecat
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: a woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store. Never one to let an act of injustice go unanswered, Mma Ramotswe begins to investigate, but soon discovers unexpected information that causes her to reluctantly change her views about the case. Other surprises await our intrepid proprietress in the course of her inquiries. Mma Ramotswe is puzzled when she happens to hear of a local nurse named Mingie Ramotswe. She thought she knew everybody by the name of Ramotswe, and that they were all related. Who is this mystery lady? Reviewed by Roz Shea.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: HEATHER, THE TOTALITY
by Matthew Weiner
HEATHER, THE TOTALITY by Matthew Weiner (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Matthew Weiner
Mark and Karen Breakstone have constructed the idyllic life of wealth and status they always wanted, made complete by their beautiful and extraordinary daughter, Heather. But they are still not quite at the top. When the new owners of the penthouse above them begin construction, an unstable stranger penetrates the security of their comfortable lives and threatens to destroy everything they've created. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: EVEN IF IT KILLS HER by Kate White
EVEN IF IT KILLS HER: A Bailey Weggins Mystery by Kate White (Mystery/Thriller)
Bailey Weggins’ new friend in college, Jillian Lowe, had everything going for her. All of that dramatically changed during her sophomore year, when a neighbor became unhinged and murdered her family. Now, 16 years later, Bailey is shocked to see Jillian at her book event. The man accused of murdering her family is on the brink of being cleared of the crime through new DNA evidence. With the real killer walking free, Jillian is desperate for Bailey’s help to identify him and allow her the closure she yearns for. As the two uncover deeply guarded secrets, so shocking that they make Jillian rethink her entire relationship to her family, Bailey and Jillian find themselves in great peril. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Announcing Bookreporter.com's
Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature
At Bookreporter.com, we kick off the holiday season in style with our Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature. As our gift to you, on select days in November and December, we will spotlight a book and give five lucky readers the chance to win it. You have to visit the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter the 24-hour contest. As always, we will send our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts.
Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, November 14th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
PARTING SHOT by Linwood Barclay
A New Release Spotlight Title
PARTING SHOT by Linwood Barclay (Thriller)
I have been a longtime fan of Linwood Barclay’s work, and in PARTING SHOT he returns to Promise Falls, the upstate New York town where he has set many of his books, including the Promise Falls trilogy. Here longtime readers will reconnect with Cal Weaver, a local private investigator, and Detective Barry Duckworth. The subject here is revenge and the dark turns it can take.
Jeremy Pilford was accused of killing his girlfriend while driving under the influence. Drawing on a headline that many will remember, Jeremy’s defense was modeled after the real-life Texas boy who got off on an affluenza defense. Here he gets christened “Big Baby.” And people are out to make an example of him and are hunting him down. And then we have Brian Gaffney, who awakens with a tattoo crudely chiseled onto his back. What’s the meaning of the message there? And why was Brian targeted?
There’s boots-on-the-ground detective work, as well as back stories about all the characters, which enhance the storytelling. In his writing Barclay is about character, as well as plot. So many thriller authors sacrifice one for the other, at their peril, but for him multiple characters play off each other well to move the story along. Swipes at the media and the omnipresent challenges of social media layer into the story, making this a thought-provoking work, as well as one that has all the twists and turns that readers love from Barclay.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our interview with Linwood Barclay.
- Click here to read Linwood Barclay’s bio.
- Visit Linwood Barclay’s website and YouTube channel.
- Connect with Linwood Barclay on Facebook and Twitter.
- Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Click here for more books we're betting you'll love.
November’s New in Paperback Roundups
November’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes Michael Crichton's DRAGON TEETH, a thrilling adventure set in the Wild West during the golden age of fossil hunting; Wally Lamb’s I'LL TAKE YOU THERE, an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it; ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE INITIATIVE by Eric Van Lustbader, in which the U.S. government is convinced of Jason Bourne's treason and is doing everything in its power to kill him; and DIFFICULT WOMEN, a collection of stories from Roxane Gay that tells of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection.
Among our nonfiction highlights are PRINCE CHARLES, Sally Bedell Smith's biography of the oldest heir to the throne in more than 300 years, and the first authoritative treatment of Charles’ life that sheds light on the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, and his preparations to take the throne one day; LIVING OUT LOUD, a moving and inspiring memoir from beloved sports broadcaster Craig Sager on his battle with leukemia and how he maintained a positive outlook on life in the face of incredible circumstances; and COUNTDOWN TO PEARL HARBOR by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Steve Twomey, a fascinating look at the 12 days leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor --- the warnings, clues and missteps.
See what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
November 6th, November 13th, November 20th and November 27th.
An Interview with Steven Axelrod,
Author of NANTUCKET RED TICKETS
NANTUCKET RED TICKETS is the fourth installment in Steven Axelrod’s mystery series featuring Nantucket Police Chief Henry Kennis. In this interview, Axelrod explains his inspiration for his protagonist, who he describes as “mostly just me --- 20 years younger, much smarter and much better looking.” He also talks about the importance of setting in these books, the kind of research he does for a Henry Kennis novel and his aversion to “info dumps,” his favorite authors, and the best comment he ever received from a reader.
NANTUCKET RED TICKETS: A Henry Kennis Mystery by Steven Axelrod (Mystery)
It's Christmas Eve on Nantucket, and prominent businessman Jackson Blum is about to live out his own version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. No visions, no ghosts --- just the past, represented by the exhumed skeleton of his old partner, Ted Coddington, with a bullet from Blum's Ruger pistol in its skull; the present, in the form of a horribly mistreated employee who reveals Blum as the Scrooge he is; and the future, invoked by a family crisis that threatens to ruin the rest of his life. Nantucket Police Chief Henry Kennis is investigating the so-cold Coddington case with Blum as the main suspect while he roots out a plot to rig the traditional $5,000 Red Tickets raffle and struggles to close down a local opioid dealer who's selling to high school kids.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the interview.
MARTIN LUTHER: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Eric Metaxas
On All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted a document he hoped would spark an academic debate, but that instead ignited a conflagration that would forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. MARTIN LUTHER tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.
REVOLUTION SONG: A Story of American Freedom by Russell Shorto (History)
Russell Shorto takes us back to the founding of the American nation, drawing on diaries, letters and autobiographies to flesh out six lives that cast the era in a fresh new light. They include an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a rebellious young woman who abandoned her abusive husband to chart her own course, and a certain Mr. Washington, who was admired for his social graces but harshly criticized for his often-disastrous military strategy. Through these lives, we understand that the revolution was fought over the meaning of individual freedom, a philosophical idea that became a force for violent change. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
THE END WE START FROM by Megan Hunter (Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Louise Brealey
As London is submerged below floodwaters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, she and her baby are forced to leave their home in search of safety. They head north through a newly dangerous country seeking refuge from place to place. The story traces fear and wonder as the baby grows, thriving and content against all the odds. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE MAYFLOWER: The Families, the Voyage, and the Founding of America by Rebecca Fraser (History)
Audiobook available, read by Kate Reading
The voyage of the Mayflower and the founding of Plymouth Colony is one of the seminal events in world history. But the poorly equipped group of English Puritans who ventured across the Atlantic in the early autumn of 1620 had no sense they would pass into legend. They had 80 casks of butter and two dogs but no cattle for milk, meat or ploughing. They were ill-prepared for the brutal journey and the new land that few of them could comprehend. But the Mayflower story did not end with these Pilgrims’ arrival on the coast of New England or their first uncertain years as settlers. Rebecca Fraser traces two generations of one ordinary family and their extraordinary response to the challenges of life in America. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
FOOLS' RIVER: A Poke Rafferty Thriller by Timothy Hallinan (Thriller)
The two most difficult days in Bangkok writer Poke Rafferty’s life begin with an emergency visit from Edward Dell, the almost-boyfriend of Poke’s teenage daughter, Miaow. The boy’s father, Buddy, a late-middle-aged womanizer who has moved to Bangkok for happy hunting, has disappeared, and money is being siphoned out of his bank and credit card accounts. It soon becomes apparent that Buddy is in the hands of a pair of killers who prey on Bangkok’s “sexpats”; when his accounts are empty, he’ll be found, like a dozen others before him, floating facedown in a Bangkok canal. His money is almost gone. Over 48 frantic hours, Poke does everything he can to locate Buddy before it’s too late. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
DARE NOT LINGER: The Presidential Years by Nelson Mandela and Mandla Langa (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Adrian Lester
In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa. Five years later, he stood down. In that time, he and his government wrought the most extraordinary transformation, turning a nation riven by centuries of colonialism and apartheid into a fully functioning democracy in which all South Africa’s citizens, black and white, were equal before the law. DARE NOT LINGER is the story of Mandela’s presidency, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to finish his term as president, but was unable to finish. Now the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task using Mandela’s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding, and a wealth of previously unseen archival material. Reviewed by Gabriella Mayer.
HITLER, MY NEIGHBOR: Memories of a Jewish Childhood, 1929-1939 by Edgar Feuchtwanger with Bertil Scali, translated by Adriana Hunter (Memoir)
Edgar Feuchtwanger came from a prominent German-Jewish family. He was a carefree five-year-old when Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, moved into the building opposite theirs in Munich. In 1933, the joy of this untroubled life was shattered. Hitler had been named Chancellor. Edgar's parents, stripped of their rights as citizens, tried to protect him from increasingly degrading realities. In class, his teacher had him draw swastikas, and his schoolmates joined the Hitler Youth. In 1939, Edgar was sent on his own to England, where he would make a new life, a career, have a family, and strive to forget the nightmare of his past --- a past that came rushing back when he decided, at the age of 88, to tell the story of his buried childhood and his infamous neighbor. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
DOWN TO NO GOOD by Earl Javorsky (Mystery/Thriller)
Private investigator Charlie Miner, freshly revived from his own murder, gets a call from Homicide Detective Dave Putnam. Self-styled “psychic to the stars” Tamara Gale has given crucial information about three murders, and the brass thinks it makes the Department look bad. Dave wants Charlie to help figure out the angle, since he has first-hand experience with the inexplicable. Trouble is, Charlie, just weeks after his full-death experience, once again has severe cognitive problems and may get them both killed. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
A CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS by Terrence McCauley (Thriller)
James Hicks has spent his entire life and career fighting on the front lines of terrorism for the clandestine intelligence organization known as The University. He has learned that enemies can appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, and allegiances shift like the wind. But now, Hicks has finally discovered his true enemy: the criminal organization known as The Vanguard. This shadowy group has operated as a deadly organization comprised of weapons dealers, drug runners and money launderers for decades, but has now decided to add regime change to their catastrophic agenda. But knowing the enemy is one thing; being able to defeat it is another matter entirely. When Hicks uncovers a solid lead on his new adversaries, his world explodes. Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on November 14th
Below are some notable titles releasing on November 14th 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 November 13th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
AMERICAN DRIFTER by Heather Graham and Chad Michael Murray (Thriller)
A young veteran of the US Army, River Roulet abandons the world he knows and flees to the country he’s always dreamed of visiting: Brazil. There he meets the enchanting Natal, an impassioned journalist and free spirit --- who lives with the gangster that rules much of Rio. As their romance blossoms, River and Natal flee together into the interior of Brazil, where they are pursued by the sadistic drug lord, Tio Amato, and his men.
ARTEMIS by Andy Weir (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. Jazz Bashara sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she has stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.
BREAKING FREE: How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs by Rachel Jeffs (Memoir)
Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey. No one in this radical splinter sect of the Mormon Church was more powerful or terrifying than its leader, Warren Jeffs --- Rachel’s father. In BREAKING FREE, Rachel blows the lid off this taciturn community.
COUNT TO TEN: A Private Novel by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi (Thriller)
Santosh Wagh quit his job as head of Private India after harrowing events in Mumbai almost got him killed. But Jack Morgan, global head of the world's finest investigation agency, needs him back. Jack is setting up a new office in Delhi, and Santosh is the only person he can trust. Still battling his demons, Santosh accepts, and it's not long before the agency takes on a case that could make or break them.
END GAME by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Will Robie and Jessica Reel are the ones the government calls in when the utmost secrecy is required to take out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States. And through every mission, one man has always had their backs: their handler, code-named Blue Man. But now, Blue Man is missing. Sent to investigate, Robie and Reel arrive in the small town of Grand to discover that it has its own share of problems.
FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD by Louise Erdrich (Dystopian Thriller)
Cedar Hawk Songmaker is four months pregnant. Though she wants to tell the adoptive parents who raised her from infancy, Cedar first feels compelled to find her birth mother, an Ojibwe living on the reservation, to understand both her and her baby’s origins. As she goes back to her own biological beginnings, society around her begins to disintegrate. It will take all Cedar has to avoid the prying eyes of potential informants and keep her baby safe.
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich (Mystery)
Headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church, Stephanie Plum knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.
OATHBRINGER: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy/Adventure)
Dalinar Kholin’s Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths.
PROMISE ME, DAD: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden (Memoir)
In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 15 months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. PROMISE ME, DAD chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s life and career.
SEVENTH DECIMATE: The Great God's War by Stephen R. Donaldson (Fantasy)
For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless. Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers.
SLEEP NO MORE: Six Murderous Tales by P. D. James (Mystery/Short Stories)
It's not always a question of "whodunit?" Sometimes there's more mystery in the why or how. And although we usually know the unhealthy fates of both victim and perpetrator, what of those clever few who plan and carry out the perfect crime? These are some of the mysteries that we follow through these six stories as we are drawn into the thinking, the memories, the emotional machinations, the rationalizations, the dreams and desires behind murderous cause and effect.
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown (Memoir)
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES is the story of an Englishwoman barely out of her 20s who arrives in New York City with a dream. Summoned from London in hopes that she can save Condé Nast's troubled new flagship Vanity Fair, Tina Brown is immediately plunged into the maelstrom of the competitive New York media world and the backstabbing rivalries at the court of the planet's slickest, most glamour-focused magazine company.
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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 November 3rd to November 17th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of END GAME by David Baldacci and THE MIDNIGHT LINE: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child.
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.
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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 November 1st to December 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, read by Heather Lind, and IT'S ALL RELATIVE: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree written and read by A.J. Jacobs.
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.
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