As I write this newsletter, it’s Thursday night and I should be packing for my trip to Miami tomorrow for the Miami Book Fair. Instead I am writing. About two hours ago, I realized that one of the skirts that I planned to pack is still at the dry cleaners. Brilliant, right? It’s going to be a long night.
Last weekend was a mad dash to get a number of projects done around the house before the holidays. One was a special treat as my husband painted our front door turquoise blue for me (you can see it above). This touch of blue changed the whole look of the house! Where did this idea come from? You may recall that I am passionate about a non-profit called Taylor’s Gift that brings awareness to organ donation and support for the families of those donating organs and needing them. I sit on their advisory board. One of the local realtors in the Coppell, TX area has been painting the front doors on all of her listings this shade of blue to encourage people to learn more about Taylor’s Gift. I look forward to sharing their story with people who ask about the color of our door. It was red since we moved into this house 28 years ago!
Wednesday night’s National Book Awards ceremony was one of the biggest evenings of the year for book lovers. Attendees “dressed up” in their black-tie best and headed downtown to Cipriani for a wonderful evening of books and authors. It was a star-studded ceremony, hosted by Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon. Lifetime achievement awards were presented by President Bill Clinton and Anne Hathaway, who has an Academy Award with her name on it. The evening closed with the announcement of the winner of the National Book Award for fiction, which was won by Jesmyn Ward for SING, UNBURIED, SING. She is the first female author to win this prestigious award twice; last time, it was for SALVAGE THE BONES, which I have not read, but now have added to my to-be-read list. I had listened to SING, UNBURIED, SING on audio and kept hearing the voice of Jojo in my head as Jesmyn was accepting her award. She got me to bond with her 13-year-old character and his drug-addicted mother. She is one very powerful writer, and I look forward to reading much more from her in the years to come. Annie Proulx, who was honored with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a lifetime-achievement prize, noted that she did not start writing until she was 58! So, for any of you out there who think you “may still have a book to write,” it’s time to start writing!
You can see a list of all of the winners here.
Cristina Vazquez, one of our Miami readers, attended three events for the Miami Book Fair this week on our behalf, saying, “This is truly the best time of the year in Miami. The literary waves crash the Downtown Miami area, and I can't get enough!” Here’s what she had to share about the “Evenings With” events with Patti Smith, Isabel Allende (pictured above), and the Bush sisters, Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush (also pictured above).
“Patti Smith was everything you can expect from an iconic figure and more. She sang the well-known and loved ‘Because the Night’ acapella. Incredible! She not only took audience questions, but also asked for audience participation that led to audience members singing ‘Can't Help Falling in Love’! Can you imagine? Isn't it the coolest thing to say, ‘OH, I sang with Patti Smith!’? She's so down to earth, authentic and real. I left the Chapman Conference Center totally motivated to change the world!”
“On Wednesday night, Isabel Allende was amazing, too. I would love to look like her when I reach 75! She says she used to write 10 hours a day, and now writes about six hours. She still has the ritual of beginning her books on January 8th. She explained to the audience what magical realism is: ‘You can see, you can experience, but you can't understand.’ She says she doesn't wait for inspiration --- she shows up and tries. She's totally hooked on audiobooks, too. And she shared that she will be appearing on the show 'Jane the Virgin' playing herself! A series based on INES OF MY SOUL is being worked on. She, too, left me engaged and wanting to read her latest book. She writes in Spanish, and all the copies of her work in Spanish, which I had hoped to get my hands on, sold out at the Fair. She says that she edits the English translation and thinks at times those are even better than the original Spanish. She also shared that she does all the important things like praying, counting, writing and making love in Spanish!”
Last night, Cristina and her sister, Sarah, went to see the Bush sisters talk about their book, SISTERS FIRST: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life: “It was funny to see how the sisters have a special relationship and how real they both are. They had great anecdotes about growing up in the White House, including a conversation about whether the place is haunted or not. It was fun to hear the story of how the president had painted one of them (Barbara), but not the other (Jenna). Jenna then launched into an explanation of why she was not painted. They were genuine and funny. We both bought the book, standing on a long line. We saw the sisters when they were leaving and told them they were great, which made the evening even more special. Then my sister and I closed out our evening with a café con leche, Cuban bread with butter and a Cuban croquet."
I look forward to catching up with Cristina this weekend. We want to grab a Cuban or Latin dinner together.
On my agenda for the weekend is a panel talking about great books for book groups on Saturday morning at 10am ET, where I also will interview 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. Later in the day Saturday, I am interviewing Lisa See for Facebook Live from 12:00-12:20pm ET, which will run on our Bookreporter Facebook page. Then, from 2:20-2:40pm ET, I will be interviewing Ann Hood, also on Facebook Live, and then from 2:45-3:05pm ET, I will be chatting with Will Schwalbe. If you have a question for any of these three authors, send me a note. Next week I will share the links, so those of you who cannot join us can see these chats.
Now to this week’s update…
END GAME is the latest thriller in David Baldacci’s series starring government assassins Will Robie and Jessica Reel, who are responsible for taking out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States. Their handler, code-named Blue Man, has had their backs through every mission, but now he 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. A stagnant local economy and a woefully understaffed police force have made this small community a magnet for crime, drugs and a growing number of militant fringe groups. But an even more insidious and sweeping threat is lying in wait, and it may shake the very foundations of America.
Kate Ayers has our review and says, “In true David Baldacci form, END GAME starts with a bang and continues at a relentless pace to the very last page. Each chapter ends with a gritty cliffhanger. Putting the book down is simply not possible.”
The world as we know it is ending, in Louise Erdrich’s first dystopian novel, FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD. Evolution has reversed itself, affecting every living creature on earth. Science is unable to stop the world from running backwards, as woman after woman gives birth to infants that appear to be primitive species of humans. Cedar Hawk Songmaker is four months pregnant. Though she wants to tell the adoptive parents who raised her from infancy, Cedar is determined to locate 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. Cedar must do all she can to avoid the prying eyes of potential informants and keep her baby safe.
According to reviewer Norah Piehl, “Readers might not come away from FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD with anything resembling hope, but they will have much to consider --- including one model for how to survive the unthinkable.”
Other books we’re reviewing this week include ARTEMIS, a near-future thriller set on the moon, from Andy Weir, following his enormously successful debut novel, THE MARTIAN; A CHRISTMAS RETURN, Anne Perry’s 15th Christmas novella, a Victorian-era mystery centered on Charlotte Pitt’s grandmother, Mariah Ellison; and two high-profile books, the reviews of which come to us courtesy of Jesse Kornbluth from HeadButler.com (co-founder of Bookreporter.com): OBAMA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT by former chief official White House photographer Pete Souza (with a foreword from Barack Obama himself), and THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown, who was editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair for eight years and kept daily diaries throughout her stint. Jesse was a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair during “the Tina Brown years.” You can see Tina talking about the book on this episode of "CBS Sunday Morning."
THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG is the latest title in our Paperback Spotlight. For five decades, Carole Bayer Sager has been among the most admired and successful songwriters at work, responsible for her lyrical contributions to some of the most popular songs in the English language. But while her professional life was filled with success and fascinating people, her personal life was far more difficult and dramatic. In this memoir, which is now available in paperback, Sager tells the surprisingly frank and darkly humorous story of a woman whose sometimes crippling fears and devastating relationships inspired many of the songs she would ultimately write. We’ll be giving away five copies of THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG in an upcoming Holiday Cheer contest.
And speaking of which, this year’s Holiday Cheer contests kicked off this week. Our first three prize books were THE STOLEN MARRIAGE by Diane Chamberlain, and two Bookreporter.com Bets On picks: LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES by Jamie Ford and PARTING SHOT by Linwood Barclay. Because of the abbreviated week, we’re giving away just one book next week: A SNOW COUNTRY CHRISTMAS: The Carsons of Mustang Creek, Book 4 by Linda Lael Miller. The contest will go live on Monday, November 20th at noon ET.
With the holidays fast approaching (can you believe Thanksgiving is just a few short days away?), our latest poll is all about the gift of giving: Do you donate books? And if so, where? Click here to let us know.
Our previous poll asked how many books are on your to-be-read list right now. A whopping 65% of you said more than 20. That’s what we’ve come to expect from our readers! Click here for all the results.
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, December 1st at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg and THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz, both of which we’ll review next week.
You’ll also have until December 1st at noon ET to enter this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest, where the prize books are 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 finished listening to, and you’ll be eligible to win both audio titles.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
A couple of weeks ago, a reader asked for recommendations of multi-generational books. It’s fitting that as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, which typically brings generations together, we share these ideas. Wendy noted, “I just finished listening to HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi, which follows the story of the descendants of two half-sisters from Ghana through seven generations. The book is great, and the audiobook narrator was wonderful." Lory also recommended HOMEGOING.
Susan had three books to recommend: “SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS by J. Courtney Sullivan takes two sisters from Ireland in their late teens to the US and shares their journeys as they grow old. It starts with the death of one of their grown children and then takes the reader back to their beginning in Ireland. THE BOSTON GIRL by Anita Diamant is a sweet read. A grandmother answers her granddaughter’s question: how she got to be the person she is today. She tells tales from her immigrant upbringing and friendships that made her who she is. (Linda Lavin is the audiobook’s narrator and is quite enjoyable --- she has is an interesting voice). WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES by Georgia Hunter takes us through one family’s life pre- and post-WWII. Although it is a short period, it captures each family member during this time and is rich with historical generational appeal.
Debbie noted, ”Here are a few that I have read and enjoyed: BARKSKINS by Annie Proulx, DO NOT SAY WE HAVE NOTHING by Madeleine Thien, THE JAPANESE LOVER by Isabel Allende, and again, HOMEGOING."
Alison from Novato, CA, recommended Penny Vincenzi’s NO ANGEL, SOMETHING DANGEROUS and INTO TEMPTATION.
Sally wrote, “I have two interesting suggestions: GALORE by Michael Crummey and THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF NIGHT by Catherine Banner
Book TV This Weekend: For those who cannot make it to the Miami Book Fair, note that Book TV airs on C-SPAN 2, and this weekend they will be covering many of the panels at the Fair. For more information, go to Book TV's website. Here are some you can expect to see:
Saturday:
10:30am: Chris Matthews, author of BOBBY KENNEDY: A Raging Spirit
1pm: Walter Isaacson, author of LEONARDO DA VINCI
3pm: Salman Rushdie, author of THE GOLDEN HOUSE
Sunday:
11:30am: Van Jones, author of BEYOND THE MESSY TRUTH: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together
3pm: Les Standiford, author of THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits
5:15pm: Edwidge Danticat, author of THE ART OF DEATH: Writing the Final Story
5:30pm: Kurt Andersen, author of FANTASYLAND: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History, and Mark Bowden, author of HUE 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
Fredrik Backman Book Club Event: For those of you who missed this last week, presented by Off the Shelf, here’s a link directly to the video.
The tablecloth, the coordinating place mats and the napkins/napkin rings are on the table for Thanksgiving dinner. This gives some semblance that the holiday celebration is under control. Oh, and the menu is planned. Greg is picking up the fresh-killed turkey on Saturday. The rest will follow when I arrive home. I confess that the Thanksgiving menu is one of my least favorite. No matter how I try, it just seems to lack some of the imagination of other holiday meals. There are too many “must-have” dishes. I still relish the year that I asked my mom to serve lobster, as I was sure the Pilgrims ate shellfish. It was wonderful. Less wonderful was the year we had capons!
Here’s a reminder that the Saturday after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday. Note that this is the perfect time to plan some shopping at your local independent bookstore.
I am off to pack; it’s time for me to try to remember what I wear when the temps are in the 80s, like they were a mere few weeks ago. When I pack, it’s like I never got dressed before!
Note: Next week, our newsletter will arrive on Wednesday, so our staff can enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.
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: END GAME by David Baldacci
END GAME by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy
Will Robie and Jessica Reel are two of the most lethal people alive. They're 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. A stagnant local economy and a woefully understaffed police force have made this small community a magnet for crime, drugs and a growing number of militant fringe groups. But lying in wait in Grand is an even more insidious and sweeping threat, one that may shake the very foundations of America. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD
by Louise Erdrich
FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD by Louise Erdrich (Dystopian Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Louise Erdrich
The world as we know it is ending. Evolution has reversed itself, affecting every living creature on earth. Science cannot stop the world from running backwards, as woman after woman gives birth to infants that appear to be primitive species of humans. Thirty-two-year-old 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. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: ARTEMIS by Andy Weir
ARTEMIS by Andy Weir (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Rosario Dawson
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you have debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz 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 --- and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
New Paperback Spotlight: THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG
by Carole Bayer Sager
THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG: A Memoir by Carole Bayer Sager (Memoir)
A New York Times bestseller from Grammy and Academy Award–winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager shares “a delightful and funny tell-all crammed with famous names and famous songs” (Steve Martin), from her fascinating (and sometimes calamitous) relationships to her collaborations with the greatest composers and musical artists of our time.
For five decades, Carole Bayer Sager has been among the most admired and successful songwriters at work, responsible for her lyrical contributions to some of the most popular songs in the English language, including “Nobody Does It Better,” “A Groovy Kind of Love,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” and the theme from the movie Arthur, “The Best That You Can Do” (about getting caught between the moon and New York City).
She has collaborated with (and written for) a dizzying number of stars, including Peter Allen, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Clint Eastwood, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Melissa Manchester, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.
But while her professional life was filled with success and fascinating people, her personal life was far more difficult and dramatic. In this memoir that “reads like a candid conversation over a bottle of Mersault on a breezy Bel Air night” (Vanity Fair), Carole Bayer Sager tells the surprisingly frank and darkly humorous story of a woman whose sometimes crippling fears and devastating relationships inspired many of the songs she would ultimately write.
“This exceptionally candid memoir” (Los Angeles Times) will fascinate anyone interested in the craft of songwriting and the joy of collaboration, but THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG is also a deeply personal account of how love and heartbreak made her the woman, and the writer, she is. “Carole Bayer Sager is simply the finest…and this book is one of the best, most lasting songs she has ever written” (Carly Simon).
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit Carole Bayer Sager’s website.
- Connect with Carole Bayer Sager on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight.
Featured Review: OBAMA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT
by Pete Souza
OBAMA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT by Pete Souza (Photography/History)
During Barack Obama's two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else --- and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified and disarmingly candid. OBAMA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT reproduces more than 300 of Souza's most iconic photographs with fine-art print quality in an oversize collectible format. Together they document the most consequential hours of the Presidency, alongside unguarded moments with the President's family, his encounters with children, interactions with world leaders and cultural figures, and more. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES: 1983-1992
by Tina Brown
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Tina Brown
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. She survives the politics, the intrigue and the attempts to derail her by a simple stratagem: succeeding. In the face of rampant skepticism, she triumphantly reinvents a failing magazine. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: A CHRISTMAS RETURN by Anne Perry
A CHRISTMAS RETURN by Anne Perry (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by Jenny Sterlin
As Charlotte Pitt’s grandmother, Mariah Ellison, finds herself investigating a long-unsolved slaying, it becomes clear that grappling with intrigue and foul play runs in the family. A festive Christmas package left on Mariah’s doorstep contains an ominous present, sparking memories of a 20-year-old murder that shattered her friendship with the victim’s widow. Though the gift is a bitter reminder of that tragic time, in the spirit of the season Mariah travels to Surrey in hopes of reconciling with her estranged friend and solving the crime that drove them apart. But Surrey’s picturesque hills conceal dark doings and shocking revelations that could make the holiday anything but calm and bright. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
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 are spotlighting a book and giving 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 are sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts.
Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, November 20th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
An Interview with Steven F. Havill,
Author of EASY ERRORS
While EASY ERRORS is Steven F. Havill’s 22nd Posadas County mystery, it is also the first in the series --- chronologically speaking. When the opening installment, HEARTSHOT, published in 1991, Bill Gastner was the county Undersheriff. Over time Bill became Sheriff, then retired, and Robert Torrez took over the top spot. But what were Torrez's first days as a rookie officer like? In this interview, Havill explains why he decided to follow up his first prequel, ONE PERFECT SHOT, which told the story of Estelle Reyes-Guzman's first day on the job, with a second one; his fascination with New Mexico, which is the setting for the series and has virtually become a character in his stories; and what led him to delve into the mystery genre after writing four westerns.
EASY ERRORS: The Posadas County Mysteries by Steven F. Havill (Mystery)
A violent crash has occurred. Not only is the vehicle totaled and the driver and a passenger crushed inside, a dead boy has been ejected. The first deputy to join Undersheriff Bill Gastner at the scene is rookie Robert Torrez, the department's newest hire. Before Gastner can head him off, Torrez sees that the boy is his spirited younger brother. And the girl crushed inside the SUV is a younger sister. The driver of the Suburban, also dead, is the assistant District Attorney's teenaged son. Were the three dead kids running from someone --- or something --- rather than speeding? Further investigation reveals that a fourth teen should have been in the vehicle, but is now missing. Where had the four kids been? And why?
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the interview.
TYPHOON FURY: A Novel of the Oregon Files by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Scott Brick
Hired to search for a collection of paintings worth half a billion dollars, Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon soon find themselves in much deeper waters. The vicious leader of a Filipino insurgency is not only using them to finance his attacks, he has stumbled upon one of the most lethal secrets of World War II: a Japanese-developed drug, designed, but never used, to turn soldiers into super-warriors. To stop him, the Oregon must take on not only the rebel commander, but also a South African mercenary intent on getting his own hands on the drug, a massive swarm of torpedo drones targeting the U.S. Navy, an approaching megastorm --- and, just possibly, a war that could envelop the entire Asian continent. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
COUNT TO TEN: A Private Novel by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Sartaj Garewal
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. Plastic barrels containing dissolved human remains have been found in the basement of a house in an upmarket area of South Delhi. But this isn't just any house --- this property belongs to the state government. With the crime scene in lockdown and information suppressed by the authorities, delving too deep could make Santosh a target to be eliminated. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
QUICK & DIRTY: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Tony Roberts
When a slam-bang of a crime brings a beautiful new client into Stone Barrington’s office, little does he know his association with her will pull him into a far more serpentine mystery in the exclusive world of art. It’s a business where a rare find could make a career --- and a collection --- and mistakes in judgment are costly. And under its genteel and high-minded veneer lurks an assortment of grifters and malfeasants eager to cash in on the game. In the upscale world of New York City’s luxury penthouses and grand Hamptons estates, it will take a man of Stone Barrington’s careful discernment and well-honed instincts to get to the truth without ruffling the wrong feathers. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.
SLEEP NO MORE: Six Murderous Tales by P. D. James (Mystery/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Daniel Weyman
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? The ones who aren't brought down even though they're found out? And what about those who do the finding out who witness a murder or who identify the murderer but keep the information to themselves? 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. Reviewed by Jane Krebs.
THE CITY OF BRASS by S. A. Chakraborty (Historical Fantasy)
Audiobook available, performed by Soneela Nankani
On the streets of 18th-century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. However, when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she is forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass --- a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
WONDER VALLEY by Ivy Pochoda (Fiction)
Audiobook available, performed by Will Damron
During a typically crowded morning commute, a naked runner is dodging between the stalled cars. The strange sight makes the local news and captures the imaginations of a stunning cast of misfits and lost souls. There's Ren, just out of juvie, who travels to LA in search of his mother. There's Owen and James, teenage twins who live in a desert commune, where their father, a self-proclaimed healer, holds a powerful sway over his disciples. There's Britt, who shows up at the commune harboring a dark secret. There's Tony, a bored and unhappy lawyer who is inspired by the runner. And there's Blake, a drifter hiding in the desert, doing his best to fight off his most violent instincts. Their lives will all intertwine and come crashing together in a shocking way. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE by Ruth Emmie Lang (Fantasy)
Audiobook available; read by Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, Piper Goodeve and Peter Berkrot
Orphaned, raised by wolves, and the proud owner of a horned pig named Merlin, Weylyn Grey knew he wasn’t like other people. But when he single-handedly stopped that tornado on a stormy Christmas day in Oklahoma, he realized just how different he actually was. As amazing as these powers may appear, though, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places. Since Weylyn saved Mary from an angry wolf on her 11th birthday, she’s known that a relationship with him isn’t without its risks, but she doesn’t care. BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE tells the story of Weylyn Grey’s life from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird. Reviewed by Bianca Ambrosio.
THE GHOSTS OF GALWAY: A Jack Taylor Novel by Ken Bruen (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Gerry O'Brien
Jack Taylor is recovering from a mistaken medical diagnosis and a failed suicide attempt. In need of money, and with former cop on his resume, Jack has been hired as a night-shift security guard. But his Ukrainian boss has Jack in mind for a bit of off-the-books work. He wants Jack to find what some claim to be the first true book of heresy, The Red Book, currently in the possession of a rogue priest who is hiding out in Galway after fleeing a position at the Vatican. Em, the many-faced woman who has had a vise on Jack’s heart and mind for the past two years, reappears and turns out to be entangled with the story of The Red Book, too, leading Jack down ever more mysterious and lethal pathways. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
TURN ON THE HEAT: A Cool & Lam Mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner, writing as A. A. Fair (Hard-boiled Mystery)
Hired by a mysterious “Mr. Smith” to find a woman who vanished 21 years earlier, Donald Lam finds himself facing a sadistic cop, a desperate showgirl, a duplicitous client, and one very dogged (and beautiful) newspaper reporter --- while Bertha Cool’s attempts to cut herself in on this lucrative opportunity land them both hip-deep in murder. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
MADONNA IN A FUR COAT written by Sabahattin Ali, translated by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Robert Fass
A shy young man leaves his home in rural Turkey to learn a trade and discover life in 1920s Berlin. There, amidst the city’s bustling streets, elegant museums, passionate politics and infamous cabarets, a chance meeting with a beautiful half-Jewish artist transforms him forever. Caught between his desire for freedom from tradition and his yearning to belong, he struggles to hold on to the new life he has found with the woman he loves. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
THE QUEEN'S PROPHET by Dawn Patitucci (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Justine Eyre
When the Countess of Walther dies at her German estate, her loyal dwarfess Maria-Barbara is forced to work as a prophet for a traveling magician, who betrays her by selling her to the Queen of Spain. At the royal court in Madrid, Mari finds herself in a bizarre, enchanted world, a society culturally splendid but intellectually isolated. There she becomes Maribarbola, prophet to the Queen, and, her survival at stake, endeavors to outsmart the Spaniards. Mari's wits and loyalties are tested as she becomes embroiled in palace intrigue alongside the politically embattled Queen. But even as she survives and thrives at the Spanish court, the loss of identity Mari suffers from living a lie makes her question whether she is really surviving at all. Reviewed by Carly Silver.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on November 20th and 21st
Below are some notable titles releasing on November 20th and 21st 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 20th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
November 20th
THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS by James Patterson (Thriller)
Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law --- until now. Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis Gary Soneji in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops who think they're above the law. Cross knows it was self-defense. But will a jury see it that way?
November 21st
LITTLE BROKEN THINGS by Nicole Baart (Fiction)
I have something for you. When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year, and their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text. But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn's house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever.
SECRETS OF CAVENDON by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Historical Fiction)
It’s the summer of 1949, and things have run smoothly at Cavendon Hall for years. But now a new generation is at the helm, and also at the forefront of new scandal and intrigue. With romance, betrayal, heartbreak and possible murder threatening to tear them apart, the Inghams and Swanns will have to find a way to come together and protect each other in the face of threats they never could have predicted.
THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction)
For the past six months, Arthur Moses’ days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. Seventeen-year-old Maddy Harris comes to the cemetery to escape the other kids at school and a life of loss. She’s seen Arthur sitting there alone, and one afternoon she joins him --- a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls.
THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz (Thriller)
Mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide --- and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals --- Jane Hawk picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: Donating Books
Do you donate books? If so, where? Please check all that apply.
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Yes, my local bookstore has a program where I can get credit for future purchases
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Yes, to used bookstores
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Yes, to thrift stores
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Yes, to schools
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Yes, to libraries
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Yes, to hospitals
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Yes, to nursing homes
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Yes, to homeless shelters
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Yes, to prisons
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No
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No, but I would like to do this
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Other (Please specify)
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, December 1st 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 November 17th to December 1st at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg and THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz.
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 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.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
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