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Happy Thanksgiving to Our Readers; We Appreciate You!
As always, the Miami Book Fair was fabulous. I flew into Miami on Friday afternoon and took the train downtown, which was super easy and cheaper than a New York City subway. That evening I caught up with my good friend, Cristina Vasquez (pictured with me above), who is a longtime reader of Bookreporter.com. Through the years, she has been my official Miami tour guide, always coming up with places to share. This time we started at Wynwood Walls, where we spent a lovely hour walking around looking at the street art. From there, we went out for a terrific Mexican dinner at Mi Rinconcito Mexicano in Little Havana.
Cristina is a bilingual teacher at a local high school. My seven years of high school and college Spanish are pitiful. That night, and throughout the weekend, as I dropped key phrases like "buenas noches," I would then say “good night.” I did not even realize I was doing it. It became the background humor of the weekend. It was like she was in class!
On the way back to my hotel, I saw an email from one of our readers, Theodora, telling me that it appeared that my Saturday presentation had been moved from 10:00 to 10:30 on a revised schedule that she had in hand. Without her saying something, I would not have known! That said, I had told people to be there at 10:00. So I presented at 10, then at 10:30 interviewed the fabulous Ann Hood for the early and late arrivals, and then at 11 repeated the presentation for those who arrived at 10:30. Whew! Ann and I have been trying to do an event together for years, but our schedules never aligned. We both are avid knitters, as well as readers. There were great questions from attendees as well.
I recognized some of the people in the audience from last year’s event. I loved hearing from the program attendees as I roamed the Fair who noted that they had been buying the books that I suggested. One man, whose name I did not catch, told me that he had read my suggestions from last year and enjoyed them all. High praise that made my day!
Later I did my first-ever Facebook Live interviews for Bookreporter with Lisa See, Ann Hood (where we talked about many of the same topics that she had in her talk that morning so you can hear what we chatted about then) and Will Schwalbe. I used my iPad for filming, as my phone camera was cracked. In the past, when I have done Facebook Live interviews, I was walking into a prepped set where the camera was optimized and there was someone feeding me audience questions. I learned a ton doing these sans that setup and am thankful for the folks who I grabbed to do the filming. I am grateful to Lisa, Ann and Will --- they were such fun to interview. I will do more of these in New York; I already am thinking about a studio setup in my office.
In one of the larger venues, Walter Isaacson gave a brilliant talk about Leonardo da Vinci and the research for his latest book, LEONARDO DA VINCI. He walked us through a number of da Vinci’s sketches, noting his attention to detail and anatomic proportion, as well as his brilliant art. He had drawings from da Vinci’s notebooks and noted to the audience that hundreds of years later we still have these, while the digital writing that we all embrace today via social media and email will not have that same longevity. It’s so true; correspondence is fleeting today. I closed the day with a panel where Pamela Paul, the Books Editor of the New York Times, and Jill Bialosky were talking about their work along with Ann Hood and Will Schwalbe. They each have books about books, and in Jill’s case, about poetry.
Melanie, who edits our Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio features, was at the Fair with her husband, Jay. They spent most of the day in the larger auditorium where, besides Isaacson, they saw George Saunders, Salman Rushdie and Katy Tur. Later in the evening, they both attended the Joe Biden event that was held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Across the street from this venue, there is a new Books & Books store with a lovely café, which is perfect for pre-theater dining and book shopping.
There is never enough time to spend with my Miami friends; I also go to catch up with Sarah and Patty (pictured above with Cristina and me), but wished we had more time to talk. In the past, I had spent time with them and their book group.
On Sunday, I was joined by my sister-in-law, Katie; my niece, Glynnis; and Katie's friend, Annie (they drove down from West Palm). We started the day with Jennifer Egan; it was wonderful to see her again after reading MANHATTAN BEACH (I had caught her lecture before the book released). It's so well done!
We then dashed to catch Megan Abbott’s panel. I had been impressed with her writing on HBO’s "The Deuce." I asked her how writing for that show had affected her book writing. She said that writing a show is loud and collaborative with people in the writers' room all shouting out ideas. Writing a novel is solitary. Richard Price, who also is a writer on "The Deuce," told her that when she goes back to writing her books, just write a sentence, and another and another. It’s like you need to go back to listening to the voice in your head instead of those of others. Megan’s last book, YOU WILL KNOW ME, which I selected as a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick, was about young elite gymnasts and what they and their families go through. Given the recent allegations of sexual harassment in team gymnastics, she noted that this may have been kept quiet as the sport is so clandestine and competitive. Who wanted to be the one to bring down the whole house of cards on this?
We then spent time walking the streets of the Fair, where there are blocks of booths (I bought some amazing prints of flowers to frame and wished I bought more) before seeing Carl Hiaasen and Scott Turow in conversation. They are old friends, and they raced and rambled from topic to topic with the audience feeling like we were across the table from them at a really fun dinner.
Then we saw Mitchell Kaplan, the co-founder of the Miami Book Fair and the owner of Books & Books, one of the country’s best-known and best-loved bookstores. Mitchell wears yet another hat, as he is a film producer. At this panel he presented his indie film that is out this week, The Man Who Invented Christmas, which is adapted from the book of the same name by Les Standiford. Seeing the trailer and the featurette was such fun for me since I remember he and his film partner, Paula Mazur, talking to me about this almost a decade ago. It’s the story of Dickens writing “A Christmas Carol.” At the time he wrote it, he was at a low point in his career. It was written in six weeks. The film, which stars Dan Stevens (Matthew from "Downton Abbey") and Christopher Plummer, took six weeks to shoot and is now in theaters. You can see me with the movie poster above. Click on it to find where it is playing near you! And let me know what you think when you see it. I am planning to see it this weekend.
From there, we meandered over to see Dani Shapiro, author of HOURGLASS: Time, Memory, Marriage, and Ada Calhoun, author of WEDDING TOASTS I’LL NEVER GIVE, talk about their memoirs; they each had insightful things to say on what gets shared and what does not when they wrote. We wrapped the day with Mark Bowden talking about his book, HUE 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam (so interesting to hear the story behind this battle), and Kurt Andersen on FANTASYLAND: How America Went Haywire, before I headed to the airport.
In the airport, I bought pastries at Versailles for Tom and the boys (Cristina had taken me there to dinner the previous evening --- a Miami Book Fair tradition). I then hunkered down on the plane (eating popcorn for dinner) and read Alison Gaylin's upcoming March thriller, IF I DIE TONIGHT), which I loved (HOW have I missed reading her before?), while making some headway on the skirt I cast on with my knitting (also realizing I cast on 20 extra stitches). My baggage was waiting when I arrived (a Sunday night miracle), which made the trip a total success.
For those who have never been to the Fair, the 35th is next year. Get it on your calendars for the weekend before Thanksgiving. And trust me, you can enjoy this weekend AND STILL make Thanksgiving dinner happen at your house.
Now to this week’s update…
Elizabeth Berg’s latest novel, THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV, is all about loss and unexpected second chances. For the past six months, Arthur Moses has pretty much stuck to the same routine day after day, which includes having lunch at his late wife’s grave. Maddy Harris, who’s 17, often comes to the cemetery to escape the other kids at school and deal with her own problems. She always sees Arthur sitting there alone and decides to join him one afternoon, thus beginning a surprising friendship between these two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille enters the picture, the unlikely trio bands together, helping one another through heartache and hardships.
Norah Piehl has our review and says, “Calling THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV ‘heartwarming’ doesn’t do it justice; Berg satisfies readers’ hopes but also acknowledges the messy realities of lives and relationships. Her narrative, which easily could have traveled down paths of predictability or sentimentality, avoids both…”
THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV is one of our current Word of Mouth prizes; the other is THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz, which we also review this week. If you’d like to win a copy of each, please submit your comments about the books you’ve read; the deadline for your entries is Friday, December 1st at noon ET.
A.J. Jacobs attempts to untangle the true meaning of the “Family of Humankind” in his hilarious new memoir, IT’S ALL RELATIVE: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree. A.J. has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: “You don’t know me, but I’m your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database.” He wondered, Who are these people and how do I find them? So A.J. embarked on a three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history. His journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, found himself singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels.
According to reviewer Ron Kaplan, “Jacobs is a master of immersion journalism…. [O]nce he takes on a project, he goes all in. That’s why he spent so much time researching his own tree not just in the usual fashion, but going much deeper, seeking out the help of experts (including the Mormon church) as he attempted to host the world’s largest reunion.”
The audio version of IT’S ALL RELATIVE (read by A.J. himself) is one of our Sounding Off on Audio prize books, along with Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, read by Heather Lind. Let us know by Friday, December 1st at noon ET the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to, and you’ll be in the running to win both prizes. I have IT'S ALL RELATIVE queued up to listen to next. A.J. is so funny; I am looking forward to hearing him tell these stories in his own voice.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include Janet Evanovich’s latest Stephanie Plum mystery, HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR, in which mutilated corpses litter the streets of New Jersey; James Patterson’s THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS, which finds Alex Cross on the wrong side of the law; and THE QUANTUM SPY by David Ignatius, a cyber thriller in which the United States’ top-secret quantum research labs are compromised by a suspected Chinese informant, inciting a mole hunt of history-altering proportions.
In this week’s only Holiday Cheer contest, we gave away A SNOW COUNTRY CHRISTMAS: The Carsons of Mustang Creek, Book 4 by Linda Lael Miller. Next week’s prizes will be COWBOY’S LEGACY: A Cahill Ranch Novel by B.J. Daniels, SECRETS OF CAVENDON by Barbara Taylor Bradford, and THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG: A Memoir by Carole Bayer Sager, the latter of which is our current Paperback Spotlight title. The first contest of the week will be up on Monday, November 27th 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 the highly anticipated first volume of Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust series, LA BELLE SAUVAGE; LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds, which was longlisted for this year’s National Book Award; and Malinda Lo’s new psychological thriller, A LINE IN THE DARK. Last month, Jason Reynolds was the featured speaker at the Children’s Book Council Annual Meeting, and he was amazing. I raved about his talk in a previous newsletter, which you can see here.
Our poll continues to ask about donating books. Click here to let us know if you donate books and, if so, where.
News & Pop Culture:
Reader Mail:
Sue wrote, "I expect right now you are 'down the road' (actually 100 miles) from me in Miami. I know the sights and sounds must be wonderful! I am curious as to how people listen to audiobooks. I have been in the routine of listening in the car, and I do not take enough long solo trips for that to work for me. I have used a SanDisk player, but there are fewer on the market today and most have less than stellar reviews. If you think this would be interesting to any other audiobook lovers, could you sometime down the road pose that question, or perhaps you have? Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the wonderful fair!”
I, like Sue, would love to hear from readers how you listen. I am old-fashioned and listen on discs in the car, but digital audio is the fastest growing segment in the book market. Who's listening to digital audio?
“The Crown”: Season Two is on Netflix on December 8th!
“The Good Doctor”: It’s being called the Best New Drama on television. Here is some background on the show and how it almost did not get made, and what it’s based on, which may surprise you even if you have seen the opening credits.
I have been listening to Tom Hanks, who narrates UNCOMMON TYPE. It's excellent. He is a terrific writer, and his narration is wonderful.
Please keep in mind that this Saturday is Small Business Saturday, which is the perfect time to plan some shopping at your local independent bookstore. As in years past, many indie stores will be participating in “Indies First” programs this weekend; you can see a map of them here.
Since we moved into our new office, at different points throughout the day I have heard a fabulous saxophone player outside my window. Usually I just enjoy the music, but Monday I decided to get up and figure out WHERE it was coming from. Sure enough, on the east side of 7th between 55th and 56th, there the musician was, playing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Such fun to FINALLY figure this out. I will drop some dollars there next week and go out to meet him. It’s a nice way to enjoy music during the day.
I am off to do Thanksgiving dinner prep; for me, it is not my favorite meal to make, as it’s prescribed rather than imaginative. There are so many favorites that MUST be on the menu that it allows for little interpretation. I am making a three-berry crisp for dessert, as I am not super fond of pumpkin or apple pie. My parents will be here, as well as my mother-in-law, my niece and one of our neighbors. Very much looking forward to this!
Sometime this weekend I want to clean the gardens; with our mild fall, I think the plants FINALLY are dying off. It was lovely to enjoy them as long as we did. I also will plant the amaryllis bulbs that I bought a few weeks ago, which means we will have flowers in February!
Thank you to all of you for reading. We so appreciate you as we know your free time is limited, and we are touched that you spend part of your week with us.
Read on, and have a great week…well, actually, a week and two days.
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: HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR
by Janet Evanovich
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Lorelei King
Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Events take a dark turn when 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 knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer. If all that’s not enough, Diesel is back in town. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE WHISPERING ROOM
by Dean Koontz
THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Elisabeth Rodgers
“No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.” These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun --- just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better. In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide --- and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals --- Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS
by James Patterson
THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS by James Patterson (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Andre Blake
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? As Cross fights for his professional life and his freedom, his former partner John Sampson brings him a gruesome, titillating video tied to the mysterious disappearances of several young girls. Despite his suspension from the department, Cross can't say no to Sampson. The illicit investigation leads them to the darkest corners of the internet, where murder is just another form of entertainment. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV
by Elizabeth Berg
THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Elizabeth Berg
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 is an introspective girl who often 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. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille moves into their orbit, the unlikely trio bands together, helping one another, through heartache and hardships, to rediscover their own potential to start anew. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: IT’S ALL RELATIVE by A.J. Jacobs
IT'S ALL RELATIVE: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs (Memoir/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by A.J. Jacobs
A.J. Jacobs has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: “You don’t know me, but I’m your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database.” Who are these people, he wondered, and how do I find them? So began A.J.’s three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history. His journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, found himself singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels. After all, we can choose our friends, but not our family. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE QUANTUM SPY by David Ignatius
THE QUANTUM SPY by David Ignatius (Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
A hyper-fast quantum computer is the digital equivalent of a nuclear bomb; whoever possesses one will be able to shred any encryption and break any code in existence. The winner of the race to build the world’s first quantum machine will attain global dominance for generations to come. Who will cross the finish line first: the U.S. or China? In THE QUANTUM SPY, the United States’ top-secret quantum research labs are compromised by a suspected Chinese informant, inciting a mole hunt of history-altering proportions. CIA officer Harris Chang leads the charge. Do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? The answer forces Chang to question everything he thought he knew about loyalty, morality and the primacy of truth. Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley.
- Click here to read more about the book.
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 27th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com
LITTLE BROKEN THINGS by Nicole Baart (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Susan Bennett
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. Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed and tight-lipped. But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy. Reviewed by Amy Haddock.
THE SHADOW DISTRICT by Arnaldur Indridason (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by George Guidall
In wartime Reykjavik, Iceland, a young woman is found strangled in “the shadow district,” a rough and dangerous area of the city. An Icelandic detective and a member of the American military police are on the trail of a brutal killer. A 90-year-old man is discovered dead on his bed, smothered with his own pillow. Konrad, a former detective now bored with retirement, finds newspaper cuttings reporting the WWII shadow district murder in the dead man’s home. It’s a crime that Konrad remembers, having grown up in the same neighborhood. Why, after all this time, would an old crime resurface? Did the police arrest the wrong man? Will Konrad's link to the past help him solve the case and finally lay the ghosts of WWII Reykjavik to rest? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
MONTAIGNE IN BARN BOOTS: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy by Michael Perry (Memoir/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by Michael Perry
Written in a spirit of exploration rather than declaration, MONTAIGNE IN BARN BOOTS is a down-to-earth (how do you pronounce that last name?) look into the ideas of a philosopher "ensconced in a castle tower overlooking his vineyard," channeled by a midwestern American writing "in a room above the garage overlooking a disused pig pen." Whether grabbing an electrified fence, fighting fires, failing to fix a truck, or feeding chickens, Michael Perry draws on each experience to explore subjects as diverse as faith, race, sex, aromatherapy and Prince. But he also champions academics and aesthetics, in a book that ultimately emerges as a sincere, unflinching look at the vital need to be a better person and citizen. Reviewed by John Bentlyewski.
THE WINE LOVER'S DAUGHTER: A Memoir by Anne Fadiman (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Anne Fadiman
An appreciation of wine --- along with a plummy upper-crust accent, expensive suits, and an encyclopedic knowledge of Western literature --- was an essential element of Clifton Fadiman’s escape from lower-middle-class Brooklyn to swanky Manhattan. But wine was not just a class-vaulting accessory; it was an object of ardent desire. THE WINE LOVER’S DAUGHTER traces the arc of a man’s infatuation from the glass of cheap Graves he drank in Paris in 1927; through the Château Lafite-Rothschild 1904 he drank to celebrate his 80th birthday, when he and the bottle were exactly the same age; to the wines that sustained him in his last years, when he was blind but still buoyed, as always, by hedonism. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
POISON by Galt Niederhoffer (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber
Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the Modern Family dream. Their family, including Cass' two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland --- a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom. They seem insignificant, but they are quickly followed by a series of denials and feints that mushroom and then cyclone in menace. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST by Jessica Keener (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Amy Landon
Eight months after their move from Boston to Budapest, Annie and Will’s efforts to assimilate are thrown into turmoil when they receive a message from friends in the US asking that they check up on an elderly man, a fiercely independent Jewish American WWII veteran who helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp. They soon learn that the man, Edward Weiss, has come to Hungary to exact revenge on someone he is convinced seduced, married and then murdered his daughter. What Annie does not anticipate is that in helping Edward she will become enmeshed in a dark and deadly conflict that will end in tragedy and a stunning loss of innocence. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Christine Lakin
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy. Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart, this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on November 28th
Below are some notable titles releasing on November 28th 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 27th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
A HUNDRED SMALL LESSONS by Ashley Hay (Fiction)
When Elsie Gormley leaves the Brisbane house in which she has lived for more than 60 years, Lucy Kiss and her family move in, eager to establish their new life. Lucy and her husband Ben struggle to navigate their transformation from adventurous lovers to new parents, taking comfort in memories of their vibrant past as they begin to unearth who their future selves might be. But the house has secrets of its own, and the rooms seem to share recollections of Elsie’s life with Lucy.
PAST PERFECT by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Sybil and Blake Gregory have established a predictable, well-ordered Manhattan life --- she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high-tech investments --- raising their teenagers Andrew and Caroline and six-year-old Charlie. But everything changes when Blake is offered a dream job he can’t resist as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco.
PROTECTED BY THE SHADOWS: An Irene Huss Investigation written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Mystery)
In this final installment of the Irene Huss investigations, the gang warfare that has been brewing in Göteborg is about to explode. A member of a notorious biker gang has been set on fire --- alive. Even in a culture where ritual killings are common, this brutal assault attracts the attention of both Irene’s unit and the Organized Crimes Unit. Anticipating a counterattack, the two units team up to patrol the lavish party of a rival gang, but that doesn’t stop another murder from occurring just outside the event hall.
TOM CLANCY POWER AND EMPIRE: A Jack Ryan Novel by Marc Cameron (Thriller)
Jack Ryan is dealing with an aggressive challenge from the Chinese government. Pawns are being moved around a global chessboard: an attack on an oil platform in Africa, a terrorist strike on an American destroyer, and a storm-tossed American spy ship that may fall into Chinese hands. It seems that President Zhao is determined to limit Ryan's choices in the upcoming G20 negotiations. But there are hints that there's even more going on behind the scenes.
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:
THE BOOK OF DUST: LA BELLE SAUVAGE (Book of Dust, Volume 1) by Philip Pullman (Fantasy/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Michael Sheen
Malcolm Polstead’s parents run an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue. He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust --- and the spy it was intended for finds him. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he sees suspicious characters everywhere, and all are asking about the same thing: a baby girl named Lyra. Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.
LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jason Reynolds
An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’ fiercely stunning novel that takes place in 60 potent seconds --- the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother. Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, LONG WAY DOWN is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.
A LINE IN THE DARK by Malinda Lo (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Jennifer Lim
Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend. And that’s the most important thing, even if Angie can’t see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is fine with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, she’s free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift. As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess discovers more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences.
Click here for more young adult books we recommend you read.
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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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