January 4, 2019

January 4, 2019

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Special Note from Carol:
 Help The Book Report Network Expand

Before we get into this week's update...

As I noted in last week’s newsletter, we have some very big expansion plans that we want to execute in 2019. We have three goals:

1. Rebuild our websites with new content and functionality
2. Produce and air a weekly podcast with author interviews, book recommendations and more
3. Do more live events

We already have picked out a top-notch design firm and podcast producer, and are ready to get started. But we need your help.

For the past two decades, all of our expansions have been self-funded. We've been happy to provide free content to our readers. Our plan is to continue doing so, but we need your support. This is the first time we are turning to our very supportive reader community for help to expand.

How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. In our very early steps with this campaign over the past few weeks --- reaching out to a small number of authors, agents, publishers and other industry friends --- we already are headed in the right direction.

Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. Sharing this campaign with others is another way that you can help; GoFundMe makes that easy to do. You can read more about our plans and donate here. If you would rather donate via check, our address is:

The Book Report, Inc.
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Thank you for your consideration and your donation.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL releases on January 8th and will be a Bets On pick.

Carol watched more than a dozen movies during her holiday break;
Bird Box was one based on a book!

Happy New Year!

We’re back in the office, and we quickly have jumped back into the groove. Thanks to Tom, our Editorial Director, who executed this update in three days. Amazing!

Now to what happened over the last few weeks. It was a lovely break. I watched more than a dozen movies, which means I am prepped for the Golden Globes on Sunday night (my thoughts on those films and more in the News & Pop Culture section), we cooked some lovely meals, I worked on a knitting project that has such confusingly written directions that I am not sure how it is going to turn out, and I kicked the routine back a big notch.

I also ate many cookies, and though there still were many in the house over the weekend, on Monday I made Ottolenghi’s Pistachio Chocolate Fridge Cake, which is lovely and decadent; it is also found in his SIMPLE cookbook where you can get the U.S. measures. You can use your imagination for what to include as ingredients. Instead of raisins soaked in rum, I used dried cherries and candied ginger. Note that digestive biscuits are graham crackers; since I only had the online recipe with me at the store, Tom and I went crazy looking for digestive biscuits, but we did find them! As I was making these, Tom looked at me and noted exasperatingly, “Don’t we have enough cookies and desserts around?” He was missing the point; we needed these.

While I did some reading over the holiday, I should have done a lot more. Floating in the pool and reading on summer vacation is a lot easier than sitting on the couch where the busyness of the family surrounds me. This week, I worked on a plan to separate the books piled on the shelves outside my home office into categories to organize my reading. Categories included those coming this month and next, those for prereading before I head to the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute conference in Albuquerque on the 20th, books to read for the Tucson Festival of Books, interviews that I am doing in early March, and books I missed reading in 2018 that I swear I will read. It sounded like a great plan.

As I sat in my office outlining my filing system, the entire pile that was perched very precariously on a rolling table outside my office crashed to the floor. Thus I made huge stacks so I could walk in the hallway and will attack this with a vengeance this weekend. Which is also what I said last weekend. I start to organize and then see something I want to read and, well, you know how that goes.

This is how I read AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, which goes on sale Tuesday and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. I was organizing, and suddenly this appeared like a shiny object to distract me. I always approach an author’s --- in this case authors’ --- second book with some trepidation. THE WIFE BETWEEN US was a huge success, thus setting a high bar. I liked AN ANONYMOUS GIRL even more! I had no idea where the story was headed at the beginning, but I was completely pulled in. And whoosh, from there I was page-turning. I was not sure who to believe as the story twisted round and round. Last year, I heard Greer and Sarah speak at an event about how they write together long distance sharing a single document. As I read, I pictured them working together ramping up the plot...and tweaking their dialogue for maximum effect. It paid off.

I am listening to BECOMING, which is narrated by Michelle Obama. I love it when memoirs are narrated by their authors. I find myself gravitating to the audio rather than print when the author does that. My friend Cathy, whose family gives books to each other over the holidays, said that three of them got this book. I read this week in Publishers Weekly, a trade publication, that “According to BookScan, with one week of sales to go in 2018 BECOMING sold nearly 3.2 million copies, easily outpacing MAGNOLIA TABLE by Joanne Gaines, which is currently in second place with just under 1.3 million copies sold.” A few years ago, when Adele released 25, someone in the music business said in August of that year, when that release was announced, “Hold on everyone, Adele is coming to save us in November.” BECOMING definitely made the holidays a lot more merry and bright for a lot of booksellers! Michelle = Adele.

I am happy to announce that Lisa Jewell’s latest psychological thriller, WATCHING YOU, will be my first Bets On title of 2019! This #1 Indie Next pick and LibraryReads selection for January is about a shocking murder in a picturesque and well-to-do English town where no one is who they seem --- and everyone is hiding something. Who has been murdered, and who would have wanted one of their neighbors dead? I have read a number of Lisa’s books and have interviewed her. To me, this is her best book.

Our reviewer Katherine B. Weissman has our review and calls the book “a mystery whose narrative voices are quirky, honest and engaging.” She goes on to say, “It’s wonderful when a novel’s conclusion is not overly neat, when it spills over the boundaries of plot --- messily, like life itself --- into new insights and possibilities. WATCHING YOU is that best of reads: a mystery that goes beyond the same old cat-and-mouse game.” I so agree with Kathy’s assessment, as you will see in my Bets On commentary next week. We also have a discussion guide for the book on ReadingGroupGuides.com, which you can take a look at here.

Other books we’re reviewing this week include VERSES FOR THE DEAD, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s 18th installment in their bestselling series, which finds FBI Special Agent A. X. L. Pendergast confronted with the one challenge he never expected: a partner; A DELICATE TOUCH, Stuart Woods’ new Stone Barrington thriller in which the former NYPD detective turned lawyer uncovers a societal minefield; and THE GOWN, Jennifer Robson’s historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the 20th century --- Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown --- and the fascinating women who made it. THE GOWN will be a Bets On selection; please be on the lookout for my commentary later this month. Also, I will be interviewing Jennifer at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 3rd and am looking forward to our discussion!

You only have until this Monday, January 7th at noon ET to enter our very special contest featuring my Bets On picks from 2018. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 45 books, while nine other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. So be sure to click here and fill out the contest form before it’s too late!

I also wanted to bring to your attention our contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, where we’re asking book groups to help us compile our “Best of 2018” list. Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group last year and your favorite book that you read outside your group. One Grand Prize winner will receive a collection of six outstanding book group titles releasing this year: THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer, THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET by Yara Zgheib, THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn, THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See, LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly, and THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict. The deadline for your entries is Thursday, January 31st at noon ET. We plan to share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you next month.

While we’re on the subject of favorite books of the year, it’s worth noting that the Book of the Month Club chose CIRCE by Madeline Miller as its Book of the Year, based on members’ votes. Our reviewer (and former intern) Benny Regalbuto named CIRCE as one of his top five books of 2018; in case you missed our 2018 Reviewer Picks, click here to check out all their faves from last year.

We’ve updated our Books on Screen feature for this month. January's roundup includes the feature films A Dog's Way Home, Ashes in the Snow and The Upside; the season four finale of Starz's "Outlander," along with the series premieres of "The Passage" on FOX, "A Discovery of Witches" on Sundance Now and "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" on Netflix (more on that next week); and the DVD releases of The Hate U Give, The Girl in the Spider's Web, Eating Animals and The Wife.

Our first poll of the year asks about your reading goals in 2019. How many print books or e-books are you planning to read this year? And how many audiobooks do you think you will listen to? Click here to let us know.

In our previous poll, we asked how many books you read in 2018. 26% of you read more than 100 print books or e-books; in fact, 59% of you read 51 books or more, while 40% listened to audiobooks (five of you listened to more than 100 audiobooks, and 50 would like to start listening to audiobooks this year). Click here for the complete results.

We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, January 18th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win two January 8th releases: THE NEW IBERIA BLUES: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke and the aforementioned THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict, both of which we’re reviewing next week.

This month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest is also up and running. Submit your comments about the audiobooks you’ve listened to by Friday, February 1st at noon ET for your chance to win the audio editions of the aforementioned AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, read by Barrie Kreinik and Julia Whelan, and Alex Michaelides' THE SILENT PATIENT, read by Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey. Although THE SILENT PATIENT doesn’t release until February 5th, we wanted to be sure you had this debut psychological thriller on your radar now as it’s getting tons of much-deserved advance praise. It also will be a Bets On pick.

THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean is January’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick. Here’s what Reese had to say about it: “This book is like a love letter to libraries, and made me nostalgic for the long hours I used to spend there when I was a kid. The story follows the investigation of the huge fire that destroyed the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986, and the mystery, history and people that surround it. It’s a captivating story and I can’t wait for y’all to read it with me!” The audiobook, read by Susan, was one of my Bets On selections from last year; click here for my commentary and here for our review of the hardcover.

The January pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” book club is HEART: A History, in which cardiologist and bestselling author Sandeep Jauhar tells the colorful and little-known story of the doctors who risked their careers and the patients who risked their lives to know and heal our most vital organ. Click here for more info on this latest pick.

News & Pop Culture

Reader Mail: Virginia wrote, “Enjoyed the Bookreporter email, as usual, and the great photos. Happy New Year!”

Green Book: I loved this movie both for its wonderful period details and the storytelling based on a real-life story. Dr. Don Shirley is embarking on a concert tour in the racist Jim Crow-era South; he hires a driver who is rough and tumble. Their trip changes both men’s lives. I highly recommend it. You can see more about the true story behind the movie here.

If Beale Street Could Talk: I loved this adaptation of James Baldwin’s book. It has grit and heart. Highly recommended.

First Man: We know a lot about Apollo 11; now we know that Neil Armstrong was a man who guarded his emotions and harbored a deep sadness for the loss of his child. I do not think we needed a whole movie for that. It is based on a book (FIRST MAN: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen), which I am betting was better.

Bird Box: It’s one of THE most talked-about movies on Netflix. It stars Sandra Bullock in a very dark role as one of the few people who has not been overcome by a dystopian presence that is causing people to kill themselves. She is shepherding two young children, Boy and Girl, to safety. You have to suspend reality a lot watching it, especially in a scene on the river, but if you can do that, it’s a great look at will and survival. And it has a warm ending. It’s based on a book by Josh Malerman, and you can read more about the author’s thoughts on it here. And if you have wondered what people are talking about, the trailer is here.

A Quiet Place: If you have seen Bird Box and missed A Quiet Place, it’s worth watching. I am not a huge lover of horror or apocalyptic storylines, but here I was dropped into a story where there is a creature who kills anyone who makes a sound. Seeing what one family does to protect itself from these intruders will get you thinking. Like with Bird Box, you definitely have to suspend reality, but there is a lot to talk about here...if you as a viewer dare to make a sound.

The Hate U Give: The book by Angie Thomas has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 96(!) weeks, with good reason. The film is one of the best adaptations that I have seen, with a twist towards the end that will wrench your heart. So, so well done. Highly recommended.

On the Basis of Sex: This is a look into the life of young Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is very interesting to see the background of the justice who we know today. I knew none of this part of her story. You can read what she thinks about the film and what she thinks they got wrong here.

Vice: A Hollywoodized view of the life and career of Dick Cheney. It definitely has “an agenda,” but it’s also a quick immersion in the big picture of the Washington political scene over the past few decades. I forgot how many roles many of the players assumed through the years. Christian Bale is unrecognizable as Cheney; it's impressive how that was done. 

"Black Mirror" (Netflix): The new episode of this show is as typically sharp and dark as prior episodes. This time they layered in something interesting as you can “choose your own adventure” as to how the show unfolds by clicking to take the story in different directions, like the books that you read as kids. I only have watched one variation, but found it so interesting how that involved me. It’s not for everyone because, as I said, it's dark.

"Homecoming" (Amazon Video): I had higher expectations for this series as I am a Julia Roberts fan. It’s too slow, too measured, and though I did finish it, I was multitasking every time I watched it. The plot had its moments, but they came too slowly and too late.

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amazon Video): I confess that I was not wowed by the second season while I loved season one. This one felt messy and all over the place. I think I would call it too ambitious without the same heart.

"Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable" (Netflix): She does her first stand-up program in 15 years; it’s very funny. And yes, she dances.

I found the college bowl games to be a snore; none that I watched were even close. I think the piece in the New York Times talking about the fact that Alabama is in the final game as “surprising no one” was pretty amusing. I am pulling for Clemson on Monday night, but I just hope it’s a good game.

We are celebrating Christmas with my mother-in-law this Saturday. She wanted to wait until Greg was back to get together. He had a great trip to Death Valley (he loves his sleeping mat; I still vote for sleeping in a bed), and on Monday he toured the Rose Bowl floats in Pasadena. I cannot wait to see his photos as he is an amazing photographer. Last Sunday, I played holiday tourist in New York with Cory and Sam; I have not done that in more than a decade (at least), and it was a lot of fun.

My event schedule for this year is starting to get filled in. You can see it here. Not on this calendar, as I am not presenting or speaking there, I am going to be in Santa Fe on January 20th and 21st and Albuquerque from January 22-24, in conjunction with the aforementioned ABA Winter Institute. If we have any readers in those areas, I would love to say hi. Drop me a note and let me know, and we'll see if we can work out a time to get together.

Rest up this weekend, as next week will be a full five days. 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: WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title and a #1 Indie Next Pick

WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Gabrielle Glaister
As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all --- including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with him. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenage son Freddie --- a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5 --- excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father. One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced that her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. Meanwhile, 20 years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.

Click here to read the review.

WATCHING YOU will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don’t miss Carol’s commentary in next week’s newsletter.

Featured Review: VERSES FOR THE DEAD
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

VERSES FOR THE DEAD: A Pendergast Novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Rene Auberjonois
A. X. L. Pendergast and his new colleague, junior agent Coldmoon, are assigned to investigate a rash of killings in Miami Beach, where a bloodthirsty psychopath is cutting out the hearts of his victims and leaving them with cryptic handwritten letters at local gravestones. The graves are unconnected save in one bizarre way: all belong to women who committed suicide. But the seeming lack of connection between the old suicides and the new murders is soon the least of Pendergast's worries. Because as he digs deeper, he realizes that the brutal new crimes may be just the tip of the iceberg: a conspiracy of death that reaches back decades. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: A DELICATE TOUCH by Stuart Woods

A DELICATE TOUCH: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Tony Roberts
When an old acquaintance reaches out to Stone Barrington requesting assistance, the job seems easy enough. She needs an expert in an esoteric field, someone with both the knowledge and careful dexterity to solve a puzzle. But the solution to one small problem blows the lid open on a bigger scandal going back decades, and involving numerous prominent New Yorkers who would prefer that the past stay buried. With this explosive information in-hand, Stone Barrington is caught between a rock and a hard place, his only options either to play it safe to the detriment of others, or to see justice done and risk fatal exposure. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Last Days to Enter Our End-of-the-Year Contest,
Featuring All 45 "Bets On" Titles from 2018

Time is running out to enter our very special contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2018. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 45 books, while nine other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. Please fill out this form by Monday, January 7th at noon ET.

Here are 2018's Bookreporter.com Bets On titles:

• ALL THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS by Elizabeth J. Church
• AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones
• ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL by Sarah Vaughan
• THE BANKER'S WIFE by Cristina Alger
• BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES: A Memoir of Love, Faith, and Resilience by Allison Pataki
• BECOMING MRS. LEWIS by Patti Callahan
• BELIEVE ME by JP Delaney
• CARNEGIE'S MAID by Marie Benedict
• A CLOUD IN THE SHAPE OF A GIRL by Jean Thompson
• THE DINNER LIST by Rebecca Serle
• THE DREAM DAUGHTER by Diane Chamberlain
• EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover
• EVERY NOTE PLAYED by Lisa Genova
• THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL by Robert Dugoni
• THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR (Audiobook) written by Sally Hepworth, read by Barrie Kreinik
• FAMILY TRUST by Kathy Wang
• GHOSTED by Rosie Walsh
• THE GLASS OCEAN by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White
• THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah
• HEARTLAND: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth (Audiobook) written and read by Sarah Smarsh
• HELLBENT: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz
• HOW HARD CAN IT BE? by Allison Pearson
• THE IMMORTALISTS by Chloe Benjamin
• LAKE SUCCESS by Gary Shteyngart
• THE LIBRARY BOOK (Audiobook) written and read by Susan Orlean
• THE LIDO by Libby Page
• LOVE AND RUIN by Paula McLain
• MAKE ME EVEN AND I’LL NEVER GAMBLE AGAIN by Jerrold Fine
• THE MARS ROOM (Audiobook) written and read by Rachel Kushner
• THE MASTERPIECE by Fiona Davis
• NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland
• A NOISE DOWNSTAIRS by Linwood Barclay
• NOVEMBER ROAD by Lou Berney
• THE REAL LOLITA: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman
• ROSIE COLORED GLASSES by Brianna Wolfson
• SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
• THE SUMMER WIVES by Beatriz Williams
• TRUST ME by Hank Phillippi Ryan
• VOX by Christina Dalcher
• A WELL-BEHAVED WOMAN: A Novel of the Vanderbilts (Audiobook) written by Therese Anne Fowler, read by Barrie Kreinik
• WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LULULEMONS (Audiobook) written by Lauren Weisberger, read by Laura Benanti
• WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens
• THE WIDOWER'S NOTEBOOK: A Memoir by Jonathan Santlofer
• THE WIFE BETWEEN US by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
• THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A. J. Finn

Click here to enter the contest.

Special Feature & Contest for Book Groups
on ReadingGroupGuides.com: Share Your Favorite Books
of 2018 --- and Enter to Win Six Great Book Group Titles Releasing in 2019!

This is the time of year when everyone is posting “Best Books of the Year” lists. We would like you and your book group to help us compile ours! Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group in 2018 and your favorite book that you read outside your group by Thursday, January 31st at noon ET. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded six great book group titles releasing this year.

• THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer
• THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET by Yara Zgheib
• THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn
• THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See
• LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly
• THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict

Please note: Your favorite book that you discussed with your group CAN be the same as your favorite book of the year. And they don't need to have been published in 2018. Also, please be careful with the spelling of book titles and authors’ first and last names to save us editing time.

We will have our reader-compiled "Best Of" list to share with you in early February. We cannot wait to see what you select!

Click here to share your favorite books of 2018 and enter the contest.

Featured Review: THE GOWN by Jennifer Robson
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title

THE GOWN: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Marisa Calin
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

THE GOWN will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don’t miss Carol’s commentary later this month.

Featured Review: IN A HOUSE OF LIES by Ian Rankin

IN A HOUSE OF LIES by Ian Rankin (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by James MacPherson
Rebus' retirement is disrupted once again when skeletal remains are identified as a private investigator who went missing over a decade earlier. Rebus' old friend, Siobhan Clarke, is assigned to this case, but neither of them could have predicted what buried secrets the investigation will uncover. Rebus remembers the original case --- a shady land deal --- all too well. After the investigation stalled, the family of the missing man complained that there was a police cover-up. As Clarke and her team investigate the cold case murder, she soon learns a different side of her mentor, a side he would prefer to keep in the past. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: THE DAY THE SUN DIED by Yan Lianke

THE DAY THE SUN DIED written by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas (Fiction)
In a little village nestled in the Balou mountains, 14-year-old Li Niannian and his parents run a funeral parlor. One evening, he notices a strange occurrence. Instead of preparing for bed, more and more neighbors appear in the streets and fields, carrying on with their daily business as if the sun hadn’t already set. Li Niannian watches, mystified. As hundreds of residents are found dreamwalking, they act out the desires they’ve suppressed during waking hours. Before long, the community devolves into chaos, and it’s up to Li Niannian and his parents to save the town before sunrise. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

January’s Books on Screen Feature

Here is a preview of this month's movies, TV shows and DVDs that are based on books. For a complete list of January’s offerings, please click here.

In Theaters

Ashes in the Snow
Release Date: January 11th (limited)
Based on: BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys

A Dog's Way Home
Release Date: January 11th (wide)
Based on: A DOG'S WAY HOME by W. Bruce Cameron

The Upside
Release Date: January 11th (wide)
Based on: YOU CHANGED MY LIFE: A Memoir, by Abdel Sellou

On TV

"The Passage"
Air Dates: Mondays at 9pm ET/PT on FOX; Series Premiere on January 14th
Based on: THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

"A Discovery of Witches" (8-episode series)
Release Date: January 17th on Sundance Now (Season One)
Based on: A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness

"Outlander"
Air Dates: Sundays at 8pm ET/PT on Starz; Season Four Finale on January 27th
Based on: DRUMS OF AUTUMN by Diana Gabaldon

On DVD

The Girl in the Spider's Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story
DVD Release Date: January 2nd
Based on: THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz

The Hate U Give
DVD Release Date: January 22nd
Based on: THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas

The Wife
DVD Release Date: January 29th
Based on: THE WIFE by Meg Wolitzer

More Reviews This Week

LATE-LIFE LOVE: A Memoir by Susan Gubar (Memoir)
On Susan Gubar’s 70th birthday, she receives a beautiful ring from her husband. As she contemplates their sustaining relationship, she begins to consider how older lovers differ from their youthful counterparts --- and from ageist stereotypes. While her husband confronts age-related disabilities that effectively ground them, Susan dawdles over the logistics of moving from their cherished country house to a more manageable place in town and starts seeking out literature on the changing seasons of desire. Throughout the complications of devoted caregiving, her own ongoing cancer treatments, apartment hunting, the dismantling of a household, and perplexity over the breakdown of a treasured friendship, Susan finds consolation in books and movies. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.

CHOSEN PEOPLE by Robert Whitlow (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Hope Hoffman
During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a courageous mother sacrifices her life to save her four-year-old daughter. Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer trained at Hebrew University, typically uses her language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the woman’s family under the US Anti-Terrorism laws, he calls on Hana’s expertise to take point on the case. She joins forces with Jakob, and they quickly realize the need to bring in a third member for their team, an Arab investigator named Daud Hasan, based in Israel. What they uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose. Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.

HUNTING ANNABELLE by Wendy Heard (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Tim Chiou
Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can’t resist Annabelle, who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. Then Annabelle disappears. Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped --- he witnessed her being taken firsthand --- but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the center of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember? Though haunted by the fear that it might be better for Annabelle if he never finds her, Sean can’t bring himself to let go of her without a fight. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

RADIANT SHIMMERING LIGHT by Sarah Selecky (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan
Lilian Quick is a 40-year-old single woman working as a pet portrait artist. Her estranged cousin has become internet-famous as "Eleven" Novak, the face of a massive feminine lifestyle empowerment brand. When Eleven comes to town on tour, the two women reconnect. Despite 20 years of unexplained silence, Eleven offers Lilian a place at The Temple, her Manhattan office. Lilian accepts, moves to New York, and quickly enrolls in The Ascendency, Eleven's signature program: an expensive, three-month training seminar on leadership, spiritual awakening and marketing. Eleven is going to help her cousin become her best self. In just three months, Lilian's life changes drastically. But can she trust everything Eleven says? Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.

MICKEY SPILLANE’S MIKE HAMMER: THE NIGHT I DIED written by Max Allan Collins, with illustrations by Marcelo Salaza and Marcio Freire (Graphic Novel/Hard-boiled Mystery)
Mickey Spillane's tough-talking, brawling, skirt-chasing private detective Mike Hammer returns to comics in this thrilling noir series, based on an original plot by Mickey Spillane, written by Max Allan Collins. When a chance encounter with a captivating femme fatale leads to a violent mob retaliation, hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer finds himself dodging both bullets and hard broads as he undertakes the most dangerous case of his career. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

JUST ONCE by Lori Handeland (Fiction)
Frankie Sicari is roused from sleep late one night by a key rattling in the front door lock. It’s her ex-husband, Charley Blackwell, who she hasn’t seen for nearly a quarter of a century. What’s baffling is that Charley seems to think they are still married, and has no recollection of his current wife, Hannah. When medical tests reveal shocking findings, Frankie finds herself reluctantly caring for the man who left her 20 years earlier, while Hannah is relegated to the sidelines. How can Frankie forgive the man who abandoned her when she needed him most? And how can Hannah cope with the impending death of the man she’s loved for the past 20 years --- especially now as she is faced with the shattering truth that he has never stopped loving his first wife, Frankie? Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on January 8th

Below are some notable titles releasing on January 8th that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. You can find a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks available the week of the 7th in the January 8th edition of our “On Sale This Week” newsletter.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (Psychological Thriller)
When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding.

DAUGHTER OF WAR: A Pike Logan Thriller by Brad Taylor (Thriller/Adventure)
Hot on the trail of a North Korean looking to sell sensitive US intelligence to the Syrian regime, Pike Logan and the Taskforce stumble upon something much graver: the sale of a lethal substance called Red Mercury. The Syrians plan to use the weapon of mass destruction against American and Kurdish forces, and blame the attack on terrorists.

THE FIRST CONSPIRACY: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (History)
Taking place during the most critical period of our nation’s birth, THE FIRST CONSPIRACY tells a remarkable and previously untold piece of American history that not only reveals George Washington’s character, but also illuminates the origins of America’s counterintelligence movement that led to the modern-day CIA.

INVISIBLE by Andrew Grant (Thriller)
As a young man, Paul McGrath rebelled against his pacifist father by becoming a standout Army recruit and the star of his military intelligence unit. But lingering regrets about their relationship make him return home, only to find his father dead, seemingly murdered. When the case ends in a mistrial, something doesn’t smell right to McGrath. So he puts his arsenal of skills to work to find out just how corrupt the legal system is.

LOOKER by Laura Sims (Psychological Thriller)
An unraveling woman becomes fixated on her neighbor --- the actress. The unnamed narrator can’t help noticing with wry irony that, though they live just a few doors apart, a chasm of professional success and personal fulfillment lies between them. When an interaction with the actress at the annual block party takes a disastrous turn, what began as an innocent preoccupation spirals quickly into a frightening and irretrievable madness.

McGLUE by Ottessa Moshfegh (Fiction)
Salem, Massachusetts, 1851: McGlue is in the hold, still too drunk to be sure of name or situation or orientation --- he may have killed a man. That man may have been his best friend. Intolerable memory accompanies sobriety. A sail on the high seas of literary tradition, Ottessa Moshfegh gives us a nasty heartless blackguard on a knife-sharp voyage through the fogs of recollection.

THE NEW IBERIA BLUES: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (Thriller)
In THE NEW IBERIA BLUES, the 22nd installment in James Lee Burke’s long-running series, the shocking death of a young woman leads Detective Dave Robicheaux into the dark corners of Hollywood, the mafia and the backwoods of Louisiana.
 
THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
She possessed a stunning beauty. She also possessed a stunning mind. Could the world handle both? Marie Benedict’s latest novel is based on the incredible true story of Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication.

THE PARAGON HOTEL by Lyndsay Faye (Historical Thriller)
The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life. Max, a black Pullman porter, leads her to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland, the only all-black hotel in the city. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in fearful numbers. Only Alice and her new "family" of Paragon residents are willing to search for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the Oregon woods.

TURNING POINT by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Four exceptional doctors are chosen for an honor and a unique project: to work with their counterparts in Paris in a mass-casualty training program. When an unspeakable act of mass violence galvanizes them into action, their temporary life in Paris becomes a stark turning point: a time to face harder choices than they have ever made before --- with consequences that will last a lifetime.

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