January 11, 2019
 January 11, 2019Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On  Update on Our GoFundMe Campaign Thank you to those of you who have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far we have raised more than 25% of our goal. In addition to the donations that we have received to date, we are so appreciative of the very kind comments that you have shared. Liz, who is one of our longtime readers, wrote this week suggesting that we include two features in our redesign: a listing of festivals, as well as a list of what the top media and store outlets are selecting on given months. The festival list is here, and the top picks list is here. One huge goal with the redesign is to make features like these less buried. The Book Report, Inc. Thank you again for your consideration and your donation.   Carol is currently reading two books: OUT OF THE DARK, Gregg Hurwitz's fourth Orphan X thriller (on sale January 29th), and THE DREAMERS by Karen Thompson Walker (on sale January 15th). This Felt Like the LOOOOONGEST Week of the YearJust as expected, this felt like the looooongest week; it felt like a month. In conversations with work colleagues, I got the impression that everyone was dragging themselves just a little after the relaxed spirit of the holidays. By Wednesday, they were ready for it to be Friday! I can see people kicking it back a notch and getting lots of sleep this weekend. We still have Christmas adorning the house, and this weekend that will be packed up and returned to the attic. For humor, in the sitcom that is my life, the attic where we store holiday decorations is off of Cory’s bedroom. He has his entire room wired with Google Home, thus I have learned to say “Hey Google, turn on the lights” when I walk in his room. He told me that he also wired the attic lights for me. So last week, I headed there and summoned Google to “Turn on attic lights.” Suddenly, Google is telling me that it has summoned up Spotify to play Attic Lights. I said something, which made it stop, and I somehow strung together some words that turned on the attic lights. Or so I thought. I got back to my office on the other side of the house to find a text from Cory saying, “Let me know when you want me to turn off the attic lights.” Cory was at work 45 minutes away. He got an alert on his phone about my fumblings with commands, and told Google to stop playing Spotify and turn on the attic lights. And to think that when I was growing up, my parents thought a silent light switch was big doings. That was installed after I got up early in the morning to read, and they would be startled by the click of my light switch. "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" is now on Netflix, and I watched part of the first episode. Greg has been telling me that he is practicing the Kondo Method on cleaning his room. Things have been moving rather slowly as he is following the book. I think that maybe he should start watching the videos; he needs to speed up saying goodbye to some of his things and feeling their joy at a far more rapid pace. Marie is so polite and measured at this first family’s home. I am not sure I have ever attacked cleaning with this measure of politeness. When we left off last week, I had pledged to bring order to the books that I had piled up for future reading. I can report that much was accomplished; some beautiful piles were made, and others were shelved with precision. We will not discuss the two piles that still need to be done. I am going to practice embracing the zen of Kondo when I get to them. Of course, I was lured away to read as I was shelving. I currently am reading two books at once right now. The first is OUT OF THE DARK by Gregg Hurwitz, which is the fourth installment in his Evan Smoak series and will be on sale January 29th. I have confessed to having a crush on Smoak after reading the three previous books, and nothing has changed in that regard. My husband already has read this book, snatching it away from me as soon as it came into the house. He, too, is a Smoak fan. In OUT OF THE DARK, Smoak, who is Orphan X, is in a high-stakes cat and mouse game, as the President of the United States is out to kill Orphan X, one of the recruits from an elite project that the President ran years ago. He has Orphan A on the trail to get him. They both have the skills; this will be some game. Gregg’s plotting is so wickedly well done. The other book is THE DREAMERS by Karen Thompson Walker, which will be in stores on Tuesday. In it, students are passing out on a college campus and then dying. What is going on? I keep turning the pages to find out! I started out planning to read 10 pages to get a sense of it, and I looked up on page 50. Let’s grab a drum roll here and send congratulations to Sandra from Newton Falls, OH, who is the Grand Prize Winner in our End-of-the-Year Contest! She has won all 45 of my Bookreporter.com Bets On titles from 2018, while nine other winners are receiving a selection of five of these books. Click here to see if you are one of them! Many thanks to Nicole on our team for handling the mailing for this project, which had A LOT of moving parts. As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s latest psychological thriller, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, is now in stores and will be a Bets On pick. 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. As Jess’ paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. According to reviewer Norah Piehl, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL “effectively utilizes alternating points of view to keep readers intrigued and alter their understanding about what’s actually happening and who’s manipulating whom --- and why.” She goes on to say that the book “offers plenty of high-stakes drama and chilling insights into the mindsets of two very complicated women.” Don’t miss my Bets On commentary in next week’s newsletter. We’re giving away the audio edition of AN ANONYMOUS GIRL (read by Barrie Kreinik and Julia Whelan), along with Alex Michaelides' THE SILENT PATIENT (read by Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey) in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Friday, February 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles. Another upcoming Bets On title is THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict. Hedy Kiesler’s marriage to a powerful Austrian arms dealer allows her to evade Nazi persecution despite her Jewish heritage. She overhears the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devises a scheme to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape lands her in Hollywood, where she becomes film actress Hedy Lamarr. But Hedy is keeping a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she is a scientist. And she has an idea that might help the country…that is, if anyone will listen to her. Our own Rebecca Munro has our review and says, "Beautifully written, compassionately rendered and compulsively readable, THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM is the perfect work of historical fiction for our time. Benedict has done Lamarr true justice, and I feel certain that she would love this book." Find out why I’m betting you’ll love the book in next week’s newsletter. Earlier this week, I was excited to hear that THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM is January’s selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club. Barnes & Noble will be selling a special Exclusive Book Club Edition of THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, in addition to hosting a free Book Club Night to discuss the novel, in stores across the country on Tuesday, February 5th at 7pm local time. It also was announced that, due to its immense popularity, the B&N Book Club will now be held monthly at all stores nationwide instead of quarterly. Click here for all the exciting details and to sign up for the February 5th event at your local B&N store. Other books we’re reviewing this week include James Lee Burke’s THE NEW IBERIA BLUES, in which 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 PARAGON HOTEL, a new historical thriller from Lyndsay Faye that follows Alice "Nobody" James from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland's Paragon Hotel; and THE WATER CURE by Sophie Mackintosh, a dystopic feminist revenge fantasy about three sisters on an isolated island who are raised to fear men. THE NEW IBERIA BLUES and THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM are our current Word of Mouth prizes. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win both these novels. Please do so by Friday, January 18th at noon ET. As promised, WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell --- a #1 Indies Next pick --- is my first Bets On selection of 2019. Click here for my commentary, and be sure to check out our review and the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com. I am happy to announce that our Valentine’s Day contest has returned for a 14th year (a very fitting number for this special giveaway)! Five readers will win seven love-themed books, along with some delicious chocolates. All you have to do is enter here by Monday, February 11th at noon ET for your chance to win this irresistible prize package. Also, our Winter Reading feature is back for a fifth year! On select days through Friday, February 15th at noon ET, we will be hosting a series of 24-hour contests spotlighting a book releasing this winter (or a book publishing in the spring that we would like to get on your radar now) and giving five lucky readers a chance to win it. We also will be sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here. Our preview email with all the books to be featured will go out on Monday to those who have opted into the Winter Reading newsletter, and our first contest will go live on Tuesday at noon ET. Week one’s prize books will be LAST WOMAN STANDING by Amy Gentry, THE MILK LADY OF BANGALORE: An Unexpected Adventure by Shoba Narayan, and NOT THAT I COULD TELL by Jessica Strawser. NOT THAT I COULD TELL is also our latest Paperback Spotlight title. When a group of neighborhood women gathers around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors --- and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else. This is just one of the many titles we’re featuring in our New in Paperback roundups for January. We have paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Lisa Genova (EVERY NOTE PLAYED), Paula McLain (LOVE AND RUIN) and Chris Bohjalian (THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, which is our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest book on ReadingGroupGuides.com); nonfiction titles, including NO TIME TO SPARE: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin, THE MONK OF MOKHA by Dave Eggers, and THE RECOVERING: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison; and paperback originals like THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff, FREEDOM ROAD by William Lashner, and THE ACCIDENTAL FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN by Jonas Jonasson. Don’t miss our giveaway for Jen Turano’s latest novel, FLIGHTS OF FANCY, the first installment in her historical romance series, American Heiresses. We’re giving 15 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, January 17th at noon ET. Our poll continues to ask 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? Let us know by clicking here. News & Pop Culture Reader Mail: Mary wrote, “I would like to take the opportunity to tell you how much I truly enjoy your newsletter. I am a Professor from Miami, Florida, who moved to the beautiful country of Malta a year ago to live. My amazing university fully supported me in this endeavor, and I am teaching fully online from my apartment office here. I found a wonderful bookstore here that orders books for me that they do not have on their shelves. This has been done mainly by taking screenshots of the books you have recommended. Sometimes I am able to get copies here before their US release, especially if the book is published in the UK first. So thank you for the reviews you provide. I admire your ability to read as quickly as you do.” I love that Mary is in Malta and still can be so connected to us! A Tree Becomes a Library: This has been making the rounds. A woman had to take down a tree on her property. She had them leave enough to make a Little Free Library in it. Train Delay Knitting Project: A woman in Europe knit a scarf with rows each day that matched whether her train was delayed or on time. In our scarf, there would be a lot of red rows as the NYC area has a major issue with transit delays. Weather Knitting Project: You also can knit a scarf to chart the weather each day of the year. Take a look at that here. How to Read 100 Books in a Year: Melanie, who edits Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio, passed this along to me. We think the author’s math is way off. Most books I read are about 350 pages; that would get us to one a week, not two. "You": I watched this series on Netflix. A man becomes obsessed with his girlfriend and immerses himself in her life. It’s very edgy and not for everyone; parts of it are downright terrifying. But oh, the guy who is obsessed runs a bookstore, and there are many literary references that accompany his obsession. The first season is based on the book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes; the second season will be based on Kepnes' follow-up, HIDDEN BODIES. I love candles, and on the days that I work from home, I love to have a candle burning on my desk. Over the holidays, our designer, Jenni, gave me a WoodWick Candle.The wicks are made of wood, and thus they crackle like a fireplace as they burn. They really are lovely. We have no plans for the weekend, and I am leaving it like that. I have a stack of books calling my name, some knitting projects, and I will make some nice dinners. I have a craving to make mushroom soup. Off to find a recipe for that. Read on, and have a great week. P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!    Featured Review: THE NEW IBERIA BLUES  THE NEW IBERIA BLUES: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. Featured Review: AN ANONYMOUS GIRL  AN ANONYMOUS GIRL by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (Psychological Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. AN ANONYMOUS GIRL will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Featured Review:  THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.  Announcing Bookreporter.com's 14th Annual Valentine's Day is only a few heartbeats away. We can't think of a better way to celebrate this special day than to cuddle up with your loved one...and a good book, of course! We're giving readers the chance to win one of our five Bookreporter.com Valentine's Day prize packages, which includes one copy of each of our featured titles and some delicious chocolates. Be sure to enter between now and Monday, February 11th at noon ET for your opportunity to be a lucky (and beloved!) winner. If you're feeling frisky, share with us your all-time book character crush. Don't be shy, we all got 'em! We'll post the top 10 literary loves and lusts --- along with the five winners --- shortly after the contest ends. This year's featured Valentine’s Day titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.  Announcing Bookreporter.com's Fifth Annual At Bookreporter.com, we are kicking off 2019 with our fifth annual Winter Reading Contests and Feature. On select days between January 15th and February 15th at noon ET, we are hosting a series of 24-hour contests spotlighting a book releasing this winter (or a book publishing in the spring that we would like to get on your radar now) and giving five lucky readers a chance to win it. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here. Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, January 15th at noon ET. This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details  New Paperback Spotlight:  NOT THAT I COULD TELL by Jessica Strawser (Mystery) By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce --- and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her --- and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions --- especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors --- and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else. - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight.  Bookreporter.com Bets On:  WATCHING YOU by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller) Tom Fitzwilliam has moved his family around as his job is working with troubled schools and getting them on track. Is he the teacher crush? That is so likely, but would that be too neat? Reading Lisa’s books in the past, I know to expect something more. Tom’s wife, Nicola, is a runner, which has her out and about their neighborhood at all hours of the day. Why does she run, and what does she see when she is out running? Their son, Freddie, likes taking photos of the neighbors and keeping tabs on them from his room. He’s a loner, with no friends his age, but he watches. What does he see, and what does he know? - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.  New Special Contest:  In FLIGHTS OF FANCY, heiress Isadora Delafield flees New York to escape an unwanted marriage. Disguising herself as a housekeeper, she finds a position at Glory Manor, the childhood home of self-made man Ian MacKenzie. Ian is unexpectedly charmed by Isadora and her unconventional ways, but when Isadora’s secret is revealed, will they still have a chance at happily-ever-after? FLIGHTS OF FANCY: American Heiresses, Book 1 by Jen Turano (Historical Romance) Mr. Ian MacKenzie is known for his savvy business sense and has built his reputation and fortune completely through traditional hard work. But when his adopted parents are in need of a new housekeeper and Isadora is thrown into his path, he's unexpectedly charmed by her unconventional manner. Neither Isadora nor Ian expected to find the other so intriguing, but when a chain of mysterious incidents on the farm point to a larger threat, they'll have to set aside everything they thought they wanted for a chance at happy-ever-after. Click here to enter the contest.    January’s New in Paperback Roundups January's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes EVERY NOTE PLAYED by Lisa Genova, a powerful exploration of regret, forgiveness, freedom and what it means to be alive; LOVE AND RUIN, in which Paula McLain brings to life the story of Martha Gellhorn --- a fiercely independent, ambitious woman ahead of her time, who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century; THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT by Chris Bohjalian, a spellbinding psychological thriller in which a flight attendant wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man --- and no idea what happened; and THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE, Melanie Benjamin's fascinating novel of the friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends --- screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford. Among our nonfiction highlights are NO TIME TO SPARE, the collected best of Ursula K. Le Guin's blog that presents perfectly crystallized dispatches on what mattered to her late in life, her concerns with the world and her wonder at it; THE RECOVERING by Leslie Jamison, which turns our understanding of the traditional addiction narrative on its head, demonstrating that the story of recovery can be every bit as electrifying as the train wreck itself; Dave Eggers' THE MONK OF MOKHA, the exhilarating true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war; and Nancy Goldstone's DAUGHTERS OF THE WINTER QUEEN, the thrilling saga of four spirited sisters and their glamorous mother, Elizabeth Stuart, granddaughter of the martyred Mary, Queen of Scots. Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of    More Reviews This WeekTHE BOY by Tami Hoag (Mystery/Thriller) THE PARAGON HOTEL by Lyndsay Faye (Historical Thriller) THE WATER CURE by Sophie Mackintosh (Dystopian Fantasy) THE BURGLAR by Thomas Perry (Thriller) SUGAR RUN by Mesha Maren (Fiction) AN ORCHESTRA OF MINORITIES by Chigozie Obioma (Fiction) FREEFALL by Jessica Barry (Mystery/Thriller) GHOST WALL by Sarah Moss (Fiction) SCRUBLANDS by Chris Hammer (Mystery/Thriller) INVISIBLE by Andrew Grant (Mystery/Thriller) THE GIRL AT THE BORDER by Leslie Archer (Thriller)   
Next Week’s Notables:
|
