April 12, 2019
 April 12, 2019Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On  Latest Update on Our GoFundMe Campaign Thank you to those of you who already have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far we have raised $26,357 of our $50,000 goal, with online donations and checks! Susan: "I have subscribed for years. This is invaluable for my own book selection, book group recommendations and readers' advisory with friends, co-workers, family and others." Sandy: “I look forward to receiving your newsletter each week. Such a wealth of information on current books and reviews." Pamela: "I love reading books!" If you have not donated yet, may we ask that you consider it? Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. You can read more about our plans and donate here. If you would rather donate via check, our address is: The Book Report, Inc. Thank you again for your consideration and your donation. And I still owe lots of thank-you notes via snail mail. They are going out on Monday!   Carol is now doing short videos every Wednesday where she previews some of what will appear in that week's newsletter. Click on the image of Carol above to see her first preview video. Carol has finished THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves, which we reviewed last week, and it will be a Bets On pick. You can "bet" she will mention this in her next preview video.  Carol attended "A Special Evening with Martha Hall Kelly" at the Penguin Random House offices  Carol's amaryllis bulbs that she planted in December continue to bloom. Bookreporter Video: Now on YouTube and FacebookFor a while now, I have been noodling an idea for a series of Bookreporter videos. I wanted something short where I could share just a few books, but was stuck on what to feature. This week, I hit on a formula that we gave a whirl --- a short video preview on Wednesday of what is going to be in the newsletter that week. Nicole shot it with her phone, and we uploaded it to our Bookreporter Facebook page. Then yesterday, our designer, Jenni, created a YouTube channel and posted our first video there. We kept it short on purpose; it’s just a minute or so. Think of it as a 60-second commercial! I already am working on what we will be featuring next week as this was fun to do. For those who are watching, yes, I made my scarf, and the turquoise glasses are Peepers that I picked up on Amazon. And I am thinking about ways we can incorporate video onto ReadingGroupGuides.com as well. Ideas on all of this are welcome. When we left off last week, I was reading THE STATIONERY SHOP by Marjan Kamali, which will be in stores on June 18th. I loved it, and it will be a Bookreporter Bets On selection! I know a wee bit about Tehran as one of our original staffers was from there, and she spoke of the political upheaval through the years more than once. Also, a family friend worked in the embassy there just before the Iran hostage crisis that ran for 444 days from November 1979 to January 1981; I remember her mother talking about her friends who were still there and worrying about their safety. But I knew little to nothing about the 1953 political upheaval that serves as the backdrop for THE STATIONERY SHOP. The young characters who meet there, Roya and Bahman, both share a love of Rumi’s poetry, and books in general. They write each other notes that are slipped into books. The shop owner caretakes their relationship, giving them time to nurture this young love. But just as they plan to marry and build their lives together, Roya cannot find Bahman, and suddenly their idyllic future has fallen apart. For decades, Roya questions what happened as she receives notes from Bahman that do not jive with the person she knew, or thought she knew, so well. She picks up and moves to the United States where she begins to build a new life for herself, but there is always a niggling thought about what happened on that fateful day. It takes 60 years for her to get her answer. And I daresay that it will not be what any reader would think. To share more is to give away too much. That said, this book is so cleverly plotted that it’s a complete delight. While I learned so much about Tehran and Iranian culture, it was naturally woven into the story; it was never glaring or more than what was needed to tell the story. This book would make for a wonderful book club discussion. Yesterday morning, I finished THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves, which we reviewed last week. I knew I had an advance copy at the house and found myself going through stacks of galleys here looking for it after I read our review. Yes, our reviews often inspire my reading, as well as yours. Annika and Jonathan are wonderfully written characters. They meet at college and clearly are mad for each other, but their worlds move them in different directions. (Between this and THE STATIONERY SHOP, I feel like there is a theme to my reading this week about lovers who are drawn apart and then meet again decades later.) Here, just one decade passes before they are drawn back together. It’s told in shifting times from each point of view, and I found myself saying “one more chapter” more than once. It’s going to be a Bets On pick, and I will share more about why I selected it next week. I finished listening to NANAVILLE: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen, and it is the book that I am going to give every new grandmother. Seriously. There are so many favorite lines that I could quote, and so many scenarios that just made me smile. It’s going to be a Bets On pick. While it’s for those of a certain age, every new mom can also read it and get some insight into how grandma is feeling as the new wee one comes home. Oh, and I would really like to meet Arthur, who is Anna’s grandson. He sounds like he is such fun to be with! By the way, I need to invent hands-free downloadable audio so that when I finish listening in the car, I can download something else. No downloading while driving, just as no texting while driving! On Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of attending Martha Hall Kelly’s launch event for LOST ROSES at the Penguin Random House headquarters. A photo that she found when she was doing her research for LILAC GIRLS led her to this story. She spoke about traveling to Russia for research and the “need” for a repeat trip to Paris to be sure that section of the book was perfect. She was interviewed by Christina Baker Kline, who talked to her about plumbing research and then turning it into prose. There are times when you just need to write the book and synthesize the facts into it. And let me have a fashion moment here: I loved Martha's pink suit! LOST ROSES is our current Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight title and an upcoming Bets On pick. We have our review this week from Rebecca Munro, who says, "Once again, Hall takes her readers on a breathless, heartfelt journey through one of the greatest conflicts in history, exposing the truths of the past through the eyes of its unsung women.... I won’t give any spoilers, but I can confirm that the conclusion is deeply, exhilaratingly satisfying, which is yet another area where Hall shines." Rebecca also had the pleasure of talking to Martha, who offered further insights into her characters, the setting, her research, and why she decided to write a prequel to LILAC GIRLS. Click here for the interview. We also are featuring the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com, and don’t miss my Bets On commentary in next week’s newsletter. I actually loved LOST ROSES even more than LILAC GIRLS. It was announced on Tuesday that LOST ROSES is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. Barnes & Noble will be selling a special Exclusive Book Club Edition of the novel, in addition to hosting a free Book Club Night to discuss it, in stores across the country on Tuesday, May 7th at 7pm local time. Click here to sign up for the event. Tuesday night was the Barnes & Noble Book Club discussion of their March pick, THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN; Lisa See was in Sacramento for the B&N event there, where there was a huge crowd. Melanie, who edits our Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio features, gave us a report from Boynton Beach: “It was pouring rain here, which I think kept some people away. There were 10 people there, and it was intimate with many returnees to the group from prior months, so we had a great discussion for the entire hour. Lots of good talk about the culture and history we knew little about. We talked about forgiveness, secrets, loyalty, the matriarchal society or matrifocal culture, which is the term used in the book that I never had heard. We also talked about how science affected the haenyeo culture.” I loved that those who gather in Boynton seem to have made a group of their own! Lisa is going to be talking to Melanie’s book club in late April, and she will be talking to my recently formed neighborhood book group in early May. We both are very much looking forward to these discussions. Lisa Scottoline is back with a new domestic thriller, SOMEONE KNOWS, which is about how a single decision can undo a family, how our past can derail our present, and how not guilty doesn’t always mean innocent. Sarah Rachel Egelman has our review and says, “[The teens'] guilt and one character’s redemption make for a solid and interesting story. SOMEONE KNOWS has all the requisite turmoil, surprises, action and introspection of an enjoyable page turner...” We have a discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com, which you can see here. And be sure to check out Lisa’s website for more on her latest release, along with her upcoming appearances; details on how you can get an invitation to the Book Club Party that Lisa and her daughter, Francesca Serritella, have each year at their home in Pennsylvania; tons of photos; and much more. I read SOMEONE KNOWS a couple of months ago and loved how Lisa stretched her writing muscle with her storytelling. There is a twist towards the end that I did not see coming. I read it in a day and still am thinking about it! Other books we’re reviewing this week include WOMEN TALKING, in which Miriam Toews envisions a small community of women, scarred by trauma but tentatively daring to imagine a new kind of future; WORKING, an unprecedented gathering of candid and revealing recollections about Robert A. Caro’s experiences researching and writing his acclaimed books; GREEK TO ME, a charming account of Mary Norris’ lifelong love affair with words and her solo adventures in the land of olive trees and ouzo (Tom and I had the pleasure of meeting Mary at an author lunch, and she charmed us with her love of Greece); and SAVING MEGHAN by D.J. Palmer, a riveting thriller full of secrets and lies that asks the question: Can you love someone to death? Continuing from last week (and for the next three-and-a-half weeks) is our 14th annual Mother's Day contest. As we’ve done for the past 13 years, we’re giving away a number of fiction and nonfiction titles that we think moms will love. Five lucky readers will win all 11 books for themselves or for their mom. Be sure to enter by Wednesday, May 8th at noon ET, and click here to read more about our featured titles. In this week’s Spring Preview contests, we gave away THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer (a Bets On pick) and THE FARM by Joanne Ramos, which will be in stores on May 7th. Next week’s prizes will be ALL WE EVER WANTED by Emily Giffin, which releases in paperback on April 23rd, and ROAR by Cecelia Ahern. Our first contest of the week will go live on Tuesday, April 16th at noon ET. It’s been quite an eventful start to the baseball season for our two local teams. The Yankees have come out of the gate slowly, due in part to a slew of key injuries, while the Mets have gotten off to a promising start as this year they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their improbable first World Series title. Ron Kaplan, our resident baseball aficionado, is in a New York state of mind as he takes a look at five recently released books that revolve around these two storied franchises. For the record, Tom Donadio, our Editorial Director, is a huge Mets fan, while I pull for the Yankees. We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win THE BETTER SISTER by Alafair Burke and REDEMPTION by David Baldacci, both of which we plan to review next week. Be sure to enter by Friday, April 26th at noon ET. In this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest, we’re giving away the audio versions of Sally Hepworth's THE MOTHER-IN-LAW (an upcoming Bets On selection), read by Barrie Kreinik, and D.J. Palmer's aforementioned SAVING MEGHAN, read by Mary Stuart Masterson and Rebecca Soler. Let us know by Wednesday, May 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to for your chance to win both these audio titles. Our new poll asks which of 15 paperbacks releasing in April you have read or are planning to read. Click here to cast your votes. In our previous poll, we listed 20 titles that are being published this month and asked which of them, if any, you are looking forward to reading. Here are your top picks: BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND by Heather Gudenkauf (36%), SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline (34%), THE MOTHER-IN-LAW by Sally Hepworth (30%), LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly (28%), and REDEMPTION by David Baldacci (25%). Click here for all the results. THE NIGHT TIGER by Yangsze Choo is April’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick. Here’s what Reese has to say about this instant New York Times bestseller: “Set in a tiny Malaysian town in the 1930s, the story is about a mystifying tiger who haunts the villages, followed by a series of mysterious deaths. The two main characters will captivate you as their paths are destined to cross.” Check out our rave review here. The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker International Prize has been announced. They are CELESTIAL BODIES by Jokha Alharthi, THE YEARS by Annie Ernaux, THE PINE ISLANDS by Marion Poschmann, DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD by Olga Tokarczuk, THE SHAPE OF THE RUINS by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, and THE REMAINDER by Alia Trabucco Zerán. The winner will be announced on May 21st. News & Pop Culture Reader Mail: Jean wrote this about winning the aforementioned SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline and SAVE ME THE PLUMS by Ruth Reichl in the last Word of Mouth contest: "I am delighted to be the winner of those two books; I have been eager to read both of them. Many thanks for your generosity. And many thanks for all your time in producing the Bookreporter newsletter. I have enjoyed reading it for many years. My favorite part is the personal message from you, Carol. I love reading about your family, your knitting, your travels and your cooking. Oh yeah, and all the reading and book reviews! I don’t know how you do it, but keep doing it!" Cheyanne wrote about winning MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb in our Spring Preview contest: "Awesome! Thank you so much! I'm excited to read this." "Game of Thrones": Yes, the eighth and final season of "Game of Thrones," which filmed in Northern Ireland, Spain, Iceland and Canada, kicks off Sunday night at 9pm on HBO. Here are some fun stats about the show from the HBO press release: “32.8 million people watched season seven. The show is broadcast in 207 countries and territories and simulcast in 194 countries and territories. Belfast, Northern Ireland is home to Titanic Studios, which has six shooting stages that housed the interiors of Winterfell, Castle Black, High Hall of the Eyrie, the Sky Cells in the Eyrie, the Hall of Faces, the House of Black and White, the Great Sept of Baelor, the Great Pyramid of Meereen Throne Room and the iconic King's Landing Throne Room.The series has used 12,986 extras in Northern Ireland alone and 2,000 Northern Ireland crew members across the series' eight seasons. "During all eight seasons, and specific to production in Northern Ireland, 3,748 pounds of rubber and 1.5 tons of metal were used for armory, with 1,300 shields created. Additionally, production used: 52,000 bags of paper snow; 163 tons of propane; 3,000 pyrotechnic effects; 4,000 gallons of artificial blood; 20,907 candles; 25 miles of rope; 22,966 feet of waxed cotton fabric to make more than 330 tents; and 50 miles of fabric for costumes. The construction department used: 745 miles of repurposed timber; 60,000 sheets of plywood; 20,000,000 screws and bolts; 65,000 bags of plaster; 1,320 gallons of wood glue; 1,200 blocks of polystyrene; 1,000 sheets of fire board; more than 1,000 miles of cable; and 120 semi-truck loads of reclaimed beams from warehouses and barns from all over Europe. Over the course of eight seasons, 'Game of Thrones' has used 12,137 wigs and hairpieces. Daenerys’ wig color and style are the result of more than two months of testing and seven prototypes.” Carol’s "Game of Thrones" Press Release: After watching seven seasons of "Game of Thrones," Carol can identify maybe five or six of the characters, and she knows winter is coming, but still is not sure what that means. Daenerys Targaryen is her favorite character since the rest of the show is shot really dark, and the Mother of Dragons is always in a bright setting. Daenerys also seems to be thoughtfully in charge, and whoa, she has dragons and they respond to her. Jon Snow is really handsome and she sees why people swoon for him. She also thinks that no one has talked about the smells of Winterfell and King’s Landing, but clearly they cannot be pleasant. Carol watches to keep her husband, Tom, company, but clearly should have watched more closely and read the books (the latter so she would not have been shocked, for example, by the Red Wedding. Her husband went, “Aha, that is how they showed that,” while she was in shock and thinking about how many fewer people would be at the set’s commissary the next week after that scene) instead of answering emails while the show is on. She is hoping that it all will have clarity for her in this eighth season. That may happen as there are fewer characters because, well, there was the Red Wedding and lots more killing in seasons one through seven, but then again it feels like the White Walkers are multiplying. She is fairly sure that when the episode ends each Sunday night, she will turn to her husband as she has for the previous seven seasons and ask, “What happened there?” And he will present a drilled-down version of it that she will pretend to understand. "Mrs. Wilson" on PBS: It’s just three episodes, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ruth Wilson, who plays Alison on “The Affair” on Showtime, here portrays her grandmother Alison. This is the true story of her grandfather, who had four wives. I feel like it’s somewhat fitting that Ruth is playing this role, not just because of her personal family drama, but also due to her role on "The Affair." "Quicksand": I watched all six episodes on Netflix last weekend. It’s so well done, though it's tough watching about a school shooting and its aftermath. Maja is arrested for shooting her boyfriend and her best friend. Until the very end, viewers, just like readers of the book by Malin Persson Giolito, are not sure what happened that she could have committed this horrific act. But clearly the story is told. It’s about privilege, wealth, friendship, peer pressure, family and so much more. It’s in Swedish with subtitles that are well translated. Well, let me explain that better as I do not know one word of Swedish. The English subtitles tell the story really well. "Wonder": I read this week that R.J. Palacio’s book will become a Broadway play and "Hamilton" producer Jill Furman is the lead producer. She won a Tony for "Hamilton," a show you may have heard of! The LA Times Festival of Books is this weekend. If any of our readers are going, I would love to run a blog piece about it. Let me know! I live in a house where the amaryllis bulbs that I planted back in early December continue to bloom. The white flower above appeared last week when I thought that plant had finished blooming a month ago! At a time when I should be bringing an Easter lily into the house, I have an amaryllis with trumpet flowers that look similar. Such fun. Also, another flower tip. I have found that Whole Foods has wonderful flowers at very reasonable prices. Last week, I picked up some stunning Gerber daisies, tulips and eucalyptus. They sell good-looking stock to use as filler (not baby’s breath, which I personally do not care for) for $5 for a healthy bunch. Tom is headed to the track this weekend to instruct instructors at the NJ BMW Driving School. He booked it without realizing that this is Masters weekend. I am going to make pimento cheese sandwiches anyway, as is tradition. He vows to be home for part of the final round. Trust that I will watch zero golf until he gets home. Greg and Cory will be around. I will eat the traditional meals that I eat when he travels: pizza on English muffins and chicken noodle soup with rice. The boys will roll their eyes as I dine on this fare. Actually, Cory and Sam want to take me out to dinner on Saturday night, which is lovely. My goal is to keep organizing. Last weekend, I reorganized the kitchen and am happy to share that the spices are now in alphabetical order. You can laugh, but I think this system will save me time. Easier to find the thyme, too! We have four containers of poppy seeds (clearly every time we make Veal Stroganoff, we buy another container, certain that we do not have it in the house), six containers of allspice (which is used only around the holidays, and again, we are sure that we do not have it in the house as we stand ogling the spices at the supermarket), four bottles of lemon flavoring (cake baking must happen, though I usually use fresh lemon, so I have no idea why I have these), and three containers of homemade taco blend (which would make one think that we eat tacos once a week instead of once a season). I have decided that reading books is far more fun than organizing them, but I did move the 2019 books that I already read to a shelf...actually two. And looking them over, I realize that the first few months of this year have brought some excellent reading my way. Now I am off to pluck a new book from the shelves of unread books. Tune in to our video next Wednesday to see what I read! If all goes as planned, it will air on Wednesday afternoon. 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: SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline  SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline (Psychological Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review.  Our Interview with Martha Hall Kelly   Martha Hall Kelly’s runaway bestseller, LILAC GIRLS, introduced real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. LOST ROSES, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com reviewer Rebecca Munro, Kelly talks about her decision to write a prequel; the most interesting fact she learned about pre-WWII Russia; her references to the fashion and etiquette of 1914, which she sprinkles throughout the story; and her current project --- the final book in the trilogy, which will be based on Caroline's great-grandmother, Jane Eliza, and will take place during the Civil War. LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly (Historical Fiction) Read the review and interview. LOST ROSES will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Featured Review: WOMEN TALKING by Miriam Toews  WOMEN TALKING by Miriam Toews (Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. Featured Review: WORKING by Robert A. Caro  WORKING: Researching, Interviewing, Writing by Robert A. Caro (Memoir) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. Featured Review: TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi  TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi (Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review.  Bookreporter.com's 14th Annual Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win books for yourself or the special lady in your life in our 14th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Wednesday, May 8th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes 11 great fiction and nonfiction titles we think moms will love. This year's featured titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.  Bookreporter.com's Eighth Annual Spring is in the air! We’ve caught the fever --- and it’s being fueled by some wonderful new and upcoming releases. Our eighth annual Spring Preview Contests and Feature spotlights many of these picks, which we know people will be talking about over the next few months. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through April 26th. You will need to check the site to see the featured book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce each title, which you can sign up for here. Our next prize book will be announced on Tuesday, April 16th at noon ET. This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details    Bookreporter.com’s 2019 Spring Just in time for the start of the Major League Baseball season, our resident fan of the game, Ron Kaplan, is back with another roundup of baseball titles. This time around, he focuses on the two New York teams: the Yankees, who many think have an excellent chance to make it to the World Series this year, and the Mets, who are hoping to remain competitive and hang tough with the Phillies, Nationals and Braves in the NL East. Click here for Ron Kaplan’s 2019 Spring Baseball Books roundup. An Interview with Jeffrey Siger,  When corruption lies deep beneath the surface, how can the truth come to light? This question lies at the heart of THE MYKONOS MOB, Jeffrey Siger’s 10th police procedural featuring Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis and his Special Crimes unit. In this interview, Siger explains why he chose Greece as the setting for his mysteries, gives a shout-out to the authors who have most influenced his style of writing and approach to dialogue (while also naming the two literary legends to whom his work is most often compared), and reveals the hot-button issue that may become the foundation of the next installment in the series. THE MYKONOS MOB: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger (Mystery) Click here to read the interview.    More Reviews This WeekWHEN WE LEFT CUBA by Chanel Cleeton (Historical Fiction) GREEK TO ME: Adventures of the Comma Queen by Mary Norris (Travel Memoir/Writing) SAVING MEGHAN by D.J. Palmer (Medical Thriller) THE LAST SECOND: A Brit in the FBI Thriller by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison (Thriller) THE OTHER AMERICANS by Laila Lalami (Mystery) CONFESSIONS OF AN INNOCENT MAN by David R. Dow (Legal Thriller) GIRL MOST LIKELY by Max Allan Collins (Mystery/Thriller) A VOLUNTARY CRUCIFIXION by David J. MacKinnon (Memoir/Essays)   
Next Week’s Notables:
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