November 8, 2019
 November 8, 2019Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On    Carol interviewed Fiona Davis, author of THE CHELSEA GIRLS, at the Hillsborough Public Library  Jean Kwok, author of SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE, stopped by the office and recorded a podcast with Carol where she updates readers on what's been going on since the book's publication.  Our own Austin Ruh attended an event at the New York Public Library, where Erin Morgenstern (right)  There are still tickets available for Book Club Girl's "Night Out" event on Thursday, November 14th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Carol will be interviewing Susan Wiggs and Alena Dillon about their new books. Click on the image above for all the event details and to reserve your spot.  Carol was so happy to see a copy of WRECKING BALL, Jeff Kinney's latest  Voting is now underway for the 11th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards. “The Leaves That Are Green Turn to Brown”So who else enjoyed their extra hour last weekend? And who else was up at 5:30 on Monday morning? I had a lot of trouble shifting my body clock back. I am a real night owl, but this week my awake time was definitely shifted. Jet lag in my own home! Last Saturday’s Somerset County Book Lovers Tea in Hillsborough, NJ was a huge success. There were about 120 people there…and it was such fun to interview Fiona Davis about her latest novel, THE CHELSEA GIRLS. We have done a number of events together at this point, and though none of the interviews have been the same, they each have been so enjoyable. It was so nice to see some of our readers there as well. Above you can see me with Fiona, as well as a portion of the audience. On Thursday night, I have my last live event of the year, as I moderate the Book Club Girl "Night Out" event from 6:30-8:30pm at the HarperCollins offices in New York City. My special guests will be Susan Wiggs and Alena Dillon, and we will discuss their new books, THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE (now in stores) and MERCY HOUSE (on sale February 11th). There are still some tickets available, so if you’d like to join us for what I’m sure will be a thought-provoking and in-depth conversation while mingling with other book clubs over wine and hors d’oeuvres, here is a link on how to reserve your spot. These events are a lot of fun, and I love seeing readers there! Some of you have written to ask how you can listen to the “Bookreporter Talks To” podcast. You can always listen via the links that we share with you, or you can download a podcast app to your phone and listen that way. Right now for our listeners, the most popular apps are Apple Media (iTunes) and Google Podcasts. Readers have weighed in about the podcasts on iTunes. Jackie wrote, “Love this podcast! I look forward to learning what inspired the authors and hearing stories behind the books. I also enjoy the audiobook excerpt that sometimes follows the interview. Keep up the good work!” And Maryelle wrote this about my interview with Jean: “What an interesting and thought-provoking author interview. Carol does such a great job and brings out awesome responses to her in-depth questions.” We appreciate it when you leave comments as that helps people discover us. There was some sad book-related news this week. I am sure that many of you read about the nine members of the LeBaron family in Mexico who were killed by a drug cartel. They were members of the polygamist community that Ruth Wariner wrote about in her brilliant 2016 memoir, THE SOUND OF GRAVEL. Her niece, Rhonita, and Rhonita's four children were among those who were killed. So, so senseless. The New York Times has an update to this tragic story, which you can read here. Now to this week’s update… Eight years after the release of her nationally bestselling debut, THE NIGHT CIRCUS, Erin Morgenstern is back with her long-awaited second novel. According to the publisher, THE STARLESS SEA is “a timeless love story set in a secret underground world --- a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars and ships that sail upon a starless sea.” Our reviewer Norah Piehl calls the book “truly a love letter to the power of storytelling” and notes, “At times, the sheer complexity of the world that Morgenstern has created verges on the overwhelming. But when readers just surrender to its beauty and inventiveness, they will be both surprised and satisfied by the magical realm she has imagined...” This week, our own Austin Ruh visited the New York Public Library to attend an event featuring Erin, who was being interviewed by fellow author Kelly Braffet. Austin had this to say about the evening: “It felt much like a chapter from her book. Dozens of readers were crowded together in the basement of a respected, old library. Tarot cards were handed out and gawked over. All was fantastic. Erin’s wit and enthusiasm kept us mesmerized as she investigated various types of stories and both her and the audience’s role in them, such as theater, video games and her own novels. She describes her process to be much like her artistic practice of flinging paints on her canvas, getting a colorful mess on her floor, walls and cat." Internationally bestselling author Lisa Jewell, whose novels include THEN SHE WAS GONE, WATCHING YOU and I FOUND YOU (the latter two were Bets On titles), delivers another page-turning psychological thriller with THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS, which tells the story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets. Our reviewer Kate Ayers says, “In her stunning new novel, Lisa Jewell not only has crafted a great thrill ride, but has looked seriously at human weakness and the evil that preys on it. Take a trip to the dark side here, and experience waves of chills running up your spine.” I am about halfway through the book, and I concur. It was announced on Tuesday that THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. B&N will be selling a special Exclusive Book Club Edition of the book, along with hosting a free Book Club Night to discuss it, in stores across the country on Tuesday, January 7th at 7pm local time. Click here to sign up for the event. We posted the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com, which you can see here. THE STARLESS SEA and THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS are our current Word of Mouth prizes. Let us know by Friday, November 15th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win both these major releases. Other books we’re reviewing this week include Mary Higgins Clark’s new thriller, KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY, which revolves around allegations of sexual misconduct at a high-profile television news network --- and the ensuing deaths of two of the accusers; THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes, this month’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick, which is set in Depression-era America and tells the story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond; and ORDINARY GIRLS, Jaquira Díaz’s memoir of her challenging girlhood, her struggles with depression and sexual assault, and her Puerto Rican culture. You can see me talking about this week’s titles in our weekly promo video here. We’re awarding the audio version of KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY (read by January LaVoy), along with Martin Cruz Smith’s THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA: An Arkady Renko Novel (read by Jeremy Bobb), in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Submit your comments about the audiobooks you’ve listened to by Monday, December 2nd at noon ET for your chance to be awarded both these audio titles. It’s that time of year again: Our Holiday Cheer feature and contests are back! The giveaways kick off at noon ET on select days in November and December, and run for just 24 hours, so you will have to check the site to see what is being featured. As always, we’ll be sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts. Our preview email with all the books to be featured will go out on Tuesday to those who have opted into the Holiday Cheer newsletter, and our first contest will go live on Wednesday at noon ET. Week one’s prize books will be THE PATH MADE CLEAR: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose by Oprah Winfrey and 5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food by Jamie Oliver. Speaking of Oprah, this week she announced that her new book club pick is OLIVE, AGAIN, the sequel to Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, OLIVE KITTERIDGE. “When I heard Elizabeth Strout had written a second book with Olive at its center, I worried that time might have smoothed her rough edges," Oprah says. "Nope. Olive is older and wiser, but as cantankerous as ever, and she still makes me laugh out loud, and cry in recognition and empathy. I fell in love with Olive not despite her flaws, but because of them.” Both Oprah and Strout appeared on “CBS This Morning” yesterday for the big announcement, which you can take a look at here. Also, be sure to check out our review and the discussion guide. There’s still time to enter our ReadingGroupGuides.com contest for Jeanine Cummins' upcoming novel, AMERICAN DIRT, which releases on January 21st and will be a Bets On pick. We’re giving 10 book groups the chance to win up to 10 advance copies of the book, provided that they can give us their feedback on it by Friday, February 28th. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, November 18th at noon ET. Our New in Paperback roundups are now available for November. We're featuring paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Stephen King (ELEVATION), Harlan Coben (RUN AWAY), Jonathan Kellerman (THE WEDDING GUEST: An Alex Delaware Novel), and Sophie Hannah (THE NEXT TO DIE); nonfiction titles, including YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME: A Memoir by Sherman Alexie, MAD, BAD, DANGEROUS TO KNOW: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats and Joyce by Colm Tóibín, and SLOWHAND: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton by Philip Norman; and paperback originals like KILLING QUARRY by Max Allan Collins, CHOKEHOLD by David Moody, and WHAT BURNS: Stories by Dale Peck. Our poll continues to ask what social media platforms you use on a regular basis, and what services, if any, you use to listen to podcasts. Click here to let us know what you do. On Saturday, the winners of this year’s Anthony Awards were announced at a special ceremony held during Bouchercon. They include NOVEMBER ROAD by Lou Berney (Best Novel), a Bets On pick, MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Best First Novel), and I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (Best Critical/Nonfiction Book). Click here for all the winners and nominees. The 2020 shortlist for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction also has been announced. The fiction finalists are FEAST YOUR EYES by Myla Goldberg, LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE by Valeria Luiselli, and THE WATER DANCER by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The nonfiction finalists are FIGURING by Maria Popova; THE HEARTBEAT OF WOUNDED KNEE: Native America from 1890 to the Present, by David Treuer; and MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster, by Adam Higginbotham. The two medal winners will be announced on January 26th at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Voting is now underway for the 11th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards, the only major book awards decided by readers. Three rounds of voting are open to all registered Goodreads members, with the first round ending this Sunday, November 10th. Click here to cast your votes, and check out the voting schedule here. The winners will be announced on December 10th. News & Pop Culture Reader Mail: Linda wrote, “I'm chuckling a little seeing the title of Lee Child's newest book, BLUE MOON. A friend took me to dinner tonight. The restaurant we chose posts the soups being served on a chalkboard on the exterior of the building. Two were listed. Their always available Tomato was on the top line. The lower line read "Blue Moon." We had to ask when we got inside. Blue Moon soup is beer (Blue Moon, I'm sure) and cheese. Then those two words show up in your newsletter. Once in a blue moon.” That soup sounds great! Speaking of Lee Child, there was a terrific interview with him in the New York Times this week. You can read it here. Fun fact you may not know about me. I would love to live on a ranch like he is living on, but I would like mine to be in Colorado, not Wyoming. But his place sounds really great. "The Affair": I really loathed the ending of the series. Here are two articles about it that I found particularly interesting; one from Deadline and the other from The Boston Globe. For me, it’s a drag when I think things wrap up a bit too neatly. I did like them using "The Whole of the Moon" by The Waterboys twice. Fiona Apple’s version at the end was haunting and worked so well with the long shot off the coast on Montauk. But then again, maybe I liked it because it meant it was O V E R. "This is Us": Lots of good articles on this week’s episode. Here is one. Last Saturday, after the event with Fiona, I went to a weaver’s workshop, which was terrific. I got a much better handle on what is involved, and I want to do it more than I even thought I would. I need to find a 24” Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom, preferably a used one. I bought some beautiful woven holiday ornaments. I also found this fun article about how, with a crafty bicycle, you can knit a scarf in five minutes. Tom and I used the extra hour on a beautiful Sunday to take a nice walk at a nature preserve near here. Then I made a Black Bean chili that I adapted from EL PASO CHILE COMPANY'S TEXAS BORDER COOKBOOK from 1992. I substitute black beans for red (the latter of which I do not like) and use three times as much chili powder as they call for. I also use chipotle and triple the brown sugar that they recommend. It’s one of my favorites, and I have been eating it all week. I also made the No-Knead Bread that I have loved in the past; I learned the hard way that yeast does expire, and when it does, it does not rise. Clearly I skipped home ec and did not score well in chemistry. I shudder just looking at the periodic table! This weekend, Greg is down in Maryland taking a second evening photography course. The instructor has some nice excursions planned to lighthouses and other spots that typically are not open to the public. I have no plans beyond the usual. After months of the garden blooming with bright flowers, a frost came through and suddenly all is withered. There’s a poignant Paul Simon line about this time of year: “And the leaves that are green turn to brown; And they wither with the wind; And they crumble in your hand.” I need to get outside and clear lots of dead flowers and weeds. This is not my favorite thing. I think I will make it a lot more palatable by listening to an audiobook or some podcasts while I do it. That helps with really tiresome tasks. I am going to read the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, WRECKING BALL. I joke that I am Jeff Kinney’s oldest fan. When that book arrived in the office the other day, I was all smiles, as you can see above! Read on, and have a great week.    Featured Review: THE STARLESS SEA  THE STARLESS SEA by Erin Morgenstern (Fantasy/Romance) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read our review. Featured Review: THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell  THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read our review. Featured Review: KISS THE GIRLS  KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY by Mary Higgins Clark (Mystery/Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read our review.  Announcing Bookreporter.com's 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 first prize book will be announced on Wednesday, November 13th at noon ET. This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details  New Special Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com:  ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special contest for AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope, which releases on January 21st. Ten book groups will win up to 10 advance copies of the novel with the commitment of previewing it and providing feedback on it by Friday, February 28th. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, November 18th at noon ET. In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to reading and discussing AMERICAN DIRT, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, February 28th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s "Word of Mouth" feature. AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Fiction) Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day, a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy --- two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia --- trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to? AMERICAN DIRT will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times. Click here to enter the contest.  Bookreporter.com Bets On:  THE DESERTER by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille (Military Thriller) Their two new characters, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, are terrific, with the brains, brawn and humor written into them that we have come to expect from Nelson. Their mission is to drop into Venezuela to find Captain Kyle Mercer, a U.S. Army star Delta Force soldier who ran from his men in Afghanistan several years ago. He had been held by the Taliban, but escaped (yes, there are strains of Bowe Bergdahl’s case here). And he has been spotted in Caracas. The trick is to find him, which proves to be more than a little challenging. I normally am a quick reader, but I found myself slowing down to make sure I did not miss anything as I read. There were details about Venezuela that were new to me, and they were as compelling as the storyline. The map on the inside cover of the book is helpful to following the story, as they move across the country. Also, both of the protagonists, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, have very interesting backstories, and I wanted to ensure that I grasped those details, especially as they are slated to appear in two future books. The characters, plotting and pacing all are strong. I am looking forward to our readers weighing in on it, whether or not you previously have read Nelson’s work. Nelson and Alex are a formidable team! Click here for more books we're betting you'll love. Featured Review: THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes  THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes (Historical Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read our review. Featured Review: ORDINARY GIRLS by Jaquira Díaz  ORDINARY GIRLS: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz (Memoir) Click here to read our review.    November’s New in Paperback Roundups November's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes ELEVATION by Stephen King, a riveting, extraordinarily eerie and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town together --- a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences; RUN AWAY, Harlan Coben's latest novel of domestic suspense, in which a perfect family is shattered by the loss of a daughter who is addicted to drugs, has an abusive boyfriend and doesn’t want to be found; QUEENIE, Candice Carty-Williams' disarmingly honest, boldly political and truly inclusive debut novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place; and BOWLAWAY, award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken's sweeping and enchanting novel about three generations of an unconventional New England family who own and operate a candlepin bowling alley. Among our nonfiction highlights are YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME, Sherman Alexie's searing, deeply moving memoir about family, love, loss and forgiveness; Colm Tóibín’s MAD, BAD, DANGEROUS TO KNOW, an illuminating look at Irish culture, history and literature through the lives of the fathers of three of Ireland’s greatest writers --- Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats and James Joyce; SLOWHAND, Philip Norman's definitive biography of Eric Clapton, a rock legend whose life story is as remarkable as his music, which transformed the sound of a generation; and THE MAYFLOWER, Rebecca Fraser's vivid narrative history of the Mayflower and of the Winslow family, who traveled to America in search of a new world. Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of    More Reviews This WeekTHE CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini (Fiction) ACID FOR THE CHILDREN: A Memoir by Flea (Memoir) GALWAY GIRL: A Jack Taylor Novel by Ken Bruen (Mystery/Thriller) THE BOOK OF LOST SAINTS by Daniel José Older (Fiction) KEEP IT MOVING: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life by Twyla Tharp (Self-Help) THE CITY GAME: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team by Matthew Goodman (Sports/History) WON'T BACK DOWN: A Jack Keller Novel by J.D. Rhoades (Thriller) ALL THE RIGHT CIRCLES by John Russell (Fiction)   
Next Week’s Notables:
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