November 6, 2020

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Carol's latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview is with Susie Yang,
whose debut novel, WHITE IVY, is this month's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club pick
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.

Carol is excited about two books releasing in 2021. She already has read ETERNAL, Lisa Scottoline's first foray into historical fiction. It releases on March 23rd and will be a Bets On pick. She is looking forward to reading THE LAST GREEN VALLEY by Mark Sullivan, which will be out on May 4th.

Carol read THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT during the early days of Bookreporter, so she's been
enjoying watching the Netflix adaptation and seeing how popular it's been with viewers.

The Miami Book Fair will take place online from November 15-22.
Carol recently conducted interviews with Sue Miller and Jacqueline Winspear, which will be part of the Fair's stellar lineup, along with five other author interviews of ours that were previously filmed.
Click on the image above to visit the Fair's website and see their events schedule.

Lots of Bookish Events!

Back when we first started Bookreporter, I read THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT by Walter Tevis, so it has been such fun to see how much viewers have been enjoying the adaptation on Netflix. Last night, I saw that it was their #1 show in the United States. Each day, there have been comments from friends about it on social media. I have read that there is an uptick in chess set sales, especially to young women. I have never played the game (I played backgammon and cribbage when others were playing chess), but it has made me to want to learn. Cory loved to play; he even carved a set for himself a few years ago. I may need to find a set in the house and get him over here to give me some lessons. By the way, I read that Agadmator’s Chess Channel breaks down each move from the final game in the show here.

We have been working at a really brisk pace. Next weekend, the Miami Book Fair kicks off, and they have a terrific virtual lineup that will be presented in a Netflix-like search format. We shot two original interviews for them with Sue Miller and Jacqueline Winspear --- and we will be sharing five author interviews that we previously conducted. We will tell you much more about this next week.

This is your last weekly newsletter reminder to sign up for our final "Bookaccino Live” event of 2020, which will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, November 11th at 2pm ET. This time, I will talk about titles releasing from November 10th to January 5th, along with a few from February, that I would like to get on your radar. Click here to register. Also, please keep in mind that attendees of the live event will be invited to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading. Those who do will be eligible to win prizes!

If you are a bookseller, librarian or book group leader who would like to attend our Book Group Speed Dating event next Friday from 1pm to 3pm ET, please send me a note with the subject line “Speed Dating Invite.” This is exclusively a trade event that is not for readers, though we will share assets from it in the weeks to come. We typically only do this event in May, but given that so many terrific books for book groups come out in the spring, we wanted to add this new program for publishing professionals to ensure that these books get attention.

On Sunday, I am doing an event with the White Plains Public Library, which will be my last library event of the year. If your library is interested in booking me for an event in 2021, reach out and let me know. I am booking dates now.

My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Susie Yang, whose debut novel WHITE IVY is this month’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. Susie’s protagonist, Ivy Lin, is a Chinese immigrant who grows up in a low-income apartment complex in Massachusetts and is desperate to assimilate with her American peers. She develops a crush on the golden boy Gideon Speyer, whose patrician New England family is the paragon of the WASP ideal. Her mother is a Tiger Mom, berating Ivy regularly when she disapproves of her grades, her looks and her attitude. But Ivy has a mentor --- her grandmother Meifeng --- from whom she learns to shoplift to get the things she needs. Years later, when she bumps into Gideon’s sister, Ivy believes it’s destiny. She has worked long and hard to be the right woman for Gideon. But just as they begin dating, another man from Ivy’s past appears, and he has his own set of rules.

Susie has lived around the world; in fact, she spoke with me from Istanbul, where she is living this month. Her peripatetic lifestyle has contributed to her writing, as she has moved so often. We talked in-depth about the characters in her book, as well as the multi-step editing process that took it from first draft to publication. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. We also are featuring our review from Rebecca Munro, who says, "WHITE IVY is a shocking and subversive novel... Filled with keen and searingly timely insights on the immigrant experience in America, the stark contrasts between social classes, and the ways that women must bend themselves to society's expectations, it is a perfect study of the American dream --- and the nightmare that often greets those trying to achieve it."

FORTUNE AND GLORY is the 27th entry in Janet Evanovich’s series featuring Stephanie Plum, who is dealing with the biggest case of her career. When Stephanie’s beloved Grandma Mazur's new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune. But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Our reviewer Roz Shea calls the book "a pure Evanovich tour de force --- full of adventure, romance, danger and comedy --- and a great escape from the real world, which is exactly what we need right now."

Other books we’re reviewing this week include THE BEST OF ME, a collection of David Sedaris’ best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career --- as selected by the author himself, and including a new essay; THE DIRTY SOUTH by John Connolly, which goes back to the very beginning of Private Investigator Charlie Parker’s astonishing career with his first terrifying case; HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, the second novel in Jeffrey Archer’s series featuring Detective William Warwick, who is tasked with apprehending a notorious drug dealer; and I’LL BE SEEING YOU, a beautifully written memoir from beloved author Elizabeth Berg, who tells the poignant love story of caring for her parents in their final years.

Our New in Paperback roundups for November are now available. We're featuring paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Ta-Nehisi Coates (THE WATER DANCER), Elizabeth Strout (OLIVE, AGAIN), Bernard Cornwell (SWORD OF KINGS), James Grippando (THE BIG LIE), and Cecelia Ahern (POSTSCRIPT); nonfiction titles, including NANAVILLE: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen, INSIDE OUT: A Memoir by Demi Moore, and TELL ME A STORY: My Life with Pat Conroy by Cassandra King Conroy; and paperback originals like MISS BENSON’S BEETLE by Rachel Joyce (which we will review next week) and THE PRESERVE by Ariel S. Winter (which we review this week).

Also, our Books on Screen feature has been updated. This month’s roundup includes the films Hillbilly Elegy, Between the World and Me, Let Him Go and The Informer; the series premieres of HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant" and ABC's "Big Sky"; the season two premiere of HBO's "His Dark Materials"; the series finales of "The Good Lord Bird" on Showtime, "The Undoing" on HBO, "The Spanish Princess" on Starz, and "The Right Stuff" on Disney+; and the DVD release of After We Collided.

We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, November 20th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win THE LAW OF INNOCENCE, Michael Connelly’s new Lincoln Lawyer novel, and PIECE OF MY HEART, the final collaboration between the late Mary Higgins Clark and her co-author, Alafair Burke.

In our latest poll, we’re curious to know what you think about signed books. Do you purchase them from time to time, actively seek them out and collect them for yourself, give them as gifts…or do you not have any interest in them? Click here to let us know!

Our previous poll asked if you've been attending virtual author, library, bookstore, book festival and/or publisher-sponsored events, as well as the platforms you’ve been using to attend these events. We asked these questions back in June and were curious to see how the numbers would compare. Here is a breakdown of the results from both polls:

Yes, I am attending virtual author events. (36% in June, 42% in November)
Yes, I am attending virtual library events. (17% in June, 26% in November)
Yes, I am attending virtual bookstore events. (20% in June, 26% in November)
Yes, I am attending virtual book festival events. (13% in June, 16% in November)
Yes, I am attending virtual publisher-sponsored events. (19% in June, 20% in November)
No, I am not attending any of these. (39% in June, 38% in November)
No, but I would be interested in attending these. (18% in June, 12% in November)
Crowdcast (10% in June, 17% in November)
Facebook Live (25% in June, 27% in November)
Instagram Live (4% in June, 7% in November)
YouTube Live (12% in June, 13% in November)
Zoom (36% in June, 49% in November)
I am not sure how to watch. (9% in June, 5% in November)
I do not attend these events. (43% in June, 39% in November)

As you can see, more of you are attending virtual events now than you did five months ago. Remember, each week we present a number of online book and author events that we think will be of interest to you. Scroll further down the newsletter for our latest listings...which, of course, includes our event on Wednesday!

This week, Kirkus Reviews announced the winners of the seventh annual Kirkus Prize in the categories of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. They are LUSTER by Raven Leilani (Fiction); STAKES IS HIGH: Life After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith (Nonfiction), and I AM EVERY GOOD THING written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James (Young Readers’ Literature).

The National Book Awards will be announced on Wednesday, November 18th at 7pm ET, and the ceremony is open to everyone this year. You can sign up here to watch.

News & Pop Culture

Reader Mail:

Marcia wrote, “I so enjoy your newsletter. I get many hints for 'good reads.' I would like to donate to your fund. However, there isn’t a PayPal choice. Is it possible for you to share PayPal as a choice?” For those who would like this info, please contact me.

Ann wrote, “I greatly appreciate your 'Other Authors We Have Interviewed' section in the newsletter, because I cannot always be there at the time of the interview. This way I choose the best time for me when I won't be disturbed and can enjoy each one. And I really enjoy each one!! Thank you!”

“The Good Doctor” on ABC: Okay, I watched the season premiere, and it was all about COVID-19. I have to say I did not need that. I watched the "Lenox Hill" documentary on Netflix, and the last episode about the virus was so well done. The same thing happened with one of the storylines on the premiere of "This Is Us." Masks, social distancing and quarantine are too much a part of life for me to want to watch it on my escape TV. You all may not agree, but these days I want escape.

"Schitt’s Creek" Documentary on Netflix: "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell" is a fun piece about the making of the series.

Halloween ended up being really fun. In our neighborhood, those of us who would be giving out candy at the end of our driveways noted this on our local Facebook page. I had fun watching the costumed children stopping by; I was yelling "Happy Halloween!" from my office window, and I am sure that they thought I was deranged. Many of the parents shared that the children thought it was the best Halloween ever. Okay, let’s get wise here, folks. These children realized that there were a lot fewer steps involved in getting candy if they did not have to walk up and down driveways. Also, there was no ringing of the doorbell, saying the obligatory “Trick or treat,” answering politely to the question “Who are you?” and then saying "Thank you.” This was grab and go! But given that they have been doing everything virtual for almost eight months, it was nice to see some pure joy.

We are tweaking my office studio setup for taping. The new room needs better acoustics; we have black foam panels on the way!

Lots of reading ahead for 2021 is going on. I am very excited about ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline, her first work of historical fiction, which is releasing on March 23rd and is so very well done. It's a story of friendship, love and family set against the backdrop of Italy during the rise of Fascism. The voice of the characters reminded me of those in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series. You feel the camaraderie and love among the three protagonists, who are childhood friends. Her storytelling and research are so spot-on that you can visualize each setting. And I want to make pasta! (When you read it, you will see why.) It will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.

Mark Sullivan, whose BENEATH A SCARLET SKY was beloved by so many of our readers, will have THE LAST GREEN VALLEY hitting stores on May 4th, and the stunning cover was just released this week. Again, he is basing this book on a family’s story. Here’s the blurb about it: “In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves --- murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect 'pure-blood' Germans?” I am looking forward to reading it.

After some dreary weather last Sunday and earlier this week, the stunning weather that rolled in midweek has been wonderful. Yesterday our staff was shooting each other notes in the middle of the day saying, “I am going to take a walk.” It was nice to leave the desk for a bit. I was doing a fast 1.8 miles in 25 minutes while listening to a podcast or returning a call each day. This lovely weather is supposed to continue through the weekend. Hmmmmm…the pool cover is not coming until Wednesday. Will I be tempted to check the water temperature? I have never hit the pool in November! I once read that Katharine Hepburn swam in 55-degree water in the Long Island Sound without a wetsuit.

It's also going to be great weather for cleaning out the garden. I am going to dig up the dahlia bulbs to see if I can winter them over. And I have to research if I should cut the hostas back. We had a frost the other night, and though we threw a tarp over the herbs, all of the basil died during the night. I should have harvested it for pesto...but, ah well, sometimes you just have to turn the page.

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: FORTUNE AND GLORY
by Janet Evanovich

FORTUNE AND GLORY: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Lorelei King
When Stephanie Plum’s beloved Grandma Mazur's new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune. But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way --- along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts --- and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.