December 18, 2020
 December 18, 2020Quick 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 have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far, with online and snail mail donations, we have raised $37,985 of our $50,000 goal. You can read about our plans and donate here. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to: Thank you again for your consideration and your donation.  Carol talks about the 42 books that we're giving away in our Year-End Bets On contest.   Carol recently read THE PUSH, a debut novel by Ashley Audrain, which releases on January 5th. Next, Carol is looking forward to reading SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LIE by Leslie Brody, Last Newsletter of 2020 Whew, what a year it has been! Besides decorating the house inside for the holidays, we moved the patio furniture and a gas heater closer to the house so we can entertain outside. We also are moving the firepit, which we have used maybe four times since we bought it about five years ago, closer to the house so we can have it there for ambiance (and, let’s get real, heat). I just bought a spark screen since the firepit will be closer to the house. Before a week ago, I did not even know what a spark screen was! (Like before March, I did not know what Zoom was.) I toyed with buying an inflatable hot tub and was this close to doing it when my engineer husband started really paying attention to this idea (I had been mulling it aloud for weeks) and asked, “How is the heater going to work when it’s below freezing?” I could not answer; I majored in communications, not engineering. Well, reading further, it made total sense that this was not a wise idea, so scratch inflatable hot tub from the outdoor entertaining plans. If you told me last December that I would be planning outdoor seating for holiday entertaining, I would tell you that you were daft since we live in New Jersey, where today the high was 38. But this is now the new normal. Onward to thinking about holiday lighting for this soiree location. In between the year-end push to hit deadlines for the office and the holiday, I read a terrific psychological thriller called THE PUSH (no pun intended) by debut author Ashley Audrain. In it, Blythe is a new mother. She has been so excited about becoming a mother, but once her daughter is born, she sees this as a lot less wonderful than what she hoped for. Her own mother was not there for her, and she is determined to be the perfect mother for her own daughter. But she feels there is something wrong with baby Violet as she sees actions in her that frighten her. Is she making this up? Her husband, Fox, sees none of these behaviors. So she begins to question herself. And then she has a son, and with him she has the warm mothering relationship she expected to have with her daughter. But then something happens. I am not telling you more about it. I will share that I will be interviewing Ashley for one of our first “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews of 2021. Next up, I am going to read SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LIE: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy by Leslie Brody. I have heard lots of great buzz about it, and as I remember reading Fitzhugh's books as a child, I am looking forward to learning more about her. I remember the days when we knew little about an author beyond what we read on the back of a book or from an occasional profile piece. In fact, that was one of the reasons we started Bookreporter back in 1996 --- to give people more of an opportunity to get to know the authors behind the books. How those days have changed! Now we know what many of our favorite authors are having for dinner, the names of their dogs and what cocktails they are drinking. It’s a whole new world. We were saddened to hear that bestselling spy novelist John le Carré passed away last Saturday at the age of 89 following a short illness. Among his most notable books are THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD; TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY; A PERFECT SPY; THE CONSTANT GARDENER; A MOST WANTED MAN; A LEGACY OF SPIES; and his final novel, AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD, which released last year. He is survived by his wife, Jane, and four sons. Roz Shea, who reviewed a number of his books for us, reflects on his prolific career and his legacy in this tribute to the “Master of the Spy Novel.” Also, be sure to take a look at this “In Memoriam” piece from the New York Times and Jesse Kornbluth’s tribute on HeadButler.com. We have a number of special year-end features to share with you in this newsletter --- enough to keep you busy during our hiatus. And yes, we have contests. You are going to want to save this newsletter as there is a lot to read! First up is our 10th annual End-of-the-Year Contest, where one Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 42(!) of my Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2020, while 14 other winners will receive a selection of three of these titles. Some of the books you may win include DON’T LOOK FOR ME by Wendy Walker, GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella, A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD by Therese Anne Fowler, HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker, LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore, THE PARIS HOURS by Alex George, and THIS TIME NEXT YEAR WE’LL BE LAUGHING: A Memoir by Jacqueline Winspear. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, January 4th at noon ET. And besides reading about these selections, this week we have a video and podcast where I talk about each of the books in a year-end wrap-up. We’ve cued where you can find each title --- and we also have links to the author interviews for the books mentioned where those are available. As we were recording the video, I realized that we interviewed 36 of the authors! Next year, we are contemplating doing this book talk live. I had fun remembering books that I read throughout the year, though I confess to not having total plot recall on all of them. Next up are our Reviewer Picks, which I look forward to every year! Which books stood out the most to our reviewers in 2020? You can check out their fiction and nonfiction favorites here. See which of their selections you agree or disagree with --- and which titles you may want to add to your 2021 reading lists. Although this has been a difficult and challenging year for everyone, our reviewers haven’t missed a beat and continue to do outstanding work for us. In fact, we’re reviewing more books now than we ever have, which is just amazing! Our endless thanks and appreciation to each and every one of them. One of our longtime reviewers, Harvey Freedenberg, has written a piece for us where he talks about his favorite books of the year and their significance, especially in relation to 2020. For Harvey, “books were a refuge and a light that illuminated the darkened world. But as I studied the list, I also began to see how --- out of the individual selections, each chosen with no overarching theme in mind --- there emerged a narrative that gives meaning to the experience of this awful year.” Click here to read his essay. For more highlights from 2020, click here for a number of “Best Of” lists that we’ve compiled from around the web --- including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Shelf Awareness, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and LibraryReads. As always, we have THREE poll questions to close out the year. We want to know how many print books and e-books you’ve read in 2020, and how many audiobooks you’ve listened to. Click here to cast your votes. Considering the kind of year it’s been, it’ll be interesting to see how the results compare to last year’s numbers. Our previous poll asked if you’re planning to give books as gifts this holiday season. 72% of you are planning to give hardcovers or paperbacks, while 20% intend to give a gift card that will allow the recipient to buy a print book, e-book or audiobook. Click here for all the results. We asked the same question last year, and those numbers were 71% for physical books and 27% for gift cards. We concluded our 13th annual Holiday Author Blog series this week. Many thanks to this year’s contributing authors --- Janet Skeslien Charles (THE PARIS LIBRARY), Patricia Engel (INFINITE COUNTRY), John Hart (THE UNWILLING), Deborah Goodrich Royce (FINDING MRS. FORD), Liese O'Halloran Schwarz (WHAT COULD BE SAVED), and Sharon Virts (MASQUE OF HONOR: A Historical Novel of the American South) --- for sharing with us their memories of giving or receiving books during the holidays. If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at these pieces yet, perhaps you can binge read them over the next few weeks. These fun and heartwarming remembrances are sure to get you in the holiday spirit…which we need now more than ever. If you are still looking for last-minute gift ideas, may we suggest you take a look at this year’s Holiday Cheer feature? These are books that are perfect for holiday giving --- and you may even want to include some of them on your "to me/from me" list. We wrap up the year with our final 16 reviews of 2020. Among them are SHUGGIE BAIN, Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize–winning debut novel about a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland; JINGLE ALL THE WAY, a heartfelt Christmas novel from Debbie Macomber, who shows that love can transform even the best-laid plans; HOW TO RAISE AN ELEPHANT, the latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, in which Mma Ramotswe must balance family obligations with the growing needs of one of Charlie's pet projects; LOVE YOUR LIFE, Sophie Kinsella’s delightful novel about a woman who ditches her dating app for a writer’s retreat in Italy --- only to find that real love comes with its own filters; and FOOL ME TWICE by Dexter author Jeff Lindsay, another wildly entertaining caper starring the antihero you’ll root for, Riley Wolfe. We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, January 8th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE by Marie Benedict and the aforementioned THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain, both of which we will be reviewing when we return from our holiday break. THE PUSH is also one of the prizes in our End-of-the-Year Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com. We’re giving readers the opportunity to share their favorite book that they read with their group this year and their favorite book that they read outside their group. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded THE PUSH, along with five other novels releasing in 2021 that we think will make for terrific book group discussions: THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD by Melanie Benjamin, ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline, THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah, THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn, and the aforementioned WHAT COULD BE SAVED by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, January 6th at noon ET. We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you in the early January ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter. News & Pop Culture Reader Mail: Lisa wrote, “I just finished THREE HOURS IN PARIS by Cara Black and absolutely loved it! I won this book from the November Bookaccino event. What a great story and one of my favorite time periods to read about. I was rooting for the heroine, Kate, the entire book. I love your contests and website.” The Prom on Netflix: I am not a Broadway lover, but I enjoyed this film. The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart on HBO Max: We enjoyed watching this, though I think it could have been edited tighter. But I am tough on documentaries. After watching it, my husband bought The Bee Gees Greatest Hits! It's been a disco party around here this week. On Tuesday, we are having a staff holiday lunch here at my house. They were here for a meeting last month, and I made homemade pizza. This time, I am making Mexican food, including pomegranate margaritas, like the ones that we have enjoyed in the past at Rosa Mexicano. I am very, very lucky to work with the team we have here. Tom Donadio, our Editorial Director, is not only a brilliant editor, he is also the most patient person I know. Trust that even on Friday afternoons when I am coming up with “new things,” he is completely unflappable. While I am the face of Bookreporter, Tom deserves my deepest appreciation for ensuring that the site looks as good as it does, and that the newsletter is edited to perfection. He edits all of us, and even when we think we are done, he’s always making suggestions on copy and punctuation to make our work more clear. Austin Ruh’s video/podcast production has moved that part of our business into new heights this year with his superb editing skills. Besides a video/podcast each week, we also hosted our monthly “Bookaccino Live” events, as well as an anniversary event and our first-ever “Bookaccino Live” Book Group Event. He also has handled all the promotions and contests that we have run this year. I am not sure how many we did, but I am betting close to 200! And we have many plans already in place for next year when we will celebrate our 25th anniversary. Greg Fitzgerald and Jenni Lai have made graphics for our programs and ensured that the look and feel of everything we do is cohesive. Since we have come up with so many programs on the fly this year, I have appreciated how they quickly responded to our vision for them. This is in addition to their work designing and building websites for authors; we maintain about 100 of those these days! Speaking of "Bookaccino Live," please remember to sign up for our January "Bookaccino Live" events. On Wednesday, January 13th at 2pm ET, I will present titles releasing between January 12th and February 2nd, along with a few from March, that I would like to get on your radar. Click here to register. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win prizes. And on Thursday, January 21st at 8pm ET, we will host our second "Bookaccino Live" Book Group Event. Our guest will be William Kent Krueger, who will talk about his most recent novel, THIS TENDER LAND. Click here to register. If you would like to be one of our “live panelists” and ask Kent a question, please also fill out this form. Over the holidays, I have a favor to ask of you. If you can share our newsletters and the links to our podcasts and videos with those who you see, and speak with, over the holidays, we would be so appreciative. We are hoping to grow our audience of readers --- and you can help with that. Word of mouth is the very best way for us to grow! So for the holidays, I already made cookies, but I still have those two trees to trim. I bought a few more gifts, but I still need to get some shopping done. It will be a quieter holiday than usual. We are planning to do the Seven Fishes at the house on Christmas Eve; still note that we skip the baccalà and eel. We will be doing our family planning session among the four of us via email this weekend. We start by looking at what we did last year and then work to ramp it up! For Christmas dinner, we are making prime rib and Yorkshire pudding. I know that the holidays can be hard if you are missing those you love, especially this year. And I know there will be those who cannot muster the joy that everyone wants to see at the holidays. Our thoughts are with those of you who find yourselves in these situations. I have been reading about book sales being up, and I realize that my pandemic prediction did come true --- this year has been a golden age for books and reading. With so much other entertainment and sports sidelined, there was reading...and lots of it. We have appreciated the opportunity to bring these books and authors to you at your homes. As we close this very challenging year, I keep thinking about the premise behind Matthew McConaughey’s book, GREENLIGHTS. When you hit yellow and red lights, a green light follows. For many of us, there were a lot of yellow and red lights this year. Let’s all look for the green lights in the year ahead! This is the first year in a while that we are taking a two-week break from sending a newsletter. While we usually jump on mid-holiday break with a newsletter, we are not doing that this time around. It’s been such a crazy year, and we all really need a break. I have a huge stack of books that I am looking forward to reading --- and I ordered a knitting project that I am excited about, which is a “to me/from me” present. We will back in your mailboxes on Friday, January 8th. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and a very, very Happy New Year! So read on, and have a great THREE weeks. Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)    Remembering John le Carré, Master of the Spy Novel  We mourn the loss of legendary spy novelist John le Carré, who has died at the age of 89 from pneumonia. Here's what le Carré's official website says about him and his work: "An insightful observer of the human condition and contemporary geopolitics alike, le Carré's novels are exciting, thought-provoking and touch on both eternal truths and deeply felt issues of the moment. From his breakout 1963 novel, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, to 2017's bestselling A LEGACY OF SPIES, le Carré's timeless works have endured and continue to be critically acclaimed and loved by audiences around the world. Le Carré's 26 books have been published in over 50 countries and 40 languages." Longtime Bookreporter.com reviewer Roz Shea reflects on le Carré's remarkable career and legacy in a special "In Memoriam" piece. Click here to read Roz Shea's tribute to John le Carré. Special Contest:  We are thrilled to announce our End-of-the-Year Contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2020. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 42 books, while 14 other readers will receive a selection of three of these titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, January 4th at noon ET. Here are this year's Bookreporter.com Bets On titles:
Click here to enter the contest.    Bookreporter.com Reviewers Choose We've asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2020. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published this year. Among their top picks are AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett, A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, HAMNET: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O’Farrell, THE SOCRATES EXPRESS: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers by Eric Weiner, WEATHER by Jenny Offill, and WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Katherine Center. Take a moment to peruse these varied lists of titles and see if you agree with any of their selections! Click here to see our reviewer picks for 2020. Featured Review: SHUGGIE BAIN by Douglas Stuart  SHUGGIE BAIN by Douglas Stuart (Fiction) Click here to read our review. Featured Review: JINGLE ALL THE WAY  JINGLE ALL THE WAY by Debbie Macomber (Romance) Click here to read our review. Featured Review: HOW TO RAISE AN ELEPHANT  HOW TO RAISE AN ELEPHANT: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (21) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery) Click here to read our review. Featured Review: LOVE YOUR LIFE by Sophie Kinsella  LOVE YOUR LIFE by Sophie Kinsella (Romantic Comedy) Click here to read our review. Bookreporter.com's Holiday Author Blogs:  Our Holiday Author Blogs have returned for a 13th consecutive year! Six authors shared with us some wonderful memories about giving or receiving books during the holidays.
As always, we appreciate all the authors who took the time to participate in this annual feature. Click here to read Bookreporter.com's 2020 Holiday Author Blogs. Bookreporter.com's Holiday Cheer Feature:  At Bookreporter.com, we've been celebrating the holiday season in style with our Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature. As our gift to you, we've been spotlighting a book and giving five lucky readers the chance to win it. Although the contests have ended, we encourage you to take a look at this year's featured titles. These are books you'll want to read during the holidays --- and throughout the new year as well!
- Click here to see the winners of this year's Holiday Cheer contests. Click here to see our Holiday Cheer feature. 2020 "Best Of" Lists from Around the Web  This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. These annual roundups always seem to spark lively discussions among readers as they reflect on their favorite books of the year. Although we at Bookreporter.com don’t have a “Best Of” list of our own, we’ve compiled a number of them for you here. See which of your top picks appear on these lists and which titles you feel should've been included but weren't. Perhaps you’ll even find some books to add to your reading list as we head into the new year! Click here to see 2020 "Best Of" lists.     What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com We currently have two contests running on ReadingGroupGuides.com: Here are our latest featured guides:
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
Click here to visit ReadingGroupGuides.com.    From left to right: Lisa Scottoline, Brad Taylor, KJ Dell'Antonia Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events As so many book and author events are happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register. Tuesdays at 7:30pm ET: "Talking ETERNAL with Lisa Scottoline": Join Lisa Scottoline every Tuesday night at 7:30pm ET on Facebook as she premieres a new episode from her video series, "Behind the Book: Talking ETERNAL," which reveals behind-the-scenes looks at the inspirations of her upcoming historical fiction book, ETERNAL, releasing on March 23rd. And stay tuned because immediately following each video premiere, Lisa hosts a Facebook Live to talk about the video. Saturday, December 19th at 8pm ET: SongWriter Virtual Event: In this live reading and music event, author Jonathan Lethem will read from his new novel, THE ARREST, and songwriters Tift Merritt and Ben Arthur will play songs written in response. This will be recorded and will air as part of the "SongWriter" podcast. Wednesday, December 23rd at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry and Mary Alice Monroe --- as they celebrate Christmas. Wednesday, December 30th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to author Anne Bogel, creator of the blog Modern Mrs. Darcy and host of the podcast "What Should I Read Next?" Tuesday, January 5th at 8pm ET: Warwick's Virtual Event: Warwick's, in partnership with HarperCollins, will host Brad Taylor as he discusses his new book, AMERICAN TRAITOR, with television news anchor, correspondent, commentator and columnist Antonio Mora. Wednesday, January 6th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Diane Chamberlain, whose most recent novel is BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN. Wednesday, January 6th at 7pm ET: Gibson's Bookstore Virtual Event: Gibson's is thrilled to virtually present New Hampshire author KJ Dell'Antonia, whose debut novel is THE CHICKEN SISTERS. She will be joined in conversation by her friend Jessica Hunt, the producer of New Hampshire Public Radio's "The Exchange."   "Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts “Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.) Here is our latest interview: Other authors we've interviewed include:
Upcoming interviews include:
Click here for a complete list of our    More Reviews This WeekFOOL ME TWICE by Jeff Lindsay (Thriller) LAYLA by Colleen Hoover (Paranormal Romance) MY NAME IS ANTON by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Fiction) THE BERLIN GIRL by Mandy Robotham (Historical Romance) ALL THE YOUNG MEN: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South by Ruth Coker Burks with Kevin Carr O'Leary (Memoir) THE SYSTEM by Ryan Gattis (Legal Thriller) RED HANDS by Christopher Golden (Supernatural Thriller) THE LAST TO SEE HER by Courtney Evan Tate (Psychological Thriller) THE LIES YOU TOLD by Harriet Tyce (Psychological Thriller) BLOOD ROYAL: A Sequel to The Three Musketeers written by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Lawrence Ellsworth (Historical Fiction/Adventure) WE HEAR VOICES by Evie Green (Supernatural Thriller/Horror) THE WICKED HOUR: A Natalie Lockhart Novel by Alice Blanchard (Mystery)   
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