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Yes, we are in your inboxes two days early this week.
We so appreciate all of our readers! Without you, we do not have the opportunity to share the books and video/audio programming that we do.
I am really lucky to work with the team that I do. Tom Donadio is the biggest right hand that I could have. I dream things up, and he helps me make them a reality. Every review is assigned and edited by him, as well as the writing in this newsletter. I never did learn the right use of the comma. I must have been absent that week! He also knows the tastes of our reviewers and tries to match books with them. We have been together for 20(!) years now.
Lisa Hickman oversees every contest on the site --- and then chases down the books that you receive as prizes, sometimes more than once! Melanie edits the entries in our Word of Mouth contest, correcting the titles of books that you may slip up on, as well as the names of authors. I am grateful for both of them.
My son, Greg, not only works on website and newsletter design for our author clients, he also talks through ideas with me, encouraging some and putting a hard stop to others --- and I am working on trying to stop the shop talk when I hit the dinner table. Victoria works with us on website design and development, and always has ideas about smart programming and new technologies out there. We have learned so much from her!
We have two Jordans working with us on our video and podcast programming. Jordan Redd has been editing our “Bookreporter Talks To” videos and podcasts, and Jordan Hickman edited our 11 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating video (which we will share with you soon). Jordan H. also will be working on our next two evening programs: “Bookaccino Live” Book Group and our Reviewer event (we will remind you about the latter in the next newsletter). I am so lucky to work with each of them!
Speaking of which, this is your last Bookreporter newsletter reminder to sign up for this month’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place next Wednesday, November 30th at 8pm ET.
Our guest will be Charmaine Wilkerson, and we will be talking about her debut novel, BLACK CAKE, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that releases in paperback next Tuesday. Our reviewer Rebecca Munro calls the book “a riveting and moving second-chance novel about a fractured family and the lore that brings them back together one last time… [M]uch like the recipe at the heart of the story, BLACK CAKE is deep, rich and best savored as a special treat.”
You can register for the event by clicking here. If you would like to ask Charmaine a question on camera during the event and chat with her in our “backstage green room” before the event, please email me with your question using the subject line “Black Cake” by Wednesday the 30th at noon ET. Those who are camera shy can send their questions via the Q&A feature on Zoom.
HUNTING TIME is the newly released fourth entry in Jeffery Deaver’s series starring Colter Shaw. This time, the reward seeker plunges into the woods and races the clock in a case where nothing is quite what it seems.
Ray Palen has our review and has this to say: “Jeffery Deaver has been thrilling readers for over three decades. HUNTING TIME...proves that he is still at the top of his game.... Colter Shaw is an extremely likable and enigmatic character, and one of Deaver’s best protagonists. The last third of HUNTING TIME is run at breakneck speed, and the finale only seals the deal on Colter’s legacy as more than just a mere chaser of rewards.”
Word of Mouth Reminder
HUNTING TIME is one of our current Word of Mouth prizes; the other is A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES, Louise Penny’s latest Armand Gamache mystery, which we will review next week. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read by Friday, December 2nd at noon ET for your chance to win both these titles.
Philippa Gregory continues her Fairmile series with the third installment, DAWNLANDS, following TIDELANDS and DARK TIDES. The fiercely independent Alinor and her family find themselves entangled in palace intrigue and political upheaval in 17th-century England.
According to our reviewer Amy Gwiazdowski, “While it is possible to read this book as a stand-alone, you will miss some wonderfully rich details. I very much enjoyed how Gregory built up this family and the drama that surrounds them all. There are so many intertwined relationships, and you’re truly left wondering how Livia will interfere next and if Matthew will finally see his mother the way that the rest of his family does.”
Matthew Perry, the beloved star of "Friends," takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in his instant #1 New York Times bestseller, FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING, a candid, funny and revelatory memoir that delivers a powerful message of hope and persistence.
Jana Siciliano has our review and says, “There are plenty of memoirs in which celebrities tell you all about the behind-the-scenes horrors they have endured, but this book is different. Perry doesn’t really blame anyone but himself…. Congratulations to him for being alive, first and foremost, and for writing a compelling, partly TMI book about one man’s battle against himself. Could there BE a more human story than that? I don’t think so.”
Other books we’re reviewing this week include:
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A BOOK OF DAYS: With over 365 photographs taking you through a single year, and inspired by her wildly popular Instagram, this deeply moving and visual book of days is a new way to experience the expansive mind of Patti Smith, the National Book Award-winning author of JUST KIDS and M TRAIN.
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THE COUPLE AT THE TABLE: In Sophie Hannah’s latest gripping, twisty psychological thriller, Jane and William are enjoying their honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort --- until Jane receives a chilling note warning her to “Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours.” The consequences will be deadly.
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DICKENS AND PRINCE: Nick Hornby, the bestselling author of JUST LIKE YOU, HIGH FIDELITY and FEVER PITCH, has penned a short, warm and entertaining book about art, creativity, and the unlikely similarities between Victorian novelist Charles Dickens and modern American rock star Prince.
I’m Betting You’ll Love…
THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh, which we reviewed a couple of weeks ago, is my latest Bets On selection. Click here for my commentary. If you missed my recent “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Clare, you can watch it here or listen to it here.
Holiday Cheer Update
For this week’s Holiday Cheer contest, we gave away WEALTH MANAGEMENT by Edward Zuckerman. Next week’s prizes will be MARPLE: Twelve New Mysteries by various authors (including Leigh Bardugo, Lucy Foley, Jean Kwok and Ruth Ware) and A WISH FOR WINTER by Viola Shipman (which will be signed and personalized by award-winning memoirist Wade Rouse, who writes his novels under the “Viola Shipman” pen name). The first contest of the week will be up on Wednesday, November 30th at noon ET.
Remember to Vote in Our Poll
Our poll continues to ask which of 20 titles releasing in paperback in November and December you have read or are planning to read. Click here to let us know.
We have lots going on this month over at ReadingGroupGuides.com, including our special End-of-the-Year Contest, where we’re giving readers the opportunity to share their favorite book that they read with their book group and their favorite book that they read outside their group in 2022.
One Grand Prize winner will receive SIX outstanding books releasing in 2023 that we think book groups will want to discuss: CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff, HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano, THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson, LOYALTY by Lisa Scottoline, THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict, and MOONRISE OVER NEW JESSUP by Jamila Minnicks. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET. We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you shortly after the contest ends.
Please keep in mind that this Saturday is Indies First, a national campaign of activities and events in support of independent bookstores. It’s held every year in conjunction with Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Celeste Ng, the New York Times bestselling author of EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE and OUR MISSING HEARTS, is serving as this year’s official spokesperson. She says, “I love independent bookstores because to me they are centers of community. They are places where I get to meet new people and encounter new ideas in the pages. I always walk out with some idea or some fresh perspective that I hadn’t found before.”
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Barbara wrote, “I read your newsletter weekly and just wanted to reach out to tell you that I absolutely LOVE it. You offer so much information and tips, as well as personalizing it with your activities. And I totally love your interviews. I have told all of my fellow book lovers/book club members about your great work and forwarded many interviews to them. Thank you for all that you do and the passion that you put into it. I am so grateful to have discovered your work.” Barbara, your note means so much to us. Sharing what we do with your friends who are readers is so appreciated.
Rosalie wrote, “Carol, thank you so much for selecting me as a winner of OUR MISSING HEARTS in the Holiday Cheer contest. I loved LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE and am so excited to read this book. I am recovering from a broken femur, and now that the brain fog is clearing from the meds, I will be able to enjoy this book. I love Bookreporter and the weekly newsletter. Thank you for all you do to keep us informed on all the new books. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and all the staff at Bookreporter.” Here's to getting on the mend soon, Rosalie.
A short week means that there was not a lot of watching time.
“Dead to Me” on Netflix: Now in its final season, I think this series is really going to run its course unless something amazing happens!
“Yellowstone” on Paramount Network: I am still loving it…and now I want a horse. Luckily no one is listening to me. Here is a fun piece on a specific error in last week's episode from an eagle-eyed viewer.
I loved SIGNAL FIRES by Dani Shapiro, and it will be a Bets On selection. I am now reading A HEART THAT WORKS, a memoir by actor Rob Delaney, whose son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was just a year old. Rob's family had moved from LA to London for his work, and for the next two years until Henry passed away, he chronicles their journey and how it took them in directions that they never imagined. His writing had me drawn in from page one. The book is written with gut-wrenching honesty.
Above are three white pumpkins that I made into flower holders. My friend Cathy, aka Dez, and I did this when I was in South Carolina, but this time I was on my own with inventive flower arranging. I wove some greens between them on the table and am planning four tiny vases in between. Note that it is now 12:45. We have 10 coming for dinner tomorrow, and all I have made is cornbread for stuffing and cranberry sauce. But hey, the table is good to go!
This will be the first major holiday where my mom and Tom’s mom are not with us. I am working hard to be sure that we have some different energy at the holiday. I am very lucky that my good friend, Beverley, and her family are joining us, as well as Greg’s friend, Angela, who is in from the UK, and Tom’s niece, Kelley. Cory is taking over making the turkey cookies that were my mom’s signature. Kaltrina, his girlfriend, will be on hand for Friday's post-Thanksgiving leftovers and sandwich extravaganza. For all of you with someone missing at the table this year, my thoughts are with you.
On Friday, I will be going to the garden center to get poinsettias (they have amazing varieties) and Trader Joe's for waxed amaryllis. Then I will be doing lots of planting of bulbs for here and for gifts.
The hot tub has arrived, and it is up to temperature. We christened it last night, and I was sooooo relaxed when I got out. I am planning to spend a lot of time there this weekend and finally kick it back a notch. I hope you all do too.
And if there are any readers you spend time with over the holiday, please do share with them what we do at Bookreporter!
Read on, and have a great week (plus two days).
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: HUNTING TIME by Jeffery Deaver
HUNTING TIME: A Colter Shaw Novel by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
Allison Parker is on the run with her teenage daughter, Hannah. Colter Shaw has been hired by her eccentric boss, entrepreneur Marty Harmon, to find and protect her. The reason for Allison’s panicked flight is soon apparent. She’s being stalked by her ex-husband, Jon Merritt. Newly released from prison and fueled by blinding rage, Jon is a man whose former profession as a police detective makes him uniquely suited for the hunt. And he’s not alone. Two hitmen are also hot on her heels --- an eerie pair of thugs who take delight not only in murder but in the sport of devising clever ways to make bodies disappear forever. Even if Shaw manages to catch up with Allison and her daughter, his troubles will be just beginning. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory
DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Louise Brealey
It is 1685, and England is on the brink of a renewed civil war. Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister, Alinor, that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant, Rowan, to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor has been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant. Alinor’s son, Rob, is determined to stay clear of the war, but when he and his nephew set out to free Ned from execution for treason and Rowan from a convict deportation to Barbados, they find themselves enmeshed in the creation of an imposter Prince of Wales --- a surrogate baby to the queen. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review:
FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING
by Matthew Perry
FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING: A Memoir by Matthew Perry (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Matthew Perry
“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.” So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; 14-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; 24-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called “Friends Like Us”; and so much more. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh
THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh (Psychological Thriller)
THE LAST PARTY is the third Clare Mackintosh book that I have read; her first two, I LET YOU GO and I SEE YOU, were also Bets On picks. Her latest is a smartly plotted work in which she juggles both timelines and characters. Many voices tell this story. There are multiple twists. And it requires that you pay attention. It’s a great blend of police procedural and psychological thriller, and the balance between the two is part of why it works so well.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to watch Carol's “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Clare Mackintosh.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
Featured Review: A BOOK OF DAYS by Patti Smith
A BOOK OF DAYS by Patti Smith (Memoir)
In 2018, without any plan or agenda for what might happen next, Patti Smith posted her first Instagram photo: her hand with the simple message “Hello Everybody!” Known for shooting with her beloved Land Camera 250, Smith started posting images from her phone, including portraits of her kids, her radiator, her boots and her Abyssinian cat, Cairo. Followers felt an immediate affinity with these miniature windows into Smith’s world. Over time, a coherent story of a life devoted to art took shape, and more than a million followers responded to Smith’s unique aesthetic in images that chart her passions, devotions, obsessions and whims. In wide-ranging yet intimate daily notations, Smith shares dispatches from her travels around the world. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review:
THE COUPLE AT THE TABLE by Sophie Hannah
THE COUPLE AT THE TABLE by Sophie Hannah (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Julie Maisey
Jane and William are enjoying their honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort until Jane receives a chilling note warning her to “Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours.” At dinner that night, five other couples are present, and none of their tables is any nearer or farther away than any of the others. It’s almost as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless. But why would anyone do that? Jane has no idea. But someone in this dining room will be dead before breakfast, and all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could have possibly committed the crime. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: DICKENS AND PRINCE by Nick Hornby
DICKENS AND PRINCE: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby (Popular Culture/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by Alex Jennings
Every so often, a pairing comes along that seems completely unlikely --- until it’s not. Peanut butter and jelly, Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un, ducks and puppies, and now: Dickens and Prince. Equipped with a fan’s admiration and his trademark humor and wit, Nick Hornby invites us into his latest obsession: the cosmic link between two unlikely artists, geniuses in their own rights, spanning race, class and centuries --- each of whom electrified their different disciplines and whose legacy resounded far beyond their own time. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Bookreporter.com's
Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature
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 next prize book will be announced on Wednesday, November 30th at noon ET.
This year's contest titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com
We currently have two contests running on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
Special Contest: Share Your Favorite Books of 2022 --- and Enter to Win SIX Great Book Group Titles Coming Out in 2023!
This is the time of year when we start seeing “Best Books of the Year” lists. We would like you and your book group to help us compile ours! Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group and your favorite book that you read outside your group this year by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET.
One Grand Prize winner will be awarded SIX great book group titles releasing in 2023: CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff, HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano, THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson, LOYALTY by Lisa Scottoline, THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict, and MOONRISE OVER NEW JESSUP by Jamila Minnicks.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb for Your Group
Each month in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month" contest, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win up to 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group.
Our latest prize book is THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb, a "Good Morning America" Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection that releases in paperback on December 6th. Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise --- undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world --- when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. Enter here by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET.
Here are our latest featured guides:
Click here to visit ReadingGroupGuides.com.
THE SONG OF THE CELL: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Medicine/History)
Audiobook available, read by Dennis Boutsikaris
In the late 1600s, a distinguished English polymath, Robert Hooke, and an eccentric Dutch cloth-merchant, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, looked down their handmade microscopes. What they saw introduced a radical concept that swept through biology and medicine, touching virtually every aspect of the two sciences and altering both forever. It was the fact that complex living organisms are assemblages of tiny, self-contained, self-regulating units. Our organs, our physiology, our selves --- hearts, blood, brains --- are built from these compartments. Hooke christened them “cells.” In THE SONG OF THE CELL, Siddhartha Mukherjee tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.
MURDER AT BLACK OAKS: A Robin Lockwood Novel by Phillip Margolin (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Thérèse Plummer
Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood is summoned by retired District Attorney Francis Melville to meet with him at Black Oaks, the manor he owns up in the Oregon mountains. Originally built in 1628 in England, there's a murderous legend and curse attached to the mansion. Melville wants Lockwood's help in righting a wrongful conviction from his days as a DA. Successful in their efforts, Melville invites Lockwood up to Black Oaks for a celebration. She finds herself among an odd group of invitees --- including the bitter, newly released Jose Alvarez. When Melville is found murdered, with a knife connected to the original curse, Lockwood finds herself faced with a conundrum: Who is the murderer among them, and how can she stop that person before there's another victim? Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
LEGENDS & LATTES: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree (Fantasy/Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Travis Baldree
After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success --- not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone. But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed. Reviewed by Eleni Karavoussianis.
AESTHETICA by Allie Rowbottom (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Chelsea Stephens
At 19, she was an Instagram celebrity. Now, at 35, she works behind the cosmetic counter at the “black and white store,” peddling anti-aging products to women seeking physical and spiritual transformation. She, too, is seeking rebirth. She’s about to undergo the high-risk, elective surgery Aesthetica™, a procedure that will reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, hopefully returning her to a truer self. Provided she survives the knife. But on the eve of the surgery, her traumatic past resurfaces when she is asked to participate in the public takedown of her former manager/boyfriend, who has rebranded himself as a paragon of “woke” masculinity in the post-#MeToo world. With the hours ticking down to her surgery, she must confront the ugly truth about her experiences on and off the Instagram grid. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE ZERO NIGHT: A Jonathan Stride Novel by Brian Freeman (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Joe Barrett
After nearly dying of a gunshot wound, Jonathan Stride has been on leave from the Duluth Police for more than a year. When his partner, Maggie Bei, gets called about a suspicious abduction involving a local lawyer, she tells Stride it's time for him to come back. Attorney Gavin Webster says he paid $100,000 in ransom money to the men who kidnapped his wife. Now they've disappeared with the cash, and she's still missing. Gavin claims to be desperate to find her --- but Stride discovers that the lawyer had plenty of motive to be the mastermind behind the crime. Even as Stride digs for the truth about Gavin Webster and his wife, he also must deal with a crisis in his own marriage. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
I AM THE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD by Michael Parker (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Michael Crouch
In the early 1970s, in Stovall, Texas, 17-year-old Earl meets Tina, the new girl in town. Tina convinces Earl to drive her to see her mother in Austin, where Earl and Tina are quickly separated. Two days later, Earl is being questioned by the police about Tina’s disappearance and the blood in the trunk of his car. But Earl can’t remember what happened in Austin, and with little financial support from his working-class family, he is sentenced for a crime he did not commit. Forty years later, Earl is released into a world he can barely navigate. Settling in a small town on the Oregon coast, he attempts to establish a sense of freedom. But just as Earl finds the rhythm he’s always sought, his past returns to endanger the new life he’s built. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
KISS HER ONCE FOR ME by Alison Cochrun (Romantic Comedy)
Audiobook available, read by Natalie Naudus
One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone and desperate for money. Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack --- the mysterious woman she fell for the year before. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on
November 29th and December 1st
Below are some notable titles releasing on November 29th and December 1st that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. For a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks available the week of November 28th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
November 29th
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES by John Boyne (Historical Fiction)
From New York Times bestselling author John Boyne comes a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery.
A HEART THAT WORKS by Rob Delaney (Memoir)
A HEART THAT WORKS is a visceral and deeply personal memoir by the star of the Amazon Prime series "Catastrophe" about the loss of his young son.
THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT by Kimberly Belle (Psychological Thriller)
USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Belle returns with a deeply addictive thriller exploring the dark side of the digital world when a mommy-blogger’s assistant goes missing.
A QUIET LIFE by Ethan Joella (Fiction)
Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A QUIET LIFE follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.
A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES by Louise Penny (Mystery)
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns in this 18th installment of #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny's beloved series.
December 1st
THE WIDOW by Kaira Rouda (Psychological Thriller)
A husband with secrets. A wife with no limits. THE WIDOW is a riveting novel of marriage, privilege and lies by Kaira Rouda, the USA Today bestselling author of THE NEXT WIFE.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
From left to right: Cheryl Strayed, Kevin Wilson, Charmaine Wilkerson
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
As many book and author events are still 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.
Monday, November 28th at 7:30pm ET: “Lisa Live!”: Join Lisa Scottoline every Monday night as she hosts her weekly “Talking LOYALTY” video series and Facebook Live events leading up to the publication of her historical novel, LOYALTY, on March 28, 2023. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!
Tuesday, November 29th at 6pm ET: Reese's Book Club: Join Reese's Book Club for a discussion of their November pick, TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS. They'll be diving into the story with authors Cheryl Strayed and Tembi Locke, so bring your sharpest opinions and brightest highlighters.
Tuesday, November 29th at 8pm ET: BookPeople: Join BookPeople in celebrating Olivie Blake’s new book, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER. She will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.
Wednesday, November 30th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Kevin Wilson about his new book, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC, a nuanced exploration of young love, identity and the power of art. Appearing on the Aftershow will be Sheila Roberts, whose latest novel is THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS.
Wednesday, November 30th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Charmaine Wilkerson about her debut novel, BLACK CAKE, which releases in paperback on November 29th. Charmaine also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Charmaine a question on camera, please send Carol an email with the subject line “Black Cake” by Wednesday the 30th at noon ET.
"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:
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Scott Shepherd (SHOULD I FALL)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
Our Latest Poll: November and December
Paperbacks to Anticipate
Which of the following titles releasing in paperback in November and December have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.
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ALL ABOUT ME!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business, by Mel Brooks
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APPARENTLY THERE WERE COMPLAINTS: A Memoir, by Sharon Gless
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THE BALLERINAS by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
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BEWILDERMENT by Richard Powers
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BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson
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BRIGHT BURNING THINGS by Lisa Harding
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COKIE: A Life Well Lived, by Steven V. Roberts
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DARK HORSE: An Orphan X Novel, by Gregg Hurwitz
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THE HORSEWOMAN by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
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KINGDOM OF BONES by James Rollins
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LIGHTNING IN A MIRROR by Jayne Ann Krentz
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THE MISSING PIECE by John Lescroart
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MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND OTHERS: Essays, by Siri Hustvedt
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THE (OTHER) YOU: Stories, by Joyce Carol Oates
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RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins
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ROBERT B. PARKER’S BYE BYE BABY: A Spenser Novel, by Ace Atkins
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A SAFE HOUSE: A Stone Barrington Novel, by Stuart Woods
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SHARPE’S ASSASSIN by Bernard Cornwell
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THESE PRECIOUS DAYS: Essays, by Ann Patchett
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THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb
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None of the above
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, December 2nd at noon ET.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What
You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from November 18th to December 2nd at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of HUNTING TIME: A Colter Shaw Novel by Jeffery Deaver and A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES by Louise Penny.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
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