Archives - Weekly Update

Next Tuesday, Bookreporter will mark its 23rd anniversary! We were the first book review website online. When we started, only one publisher had a website (Time Warner with Pathfinder), and very, very few had email. We would FAX our book requests. I still remember walking around the American Booksellers Conference (which is now called Book Expo) in Chicago in June of that year, and I knew exactly no one. I was trying to introduce myself and the idea of our new company that would be on the internet. After a few hours of trying to describe this to some uncomprehending people, I packed up a few cartons of catalogs from publishers and took off to go to the movies. I saw Mission: Impossible, which is what it felt like we were doing. At our 10th anniversary party, we played the Mission: Impossible theme song and thanked all the publishing folks who had embraced the idea that we put forth.

It’s been a super busy week. Yesterday was National Relaxation Day; let’s just say that I did not observe, except for the hour or so when I was in yoga class. For the record, who thinks of these random holidays? I missed Book Lovers Day last week. No one told me in advance. I have enough trouble remembering the holidays that there are cards for, let alone the ones that there are memes for.

Last night, I stayed up to watch Mary Beth Keane on "The Tonight Show." As you may remember, her book ASK AGAIN, YES is the "Tonight Show" Summer Reads pick. But, hey, before Jimmy Fallon announced the news, I had shared that it was one of my favorite books of 2019 and a Bets On selection. I loved seeing her talk about it with Jimmy. I snagged the photo of the two of them above from her publisher, Scribner, and you can see the interview here in case you went to sleep early...you know, in honor of National Relaxation Day!

I am happy to share our latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Fiona Davis, the author of THE CHELSEA GIRLS. I have been a huge fan of Fiona’s work through her first four books, and from our recent poll results, we know that many of you are fans as well. Hers was the book that you most wanted to read in July! I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, where we explore a lot about her writing and get a hint as to what she is writing next. She gave me a really high compliment when she posted this video on her Facebook page, saying about my interview style, “She really digs deep and asks the best questions.” You can watch the interview here.

At our house each day, we get the local newspaper and the Wall Street Journal, and on weekends we get The New York Times. I read most of the news online, but my husband loves a physical paper, and a subscription gets us online access. Each weekend I pull out sections of the paper that I vow I am going to read --- like "Styles" and "Travel" in the Times and "Mansions" in the WSJ. Do I do this? No! So a few weeks ago, I recycled a high pile of yellowed papers, feeling like I was overcoming hoarder tendencies.