Archives - Weekly Update

Here's a fun tidbit for you. This year, the unofficial summer calendar will look longer than usual as we had an early Memorial Day, and Labor Day will be celebrated on the later side. This will not happen again until 2037. This means that you have more time for summer reading. You can up your reading quota by at least one book!

This Tuesday, June 2nd will be a very big book launch day. After I finish THE LAKE HOUSE by Lori Foster, I am contemplating whether to read A PAIR OF ACES by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, THE WINDSOR AFFAIR by Melanie Benjamin, or WHISTLER by Ann Patchett.

Our company was incorporated 30 years ago this month; in fact, I think it might be 30 years ago today. Our first website launched in August 1996. Every time we hit a milestone, we celebrate. We hit another big one this week with 1,000,000 views/listens to our video/podcast series.

Thanks to all of you who have watched or listened. We are very proud of the programming that we have created with our “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews, our “Bookaccino Live” book preview events, and our “Bookaccino Live” Book Group events. We are excited that our podcasts are now on Spotify. We love how we have come to know so many of you through your emails and comments during and after our events. And we love seeing that readers join us from across the country. Whenever I interview an author, I try to ask the questions that I think you would want answered.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Awards Banquet, which was the final event of this year's ThrillerFest, the International Thriller Writers conference. While I had been at their first conference in Arizona, and many others here in New York, I had not attended it in years with the exception of the opening cocktail party. 

Lisa Scottoline and Harlan Coben were honored as ThrillerMasters, and I was so happy to be there to celebrate them. ITW co-presidents Gregg Hurwitz and Lisa Unger have done a wonderful job of growing the organization --- and its mission. The evening had both gravitas and fun.

First up, we have some BIG news to share. We are just 5,800 views/listens away from reaching a huge milestone of 1,000,000 video views/podcast listens. Wow! To everyone who has watched or listened to some of the many features on our channels, thank you.

Also, this week our podcasts were added to Spotify, which we know is growing its book content exponentially. So you can listen to our interviews and events on the “Bookreporter Talks To” channel there. We love that we are bringing you a new way to enjoy our programming! Be sure to share this news with your book-loving family and friends, as well as your book group.

I rarely go to the movies. But last night, I gathered a group of girlfriends (some of whom knew each other and others of whom did not), and we went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2, which was really terrific.

Besides the over-the-top fashion and the acting by the iconic Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, as well as Stanley Tucci, the cinematography is stunning. The lighting is just beautiful on the shots in New York, Milan and Lake Como. Fun fact: George Clooney’s home, Villa Oleandra --- “an 18th-century, 25-room estate in Laglio on Lake Como” --- shows up in the background in one scene. When the credits ran, I saw how many well-known people were part of the film. I had missed many of them, so I will watch it again another time.