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Erma Bombeck

The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one.

Attribution

Erma Bombeck

Frederick Douglass

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

Attribution

Frederick Douglass

November 18, 2016

I am in Miami, where 600+ authors are in town this week for the Miami Book Fair. I have not been to the Fair in five years, and it has grown enormously over that time. I am looking forward to my panel for Book Groups on Saturday morning. In addition to noting fall/winter books that people want to read, I have pulled together a list of the programming at the Fair, which I think will be of interest to book groups. It’s my version of a cheat sheet. It’s going to be a fast-paced, fun weekend!

Zadie Smith, author of Swing Time

Two brown girls dream of being dancers, but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early 20s. Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend travels the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live.

David Baldacci, author of No Man's Land

John Puller's mother, Jackie, vanished 30 years ago from Fort Monroe, Virginia, when Puller was just a boy. Paul Rogers has been in prison for 10 years. But 20 years before that, he was at Fort Monroe. One night three decades ago, Puller's and Rogers' worlds collided with devastating results, and the truth has been buried ever since. Until now. Military investigators arrive in the hospital room of Puller's father and reveal that Puller Sr. has been accused of murdering Jackie.

Bernie Sanders, author of Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In

In OUR REVOLUTION, Bernie Sanders shares his personal experiences from the campaign trail, recounting the details of his historic primary fight and the people who made it possible. And for the millions looking to continue the political revolution, he outlines a progressive economic, environmental, racial and social justice agenda that will create jobs, raise wages, protect the environment, and provide health care for all --- and ultimately transform our country and our world for the better. For him, the political revolution has just started.

November 18, 2016 - December 2, 2016

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of November 18 - December 2.

Editorial Content for The Sleeping Beauty Killer: An Under Suspicion Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Maggie Harding

Although she has served 15 years in prison for killing her fiancé, Casey Carter continues to proclaim her innocence. Can she convince Laurie Moran to make her the subject of “Under Suspicion,” the popular TV show that has successfully solved several cold cases? Read More

Teaser

Casey Carter was convicted of murdering her fiancé, famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III, 15 years ago. And Casey claims she’s innocent. Although she was charged and served out her sentence in prison, she is still living “under suspicion.” Her story attracts the attention of Laurie Moran and the “Under Suspicion” news team. It’s Casey’s last chance to finally clear her name, and Laurie pledges to exonerate her. With Alex Buckley taking a break from the show, “Under Suspicion” introduces a new on-air host named Ryan Nichols, who has no problems with steering --- and stealing --- the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty.

Promo

Casey Carter was convicted of murdering her fiancé, famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III, 15 years ago. And Casey claims she’s innocent. Although she was charged and served out her sentence in prison, she is still living “under suspicion.” Her story attracts the attention of Laurie Moran and the “Under Suspicion” news team. It’s Casey’s last chance to finally clear her name, and Laurie pledges to exonerate her. With Alex Buckley taking a break from the show, “Under Suspicion” introduces a new on-air host named Ryan Nichols, who has no problems with steering --- and stealing --- the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty.

About the Book

The third thrilling installment in the bestselling Under Suspicion series from #1 New York Times bestselling author and “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke --- television producer Laurie Moran puts everything on the line to help a woman she thinks was wrongfully convicted of murder.

Casey Carter was convicted of murdering her fiancé --- famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III --- 15 years ago. And Casey claims --- has always claimed --- she’s innocent. Although she was charged and served out her sentence in prison, she is still living “under suspicion.” She hears whispers at the grocery store. She can’t get a job. Even her own mother treats her like she’s guilty. Her story attracts the attention of Laurie Moran and the "Under Suspicion" news team --- it’s Casey’s last chance to finally clear her name, and Laurie pledges to exonerate her.

With Alex Buckley taking a break from the show --- cooling his potential romance with Laurie --- "Under Suspicion" introduces a new on-air host named Ryan Nichols, a young legal whiz with a Harvard Law degree, Supreme Court clerkship, experience as a federal prosecutor, and regular stints on the cable news circuit. He’s got a big reputation and the attitude to match it. Ryan has no problems with steering --- and stealing --- the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty.

An egomaniacal new co-host, a relentless gossip columnist who seems to have all the dirt (and a surprising informant) and Casey’s longstanding bad reputation: Laurie must face this and more to do what she believes is right, to once and for all prove Casey’s innocence --- that is, if she’s innocent…THE SLEEPING BEAUTY KILLER will keep you guessing until the very end.

Audiobook available, read by Jan Maxwell

Editorial Content for Chaos: A Scarpetta Novel

Reviewer (text)

Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Boston is suffering through a horrible heat wave when Kay Scarpetta, forensics expert and director of the city's morgue, decides to walk to her dinner meeting with her husband, Benton Wesley. But as with most of Patricia Cornwell's police procedurals, Scarpetta is found by Pete Marino, a man of many personas, who is now an investigator for Scarpetta in her work with speaking for the dead. He heads her off and lectures her about the dangers of walking alone in Boston, even if she is passing MIT and Harvard. Read More

Teaser

On an early autumn day, Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. Dr. Kay Scarpetta decides at the scene that this is no accidental Act of God. Her investigation becomes complicated when she begins receiving a flurry of bizarre poems from an anonymous cyberbully who calls himself Tailend Charlie. When the 10th poem arrives exactly 24 hours after Elisa’s death, Scarpetta begins to suspect the harasser is involved, and sounds the alarm to her investigative partner, Pete Marino, and her husband, FBI analyst Benton Wesley. She also enlists the help of her niece, Lucy. But to Scarpetta’s surprise, tracking the slippery Tailend Charlie is nearly impossible, even for someone as brilliant as her niece.

Promo

On an early autumn day, Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. Dr. Kay Scarpetta decides at the scene that this is no accidental Act of God. Her investigation becomes complicated when she begins receiving a flurry of bizarre poems from an anonymous cyberbully who calls himself Tailend Charlie. When the 10th poem arrives exactly 24 hours after Elisa’s death, Scarpetta begins to suspect the harasser is involved, and sounds the alarm to her investigative partner, Pete Marino, and her husband, FBI analyst Benton Wesley. She also enlists the help of her niece, Lucy. But to Scarpetta’s surprise, tracking the slippery Tailend Charlie is nearly impossible, even for someone as brilliant as her niece.

About the Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell returns with the remarkable 24th thriller in her popular high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

In the quiet of twilight, on an early autumn day, 26-year-old Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. It appears she was struck by lightning --- except the weather is perfectly clear with not a cloud in sight. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Cambridge Forensic Center’s director and chief, decides at the scene that this is no accidental Act of God.

Her investigation becomes complicated when she begins receiving a flurry of bizarre poems from an anonymous cyberbully who calls himself Tailend Charlie. Though subsequent lab results support Scarpetta’s conclusions, the threatening messages don’t stop. When the 10th poem arrives exactly 24 hours after Elisa’s death, Scarpetta begins to suspect the harasser is involved, and sounds the alarm to her investigative partner Pete Marino and her husband, FBI analyst Benton Wesley.

She also enlists the help of her niece, Lucy. But to Scarpetta’s surprise, tracking the slippery Tailend Charlie is nearly impossible, even for someone as brilliant as her niece. Also, Lucy can’t explain how this anonymous nemesis could have access to private information. To make matters worse, a venomous media is whipping the public into a frenzy, questioning the seasoned forensics chief’s judgment and "a quack cause of death on a par with spontaneous combustion."

Audiobook available, performed by Susan Ericksen

Editorial Content for Last Girl Before Freeway: The Life, Loves, Losses, and Liberation of Joan Rivers

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Bronwyn Miller

This new, exuberant biography of comedian Joan Rivers takes its title from a story Rivers used to tell about her mother. “I’m the last single girl in Larchmont… My mother is desperate. She has a sign up: ‘Last Girl Before Freeway.’” Read More

Teaser

Joan Rivers was an icon and a role model to millions, a fearless pioneer who left a legacy of expanded opportunity when she died in 2014. Her life was a dramatic roller-coaster of triumphant highs and devastating lows: the suicide of her husband, her feud with Johnny Carson, her estrangement from her daughter, her many plastic surgeries, her ferocious ambition and her massive insecurities. But Rivers' career was also hugely significant in American cultural history, breaking down barriers for her gender and pushing the boundaries of truth-telling for women in public life. LAST GIRL BEFORE FREEWAY delves into the inner workings of a woman who both reflected and redefined the world around her.

Promo

Joan Rivers was an icon and a role model to millions, a fearless pioneer who left a legacy of expanded opportunity when she died in 2014. Her life was a dramatic roller-coaster of triumphant highs and devastating lows: the suicide of her husband, her feud with Johnny Carson, her estrangement from her daughter, her many plastic surgeries, her ferocious ambition and her massive insecurities. But Rivers' career was also hugely significant in American cultural history, breaking down barriers for her gender and pushing the boundaries of truth-telling for women in public life. LAST GIRL BEFORE FREEWAY delves into the inner workings of a woman who both reflected and redefined the world around her.

About the Book

The definitive book about Joan Rivers' tumultuous, victorious, tragic, hilarious and fascinating life.

Joan Rivers was more than a legendary comedian; she was an icon and a role model to millions, a fearless pioneer who left a legacy of expanded opportunity when she died in 2014. Her life was a dramatic roller-coaster of triumphant highs and devastating lows: the suicide of her husband, her feud with Johnny Carson, her estrangement from her daughter, her many plastic surgeries, her ferocious ambition and her massive insecurities. But Rivers' career was also hugely significant in American cultural history, breaking down barriers for her gender and pushing the boundaries of truth-telling for women in public life.

A juicy, intimate biography of one of the greatest comedians ever --- a performer whose 60-year career was borne, simply, out of a desire to make people laugh so she could feel loved --- LAST GIRL BEFORE FREEWAY delves into the inner workings of a woman who both reflected and redefined the world around her.

Audiobook available, read by Erin Bennett