Skip to main content

Norman Borlaug

Almost certainly...the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind.

Attribution

Norman Borlaug

May 13, 2016

Greetings from Chicago, where I have spent a whirlwind three days at BookExpo America (BEA), the industry’s annual trade show. BEA always has special meaning for me as it was the first industry event that I attended in 1996 when we were planning the site that became Bookreporter.com. I knew NO ONE. I was walking around telling people that the internet was going to be this great place to learn about books and authors. I told this to about six publishers before I adopted a new strategy --- only after they told me that they did not yet have email. I grabbed a few boxes, tossed catalogs in them and went to the mail area to ship to our office. Then I left the convention, and as Bookreporter lore will have it, I went to the movies to see Mission: Impossible, which seemed oddly prophetic about what we were trying to do.

Editorial Content for The Queen's Poisoner

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Carly Silver
In his new YA fantasy venture, THE QUEEN’S POISONER, Jeff Wheeler poses a poignant question: What would have happened if Shakespeare’s version of King Richard III hadn’t been killed at the Battle of Bosworth? What if Richard really was a child-murdering, ruthless monster who continued to rule England? Wheeler casts usurper King Severn Argentine as Richard and a loosely disguised fictional European country as England. He spins a thoroughly engaging yarn, but it is not one that does much to distinguish itself in a highly competitive market.
 

Teaser

 

King Severn Argentine’s fearsome reputation precedes him: usurper of the throne, killer of rightful heirs, ruthless punisher of traitors. Attempting to depose him, the Duke of Kiskaddon gambles…and loses. Now the duke must atone by handing over his young son, Owen, as the king’s hostage. And should his loyalty falter again, the boy will pay with his life.

Promo

King Severn Argentine’s fearsome reputation precedes him: usurper of the throne, killer of rightful heirs, ruthless punisher of traitors. Attempting to depose him, the Duke of Kiskaddon gambles…and loses. Now the duke must atone by handing over his young son, Owen, as the king’s hostage. And should his loyalty falter again, the boy will pay with his life.

About the Book

King Severn Argentine’s fearsome reputation precedes him: usurper of the throne, killer of rightful heirs, ruthless punisher of traitors. Attempting to depose him, the Duke of Kiskaddon gambles…and loses. Now the duke must atone by handing over his young son, Owen, as the king’s hostage. And should his loyalty falter again, the boy will pay with his life.

Seeking allies and eluding Severn’s spies, Owen learns to survive in the court of Kingfountain. But when new evidence of his father’s betrayal threatens to seal his fate, Owen must win the vengeful king’s favor by proving his worth --- through extraordinary means. And only one person can aid his desperate cause: a mysterious woman, dwelling in secrecy, who truly wields power over life, death and destiny.

Audiobook available, narrated by Kate Rudd.

Jeff Wheeler

Jeff took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to become a full-time author. He is, most importantly, a husband and father, a devout member of his church, and is occasionally spotted roaming hills with oak trees and granite boulders in California or in any number of the state's majestic redwood groves.

Author Jeff Wheeler is no stranger to the shifting demands of the adult and young adult fantasy markets. When he wrote his first book, there was a call for darker, grittier fantasies for adults who had grown up reading the genre. Wheeler, however, avoided this trend by keeping gratuitous sex and violence scenes out of his work. In this post, he discusses the need for a books that both teens and adults feel comfortable reading --- a genre he calls "Entryway" fantasy, and how he has helped other authors find homes for their "clean" works. 

Rebecca Hawkins

Reviewer

Rebecca Hawkins is a reader, writer, baker, knitter and child-at-heart. She is a 2013 graduate of Bennington College with a focus in literature and anthropology and has extensive experience working with children. She has been working for three years with children from infancy to age four at a family daycare where she concentrates on early literacy and strives to instill a love of reading at an early age. 

May 13, 2016 - May 27, 2016

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of May 13 - May 27.

Editorial Content for The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jane Krebs

The title of Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel tells the story. In THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER, a 69-year-old widower uses the first anniversary of his wife’s death to start clearing out her wardrobe. He has been dreading this day, but the steadiness of his monotonous life pushes him to start putting things in order and, sadly, to say good-bye to her again. The task begins in a straightforward way, but then he discovers an elegant charm bracelet in a heart-shaped box deep in the toe of one of her sensible, fur-lined brown suede boots. He has never seen it before. Read More

Teaser

Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. But on the one-year anniversary of his wife Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met --- a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.

Promo

Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. But on the one-year anniversary of his wife Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met --- a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.

About the Book

In this poignant and curiously charming debut, a lovable widower embarks on a life-changing adventure.

Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden.

But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met --- a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places.

Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER is a joyous celebration of life’s infinite possibilities.

Editorial Content for Paul McCartney: The Life

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

Unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard of Paul McCartney, one of the members of the Beatles (along with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr). Together, they turned the roll-n-roll genre upside down and created a world-wide appetite for the music. Read More

Teaser

Since the age of 21, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, McCartney’s story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with his consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. PAUL McCARTNEY reveals the complex character behind the façade and sheds new light on his childhood --- blighted by his mother's death but redeemed by the father who introduced him to music.

Promo

Since the age of 21, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, McCartney’s story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with his consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. PAUL McCARTNEY reveals the complex character behind the façade and sheds new light on his childhood --- blighted by his mother's death but redeemed by the father who introduced him to music.

About the Book

The definitive Paul McCartney biography, written with his approval by bestselling biographer Philip Norman.

Since the age of 21, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with McCartney's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. PAUL McCARTNEY reveals the complex character behind the façade and sheds new light on his childhood --- blighted by his mother's death but redeemed by the father who introduced him to music.

This is the first definitive account of Paul's often troubled partnership with John Lennon, his personal trauma after the Beatles' breakup, and his subsequent struggle to get back to the top with Wings --- which nearly got him murdered in Africa and brought him nine days in a Tokyo jail. Readers will learn about his marriage to Linda, including their much-criticized musical collaboration, and a moving account of her death. Packed with new information and critical insights, PAUL McCARTNEY will be the definitive biography of a musical legend.

Audiobook available, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

Editorial Content for The Noise of Time

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

On September 25, 1906, Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During his nearly 70 years on the planet, he grew to prominence as one of the top composers and pianists of the 20th century. It would be a serious understatement to claim that his rise to world-wide success was not without turmoil. Renowned author and Man Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes has selected Shostakovich and his unique struggle as the subject of his latest novel, THE NOISE OF TIME. Read More

Teaser

In 1936, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich fears for his livelihood and his life. Joseph Stalin has taken a sudden interest in his work and denounced his latest opera. Now, certain he will be exiled to Siberia (or, more likely, executed on the spot), Shostakovich reflects on his predicament. Though a stroke of luck prevents him from becoming yet another casualty of the Great Terror, for decades to come he will be held fast under the thumb of despotism: made to represent Soviet values at a cultural conference in New York City, forced into joining the Party, and compelled to weigh appeasing those in power against the integrity of his music.

Promo

In 1936, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich fears for his livelihood and his life. Joseph Stalin has taken a sudden interest in his work and denounced his latest opera. Now, certain he will be exiled to Siberia (or, more likely, executed on the spot), Shostakovich reflects on his predicament. Though a stroke of luck prevents him from becoming yet another casualty of the Great Terror, for decades to come he will be held fast under the thumb of despotism: made to represent Soviet values at a cultural conference in New York City, forced into joining the Party, and compelled to weigh appeasing those in power against the integrity of his music.

About the Book

1936: Dmitri Shostakovich, just 30 years old, reckons with the first of three conversations with power that will irrevocably shape his life. Stalin, hitherto a distant figure, has suddenly denounced the young composer’s latest opera. Certain he will be exiled to Siberia (or, more likely, shot dead on the spot), Shostakovich reflects on his predicament, his personal history, his parents, his daughter --- all of those hanging in the balance of his fate. And though a stroke of luck prevents him from becoming yet another casualty of the Great Terror, he will twice more be swept up by the forces of despotism: coerced into praising the Soviet state at a cultural conference in New York in 1948, and finally bullied into joining the Party in 1960. All the while, he is compelled to constantly weigh the specter of power against the integrity of his music.

An extraordinary portrait of a relentlessly fascinating man, THE NOISE OF TIME is a stunning meditation on the meaning of art and its place in society.