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April 10, 2015 - April 24, 2015

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of April 10 - April 24.

April 2015

Hello, Books on Screen lovers! We all know it’s officially spring because Hollywood is already hyping its summer movies. But before all the boom and bluster of the hot-weather blockbusters hit theaters, we can sit back, relax and enjoy April’s simpler offerings. Oh yeah, and “Game of Thrones.”

Editorial Content for A Fine Romance - Audiobook

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Carol Fitzgerald

I am not one who flocks to celebrity memoirs. When I have, I often find them sanitized or sensationalized, neither of which is to my liking. Or the subjects of these books just do not intrigue me. Read More

Teaser

A FINE ROMANCE begins with Candice Bergen’s charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge appetite for life broadened her horizons and whose occasional darkness never diminished their love for each other. But her real romance begins when she discovers overpowering love for her daughter after years of ambivalence about motherhood. As Chloe grows up, Bergen finds her comic genius in the biggest TV role of the '80s, "Murphy Brown," and makes unwanted headlines when Dan Quayle pulls her into the 1992 presidential campaign.

Promo

A FINE ROMANCE begins with Candice Bergen’s charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge appetite for life broadened her horizons and whose occasional darkness never diminished their love for each other. But her real romance begins when she discovers overpowering love for her daughter after years of ambivalence about motherhood. As Chloe grows up, Bergen finds her comic genius in the biggest TV role of the '80s, "Murphy Brown," and makes unwanted headlines when Dan Quayle pulls her into the 1992 presidential campaign.

About the Book

In the follow-up to KNOCK WOOD --- her bestselling “engaging, intelligent, and wittily self-deprecating autobiography” (The New York Times) --- Candice Bergen shares the big events: her marriage to a famous French director, the birth of her daughter, "Murphy Brown," widowhood, falling in love again, and watching her daughter blossom.

A FINE ROMANCE begins with Bergen’s charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge appetite for life broadened her horizons and whose occasional darkness never diminished their love for each other. But her real romance begins when she discovers overpowering love for her daughter after years of ambivalence about motherhood. As Chloe grows up, Bergen finds her comic genius in the biggest TV role of the 80s, "Murphy Brown," and makes unwanted headlines when Dan Quayle pulls her into the 1992 presidential campaign.

Fifteen years into their marriage, Malle is diagnosed with cancer, and Candice is unflinching in describing her and Chloe’s despair over his death. But after years of widowhood, she feels the sweet shock of finding a different kind of soulmate. Candice takes us through the first years of her new marriage and shares the bittersweetness of watching Chloe leave home and flourish --- and the comedy of a losing battle against those damn wrinkles and extra pounds.

A natural writer, Candice is hilarious, brutally honest, down-to-earth and wise. She may be a beautiful Hollywood actress with a charmed life, but Candice is someone who can talk frankly about extraordinary events. Listeners will feel like they’ve just made a best friend.

Editorial Content for Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

As I sit down to write this review, I find myself becoming more than averagely aware of my choice of words and punctuation, as if Mary Norris herself was looking over my shoulder with editing pencil in hand (did you catch my use of the subjunctive up there, Mary? That was just for you). That is kind of the point of BETWEEN YOU & ME, after all: giving all of us an opportunity to consider more carefully the kinds of choices we make in our writing and speaking, often without even thinking about them.  Read More

Teaser

Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in BETWEEN YOU & ME, which features her laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation and usage, and her clear explanations of how to handle them.

Promo

Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in BETWEEN YOU & ME, which features her laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation and usage, and her clear explanations of how to handle them.

About the Book

Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer, and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book as full of life as it is of practical advice.

BETWEEN YOU & ME features Norris's laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation and usage --- comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom," "that" vs. "which," compound words, gender-neutral language --- and her clear explanations of how to handle them. Down-to-earth and always open-minded, she draws on examples from Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and the Lord's Prayer, as well as from "The Honeymooners," "The Simpsons," David Foster Wallace and Gillian Flynn. She takes us to see a copy of Noah Webster's groundbreaking Blue-Back Speller, on a quest to find out who put the hyphen in MOBY-DICK, on a pilgrimage to the world's only pencil-sharpener museum, and inside the hallowed halls of The New Yorker and her work with such celebrated writers as Pauline Kael, Philip Roth and George Saunders.

Readers --- and writers --- will find in Norris neither a scold nor a softie but a wise and witty new friend in love with language and alive to the glories of its use in America, even in the age of autocorrect and spell-check. As Norris writes, "The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around."

Editorial Content for The Children's Crusade

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jana Siciliano

A children’s crusade tugs at the heartstrings of those who are witness to it. Youngsters desperately attempting to change or make claim to something bigger than themselves --- something they feel the need to have in their lives to make them better, complete, important --- have spent thousands of years trying to exact change in a world not of their own making. Read More

Teaser

Bill Blair finds the land by accident, three wooded acres in a rustic community south of San Francisco, and buys the property on a whim. In Penny Greenway he finds a suitable wife, and they marry and have four kids. Thirty years later, the three oldest Blair children, now adults and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence and all-too-familiar troubles force a reckoning with who they are, separately and together, and set off a struggle over the family’s future.

Promo

Bill Blair finds the land by accident, three wooded acres in a rustic community south of San Francisco, and buys the property on a whim. In Penny Greenway he finds a suitable wife, and they marry and have four kids. Thirty years later, the three oldest Blair children, now adults and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence and all-too-familiar troubles force a reckoning with who they are, separately and together, and set off a struggle over the family’s future.

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Ann Packer, a “tour de force family drama” (Elle) that explores the secrets and desires, the remnant wounds and saving graces of one California family, over the course of five decades.

Bill Blair finds the land by accident, three wooded acres in a rustic community south of San Francisco. The year is 1954, long before anyone will call this area Silicon Valley. Struck by a vision of his future family, Bill buys the property and proposes to Penny Greenway, a woman whose yearning attitude toward life appeals to him. In less than a decade they have four children. Yet Penny is a mercurial housewife, overwhelmed and undersatisfied, chafing at the conventions confining her.

Years later, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence sets off a struggle over the family’s future. One by one, they tell their stories, which reveal Packer’s “great compassion for her characters, with their ancient injuries, their blundering desires. The way she tangles their perspectives perfectly, painfully captures the tumult of selves within a family” (MORE Magazine).

Reviewers have praised Ann Packer’s “brilliant ear for character” (The New York Times Book Review) and her “naturalist’s vigilance for detail, so that her characters seem observed rather than invented” (The New Yorker). Her talents are on dazzling display in THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, “an absorbing novel that celebrates family even as it catalogs its damages” (People, Book of the Week). This is a “superb storyteller” (San Francisco Chronicle), Ann Packer’s most deeply affecting book yet, “tragic and utterly engrossing” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

Editorial Content for Blood on Snow

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

What a dark, delightful and unexpected surprise this is. BLOOD ON SNOW is a new stand-alone work from Jo Nesbø (featuring a spot-on translation by Neil Smith), which seems designed to be read in one sitting and from its first paragraph demands it. It is American noir filtered through the dark glass of his Norwegian heritage. Read More

Teaser

This is the story of Olav, an extremely talented “fixer” for one of Oslo’s most powerful crime bosses. But Olav is also an unusually complicated fixer. He has a capacity for love that is as far-reaching as is his gift for murder. He has an “innate talent for subordination,” but running through his veins is a “virus” born of the power over life and death. And while his latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, it may be mutating into his greatest mistake.

Promo

This is the story of Olav, an extremely talented “fixer” for one of Oslo’s most powerful crime bosses. But Olav is also an unusually complicated fixer. He has a capacity for love that is as far-reaching as is his gift for murder. He has an “innate talent for subordination,” but running through his veins is a “virus” born of the power over life and death. And while his latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, it may be mutating into his greatest mistake.

About the Book

From the internationally acclaimed author of the Harry Hole novels --- a fast, tight, darkly lyrical stand-alone novel that has at its center the perfectly sympathetic antihero: an Oslo contract killer who draws us into an unexpected meditation on death and love. 

Olav is a fixer for a high-profile crime kingpin in 1970s Oslo. He easily takes care of anyone who causes trouble for his boss. But he is more complicated than he seems. Olav's latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, but it may become his greatest mistake: It turns out that the more you know about your boss's business, the more your boss might want you fixed yourself — especially if you're falling for his wife.

Editorial Content for Falling in Love: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

I don’t reflexively reach for traditional mysteries when I’m looking for something to read, but I never turn down a Brunetti mystery. Commissario Guido Brunetti is the brainchild of author Donna Leon, who uses each installment of the series to explore aspects of Venetian culture against the backdrops of the beatific highs and seamy lows of the city, using the eyes and ears of the understated and, yes, underappreciated Brunetti for both. Read More

Teaser

Invited by Commissario Guido Brunetti to dine at his in-laws’ palazzo, opera star Flavia Petrelli confesses her alarm at the excessive displays of adoration from an anonymous fan. When a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia’s attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia’s fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter into the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.

Promo

Invited by Commissario Guido Brunetti to dine at his in-laws’ palazzo, opera star Flavia Petrelli confesses her alarm at the excessive displays of adoration from an anonymous fan. When a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia’s attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia’s fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter into the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.

About the Book

Donna Leon’s DEATH AT LA FENICE, the first novel in her beloved Commissario Guido Brunetti series, introduced readers to the glamorous and cutthroat world of opera and one of Italy’s finest living sopranos, Flavia Petrelli --- then a suspect in the poisoning of a renowned German conductor. Years after Brunetti cleared her name and saved the life of her female American lover in ACQUA ALTA, Flavia has returned to Venice and La Fenice to sing the lead in Tosca, and Brunetti has tickets to an early performance.

The night he and his wife, Paola, attend, Flavia gives a stunning performance to a standing ovation. Back in her dressing room, she finds bouquets of yellow roses --- too many roses. Every surface of the room is covered with them. An anonymous fan has been showering Flavia with these beautiful gifts in London, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam and now, Venice, but she no longer feels flattered. A few nights later, invited by Brunetti to dine at his in-laws’ palazzo, Flavia confesses her alarm at these excessive displays of adoration. Brunetti promises to look into it. And when a talented young Venetian singer who has caught Flavia’s attention is savagely attacked, Brunetti begins to think that Flavia’s fears are justified in ways neither of them imagined. He must enter in the psyche of an obsessive fan before Flavia, or anyone else, comes to harm.

Editorial Content for Emma: A Modern Retelling

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Megan Elliott

Jane Austen may have been dead for nearly 200 years, but she still casts a long shadow over literary and pop culture. Every year brings new adaptations or interpretations of her work, both literary and cinematic (currently in production: a film version of 2009’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES and indie director Whit Stillman’s take on LADY SUSAN). And then there’s the Austen Project, where six contemporary writers offer updated takes on the author’s six completed novels. Read More

Teaser

The summer after university, Emma Woodhouse returns home to the village of Highbury to prepare for the launch of her interior design business. Soon she befriends Harriet Smith, the naïve but charming young teacher’s assistant at an English-language school run by the hippie-ish Mrs. Goddard. Harriet is Emma’s inspiration to do the two things she does best: offer guidance to those less wise in the ways of the world and put her matchmaking skills to good use.

Promo

The summer after university, Emma Woodhouse returns home to the village of Highbury to prepare for the launch of her interior design business. Soon she befriends Harriet Smith, the naïve but charming young teacher’s assistant at an English-language school run by the hippie-ish Mrs. Goddard. Harriet is Emma’s inspiration to do the two things she does best: offer guidance to those less wise in the ways of the world and put her matchmaking skills to good use.

About the Book

The summer after university, Emma Woodhouse returns home to live with her widowed father and launch her interior design business. Apart from cultivating grand career plans and managing her father’s hypochondria, Emma busies herself with the two things she does best: matchmaking and offering advice on everything from texting etiquette to first date destinations.

Happily, this summer presents abundant opportunities for both, as old and new friends are drawn into the sphere of Emma’s counsel: George Knightley, her principled brother-in-law; Frank Churchill, the attractive stepson of her former governess; Harriet Smith, a naïve but enchanting young teacher’s assistant at the local language school; and the perfect (and perfectly vexing) Jane Fairfax. Carriages have been replaced by Mini Coopers and cups of tea by cappuccinos, but Alexander McCall Smith’s sparkling satire and cozy sensibility are the perfect match for Jane Austen’s beloved tale.

Editorial Content for Miracle at Augusta

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

After a 17-year hiatus, James Patterson has taken a brief break from his bestselling mystery/thriller novels to return to the golf course and the world of the Senior PGA Tour. In MIRACLE ON THE 17th GREEN, published in 1996, Patterson and Peter de Jonge introduced readers to Travis McKinley. Travis was a 50-year-old advertising executive, recently fired from the Leo Burnett Agency who discovered magic on the golf course. In short order, he was a member of the Senior PGA Tour and capped off his rookie year with a victory at Pebble Beach in the Senior Open. Read More

Teaser

A year ago, Travis McKinley, an unknown golfing amateur, shocked the world by winning the PGA Senior Open at Pebble Beach. Now he's famous, he makes his living playing the game he loves, and everything should be perfect. Still Travis can't shake the feeling that he's a fraud, an imposter who doesn't deserve his success --- and after a series of disappointments and, to be honest, personal screw-ups, he might just prove himself right. A shot at redemption arrives in an unexpected form: a teenage outcast with troubles of his own --- and a natural golf swing. As this unlikely duo sets out to achieve the impossible on the world's most revered golf course, Travis is about to learn that sometimes the greatest miracles of all take place when no one is watching.

Promo

A year ago, Travis McKinley, an unknown golfing amateur, shocked the world by winning the PGA Senior Open at Pebble Beach. Now he's famous, he makes his living playing the game he loves, and everything should be perfect. Still Travis can't shake the feeling that he's a fraud, an imposter who doesn't deserve his success --- and after a series of disappointments and, to be honest, personal screw-ups, he might just prove himself right. A shot at redemption arrives in an unexpected form: a teenage outcast with troubles of his own --- and a natural golf swing. As this unlikely duo sets out to achieve the impossible on the world's most revered golf course, Travis is about to learn that sometimes the greatest miracles of all take place when no one is watching.

About the Book

A year ago, Travis McKinley, an unknown golfing amateur, shocked the world by winning the PGA Senior Open at Pebble Beach. Now he's famous, he makes his living playing the game he loves, and everything should be perfect. Still Travis can't shake the feeling that he's a fraud, an imposter who doesn't deserve his success --- and after a series of disappointments and, to be honest, personal screw-ups, he might just prove himself right.

A shot at redemption arrives in an unexpected form: a teenage outcast with troubles of his own --- and a natural golf swing. As this unlikely duo sets out to achieve the impossible on the world's most revered golf course, Travis is about to learn that sometimes the greatest miracles of all take place when no one is watching.

Editorial Content for One Mile Under: A Ty Hauck Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

It has been five years since Andrew Gross has seen fit to add to his Ty Hauck canon. Last seen in 2010’s RECKLESS, Ty seemed to have been consigned to that “gone but not forgotten” limbo to which all too many popular fiction characters (and series) find themselves consigned. Therefore, ONE MILE UNDER is a very welcome surprise, reintroducing Ty while pitting him against his most powerful and dangerous adversary to date. Read More

Teaser

When an old friend contacts Ty Hauck and says his daughter is in trouble, he doesn't hesitate to get involved. Together, the two step into a sinister scheme running deep beneath the surface of a quiet, Colorado town that has made a deal with the devil to survive. But in the square-off between giant energy companies and beaten-down ranchers and farmers, one resource is even more valuable in this drought-stricken region than oil. They both will kill for it --- water.

Promo

When an old friend contacts Ty Hauck and says his daughter is in trouble, he doesn't hesitate to get involved. Together, the two step into a sinister scheme running deep beneath the surface of a quiet, Colorado town that has made a deal with the devil to survive. But in the square-off between giant energy companies and beaten-down ranchers and farmers, one resource is even more valuable in this drought-stricken region than oil. They both will kill for it --- water.

About the Book

In New York Times bestselling author Andrew Gross's propulsive thriller, set amid the drought-stricken oil country of Colorado's beautiful high plains, Ty Hauck makes his long-awaited return rallying beaten-down farmers and ranchers against a giant energy company in a deadly confrontation involving murder, retaliation and cover-up.

Leading a tour down the rapids outside Aspen, Colorado, whitewater guide Dani Whalen comes upon the dead body of a close friend. Trey Watkins's death is ruled an accident. Finding evidence that seems to back up her suspicions that it wasn't, she takes her case to Wade Dunn, the local police chief and her ex-stepfather, with whom she shares some unresolved history. Wade insists the case is closed, but Rooster, a hot air balloon operator in town, claims he saw something from the air she should know. When he suddenly dies in a fiery crash, Dani threatens to take her suspicions public, goading Wade into tossing her in jail.

When an old friend contacts Ty Hauck and says his daughter is in trouble, he doesn't hesitate to get involved. Together, the two step into a sinister scheme running deep beneath the surface of a quiet, Colorado town that has made a deal with the devil to survive. But in the square off between giant energy companies and beaten-down ranchers and farmers, one resource is even more valuable in this drought-stricken region than oil. They both will kill for it --- water.

ONE MILE UNDER is a thrilling rapid run of hair-raising twists and unforeseen turns set against one of the most provocative environmental issues of our time.