Editorial content for The Richest Season
Book
Teaser
When lonely corporate wife Joanna Harrison runs away to Pawleys Island, she has no idea what happens next. But as a new life takes root, thanks to a passionate fisherman and a commitment to save endangered turtles, demands from her old life may force her to return.
About the Book
When lonely corporate wife Joanna Harrison runs away to Pawleys Island, she has no idea what happens next. But as a new life takes root, thanks to a passionate fisherman and a commitment to save endangered turtles, demands from her old life may force her to return. THE RICHEST SEASON is a stunning debut that will resonate with any woman who’s ever fantasized about leaving home to find herself.
June 12, 2009
Last weekend the weather was amazing, so it was time for outdoor reading. I started with PERFECTION, a memoir by Julie Metz. After her husband’s sudden death, Julie learned that for years, unbeknownst to her, he had been having affairs with women, one of whom was the mother of her daughter’s best friend. In the days after his death, her brother and some friends learned his story, but no one wanted to tell her. Little by little it came out, and instead of burrowing herself in sorrow, Julie contacted these women. They had the story that Henry had never told her --- and through these conversations she learned a lot about the man she had loved and the double life he led. She writes with honesty, but there is no "woe is me" on these pages, which keeps it interesting. If you are in a book group, you may want to check out a contest we are running on ReadingGroupGuides.com in which 10 book clubs will have the opportunity to win a copy of the title. Click here for more details.
Editorial content for The Unit
Book
Teaser
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state-of-the-art recreation facilities, and live the remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty --- single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries --- are sequestered for their final years; they are considered outsiders.
About the Book
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state-of-the-art recreation facilities, and live the remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty --- single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries --- are sequestered for their final years; they are considered outsiders. In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, the ethos of this near-future society and the Unit is to take care of others, and Dorrit finds herself living under very pleasant conditions: well-housed, well-fed, and well-attended. She is resigned to her fate and discovers her days there to be rather consoling and peaceful. But when she meets a man inside the Unit and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and life suddenly turns unbearable. Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape, and…well, then what?
THE UNIT is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of a system geared toward eliminating those who do not contribute by conventional means, in which the “dispensable” ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the “necessary” ones. It also looks deeply into the nature of the female psyche, at its resilience and creativity under dire conditions. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage, that explores love, the close bonds of friendship, and a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care.
In the past six months, have you been browsing in bookstores as much as you had in the past?
June 5, 2009, 504 voters
June 5, 2009
Yesterday I was quoted in USA Today in a piece concerning the talk about digital content and digital devices at BookExpo America where I said that I felt "that too much attention is going to devices and formats and digitizing, instead of books and authors, which is what people care about." After a week where I got to meet a number of authors, saw others speak about their books and had another at the house for coffee, I realized that the excitement about books for me comes from talking about books and the stories behind them, not whether I read them on a screen or on pages.
Editorial content for The Compass
Book
Teaser
THE COMPASS is a life transformation novel that will guide you on a journey of self-discovery. At the core of THE COMPASS are specific lessons about belief systems and understanding who you really are in order to live out your destiny. Jonathan, the main character, escapes his suburban life after a tragedy that alters his plans for the future.
About the Book
What Will Move Your Compass?
THE COMPASS is a life transformation novel that will guide you on a journey of self-discovery. At the core of THE COMPASS are specific lessons about belief systems and understanding who you really are in order to live out your destiny. Jonathan, the main character, escapes his suburban life after a tragedy that alters his plans for the future.
Paralyzed by grief, he decides to journey across the globe in an effort to realign his inner compass. He sets off with a backpack leaving behind his career, friends, family, and home. His travels begin in the dry desert of Nevada, and continue on to the pristine mountains of the Adirondacks, and then to a medieval village in Romania. In each destination Jonathan encounters one pivotal person who offers a major life lesson, and he begins to realize that each individual was placed there for a reason.
THE COMPASS is a metaphor for the journey of our lives.
In the tradition of THE ALCHEMIST, THE COMPASS provides you with specific life lessons about authenticity, self-empowerment, and believing in your dreams. As humans we are all connected—by love, pain, and sometimes even by tragedies or events we cannot control. Each one of us travels a unique path, yet we are linked by experiences and emotions. In this connectedness, there is life.
Editorial content for Domestic Affairs
Book
Reviewer (text)
“We’ve always considered Rosalie and Abigail to be family,” said Gwen Merriweather of her housekeeper and her daughter. How kind those words sounded and how cruel they turned out to be when Gwen, sensing she has lost control of her husband and family, falsely accuses Rosalie of stealing and fires her. Young Abigail loses not just the only home she has ever had, but also her best friends, the twins Lila and Vaughn. She never forgives Lila for standing by and not protesting the charges she knows to be false.
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Teaser
From the New York Times bestselling author of WOMAN IN RED comes an intimate story of friendship lost and regained, old loves rekindled, and a baptism by fire that ultimately leads to the redemption of three very special women.
About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of WOMAN IN RED comes an intimate story of friendship lost and regained, old loves rekindled, and a baptism by fire that ultimately leads to the redemption of three very special women.
It begins with a betrayal that tears apart childhood friends, Abigail and Lila, when Abigail’s mother, the housekeeper for Lila’s wealthy family, is summarily banished, casting Abigail from the only home she has ever known. Now, twenty-five years later, Abigail is a self-made successful cookbook author and TV personality. When Lila, who married well and for decades lived the glittering life of a Park Avenue socialite, suffers a tragic reversal of fortune, she seeks out the help of her childhood friend. Penniless and all but unemployable, Lila approaches Abigail about a job, and Abigail gives her one: as her housekeeper.
But revenge is not as sweet as Abigail had imagined. Lila’s reentry into Abigail’s life brings along some unexpected complications and questions: will Abigail be reunited with her girlhood love, Lila’s twin brother, Vaughn? Will Concepcio´n, the grief-stricken mother whose daughter perished in the fire that consumed Abigail’s factory, succeed in crossing the border to track Abigail down and confront her about her daughter’s death? Will Lila ever find love in the wake of her husband’s suicide?
In this sweeping emotional tale, Abigail, Lila, and Concepcio´n are thrown together and forced to unite in order to save one another … and themselves. Along the way they discover that the forces that have torn their lives apart have also shaped them in ways they never could have imagined...