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Don Herold

There is one thing about baldness: it's neat.

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Don Herold

Scott Adams

I calculated the total time that humans have waited for web pages to load. It cancels out all the productivity gains of the information age. Sometimes I think the web is a big plot to keep people like me away from normal society.

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Scott Adams

September 5, 2014

Last Friday, it was a bit strange not to be writing a newsletter. I confess that I barely powered up my laptop when we were on hiatus. I flagged a lot of email on my phone and got caught up on real life. I did a lot of entertaining (including our fun staff picnic; I wish I had a photo of us all sitting on the side of the pool with our toes in the water), pool floating, gardening, wandering through the house doing those small projects that creep into life and need attention, and, of course, reading. Lots of reading.

Win 12 Copies of UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand for Your Group

Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.

In anticipation of the Angelina Jolie-helmed film adaptation --- slated for release December 25th --- our latest prize book is New York Times bestselling author Laura Hillenbrand's UNBROKEN: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, the inspiring true story of Louis Zamperini, who escaped against all odds from a Japanese POW camp. To enter, please fill out the form below by Monday, October 6th at noon ET. 

Editorial Content for Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good: The New Mitford Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Melanie Reynolds

Father Tim Kavanagh has been busy. Read More

Teaser

After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors. While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion. His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion --- for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet.

Promo

After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors. While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion. His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion --- for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet.

About the Book

A publishing event: #1 New York Times bestselling author Jan Karon returns --- and invites her millions of fans to join her again in Mitford.
 
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors.

While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion.

His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion --- for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet. Dooley’s brother, Sammy, still enraged by his mother’s abandonment, destroys one of Father Tim’s prized possessions. And Hope Murphy, owner of Happy Endings bookstore, struggles with the potential loss of her unborn child and her hard-won business.

All this as Wanda’s Feel Good Café opens, a romance catches fire through an Internet word game, their former mayor hatches a reelection campaign to throw the bums out, and the weekly Muse poses a probing inquiry: Does Mitford still take care of its own?

Millions of fans will applaud the chance to spend time, once more, in the often comic and utterly human presence of Jan Karon’s characters. Indeed, they have never been more sympathetic, bighearted and engaging.

Editorial Content for The Secret Place

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

A funny thing happened as I made my way through THE SECRET PLACE. Being the fifth installment in Tana French’s wonderful Dublin Murder Squad series, I had expected something a bit different from what I initially got. The other volumes, to varying degrees, have been built upon deep and intricate mysteries set decades in the past that haunt the present. That’s not what occurs here, at least at first. Once I got over worrying about what the book isn’t, I became fully aware of how riveting and quietly enthralling a story it is. Read More

Teaser

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when 16-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of a popular boy whose body was found at a girls’ boarding school a year earlier. The photo had been posted at “The Secret Place,” the school’s anonymous gossip board, and the caption says “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case. The private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

Promo

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when 16-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of a popular boy whose body was found at a girls’ boarding school a year earlier. The photo had been posted at “The Secret Place,” the school’s anonymous gossip board, and the caption says “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case. The private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

About the Book

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when 16-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of a popular boy whose body was found at a girls’ boarding school a year earlier. The photo had been posted at “The Secret Place,” the school’s anonymous gossip board, and the caption says “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case --- beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey. With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

Editorial Content for The Drop

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

A bit of history here. THE DROP by Dennis Lehane began life as a short story titled “Animal Rescue” (set in the same working class neighborhood as his classic MYSTIC RIVER), which first appeared in Boston Noir, one of a series of regional short fiction collections published by the unbeatable Akashic Books. The story grew into a screenplay by Lehane, which begat a soon-to-be-released motion picture, which in turn has resulted in this not-too-long, not-too-short novel. I read it twice over the course of two days and plan to read it again before turning to something else. Read More

Teaser

Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog back.

Promo

Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog back.

About the Book

Dennis Lehane returns to the streets of MYSTIC RIVER with this love story wrapped in a crime story wrapped in a journey of faith --- the basis for the major motion picture The Drop, from Fox Searchlight Pictures directed by Michaël Roskam, screenplay by Dennis Lehane, and starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini.

Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog back.

Editorial Content for A Life Intercepted

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Michele Howe

Charles Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of 10 novels, including UNWRITTEN, THUNDER AND RAIN and WHERE THE RIVER ENDS. His newest work of fiction, A LIFE INTERCEPTED, is characteristic of his previous efforts. As always, Martin brings his characters to life through exceptional vivid wordplay as he describes the surroundings, smells, sights and the rest of the sensory abilities by which men and women live and love. Read More

Teaser

Twelve years ago, Matthew "the Rocket" Rising was the number one NFL draft pick. But on the night of the draft, he was falsely accused of a heinous crime. Having served his sentence, Matthew leaves prison determined to find his wife. He soon learns that she has discovered a young man with the talent to achieve the football career Matthew should have had. Although helping the boy means violating his parole, he'll take the chance with hope of winning back Audrey's love.

Promo

Twelve years ago, Matthew "the Rocket" Rising was the number one NFL draft pick. But on the night of the draft, he was falsely accused of a heinous crime. Having served his sentence, Matthew leaves prison determined to find his wife. He soon learns that she has discovered a young man with the talent to achieve the football career Matthew should have had. Although helping the boy means violating his parole, he'll take the chance with hope of winning back Audrey's love.

About the Book

Twelve years ago Matthew "The Rocket" Rising had it all. Married to his high-school sweetheart and graduating as one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college footbal, he was selected as the #1 pick by the NFL. But on the day after the draft, after reaching the pinnacle of success, he plimmeted. Falsely accused of a heinous crime with irrefutable evidence, he lost everything --- his career, his reputation, his freedom and the love of his life.

Having served his sentence and never played a down of professional football, Matthew walks out of prison with one goal --- to win back his wife, Audrey, whom no one has seen since the trial. He returns to an unwelcoming reception from his hometown only to discover that Audrey has taken shelter from the media and the outside world at a local convent. There, she has met and is mentoring a young man with the same athletic potential Matthew once demonstrated. All he needs is the right coach. Helping the boy is a violation of Matthew's parole, and, if he is discovered, he will be forced to return to prison for the rest of his life. But he's willing to take this singular chance to prove his innocence and win back Audrey's love.

Editorial Content for Private Down Under

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

The Private experience gets better and better. Private, as envisioned by James Patterson, is the most important investigative and security agency in the world. CEO Jack Morgan is the very much hands-on founder of Private, which is based in Los Angeles and has branch offices in all of the world’s hot spots. The potential for stories is limitless; London and Berlin already have been featured, with promises of more and other exotic locales (did someone say India?) on the way. Read More

Teaser

With the best detectives in the business, cutting-edge technology and offices around the globe, there is no investigation company quite like Private. Within days the agency's caseload is full. But it is a horrific murder in the wealthy Eastern Suburbs and the desperate search for a motive that stretches the team to the limit. Stacy Friel, friend of the Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police, isn't the killer's first victim --- and as the bodies mount up, she's clearly not the last.

Promo

With the best detectives in the business, cutting-edge technology and offices around the globe, there is no investigation company quite like Private. Within days the agency's caseload is full. But it is a horrific murder in the wealthy Eastern Suburbs and the desperate search for a motive that stretches the team to the limit. Stacy Friel, friend of the Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police, isn't the killer's first victim --- and as the bodies mount up, she's clearly not the last.

About the Book

The world's most exclusive detective agency opens a new office --- in Australia!

With the best detectives in the business, cutting edge technology and offices around the globe, there is no investigation company quite like Private. Now, at a glittering launch party overlooking the iconic Opera House, Private Sydney throws open its doors...

Craig Gisto and his newly formed team have barely raised their glasses, however, when a young Asian man, blood-soaked and bullet-ridden, staggers into the party, and what looks like a botched kidnapping turns out to be a whole lot more.

Within days the agency's caseload is full. But it is a horrific murder in the wealthy Eastern Suburbs and the desperate search for a motive that stretches the team to the limit. Stacy Friel, friend of the Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police, isn't the killer's first victim --- and as the bodies mount up she's clearly not the last...

Editorial Content for Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

After 30 years as a detective with the LAPD, Peter Decker has moved to a smaller police force in the quiet college community of Greenbury, New York. He and his wife, Rina Lazarus, are happy to be closer to their children and grandchildren, while enjoying a semi-retirement and the cooler weather. Deep down, Decker misses the exciting work he did as a Los Angeles police lieutenant. When an art theft seems to lead to two brutal murders, Decker, along with his annoying young partner, is in for an exciting case that is bigger than big city big. Read More

Teaser

A call about a possible break-in at the local cemetery seems like a false alarm until it's discovered that a mausoleum's stunning Tiffany panels have been replaced by forgeries. Soon the case escalates into murder. Detective Lieutenant Peter Decker and his partner, Tyler McAdams, are drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport.

Promo

A call about a possible break-in at the local cemetery seems like a false alarm until it's discovered that a mausoleum's stunning Tiffany panels have been replaced by forgeries. Soon the case escalates into murder. Detective Lieutenant Peter Decker and his partner, Tyler McAdams, are drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport.

About the Book

New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman's beloved Decker and Lazarus embark on a new life in upstate New York --- and find themselves entangled in deception, intrigue, and murder in an elite, picturesque college town.

As a detective lieutenant with the LAPD, Peter Decker witnessed enough ugliness and chaos for a lifetime. Now he and his spirited wife, Rina Lazarus, are ready to enjoy the quiet beauty of upstate New York, where they can be closer to their four adult children, grandchildren, and their foster son, Gabe.

But working for the Greenbury Police Department isn't as fulfilling as Decker hoped. While Rina has adapted beautifully to their new surroundings, Decker is underwhelmed and frustrated by his new partner, Tyler McAdams, a former Harvard student and young buck with a bad attitude. Just when he thinks he's made a mistake, Decker is called to an actual crime --- a possible break-in at the local cemetery.

The call seems like a false alarm until it's discovered that a mausoleum's stunning Tiffany panels have been replaced by forgeries. Soon the case escalates into murder: a co-ed at an exclusive consortium of liberal-arts colleges is brutally slaughtered. Poking into the hallowed halls of academia to find a killer, Decker and McAdams are drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport.

Suddenly Decker's job is anything but boring, and the case might be too much to handle for a sleepy town that hasn't seen a murder for nearly a quarter century. Decker will need to use every bit of his keen mind, his 30 years of experience as a homicide cop, and much-appreciated help from family and old friends to stop a callous killer and uncover a cabal so bizarre that it defies logic.