November 2013

As I write this note, I am working at home, and the wind is kicking up the leaves and tossing them up and down the block. And a huge flock of birds landed on the front lawn a few hours ago tweeting loudly as they seem to have ordered a rest stop on their way to a place further south. They lingered so long that I wondered if they were waiting for me to join them!

Lots going on this month, so let me get right to it….

We have FOUR new contests to tell you about this month. First up is The Lost Art of Mixing, the follow-up to Erica Bauermeister’s The School of Essential Ingredients. Lillian’s story continues with the realization of the progress she has made running her own restaurant and the place’s value for the community. As the owner, Lillian has learned of the hopes and trials of her coworkers and customers, but now finds herself faced with challenges she never expected from a surprise life throws her way. 10 groups will win 12 copies of the book, which is now available in paperback, and an opportunity to chat with Erica --- the same opportunity that we offered with her last book that readers so enjoyed! To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET.

In our second contest, we’re celebrating the debut of the hilarious French bestseller The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol by giving away one copy each to 25 readers. Joséphine Cortès is floundering. Her husband has run off with his mistress to start a crocodile farm in Kenya, and her professor salary isn’t doing much to assuage her financial stress. When her charming sister asks Joséphine to ghostwrite a book for a deal she scored with a major publisher, Joséphine agrees to take all the earnings in exchange for giving her sister the credit. The plan seems fine, until the book becomes a bestseller. It sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Would you like to win a copy for your group? Then enter here by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET.

Contest #3 is a giveaway for the New York Times bestseller The Returned by Jason Mott. Twenty-five readers will receive a copy of this thrilling and thought-provoking novel for their group. Blending science fiction with questions of faith and morality, The Returned imagines a world where the dead return to life inexplicably. Instead of asking why, the book is more focused on the “what-ifs,” speculating how exactly humanity would deal with the return of the departed. Mott’s debut is sure to create lots of discussion as your group tackles these questions. Enter here by noon ET on Thursday, December 5th for a chance to win.

For this month’s “What Are You Reading” Contest, three groups will each receive 12 copies of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Well on its way to becoming a modern classic, the novel tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl coming of age during the outbreak of World War II. Narrated by Death, the story follows Liesel as she grows to understand the horrors of the war and exactly why her foster family is hiding a man in the basement. To cope, she becomes “The Book Thief,” stealing stories where she can to keep hope alive in the face of destruction. To enter, let us know what your group is reading this month by filling out this form by noon ET on December 5th.

As you probably know, the highly anticipated film adaptation of The Book Thief hits theaters in limited release on November 8th and “goes wide” on the 15th. Our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio, and I had the pleasure of attending a screening of it earlier this week, and we both were wowed by the way the book was portrayed. It would be great to go see it with your book group, especially after reading the book. I found myself comparing the book and the movie. While some film adaptations miss important elements in the re-telling, I found that what was “missing” in this film was not an issue for me. And the way some other parts were rendered in quickly worked to keep the story moving as well.

Along with these contests are three featured guides we’d like tell you about. First up is We Are Water by Wally Lamb. After 27 years of marriage and three children, Anna Oh --- wife, mother, outsider artist --- has fallen in love with Viveca, the wealthy Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her success. They plan to wed in the Oh family’s hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut. But the wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets --- dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs’ lives. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.

I had the pleasure of seeing Wally at four pre-publication appearances for this book from June until a few weeks ago. At the final stop, we took a picture together, which you can see above. We were joking that the book’s gorgeous turquoise cover matched my outfit. Of course, 9 times out of 10, a book with a turquoise jacket will match what I am wearing!

The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten explores the power the past holds over the present through the story of a family with a dark history dating back to World War II. One day, Nora de Jong returns home to find a nightmare in her living room: her mother murdered, her infant daughter stolen, and a dead man she doesn’t recognize. As her child’s life hangs in the balance, Nora delves into the only clues she can find --- a mysterious box in the attic with contents that suggest this act of violence was anything but random. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.

In Jeffrey Stepakoff’s The Melody of Secrets, Maria’s married life in the 1960s American South is thrown into chaos when James Cooper, a fighter pilot who took shelter in her home in London during a World War II air raid 20 years ago, reappears. Now, Maria is happily married to a German scientist working for the US space program, and has done her best to put the horrors of the war behind her. But James has brought with him secrets of the past that matter not only to Maria’s present, but also to the entire country. Click here for the guide.

Also, be on the lookout for our guides featuring The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom on November 12th and The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani on November 26th.

’Tis the season for Bookreporter.com’s Holiday Cheer feature! Once again, we’re celebrating this very special time of year by giving away books that are sure to get you in the holiday spirit. The contests kick off at noon ET on select days in November and December, and run for just 24 hours, so you will have to check the site to see what is being featured. As always, we’ll be sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. If you would like to sign up for these email alerts, click here. Our first contest will go live on Tuesday, November 12th at noon ET. That week’s prize books will be the aforementioned The Returned by Jason Mott, along with Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen and Take Me Home for Christmas: A Whiskey Creek Novel by Brenda Novak.

This year’s Miami Book Fair International, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, takes place Sunday, November 17th through Sunday, November 24th with the Street Fair from the 22nd through the 24th. For those of you who live in South Florida, or those planning to head to Miami for this stellar event, the schedule of events is now online here. Though I had hoped to be there, we have a few big projects happening these next few weeks (including working on a long-awaited redesign for ReadingGroupGuides.com) that are going to keep me in New York. Let me know if any of you will be attending; I would love to interview you about it! And check out the list here to see the MANY authors who have written great book group titles who will be on panels on Saturday and Sunday!

Our next newsletter will not be sent until December, thus I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We give thanks for all of our readers, and we appreciate the time that you spend on the site --- and the fabulous feedback that you share!
 

We are celebrating the paperback release of The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister --- a luminous sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients about the power of love, food and companionship --- with a special contest. 10 groups will have the opportunity to chat with Erica Bauermeister and receive up to 12 copies of the book, which is now available in paperback. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET.

More about The Lost Art of Mixing:
Lillian and her restaurant have a way of drawing people together. Among the cast of characters are Al, the accountant who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn’t learned to trust after heartbreak; Louise, Al’s wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp. And there’s Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn’t expect.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

We are celebrating the upcoming release of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol, a hilariously entertaining mega-bestseller from France, with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which will be in stores on December 31st, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET.

More about The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles:
When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. When Joséphine’s sister, Iris, charms a famous publisher into offering her a lucrative deal for a 12th-century romance, she offers Joséphine a deal of her own: Joséphine will write the novel and pocket all the proceeds, but the book will be published under Iris’s name. All is well --- that is, until the book becomes the literary sensation of the season.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

We are celebrating the release of The Returned by Jason Mott --- a page-turning debut novel that explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility --- with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now in stores, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET.

More about The Returned:
In their old age, Harold and Lucille have settled comfortably into life without their son, who died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. But then one day, Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep --- still eight years old. All over the world, people's loved ones are returning from beyond. The Hargraves are forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

Let us know what your group is reading in November, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is The Book Thief, Markus Zusak’s award-winning novel that will be released as a movie on November 15th. We have 12 copies of the book to give away to three groups. Enter here by Thursday, December 5th at noon ET for your chance to win copies for you and your group members.

More about The Book Thief:
Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book that she stole from her brother’s burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel’s stolen stories become more and more important. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death and grief. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, told from Death’s point of view.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

After 27 years of marriage and three children, Anna Oh --- wife, mother, outsider artist --- has fallen in love with Viveca, the wealthy Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her success. They plan to wed in the Oh family’s hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut. But the wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets --- dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs’ lives.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

Nora de Jong returns home from work one day to find her mother has been murdered. Her infant daughter is missing. And the only clue is the body of an unknown man on the living-room floor, clutching a Luger in his cold, dead hand. The contents of a locked metal box Nora finds in her parents' attic leave her with as many questions as answers --- and suggest the killer was not a stranger.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

Maria was barely 18 as World War II was coming to its explosive end. A brilliant violinist, she tried to comfort herself with the Sibelius Concerto as American bombs rained down. James Cooper wasn't much older. A roguish fighter pilot stationed in London, he was shot down during a daring night raid and sought shelter in Maria’s cottage. Fifteen years later, in Huntsville, Alabama, Maria is married to a German rocket scientist who works for the burgeoning U.S. space program. Her life in the South is at peace, purposefully distanced from her past. Everything is as it should be --- until James Cooper walks back into it.
 

At Bookreporter.com, we kick off the holiday season in style with our Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature. As our gift to you, on select days in November and December, we will spotlight a book and give five lucky readers a chance to win it. You have to visit the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter the contest. If you think you will forget to check the site, no worries: we also send a special newsletter to announce the day's title. If you would like to sign up for these email alerts, click here.

This year's featured titles are:

• The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
• Candlelight Christmas: The Lakeshore Chronicles by Susan Wiggs
• The Christmas Angel by Jane Maas
• Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews
• A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry
• Death of a Nightingale by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis
• Morning Glory by Sarah Jio
• Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen
• The Returned by Jason Mott
• Starry Night: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber
• Take Me Home for Christmas: A Whiskey Creek Novel by Brenda Novak
• Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra

Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, November 12th at noon ET.
 

November’s New in Paperback roundups on Bookreporter.com include the following highlights for book groups:

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Sage Singer becomes friends with an old man who’s particularly beloved in her community after they strike up a conversation at the bakery where she works. Josef Weber is everyone’s favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. When a shocked Sage refuses, he then tells her he deserves to die. Once he reveals his secret, Sage wonders if he’s right.

Life After Life by Jill McCorkle
Jill McCorkle’s first novel in 17 years is alive with the daily triumphs and challenges of the residents and staff of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement facility now home to a good many of Fulton, North Carolina’s older citizens. As she connects their lives through their present circumstances, their pasts, and, in some cases, their deaths, McCorkle celebrates the blessings and wisdom of later life and infuses this remarkable novel with hope and laughter.

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Drawing on the rich history of the 20th century and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator's Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage ---revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows.

Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide
When brother and sister Charlie and Ros discover that they have inherited their aunt’s grand English country house, they must decide if they should sell it. As they survey the effects of time on the estate’s architectural treasures, a narrative spanning two-and-a-half centuries unfolds. We meet those who built the house, lived in it and loved it, worked in it, and those who would subvert it to their own ends.

-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of November 4th, November 11th, November 18th and November 25th.

 

Leaving Haven by Kathleen McCleary
Leaving Haven by Kathleen McCleary will take you on an emotional ride. Georgia, who has a daughter, longs for a second child as she suffers miscarriage after miscarriage. Then her best friend, Alice, who has a teenage daughter, offers to be her egg donor, and her dream of having a baby become real. But then she discovers something that changes her mind about how much she really wants baby Haven, and what love is. I knew the “reveal” before I read the book, but it did not take away from the story. If anything, it made me wonder how it would unfold. It still took me through all kinds of wonderful twists and turns. I was not sure what was going to happen to Haven until the last page.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
I had heard a lot about Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, and reading it I see why. It’s the kind of book that makes you smile --- and laugh --- as you read it, and it’s also wickedly clever.

In it, Don Tillman is a socially awkward professor of genetics who sees all of life through a scientific lens. He has not had success in dating, so he decides to attack this the way he does everything else in life: with a plan. He crafts a 16-page questionnaire in a quest to find the perfect mate. While I know this is ill-conceived, somehow the fact that Don is approaching the issue this way is both charming and humorous. The first women to answer it fail, but Don plunges on. And then he meets Rosie, who does not pass the questionnaire, but instead brings Don a project he can help her with. She wants to find her biological father, and who but a geneticist can help with that? So the "Wife Project" that Don calls his questionnaire becomes the "Father Project" to help Rosie. And well, you can figure out where things go from there. Complete comedy!

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Longbourn by Jo Baker
Back in May at BookExpo America, I heard Jo Baker present Longbourn at a breakfast. She captivated me as she talked about the staff who worked at Longbourn, the house made famous in Pride and Prejudice. Her characters are not the people who wore the elegant clothes and enjoyed the fabulous meals, but rather the ones who spent their days making the soap to use to clean the clothes and then wash them by hand.

As the cover line says, this is an “irresistibly imagined downstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice.” The protagonist, Sarah, is an orphan who slaves away for the family, but dreams of being somewhere else. She falls for a footman who begins work at the house, a man who clearly has a troubled past. And her story weaves into that of the Bennet household, making the novel irresistible.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
Elliot Rosenzweig is a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist in Chicago. One evening at the opera, he is accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser, Ben Solomon, stands behind them. Solomon recognizes Rosenzweig as the child who was abandoned by his family and raised by Solomon's own family, only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man? He finds an eager young attorney, Catherine Lockhart, and encourages her to help him bring Rosenzweig to justice.

-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman: Thought-provoking, counterintuitive and ultimately uplifting, The Antidote is the intelligent person’s guide to understanding the much-misunderstood idea of happiness.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death tells the story of Liesel --- a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling helps sustain her foster parents and the Jewish man they are hiding in their basement, as well as their neighbors.
Hild by Nicola Griffith: Bringing to life a dynamic woman at the center of early medieval British history, Hild is a captivating novel of a beautiful, brutal world, where kingdoms are shaped by the sword and love often depends on the whims of politics.
The House Girl by Tara Conklin: Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in an elite Manhattan law firm, is given a difficult, highly sensitive assignment that can make her career: find the “perfect plaintiff” to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for the descendants of American slaves.
The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister: National bestselling author Erica Bauermeister returns to the enchanting world of The School of Essential Ingredients in this luminous sequel about the power of love, food and companionship.
The Melody of Secrets by Jeffrey Stepakoff: Jeffrey Stepakoff's The Melody of Secrets is an epic love story set against the 1960s U.S. space program, when deeply buried secrets could threaten not just a marriage, but a country.
The Returned by Jason Mott: A spellbinding and stunning debut New York Times bestseller, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.
The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten: In a riveting exploration of the power the past wields over the present, critically acclaimed author Antoinette van Heugten writes the story of a woman whose child’s life hangs in the balance, forcing her to confront the roots of her family’s troubled history in the dark days of World War II.
We Are Water by Wally Lamb: From New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb comes a disquieting and ultimately uplifting novel about a marriage, a family, and human resilience in the face of tragedy.
The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol: Le Divorce meets The Elegance of the Hedgehog in this hilariously entertaining mega-bestseller from France.

 

We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!

Bookreporter.com

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb
We are celebrating the January 21st release of The Vanishing by Wendy Webb with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win an advance copy of the book and submit their comments on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, November 21st at noon ET.

No Escape by Mary Burton

We have 25 copies of No Escape by Mary Burton, which is now in stores, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, November 21st at noon ET.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

We are celebrating the January 21st release of Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win an advance copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Thursday, November 14th at noon ET.

Word of Mouth

Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from November 1st to November 15th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon: No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, Tatiana: An Arkady Renko Novel by Martin Cruz Smith, and The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan.

Teenreads.com

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
Our latest Sneak Peek Feature spotlights The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher, who is best known as the author of the Printz Honor Book Stolen. Her upcoming novel releases on January 7th, but we have 100 early reader editions to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and share their comments about it, both with us and on social networking sites. Those who send us their feedback by Tuesday, December 10th will be eligible to win a signed copy of the book from the author. The deadline for entries is Monday, November 11th at noon ET.

Kidsreads.com

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett and Matthew Myers
To celebrate the release of the hilarious mash-up from Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett and Matthew Myers, we'd like to offer you the opportunity to make your very own Battle Bunny for a chance to win prizes! In Battle Bunny, Alex is given a sappy book about a bunny's birthday, but decides to make it interesting by creating his own doomsday story on top of it. For this contest, we'd like you to grab a pencil, sharpen your creativity, and transform a page of this story! The deadline for entries is Friday, December 6th at noon ET.

FaithfulReader.com

Return to Me and Pilgrimage by Lynn Austin
We are celebrating the releases of Return to Me: The Restoration Chronicles, Book 1 and Pilgrimage: My Journey to a Deeper Faith in the Land Where Jesus Walked with a special contest that will give five readers the opportunity to win a copy of both of Lynn Austin's latest fiction and nonfiction works. The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th at noon ET.

The Governess of Highland Hall: Edwardian Brides, Book One by Carrie Turansky
We are celebrating the release of The Governess of Highland Hall with a special contest that will give five readers the opportunity to win a copy of this first installment in Carrie Turansky's Edwardian Brides series. The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th at noon ET.

When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell
We are celebrating the release of When Mountains Move with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of this sequel to Julie Cantrell's Into the Free. The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th at noon ET.

Traces of Mercy: Mercy Medallion Trilogy, Book 1 by Michael Landon Jr. and Cindy Kelley
We are celebrating the release of Traces of Mercy with a special contest that will give 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of this first installment in Michael Landon Jr. and Cindy Kelley's Mercy Medallion Trilogy. The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th at noon ET.

The Gift of a Legacy by Jim Stovall
In our latest monthly contest, 25 readers will receive a copy of The Gift of a Legacy, the third installment in Jim Stovall's series The Ultimate Gift. The film adaptation of book two, The Ultimate Life, is now in theaters. The deadline for entries is Friday, November 15th at noon ET.