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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
December 2013 |
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Quick Links to Features on ReadingGroupGuides.com
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Here Come the Holidays!
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I feel like the calendar is moving at warp speed; it’s like Thanksgiving flashed by rolling onto Hanukkah as we are on a race to Christmas and onto the New Year. Everyone seems to be running running running. I am trying to savor the holidays instead of getting caught up in the fever. So far it’s been working; I am hoping I can stay in this zone! A friend bought me the fun tree that you see pictured to the right as a birthday present. It is the kind of thing that makes you smile when you look at it because it is so over-the-top fun. It shimmers and looks like it is lighted, though it is not. I look at it and think that that is the kind of spirit I want my holidays to have. It just makes me smile.
With that in mind, here are a few fun things to share.
The tree we are sharing on the above left was designed and built by Anna Knapp, one of our former Bookaccino chat hosts. I have tried “to build” trees like this in the past (there is a reason we instead did a wreath of books a few years ago), and thus I really admire the tenacity that Anna had in creating it. She jokes that in January she is going to have a massive job re-shelving her library to put the books back in place and confesses to borrowing a few from her son. Attempting this yourself? Anna notes to those who want to make a book tree: “Stuff a pillow in the bottom and then a blanket as it goes higher, for a little support.
On the above right is a photo of Ann Hood, the author of Knitting Yarns, as she stands in the middle outside the Duxbury Library in Massachusetts with book contributors Taylor Polites and Anne D. LeClaire as they admire the “yarn bombing” that took place to celebrate their appearance there. Knitters draped their creations outside the library, including the bike racks, to welcome them. I loved this. Keeping in the knitting theme, String Yarns, a fabulous yarn shop in New York City, is hosting an event featuring Alice Hoffman on December 16th that I am looking forward to. Alice will be reading and signing copies of Survival Lessons, which I loved. The book features a hat pattern created by the store’s Lisa Hoffman. Interested in attending the event? Click here for more details and how to RSVP.
The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and we have a place where you can find something special for the booklover in your life --- the Children’s Book Week store. Click this link to learn how to purchase prints, posters, t-shirts, mugs, calendars and more featuring designs created for Children’s Book Week by well-known children's book illustrators. It also offers an easy opportunity to do some good. Proceeds from the Children’s Book Week store benefit Every Child a Reader (ECAR), the 501(c)(3) literacy organization dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children. I am on the board of ECAR, and it’s been wonderful seeing this organization grow via the events that happen during Children’s Book Week, the National Ambassador Program, and so many other events that promote literacy and reading.
While we're on the subject of promoting literacy and reading, I wanted to be sure you had World Book Night U.S. on your radar. On April 23rd, a half-million free paperbacks will be handed out in towns and cities across America by enlisting 25,000 volunteer book lovers to help promote reading by going into their communities and personally handing out specially printed books to light or non-readers and to those without the means or access to them. You can see the complete list of this year’s titles, which were selected by a committee, here. If you’re interested in becoming a World Book Night U.S. book giver, all you have to do is fill out the online application. Click here for all the details. The deadline for all applications is Sunday, January 5th.
Now on to this month’s update…
The Aviator’s Wife is December’s prize in our “What Are You Reading?” contest. 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. It was one of my Bookreporter.com Bets On selections. We have 12 copies of the book, which is now available in paperback, to give away to three groups. Enter here by Wednesday, January 8th at noon ET and let us know what your group is reading in December for your chance to win.
This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. While we could compile one for ReadingGroupGuides.com, we prefer to hear what YOU have to say about this topic. What was your favorite book that your group read in 2013? We know it’s difficult for many of you to pick just one title, so feel free to select up to three. All you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Friday, January 31st at noon ET, and we’ll share the results in February. Please spread the word about this special opportunity to the members of your group as we want as many people to weigh in as possible.
Among this month’s featured guides is The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom, whose numerous bestsellers include Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Residents of a small American town become the center of the world’s attention when departed loved ones begin calling them. Searching for meaning in his own grief, Sully Harding --- a single father --- decides to investigate the calls and their origins. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.
Adriana Trigiani wraps up her Valentine trilogy with her latest novel, The Supreme Macaroni Company. Valentine Roncalli is marrying Gianluca Vechiarelli, the love of her life. However, she hasn't truly considered the cultural and age differences between an American businesswoman and a native Italian who's 18 years her senior. The repercussions lead to a rollercoaster love story with a powerful emotional payoff. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.
On the ReadingGroupGuides homepage now is a guide for The White Lie by debut novelist Andrea Gillies. The Salter family orbits around Peattie House, their crumbling Scottish estate filled with threadbare furniture, patrician memories, and all the secrets that go with them. While they are gathered for their grandmother's 70th birthday, someone breaks the silence. The web begins to unravel. But what is the white lie? How many others are built upon it? How many lives have been changed because of it? Only one person knows the whole truth. Click here for the guide.
It’s been a stellar year for crime fiction fans, especially given the impressive range of mysteries translated into English. Storytellers such as Maurizio de Giovanni, Fuminori Nakamura, Denise Mina and Colin Cotterill deliver not only solidly good mysteries, but also offer fresh perspectives on place. Bookreporter.com contributor Miriam Tuliao, the Assistant Director of Central Collection Development at BookOps, has compiled 10 of her favorite international mysteries that released for the first time in the US this year. Many thanks to Miriam for helping to make this feature possible and giving our readers so many writers to explore! Some of these may be interesting book group suggestions.
Last week marked the return of our Author Holiday Blogs on Bookreporter.com, which we’ve brought back for a SIXTH consecutive year. From now until the start of the new year, we will be featuring new blog posts from authors every day! Thus far, we have heard from Lynn Cullen, Ann Hood, Nancy Thayer, Shannon McKenna Schmidt, and Preston & Child. In the days ahead, you can look forward to contributions from the aforementioned Melanie Benjamin, along with Alma Katsu, Jill McCorkle, Anne Perry, Julia Spencer-Fleming, and many more. As always, we so appreciate all the authors who have taken the time to share these wonderful holiday memories with us.
Our Holiday Cheer contests are still going strong. On select days this holiday season, we’ve been posting a number of 24-hour contests that give you the opportunity to win some fabulous books. We’ve also been 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. You can see the complete list of Holiday Cheer titles here, which are perfect for gift giving and gift receiving!
Do you give eBooks as gifts? Let us know by taking part in our latest poll on Bookreporter.com.
We know that, during this time of year, many book groups divert from their usual meetings to celebrate the holidays. Whether you are “staying on task” or taking a break from your normal discussion schedule with a special event, we wish you all a great get-together with your group this month. Here’s to wrapping up 2013…and kicking off 2014 with some great reading.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
PS. When you use the links below to purchase books, you also support ReadingGroupGuides.com as we have affiliate arrangements with each of them. Please consider this when shopping for books online!
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ReadingGroupGuides.com’s “What Are You Reading?” Monthly Contest Feature: Win 12 Copies of THE AVIATOR’S WIFE by Melanie Benjamin for Your Group
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Let us know what your group is reading in December, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is The Aviator’s Wife, in which author Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. We have 12 copies of the book, which is now available in paperback, to give away to three groups. Enter here by Wednesday, January 8th at noon ET for your chance to win copies for you and your group members.
More about The Aviator's Wife:
When Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why Bookreporter.com is betting you'll love this book.
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Click here to enter the contest.
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Share Your Group's Favorite Books of 2013!
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This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. While we could compile one for ReadingGroupGuides.com, we prefer to hear what YOU have to say about this topic. What was your favorite book that your group read in 2013? We know it’s difficult for many of you to pick just one title, so feel free to select up to three. All you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Friday, January 31st at noon ET, and we’ll share the results in February. Please spread the word about this special opportunity to the members of your group as we want as many people to weigh in as possible.
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Click here to share your group’s 2013 picks.
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THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN by Mitch Albom
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The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief --- and a page-turner that will touch your soul --- Mitch Albom’s masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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THE SUPREME MACARONI COMPANY by Adriana Trigiani
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For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past...and a secret.
A piece of surprising news is revealed at The Feast of the Seven Fishes when Valentine and Gianluca join her extended family on a fateful Christmas Eve. Now faced with life-altering choices, Valentine remembers the wise words that inspired her in the early days of her beloved Angelini Shoe Company: “A person who can build a pair of shoes can do just about anything.” The proud, passionate Valentine is going to fight for everything she wants and savor all she deserves --- the bitter and the sweetness of life itself.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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Celebrate World Book Night on April 23rd --- Apply to Be a "Book Giver" by January 5th!
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World Book Night U.S. is a celebration of books and reading held on April 23rd. On this day, a half-million free paperbacks will be handed out in towns and cities across America by enlisting 25,000 volunteer book lovers to help promote reading by going into their communities and personally handing out specially printed books to light or non-readers and to those without the means or access to them. You can see the complete list of this year’s titles, which were selected by a committee, here. They include books from authors like Agatha Christie, Jamie Ford, Malcolm Gladwell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Carl Hiaasen, Garrison Keillor, Walter Dean Myers, Scott Turow, and many more.
If you’re interested in becoming a World Book Night U.S. book giver, all you have to do is fill out the online application. Click here for all the details. You will be asked what your first, second and third book choices are, why you wish to share these books, and where you will go to personally hand out the books. The deadline for all applications is Sunday, January 5th.
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Click here to read more about World Book Night and sign up to be a "book giver."
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Shop the Children’s Book Week Store This Holiday Season!
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The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and we have a place where you can find something special for the booklover in your life --- the Children’s Book Week store. Click this link to learn how to purchase prints, posters, t-shirts, mugs, calendars, and more featuring designs created for Children’s Book Week by well-known children's book illustrators. They include Maurice Sendak, Tomi dePaola, Rosemary Wells, Lane Smith, Ian Falconer, Kevin Henkes, and more! It also offers an easy opportunity to do some good, as proceeds from the Children’s Book Week store benefit Every Child a Reader, the 501(c)(3) literacy organization dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children.
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Click here to shop the Children's Book Week store.
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Bookreporter.com's Author Holiday Blogs: Authors Write About Their Favorite Holiday Memories of Giving or Receiving Books
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Bookreporter.com's Author Holiday Blogs are back for a SIXTH consecutive year. From now until the start of the new year, we will be featuring new blog posts from authors every day!
Thus far, we have heard from Lynn Cullen, Ann Hood, Nancy Thayer, Shannon McKenna Schmidt, and Preston & Child. In the days ahead, you can look forward to contributions from Melanie Benjamin, Joshilyn Jackson, Alma Katsu, Jill McCorkle, Anne Perry, Christopher Reich, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Wendy Webb, and many more.
As always, we so appreciate all the authors who have taken the time to share these wonderful holiday memories with us.
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Click here to read Bookreporter.com's Author Holiday Blogs.
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Bookreporter.com's Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature
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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:
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Click here to read all the contest details and see our featured titles.
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Special Feature: Top 10 International Mysteries of 2013 from Bookreporter.com Contributor Miriam Tuliao
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It’s been a stellar year for crime fiction fans, especially given the impressive range of mysteries translated into English. Skilled storytellers including Maurizio de Giovanni, Fuminori Nakamura, Denise Mina and Colin Cotterill deliver not only solidly good mysteries, but also offer fresh perspectives on place. These international writers serve as literary and cultural ambassadors introducing readers to distinct regions of the world --- from the shadowy alleys of Naples and snowy Ukrainian farms to the quiet suburbs of Tel Aviv and haunted waters of the Mekong River. The world of international mysteries is inviting, scary, thrilling and fun.
In this special year-end feature, Bookreporter.com contributor Miriam Tuliao, the Assistant Director of Central Collection Development at BookOps, brings you 10 of her top favorites from 2013.
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Click here to see Miriam Tuliao's favorite international mysteries of 2013.
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December’s New in Paperback Roundups on Bookreporter.com
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December’s New in Paperback roundups on Bookreporter.com include the following highlights for book groups:
Winter Journal by Paul Auster
Facing his 63rd winter, Paul Auster sits down to write a history of his body and its sensations --- both pleasurable and painful. Thirty years after the publication of The Invention of Solitude, in which he wrote so movingly about fatherhood, Auster gives us a second unconventional memoir in which he writes about his mother's life and death.
Farewell, Dorothy Parker by Ellen Meister
Movie critic Violet Epps has learned to channel her literary hero, Dorothy Parker. If only she could summon that kind of courage in her personal life. Determined to defeat her social anxiety, Violet visits the Algonquin Hotel, where Parker and other famous writers of the 1920s traded barbs. But she gets more than she bargained for when Parker's feisty spirit rematerializes from an ancient guestbook and hitches a ride onto her life.
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
In Ruth Ozeki’s new novel, a writer named Ruth discovers on a British Columbia beach a bag that contains the diary of Nao, a 16-year-old Japanese girl. The diary begins as Nao’s attempt to tell the story of her 104-year-old great-grandmother but becomes instead a chronicle of Nao’s feelings of ostracism among family and schoolmates. This challenging book combines Japanese mythology, quantum physics and the 2011 tsunami into a meditation on the vagaries of fate.
Middle C by William H. Gass
William H. Gass’s new novel moves from World War II Europe to a small town in postwar Ohio. In a series of variations, Gass gives us a mosaic of a life --- futile, comic, anarchic --- arranged in an array of vocabularies, altered rhythms, forms and tones, and broken pieces with music as both theme and structure, set in the key of middle C.
The In-Between Hour by Barbara Claypole White
Bestselling author Will Shepard loses his young son in a car accident. But when his father's aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who can only watch as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters.
-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of December 2nd, December 9th, December 16th, December 23rd and December 30th.
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Bookreporter.com Bets On: THE HEN WHO DREAMED SHE COULD FLY and THE WHOLE GOLDEN WORLD
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The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang
I love when a slim novel packs a powerful punch. That is what happened when I read The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly. On the surface, it’s a story about a hen named Sprout who is trapped in a chicken coop and dreams of hatching an egg and nurturing a chick. Instead, she is sentenced to a life where her hatched eggs slowly roll away from her and are then collected each day and taken to market. The numbing experience of loss and longing is her companion every day. From her perch, she watches animals in the yard milling about and hatches a plan to escape beyond the walls of the hen house and roam freely, in the hopes of becoming a mother.
-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle
I heard about The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle at a librarian conference where it was pitched something like this: “A teacher is charged with having an affair with a high school student, and at the trial she chooses to sit behind the defendant in a show of solidarity instead of sitting with those who plan to prosecute him.” I heard that, and a lot of questions came to mind. This scenario had a number of ways it could be handled, and thus I wanted to look at how the author would take it on. What I found was a story well-told in three voices --- that of the girl, Morgan; her mother, Dinah; and Rain, the wife of T.J Hill, the defendant.
-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
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Click here to see all the books Bookreporter.com is betting you'll love.
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Bookreporter.com’s Books on Screen Feature for December
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Thanksgiving marked the official start of the holiday season, which means we won’t be short on cheer or great movies and television shows to watch this month. Much like the chicken and the egg, we don’t know which came first, but quality entertainment and holiday spirit certainly have always had a long, happy and interdependent relationship. So, as with our spiral hams, let’s dig right in and unravel this month’s books on screen.
December starts strong on the silver screen, with the Coen brothers’ latest, Inside Llewyn Davis, now in theaters. Oscar Isaac plays the titular musician and rambling man, along with a strong supporting cast. And if you’re not drawn by the Coen brothers’ impeccable storytelling, come for the music, which was produced by frequent Coen collaborator T Bone Burnett and Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford.
If the only music you’re interested in hearing is melancholy and sung by dwarves, then you’re in luck! The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s follow-up to last year’s first installment of the beloved Tolkien classic, hits theaters on December 13th. Bilbo, Gandalf and a pack of dwarves journey across Middle Earth to restore surly leader Thorin Oakenshield to his throne. Fan-favorite (or just my own personal favorite) Legolas joins the group this time to help fight an epic battle in this Lord of the Rings prequel.
And if you didn’t get your fix of Jennifer Lawrence with November’s Catching Fire, be sure to check out Silver Linings Playbook director David O’Russell’s highly anticipated American Hustle. Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld, a brilliant con man forced to play nice with the FBI (and handled by Bradley Cooper, rocking a serious perm). J. Law is his loose cannon wife, whose jealousy could topple the whole operation.
There’s plenty more to see in theaters this month --- including Martin Scorsese and his go-to leading man Leonardo DiCaprio’s fifth collaboration, The Wolf of Wall Street --- but if you’re saving up for all your holiday gifts, stay home, throw on a pair of wool socks and tune in to books on TV. TNT’s six-part miniseries, “Mob City,” takes a note from the noir classic L.A. Confidential, and explores post-war Los Angeles, where the mob competes with Hollywood movie stars and a corrupt police force for top billing.
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Click here to see all the movies, TV shows and DVDs featured in December's Books on Screen.
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New Guides Now Available
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The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin: Acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
The White Lie by Andrea Gillies: The White Lie is a gothic tale of a declining aristocratic Scottish family, their dilapidated mansion in the Scottish highlands, and the poisonous effects of the secrets and tragedies it holds.
Please note that this title, for which we already had the guide when it appeared in hardcover, is now available in paperback:
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight: A stunning debut novel from an emerging voice in fiction, Kimberly McCreight, Reconstructing Amelia is the story of a young girl’s tragic death, unraveled by her single mother and reconstructed through her own emails, texts and status updates.
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Contests Running on Other Sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com
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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
Starter House by Sonja Condit
We have 25 copies of Starter House by Sonja Condit, which releases on December 31st, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, December 19th at noon ET.
Alice Close Your Eyes by Averil Dean
We have 25 copies of Alice Close Your Eyes by Averil Dean, which releases on December 31st, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, December 19th 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 December 6th to December 20th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of Innocence by Dean Koontz, The Prince of Risk by Christopher Reich, and Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Retribution by Eric Van Lustbader.
20SomethingReads.com
Holiday Bundle of Cheer 2013
Here at 20SomethingReads.com, we're kicking off the holiday season with our Holiday Bundle of Cheer Contest and Feature. As our gift to you, we are spotlighting some amazing books. Five lucky readers will win a copy of each featured title to curl up with this holiday season, along with some incredibly festive goodies.
Teenreads.com
Holiday Bundle of Cheer 2013
Here at Teenreads.com, we're kicking off the holiday season with our Holiday Bundle of Cheer Contest and Feature. As our gift to you, we are spotlighting some amazing books. Five lucky readers will win a copy of each featured title to curl up with this holiday season, along with some incredibly festive goodies.
FaithfulReader.com
FaithfulReader.com's Monthly Contest
In FaithfulReader.com's latest monthly contest, 10 readers will win a copy of Critical Reaction by Todd M. Johnson, a riveting fictional journey though our legal system complete with danger, deception, and an unrelenting pursuit of truth. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, December 18th at noon ET.
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Do you like what you see here, and want to forward it to a friend? Then click our link on the bottom of the page to do just that!
Happy reading. We'll see you next month.
Don't forget to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com:
www.Bookreporter.com, www.20SomethingReads.com, www.Teenreads.com, www.Kidsreads.com, www.GraphicNovelReporter.com, www.FaithfulReader.com and www.AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107
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