October 2015

In late May, I was at a panel at BookCon in New York, where Emma Donoghue talked about adapting the book into a screenplay; I was happy to see that she was the one doing it, as I knew she would give the film the special treatment it deserved. She was then joined on stage by Brie Larson, who plays Ma, and Jacob Tremblay, who plays young Jack. There was a real chemistry among them; thus, I had high hopes for the film.

After seeing it, all I can say is "wow." I feel like I saw an Oscar film contender and two Oscar actor performances. Emma’s literary agent summed it up best when I caught up with her last week. She said the film grabs you, brings you in and never lets go. Jacob steals the show and nails his performance, which could make him the youngest Oscar winner; Tatum O’Neal was 10, and I believe Jacob is eight! Because we have ROOM fever, we’ve decided to feature its guide. Click here for the featured guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com. If you have not read it, make sure to do that before you see the movie. You can see a trailer here.

Over the summer, my friend Cathy came to our house raving about THE MARTIAN, Andy Weir's bestselling sci-fi adventure about an astronaut stranded on Mars. Knowing her typical reading taste, I was surprised that she was into this book, but the more she talked about it, the more I wanted to read it; she described the protagonist as “the MacGyver of Outer Space.” Confession here: THE MARTIAN was not on my radar until that night; I know, it astonishes me when I “miss books,” but then I see the hundreds on our shelves at the office and see how this could happen. The movie adaptation of THE MARTIAN is just out, and I am looking forward to seeing it.

We are betting that many of you have not read it as well, and thought it would be a nice change of pace to discuss with your book group. Thus, we have made it the prize in our “What’s Your Book Group Reading” contest, where we're giving away 12 copies of the book to three groups. Enter here by Wednesday, November 4th at noon ET. You can see the trailer here.

We have two more featured guides to share with you this month. The first is for Atul Gawande’s bestselling BEING MORTAL, which has been on the Times nonfiction bestsellers’ list for a year now! At BookExpo America in May, every attendee at our Book Group Speed Dating event was offered a copy. Since then, Maggie Richards, who is the Marketing Director at the book’s publisher, has received personal notes and accolades from book group readers. Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, BEING MORTAL asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. I would love to hear your thoughts about this book once you have read it! Click here for the featured guide.

We’re also featuring the guide for EVERYTHING SHE FORGOT, Lisa Ballantyne’s follow-up to her international hit, THE GUILTY ONE. Margaret Holloway is driving home, but her mind is elsewhere when she's rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage. Just as she begins to panic, a disfigured stranger pulls her from the car seconds before it's engulfed in flames. Then he simply disappears. Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something is wrong. Whatever happened, she didn't merely forget --- she chose to forget. And somehow, she knows deep down that it has something to do with the man who saved her life. We know many of you love mysteries and thrillers, thus we wanted this on your radar. Click here for the featured guide.

Back to films for a moment, Nicole, Greg and I went to see Everest in 3D IMAX. We all felt the effects were lacking and that the storyline had gaps in it. It was told in sporadic bursts of excitement, with key details missing and inside terms like “O” for oxygen sprinkled in. As we walked from the theater, I found myself filling in pieces for them from my Everest reading. I highly recommend AFTER THE WIND by Lou Kasischke for those who are looking for a terrific book about the experiences of that trek and to get inside the head of a middle-aged climber. It will be on sale in paperback on October 20th.

While INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer is the book many of you know, I found that he does not have the perspective of Lou, who wrote his book 18 years ago and then put it away. When he took it back out a couple of years ago and polished it, he had perspective. While much is talked about as to why this disaster occured, Lou, who was a consultant on the film, points to one thing: The climbers should have stuck to the turnaround time. Why did he? Because of a promise he made his wife. The book is a story of them and their marriage, as much as it is of the climb. It’s adventure reading with a heart. You can read an interview with Lou here. By the way, only Nicole came away from the movie thinking she’d like to climb!

I learned yesterday that Paula McLain’s CIRCLING THE SUN has sold 155,000(!) copies since it came out in July! Have you read it? Has your group read it? I would love to hear what you think about it. We know our readers are big fans of Paula's. Note that Beryl Markham's birthday is on October 26th, so now is the perfect time to read all about her.

This month is National Reading Group Month! The Women’s National Book Association started this initiative back in October 2007, and it has been going strong ever since. According to their mission statement, the goal of National Reading Group Month is to “foster the values reading groups encourage: camaraderie, enjoyment of shared reading, and appreciation of literature and reading as conduits for transmitting culture and advancing civic engagement.” Definitely a goal we can get behind! Click here for their 2015 list of great group reads.

In the New York area and looking to talk to a writer about his or her work? BOOKTHEWRITER, a New York City-based service, is offering Pop-Up Book Groups, which allows individual readers to sign up for small gatherings with their authors, hosted in private homes in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Registration for Pop-Up Book Groups is $30. These intimate groups support a truly special kind of conversation and provide a rare opportunity to really talk with a favorite writer about his or her current or recent work. You can register on their Eventbrite page. The schedule of Fall 2015 Pop-Up Book Groups includes meetings with Letty Cottin Pogrebin (SINGLE JEWISH MALE SEEKING SOUL MATE) on October 27th, Jesse Kornbluth (MARRIED SEX) on October 29th (recently featured here on RGG), David Ebershoff (THE DANISH GIRL) on November 11th (the movie is getting Oscar buzz), Patricia Marx (LET’S BE LESS STUPID) on December 1st and Janice Kaplan (THE GRATITUDE DIARIES) on December 8th.

To celebrate the official arrival of fall, our own Nicole Sherman has built a taste-tempting bookshelf displaying 20 cookbooks releasing this fall that you’ll want to sink your teeth into (not literally, of course!). Whether you're already clipping, highlighting and test-running recipes for the holidays, or you're just getting accustomed to your autumn palate, we’re confident that you’ll love the recipes, tips and tricks contained within these pages. I personally covet the NOPI book by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully.

By the way, around our office, food is something we are always indulging in. Yesterday, we had gourmet pizzas and craft beers along with dill- and BBQ-flavored potato chips for lunch. Something pumpkin spice has always been around these last few weeks, though I have vowed not to indulge in that!

On the lineup for our Fall Preview contests on Bookreporter.com next week will be PLAYING WITH FIRE by Tess Gerritsen, TWAIN'S END by Lynn Cullen and VANESSA AND HER SISTER by Priya Parmar. The first contest that week will be announced on Tuesday, October 13th at noon ET. Sign up for our Dedicated Fall Preview newsletter here to get contest news delivered to your mailbox, or check the site Tuesday through Thursday next week to see the featured book of the day and enter to win!

Do you like audiobooks? Clearly our readers do, as I read the posts on our Bookreporter Sounding Off on Audio feature. During the contest period from October 1st to November 2nd at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of both CAREER OF EVIL: A Cormoran Strike Novel written by Robert Galbraith and read by Robert Glenister, and FIND A WAY written and read by Diana Nyad. I am loving the feedback from all our audiobook listeners; my list of books I long to listen to grows every time I read the comments. Consider listening to your book group’s discussion title; you then will be a whiz at pronouncing all names and locations!

On Saturday, I am presenting a list of book group-friendly titles at the Ocean County Library System’s Book Leaders Tea, an invitation-only event. I will be sharing titles from the Fall/Winter Preview that was presented at BEA, which you can see here. My mom is joining me; her group currently is reading THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, and next month they are reading ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Next weekend is the Hachette Book Group Brunch. If you will be at either event, let me know, as I would love to say hi.

Last week, I enjoyed a lunch with the folks from Random House featuring authors from four upcoming books: Elizabeth Strout, author of MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON (January 5th); Melanie Benjamin, author of THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE (January 26th and already slated as a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick); Ethan Canin, author of A DOUBTER’S ALMANAC (February 16th); and Helen Simonson, author of THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR (March 22nd). You know Helen as the author of MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND; you can see her above with Melanie and me (she is on the right).

In between, I have been reading THE GUEST ROOM by Chris Bohjalian, which releases on January 5th. A couple’s life is upturned when the husband hosts a bachelor party for his brother at their home. Things get out of hand when the “adult entertainment” turns out to be two Russian women who are victims of human trafficking. The party turns ugly fast when the girls see a moment to free themselves from their captors --- and take it --- and those at the house find themselves wondering just what they were a party to. It reads like a thriller with escapes and chases; I did not see the end coming. Chris does a terrific job of exploring the very dark side of this trafficking and the women who are preyed on. There was one point when I was reading where I found myself deeply saddened as I know this fiction of these women’s lives is deeply rooted in fact. It leaves you with lots to discuss, and book clubs should take note.

Here’s to a great book group discussion this month and to selecting something wonderful to read next….

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping for books, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
 

BEING MORTAL: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (Health/Medicine)
In BEING MORTAL, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending.

Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering.

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified.

Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, BEING MORTAL asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end.
 

EVERYTHING SHE FORGOT by Lisa Ballantyne (Psychological Thriller)
Some things aren't meant to be remembered…

They're calling it the worst pileup in London history. Margaret Holloway is driving home, but her mind is elsewhere --- on a troubled student, her daughter's acting class, the next day's meeting --- when she's rear-ended and trapped in the wreckage. Just as she begins to panic, a disfigured stranger pulls her from the car seconds before it's engulfed in flames. Then he simply disappears.

Though she escapes with minor injuries, Margaret feels that something's wrong. She's having trouble concentrating. Her emotions are running wild. More than that, flashbacks to the crash are also dredging up lost associations from her childhood, fragments of events that had been wiped from her memory. Whatever happened, she didn't merely forget --- she chose to forget. And somehow, Margaret knows deep down that it has something to do with the man who saved her life.

As Margaret uncovers a mystery with chilling implications for her family and her very identity, EVERYTHING SHE FORGOT winds through a riveting dual narrative and asks the question: How far would you go to hide the truth --- from yourself?
 

ROOM by Emma Donoghue (Fiction)
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Now a major motion picture!

-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to read why we're betting you'll love this book.
 

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.

We're just as excited about the movie adaptation of THE MARTIAN --- Andy Weir's bestselling sci-fi adventure about an astronaut stranded on Mars --- as you are. In honor of the film, which was released earlier this month and is already a critical and commercial success, we're giving away 12 copies of the book to three groups. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, November 4th at noon ET.

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir (Science Fiction)
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive --- and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills --- and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit --- he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

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

On May 10, 1996, eight climbers died on Mount Everest while fighting a rogue storm in what was one of the worst tragedies in the mountain’s history. Much has been reported in the terrible event’s aftermath, but now survivor Lou Kasischke is ready to share his version of the story with the world. In AFTER THE WIND (available in paperback 10/20), Kasischke tells the harrowing story of what went wrong that day, and how, by a miracle of love, he managed to survive.

Here, Kasischke explains why he waited so long to publish his story, even though he wrote it almost immediately following his experience on Everest, and how --- with it --- he hopes to honor the truth about what happened, as well as those who were lost. He also talks about why it was so important for him to preserve the authenticity of his original story and how going the independent publishing route helped him accomplish that.

-Click here for the guide.
 

The Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) launched National Reading Group Month in October 2007 as the premier event of its 90th anniversary.

National Reading Group Month augments the WNBA’s mission to promote the value of books and reading. Through this initiative the organization aims to foster the values reading groups encourage: camaraderie, enjoyment of shared reading, and appreciation of literature and reading as conduits for transmitting culture and advancing civic engagement.

-Click here to see the 2015 list of Great Group Reads.
 

As we move from the hot days of summer to the cool and crisp nights of fall, we begin to shake off the light fare we've been consuming (think: stone fruits, midday ice cream treats, freshly grilled corn) and look towards the cozier comfort foods (think: soups, stews, casseroles) to bulk us up in preparation for winter hibernation.

There's no shortage of restaurant and celebrity chef cookbooks on this year's Fall Cookbooks bookshelf. One of the highlights of the season is Bobby Flay's BRUNCH AT BOBBY'S, which is all about delectable twists on classic plates for one of the most coveted meals of the week. The very popular Yotam Ottolenghi of the wildly successful PLENTY, PLENTY MORE and JERUSALEM cookbooks has NOPI, a comprehensive collection of some of the finest recipes from his finest restaurant of the same name. There are a few cookbook newcomers like THE VIOLET BAKERY COOKBOOK, which hails from the tiny, California-inspired bakery nestled in the London suburbs, and LUCKY PEACH PRESENTS 101 EASY ASIAN RECIPES, which is the first true hardcover from the editors at David Chang's food publication, Lucky Peach.

Whether you're already clipping, highlighting and test-running recipes for the holidays, or you're just getting accustomed to your autumn palate, we know you're bound to love the recipes, tips and tricks contained within these pages.
 

Fall is known as the biggest season of the year for books. The titles that release during this latter part of the year often become holiday gifts, and many are blockbusters. To celebrate the arrival of fall, we are spotlighting a number of outstanding books that we know people will be talking about in the days and months to come.

We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days in September and October, so you have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Our next prize book will be announced on Tuesday, October 13th at noon ET.

This year's featured titles include:

• AFTER THE WIND: Tragedy on Everest --- One Survivor's Story by Lou Kasischke
• ALONG THE INFINITE SEA by Beatriz Williams
• DEPRAVED HEART: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell
• THE DROWNING by Camilla Läckberg
• THE HIDDEN CHILD by Camilla Läckberg
• HOUSE OF THIEVES by Charles Belfoure
• KEEPER'S REACH: A Sharpe & Donovan Novel by Carla Neggers
• KILLERS by Howie Carr
• THE LAST MIDWIFE by Sandra Dallas
• THE LAST SEPTEMBER by Nina de Gramont
• LOST OCEAN: An Inky Adventure & Coloring Book by Johanna Basford
• PLAYING WITH FIRE by Tess Gerritsen
• PRETTY GIRLS by Karin Slaughter
• THE SAME SKY by Amanda Eyre Ward
• TWAIN'S END by Lynn Cullen
• VANESSA AND HER SISTER by Priya Parmar
• YOU'RE THE BEST: A Celebration of Friendship by The Satellite Sisters
  

Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from October 1st to November 2nd at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of both CAREER OF EVIL: A Cormoran Strike Novel written by Robert Galbraith and read by Robert Glenister, and FIND A WAY written and read by Diana Nyad.

To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.

-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
 

DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg (Fiction)
When I first conceptualized “Bookreporter.com Bets On,” my goal was to give notice to books that might slip under your radar. I decided that Bill Clegg’s novel, DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY, would be a Bets On selection last December when I tore through it over the holidays. I was just wild about it. Since then, it has been longlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award. I think being a Bets On selection pales next to those honors.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.


THE LAST SEPTEMBER by Nina de Gramont (Psychological Thriller)
THE LAST SEPTEMBER by Nina de Gramont is one of those books I both sped through and savored.

Central to the story are two brothers, Charlie and Eli --- and Brett, the wife of Charlie --- whose lives have been intertwined for years. Brett and Eli met in college and were close friends. One night at a party, Brett met Charlie, who was charismatic and immediately won Brett’s heart, though Eli cautions her about him. He feels Charlie is a philanderer and is destined to break Brett’s heart. Eli is right, but Brett finds herself caught up in Charlie’s spell. Together they forge a rocky marriage and have a daughter. They are tested by the stresses of young marriage, a young child, tight finances, and the pressure that Brett is feeling to complete her dissertation on Emily Dickinson.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

HOUSE OF THIEVES by Charles Belfoure (Historical Fiction)
Last year, I read THE PARIS ARCHITECT by Charles Belfoure and selected it as a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. I could not wait to see what he wrote next, thus I was eager to read HOUSE OF THIEVES. Set in New York in 1886, it features John Cross, an architect who must work with a prominent underworld gang member to cover the debts of his gambling son, George. He’s charged with using his insider knowledge of high society homes and places of business to plot the perfect heists.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
 

October’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes LILA, which marks a return to Gilead for Marilynne Robinson, who tells the unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe and wonder; VANESSA AND HER SISTER by Priya Parmar, a spellbinding story of the inseparable bond between Virginia Woolf and her sister, the gifted painter Vanessa Bell, and the real-life betrayal that threatened to destroy their family; and Christmas-themed novels from Debbie Macomber (MR. MIRACLE), Mary Kay Andrews (CHRISTMAS BLISS), Sandra Dallas (A QUILT FOR CHRISTMAS) and Elin Hilderbrand (WINTER STREET).

Among this month’s nonfiction offerings are THE INNOVATORS, Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet, and a narrative of how their ability to collaborate and master the art of teamwork made them even more creative; WHEN LIONS ROAR, the first comprehensive history of the deeply entwined personal and public lives of the Churchills and the Kennedys, and what their “special relationship” meant for Great Britain and the United States; and DON'T GIVE UP, DON'T GIVE IN, a powerful and inspiring book in which American hero Louis Zamperini shares his wisdom, values, lessons, secrets and other insights gleaned from his remarkable experiences.

-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of October 5th, October 12th, October 19th and October 26th.

 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE ART OF MEMOIR by Mary Karr (Literary Criticism)
Bestselling author and renowned professor Mary Karr offers a master class in the essential elements of great memoir --- delivered with her signature wit, insight and candor.

BEING MORTAL: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (Health/Medicine)
In the New York Times #1 bestseller BEING MORTAL, Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending.

THE CLASP by Sloane Crosley (Fiction)
From the author of I WAS TOLD THERE'D BE CAKE and HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER comes a heartfelt and suspenseful novel --- the story of friends struggling to fit together now that their lives haven't gone as planned, of how to separate the real from the fake.

EVERYTHING SHE FORGOT by Lisa Ballantyne (Psychological Thriller)
From the international bestselling author of THE GUILTY ONE comes a heartstopping second novel about loss, redemption and the fickle nature of memory.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Charlie Lovett (Literary Mystery)
In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie’s quest to uncover the truth --- while choosing between two suitors --- and a young Jane Austen’s touching friendship with the aging cleric Richard Mansfield, Charlie Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

A LINE OF BLOOD by Ben McPherson (Mystery/Thriller)
A LINE OF BLOOD explores what it means to be a family --- the ties that bind us, and the lies that can destroy us if we're not careful. It will have you wondering if one of the characters is guilty --- or if all of them are --- and will keep you on edge until its shocking final pages.

A MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin (Fiction/Short Stories)
With the grit of Raymond Carver, the humor of Grace Paley, and a blend of wit and melancholy all her own, Lucia Berlin crafts miracles from the everyday, uncovering moments of grace in the Laundromats and halfway houses of the American Southwest, in the homes of the Bay Area upper class, among switchboard operators and struggling mothers, hitchhikers and bad Christians.

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir (Science Fiction/Thriller)
When astronaut Mark Watney finds himself stranded alone on Mars, he must rely on his resourcefulness --- not to mention his rapid-fire sense of humor --- to overcome the impossible odds against him.

SUBMISSION by Michel Houellebecq (Current Events & Politics)
A controversial, intelligent and mordantly funny new novel from France's most famous living literary figure who poses essential questions of our time.

WHITE DRESSES: A Memoir of Love and Secrets, Mothers and Daughters by Mary Pflum Peterson (Memoir)
In this riveting, poignant memoir of three generations of women and the white dresses that adorned them, television producer Mary Pflum Peterson recounts a journey through loss and redemption, and her battle to rescue her mother, a former nun, from compulsive hoarding.

WITCHES OF AMERICA by Alex Mar (Religion & Spirituality)
With keen intelligence and wit, Alex Mar illuminates the world of witchcraft while grappling in fresh and unexpected ways with the question underlying every faith: Why do we choose to believe in anything at all?

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

COLD COLD HEART by Tami Hoag (Psychological Thriller)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag delivers a shocking new thriller.

A FINE SUMMER'S DAY: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery)
New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd takes readers into Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge’s past --- to his perplexing final case before the outbreak of World War I.

LILA by Marilynne Robinson (Fiction)
LILA, a moving expression of the mysteries of existence, is a new American classic from Marilynne Robinson --- the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of GILEAD; HOME, a National Book Award finalist; and HOUSEKEEPING.

THE MAGICIAN'S LIE by Greer Macallister (Historical Fiction)
When the Amazing Arden, a notorious female illusionist, swaps her saw for a fire ax, Officer Virgil Holt will have to decide if it's a new trick or an all-too-real murder --- but will Arden reveal her secrets, even when her life's at stake?

A SUDDEN LIGHT by Garth Stein (Fiction)
When a boy tries to save his parents’ marriage, he uncovers a legacy of family secrets in a coming-of-age ghost story by the author of the internationally bestselling phenomenon, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN.

'TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY by Lauren Francis-Sharma (Historical Fiction)
A glorious and moving multi-generational, multicultural saga that begins in the 1940s and sweeps through the 1960s in Trinidad and the United States.
 

If you have read an author with your group, are you likely to read another book by her/him in the future?

Yes, we have no issue with repeating authors.
Yes, we would repeat, but not immediately.
No, we would not repeat an author.
This is an idea that we have not considered, but might do.
I am not sure how we feel about this.