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Carol's latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview and podcast is with Heather Morris.
They talk about both THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ and CILKA'S JOURNEY.
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
Heather Morris recently made an appearance at [words] Bookstore
in Maplewood, NJ, to talk about CILKA'S JOURNEY.
Carol interviewed Fiona Davis, author of THE CHELSEA GIRLS, at the Hillsborough Public Library
for the Somerset County Book Lovers Tea event, and it was a huge success.
You can see Carol with Fiona above.
Carol talks about this month's ReadingGroupGuides update in her latest promo video.
There are still tickets available for Book Club Girl's "Night Out" event on Thursday, November 14th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Carol will be interviewing Susan Wiggs and Alena Dillon about their new books. Click on the image above for all the event details and to reserve your spot.
On Tuesday, November 19th at 3pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will host a
Facebook Live Book Club chat to discuss MRS. FLETCHER by Tom Perrotta,
November's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites program.
THREE Contests and a Whole Lot More…
I cannot believe it’s mid-November already! My one book group moved our meeting back a week as we are reading PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee, and it’s a loooong book; we are meeting right before Thanksgiving. For December, we are planning to watch a movie based on a book, or do something else book-related. My other group meets in December, and we are reading Bruce Holsinger's THE GIFTED SCHOOL.
I would love to share any special holiday plans that your group may have with the rest of our readers. If you are not having your typical discussion in November, let us know what you are up to. We will include these plans in our late November newsletter and provide some last-minute ideas for those who need them. Please send me an email at [email protected] with the subject line “Book Group Holiday Celebration.”
In late October, I interviewed Heather Morris for one of our “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews. While you may not be familiar with her name, I am betting you know her mega-New York Times bestselling book, THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, which has been on that list for over a year (last I looked, it was number one), as well as her latest bestseller, CILKA’S JOURNEY. I thoroughly enjoyed our spirited conversation. You can watch it here or listen to the podcast here. It is lovely to share an interview with an Australian author who many of you may never get to meet. I was able to slip in some of the questions from our readers.
One question that I did not get to ask was about how Heather emotionally dealt with the tough scenes in the book. When Lale Sokolov (the man whose life inspired THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ) was alive, she would reach out to him for a hug. Later, she would step away from the writing for a bit to get her bearings. Thanks to all of you who shared your questions with us!
The night before our interview, I attended an event at [words] Bookstore in Maplewood, NJ, featuring Heather, who talked about CILKA'S JOURNEY. I like going to programs like this to see what readers ask and what they are curious about. You can see by the show of hands in the photo above that there was no shortage of questions.
I am excited about the THREE contests that we are sharing with you this month --- two of them are for books coming in early 2020 that have been getting a lot of buzz. I am sure we have something here for every book group!
We have a BIG contest for the audiobook edition of A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD by Therese Anne Fowler, which releases on February 4th and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
Professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son in Oak Knoll, a tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door --- an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter. With little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.
We’re giving 50(!) book groups the chance to win up to 12 advance digital copies of the audiobook, read by Adenrele Ojo. All of the contest details can be found here, and the deadline for your entries is Monday, December 2nd at noon ET. Click here for the discussion guide and here to listen to an audio excerpt.
You only have until Monday, November 18th at noon ET to enter our special contest for Jeanine Cummins’ upcoming novel, AMERICAN DIRT, which releases on January 21st and will be a Bets On selection. Here’s how I described the book earlier this year in a Bookreporter newsletter:
“Lydia Quixano Perez is a bookseller living in Acapulco, Mexico, with her husband, who is a journalist, and her eight-year-old son, Luca, who is quite precocious and prescient. Drug cartels are overtaking the city that she knows and loves, and her husband is writing about them, anonymously, so as to keep his family from feeling repercussions. A customer at Lydia’s store shares her book taste, and they chat and banter. She is unaware that he is Javier, the jefe of a cartel that has been rising quickly. When her husband writes an in-depth profile of Javier, Lydia finds herself on the run with Luca towards el norte, the United States. Their journey is fraught with danger and fear, both from what they are running from and what they are running towards. The world they knew has harmed them, but what is before them has its own perils.”
We’re giving 10 book groups the chance to win up to 10 advance copies of AMERICAN DIRT, provided that they can give us their feedback on it by Friday, February 28th. We will add the discussion guide as soon as it becomes available.
Our latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title is THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson, which released in May. There is a lot to discuss here as the novel was inspired by two little-known stories from America’s past --- the Blue Fugates of Kentucky and the WPA Pack Horse Library Project --- so we thought it would be a great book to give away, especially for those who did not have it on their radars earlier this year.
Here’s the plot summary: Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome Creek has its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Far from being just a book woman, Cussy is also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any spot of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Three groups will win 12 copies of THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK; to enter, please fill out the form on this page by Tuesday, December 10th at noon ET. In the meantime, be sure to check out the discussion guide, our review on Bookreporter and our interview with Kim Michele.
In our previous “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, here are the five books mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read: WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens, EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles, BECOMING by Michelle Obama, and THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
This month, we’re featuring PAIN by Zeruya Shalev, a novel that is sure to resonate with readers and make for lively book group discussions. Ten years after she was seriously injured in a terrorist attack, the pain comes back to torment Iris. Eitan, the love of her youth, also comes back into her life. Though their relationship ended many years ago, she was more deeply wounded when he left her than by the suicide bomber who blew himself up next to her. Now, after years without passion and joy, Eitan brings them back into her life. But she must concoct all sorts of lies to conceal her affair from her family, and the lies become more and more complicated.
Lauren Groff calls PAIN “a searing book, a wild and ravenous story of family entanglement and impossible yearning,” while Siri Hustvedt says, “PAIN is yet another work by this remarkable artist that left me amazed.” Although there is no discussion guide available at this time, be sure to check out our fiction discussion questions, which may help you in your group's discussion of the book.
Last week, Oprah announced that her new book club pick is OLIVE, AGAIN, the sequel to Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, OLIVE KITTERIDGE. “When I heard Elizabeth Strout had written a second book with Olive at its center, I worried that time might have smoothed her rough edges," Oprah says. "Nope. Olive is older and wiser, but as cantankerous as ever, and she still makes me laugh out loud, and cry in recognition and empathy. I fell in love with Olive not despite her flaws, but because of them.” Both Oprah and Strout appeared on “CBS This Morning” last Thursday for the big announcement, which you can take a look at here. We’ve added the guide and our Bookreporter review.
This month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection is THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS, a page-turning psychological thriller from Lisa Jewell that tells the story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets. B&N will be selling a special Exclusive Book Club Edition of the book, along with hosting a free Book Club Night to discuss it, in stores across the country on Tuesday, January 7th at 7pm local time. Click here to sign up for the event. In the meantime, take a look at the guide and our Bookreporter review.
With the addition of these two guides, we have over 4,500 reading group guides now available (4,502 to be exact). Now it’s on to 5,000!
This month’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick is THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes, which we featured on the site last month. Here’s what Reese has to say about it: “Set in Kentucky during the 1930s, the story follows a small group of women known as the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky. It’s such a great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together, especially for these women who are completely bonded by their love of literature.” Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.
Kevin Wilson’s new novel, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, is Jenna Bush Hager’s #ReadWithJenna book club selection for November. "It sounds a little bit sci-fi but I don’t think any book has touched me about parenthood as much as NOTHING TO SEE HERE," Jenna says. "The theme is definitely on family and being yourself and finding who you are, even if what you are seems strange to the rest of the world.” Click here for more of Jenna’s thoughts on the book, which she thinks would be perfect to discuss on Thanksgiving with family and friends.
This month’s pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” book club is THE OVERSTORY by Richard Powers, which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Click here for our review on Bookreporter.
As we announced last month, MRS. FLETCHER by Tom Perrotta (which inspired the HBO limited series) is November’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites program. S&S will host a Facebook Live Book Club chat about the book on Tuesday, November 19th at 3pm ET. We encourage you to join the conversation with your comments about the novel and interact with your fellow readers.
You can see me talking about many of these titles in our latest promo video here.
Now that Thanksgiving is fast approaching, many of you may be thinking about what to give your family and friends for the holidays. Simon & Schuster is here to help! Their “Books I Love to Give” gift guide has plenty of options for your bookish loved ones, with categories such as “Best in Fiction,” “Home, Heart, and Health,” “For the History Buff,” “Thrillers, Mysteries and Suspense” and many more. Click here to take a look at their varied selections.
Many of you may know Will Schwalbe as the author of THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB, which was a Bets On pick way back in 2012 when it first released (and we know a number of groups shared it as well). In this profoundly moving memoir, Will reflected on the countless hours he spent in waiting rooms with his mother, Mary Ann, during her cancer treatment. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Will now has a wonderful podcast, “But That’s Another Story”, where he talks to authors and notable guests about the books read at moments of their lives that have shaped their perspectives. Read much more about the podcast and how you can listen to it later in this newsletter.
On Thursday night, I have my last live event of the year, as I moderate the Book Club Girl "Night Out" event from 6:30-8:30pm at the HarperCollins offices in New York City. My special guests will be Susan Wiggs and Alena Dillon, and we will discuss their new books, THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE (now in stores) and MERCY HOUSE (on sale February 11th). There are still some tickets available, so if you’d like to join us for what I’m sure will be a thought-provoking and in-depth conversation while mingling with other book clubs over wine and hors d’oeuvres, here is a link on how to reserve your spot. These events are a lot of fun, and I love seeing readers there!
Earlier this month, I interviewed Fiona Davis at the Somerset County Book Lovers Tea in Hillsborough, NJ. I always enjoy spending time with Fiona; her new book, THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE, will be out on July 28th, and it’s set at...drumroll here…the New York Public Library!
I promised there was a lot going on this month. I hope you find something here that will make for perfect reading with your group!
Here's to a great group discussion this month.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
New Special Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Advance Digital Copies of the Audiobook Edition of
Therese Anne Fowler’s
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD for Your Group
ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD by Therese Anne Fowler, an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, and the one summer that changes their lives irrevocably. Fifty book groups will win up to 12 advance digital copies of the audiobook, which is read by Adenrele Ojo and releases on February 4th. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, December 2nd at noon ET.
We strongly encourage all winners to share their listening experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s “Sounding Off on Audio” feature.
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD Audiobook written by Therese Anne Fowler, read by Adenrele Ojo (Fiction)
In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door --- an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.
Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he's made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn't want to live in Oak Knoll?
But with little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers.
Told in multiple points of view, A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD asks big questions about life in America today --- What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye? --- as it explores the effects of class, race and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to listen to an excerpt.
Click here to enter the contest.
Special Contest: Enter to Win Up to 10 Advance Copies of AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins
and Share Your Group's Comments on It
ReadingGroupGuides.com is excited to host a very special contest for AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope, which releases on January 21st. Ten book groups will win up to 10 advance copies of the novel with the commitment of previewing it and providing feedback on it by Friday, February 28th. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, November 18th at noon ET.
In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to reading and discussing AMERICAN DIRT, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, February 28th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s "Word of Mouth" feature.
AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Fiction)
Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.
Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day, a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy --- two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia --- trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
AMERICAN DIRT will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.
Click here to enter the contest.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of
THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK
by Kim Michele Richardson 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.
Our latest prize book is THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson. In this novel, inspired by the brave women of the Pack Horse Library Project, a young outcast braves the hardships of Kentucky’s Great Depression and brings truly magical objects to her people --- books. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Tuesday, December 10th at noon ET.
THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson (Historical Fiction)
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything --- everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome has its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy's not only a book woman, however; she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere --- even back home.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read our interview with Kim Michele Richardson.
Click here to enter the contest.
Now Available: PAIN by Zeruya Shalev
PAIN written by Zeruya Shalev, translated by Sondra Silverston (Fiction)
Ten years after she was seriously injured in a terrorist attack, the pain comes back to torment Iris. But that is not all: Eitan, the love of her youth, also comes back into her life. Though their relationship ended many years ago, she was more deeply wounded when he left her than by the suicide bomber who blew himself up next to her.
Iris' marriage is stagnant. Her two children have grown up and are almost independent; she herself has become a dedicated, successful school principal. Now, after years without passion and joy, Eitan brings them back into her life. But she must concoct all sorts of lies to conceal her affair from her family, and the lies become more and more complicated.
Is this an impossible predicament or, on the contrary, a scintillating revelation of the many ways life's twists and turns can bring us to a place we never would have expected to be?
- While no guide is available, be sure to check out our fiction discussion questions, which may help you in your group's discussion of the book.
Click here to read more about the book.
New Guide: OLIVE, AGAIN by Elizabeth Strout
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Selection
OLIVE, AGAIN by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge is “a compelling life force” (San Francisco Chronicle). The New Yorker has said that Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with an astonishing force,” and she has never done so more clearly than in these pages, where the iconic Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine.
Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, move us and inspire moments of transcendent grace.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to see why Oprah chose the book as her latest Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell
November’s Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller)
Soon after her 25th birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.
She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well --- and she is on a collision course to meet them.
Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy 10-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.
In THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Visit the Barnes & Noble Book Club page and sign up for their free Book Club Night to discuss THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS on January 7th.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Featured Guide: THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
Now Available in Paperback
THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer (Historical Fiction)
"I'd rather take a photograph than be one," Lee Miller declares after she arrives in Paris in 1929, where she soon catches the eye of the famous Surrealist Man Ray. Though he wants to use her only as a model, Lee convinces him to take her on as his assistant and teach her everything he knows. As they work together in the darkroom, their personal and professional lives become intimately entwined, changing the course of Lee's life forever.
Lee's journey of self-discovery takes her from the cabarets of bohemian Paris to the battlefields of war-torn Europe during WWII, from inventing radical new photography techniques to documenting the liberation of the concentration camps as one of the first female war correspondents. Through it all, Lee must grapple with the question of whether it's possible to stay true to herself while also fulfilling her artistic ambition --- and what she will have to sacrifice to do so.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here for the featured guide.
Simon & Schuster’s “Books I Like to Give” Gift Guide
The holiday season is upon us, and that means it’s time to find a present for everyone on your list.
Whether you’re searching for a story that your friends can read at book club, a book for your brother who can’t stop bingeing the history channel, or your sister who loves a dark mystery, we’ve got you covered!
Visit Simon & Schuster’s #BooksILikeToGive gift guide
to find presents for all of your loved ones.
“But That’s Another Story”:
A Podcast from Macmillan Podcasts
and Bestselling Author Will Schwalbe
Think about the books that have changed you --- the ones that made you see the world in a whole new light. "But That’s Another Story", a podcast from Macmillan Podcasts and bestselling author Will Schwalbe, dives into the stories that profoundly impacted his guests.
When Will’s mom was diagnosed with cancer, he spent a lot of time waiting with her in doctors’ offices where they talked about what books they were reading. These moving discussions became the basis for his award-winning memoir, THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB. Now, he’s talking to insightful authors and notable guests about the books and moments that have shaped their perspectives.
You’ll hear how MIDDLEMARCH came into National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee’s life at just the right time and what CHARLOTTE'S WEB taught Louise Penny about embracing fear. You’ll also learn about the book that helped New York Times book review editor Pamela Paul choose her career path, what Joan Didion means to Kevin Kwan, and the book that helped Melinda Gates trust her instincts.
This wonderful podcast celebrates what books mean to us (and is an excellent resource for your TBR list!).
Learn more about how to listen to "But That’s Another Story" here
or listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for November
Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for October’s "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
November’s New in Paperback Roundups
on Bookreporter.com
November's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes ELEVATION by Stephen King, a riveting, extraordinarily eerie and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town together --- a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences; RUN AWAY, Harlan Coben's latest novel of domestic suspense, in which a perfect family is shattered by the loss of a daughter who is addicted to drugs, has an abusive boyfriend and doesn’t want to be found; QUEENIE, Candice Carty-Williams' disarmingly honest, boldly political and truly inclusive debut novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place; and BOWLAWAY, award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken's sweeping and enchanting novel about three generations of an unconventional New England family who own and operate a candlepin bowling alley.
Among our nonfiction highlights are YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME, Sherman Alexie's searing, deeply moving memoir about family, love, loss and forgiveness; Colm Tóibín’s MAD, BAD, DANGEROUS TO KNOW, an illuminating look at Irish culture, history and literature through the lives of the fathers of three of Ireland’s greatest writers --- Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats and James Joyce; SLOWHAND, Philip Norman's definitive biography of Eric Clapton, a rock legend whose life story is as remarkable as his music, which transformed the sound of a generation; and THE MAYFLOWER, Rebecca Fraser's vivid narrative history of the Mayflower and of the Winslow family, who traveled to America in search of a new world.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
November 4th, November 11th, November 18th and November 25th.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE DESERTER by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille
THE DESERTER by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille (Military Thriller)
THE DESERTER is the first book from the father/son team of Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille, and what a superb collaboration this proved to be. It’s set in Venezuela, and since I know very little about that part of the world beyond the headlines in the news, I feel like I got a real education about a place where there has been so much strife in the last decade.
Their two new characters, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, are terrific, with the brains, brawn and humor written into them that we have come to expect from Nelson. Their mission is to drop into Venezuela to find Captain Kyle Mercer, a U.S. Army star Delta Force soldier who ran from his men in Afghanistan several years ago. He had been held by the Taliban, but escaped (yes, there are strains of Bowe Bergdahl’s case here). And he has been spotted in Caracas. The trick is to find him, which proves to be more than a little challenging.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
Announcing Bookreporter.com's
Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature
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 are spotlighting a book and giving five lucky readers the chance to win it. You have to visit the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter the 24-hour contest. As always, we are sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts.
Our first prize book will be announced on Wednesday, November 13th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
Enter Our Ongoing Bookreporter.com Contests:
"Word of Mouth" and "Sounding Off on Audio"
Word of Mouth Contest:
Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from November 1st to November 15th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE STARLESS SEA by Erin Morgenstern and THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.
Please note: A new Word of Mouth contest will be up
on Friday, November 15th at noon ET.
Sounding Off on Audio Contest:
Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!
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 November 1st to December 2nd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Mary Higgins Clark’s KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM CRY, read by January LaVoy, and Martin Cruz Smith’s THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA: An Arkady Renko Novel, read by Jeremy Bobb.
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.
Click here to enter the contest.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer (Historical Fiction)
Told in the alternating timelines of 1930s Paris and the battlefields of WWII, this "rapturous and razor sharp" debut novel brings to light the life of Lee Miller, a little known but fearlessly original artist whose legacy remains largely unexplored (Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of THE PARIS WIFE).
THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson (Historical Fiction)
A young outcast braves the hardships of Kentucky’s Great Depression and brings truly magical objects to her people: books. Kim Michele Richardson's fourth novel is inspired by the brave women of the Pack Horse Library Project.
THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THEN SHE WAS GONE comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD (Audiobook) written by Therese Anne Fowler, read by Adenrele Ojo (Fiction)
A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD is a provocative contemporary audiobook that examines the American dream, from the New York Times bestselling author of Z and A WELL-BEHAVED WOMAN.
OLIVE, AGAIN by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
#1 New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout continues the life of her beloved Olive Kitteridge, a character who has captured the imaginations of millions.
TO THE LAND OF LONG LOST FRIENDS: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (20) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
In the latest book in the widely beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe takes on a case for a childhood acquaintance and finds that family relationships are always a tricky proposition --- even for Botswana's premier female detective.
UNSHELTERED by Barbara Kingsolver (Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of FLIGHT BEHAVIOR, THE LACUNA and THE POISONWOOD BIBLE returns with a timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval.
Please note that this title, for which we already had the guide when it appeared in hardcover, is now available in paperback:
QUEENIE by Candice Carty-Williams (Fiction)
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY meets AMERICANAH in this disarmingly honest, boldly
political and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love
and found something very different in its place.
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