|
We have FOUR new "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews to share with you.
First up is Robert Kolker, who talked to Carol about his latest book, HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family, which is this month's Oprah's Book Club pick and is a Bets On title.
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
Lisa Wingate chatted with Carol about her latest novel, THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS.
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
Carol had a wonderful conversation with Lisa See, whose most recent novel, THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, is now in paperback and was a Bets On pick when it released in hardcover last year.
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
Diane Chamberlain was happy to talk to Carol about her latest novel,
BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN (the audiobook, read by Susan Bennett, is a Bets On selection).
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
On Monday, April 27th at noon ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will host a
Facebook Live Book Club chat to discuss MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner,
April's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites. Jennifer will be joining the conversation as well!
Book Groups During a Time of Social Distancing
When we left off, we were in the early days of quarantine and a new term that has become a household word: “social distancing.” Who knew this phrasing would be part of our lexicon?
Lots of groups shared ideas for remote meeting, and some other questions came up. So let me “go to the mailbag” first, as there are some great ideas here.
Helen from Buffalo, New York, wrote, “Carol, I wanted to share our Zoom book club experience with my group, The Lionesses. We have 13 women in our group and meet every month in a member’s home accompanied by food and, most importantly, wine! Our book club has been together since 2001; we are a tight-knit group, and are good friends who have been through a lot together! We had 10 members participate in a Zoom meeting this past Monday evening. We first had each person give an update on personal news; it was so great to catch up and hear how everyone and their families were coping. One of the members broke down and started to cry; she was just emotionally spent and so glad to see her friends again. We did spend some time discussing our read, which was THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett. We spent an hour and decided we were going to try it again in a few weeks for those who were interested and pick a different topic to discuss. We all enjoyed it and raised a glass to each other, which brought a beautiful smile to all! Thank God for technology!” Agreed about technology. I love how we are connected. The other day, I said social distancing without social media would be a lot less fun.
Dorothy from Oklahoma wrote, “Carol, I read your emails with great interest. I lead two book clubs, one of which I founded in 1985 at Tulsa Community College, where I taught English; I continue to lead it in retirement. The other is newly formed in 2017 at the Broken Arrow Senior Center in Broken Arrow, OK. Both groups are meeting using Zoom to discuss books we had already chosen. Members of both groups have embraced Zoom as a way to get together with friends and talk about books as we continue to practice social distancing. I also created a Padlet site for the groups, so members of each could post comments about books and list other books they are reading, and I include links to useful sites with free audiobooks and interviews with authors. Padlet is an online bulletin board that offers free and premium membership. It is easy to use and accepts attachments of documents, links and videos, as well as text comments.” This is a great tip about a way to keep in touch!
Wanda wrote, “I am in Florida and doing a Zoom book discussion with my daughter and granddaughter, who are in Delaware and Pennsylvania. We are reading THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton. We read about three chapters, then 'meet' to discuss those chapters. We have done 11 chapters and have met three times. It’s been great fun. I enjoy just reading 2-3 chapters and then discussing those instead of reading the entire book and having a discussion. We’ve had some very interesting discussions because the book is set in the Victorian era. My regular book club here, In The Villages, has also contacted me about doing a Zoom discussion about our latest book, THE GRAVITY OF BIRDS by Tracy Guzeman, which was my pick for April. Not sure if that will happen. Stay well...you are my go-to for books!" What a really nice idea.
Denise from New Jersey wrote, “Two weeks ago, we had our first virtual 'Meeting of the Minds' as my husband likes to call the book group that I’ve been in for over 20 years. We used Zoom, and it was a great success. I can’t express how good it was to see the smiling faces of everyone. These are unusual times that we are living through, and being able to connect this way lifted all of our spirits. It was so nice to have a group chat (and book discussion) that we are going to Zoom again before our next monthly book group just to keep in contact with each other. Stay safe. Stay well. Stay home.” I think seeing one another is GREAT!!!
Karen wrote, “I wanted to let you know that the book club I run (Phx Divas) is planning to meet virtually with Zoom for the first time tomorrow night. My oldest son who lives in Seattle had to walk me through the setup by phone. I'm hoping all goes well as most of us are of a certain age, and technology isn't always our friend!” I would love to hear how it went!
Michelle wrote, "First, I hope you and your family and team are all still healthy --- both physically and mentally! Second, I have been reading your Bookreporter and ReadingGroupGuides newsletters for many, many years and can't tell you how much I appreciate them! I was just reading the latest RGG and thought, What the heck, maybe I'll share with you this video about our book group, Critical Chicks, that our leader just posted: Book Club Tag. We've been together for 19 years, and Kim Becker, the originator/coordinator/Goddess of our book group, recently started doing videos for BookTube, and she made this video about our group that made my heart swell and lit up my whole day --- much needed with so much darkness and despair around us right now. Just thought I would share! We met last month for our first-ever virtual Book Group; in fact, we decided to meet again much quicker for our next meeting, and I even added in a Happy Hour Zoom session again for this Friday night because it brought us so much happiness! Wishing you and yours continued health in the most sincere way.” I love how people are meeting socially, as well as to discuss books. I bet books come up in those conversations!
Jo wrote, “Yesterday, our book club, The Ladies of Surprise, had our first attempt at Zooming. We had hopes of reviewing THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See. There were 10 of us who had hoped to participate. I, personally, was so excited to review the book and even had a bottle of Pu'er tea to show the ladies. Well, unfortunately, only five members of our book club were able to be connected! And I was not one of them --- bummer. So much for Zooming!!” I hope you can try this again.
Beth wrote, “Our library in Romeo, Michigan, has a group on Goodreads. The group hasn’t been used in years. I suggested, by email, to my book group that we meet virtually in that Goodreads group. The problem is, my book group is a library group, and most of us borrow our books from the library. But most of us did not borrow our book for this month before all the libraries closed. So we decided to put this month’s book off until May and hope that our library at least has curbside service by then.” I suggested that they look into e-books, especially backlist titles, that they can borrow from the library.
And I missed sharing this email from Marilyn from back in November: “I am in four book clubs, which gets a bit hairy at times, but the good news is at least two them read the same books reasonably close to each other. Whew! In December, we will read Paulette Jiles' NEWS OF THE WORLD, and I know the hostess will prepare prairie food for us...who knows, maybe 'cowboy beans.' At any rate, I know we will have food to match the book. This particular hostess always asks for December because she loves researching just the right dishes for the book! I will keep you posted about that! I live in a retirement facility, and because we have downsized our lives, we don't want to UP-SIZE and accumulate books. Fortunately, our local library has multiple copies of many titles in a 'book club kit' that can be checked out for our monthly meetings. In order to make this doable for many, a friend and I facilitate the discussion, holding the meeting to one hour. Our culinary staff provides coffee and cookies, no matter the book title, and that works well for us. Many thanks for the newsletters and contest opportunities.” We hope you soon can get back to meetings that are culinary experiences as well.
Now to our update…
Our latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title is CIRCE by Madeline Miller, a #1 New York Times bestseller that is now available in paperback. Circe is a strange child who possesses the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Zeus feels threatened and banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology. But there is also danger for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians.
Three groups will win 12 copies of CIRCE; to enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 6th at noon ET. Also, be sure to check out the discussion guide and our review on Bookreporter.
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: THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes, EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover, THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson, THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger, and CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
It’s only fitting that THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK is in our top five this month, as Kim Michele Richardson has written a timely essay for us, where she draws on the history of the Pack Horse Librarians (the subject of her novel) to make a plea to readers: Support local bookstores, because today’s booksellers are the Pack Horse Librarians of modern times, delivering wisdom, escape, entertainment and education in a dark time. Many thanks to Kim Michele for this very important and inspiring piece!
This month, we’re featuring the guide for THE GERMAN HEIRESS by debut novelist Anika Scott. Once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, Clara Falkenberg operated her family’s ironworks empire during World War II. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended, and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. Clara decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa. She narrowly escapes a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who is determined to arrest her for war crimes. But upon her arrival home, she discovers the city in ruins and Elisa missing. As Clara begins looking for Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for reasons of his own, is also trying to track down Elisa. THE GERMAN HEIRESS is sure to appeal especially to those who enjoyed THE ALICE NETWORK and THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS.
Oprah’s latest book club pick is HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family, which is my latest Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Here, Robert Kolker (whose previous book, LOST GIRLS, was adapted as a film on Netflix last month) tells the heartrending story of a mid-century American family with 12 children, six of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease. "This is a riveting true story of an American family that reads like a medical detective journey," Oprah says. "It reveals the shame, denial, shock, confusion and misunderstanding of mental illness at a time when no one was really sure what schizophrenia was or how to treat it." Click here to watch a video where Oprah shares more of her thoughts on the book. She plans to interview the author and members of the Galvin family remotely for her Apple TV+ series, which is scheduled to air in May.
I had a wonderful conversation with Robert Kolker recently for one of our “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews. We touched on a number of different topics, including the reception that the book received from the Galvin siblings, as well as the clear message that mental illness like schizophrenia is not something that industries are willing to solve anytime soon. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. Also, be sure to check out the guide, our Bookreporter review and my Bets On commentary.
Over the last couple of weeks, I also had the pleasure of chatting with these authors for “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews: Lisa See (THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN), Lisa Wingate (THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS), Diane Chamberlain (BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN), and Don Winslow (BROKEN).
The videos and podcasts of these discussions, along with all of our previous and upcoming interviews, can be found here on our newly created “Videos & Podcasts” page.
Share This: For those of you who are enjoying our "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews on video and podcast, may I ask you to share them with your friends and family, as well as on social media? We created the page linked above to make this easy.
For Librarians: I have had librarians reaching out to us about linking to our "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews from their library websites. If you are a librarian who would like to do this, please let me know. We can supply graphics for you to use.
As we mentioned in the last newsletter, VALENTINE, Elizabeth Wetmore’s debut novel, is Jenna Bush Hager’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick for this month. This instant New York Times bestseller explores the lingering effects of a brutal crime on the women of a small Texas oil town in the 1970s. According to Jenna, “For anybody looking for a great escape, this is a wonderful book where you will find yourself really engrossed in the stories of these women.” She goes on to say, “Elizabeth really developed these characters that I felt like I knew. I found myself missing them when the story was over. The women are complicated. They are a lot of things at once.” Click here for more of Jenna’s thoughts on the book, along with the author's, and here for the guide.
Our final new guide for this update is OONA OUT OF ORDER by Margarita Montimore, which is April’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick. Here’s how “GMA” describes the book: “This unforgettable story begins on New Year’s Eve 1982. Oona Lockhart is 19 years old with her whole life in front of her --- but as the clock counts down to midnight, she faints and wakes up 32 years in the future, greeted by a friendly stranger in a house she's told is her own. She eventually learns that with each passing year, she’ll leap to another random age.” Montimore is so grateful to be recognized by “GMA” and offers these words of encouragement: “I know the whole world feels like it's out of order right now, and social distancing is tough, but join 'GMA's' Book Club and we’ll all feel less isolated as we get lost in this uplifting story.” Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.
CONJURE WOMEN is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. It’s a debut novel that revolves around a mother and daughter who have a shared talent for healing --- and for the conjuring of curses. On Monday, May 4th at 7pm ET, the author, Afia Atakora, will host a discussion of the book on B&N’s Instagram page. The B&N Exclusive Edition of the book includes an original essay by Afia and a reading group guide.
April’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick is UNTAMED, the latest memoir by activist and speaker Glennon Doyle, who wrote the bestsellers LOVE WARRIOR (an Oprah’s Book Club selection) and CARRY ON, WARRIOR. According to Reese, “This memoir is so packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today, what it means to be ‘good,’ and what women will do in order to be loved. I swear I highlighted something in EVERY chapter. This book really spoke to me in so many ways! Thank you Glennon for sharing your heart and soul with us!”
Julia Phillips’ DISAPPEARING EARTH is this month’s pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” book club. Newly released in paperback, this debut novel takes readers through a year in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, where the disappearance of two sisters (ages 8 and 11) have an enormous impact on a tightly woven community, with the fear and loss felt most deeply among its women. Click here for our Bookreporter review.
This month’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites is MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner, a Bets On pick that is now in paperback. Jennifer will be joining members of the S&S team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about the book on Monday, April 27th at noon ET. We encourage you to join the conversation with your comments about the novel and interact with Jennifer and your fellow readers. Click here for the discussion guide, here for our review on Bookreporter, and here for my Bets On commentary.
We have plenty of contests going on right now over at Bookreporter, including our 15th annual Mother’s Day contest (which kicked off last week), our series of 24-hour Spring Preview contests (which wrap up this week, on April 24th at noon ET), and our ongoing Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio contests. More details on all of these features can be found later in this newsletter.
Humor is something we all need a lot of these days. Lisa Scottoline's weekly humorous essay is now available via email. You can read the latest essay here, and on that page you can sign up to receive it on Sunday mornings. She is now calling herself "Lisa Quarantine."
Here's to your group finding new ways to stay connected! If you have more ideas on how to keep your group in touch and discussing books, let us know. And if there are things that we can be sharing to help your group discuss books, let me know. Stay safe.
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!
“What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of CIRCE by Madeline Miller,
Now Available in Paperback, 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 CIRCE by Madeline Miller, which is now available in paperback. This #1 New York Times bestseller is an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 6th at noon ET.
CIRCE by Madeline Miller (Mythological Fantasy)
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child --- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power --- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Featured Guide:
THE GERMAN HEIRESS by Anika Scott
THE GERMAN HEIRESS by Anika Scott (Historical Fiction)
Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended, and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.
Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other --- if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war.
Propulsive, meticulously researched and action-fueled, THE GERMAN HEIRESS is a mesmerizing page-turner that questions the meaning of justice and morality, deftly shining the spotlight on the often-overlooked perspective of Germans who were caught in the crossfire of the Nazi regime and had nowhere to turn.
Click here for the featured guide.
New Guide: HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick
and a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (Science/Biography)
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their 12 children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins --- aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony --- and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the 10 Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family?
What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction and even eradication of the disease for future generations.
With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love and hope.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Robert Kolker.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to see why the book is Oprah's latest book club selection.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: VALENTINE by Elizabeth Wetmore
Jenna Bush Hager’s “Read with Jenna”
Today Show Book Club Pick for April
VALENTINE by Elizabeth Wetmore (Fiction)
It’s February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town’s men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow.
In the early hours of the morning after Valentine’s Day, 14-year-old Gloria Ramírez appears on the front porch of Mary Rose Whitehead’s ranch house, broken and barely alive. The teenager had been viciously attacked in a nearby oil field --- an act of brutality that is tried in the churches and barrooms of Odessa before it can reach a court of law. When justice is evasive, one of the town’s women decides to take matters into her own hands, setting the stage for a showdown with potentially devastating consequences.
VALENTINE is a haunting exploration of the intersections of violence and race, class and region in a story that plumbs the depths of darkness and fear, yet offers a window into beauty and hope. Told through the alternating points of view of indelible characters who burrow deep in the reader’s heart, this fierce, unflinching, darkly funny and surprisingly tender novel illuminates women’s strength and vulnerability, and reminds us that it is the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: OONA OUT OF ORDER
by Margarita Montimore
April’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
OONA OUT OF ORDER by Margarita Montimore (Fiction)
It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn 19, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens 32 years in the future in her 51-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins OONA OUT OF ORDER.
Hopping through decades, pop culture fads and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met?
Surprising, magical and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love and the power of family.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
ReadingGroupGuides.com’s Latest Blog Post:
“Why Today’s Booksellers are Yesterday’s
Pack Horse Librarians” by Kim Michele Richardson
Kim Michele Richardson’s novel, THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller that released to rave reviews last year. It is based on the true story of the Pack Horse Library Project, a group of librarians who delivered books on horseback to rural areas of Kentucky during the Great Depression. In this timely and much-needed blog post, Kim Michele draws on the history of these brave and dedicated traveling librarians to deliver an important message to readers: Support local bookstores, because today’s booksellers are yesterday’s Pack Horse Librarians, delivering wisdom, escape, entertainment and education during these difficult and uncertain times.
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 read Kim Michele Richardson's blog post.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for April
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Pennie's Pick for Costco. We also feature a number of other prominent picks, including Oprah’s Book Club, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club, Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, the PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” Book Club, and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites.
Below is a preview of April's "Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks." For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: THE GLASS HOTEL by Emily St. John Mandel
VALENTINE by Elizabeth Wetmore
THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by TJ Klune
THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB'S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES by Grady Hendrix
ENTER THE AARDVARK by Jessica Anthony
LibraryReads
LibraryReads Top Pick: THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB'S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES by Grady Hendrix
A BAD DAY FOR SUNSHINE by Darynda Jones
THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd
THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS by Lisa Wingate
CHOSEN ONES by Veronica Roth
Target Book Club
GIRLS LIKE US by Cristina Alger
Pennie's Pick (Costco)
THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS by Jennifer Rosner
Oprah's Book Club
HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Barnes & Noble Book Club
CONJURE WOMEN by Afia Atakora
Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club
UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
VALENTINE by Elizabeth Wetmore
"Good Morning America" Book Club
OONA OUT OF ORDER by Margarita Montimore
PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” Book Club
DISAPPEARING EARTH by Julia Phillips
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner
Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for March’s "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
Announcing Bookreporter.com’s 15th Annual
Mother’s Day Contest: Books Mom Will Love
Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win books for yourself or the special lady in your life in our 15th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Monday, May 11th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes seven great fiction and nonfiction titles we think moms will love.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com’s Ninth Annual
Spring Preview Contests and Feature
Spring is in the air! We’ve caught the fever --- and it’s being fueled by some wonderful new and upcoming releases. Our ninth annual Spring Preview Contests and Feature spotlights many of these picks, which we know people will be talking about over the next few months. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through April 24th at noon ET. You will need to check the site to see the featured book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce each title, which you can sign up for here.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
April’s New in Paperback Roundups on Bookreporter.com
April's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles on Bookreporter.com includes MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner, in which two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present are explored as they struggle to find their places --- and be true to themselves --- in a rapidly evolving world; Joshilyn Jackson's NEVER HAVE I EVER, a twisting novel of domestic suspense in which a group of women play a harmless drinking game that escalates into a war of dark pasts; THE LAST HOUSE GUEST, Megan Miranda’s smart, twisty psychological thriller about an idyllic town in Maine dealing with the suspicious death of one of their own --- and her best “summer” friend, who is trying to uncover the truth...before fingers point her way; and Yara Zgheib's poignant first novel, THE GIRLS AT 17 SWANN STREET, a haunting portrait of a young woman’s struggle with anorexia on an intimate journey to reclaim her life.
Among our nonfiction highlights are STONY THE ROAD, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s profound new rendering of the struggle by African-Americans for equality after the Civil War and the violent counter-revolution that resubjugated them; AMERICAN MOONSHOT, a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon from award-winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author Douglas Brinkley; THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR by true-crime writer John Glatt, which tells the devastating story of the Turpins --- a seemingly normal family whose dark secrets would shock and captivate the world; and BROADWAY, in which Fran Leadon takes us on a mile-by-mile journey up America’s most vibrant and complex thoroughfare, through the history at the heart of Manhattan.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
April 6th, April 13th, April 20th and April 27th.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
In late August 2019, we launched “Bookreporter Talks To,” a video and podcast series where we deliver a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, I have moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal --- to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
By the way, this follows a long history of The Book Report Network delivering compelling programming to readers. Back in 1997, the company hosted the first online interview with John Grisham, which started a tradition of ongoing interviews with authors.
Here are our latest interviews:
Other authors we've interviewed include:
-
Marie Benedict (LADY CLEMENTINE) Video | Podcast
-
Harlan Coben (THE BOY FROM THE WOODS) Video | Podcast
-
Therese Anne Fowler (A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD) Video | Podcast
-
Jesse Kornbluth (JFK AND MARY MEYER: A Love Story) Video | Podcast
-
William Kent Krueger (THIS TENDER LAND) Video | Podcast
-
Liz Moore (LONG BRIGHT RIVER) Video | Podcast
-
Allison Pataki (THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE: A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire) Video | Podcast
-
Kate Elizabeth Russell (MY DARK VANESSA) Video | Podcast
-
Alexis Schaitkin (SAINT X) Video | Podcast
-
Whitney Scharer (THE AGE OF LIGHT) Video | Podcast
-
Rebecca Serle (IN FIVE YEARS) Video | Podcast
-
Cara Wall (THE DEARLY BELOVED) Video | Podcast
-
Amanda Eyre Ward (THE JETSETTERS) Video | Podcast
-
Sheila Weller (CARRIE FISHER: A Life on the Edge) Video | Podcast
-
Beatriz Williams (THE GOLDEN HOUR; THE WICKED REDHEAD; ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE) Video | Podcast
Upcoming interviews include:
-
Mary Kay Andrews (HELLO, SUMMER)
-
Alex George (THE PARIS HOURS)
-
Francesca Serritella (GHOSTS OF HARVARD)
-
Viola Shipman (THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN)
-
Emma Straub (ALL ADULTS HERE)
-
Scott Turow (THE LAST TRIAL)
Watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews and listen to our podcasts.
Enter Our Ongoing Bookreporter.com Contests:
"Word of Mouth" and "Sounding Off on Audio"
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
BECOMING MRS. LEWIS by Patti Callahan (Historical Fiction)
At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, BECOMING MRS. LEWIS is above all a love story --- a love of literature and ideas, and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.
CIRCE by Madeline Miller (Mythological Fantasy)
With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, CIRCE is a triumph of storytelling --- an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.
THE GERMAN HEIRESS by Anika Scott (Historical Fiction)
For readers of THE ALICE NETWORK and THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS, Anika Scott's novel is an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany.
HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (Science/Biography)
HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD is the heartrending story of a mid-century American family with 12 children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW WE'RE STILL HERE: A Post-Holocaust Memoir by Esther Safran Foer (Memoir)
When Esther Safran Foer’s mother casually mentions an astonishing revelation --- that Esther's father had a previous wife and daughter, both killed in the Holocaust --- Esther resolves to find out who they were, and how her father survived.
LET THE WILLOWS WEEP by Sherry Parnell (Fiction)
In the tradition of the best Southern fiction --- from BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA to WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING --- Sherry Parnell’s LET THE WILLOWS WEEP is a heart-wrenching portrait of hardscrabble, humble lives in rural America.
MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell (Fiction)
Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, MY DARK VANESSA is a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.
THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by Louise Erdrich (Historical Fiction)
Based on the extraordinary life of Louise Erdrich’s grandfather --- who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C. --- this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity, and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.
OONA OUT OF ORDER by Margarita Montimore (Fiction)
This remarkably inventive novel explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.
THE RED LOTUS by Chris Bohjalian (Thriller)
An American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam, and his girlfriend, an emergency room doctor trained to ask questions, follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met.
THE SUMMER OF SUNSHINE AND MARGOT by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
The Baxter sisters have only ever had each other --- until one fateful summer when Sunshine and Margot turn disastrous luck into destiny.
VALENTINE by Elizabeth Wetmore (Fiction)
Written with the haunting emotional power of Elizabeth Strout and Barbara Kingsolver, VALENTINE is an astonishing debut novel that explores the lingering effects of a brutal crime on the women of one small Texas oil town in the 1970s.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
MIRACLE CREEK by Angie Kim (Legal Thriller/Mystery)
MIRACLE CREEK is a thrilling debut novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng about how far we’ll go to protect our families --- and our deepest secrets.
MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
In this instant New York Times bestseller and “multigenerational narrative that’s nothing short of brilliant” (People), two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present are explored as they struggle to find their places --- and be true to themselves --- in a rapidly evolving world.
|
