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We have four new "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews to share with you.
First up is Emma Straub, who chatted with Carol about her latest novel, ALL ADULTS HERE,
which is May's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection, a "Read with Jenna"
Today Show Book Club pick for this month, and an upcoming Bets On title.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
Carol had so much fun catching up with Jennifer Weiner, whose new novel,
BIG SUMMER, will be a Bets On pick.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
Mary Kay Andrews talked to Carol about her latest beach read,
HELLO, SUMMER, which will be a Bets On selection.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
Carol had a wonderful conversation with Francesca Serritella, whose debut novel,
GHOSTS OF HARVARD, will be a Bets On pick.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
On Tuesday, May 26th at noon ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will host a
Facebook Live Book Club chat to discuss ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane,
May's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites. Mary Beth will be joining the conversation as well!
Great Books for Reading --- and Discussing --- This May!
In our last newsletter, we asked readers to share comments about their virtual meetings and how they are staying in touch. I loved reading the ways in which you have quickly pivoted in new directions. There were so many terrific comments that we put them together in a blog post that you can read here. From remote meetings using various technologies to email chains, you are keeping your discussions going --- and we love that.
This month, we have a stellar lineup of books that will make for great discussions. Even if your group is not meeting these days, we are sharing titles that you will want to read now to suggest to the rest of your group later.
Our latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title is ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that is now available in paperback. Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They aren’t close friends on the job but end up living next door to each other outside the city. ASK AGAIN, YES explores the friendship and love that blossoms between Francis’ youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian’s son, Peter, who are born six months apart. In the spring of Kate and Peter’s eighth-grade year, a violent event divides the neighbors, the Stanhopes are forced to move away, and the children are forbidden to have any further contact. But Kate and Peter find a way back to each other, and their relationship is tested by the echoes from their past.
Three groups will win 12 copies of ASK AGAIN, YES; to enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 3rd at noon ET. You may remember that I interviewed Mary Beth Keane last year for a “Bookreporter Talks To” segment. If you missed it, or would like to revisit it, you can watch the video here and listen to the podcast here. Also, be sure to check out the discussion guide, our review on Bookreporter and my Bets On commentary.
ASK AGAIN, YES is Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites pick for May. Mary Beth will be joining members of the S&S team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about the book on Tuesday, May 26th at noon ET. We encourage you to join the conversation with your comments about the novel and interact with Mary Beth and your fellow readers.
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: AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens, THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes, THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See, and THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
We have a whopping EIGHT new guides to share with you this month.
Emma Straub’s latest novel, ALL ADULTS HERE, is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection and a “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she'd been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence? I had a delightful conversation with Emma, who explained how she worked on balancing the book to be simultaneously heartfelt, witty and relatable. We also shared our own stories of early motherhood and how those challenges have changed over time. Click here to watch the interview and here to listen to the podcast.
Jenna Bush Hager has this to say about ALL ADULTS HERE: "I loved it because I thought, on one hand, it was light and funny. On the other, Emma Straub has the capability of writing in a way that explores these themes that are important and interesting." She goes on to say, “It is sort of, in my opinion, ironic because in many parts the adults in this novel are not acting very much like adults…. It's about how families can be messy and complicated and, at the same time, centered on love." Click here for more of Jenna’s thoughts on the book, along with Emma’s.
On Tuesday, June 2nd at 7pm ET, B&N will host a Facebook Live discussion with Emma, who will talk about the book with bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. This should be a very entertaining conversation!
Also, it was announced last week that MWM Studios is in development on a new untitled series based on ALL ADULTS HERE. Emma and “Girls” writer-producer Sarah Heyward are set to co-executive produce and co-write the series.
We are thinking summer with BIG SUMMER, Jennifer Weiner’s novel about friendship and forgiveness, which is set during a disastrous wedding on picturesque Cape Cod. I had so much fun catching up with Jen recently for an interview (amusingly, she was in her walk-in closet as we taped it!). We talked about the book’s theme of female friendships and their often-fraught natures, in addition to the role that social media plays in our lives today. Social influencers, as well as body image and women embracing who they are, also rolled into our fast-paced conversation, along with lots of personal stories. Click here to watch the interview and here to listen to the podcast.
We are staying in a summer frame of mind with Mary Kay Andrews’ latest beach read, HELLO, SUMMER. After her new job at a New York City newspaper falls through, Conley Hawkins finds herself right back where she started, working for her family's newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon --- leading to plenty of small-town scandals and big-time secrets. Before writing fiction, Mary Kay wrote for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, so her thoughts on newspapers and newspaper writing are grounded in her own experiences. I had the pleasure of chatting with MKA (as we like to call her around the office) about what’s happening to journalism today, especially in small towns, and her decision to incorporate a mystery into the book. She also talked about what she misses by not being on book tour this year and the isolation of writing. Click here to watch the interview and here to listen to the podcast.
GHOSTS OF HARVARD is the much-talked-about debut novel of Francesca Serritella, who has written nine essay collections with her mother, bestselling author (and book club fave) Lisa Scottoline, about their relationship, which are based on their Sunday column in The Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Chick Wit.” Francesca is a graduate of Harvard University, so it’s only fitting that her first novel revolves around a Harvard freshman who becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother’s suicide. Then she starts hearing voices. I had a terrific discussion with Francesca about her years at Harvard, her research into mental illness and its effect on families, and the ways in which she used mystery and positive emotional moments to engage readers. Click here to watch the interview and here to listen to the podcast.
ALL ADULTS HERE, BIG SUMMER, HELLO, SUMMER and GHOSTS OF HARVARD all will be Bets On picks. My commentaries will appear in tomorrow’s Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter, and we also will feature my comments in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
Alex George follows up A GOOD AMERICAN and SETTING FREE THE KITES with his third work of fiction, THE PARIS HOURS, which is told over the course of a single day in 1927. The publisher describes the novel like this: “Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost.” I look forward to delving into this book as I will be interviewing Alex next week.
Other guides we’re featuring this month include May’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick, THE BOOK OF V., which author Anna Solomon told “GMA” "will transport you, something we all could use these days. From a palace in ancient Persia to a wild party in 1970s Washington, D.C., to treelined Brooklyn in early 2016, you'll lose yourself in these words and get out of your head”; THIS IS HOW I LIED, a psychological thriller from Heather Gudenkauf that revolves around evidence turning up in the murder of a 16-year-old, which reawakens the investigation and threatens to dredge up long-buried secrets for all involved; and THE GLASS HOTEL by Emily St. John Mandel, a mystery that centers on the surprising intersection between two seemingly disparate events --- a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.
Newly released in paperback this week is Shari Lapena’s domestic thriller, SOMEONE WE KNOW, a Bets On pick that boasts two intriguing taglines: Maybe you don't know your neighbors as well as you thought you did and You never really know what people are capable of. I enjoyed talking to Shari last summer for a “Bookreporter Talks To” interview when she was in town for ThrillerFest. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast --- and my Bets On commentary can be found here.
This month’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick is THE HENNA ARTIST, debut novelist Alka Joshi’s portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern. According to Reese, “This vivid story is so rich and complex… reading about Lakshmi’s journey from escaping an abusive marriage to becoming one of the most sought-after henna artists in Jaipur captivated me from the first chapter to the final page.”
THE STREET by Ann Petry is this month’s pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” book club. Here’s more info on the selection: “Originally published in 1946, the story follows Lutie Johnson, a newly single mother who navigates economic hardship and discrimination as she pursues the American dream in 1940s Harlem. THE STREET was the first novel by an African American woman to sell more than a million copies, and it has been reissued for a new audience this year. The contemporary novelist Tayari Jones, author of AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE, wrote an introduction for this new edition of THE STREET, and will engage with readers on the book throughout the month.”
Our Bookreporter Summer Reading contests are back! On select days through the end of August, we will host a series of 24-hour giveaways and on each of the contest days award five readers a book that we think is a great summer read. You will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also will send a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
The 104th annual Pulitzer Prizes were announced last week. Among the winners were THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead (Fiction), SONTAG: Her Life and Work by Benjamin Moser (Biography), and SWEET TASTE OF LIBERTY: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, by W. Caleb McDaniel (History). This is Colson Whitehead's second Pulitzer Prize, following his win in 2017 for THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. The only other authors who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice were William Faulkner, John Updike and Booth Tarkington. Click here for the complete list of winners and nominees in the Journalism, Books, Drama and Music categories. THE NICKEL BOYS will be releasing in paperback for the first time on June 30th.
Our next newsletter will be in early June, and we will share a very special feature with you then! I will not tell you more about it now. Stay tuned.
Here’s to a great book group discussion this month, whatever way you are meeting --- in person six feet apart, or virtually.
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 Paperback Copies of
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane,
a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title, 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 ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane, an extraordinary novel that is now available in paperback. This Bookreporter.com Bets On pick is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness, as two families try to stay afloat amid a resounding tragedy. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 3rd at noon ET.
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane (Fiction)
Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, rookie NYPD cops, are neighbors in the suburbs. What happens behind closed doors in both houses --- the loneliness of Francis’ wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne --- sets the stage for the explosive events to come.
In Mary Beth Keane's extraordinary novel, a lifelong friendship and love blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 30 years. Heartbreaking and redemptive, ASK AGAIN, YES is a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- 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 Mary Beth Keane.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub
May’s Barnes & Noble Book Club Selection,
a “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Pick,
and an Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub (Fiction)
When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she'd been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence?
Astrid's youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid's 13-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most.
In ALL ADULTS HERE, Emma Straub's unique alchemy of wisdom, humor and insight come together in a deeply satisfying story about adult siblings, aging parents, high school boyfriends, middle school mean girls, the lifelong effects of birth order, and all the other things that follow us into adulthood, whether we like them to or not.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Emma Straub.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here for details on B&N's virtual Book Club event on June 2nd.
- Click here to see why the book is May's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
ALL ADULTS HERE will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's commentary in the May 15th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter and in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
New Guide: BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time --- she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media --- so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.
Drue was always the one who had everything --- except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne is no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She has built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.
A sparkling novel about the complexities of female relationships, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, BIG SUMMER is a witty, moving story about family, friendship and figuring out what matters most.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Jennifer Weiner.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
BIG SUMMER will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's commentary in the May 15th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter and in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
New Guide: HELLO, SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
HELLO, SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
It’s a new season...
Conley Hawkins left her family’s small-town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rear view mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks.
For small town scandals...
When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat --- and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.”
And big-time secrets.
Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman --- a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Mary Kay Andrews.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Mary Kay Andrews' website.
Click here for the discussion guide.
HELLO, SUMMER will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's commentary in the May 15th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter and in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
New Guide:
GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Cadence Archer arrives on Harvard’s campus desperate to understand why her brother, Eric, a genius who developed paranoid schizophrenia, took his own life there the year before. Losing Eric has left a black hole in Cady’s life, and while her decision to follow in her brother’s footsteps threatens to break her family apart, she is haunted by questions of what she might have missed. And there’s only one place to find answers.
As Cady struggles under the enormous pressure at Harvard, she investigates her brother’s final year, armed only with a blue notebook of Eric’s cryptic scribblings. She knew he had been struggling with paranoia, delusions and illusory enemies --- but what tipped him over the edge? With her suspicions mounting, Cady herself begins to hear voices, seemingly belonging to three ghosts who walked the university’s hallowed halls --- or huddled in its slave quarters. Among them is a person whose name has been buried for centuries, and another whose name mankind will never forget.
Does she share Eric’s illness, or is she tapping into something else? Cady doesn’t know how or why these ghosts are contacting her, but as she is drawn deeper into their worlds, she believes they’re moving her closer to the truth about Eric, even as keeping them secret isolates her further. Will listening to these voices lead her to the one voice she craves --- her brother’s --- or will she follow them down a path to her own destruction?
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Francesca Serritella.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Francesca Serritella's website.
Click here for the discussion guide.
GHOSTS OF HARVARD will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's commentary in the May 15th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter and in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
New Guide: THE PARIS HOURS by Alex George
THE PARIS HOURS by Alex George (Historical Fiction)
Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost.
Camille was the maid of Marcel Proust, and she has a secret: when she was asked to burn her employer’s notebooks, she saved one for herself. Now she is desperate to find it before her betrayal is revealed. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs puppet shows for children that are nothing like the fairy tales they expect. Lovesick artist Guillaume is down on his luck and running from a debt he cannot repay --- but when Gertrude Stein walks into his studio, he wonders if this is the day everything could change. And Jean-Paul is a journalist who tells other people’s stories, because his own is too painful to tell. When the quartet’s paths finally cross in an unforgettable climax, each discovers if they will find what they are looking for.
Told over the course of a single day in 1927, THE PARIS HOURS takes four ordinary people whose stories, told together, are as extraordinary as the glorious city they inhabit.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Don't miss Carol's interview with Alex George in the
May 22nd Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter
and in the early June ReadingGroupGuides newsletter.
New Guide: THE BOOK OF V. by Anna Solomon
May’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
THE BOOK OF V. by Anna Solomon (Fiction)
Lily is a mother and a daughter. And a second wife. And a writer, maybe? Or she was going to be, before she had children. Now, in her rented Brooklyn apartment she’s grappling with her sexual and intellectual desires, while also trying to manage her roles as a mother and a wife in 2016.
Vivian Barr seems to be the perfect political wife, dedicated to helping her charismatic and ambitious husband find success in Watergate-era Washington, D.C. But one night he demands a humiliating favor, and her refusal to obey changes the course of her life --- along with the lives of others.
Esther is a fiercely independent young woman in ancient Persia, where she and her uncle’s tribe live a tenuous existence outside the palace walls. When an innocent mistake results in devastating consequences for her people, she is offered up as a sacrifice to please the King, in the hopes that she will save them all.
In Anna Solomon's THE BOOK OF V., these three characters' riveting stories overlap and ultimately collide, illuminating how women’s lives have and have not changed over thousands of years.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for May
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 May'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: DEATH IN HER HANDS by Ottessa Moshfegh (now publishing June 23rd)
THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd
THE PARIS HOURS by Alex George
HOLLYWOOD PARK: A Memoir by Mikel Jollett
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub
LibraryReads
LibraryReads Top Pick: SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT by Meryl Wilsner
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub
BEACH READ by Emily Henry
BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner
A GOOD MARRIAGE by Kimberly McCreight
Target Book Club
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane
Pennie's Pick (Costco)
THE SEVEN OR EIGHT DEATHS OF STELLA FORTUNA by Juliet Grames
Barnes & Noble Book Club
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub
Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club
THE HENNA ARTIST by Alka Joshi
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub
"Good Morning America" Book Club
THE BOOK OF V. by Anna Solomon
PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” Book Club
THE STREET by Ann Petry
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane
Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for April’s "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
Announcing Bookreporter.com’s
Summer Reading Contests and Feature
Summer will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through the end of August, so you will 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.
This year’s prize books include:
Click here to read all the contest details and learn more about our prize books.
May’s New in Paperback Roundups on Bookreporter.com
May's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles on Bookreporter.com includes THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger, a magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the early years of the Great Depression that shines new light on a pivotal time in American history; THE GUEST BOOK, in which Sarah Blake deftly examines the life and legacy of one unforgettable family as they navigate the evolving social and political landscape from Crockett’s Island, their family retreat off the coast of Maine; Melanie Benjamin's MISTRESS OF THE RITZ, a captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II, while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hôtel Ritz in Paris; and MET HER MATCH by Jude Deveraux, which examines the tensions between the wealthy townspeople, the summer vacationers and the working-class people who keep the town of Summer Hill, Virginia, and its resort running.
Among our nonfiction highlights are Karen Abbott's THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARK, the epic true crime story of the most successful bootlegger in American history and the murder that shocked the nation; SAVE ME THE PLUMS, trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl's memoir about her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet; THE PIONEERS, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough's chronicle of the settling of the Northwest Territory by dauntless pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would come to define our country; and DAD'S MAYBE BOOK, in which Tim O’Brien shares wisdom from a life in letters, lessons learned in wartime, and the challenges, humor and rewards of raising two sons.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
May 4th, May 11th, May 18th and May 25th.
"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.) You can find a list of all of them here.
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:
Upcoming interviews include:
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Julie Clark (THE LAST FLIGHT)
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Alex George (THE PARIS HOURS)
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Mikel Jollett (HOLLYWOOD PARK: A Memoir)
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Megan Miranda (THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS)
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Stephanie Scott (WHAT'S LEFT OF ME IS YOURS)
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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"
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 May 1st to May 15th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner and HELLO, SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews.
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, May 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 May 1st to June 1st at noon ET, one lucky reader will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Michael Connelly's FAIR WARNING, read by Peter Giles and Zach Villa, and Scott Turow's THE LAST TRIAL, read by John Bedford Lloyd.
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.
Please note: A new Sounding Off on Audio contest will be up
on Monday, June 1st at noon ET.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
AFTERLIFE by Julia Alvarez (Fiction)
Immigrant writer Antonia Vega has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep.
ALL ADULTS HERE by Emma Straub (Fiction)
ALL ADULTS HERE is a warm, funny and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family --- as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes.
BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
BIG SUMMER is a deliciously funny, remarkably poignant and simply unputdownable novel about the power of friendship, the lure of frenemies, and the importance of making peace with yourself through all of life’s ups and downs.
THE BOOK OF LONGINGS by Sue Monk Kidd (Fiction)
Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, THE BOOK OF LONGINGS is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her.
THE BOOK OF V. by Anna Solomon (Fiction)
For fans of THE HOURS and FATES AND FURIES, THE BOOK OF V. is a bold, kaleidoscopic novel intertwining the lives of three women across three centuries as their stories of sex, power and desire finally converge in the present day.
GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
In Francesca Serritella's debut novel, a Harvard freshman becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother’s suicide. Then she starts hearing voices.
THE GLASS HOTEL by Emily St. John Mandel (Mystery)
From the award-winning author of STATION ELEVEN comes an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events --- a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.
THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN by Viola Shipman (Fiction)
In her inimitable style, Viola Shipman explores the unlikely relationship between two very different women brought together by the pain of war, but bonded by hope, purpose…and flowers.
HELLO, SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
After her new job at a New York City newspaper goes up in smoke, Conley Hawkins finds herself right back where she started, working for her family's small-town newspaper. Matters come to a head after Conley witnesses a car accident that ends in the death of a local politician --- a beloved war hero with a secret shady history whose death may not be exactly what it seems.
THE PARIS HOURS by Alex George (Historical Fiction)
Told over the course of a single day in 1927, THE PARIS HOURS takes four ordinary people whose stories, told together, are as extraordinary as the glorious city they inhabit.
QUEEN BEE by Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction)
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank’s Carolina Lowcountry in this evocative tale that returns at long last to her beloved Sullivan’s Island.
THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Twenty-five years ago, the body of 16-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa --- discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane (Fiction)
ASK AGAIN, YES is a profoundly moving novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the friendship between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades, the daily intimacies of marriage, and the power of forgiveness.
THE FRIENDS WE KEEP by Jane Green (Fiction)
THE FRIENDS WE KEEP is about how, despite disappointments we’ve had or mistakes we’ve made, it’s never too late to find a place to call home.
THE GUEST BOOK by Sarah Blake (Fiction)
Moving through three generations and back and forth in time, THE GUEST BOOK asks how we remember and what we choose to forget. It shows the untold secrets we inherit and pass on, unknowingly echoing our parents and grandparents.
SOMEONE WE KNOW by Shari Lapena (Psychological Thriller)
In a quiet, leafy suburb in upstate New York, a teenager has been sneaking into houses --- and into the owners' computers as well --- learning their secrets, and maybe sharing some of them, too. After two anonymous letters are received, whispers start to circulate. And when a woman down the street is found murdered, the tension reaches the breaking point.
THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware (Psychological Thriller)
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, THE TURN OF THE KEY is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
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