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Pictured above are three of this month's book club picks:
Oprah's Book Club: CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
Barnes & Noble Book Club: THE PULL OF THE STARS by Emma Donoghue
Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club: EVERYTHING INSIDE: Stories, by Edwidge Danticat
On Thursday, August 27th at 8pm ET, we look forward to celebrating the 24th anniversary of Bookreporter.com. We will be joined by 10 of our longtime Bookreporter reviewers,
each of whom will share three of their favorite summer reads.
Click on the image above to sign up.
On Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm ET, we will host our third "Bookaccino Live" day session.
Carol will present a number of books releasing between September 15th and October 6th,
along with five titles publishing in November, that she is especially excited about.
Click on the image above to sign up.
We have three new "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews to share with you.
First up is Finola Austin, who talked to Carol about her debut novel, BRONTË’S MISTRESS,
which is a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
Carol had a wonderful discussion with Alice Feeney about her
latest psychological thriller, HIS & HERS, another Bets On pick.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
Carol had the pleasure of talking to Jill McCorkle about her new novel, HIEROGLYPHICS.
Click on the image above for the video and here for the podcast.
On Wednesday, August 26th at 1pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will host a
Facebook Live Book Club chat to discuss THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall, August's pick for
S&S's Book Club Favorites and a Bets On selection. Cara will be joining the conversation as well!
How come the summer months fly by so quickly while winter drags? How can it be August 19th already?
It has been a very busy summer. Our "Bookreporter Talks To" schedule has been full, and I have been attending many evening events with authors. We've compiled a list of other book-themed podcasts that readers suggested; you can see them in our blog here. If you have other ideas, email me with the subject line "Podcast" and we will add them!
I also have been attending many virtual author events in the evening. If you are doing the same, let me know with the subject line "Virtual Events." We are sharing some upcoming ones later in this newsletter.
Last week, we hosted our second “Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books” event, and we featured 26 books releasing between mid-August and early September, as well as five coming in October. We had 200 readers in attendance, and this time we taped it for those of you who missed it. You also can see a list of the featured titles here.
We have scheduled our next two "Bookaccino Live" events. The first will be on Thursday, August 27th at 8pm ET, which is the 24th anniversary of Bookreporter.com. Our guests will be 10 longtime Bookreporter reviewers who each will share three of their favorite summer reads. If you would like to attend, click here to sign up. And then on Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm ET, I will talk about books coming out between September 15th and October 6th, along with five titles from November. You can sign up for that event here. Our room holds up to 500, so feel free to invite friends!
Survey Reminder: If you have not yet answered our book club survey about what’s going on with your book club these days, may we ask you to take a moment to do that here by Monday, August 24th? We are trying to get a handle on how book clubs have pivoted (the most overused word since March, except for maybe "unprecedented") over the past few months.
We love hearing from readers. Lana wrote, "I was fortunate enough to win the December/January 'What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?' contest and received 12 copies of Bonnie Kistler's HOUSE ON FIRE. I received the books in March, but because of the COVID-19 shutdown, our book club did not meet for several months. When we met in June, the books were distributed for reading and discussion at our meeting in late July.
"Let me tell you, HOUSE ON FIRE was definitely worth the wait! All of our members were at the meeting, and everyone loved the book. We found the legal process descriptions fascinating, and those sections were among our favorite parts of the book. We had a long discussion on lying, its short-term and long-term effects, whether it is ever justified, and what it does to the core of the individual doing the lying.
"All the members of the Happy Bookers Book Club were thrilled to receive a free book and effusively thank ReadingGroupGuides!" So glad that they enjoyed this book. It was a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
Lynne wrote this about THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS by Laurie Frankel: "This is the best book I’ve read in years! I lead a book club of psychologists, and the feedback I’ve received so far is spectacular. Thanks so much for your service; I use it for every book we read." We love feedback like this!
We know that there have been hurricanes, derechos and tornadoes across the country that caused major power outages, so we have extended the deadline of our special contest for THREE WOMEN by Lisa Taddeo to this Friday, August 21st at noon ET. This #1 New York Times bestseller, which is newly released in paperback, is a riveting true story about the sex lives of three American women, based on nearly a decade of immersive reporting. Five groups will win 12 copies of the book and the opportunity to chat with Lisa via Zoom or phone. Twenty-five additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by the Friday at noon deadline.
There is still plenty of time to enter our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. The prize book is Marie Benedict’s latest historical novel, LADY CLEMENTINE, which is now in paperback. This Bets On pick from earlier this year focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill. If you would like to be one of the three groups that will win 12 copies of the book, all you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, September 9th at noon ET. I interviewed Marie about the book in March; click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. (Quick note: her name is pronounced Cle-men-TEEN.)
Oprah has announced her latest book club pick: CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. She explains: “Of all the books I’ve chosen for book club over the decades, there isn’t another that is more essential a read than this one. It explains why we are where we are in terms of racial injustice and inequality. Caste, Wilkerson tells us, is a disease from which none of us is immune. Caste divisions pre-date racism and explain why it has continued to flourish. But we have a moment now to rebuild a world without a caste hierarchy --- a world in which all are truly equal and free. I believe this book shows us the way to that world --- this book may well help save us." Oprah will speak to Wilkerson about the book on an upcoming episode of her Apple TV+ series, “Oprah’s Book Club,” this fall.
Emma Donoghue’s new novel, THE PULL OF THE STARS, is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease in 1918, Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Great Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders: Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumored Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney. In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over three days, these women change each other's lives in unexpected ways. Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.
Join Emma Donoghue on B&N’s Facebook page and YouTube channel on Tuesday, September 8th at 7pm ET for a discussion of THE PULL OF THE STARS. If you missed the B&N Book Club event from earlier this month, which featured Rachel Beanland in conversation with bestselling author Ann Hood about her debut novel, FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER (a Bets On pick), you can catch their discussion here.
I am a huge fan of Fiona Davis’ historical novels, so I was excited to hear that her latest, THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE, is the “Good Morning America” Book Club pick for August. A series of book thefts at the iconic New York Public Library leave two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces. Fiona calls the book "historical fiction plus a mystery all rolled up into one" and goes on to say, “It's set at the New York Public Library and it's about a family that lives in an apartment deep inside the building, an apartment that actually existed. It's about the magic of the written word and the power of women's voices, and it's dedicated to some of my favorite people: librarians."
THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE is a Bets On pick; click here for my commentary. Also, be sure to check out the discussion guide and our Bookreporter review. I had so much fun catching up with Fiona this week for a “Bookreporter Talks To” interview, which we will feature in Friday’s Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter.
I also had the pleasure of chatting with Finola Austin about her debut novel, BRONTË’S MISTRESS. By exploring the scandalous historical love affair between Branwell Brontë and Lydia Robinson, Finola gives voice to the woman who allegedly corrupted her son’s innocent tutor and brought down the entire Brontë family. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. (And yes, there may be a reason to hum the song "Mrs. Robinson" as you read the book; you will find out why in the interview.) We also have posted a guide for the book, which you can take a look at here, along with our review on Bookreporter and my Bets On commentary.
This month, Jenna Bush Hager has TWO picks for her “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club: THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman and HERE IT IS: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas.
THE COMEBACK is about a young Hollywood actress and the dark secret she’s ready to confront. Jenna calls it “[a] beautifully written and compulsively readable book [that] broke me from my pandemic blockage.” According to Berman, "I really wanted to focus on the aftermath of trauma as opposed to the actual incident itself, and I wanted to show how that can affect someone --- their relationship with everyone in their life, their friendships, their career --- that feeling of numbness or being frozen." Click here for the guide.
With HERE IT IS, R. Eric Thomas, the creator of Elle’s “Eric Reads the News,” has written a memoir-in-essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope, and experiencing every awkward, extraordinary stumble along the way. Says Thomas: "I had been telling a lot of these stories that are included in the book in the essay form at live storytelling shows for a long time and I realized that a story has the power to unite people whether we have different backgrounds or not and to engender empathy." You can take a look at the guide here.
EVERYTHING INSIDE by Edwidge Danticat is this month’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick. Reese says, “It’s a collection of eight beautiful stories shaped by different Haitian women’s experience with love and loss. I chose this book as our August book pick because I was so moved by the resilience and strength that these women exemplified. It’s such an empowering read that taught me a lot about intricacies of Haitian culture. I’m really looking forward to discussing it and learning which story is your favorite!”
THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall, a Bets On selection that is now available in paperback, is this month’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites. Cara will join members of the S&S team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about the book on Wednesday, August 26th at 1pm ET. We encourage you to join the conversation with your comments about the novel and interact with Cara and your fellow readers. In the meantime, don’t miss the guide, our Bookreporter review, my Bets On commentary, and my “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Cara (click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast).
Earlier this month, William Kent Krueger joined the S&S team to chat about THIS TENDER LAND, their July pick and another Bets On title that is now in paperback. Click here for their lively discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
For more August selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
Other new guides we’re featuring this month include THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES, Kristin Harmel’s latest novel that is inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, in which a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis; HIS & HERS, a new psychological thriller from Alice Feeney about a newsreader who is reluctant to cover the case of a murdered woman, and a detective who is suspicious of her and then becomes a suspect in his own investigation; Susan Mallery’s THE FRIENDSHIP LIST, in which two best friends jumpstart their lives in a summer that will change them forever; and CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles, a tale of friendship, betrayal and shattering secrets that threaten to destroy a small Mississippi town (this guide was written by our Bookreporter reviewer, Ray Palen).
I interviewed Alice Feeney a couple of weeks ago about HIS & HERS, along with Jill McCorkle about her latest novel, HIEROGLYPHICS, which is about the burden of secrets carried across generations. You can find links to the videos and podcasts of these interviews, along with many others, on our “Videos & Podcasts” page.
It's been one very busy summer thus far. We will be back to you the week of September 14th with our next newsletter. Keep reading and talking about books until then!
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 Guide: THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis
August’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
and a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis (Historical Fiction)
It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of life --- her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she finds herself drawn to Greenwich Village's new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club --- a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control and women's rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. But when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she's forced to confront her shifting priorities head on...and may just lose everything in the process.
Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she's wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes and books for the exhibit Sadie is running begin disappearing from the library's famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-averse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage --- truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library's history.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
- Click here to see why the book is August's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Don't miss Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Fiona Davis
in the August 21st Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter.
New Guide: BRONTË’S MISTRESS by Finola Austin
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
BRONTË’S MISTRESS by Finola Austin (Historical Fiction)
Yorkshire, 1843: Lydia Robinson --- mistress of Thorp Green Hall --- has lost her precious young daughter and her mother within the same year. She returns to her bleak home, grief-stricken and unmoored. With her teenage daughters rebelling, her testy mother-in-law scrutinizing her every move, and her marriage grown cold, Lydia is restless and yearning for something more.
All of that changes with the arrival of her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, brother of her daughters’ governess, Miss Anne Brontë, and those other writerly sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Branwell has his own demons to contend with --- including living up to the ideals of his intelligent family --- but his presence is a breath of fresh air for Lydia. Handsome, passionate and uninhibited by social conventions, he’s also 25 to her 43. A love of poetry, music and theater bring mistress and tutor together, and Branwell’s colorful tales of his sisters’ elaborate play-acting and made-up worlds form the backdrop for seduction.
But Lydia’s new taste of passion comes with consequences. As Branwell’s inner turmoil rises to the surface, his behavior grows erratic and dangerous, and whispers of their passionate relationship spout from her servants’ lips, reaching all three protective Brontë sisters. Soon, it falls on Lydia to save not just her reputation, but her way of life, before those clever girls reveal all her secrets in their novels. Unfortunately, she might be too late.
Meticulously researched and deliciously told, BRONTË’S MISTRESS is a captivating reimagining of the scandalous affair that has divided Brontë enthusiasts for generations and an illuminating portrait of a courageous, sharp-witted woman who fights to emerge with her dignity intact.
- 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 Finola Austin.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES
by Kristin Harmel
THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in 65 years --- a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.
The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II --- an experience Eva remembers well --- and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an 18th-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from --- or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer. But will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS and THE ALICE NETWORK, THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Special Contest: Enter to Win 12 Paperback Copies of
THREE WOMEN for Your Group
and the Opportunity to Chat with Author Lisa Taddeo
Based on nearly a decade of reporting, THREE WOMEN is a riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women. We are giving five groups the chance to win 12 copies of this instant New York Times bestseller --- which is now available in paperback --- plus the opportunity to chat with its author, Lisa Taddeo. Twenty-five additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, August 21st at noon ET.
THREE WOMEN by Lisa Taddeo (Women's Studies/Social Science)
Hailed as “a dazzling achievement” (Los Angeles Times) and “riveting page-turner that explores desire, heartbreak and infatuation in all its messy, complicated nuance” (The Washington Post), Lisa Taddeo’s THREE WOMEN has captivated readers, booksellers and critics --- and topped bestseller lists --- worldwide.
Declared “the best book of the year” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “a breathtaking and important book” by Cheryl Strayed, THREE WOMEN has won praise everywhere from Columbia Journalism Review (“deeply reported, elegantly written, almost uncomfortably intimate”) to Refinery29 (“the hype for THREE WOMEN is real; in fact, it’s insufficient”), from Esquire (“a heartbreaking, gripping, astonishing masterpiece”) to Time (“THREE WOMEN is a battle cry… For anyone who thinks they know what women want, this book is an alarm, and its volume is turned all the way up.”) In the words of The New Statesman, “This is an unusual, startling, and gripping debut. It feels to me like the kind of bold, timely, once-in-a-generation book that every house should have a copy of, and probably will before too long.”
In suburban Indiana we meet Lina, the homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, the 17-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in the northeast we meet Sloane, the successful, refined restaurant owner whose husband enjoys watching her have sex with other men and women.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to watch the book trailer.
- Click here to meet the three individuals who brought the book to life.
- Click here to watch Lisa Taddeo and Katie Couric talk about the book.
Click here to enter the contest.
“What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” Contest: Enter to Win 12 Paperback Copies of
LADY CLEMENTINE by Marie Benedict 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 LADY CLEMENTINE by Marie Benedict, which is now available in paperback. This Bookreporter.com Bets On pick is an incredible novel that focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, September 9th at noon ET.
LADY CLEMENTINE by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
In 1909, Clementine steps off a train with her new husband, Winston. An angry woman emerges from the crowd to attack, shoving him in the direction of an oncoming train. Just before he stumbles, Clementine grabs him by his suit jacket. This will not be the last time Clementine Churchill will save her husband.
LADY CLEMENTINE is the ferocious story of the ambitious woman beside Winston Churchill, the story of a partner who did not flinch through the sweeping darkness of war, and who would not surrender either to expectations or to enemies.
- 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 Marie Benedict.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney (Psychological Thriller)
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, his and hers. Which means someone is always lying.
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.
Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
- 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 Alice Feeney.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guides: THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman
and HERE FOR IT by R. Eric Thomas
August’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Picks
THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman (Fiction)
At the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, teen star Grace Turner disappeared.
Now, tentatively sober and surprisingly numb, Grace is back in Los Angeles after her year of self-imposed exile. She knows the new private life she wants isn’t going to be easy as she tries to be a better person and reconnect with the people she left behind.
But when Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke --- the man who controlled her every move for eight years --- she realizes that she can’t run from the secret behind her spectacular crash and burn for much longer. And she’s the only one with nothing left to lose.
Alternating between past and present, THE COMEBACK tackles power dynamics and the uncertainty of young adulthood, the types of secrets that become part of our sense of self, and the moments when we learn that, though there are many ways to get hurt, we can still choose to fight back.
- Click here to see why the book is August's "Read with Jenna" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
HERE FOR IT: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas (Memoir/Essays)
R. Eric Thomas didn’t know he was different until the world told him so. Everywhere he went --- whether it was his rich, mostly white, suburban high school, his conservative black church, or his Ivy League college in a big city --- he found himself on the outside looking in.
In essays by turns hysterical and heartfelt, Thomas reexamines what it means to be an “other” through the lens of his own life experience. He explores the two worlds of his childhood: the barren urban landscape where his parents’ house was an anomalous bright spot, and the Eden-like school they sent him to in white suburbia. He writes about struggling to reconcile his Christian identity with his sexuality, the exhaustion of code-switching in college, accidentally getting famous on the internet (for the wrong reason), and the surreal experience of covering the 2016 election for Elle online, and the seismic changes that came thereafter.
Ultimately, Thomas seeks the answers to these ever more relevant questions: Is the future worth it? Why do we bother when everything seems to be getting worse? As the world continues to shift in unpredictable ways, Thomas finds the answers to these questions by reenvisioning what “normal” means and in the powerful alchemy that occurs when you at last place yourself at the center of your own story.
HERE FOR IT will resonate deeply and joyfully with everyone who has ever felt pushed to the margins, struggled with self-acceptance, or wished to shine more brightly in a dark world. Stay here for it --- the future may surprise you.
- Click here to see why the book is August's "Read with Jenna" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles
Now Available in Trade Paperback
CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles (Thriller)
When Marshall McEwan left his Mississippi hometown at 18, he vowed never to return. The trauma that drove him away spurred him to become one of the most successful journalists in Washington, DC. But as the ascendancy of a chaotic administration lifts him from print fame to television stardom, Marshall discovers that his father is terminally ill, and he must return home to face the unfinished business of his past.
On arrival, he finds Bienville, Mississippi, very much changed. His family’s 150-year-old newspaper is failing; and Jet Talal, the love of his youth, has married into the family of Max Matheson, one of a dozen powerful patriarchs who rule the town through the exclusive Bienville Poker Club. To Marshall’s surprise, the Poker Club has taken a town on the brink of extinction and offered it salvation, in the form of a billion-dollar Chinese paper mill. But on the verge of the deal being consummated, two murders rock Bienville to its core, threatening far more than the city’s economic future.
An experienced journalist, Marshall has seen firsthand how the corrosive power of money and politics can sabotage investigations. Joining forces with his former lover --- who through her husband has access to the secrets of the Poker Club --- Marshall begins digging for the truth behind those murders. But he and Jet soon discover that the soil of Mississippi is a minefield where explosive secrets can destroy far more than injustice. The South is a land where everyone hides truths: of blood and children, of love and shame, of hate and murder --- of damnation and redemption. The Poker Club’s secret reaches all the way to Washington, D.C., and could shake the foundations of the U.S. Senate. But by the time Marshall grasps the long-buried truth about his own history, he would give almost anything not to have to face it.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for August
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 August'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: MIGRATIONS by Charlotte McConaghy
LUSTER by Raven Leilani
HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir
THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI by Akwaeke Emezi
FLYAWAY by Kathleen Jennings
LibraryReads
LibraryReads Top Pick: YOU HAD ME AT HOLA by Alexis Daria
CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline
HARROW THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir
THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin
Target Book Club
THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Pennie's Pick (Costco)
LAST ORDERS by Graham Swift
Oprah's Book Club
CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Barnes & Noble Book Club
THE PULL OF THE STARS by Emma Donoghue
Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club
EVERYTHING INSIDE: Stories by Edwidge Danticat
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman and HERE IT IS: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas
"Good Morning America" Book Club
THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis
PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” Book Club
BEIJING PAYBACK by Daniel Nieh
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall
New August Releases of Interest to Book Groups
Below are a number of books releasing in August for the first time (which we aren't currently featuring on the site) that we think will be of interest to book groups.
BETTY by Tiffany McDaniel (Historical Fiction)
BETTY is a stunning, lyrical novel set in the rolling foothills of the Appalachians about a young girl and the family truths that will haunt her for the rest of her life.
THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline (Historical Fiction)
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller ORPHAN TRAIN returns with an ambitious, emotionally resonant historical novel that captures the hardship, oppression, opportunity and hope of a trio of women’s lives --- two English convicts and an orphaned Aboriginal girl --- in 19th-century Australia.
GROWN UPS by Emma Jane Unsworth (Fiction)
"Fleabag" meets CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS in this brutally honest, observant, original novel about a woman going through a breakup…but really having more of a breakdown.
LITTLE DISASTERS by Sarah Vaughan (Psychological Thriller)
From the bestselling author of ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL comes a new thought-provoking novel exploring the complexity of motherhood and all that connects and disconnects us.
LUSTER by Raven Leilani (Fiction)
Irresistibly unruly and strikingly beautiful, razor-sharp and slyly comic, sexually charged and utterly absorbing, Raven Leilani’s LUSTER is a portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of her life --- her hunger, her anger --- in a tumultuous era.
ROYAL by Danielle Steel (Historical Romance)
In this spellbinding tale from Danielle Steel, a princess is sent away to safety during World War II, where she falls in love and is lost forever.
SHOW THEM YOU'RE GOOD: A Portrait of Boys in the City of Angels the Year Before College by Jeff Hobbs (Social Sciences)
The bestselling, critically acclaimed, award-winning author of THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE presents a brilliant and transcendent work that closely follows four Los Angeles high school boys as they apply to college.
THE SMALLEST LIGHTS IN THE UNIVERSE: A Memoir by Sara Seager (Science/Memoir)
In this luminous memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth.
THE SOCRATES EXPRESS: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers by Eric Weiner (Philosophy/Essays)
The New York Times bestselling author of THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS embarks on a rollicking intellectual journey, following in the footsteps of history’s greatest thinkers and showing us how each --- from Epicurus to Gandhi, Thoreau to Beauvoir --- offers practical and spiritual lessons for today’s unsettled times.
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU by Caroline Leavitt (Fiction)
A story of love, loyalty, loss and resilience, WITH OR WITHOUT YOU is a page-turner that asks the question: What do we owe the other people in our lives, and when does the cost become too great?
August’s New in Paperback Roundups
on Bookreporter.com
August's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles on Bookreporter.com includes FIND ME by André Aciman, which revisits the characters of Elio and Oliver decades after their first meeting in 2007’s CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; Angie Cruz's DOMINICANA, a vital portrait of the immigrant experience and the timeless coming-of-age story of a young woman finding her voice in the world; IS THERE STILL SEX IN THE CITY? by Candace Bushnell, which follows a cohort of female friends --- Sassy, Kitty, Queenie, Tilda Tia, Marilyn and Candace --- as they navigate the ever-modernizing phenomena of midlife dating and relationships; and THE NANNY, a dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets from Gilly Macmillan that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another.
Among our nonfiction highlights are THIS CHAIR ROCKS, Ashton Applewhite's rousing manifesto calling for an end to discrimination and prejudice on the basis of age; BARNUM: An American Life, the first major biography of P.T. Barnum in a generation, in which Robert Wilson captures the full genius, infamy and allure of the ebullient showman, who, from birth to death, repeatedly reinvented himself; and PRINCE ALBERT, a companion biography to the acclaimed VICTORIA, in which A. N. Wilson offers a deeply textured and ambitious portrait of Prince Albert.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
August 3rd, August 10th, August 17th and August 24th.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE END OF HER by Shari Lapena and
FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER by Rachel Beanland
THE END OF HER by Shari Lapena (Psychological Thriller)
Reading Shari Lapena’s new thriller, THE END OF HER, meant that I spent a day where nothing else got done! Her books are ones that I literally inhale. I interviewed her last year, and we talked about how she carefully works to make her novels addictive --- from the overall setup to the brisk writing and the unstoppable chapter endings.
In THE END OF HER, Patrick and Stephanie Kilgour are new parents coping with twin infant girls who are colicky. Each night they walk the floors with their inconsolable girls, and then they trip through their days bleary-eyed. Stephanie is a stay-at-home mom, while Patrick is a partner in an architecture firm. While their lives are exhausting, they are happy.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on THE END OF HER.
FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER by Rachel Beanland (Historical Fiction)
FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER by Rachel Beanland is a wonderful treasure of a novel. It takes place during the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City and is inspired by a secret that was kept by Rachel’s own family.
As it opens, Florence is training to swim the English Channel, and her loved ones are rallying behind her. However, fate steps in, and suddenly the Adler family is thrown in a completely different direction, which will test them all.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Rachel Beanland.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary
on FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER.
From left to right: Raven Leilani, Fredrik Backman, Emma Donoghue
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
As so many book and author events are happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.
Thursday, August 20th at 6pm ET: Malaprop's Virtual Event: Jill McCorkle, whose latest novel is HIEROGLYPHICS, will be in conversation with Lee Smith, whose most recent book is BLUE MARLIN, a novella.
Thursday, August 20th at 8pm ET: Skylark Bookshop Virtual Event: Join award-winning author Raven Leilani for a virtual discussion of her debut novel of sexual manners and racial politics, LUSTER.
Sunday, August 23rd at 2pm ET: Boswell Book Company Virtual Event: Boswell hosts a virtual event with British author Emma Jane Unsworth for a chat about her latest book, GROWN UPS, one of Bustle’s Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020 and a favorite of several Boswell booksellers.
Tuesday, August 25th at 1pm ET: Politics & Prose Live at Lunch!: Politics & Prose Live! presents a Literary Lunch Series event featuring Jacki Lyden in conversation with Eric Weiner, author of THE SOCRATES EXPRESS: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers.
Tuesday, August 25th at 6pm ET: Writing Historical Fiction about Real People: Finola Austin, author of the debut novel BRONTË’S MISTRESS, will be in conversation with writer and actor Susan Wands for a Q&A on the joys and perils of writing fiction based on real historical figures.
Wednesday, August 26th at 1pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites Online Event: Cara Wall will join members of the Simon & Schuster team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about THE DEARLY BELOVED, which is now in paperback and is this month's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.
Thursday, August 27th at 8pm ET: Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books: To celebrate the 24th anniversary of Bookreporter.com, we have invited 10 of our longtime Bookreporter reviewers to share with us three of their favorite summer reads.
Tuesday, September 1st at 8pm ET: PEN Out Loud: Bestselling author Yaa Gyasi joins PEN Out Loud to celebrate the publication of her new novel, TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM. She will be joined in conversation with bestselling author Roxane Gay.
Tuesday, September 8th at 7pm ET: Barnes & Noble Virtual Book Club Event: Barnes & Noble will host a Facebook Live discussion for their August book club pick, THE PULL OF THE STARS, featuring author Emma Donoghue.
Wednesday, September 9th at 1pm ET: Lemuria Bookstore Virtual Event: M.O. Walsh, the New York Times bestselling author of MY SUNSHINE AWAY, will discuss his new book, THE BIG DOOR PRIZE, with author Katy Simpson Smith.
Wednesday, September 9th at 5pm ET: Midtown Scholar Bookstore Virtual Event: Join #1 New York Times bestselling authors Fredrik Backman and Ruth Ware for an exclusive live-stream conversation about their new novels, ANXIOUS PEOPLE and ONE BY ONE. They will be interviewed by bestselling author Wendy Walker, whose upcoming thriller is DON'T LOOK FOR ME.
Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm ET: Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books: Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing from mid-September to mid-October, along with five from November, that she would like to get on your radar.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has 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 is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
Here are our latest interviews:
Other authors we've interviewed include:
Upcoming interviews include:
-
Fiona Davis (THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE)
-
Robert Dugoni (THE LAST AGENT)
-
Christina Baker Kline (THE EXILES)
-
Ruth Ware (ONE BY ONE)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and 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 August 14th to August 28th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of BETTY by Tiffany McDaniel and THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline.
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, August 28th 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 August 3rd to September 8th at noon ET, one lucky reader will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Emma Donoghue's THE PULL OF THE STARS, read by Emma Lowe, and Sandra Brown's THICK AS THIEVES, read by Kyf Brewer.
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 BOOK OF LOST NAMES by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this unforgettable historical novel from the international bestselling author of THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE.
BRONTË’S MISTRESS by Finola Austin (Historical Fiction)
This dazzling debut novel for fans of MRS. POE and LONGBOURN explores the scandalous historical love affair between Branwell Brontë and Lydia Robinson, giving voice to the woman who allegedly corrupted her son’s innocent tutor and brought down the entire Brontë family.
CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles (Thriller)
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy returns with an electrifying tale of friendship, betrayal and shattering secrets that threaten to destroy a small Mississippi town.
THE COMEBACK by Ella Berman (Fiction)
THE COMEBACK is a deep dive into the psyche of a young actress raised in the spotlight under the influence of a charming, manipulative film director and the moment when she decides his time is up.
THE FRIENDSHIP LIST by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
In #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery's latest novel, two best friends jumpstart their lives in a summer that will change them forever.
HERE FOR IT: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas (Memoir/Essays)
From the creator of Elle’s “Eric Reads the News” comes a heartfelt and hilarious memoir-in-essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope, and experiencing every awkward, extraordinary stumble along the way.
HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney (Psychological Thriller)
HIS & HERS is a twisty and smart psychological thriller --- a gripping tale of suspense, told by expertly drawn narrators that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis (Historical Fiction)
In nationally bestselling author Fiona Davis' latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.
THREE WOMEN by Lisa Taddeo (Women's Studies/Social Science)
This instant #1 New York Times bestseller is a riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
FIND ME by André Aciman (Fiction)
In this spellbinding exploration of the varieties of love, the author of the worldwide bestseller CALL ME BY YOUR NAME revisits its complex and beguiling characters decades after their first meeting.
LADY CLEMENTINE by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
From Marie Benedict, the New York Times bestselling author of THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, comes an incredible novel that focuses on one of the people who had the most influence during World War I and World War II: Clementine Churchill.
THE OTHER MRS. by Mary Kubica (Psychological Thriller)
Propulsive and addictive, and perfect for fans of “You,” THE OTHER MRS. is the twisty new psychological thriller from Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL.
RIGHT AFTER THE WEATHER by Carol Anshaw (Fiction)
The author of the “graceful and compassionate” (People) New York Times bestseller CARRY THE ONE presents a vividly affecting novel exploring what happens when one chance encounter forces four ordinary people to discover who they really are.
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