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Book Group Reading: It’s Still About the Books
The past few weeks have had me thinking a lot about how many things have changed --- and stayed the same --- in the last year. One of the book groups that I belong to has done a combo of in-person and Zoom meetings, with us sometimes skipping a month when life just gets in the way. The group is made up of a lot of young moms, and they have been juggling…a lot. But what has stayed the same? We all are reading. We have a Facebook Group page where we talk about what books we are reading --- and often our next selections are made on that page. What has connected us has been the books --- the desire to share what we have read and to explore what else is out there. We have authors we all love; we also know each other’s tastes. And while everything may not be for everyone, our reading horizons are expanded through our conversations and posts, and we are brought together by our shared comments.
I have been hearing this from so many people --- how books have been connecting them. I follow numerous book group pages on social media, and the passion with which people talk about books continues to energize me. I also love seeing readers discovering new authors --- and then seeking out more by them.
One of my old friends from my magazine days sent me a Facebook note about a book that she loved --- THE BARBIZON --- and then snail mailed her copy to me when she was finished with it. Donna and I have been friends for decades, but we never have discussed books with each other. I then plucked a copy of THE PUSH from my shelves and sent it her way. We’ve never exchanged gifts in the past, and except for a day when we caught up about two years ago, we have not seen each other in person. Thus this book connection was all the more special.
While so much has changed in the past year, I have loved seeing what feels like an increase in people enjoying books --- and talking about them. There really is a bond between us readers. Thanks for being one of them!
On Monday, I had so much fun catching up with Lisa Scottoline for my latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview. We talked about her first work of historical fiction, ETERNAL, a New York Times bestseller that we featured in our last newsletter. She shared her inspiration for the book, which was four decades in the making. The seeds of it were sown during a class she took at the University of Pennsylvania that was taught by Philip Roth, and the fictional works of Primo Levi were part of the curriculum. She was drawn to write about the rise of Fascism and Mussolini in Italy and how the invasion of the Nazis put the lives of Italian Jews in jeopardy.
Told through the eyes of three childhood friends --- Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro --- ETERNAL makes their story of heartbreak, betrayal and loss a personal one. In the interview, Lisa also discussed her research for the novel, including a trip to Italy where she created the videos that she has shared with readers on her website. It’s a riveting conversation about the book she feels she was destined to write. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
Announcing Our New Special Contest!
This month we are featuring a contest for Gabriela Garcia’s much-talked-about debut novel, OF WOMEN AND SALT, which is a New York Times bestseller, this month’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. It revolves around a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born. Gabriela told “GMA,” "Women have carried me, made me who I am, and I really wanted to write against tropes that reduce women --- in particular, immigrant mothers --- to their suffering or their sacrifice, and to really portray the depths and the multitudes that exist within every woman." Five readers will win up to 12 copies of the book for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, May 5th at noon ET.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Gabriela recently for a "Bookreporter Talks To" interview. She shared her personal journey to write the book, discussed many of the timely cultural topics that are addressed in her prose, and explained how she worked to blend her female characters' voices together. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. Also, be sure to check out our review on Bookreporter and my Bets On commentary.
Our Latest Monthly Contest is Live!
Chris Whitaker’s new novel, WE BEGIN AT THE END, has been one of the standout releases of the year thus far and already is in the works to be adapted into a television series. It has gotten so much attention (and deservedly so) that we decided to make it the prize in our latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. Set in both California and Montana, the plot revolves around 13-year-old Duchess and a fortysomething sheriff named Walk, both of whom have tons of baggage between them. Duchess is rebellious, tough and fiercely protective of her brother, Robin; she calls herself an outlaw. Walk carries the burden of being responsible for his best friend, Vincent King, going to prison for 30 years from the time he was only 15. As Vincent is finally being freed, Walk ponders what is coming to him. Three groups will win 12 copies of the book. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 5th at noon ET.
Along with being a Bets On selection, WE BEGIN AT THE END was March’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. Last Tuesday, A. J. Finn, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, talked to Chris about the book on B&N’s Facebook page. There was some lively banter between the two of them that was fun to listen in on. You can watch their conversation here. And if you missed my “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Chris, you can watch it here and listen to it as a podcast here.
Speaking of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, last week I attended the launch event for the movie based on the book, which Netflix will release on May 14th. It was star-studded, with Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Wyatt Russell, Anthony Mackie and Fred Hechinger, as well as director Joe Wright, sharing their thoughts on the filming. It was the first time that Amy and Julianne had worked together, which was a fun nugget to learn. This movie has been a long time in the making! It was originally done for Fox 2000, the studio that was sold to Disney, which in turn sold the film to Netflix. You can watch the trailer here. It's very creepy!
You may recall that I interviewed Kristin Hannah in February for the Morristown Festival of Books @Home series. I talked to her about her latest bestseller, THE FOUR WINDS --- including her inspiration and writing process for it --- and so much more about her impressive 30-year writing career, including THE NIGHTINGALE and FIREFLY LANE, the latter of which was adapted into a smashingly successful series on Netflix. The interview is now up on the Festival’s YouTube page. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
Since our last newsletter, we have heard from three more book groups who won our audiobook contest for THE FOUR WINDS from earlier this year. They wrote to us about their experience listening to the audio version of the book, which is narrated by Julia Whelan. Click here for their feedback; more comments will be added in the weeks to come.
In our previous “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, THE FOUR WINDS was the book mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read. That was followed by THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett, AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, and ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
New Guides We've Added --- See more about them later in this newsletter!
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GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney: The author of the instant New York Times bestseller THE NEST is back with a new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship. Jenna Bush Hager has selected the book as April’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. She says, "It’s in some ways a coming-of-age book for a woman that is about to become an empty nester. We will always evolve and change. Watching this character do that will feel very relatable for a lot of different women."
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NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry: The acclaimed author of UNDER THE HARROW and A DOUBLE LIFE is back with the heart-pounding story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRA. Reese Witherspoon has selected the book as this month’s Reese’s Book Club pick and has this to say: “I loved this thrill ride of a book, especially the twist that I did not see coming. [It] builds to the most tremendous climax, heart-pounding action, you don’t know who to trust. I could not stop turning the pages! Sisterhood, motherhood and espionage all in one book.”
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MOTHER MAY I by Joshilyn Jackson: The bestselling and critically acclaimed author of NEVER HAVE I EVER returns with a chilling domestic thriller about a mother who must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves. In his Bookreporter review, Joe Hartlaub says that the book “avoids the clichés that are beginning to creep into the subgenre" and that Jackson "keeps the pages turning and readers guessing from the first sentence to the last paragraph.”
Here are four debut historical novels that you may want to consider discussing with your group:
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THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE by Kelly Mustian: THIS TENDER LAND meets WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING in this Southern novel that tells the harrowing and poignant story of two hardscrabble teenage girls who are cast in an unlikely partnership through murder. This is our current Historical Fiction Author Spotlight title on Bookreporter, and our reviewer Bronwyn Miller had the opportunity to ask Kelly some questions about the book. Click here to read the interview.
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YOU BELONG HERE NOW by Dianna Rostad: This brilliant novel, which is my latest Bets On pick, centers on three orphans who journey westward from New York City to the Big Sky Country of Montana, hoping for a better life. Note that William Kent Krueger said, “I love this book, and I guarantee you won’t find a finer debut book anywhere.” I am going to schedule an interview with Dianna in the coming weeks.
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THE VINES by Shelley Nolden: This captivating tale of love, betrayal, survival and loss --- the first in a planned series --- spans over a hundred years and explores a long-forgotten place: New York City’s abandoned North Brother Island, which has a fascinating and tragic history.
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LADY BE GOOD by Pamela Hamilton: A longtime NBC News producer has penned a moving portrait of Dorothy Hale, the legendary 1930s socialite who is immortalized in one of Frida Kahlo's most celebrated paintings.
Please keep in mind that next Wednesday, April 21st at 12pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will discuss this month’s Book Club Favorites pick, BIG SUMMER, with author Jennifer Weiner. This Bets On title from last year is now available in paperback. Click here to RSVP for the event.
For more April selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our third “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place next Thursday, April 22nd at 8pm ET. Kim Michele Richardson will be our special guest, and I will talk to her about THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK, which has been a book club favorite for the past two years. She also will be answering questions from those in attendance, including a select few who will join us “on stage.” Click here to register. If you have a question for Kim Michele that you would like to ask on camera, please send me an email with the subject line “Question for Kim Michele.”
Our next "Bookaccino Live" afternoon event will take place on Wednesday, May 12th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between May 11th and June 1st, along with a few from July, that I think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win prizes.
If you missed this week’s event, where I talked about 29 titles coming out from April 13th to May 4th, along with seven June releases, you can watch it here and see a list of the featured titles here.
In the last newsletter, we featured my Bets On commentary for Nadia Hashimi’s new novel, SPARKS LIKE STARS. Now I am pleased to share my “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Nadia. The book centers on an Afghan American woman who returns to Kabul to learn the truth about her family and the tragedy that destroyed their lives. Nadia talked to me about the troubled history of American war and politics, and how questionable behavior from certain countries tread a gray line of morality. We also discussed the effects that war has had on culture in unexpected ways and what that means for changing personal decisions as people move on. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
As you may know, there has been a huge rise in audiobook listening. Next Saturday, April 24th from 11am ET to 12pm ET, I am looking forward to moderating a panel at the Newburyport Literary Festival about audiobooks, featuring three prominent narrators. Below is more about my panel, and here is more information about the festival and their schedule of events.
Listen Up! Audiobooks Turn Up the Volume for the Publishing Industry
The audiobook market, predicted to reach $3.5 billion this year, has turned the publishing industry on, well, its ear. Join Carol Fitzgerald of Bookreporter.com as she talks with three prolific audiobook narrators. Imogen Church has narrated her own writing as well as the work of others, and January LaVoy and Robert Petkoff are two successful actors who have discovered and thrived in an additional career in the audiobook world. They’ll discuss the ins and outs of audiobook work and what the incredible growth in the industry means for how we consume books and how publishers present them to us.
Here's to you having a great discussion with your group this month!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
New Special Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of Gabriela Garcia’s OF WOMEN AND SALT, April’s
“Good Morning America” Book Club Pick and
a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title, for Your Group
OF WOMEN AND SALT, Gabriela Garcia's instant New York Times bestselling debut novel, is about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born. We are giving five groups the chance to win up to 12 copies of the book, which is April's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, May 5th at noon ET.
OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia (Fiction)
In present-day Miami, Jeanette is battling addiction. She is determined to learn more about her family history from her reticent mother, a Cuban immigrant named Carmen, and makes the snap decision to take in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE. Still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, Carmen must process her difficult relationship with her own mother while trying to raise a wayward Jeanette. Steadfast in her quest for understanding, Jeanette travels to Cuba to see her grandmother and reckon with secrets from the past destined to erupt.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- 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 Gabriela Garcia.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to see why the book is April's "GMA" Book Club pick.
Click here to enter the contest.
“What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of WE BEGIN AT THE END
by Chris Whitaker, a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
and 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 WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker, a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. An instant New York Times bestseller, this genre-defying novel is about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love --- in all its different guises --- wins. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 5th at noon ET.
WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker (Mystery/Thriller)
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, 30 years later, Vincent is being released. Duchess is a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. When trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- 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 Chris Whitaker.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
April’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Pick
GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Fiction)
Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than 20 years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring --- the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five. Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company --- Good Company --- afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes and a reunion with Margot, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now?
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to see why the book is April's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry
Reese’s Book Club Pick for April
NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry (Thriller)
A producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. Bomb threats, security checkpoints and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public's help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa's sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face. The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced. When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit the Reese's Book Club website.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: MOTHER MAY I by Joshilyn Jackson
MOTHER MAY I by Joshilyn Jackson (Domestic Thriller)
Marrying into a family with wealth, power and connections, Bree Cabbat has all a woman could ever dream: a loving lawyer husband, two talented young teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world. Until the day Bree awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window, an old gray-haired woman all dressed in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. Later that day, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school...just minutes before Bree’s baby son vanishes. To get him back, Bree must complete one small --- but critical --- task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that will destroy everything she loves.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE
by Kelly Mustian
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE by Kelly Mustian (Historical Fiction)
Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio. As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read our interview with Kelly Mustian.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: YOU BELONG HERE NOW by Dianna Rostad
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
YOU BELONG HERE NOW by Dianna Rostad (Historical Fiction)
Montana, 1925: An Irish boy orphaned by Spanish flu, a tiny girl who won’t speak, and a volatile young man who lies about his age to escape Hell’s Kitchen are paraded on train platforms across the Midwest to work-worn folks. Fate guides them toward the ranch of a family stricken by loss. Nara, the daughter of a successful cattleman, has grown into a brusque spinster who refuses the kids on sight. She works them without mercy, hoping they’ll run off, but they buck up and show spirit. And though Nara will never be motherly, she begins to take to them. So when Charles is jailed for freeing wild horses that were rounded up for slaughter, and an abusive mother from New York shows up to take the youngest, Nara does the unthinkable, risking everything she holds dear to change their lives forever.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE VINES by Shelley Nolden
THE VINES by Shelley Nolden (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
In the shadows of New York City lies forbidden North Brother Island, where the remains of a shuttered hospital hide the haunting memories of century-old quarantines and human experiments. The ruins conceal the scarred and beautiful Cora, imprisoned by contagions and the doctors who torment her. When Finn, a young urban explorer, arrives on the island and glimpses the enigmatic woman through the foliage, intrigue turns to obsession as he seeks to uncover her past --- and his own family's dark secrets. By unraveling these mysteries, will he be able to save Cora? Will Cora meet the same tragic ending as the thousands who've already perished on the island?
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read critical praise.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: LADY BE GOOD by Pamela Hamilton
LADY BE GOOD: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale by Pamela Hamilton (Historical Fiction)
LADY BE GOOD is a debut novel that transports us to the glittering, sumptuous era of 1920s New York to follow the life of aspiring actress Dorothy Hale as she comes of age. Breaking societal rules imposed on women, "Peck's Bad Girl of Pittsburgh Society" leaves behind her privileged world for the bright lights of Broadway to chase her dream. From convent school debutante runaway to Ziegfeld showgirl to Hollywood star, Hale transforms herself into one of the most adored figures in the highest echelons of society. Yet behind the public façade, the darling of the press contends with heart-rending loss, gossip and betrayal, and a tempestuous friendship with Luce.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here for the discussion guide.
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, Reese's 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: LIBERTIE by Kaitlyn Greenidge
BROKEN (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson
OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia
THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES by Willy Vlautin
RAFT OF STARS by Andrew J. Graff
LibraryReads
Top Pick: THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT by Rosie Danan
BROKEN (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson
DIAL A FOR AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto
LIFE'S TOO SHORT by Abby Jimenez
MALICE by Heather Walter
Target Book Club
PRETTY THINGS by Janelle Brown
Pennie's Pick for Costco
REMEMBER: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting, by Lisa Genova
Barnes & Noble Book Club
THE FIVE WOUNDS by Kirstin Valdez Quade
Reese's Book Club
NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
"Good Morning America" Book Club
OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia
PBS NewsHour-New York Times “Now Read This” Book Club
NOMADLAND: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by Jessica Bruder
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
BIG SUMMER 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 16th 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 16th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Friday, May 7th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes 15 great fiction and nonfiction titles we think moms will love.
This year's prize books are:
Click here to enter the contest.
ReadingGroupGuides.com’s "9 1/2 Annual" Book Group Speed Dating Event --- and a Look Ahead to May's Event
Last November, we hosted our “9 1/2 Annual” Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book group leaders. More than 70 books that would make great book group selections for winter/spring 2021 were presented by 18 publishers.
You can take a look at the entire video of the presentation here, or watch individual publisher presentations by clicking on the links below.
Bloomsbury • Grove Atlantic • Harlequin • Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Ingram • Knopf • Random House • Simon & Schuster • Soho Press
Sourcebooks • Tin House • William Morrow • W. W. Norton
If you would like to know more about these books, here’s a link to a page with the PowerPoint presentation of the featured titles, as well as an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books both by publisher and alphabetically by title.
Preparations are now underway for our 10th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event, which will take place virtually on Friday, May 14th from 1pm ET to 3pm ET. More than a dozen publishers will present books releasing this summer and fall that they think will be perfect for book groups to discuss. If you have not joined us before --- and you are a librarian, bookseller or book group leader of multiple book groups --- and would like to attend this program virtually, please tell us about yourself here.
Click here to watch our "9 1/2 Annual" Book Group Speed Dating event.
From left to right: Karen White, John Grisham, Kristy Woodson Harvey
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.
Sunday, April 18th at 6pm ET: Adventures by the Book: An Exclusive Fireside Chat Adventure: Karen White will celebrate the VIP pre-launch of her much-heralded WWII historical novel, THE LAST NIGHT IN LONDON. Join Adventures by the Book for their exclusive inaugural Fireside Chat, where you can chat live with Karen to discuss her new book, ask questions and converse with her “on stage.”
Monday, April 19th at 8pm ET: Dallas Museum of Art: Gabriela Garcia and Kaitlyn Greenidge will talk about their highly anticipated new novels, OF WOMEN AND SALT (this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick) and LIBERTIE (this month's #1 Indie Next pick), with author Mira Jacob.
Tuesday, April 20th at 6:30pm ET: FoxTale Book Shoppe: Karen White will join FoxTale Book Shoppe for a discussion of her latest novel, THE LAST NIGHT IN LONDON, the first stop on her virtual book tour.
Tuesday, April 20th at 7pm ET: Porter Square Books: Porter Square Books is pleased to present a virtual talk with bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe (SAY NOTHING) for his latest book, EMPIRE OF PAIN: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. He will be joined in conversation by award-winning reporter Pamela Colloff.
Tuesday, April 20th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: This Couch Surfing Book Tour event will feature Kristy Woodson Harvey as she discusses her new book, UNDER THE SOUTHERN SKY, in conversation with Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke.
Tuesday, April 20th at 8pm ET: Powell's Books: Paula McLain will talk about her new novel, WHEN THE STARS GO DARK, with fellow bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd.
Wednesday, April 21st at 12pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Jennifer Weiner will join members of the Simon & Schuster team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about BIG SUMMER, which is April's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.
Wednesday, April 21st at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Patti Callahan Henry and Mary Alice Monroe --- will throw a launch party for Kristy's new book, UNDER THE SOUTHERN SKY.
Thursday, April 22nd at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group Event: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Kim Michele Richardson about THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK. Kim Michele also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. Click here to register. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Kim Michele a question on camera, please send Carol Fitzgerald an email with the subject line “Question for Kim Michele.”
Sunday, April 25th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": For this special bonus episode, the "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, whose international bestseller THE MOUNTAINS SING is now in paperback.
Tuesday, April 27th at 5pm ET: The Strand Book Store: Join The Strand for a virtual event with Lorenzo Carcaterra for the launch of his new book, THREE DREAMERS: A Memoir of Family. He will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani.
Wednesday, April 28th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Chris Bohjalian about his new novel, HOUR OF THE WITCH.
Wednesday, April 28th at 8pm ET: Powell's Books: In SOOLEY, his first basketball novel, John Grisham takes you to a different kind of court. He will be joined in conversation with thriller writer J.T. Ellison, the Emmy Award-winning co-host of the literary show "A Word on Words."
Thursday, April 29th at 12pm ET: [words] Bookstore: John Grisham will discuss his new book, SOOLEY, with fellow bestselling author Harlan Coben.
Thursday, April 29th at 7pm ET: Bookmarks: Bookmarks' "Murder and Margaritas" series celebrating mystery/thriller authors and their books returns this month with two stellar writers: Joshilyn Jackson (MOTHER MAY I) and Jennifer McMahon (THE DROWNING KIND).
Thursday, April 29th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: This Couch Surfing Book Tour event will feature Karen White as she discusses her new book, THE LAST NIGHT IN LONDON, in conversation with Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke.
"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:
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Dianna Rostad (YOU BELONG HERE NOW)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline (Historical Fiction)
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of Fascism.
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE by Kelly Mustian (Historical Fiction)
Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder --- perfect for readers of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING and IF THE CREEK DON'T RISE.
GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Fiction)
GOOD COMPANY is a warm, incisive new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of the instant New York Times bestseller THE NEST.
HOW BEAUTIFUL WE WERE by Imbolo Mbue (Fiction)
From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller BEHOLD THE DREAMERS comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company.
LADY BE GOOD: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale by Pamela Hamilton (Historical Fiction)
In her vibrant debut novel, Pamela Hamilton delivers glamour, romance, tragedy, a close and stormy friendship with famed playwright and Vogue and Vanity Fair editor Clare Boothe Luce, and the enchanting story of a woman navigating a world of incredible wealth and power in New York, Paris, Hollywood and grand estates of the Gold Coast.
THE LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner (Historical Fiction)
With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, THE LOST APOTHECARY is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance, and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
MOTHER MAY I by Joshilyn Jackson (Domestic Thriller)
The New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed NEVER HAVE I EVER builds on her success with this addictive novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves.
NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry (Thriller)
The acclaimed author of UNDER THE HARROW and A DOUBLE LIFE returns with her most thrilling novel to date: the story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRA.
OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia (Fiction)
OF WOMEN AND SALT is a sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.
SURVIVING SAVANNAH by Patti Callahan (Historical Fiction)
It was called "The Titanic of the South." The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board. Through time, their fates were forgotten --- until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told in this breathtaking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of BECOMING MRS. LEWIS.
THE VINES by Shelley Nolden (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
Across a century and against insurmountable odds, a woman with an astonishing immune system is unwillingly kept on an abandoned island off of Manhattan.
WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker (Mystery/Thriller)
With WE BEGIN AT THE END, Chris Whitaker has written an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them. At times devastating, with flashes of humor and hope throughout, it is ultimately an inspiring tale of how the human spirit prevails and how, in the end, love --- in all its different guises --- wins.
YOU BELONG HERE NOW by Dianna Rostad (Historical Fiction)
In this brilliant debut reminiscent of Kristina McMorris’ SOLD ON A MONDAY and William Kent Krueger's THIS TENDER LAND, three orphans journey westward from New York City to the Big Sky Country of Montana, hoping for a better life where beautiful wild horses roam free.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
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.
JACK by Marilynne Robinson (Fiction)
Marilynne Robinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, returns to the world of Gilead with JACK, the latest novel in one of the great works of contemporary American fiction.
A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.
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