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Tapping into Some Older Reads That Still Resonate
This month, my book group read THE SOUND OF GRAVEL by Ruth Wariner, which was published in 2016. We have been reading recently published books, but one of the group members had read it and loved it. I read it when it first came out, so I was interested to see how the group would react to it.
First, everyone who gathered with us around the fire outside at Julia’s beautifully decorated patio had finished it and loved it. Bravo! Even one member who was not able to attend sent us a note that she loved it. Not only did we have an in-depth conversation, Julia had done a deep dive onto Ruth’s website and shared some follow-up information on the family. And we talked about the terrible shooting in 2019 that killed members of Ruth’s extended LeBaron family in Mexico when it is believed they were attacked by drug gangs. I loved how we darted from one topic to the next, completely engaged with the book. We also did comparisons to Tara Westover's memoir, EDUCATED. I think it was one of our best discussions.
Oh, and I really thought I had selected THE SOUND OF GRAVEL as a Bookreporter.com Bets On title. Huge regrets that I had not. Consider it an honorary 2016 pick now!
On Tuesday night, we hosted our sixth "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event. Our guest was Jim DeFede, whose 2002 book THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland served as the inspiration for the smash hit Broadway musical “Come From Away”. This is one of my favorite books that I have thought about and talked about many times. It was interesting to see how much it has resonated with the audience for this event as well. One woman commented that she has read it every year on 9/11. Jim explained how the book came about; I would have loved to have been there when he made his first trip to Gander.
I feel this book should be required reading in high schools. I also think it would be a great book to share with those visiting for Thanksgiving this year. At a time when so much of the world is torn apart, I loved this story of people coming together. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
We already heard from a few readers about this program:
Helene: "It was wonderful."
Nancy: "I went out and purchased it Wednesday. Almost finished reading it. It is really good. Makes you feel like you are there in Gander."
Barbara: "Thank you SO much for this wonderful evening with Jim DeFede!"
Last Friday, we hosted our 10 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book club leaders. Representatives from 17 publishers presented more than 75 titles perfect for book groups that will be published between now and next May. You can watch the event here. Please note that we have timestamped the video, so if you would like to hear from a specific publisher, you easily can do that!
If you would like to know more about the books, click here to access a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation of the featured titles, as well as an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books both by publisher and alphabetically by title. 2022 is already shaping up to be a wonderful year for book lovers…and when you view this presentation, you will see why!
Announcing Our Special End-of-the-Year Feature and Contest!
Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. The year is flying by so fast that it’s already time to announce the details of our special year-end feature, where we ask you and your book group to help us compile our own “Best Books of the Year” list.
Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group this year and your favorite book that you read outside your group. One Grand Prize winner will receive eight outstanding book group titles releasing in 2022: THE GOOD SON by Jacquelyn Mitchard, HER HIDDEN GENIUS by Marie Benedict, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET by Diane Chamberlain, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis, THE MAID by Nita Prose, OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan, and VIOLETA by Isabel Allende.
The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, January 12th at noon ET. We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you shortly after the contest ends. Please note: Your favorite book that you discussed with your group CAN be the same as your favorite book of the year. And they don't need to have been published in 2021.
Our Latest Monthly Contest is Live!
Our latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title is SUNFLOWER SISTERS. Releasing in paperback on December 28th, it’s the final installment in Martha Hall Kelly’s trilogy of novels about Caroline Ferriday’s family, following LILAC GIRLS and LOST ROSES. The book revolves around the story of Caroline’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists.
Three groups will win up to 12 copies of SUNFLOWER SISTERS. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, January 12th at noon ET. As usual, this will be a TWO-month contest as we know many groups do not meet in December.
In our previous “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, here are the five books mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read: THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles, THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah, and THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
Readers Comment on THE HUSBANDS
We are excited to share with you the comments about Chandler Baker’s THE HUSBANDS that we received from book clubs who won copies of it in our special contest this summer. You may remember that the book was a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and a Bets On selection. Thank you to everyone who took the time to give us this very valuable feedback! Above is a photo that Joyce O. sent of her book group, 3 B’s, with their copies of THE HUSBANDS. We love seeing pictures like this!
We have added discussion guides for these five books this month:
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OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart: In March 2020, a group of friends and friends-of-friends gathers in a country house to wait out the pandemic. Over the next six months, new friendships and romances will take hold, while old betrayals will emerge. The book is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick, and on Tuesday, December 7th at 3pm ET, Shteyngart will talk about it during a B&N Book Club virtual event. Click here to sign up.
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OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout: Lucy Barton’s ex-husband, William, asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret --- and it’s one of those secrets that makes us question everything we think we know about the people closest to us.
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EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY by Nicole Baart: This top Book of the Month Club selection for October and a Bets On pick follows siblings Juniper and Jonathan, who grow up on a small farm. Juniper leaves when she's 19, shortly after a neighboring farm couple are murdered. For years, Jonathan has been the prime suspect. Now Juniper is back to defend him, and a true-crime podcaster is hot on the trail of the unsolved mystery.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Nicole recently for a “Bookreporter Talks To” interview. Nicole loves true-crime podcasts and talks to me about their influence on her. She explains what attracts her to writing about small towns, as well as her inspiration for the novel. She also talks about her nonprofit organization, One Body One Hope, its mission and how it has impacted her life. Plus, we get to hear a little about what she's working on next. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
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THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak: This new novel from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 MINUTES 38 SECONDS IN THIS STRANGE WORLD is this month’s Reese’s Book Club pick. Here’s what Reese has to say about it: “What a wonderful read! Let me start by saying that this book moved me to tears...in the best way…. It is a powerful and poignant story about love, grief, exile --- and a fig tree who sees it all…. Most of all, I love the message at heart: humanity and nature are interwoven and despite our differences, there is far more that unites us.”
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THE WICKED WIDOW by Beatriz Williams: Audacious Appalachian flapper Geneva “Gin” Kelly, the wicked redhead, returns in this latest installment of the Wicked City series. What ugly secrets lurk in the opulent enclaves --- and bank accounts --- of America’s richest families? And can two determined women from two different generations thwart the murderous legacy of the demon liquor?
My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Edgar Award winner Alison Gaylin, whose newly released thriller is THE COLLECTIVE. Camille, who tragically lost her daughter, is approached by a woman who says, “I know who you are. I know how you feel.” From there, she senses a kinship with the people in the collective. But are they truly avenging angels, or are they monsters? Alison shares how she researched this grim topic, including her view of the dark web. She also talks about monsters, both real and imagined, and ramping up the tension, confessing to scaring herself a few times as she wrote. The ending is one that I did not see coming. Did Alison? Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast to find out!
While we’re on the subject of our “Talks To” series, I’m thrilled that my interview with Stephanie Land about MAID and the Netflix series on which the book is based has more than 11,000(!) views on our YouTube channel. We had a fascinating discussion about the origins of the book and the meetings Stephanie had with the producers and writers of the show. So if you missed the interview, I highly recommend that you watch it here or listen to the podcast here.
This month’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick is THE FAMILY by Naomi Krupitsky, a debut novel about the tangled fates of two best friends and daughters of the Italian mafia, and a coming-of-age story of 20th-century Brooklyn itself. Krupitsky told “Today,” “One of the most important things to me that I hope readers find is this sense of play between opposites. The characters in the book are really violent, but you really love them. The girls are really sort of polar opposites, but they find strength in each other and that sort of refusal to see anything as black and white really informed me when I was writing.”
STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman is November’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick. Here’s what “GMA” has to say about the book, which takes place in Italy during World War II: “As Allied troops advance and bombs fall around them, two strangers meet and share an extraordinary evening together. It's such a page-turner, and Winman will draw you into the lives of her characters: Ulysses Temper, a young British soldier and one-time globe-maker, and Evelyn Skinner, a sexagenarian art historian and possible spy who has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the ruins and relive her memories of her youth. Their meeting sets off a course of events that will shape Ulysses' life for the next four decades.”
We are so excited to announce a very special “Bookaccino Live” event that will take place on Wednesday, December 8th at 8pm ET. As part of Bookreporter.com’s ongoing 25th anniversary celebration, we will be talking to some of our longtime reviewers about their favorite books of 2021. You may remember that we hosted a similar event in August 2020, which was so much fun, so we are really looking forward to doing this again! If you would like to attend and see some of the faces behind the reviews, click here to sign up.
Last Wednesday, we held our last “Bookaccino Live” afternoon event of 2021, where I talked about 19 books releasing between now and the end of the year, along with 16 from January and February, that I wanted to get on your radar. You can watch it here and see a list of the featured titles here.
We will host our first “Bookaccino Live” event of 2022 on Wednesday, January 12th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on books releasing from January 4th to February 1st, with a look ahead to March. 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 a prize.
The National Book Awards were presented on Wednesday night during a virtual ceremony hosted by stand-up comedian, actress and bestselling author Phoebe Robinson. The winners were HELL OF A BOOK by Jason Mott (Fiction), ALL THAT SHE CARRIED: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, by Tiya Miles (Nonfiction), FLOATERS by Martín Espada (Poetry), WINTER IN SOKCHO by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated from the French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins (Translated Literature), and LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo (Young People’s Literature). You may remember that we featured the guide for HELL OF A BOOK earlier this year and posted a rave review on Bookreporter.
Voting is now underway for the 13th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards, the only major book awards decided by readers. Two rounds of voting are open to all registered Goodreads members, with the opening round ending on November 28th. Click here to cast your votes in 17 different genre categories, and check out the voting schedule here. The winners will be announced on December 9th.
I had the pleasure of screening a documentary that is now available called Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time. It’s a brilliantly well-done film directed by Robert B. Weide and Don Argott that focuses on the 25-year friendship of Weide and Vonnegut. It’s so personal as Weide shares so many moments where they spent time together, or he received a phone call from Kurt. So many books are covered, as well as Vonnegut's short stories, all told against the backdrop of his life with his family. It’s truly special, whether you are an uber Vonnegut fan or someone who read a book or two of his in school. I really loved it. You can watch the trailer here. Perhaps see the documentary and read a Vonnegut book with your group!
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful to have you as readers.
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: Share Your Favorite Books of 2021 and Enter to Win EIGHT Great Book Group Titles Releasing in 2022!
This is the time of year when we start seeing “Best Books of the Year” lists. We would like you and your book group to help us compile ours! Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group in 2021 and your favorite book that you read outside your group by Wednesday, January 12th at noon ET.
One Grand Prize winner will be awarded EIGHT great book group titles releasing in 2022:
Please note: Your favorite book that you discussed with your group CAN be the same as your favorite book of the year. And they don't need to have been published in 2021. Also, please be careful with the spelling of book titles and authors’ first and last names to save us editing time.
We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you shortly after the contest ends. We cannot wait to see what you select!
Click here to share your favorite books of 2021 and enter the contest.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of SUNFLOWER SISTERS
by Martha Hall Kelly for Your Group
Each month in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" feature, 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 up to 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 SUNFLOWER SISTERS, the final installment in Martha Hall Kelly’s trilogy of novels about Caroline Ferriday’s family, following LILAC GIRLS and LOST ROSES. This concluding volume, which releases in paperback on December 28th, tells the story of Ferriday’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, January 12th at noon ET.
SUNFLOWER SISTERS by Martha Hall Kelly (Historical Fiction)
The 2016 bestseller LILAC GIRLS introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday. Now, in SUNFLOWER SISTERS, Martha Hall Kelly tells the story of Ferriday’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists. Inspired by true accounts, the novel provides a vivid, detailed look at the Civil War experience --- from the barbaric and inhumane plantations, to a war-torn New York City, to the horrors of the battlefield. It’s a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty.
- 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 enter the contest.
ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 10 ½ Annual Book Group
Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups
On November 12th, we hosted our 10 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book club leaders. More than 75 books that would make great book group selections for Winter/Spring 2022 were presented by 17 publishers. You can watch the entire presentation here. The video is timestamped, so if you would like to jump ahead to a specific publisher, be sure to use the links below.
Bloomsbury • Grove Atlantic • Hachette Book Group • Harlequin Trade Publishing • Ingram Publishing Group (Godine, Keylight Books, Restless Books, Scribe US, Zando) • Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group • Random House Publishing Group • Simon & Schuster • Soho Press • Sourcebooks • Tom Doherty Associates • William Morrow • W. W. Norton
If you would like to know more about these books, here is 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.
Click here to watch our 10 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event.
Book Groups Comment on
THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
Earlier this year, a selection of book groups won copies of THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker, August's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On title. They were asked to read the book and answer some questions about it. We are happy to share their comments with you here. Many thanks to all who took the time to give us such wonderful feedback.
THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
Nora Spangler is a successful attorney, but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too...but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder? When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. As the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having it all. One that’s worth killing for.
- 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 read comments from our winning groups.
New Guide: OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart November’s Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart (Fiction/Humor)
It’s March 2020, and a calamity is unfolding. A group of friends and friends-of-friends gathers in a country house to wait out the pandemic. Over the next six months, new friendships and romances will take hold, while old betrayals will emerge, forcing each character to reevaluate whom they love and what matters most. The unlikely cast of characters includes a Russian-born novelist; his Russian-born psychiatrist wife; their precocious child obsessed with K-pop; a struggling Indian American writer; a wildly successful Korean American app developer; a global dandy with three passports; a Southern flamethrower of an essayist; and a movie star, the Actor, whose arrival upsets the equilibrium of this chosen family.
» On Tuesday, December 7th at 3pm ET, Gary Shteyngart will talk about OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS during a B&N Book Club virtual event. Click here to sign up.
- 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 for the discussion guide.
New Guide: OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout
OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are. So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret --- one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us.
- 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 for the discussion guide.
New Guide: EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY by Nicole Baart
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
EVERYTHING WE DIDN'T SAY by Nicole Baart (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
Juniper Baker had just graduated from high school and was deep in the throes of a summer romance when Cal and Beth Murphy, a childless couple who lived on a neighboring farm, were brutally murdered. When her younger brother became the prime suspect, June’s world collapsed, and everything she loved that summer fell away. She left, promising never to return to tiny Jericho, Iowa. Until now. Officially, she’s back in town to help an ill friend manage the local library. But really, she’s returned to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter --- and to solve the infamous Murphy murders once and for all. She knows the key to both lies in the darkest secret of that long-ago summer night, one that’s haunted her for nearly 15 years.
- 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 to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Nicole Baart.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide:
THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak
Reese’s Book Club Pick for November
THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak (Fiction)
Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof that bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings, and eventually to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he's searching for lost love.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- 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: THE WICKED WIDOW by Beatriz Williams
THE WICKED WIDOW: A Wicked City Novel by Beatriz Williams (Historical Romance)
June 1925: Audacious Appalachian flapper Geneva “Gin” Kelly prepares to trade her high-flying ways for respectable marriage to Oliver Anson Marshall. But just as wedding bells chime, the head of the notorious East Coast rum-running racket turns up murdered at a society funeral, and their short-lived honeymoon bliss goes up in a spectacular blaze. June 1998: When Ella Dommerich’s ninetysomething society queen aunt Julie ropes her into digging up dirt on Senator (and Presidential candidate) Franklin Hardcastle, she couldn’t be less enthusiastic. But then the Hardcastle secrets lead to a web of shady dealings Ella has uncovered in her job as a financial analyst, and the bodies start to tumble out of the venerable woodwork.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for November
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Costco's "Buyer's Pick." 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, and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites.
Below is a preview of November's "Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks." For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: THE MEMOIRS OF STOCKHOLM SVEN by Nathaniel Ian Miller
FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER: Stories by Lily King
OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout
A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by Freya Marske
NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH by Cassandra Khaw
LibraryReads
Top Pick: ALL HER LITTLE SECRETS by Wanda M. Morris
THE DONUT TRAP by Julie Tieu
THE FASTEST WAY TO FALL by Denise Williams
GUILD BOSS: A Harmony Novel, by Jayne Castle
JUST HAVEN'T MET YOU YET by Sophie Cousens
Target Book Club
SINGLE BLACK FEMALE by Tracy Brown
Costco's "Buyer's Pick"
BETTER OFF DEAD: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child and Andrew Child
Barnes & Noble Book Club
OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart
Reese's Book Club
THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
THE FAMILY by Naomi Krupitsky
"Good Morning America" Book Club
STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
THE LAST GARDEN IN ENGLAND by Julia Kelly
Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for October’s "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
New November Releases of Interest to Book Groups
Below are a number of books releasing in November for the first time (which we aren't currently featuring on the site or in the newsletter) that we think will be of interest to book groups.
THE ATTIC ON QUEEN STREET by Karen White (Mystery)
Return to the house on Tradd Street one last time in this hauntingly spectacular finale to the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm.
THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP by Jenny Colgan (Fiction)
Perfect for the holidays, THE CHRISTMAS BOOKSHOP is a brand-new heartwarming Christmas novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER and CHRISTMAS AT THE ISLAND HOTEL.
COKIE: A Life Well Lived by Steven V. Roberts (Biography)
In this loving tribute, legendary journalist Cokie Roberts’ husband of 53 years, Steve Roberts, reflects not only on her many accomplishments, but on how she lived each day with a devotion to helping others.
FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER: Stories by Lily King (Fiction/Short Stories)
Told in the intimate voices of complex, endearing characters, FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER intriguingly subverts expectations as it explores desire, loss, jolting violence and the inexorable tug toward love at all costs.
THE JOY AND LIGHT BUS COMPANY: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (22) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe is tempted to put the brakes on a business venture before it even gets rolling.
THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS by Meg Waite Clayton (Historical Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France in this haunting novel --- a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage --- about a young American heiress who helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe.
THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdrich (Fiction)
In this stunning and timely novel, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award–winning author Louise Erdrich creates a wickedly funny ghost story, a tale of passion, of a complex marriage, and of a woman's relentless errors.
THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT by Mitch Albom (Fiction)
What would happen if we called on God for help and God actually appeared? In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.
THESE PRECIOUS DAYS: Essays by Ann Patchett (Essays)
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
WISH YOU WERE HERE by Jodi Picoult (Fiction)
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of SMALL GREAT THINGS and THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis.
Announcing Bookreporter.com's
Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature
At Bookreporter.com, we kick off the holiday season in style with our Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature. As our gift to you, on select days in November and December, we are spotlighting a book and giving five lucky readers the chance to win it. You have to visit the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter the 24-hour contest. As always, we are sending our special Holiday Cheer newsletter on the days when there are contests. Click here to sign up for these email alerts.
This year's contest titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
From left to right: Jodi Picoult, Meg Waite Clayton, Ann Patchett
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.
Tuesday, November 23rd at 6:30pm ET: Harvard Book Store: Harvard Book Store joins HarperCollins and bookstores across the country to welcome Ann Patchett for a discussion of her new essay collection, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS. She will be joined in conversation by Scott Simon, host of NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday."
Wednesday, November 24th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": To celebrate their 100th episode, the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Elin Hilderbrand.
Monday, November 29th at 7pm ET: Emily Giffin's Book Club: Patti Callahan will be in conversation with Emily Giffin about her new novel, ONCE UPON A WARDROBE, which Emily selected as her November book club pick. They will talk all things magic and fairy tale and story and friendship.
Monday, November 29th at 8pm ET: JCC Literary Consortium: MJCCA Book Fest In Your Living Room presents a virtual event --- in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium, A Cappella Books and Books & Books --- featuring Jodi Picoult, who will be in conversation with Emily Henry about her new novel, WISH YOU WERE HERE.
Wednesday, December 1st at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to thriller writers Christopher Swann and John Hart.
Wednesday, December 1st at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Meg Waite Clayton will talk about her latest novel, THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage.
Thursday, December 2nd at 3pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Julia Kelly will join members of the Simon & Schuster team for a Facebook Live Book Club chat about THE LAST GARDEN IN ENGLAND, which is November's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.
Thursday, December 2nd at 6:30pm ET: Rain Taxi: Join Rain Taxi as they celebrate the publication of THESE PRECIOUS DAYS, the much anticipated new essay collection by Ann Patchett. She will be in conversation with one of the book's very subjects, renowned children’s book author Kate DiCamillo --- an incredible pairing that is not to be missed!
Thursday, December 2nd at 8pm ET: The King's English Bookshop: The King's English Bookshop proudly joins other independent bookshops around the country to present an evening with Ann Patchett for a discussion of her new collection of essays, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS. Patchett will be in conversation with actress Laura Dern.
Tuesday, December 7th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Barnes & Noble will host a Facebook Live discussion for their November Book Club selection, OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS, featuring Gary Shteyngart.
Tuesday, December 7th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's, in partnership with Flatiron Books, is honored to launch the paperback release of Michael J. Fox’s New York Times bestselling memoir, NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE. To celebrate this new edition, Michael will be in conversation with journalist Willie Geist.
Tuesday, December 7th at 7:30pm ET: Square Books: Square Books is pleased to partner with HarperCollins and fellow indie bookstores to present Ann Patchett in conversation with Amor Towles in celebration of the publication of Patchett's charming essay collection, THESE PRECIOUS DAYS.
Wednesday, December 8th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, whose most recent novel is GOOD COMPANY.
Wednesday, December 8th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's will host Meg Waite Clayton as she discusses her new book, THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, a haunting novel that revisits the dark early days of the German occupation in France.
Wednesday, December 8th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live": As part of Bookreporter.com's 25th anniversary celebration, we are excited to bring together some of our longtime reviewers, each of whom will talk about his or her favorite books of 2021. Click here to sign up.
Wednesday, December 15th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors for their special Christmas show!
"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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Xochitl Gonzalez (OLGA DIES DREAMING)
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James Rollins (THE STARLESS CROWN)
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Karen White (THE ATTIC ON QUEEN STREET)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
EVERYTHING WE DIDN'T SAY by Nicole Baart (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
From the author of LITTLE BROKEN THINGS comes a “race-to-the-finish family drama” (People) following a mother who must confront the dark summer that changed her life forever in order to reclaim the daughter she left behind.
FEMLANDIA by Christina Dalcher (Dystopian Thriller)
FEMLANDIA is a chilling look into an alternate near future where a woman and her daughter seek refuge in a women-only colony, only to find that the safe haven they were hoping for is the most dangerous place they could be.
FIGHT NIGHT by Miriam Toews (Fiction)
From the bestselling author of WOMEN TALKING and ALL MY PUNY SORROWS comes a compassionate, darkly humorous and deeply wise new novel about three generations of women.
THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak (Fiction)
From the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 MINUTES 38 SECONDS IN THIS STRANGE WORLD comes a rich, magical new novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal.
OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout explores the mysteries of marriage and the secrets we keep, as a former couple reckons with where they’ve come from --- and what they’ve left behind.
ONCE UPON A WARDROBE by Patti Callahan (Historical Fiction)
From Patti Callahan, the bestselling author of BECOMING MRS. LEWIS, comes another enchanting story that pulls back the curtain on the early life of C. S. Lewis.
OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS by Gary Shteyngart (Fiction/Humor)
Eight friends, one country house, four romances and six months in isolation. OUR COUNTRY FRIENDS is a novel about love, friendship, family and betrayal, a book that reads like a great Russian novel, or Chekhov on the Hudson.
THE SECRET OF SNOW by Viola Shipman (Fiction)
The forecast is calling for a reluctant homecoming and regrettable decisions with a strong chance of romance in Viola Shipman's latest novel, THE SECRET OF SNOW.
THE WICKED WIDOW: A Wicked City Novel by Beatriz Williams (Historical Romance)
Audacious Appalachian flapper Geneva “Gin” Kelly, the wicked redhead, is back! Readers will delight in the next installment of the Wicked City series by New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now (or soon will be) available in paperback:
SUNFLOWER SISTERS by Martha Hall Kelly (Historical Fiction)
Martha Hall Kelly’s LILAC GIRLS introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday. Now, in SUNFLOWER SISTERS, Kelly tells the story of Ferriday’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists.
UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS WITH A BLACK MAN by Emmanuel Acho (Social Issues/Ethnicity & Race)
This New York Times bestseller is an urgent primer on race and racism, from the host of the viral hit video series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.”
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