May 18, 2022

May 18, 2022

Celebrating 22 Years!

We love hearing from readers. I received this message from Pat, who won copies of THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles for her book group, The Lynbrook Ladies Literary League, in our “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest: “Wow is all I can say and my heartfelt THANKS! Our book club is celebrating its 30th year, and this is a great gift for all of us! We have been devoted fans of ReadingGroupGuides and have attended your presentations at the Rockville Centre Library. You have brought so much to our discussions with your bios and suggested discussion questions from selected authors. The pandemic has brought your expertise and love of reading even closer to us with your Zoom presentations. You never missed a beat in keeping us informed of the latest books and some inspiring author interviews.”

Thank you to Pat. We love notes like this as we celebrate 22(!) years of ReadingGroupGuides.com. Pat hits so many notes on why we love what we do on this site and in this newsletter. I want to thank our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio, and our Audio/Video Producer, Austin Ruh, for helping me to bring you not only this website, but also new programs, including “Bookaccino Live” and “Bookaccino Live” Book Group, and a stellar lineup of author interviews. We plan to continue this programming --- and we have another new idea --- even as we leave our homes and pick up with life outside. 

My book group is meeting tonight, and we are discussing THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST. Allison Pataki is going to hop on to chat with us for a few minutes. We are meeting at the home of one of our members, and she has an outdoor screen set up so we can talk to Allison from her gorgeous patio. The weather looks great, the raves for the book have been posted on our group’s Facebook page, and I am so looking forward to this discussion.

Last Friday afternoon, we hosted our 11th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book club leaders. Representatives from 14 publishers presented more than 60 titles perfect for book groups that will be published between now and October. 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, along with a sheet to take notes.

This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for this month’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place next Wednesday, May 25th at 8pm ET.

Our guest will be Janet Skeslien Charles, and we will be talking about her instant New York Times bestseller, the aforementioned THE PARIS LIBRARY, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that is now available in paperback. Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family and the power of literature to bring us together. I loved interviewing Janet when her book came out in hardcover, and she reminded me the other day that I also was her first interviewer about the book when I met her at Winter Institute in January 2020.

You can register for the event by clicking here. If you would like to ask Janet a question on camera during the event and chat with her in our “backstage green room” before the event, please email me with your question using the subject line “Question for Janet” by Wednesday the 25th at noon ET. Those who are camera shy can send their questions via the Q&A feature on Zoom.

Our Latest Monthly Contest is Live!
Our new “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title is DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson, which was a Bets On pick when it released in hardcover last August and is now in paperback.

Set in a northern California town in the late ’70s, the book tells the very human story of a family torn apart by the underlying effects of environmental destruction. Rich and his family have been longtime loggers in this area, and he sees an opportunity for a fortune to be made by buying a tract of forest to harvest. He keeps this purchase quiet, not even sharing it with his wife, Colleen. She recently lost a child, a stillbirth after a number of miscarriages, and as a midwife she is also seeing miscarriages across the community. A longtime friend of Colleen’s comes to the area and points out that the herbicides the logging company uses are infiltrating their water supply, and may be causing issues not only with the wildlife, but with the people as well.

Three groups will win up to 12 copies of DAMNATION SPRING. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 8th at noon ET. If you missed my “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Ash from last year, you can watch it here and listen to the podcast here.

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 LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles, THE MAID by Nita Prose, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, HONOR by Thrity Umrigar, and THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.

Jennifer Weiner’s latest beach read is the newly released THE SUMMER PLACE, which is her love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.

Along with being one of May’s Indie Next picks, THE SUMMER PLACE is this month’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites. On Thursday, May 26th at 12pm ET, members of the S&S team will talk to Jennifer Weiner about the book. You can RSVP by clicking here. At the beginning of the month, Jennifer Egan joined Book Club Favorites to talk about her latest novel, THE CANDY HOUSE, which was April’s pick. Click here for their discussion.

Kim Michele Richardson’s new novel, THE BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER, is the highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK. The book follows the adventures of Honey Lovett, who is on her own after her parents are sent to prison. Following in her mother Cussy Mary Carter’s footsteps, Honey becomes a traveling book woman, learning that if she’s going to spread the message of the power of books, she’s going to have to fight for her place in the hollers, where prejudice runs deep and people aren’t so keen to let a woman pave her own way. Click here for the guide and here for our Bookreporter review. I just interviewed Kim Michele and look forward to sharing that podcast with you soon!

We also have added guides for these five books, four of which are debuts:

• THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS: Pip Williams’ debut novel, which is newly released in paperback, is Reese’s Book Club pick for May. Here’s what Reese has to say about the book: “Set during the height of women’s suffrage, this thought-provoking book explores history and the power of language while weaving together love, loss and literature. Although historical fiction, it’s a timely reminder of how important it is for women to have the agency to tell their own stories.”
   
• REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES: Shelby Van Pelt’s first novel --- this month’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick --- is a charming and witty exploration of friendship, reckoning and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. Says Jenna, “Not since LIFE OF PI have I found a book with such creativity and such a strong voice.”
   
• THE CHANGE: YA author Kirsten Miller’s adult debut is May’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick. “I like to think of it as a feel good feminist revenge fantasy with witches!” Miller told “GMA.” “It follows three women who have reached a certain age and discover they’ve developed some unexpected powers.”
   
• ELEKTRA: Jennifer Saint’s latest novel is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. The author of the beloved international bestseller ARIADNE is back with a spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines. On Tuesday, June 7th at 3pm ET, B&N will welcome Jennifer for a live virtual event to discuss the book. Click here to sign up.
   
• THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS: Here’s how Lucy Rose Fischer, author of THE JOURNALIST: Life and Loss in America’s Secret War, describes Judith F. Brenner’s debut novel: “This powerful and well-crafted novel brings us back to the 1940s, when a public swimming pool could infect your child with a virus. The story resonates with our own time, as a new virus transforms our lives. Brenner’s intimate and poignant portrait of domestic violence is also relevant today --- the issues are the same.”

For more May selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.

My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Sarah McCoy, whose new novel, MUSTIQUE ISLAND, will be a Bets On pick. The setting is the early 1970s, when Mustique --- one of the tiniest islands in the Caribbean --- was owned by British playboy Colin Tennant. As the book opens, a beauty queen sails to Mustique looking for a place to reassess her life and meets Tennant's famous friends, whose days are spent partying. This is as much a mother/daughter/sister story as it is a story about extravagant island life.

In the interview, Sarah explains how a book about Colin Tennant got her imagination whirling. She planned a trip to Mustique Island on March 30, 2020, and you can guess how that went. After the discussion, you will see why you want to pack a copy of MUSTIQUE ISLAND for your vacation reading this summer. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” preview event last Wednesday afternoon. I talked about 32 books releasing between now and June 7th, along with eight from July, that we wanted to get on your radar. You can watch it here and see a list of the featured titles here.

Next month’s “Bookaccino Live” preview event will take place on Wednesday, June 15th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between June 14th and July 5th, along with a few from August, that we 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 a prize.

Don’t Forget Our Bookreporter Contests!
On Bookreporter, we’re giving 25 readers the chance to win an advance copy of Casey Sherman’s shocking true-crime book, HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod. Releasing on July 12th, it transports readers back to the turbulent late 1960s, reveals the secrets of a notorious serial killer, and unspools the threads connecting the killer, Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer in the seaside city that played host to horrors unlike any ever seen before. And of course, we have our ongoing Word of Mouth contest and our series of 24-hour Summer Reading giveaways.

I need to get the website header changed to say that we're now celebrating 22 years. While typically we would celebrate in five-year increments, I think the last couple of years have taught us to celebrate EVERY year.

Here’s to a great discussion with your book group!

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!

ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 11th Annual Book Group
Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups

On May 13th, we hosted our 11th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book club leaders. More than 60 books that would make great book group selections for Summer/Fall 2022 were presented by 14 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.

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson 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 DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson, a national bestseller and a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that is now available in paperback. This stunning novel about love, work and marriage asks how far one family and one community will go to protect their future. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 8th at noon ET.

DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson (Fiction)
Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It’s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn’t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened. Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It’s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall. Colleen and Rich want a better life for Chub, and they take steps to assure their future. Rich secretly spends their savings on a swath of ancient redwoods. But when Colleen, grieving the loss of a recent pregnancy, challenges the logging company’s use of the herbicides she believes are responsible for the many miscarriages in the community, she and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of a budding conflict.

- 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 Ash Davidson.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here to enter the contest.

New Guide: THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner
Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites Pick for May

THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
When her 22-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market. But when the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.

» THE SUMMER PLACE is this month’s pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites. On Thursday, May 26th at 12pm ET, members of the S&S team will talk to Jennifer Weiner about the book. Click here to RSVP.

- 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 BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER
by Kim Michele Richardson

THE BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER by Kim Michele Richardson (Historical Fiction)
In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way.

- 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.

Don't miss Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview
with Kim Michele Richardson in the next newsletter.

New Guide:
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams
Reese’s Book Club Pick for May

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams (Historical Fiction)
Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. One day, a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath their sorting table. Esme rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means “slave girl,” she begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so, she must venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

- 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 this month's Reese's Book Club pick.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide:
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES
by Shelby Van Pelt
May’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Pick

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt (Fiction)
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her 18-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over 30 years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors --- until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now he must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

- 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 this month's "Read with Jenna" pick.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller
May’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick

THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller (Fantasy/Thriller)
In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment. After Nessa James’ husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn’t take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead. On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage. But her life is far from over --- in fact, she has undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis. Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent 30 long years at war with her body. The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel like the very last straw --- until she realizes she has the ability to channel them.

- 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 see why the book is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: ELEKTRA by Jennifer Saint
May’s Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick

ELEKTRA by Jennifer Saint (Historical Fiction/Mythology)
When Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, she ignores the insidious whispers about his family line, the House of Atreus. But when, on the eve of the Trojan War, Agamemnon betrays Clytemnestra in the most unimaginable way, she must confront the curse that has long ravaged their family. In Troy, Princess Cassandra has the gift of prophecy but carries a curse of her own: no one will ever believe what she sees. When she is shown what will happen to her beloved city when Agamemnon and his army arrives, she is powerless to stop the tragedy from unfolding. Elektra, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, wants only for her beloved father to return home from war. But can she escape her family’s bloody history, or is her destiny bound by violence, too?

» On Tuesday, June 7th at 3pm ET, Barnes & Noble will welcome Jennifer Saint for a live virtual event to discuss the book. Click here to sign up.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS
by Judith F. Brenner

THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS by Judith F. Brenner (Historical Fiction)
Carol misses red flags about Joe’s need for control before she marries him, dashing her dreams for herself and her family. Trouble escalates after their daughter, Ellie, is paralyzed by the polio virus and Joe returns from World War II. Carol realizes how brutal waking life can be, and she conceals bruises and protects her children the best she can. THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS is a captivating story of a 1940s housewife who conforms to the rulebook of society until Joe pushes her too far. His constant intimidation shrinks Carol’s confidence while she tries to boost Ellie’s. Church-going neighbors in Carol’s tight-knit Polish community are complacent, but Sam, a handsome reporter, stirs up Carol’s zest for life. Despite impossible circumstances, Carol plans a secret escape.

- 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.

Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for May

Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and 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 May's "Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks." For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.

Indie Next
#1 Pick: BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry
TRUST by Hernan Diaz
BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt
THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner

LibraryReads
Top Pick: BOOK OF NIGHT by Holly Black
THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER by Kim Michele Richardson
CHEF'S KISS by TJ Alexander
THE HACIENDA by Isabel Cañas
HIDE by Kiersten White

Target Book Club
THE STAND-IN by Lily Chu

Costco's "Buyer's Pick"
THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by Lisa Jewell

Barnes & Noble Book Club
ELEKTRA by Jennifer Saint

Reese's Book Club
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams

Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

"Good Morning America" Book Club
THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller

Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner

Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for April’s
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest

In April's “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, here are the 15 books mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read:

• THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles
• THE MAID by Nita Prose
• THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig
• HONOR by Thrity Umrigar
• THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
• SOLD ON A MONDAY by Kristina McMorris
• THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah
• THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett
• THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger
• BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson
• FRENCH BRAID by Anne Tyler
• APPLES NEVER FALL by Liane Moriarty
• THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE by Abi Daré
• THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See
• THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides

New Special Contest on Bookreporter.com:
Enter to Win One of 25 Advance Copies of HELLTOWN
by Casey Sherman, Releasing July 12th

HELLTOWN by Casey Sherman transports us back to the turbulent late 1960s, revealing the secrets of notorious serial killer Tony Costa --- the most dangerous man on Cape Cod --- and unspooling the threads connecting Costa, Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer in the seaside city that played host to horrors unlike any ever seen before. The book doesn't release until July 12th, but we have 25 advance copies to give away to readers. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, May 20th at noon ET.

HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod by Casey Sherman (True Crime)
In the winter of 1969, the bodies of four young women were discovered in a cemetery near the tip of Cape Cod. In a place once known as Helltown, the victims had been shot, stabbed, dismembered and mutilated. As investigators would soon learn, the perpetrator was a young, handsome serial killer named Tony Costa. A bizarre former taxidermist with a split personality and penchant for violence, Costa ultimately mobilized friends in the hippie community for support and retribution, and captivated literary icons and rivals Kurt Vonnegut and Norman Mailer. Costa embarked on a daring cat-and-mouse game with investigators, who --- as the body count kept growing --- were desperate to put an end to the killing season on Cape Cod.

- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to enter the contest.

Bookreporter.com's 18th Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature

From left to right: Maggie Shipstead, Chanel Cleeton, Janet Skeslien Charles

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.

Wednesday, May 18th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Laura Dave, whose most recent novel is THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. Nancy Thayer, author of SUMMER LOVE, will appear on the Aftershow.

Wednesday, May 18th at 7pm ET: Print: A Bookstore: Maggie Shipstead will be in conversation with Richard Russo to discuss her first collection of short stories, YOU HAVE A FRIEND IN 10A.

Thursday, May 19th at 6:30pm ET: "Wine & Words with Wade": On his popular Facebook show, Wade Rouse will talk to Sarah McCoy about her latest book, MUSTIQUE ISLAND, which is set in the 1970s on the world’s most exclusive private island.

Tuesday, May 24th at 6pm ET: Flyleaf Books: Maggie Shipstead will discuss her debut short story collection, YOU HAVE A FRIEND IN 10A, with novelist, memoirist and screenwriter Stephanie Danler.

Wednesday, May 25th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Tia Williams and T. J. Newman about the paperback releases of their novels, SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE and FALLING.

Wednesday, May 25th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Janet Skeslien Charles about her novel, THE PARIS LIBRARY, which is now in paperback. Janet also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Janet a question on camera, please send Carol an email with the subject line “Question for Janet” by Wednesday the 25th at noon ET.

Wednesday, May 25th at 8pm ET: Books & Books: Books & Books and Miami Book Fair will present a virtual event with Chanel Cleeton, who will talk about her latest historical novel, OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA.

Thursday, May 26th at 12pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Jennifer Weiner will join members of the Simon & Schuster team to discuss her new novel, THE SUMMER PLACE, which is May's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.

"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 is our latest interview:

• Sarah McCoy (MUSTIQUE ISLAND) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Kimberly Belle (MY DARLING HUSBAND) Video | Podcast
• Katherine Faulkner (GREENWICH PARK) Video | Podcast
• Christopher Golden (ROAD OF BONES) Video | Podcast
• Jane Green (SISTER STARDUST) Video | Podcast
• Heather Gudenkauf (THE OVERNIGHT GUEST) Video | Podcast
• Bonnie Kistler (THE CAGE) Video | Podcast
• Gilly Macmillan (THE LONG WEEKEND) Video | Podcast
• Jacquelyn Mitchard (THE GOOD SON) Video | Podcast
• Allison Pataki (THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST) Video | Podcast
• Nita Prose (THE MAID) Video | Podcast
• John Searles (HER LAST AFFAIR) Video | Podcast
• Brendan Slocumb (THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY) Video | Podcast
• Wendy Corsi Staub (THE OTHER FAMILY) Video | Podcast
• Amanda Eyre Ward (THE LIFEGUARDS) Video | Podcast
• Charmaine Wilkerson (BLACK CAKE) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Kimberly Brock (THE LOST BOOK OF ELEANOR DARE)
• Julie Clark (THE LIES I TELL)
• David R. Gillham (SHADOWS OF BERLIN)
• Kim Michele Richardson (THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER)

Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.

Our Latest Guides

We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER by Kim Michele Richardson (Historical Fiction)
Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.

THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller (Fantasy/Thriller)
"Big Little Lies" meets The Witches of Eastwick, THE CHANGE is a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers --- putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town.

DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age by Betsy Prioleau (Biography)
DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES is the first major biography of the glamorous and scandalous Miriam Leslie, titan of publishing and an unsung hero of women’s suffrage.

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams (Historical Fiction)
Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.

ELEKTRA by Jennifer Saint (Historical Fiction/Mythology)
From Jennifer Saint, the author of the beloved international bestseller, ARIADNE, comes a spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines.

THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE by Adriana Trigiani (Fiction)
From Adriana Trigiani comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE unfolds in breathtaking turns.

THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS by Judith F. Brenner (Historical Fiction)
When the polio virus paralyzes Carol’s daughter, more chaos ensues when husband Joe returns from World War II violent. But allowing handsome journalist Sam to help poses more danger.

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt (Fiction)
For fans of A MAN CALLED OVE comes a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

SHADOWS OF BERLIN by David R. Gillham (Historical Fiction)
SHADOWS OF BERLIN is David R. Gillham's captivating novel of a Berlin girl on the run from the guilt of her past and the boy from Brooklyn who loves her.

THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET by Karen White (Mystery)
Nola Trenholm is hopeful for a fresh start in the Big Easy but must deal with ghosts from her past --- as well as new ones --- in this first book in a spinoff series of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street novels.

THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THAT SUMMER comes another heartfelt and unputdownable novel of family, secrets and the ties that bind.

UNMASKED: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes, with Robin Gaby Fisher (True Crime/Memoir)
From the detective who found the Golden State Killer comes a memoir of investigating America’s toughest cold cases and the rewards --- and toll --- of a life solving crime.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson (Fiction)
An epic, immersive debut, DAMNATION SPRING is the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town wrenched in two by a mystery that threatens to derail its way of life.

THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis --- until a secret from her past threatens everything.

MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Fiction)
Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of 24 hours, their lives will change forever.

OLYMPUS, TEXAS by Stacey Swann (Fiction)
OLYMPUS, TEXAS is a bighearted debut with technicolor characters, plenty of Texas swagger, and a powder keg of a plot in which marriages struggle, rivalries flare and secrets explode, all with a clever wink toward classical mythology.

THE TURNOUT by Megan Abbott (Thriller)
Bestselling and award-winning author Megan Abbott's revelatory and mesmerizing new novel is set against the hothouse of a family-run ballet studio.

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