December 17, 2022

December 17, 2022

What a Great Year of Reading!

Our last book group meeting of the year was very special. We had read HONOR by Thrity Umrigar, and from there we had a terrific discussion. One of our book group members grew up in India, and her marriage had been arranged. Note that we had not known this before the meeting. She shared her own stories about being Hindu, the caste system and her takeaways from the book. She also brought a fabulous masala corn, which was very spicy! Another member of our group had spent three weeks traveling in India; she shared her experiences there and brought some delicious hummus. We talked about the book and why it resonated with each of us. When our discussion veered in other directions, as we typically do, we moved back to the book and its characters again and again --- the sign of a discussable book. What a great way to close out a wonderful year of reading.

For January, we are reading MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. I already heard from one group member who loved it. We have to serve something with honey. We also are batting around ideas for a book group getaway!

As we close out the year, this might be a great time for your book group to schedule a "Book Group Checkup." It gives your group an opportunity to do a self-check to be sure its goals are still being met. Pick a month that you are going to do this and make it an open forum where people discuss a number of questions, or you can have people write their comments anonymously. Here’s a list of questions to get you started.

I am happy to announce that Nita Prose will be our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest, our first of 2023. The event will be held on Wednesday, January 25th at 8pm ET, and you can sign up for it here. We will be talking about Nita’s debut novel, THE MAID --- a #1 New York Times bestseller, a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick, and a Bets On selection when it came out in hardcover earlier this year.

Just as we did for Charmaine’s event, there will be a two-part Q&A session after I talk to Nita. For the first part, those who are asking a question “on camera” will be featured. This includes spending time with Nita backstage in our virtual green room before the show starts. If you would like to ask your question "live on screen" this way, please email it to me using the subject line “The Maid.” For those who are camera shy, there will be a traditional Q&A segment as well.

Last month, we hosted our 11 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians, book club leaders and bloggers. Representatives from nine publishers presented more than 50 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, along with a sheet to take notes.

THREE Contests You Will Want to Enter!
There’s still plenty of time to enter our End-of-the-Year Contest. By sharing your favorite book that you read with your group and your favorite book that you read outside your group this year, you will be eligible to win six titles releasing in 2023 that are perfect for book group discussions.

The prizes are CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff, HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano, THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson, LOYALTY by Lisa Scottoline, THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict, and MOONRISE OVER NEW JESSUP by Jamila Minnicks. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET. We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you in our next newsletter.

Also continuing from last month is our “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, where three groups will win up to 12 copies of THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb. Now in paperback, this riveting debut novel about a Black classical musician on a very personal mission was a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick when it released in hardcover earlier this year and a Bets On title.

The book has received much praise from critics and authors alike, including Chris Bohjalian, who says, “I loved THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY for exactly the same reasons I loved THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about --- in this case, classical music. I devoured this fine novel: every page and every word. And that ending? Never saw it coming.” To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET. If you missed my interview with Brendan from earlier this year, be sure to watch the video or listen to the podcast.

On Bookreporter, we’re awarding all 40(!) of my 2022 Bets On selections to the Grand Prize winner of our End-of-the-Year Contest. Eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. Be sure to enter here by Friday, January 6th at noon ET. Scroll further down the newsletter for more details about this massive contest. You may want to suggest that others in your group enter as well, so you can share the prize if you’re one of the winners!

And if you would like to know more about these books, be sure to check out this video and podcast where I talk about each of my 40 picks and explain why they appealed to me so much.

My last “Bookreporter Talks To” interview of the year is with Clare Mackintosh, whose latest thriller, THE LAST PARTY, is a Bets On selection. This blend of police procedural and psychological thriller is set on the border of England and Wales. Each country has a lot of national pride at stake when a crime happens across the border.

As Clare was writing, she realized that this would be the start of a three-book series featuring Detective Constable Ffion Morgan. She writes from multiple points of view and timelines, and discusses what drew her to write in that style and flesh out so many characters. We both love to swim, though I hand the cold water sans wetsuit swims over to Clare! Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. We also are featuring the discussion guide this month, which you can find here.

THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton is December’s #1 Indie Next pick and “Good Morning America” Book Club selection. Told in four parts --- power, water, light and time --- the novel mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness. According to “GMA,” the book “builds off of what it means to gain a community, seek adventure and adapt to a changing future.” Click here for the guide and here for our Bookreporter review.

We also have added guides for these two books:

• DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory: This third volume in the Fairmile series follows a family from one end of the empire to another as they find a new dawn in a world that is opening up before them with greater rewards and dangers than ever before.
   
• FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong: Henry, Kate and Martin have converged with their spouses on Henry’s house in upstate New York. This is the first Christmas that the three siblings are spending without their mother. As tensions rise, the whole group is forced to come together when a local mother and daughter need help.

Jenna Bush Hager has selected an old favorite, Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY, as her December “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. Jenna calls the book, which was first published in 1992, “a pillar of the last 30 years in literature.” She goes on to say, “With a book as layered as THE SECRET HISTORY, there's going to be new revelations every time you read it. I feel like this is the type of book that needs to be reread every 10, 20, 30 years --- which I just cannot believe.”

Reese’s Book Club pick for this month is THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell, which released in September. Reese says, “You know I love historical fiction...and with a true crime element? I’m in!... I could not stop Googling all the details of this true story! It’s a fascinating, historical thriller about an Italian Duchess, who we learn at the very beginning of the book will die either by sickness...or by her husband’s hand.”

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

Please note that there are no December picks for the Barnes & Noble Book Club or Simon & Schuster’s “Book Club Favorites”. But if you missed their November events, you can watch Katy Hays talk about THE CLOISTERS (the B&N selection) here and the S&S team discuss IT STARTS WITH US by Colleen Hoover (the Book Club Favorites pick) here.

First row: Harvey Freedenberg, Bronwyn Miller, Tom Donadio, Carol Fitzgerald
Second row: Kate Ayers, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Stuart Shiffman
Third row: Megan Elliott, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl, Ray Palen
Fourth row: Pamela Kramer

On December 6th, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event featuring 11 Bookreporter reviewers: Kate Ayers, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Each of them enthusiastically talked about their three favorite books of 2022. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here you haven’t heard of that you will want to check out.

Click here to watch the event and here to listen to the podcast. We have timestamped the video, so if you would like to hear from a specific reviewer, you easily can do that! A list of all the books that they presented can be found here, including selections from Ron Kaplan and Jana Siciliano, who sadly were not able to join us. We also have assembled the covers of the books that our reviewers picked, which you can see in this blog post.

Pictured above is me with our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio, and all 11 reviewers as we appeared on Zoom in our best “Brady Bunch” pose. It was such a terrific evening, and so many of our reviewers and attendees told us that their TBR lists have expanded greatly after listening to everyone present their titles. We LOVE hearing this! Many thanks to Tom for being a terrific co-anchor and for working out the lineup with me. We really had fun.

You can check out more 2022 faves from these reviewers and many others in Bookreporter's annual Reviewer Picks feature. See which of their fiction and nonfiction selections you agree or disagree with --- and which titles you may want to add to your 2023 reading lists or discuss with your group.

This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our first “Bookaccino Live” preview event of 2023, which will take place on Wednesday, January 11th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on titles releasing between January 3rd and January 31st, in addition to a few from February and March, that I would like to get on your radar. Click here to register. 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.

Our Bookreporter Holiday Author Blogs are back for a 15th year! Once again, authors are sharing their favorite bookish holiday memories with us. This year’s contributors are Mary Dixie Carter (THE PHOTOGRAPHER), J.T. Ellison (IT’S ONE OF US), Allegra Goodman (SAM), the aforementioned Pam Jenoff (CODE NAME SAPPHIRE), Jonathan Kellerman (UNNATURAL HISTORY: An Alex Delaware Novel), Chloe Melas (LUCK OF THE DRAW: My Story of the Air War in Europe), and Laura Munson (WILLA’S GROVE). Many thanks to these authors for writing such heartwarming pieces for us!

The winners of the 14th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards were announced in 17 categories last week. Among them are TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (Fiction), THE MAID by Nita Prose (Mystery & Thriller), CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Historical Fiction), BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry (Romance), SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel (Science Fiction), THE OFFICE BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (Humor), ATLAS OF THE HEART: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, by Brené Brown (Nonfiction), and I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy (Memoir & Autobiography). Click here for all the winners and runners-up.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa --- or whatever you are celebrating in December --- and a very Happy New Year. We look forward to sharing more books to discuss with your book group in 2023!

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!

New Guide: THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton
December’s #1 Indie Next Pick
and “Good Morning America” Book Club Selection

THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Fiction)
As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on Florida’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before. As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. She loses family, gains community, and seeks adventure, love and purpose in a place remade by nature.

- 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 "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.

Click here for the discussion guide.

ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 11 ½ Annual Book Group
Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups

On November 18th, ReadingGroupGuides.com hosted its 11 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians, book club leaders and bloggers. Nine small, medium and large-sized publishers shared their November 2022 through May 2023 recommendations for book groups --- more than 50 books perfect for discussing!

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.

Hachette Book Group • Harlequin Trade Publishing • Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group • Random House Publishing Group • Simon & Schuster • Soho Press • Sourcebooks •
William Morrow • W. W. Norton

If you would like to know more about these titles, here is a link to a page with a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation, as well as an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books both by publisher and alphabetically by title, along with a sheet to take notes.

Click here to watch our 11 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event.

Special Contest:
Share Your Favorite Books of 2022
and Enter to Win SIX Outstanding Book Group Titles
Releasing in 2023!

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 your favorite books of 2022 and enter the contest.

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb
for Your Group

New Special Contest on Bookreporter.com:
Enter to Win Our End-of-the-Year Celebration,
Featuring All 40 "Bets On" Titles from 2022

We are thrilled to announce our End-of-the-Year Contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2022. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40 books, while eight other readers will receive a selection of five of these titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, January 6th at noon ET.

Here are this year's Bets On titles:

• BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson
• BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs by Jamie Fiore Higgins
• THE CAGE by Bonnie Kistler
• CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• COUNT THE WAYS by Joyce Maynard
• DAISY DARKER by Alice Feeney
• FELLOWSHIP POINT by Alice Elliott Dark
• THE GOOD SON by Jacquelyn Mitchard
• GREENWICH PARK by Katherine Faulkner
• A HEART THAT WORKS by Rob Delaney
• HONOR by Thrity Umrigar
• THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET by Diane Chamberlain
• THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh
• THE LAST TO VANISH by Megan Miranda
• LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus
• THE LIES I TELL by Julie Clark
• THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward
• THE LONG WEEKEND by Gilly Macmillan
• MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
• THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki
• THE MAID by Nita Prose
• MEANT TO BE by Emily Giffin
• MUSTIQUE ISLAND by Sarah McCoy
• NEVER MEANT TO MEET YOU by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans
• OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez
• THE OTHER FAMILY by Wendy Corsi Staub
• THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf
• THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS by Sally Koslow
• SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX by Lisa Unger
• THE SHORE by Katie Runde
• SIGNAL FIRES by Dani Shapiro
• SISTER STARDUST by Jane Green
• TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY by Linwood Barclay
• THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK by Jennifer Hillier
• TRACY FLICK CAN’T WIN by Tom Perrotta
• TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON by Chris Pavone
• VACATIONLAND by Meg Mitchell Moore
• THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENNETTS by Lisa Scottoline
• THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth

Our Year-End Video and Podcast!

In this video and podcast, Carol talks about all 40 of this year's Bets On selections and why these books resonated with her so much.

Click here to enter the contest.

New Guide: DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory

DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
It is 1685, and England is on the brink of a renewed civil war. Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister, Alinor, that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant, Rowan, to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor has been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant. Alinor’s son, Rob, is determined to stay clear of the war, but when he and his nephew set out to free Ned from execution for treason and Rowan from a convict deportation to Barbados, they find themselves enmeshed in the creation of an imposter Prince of Wales --- a surrogate baby to the queen.

- 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: FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong

FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong (Fiction)
It’s December 22nd, and siblings Henry, Kate and Martin have converged with their spouses on Henry’s house in upstate New York. This is the first Christmas the siblings are without their mother, the first not at their mother’s Florida house. Over the course of the next three days, old resentments and instabilities arise as the siblings, with a gaggle of children afoot, attempt to perform familiar rituals, while also trying to decide what to do with their mother’s house, their sole inheritance. As tensions rise, the whole group is forced to come together unexpectedly when a local mother and daughter need help.

- 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 LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title

THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh (Psychological Thriller)
On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family --- and Ffion has her own secrets to protect. With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- 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 Clare Mackintosh.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here for the discussion guide.

Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for December

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 December'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 LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton
ASTRID PARKER DOESN'T FAIL by Ashley Herring Blake
SHIP WRECKED by Olivia Dade
TREAD OF ANGELS by Rebecca Roanhorse
HOW FAR THE LIGHT REACHES: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

LibraryReads
Top Pick: THE CIRCUS TRAIN by Amita Parikh
A DASH OF SALT AND PEPPER by Kosoko Jackson
THE INGENUE by  Rachel Kapelke-Dale
THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton
MS. DEMEANOR by Elinor Lipman

Target Book Club
TELL ME HOW TO BE by Neel Patel

Costco's "Buyer's Pick"
THE HIDDEN PALACE by Dinah Jefferies

Reese's Book Club
THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O'Farrell

Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt

"Good Morning America" Book Club
THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton

New December Releases of Interest to Book Groups

Below are a number of books that released in December 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 BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS by Aanchal Malhotra (Historical Fiction)
From oral historian Aanchal Malhotra comes a lush, sweeping debut novel in the vein of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE about a Hindu perfumer and a Muslim calligrapher, who fall in love against the backdrop of Partition.

THE LIPSTICK BUREAU by Michelle Gable (Historical Fiction)
Inspired by a real-life female spy, THE LIPSTICK BUREAU is a World War II-set novel about a woman challenging convention and boundaries to help win a war, no matter the cost.

MS. DEMEANOR by Elinor Lipman (Fiction/Humor)
From one of America’s most beloved contemporary novelists comes a delicious and witty story about love under house arrest.

NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU by Sam Lipsyte (Mystery/Humor)
NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU is a page-turning suspense novel that also serves as a love letter to a bygone era of New York City where young artists could still afford to chase their dreams.

SO LONG, CHESTER WHEELER by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Fiction)
Unlikely road trip companions form an unexpected bond in an uplifting novel about the past --- lost and found --- by New York Times and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Bookreporter.com Bets On:
SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX, SIGNAL FIRES,
THE LIFEGUARDS and A HEART THAT WORKS

SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
Ahhhh, who would not love the concept of heading off to a fabulous luxury cabin with a few friends? That is the premise of Lisa Unger’s latest thriller, SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX. This special getaway has been planned by Mako, who has become a tech mogul, as a way to celebrate his sister Hannah’s birthday. Our reviewer, Ray Palen, got it right when he said that this one has a “slow burn.” Suspicions quickly surface as you know this beautiful spot is not going to be placid and warm in Lisa’s skilled hands.

- 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 more of Carol's commentary on
SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX.
 

SIGNAL FIRES by Dani Shapiro (Fiction)
Is it possible that SIGNAL FIRES is the first Dani Shapiro book that I have read? It definitely has me scrambling to see what else I have missed. But before I do, let me tell you why I am betting on this book, which completely grabbed me from the start and held me through 200 pages of characters and plot. The book is set on Division Street, a quiet suburban block in Westchester County, New York. As it opens in 1985, there is an accident that will forever change the brother and sister who were in the car when it happened --- a terrible tragedy where a young woman died.

- 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 more of Carol's commentary on SIGNAL FIRES.

THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction)
Amanda Eyre Ward draws her latest work of domestic suspense, THE LIFEGUARDS, from a time of life that many of us know well --- when your friends are the parents of your children’s friends. Here we have three women --- suburban moms Liza, Whitney and Annette --- who live in Austin’s Zilker Park neighborhood. Their boys --- Charlie, Xavier and Bobcat (Robert) --- are close friends and lifeguards at the same pool. These Three Musketeers, as they refer to themselves, are finally off on their own, or at least their version of this.

- 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 watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Amanda Eyre Ward.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on THE LIFEGUARDS.
 

A HEART THAT WORKS by Rob Delaney (Memoir)
A HEART THAT WORKS, a memoir by actor Rob Delaney, is my final Bets On selection of 2022. While it’s the saddest book that I read this year, it’s also one that I literally could not put down. Rob’s son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was just a year old. Rob's family had moved from Los Angeles to London for his work. His wife, Leah, gave birth to Henry there. For a while, their lives were crazy busy, which is what happens when there are three young boys in the house. Then came the diagnosis that changed their lives and took them on a journey that was not going to have a happy ending.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on A HEART THAT WORKS.

From left to right: Jayne Ann Krentz, Brad Meltzer, Carole Johnstone

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

As many book and author events are still 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.

Every Monday night at 7:30pm ET: “Lisa Live!”: Join Lisa Scottoline every Monday night as she hosts her weekly “Talking LOYALTY” video series and Facebook Live events leading up to the publication of her historical novel, LOYALTY, on March 28, 2023. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!

Tuesday, January 3rd at 3pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Carole Johnstone will talk about her new novel, THE BLACKHOUSE, a richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner.

Wednesday, January 4th 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 Mary Kubica about her new psychological thriller, JUST THE NICEST COUPLE.

Wednesday, January 4th at 8pm ET: Murder By The Book: Jayne Ann Krentz will talk to Deanna Raybourn about her latest novel, SLEEP NO MORE, the opening entry in the Lost Night Files, an exciting new romantic suspense trilogy about a night that changed three women forever --- but that none of them can remember.

Sunday, January 8th at 6pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Brad Meltzer will discuss THE NAZI CONSPIRACY, his latest work of nonfiction that he wrote with Josh Mensch, which tells the little-known true story of a Nazi plot to kill FDR, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill at the height of World War II.

Wednesday, January 11th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books": For our first "Bookaccino Live" event of 2023, Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between January 3rd and January 31st, along with a few from February and March, that she would like to get on your radar.

"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts

“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)

Here is our latest interview:

• Clare Mackintosh (THE LAST PARTY) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Julie Clark (THE LIES I TELL) Video | Podcast
• Alli Frank and Asha Youmans (NEVER MEANT TO MEET YOU) Video | Podcast
• Bonnie Garmus (LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY) Video | Podcast
• Jamie Fiore Higgins (BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs) Video | Podcast
• Jennifer Hillier (THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK) Video | Podcast
• Sally Koslow (THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS) Video | Podcast
• Lynda Cohen Loigman (THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT) Video | Podcast
• Sarah McCoy (MUSTIQUE ISLAND) Video | Podcast
• Meg Mitchell Moore (VACATIONLAND) Video | Podcast
• Chris Pavone (TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON) Video | Podcast
• Tom Perrotta (TRACY FLICK CAN'T WIN) Video | Podcast
• Kim Michele Richardson (THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER) Podcast
• Katie Runde (THE SHORE) Video | Podcast
• Casey Sherman (HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod)
  Video | Podcast
• Thrity Umrigar (HONOR) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Dani Shapiro (SIGNAL FIRES)

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 CLOISTERS by Katy Hays (Literary Thriller)
In this haunting and magical debut novel, a circle of researchers uncover a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York’s famed Met Cloisters.

DAWNLANDS by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Philippa Gregory's Fairmile series continues as the fiercely independent Alinor and her family find themselves entangled in palace intrigue and political upheaval in 17th-century England.

FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong (Fiction)
With the urgency and artfulness that cemented her previous novel, WANT, as “a defining novel of our age” (Vulture), Lynn Steger Strong once again turns her attention to the structural and systemic failings that are haunting Americans, but also to the ways in which family, friends and strangers can support each other through the gaps.

GILDED MOUNTAIN by Kate Manning (Historical Fiction)
Set in early 1900s Colorado, GILDED MOUNTAIN is the unforgettable tale of a young woman who bravely faces the consequences of speaking out against injustice.

THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh (Psychological Thriller)
THE LAST PARTY is a delicious blend of police procedural and psychological thriller about the homicide of a local celebrity in small-town Wales --- a man everyone in the village had good cause to murder.

THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Fiction)
THE LIGHT PIRATE is a hopeful, sweeping story of survival and resilience spanning one extraordinary woman’s lifetime as she navigates the uncertainty, brutality and arresting beauty of a rapidly changing world.

SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.

SOMEDAY, MAYBE by Onyi Nwabineli (Fiction)
SOMEDAY, MAYBE is a stunning, witty debut novel about a young woman’s emotional journey through unimaginable loss, pulled along by her tight-knit Nigerian family, a posse of friends, and the love and laughter she shared with her husband.

WE ARE THE LIGHT by Matthew Quick (Fiction)
From Matthew Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, comes a poignant and hopeful novel about a widower who takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in their small town.

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

BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson (Fiction)
In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s death and her hidden past --- a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake.

THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb (Mystery/Thriller)
Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise --- undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world --- when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.

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