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Beyond the Books & Behind the Books
I watch movies and TV shows as much as I read. I especially enjoy films and programs that are based on books, and there are a lot of them these days. It’s clear that authors create characters and plots that can be adapted for the big and small screens. I enjoy seeing what stays the same and what changes, and how scenes are set up and interpreted. Sometimes programming surprises me. I look at a crowd scene and think about how that is staged. I think about the costuming that is created. I think about how a shoot is done, knowing that filming multiple scenes in a location even when they are not in order is typically the most cost-effective.
As I interview authors for “Bookreporter Talks To”, I am as interested in what did not make it into the book as I am in what did. Was there an extra character? A different storyline? Why did it stay, and why did it go? It’s not just about the final book; it’s about how it all came together, and that fascinates me. Do you find yourselves doing the same thing?
We will be hosting our 13th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event on Friday, June 7th at 1pm ET. If you are a librarian, bookseller or book club leader of three or more groups, and would be interested in attending this event, please email me and tell me a bit about yourself using the subject line “Speed Dating.” This is a “trade only” event, but we will be sharing the publisher videos, PowerPoint slides and other materials with you later in June.
This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for this month’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place on Wednesday, May 29th at 8pm ET.
Our guest will be Ann Napolitano, and she will be talking about her New York Times bestseller, HELLO BEAUTIFUL, which was an Oprah's Book Club pick when it released last year. We also will touch on her 2004 debut novel, WITHIN ARM'S REACH. It’s now available in a new paperback edition, and we’ve added the discussion guide in this update.
If you would like to ask Ann a question about the book on camera during the event and chat with her in our virtual green room before the event, please email me with your question using the subject line “Ann” by May 29th at noon ET. Be sure to include your name, city and state, as well as your question. If you do not want to appear on camera but still would like to ask a question, please note that you want to be off camera, and share your question --- adding your name, city and state.
Our Latest Monthly Contest is Live!
Our new “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest book is the New York Times bestseller GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea, which releases in paperback on June 4th. Taking as inspiration his mother’s own Red Cross service, Urrea has delivered an overlooked story of women’s heroism in World War II.
In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France.
Three groups will win 12 paperback copies of GOOD NIGHT, IRENE. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 12th at noon ET.
It was announced last week that LONG ISLAND is the latest Oprah’s Book Club selection. This follow-up to Colm Tóibín's 2009 bestselling novel, BROOKLYN, continues the story of Eilis Lacey more than two decades later, and we have the guide to share with you here.
Oprah describes the novel as “deeply emotional, grappling with infidelity, long-lost love, secrets, and the universal struggle we all have to figure out where we truly belong.” She goes on to say, “You don't have to have read BROOKLYN or watched the movie [on which it was based] to appreciate LONG ISLAND as you will find that this novel has everything you need to know in its own completely riveting story.”
Last Tuesday, Tóibín appeared with Oprah on “CBS Mornings” to talk about the book and his reaction to it being her 105th book club pick. Click here to watch the segment. And here is an interview that Tóibín did with the New York Times “Book Review” podcast where he talks about seeing LONG ISLAND not as a sequel but as another story. Also, if you’d like to read along with Oprah’s Book Club, you can do so by following the schedule on this page.
We have two new “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews to share with you in this newsletter.
First up is Mary Kay Andrews, whose latest novel, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT, will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. It is my favorite summer book of hers that I have read, so I loved being able to ask her questions about it.
Mary Kay talks about the resort that she modeled the St. Cecelia (aka “the Saint”) after and how she conducted research there while spending time with a friend. She also touches on the many storylines that are woven so well into the plot and points out that the novel originally had a different beginning. It is said that “summer begins with MKA,” and Mary Kay explains exactly why this book deserves that moniker and to be read wherever readers are this summer.
Watch the video here or listen to the podcast here. Also, be sure to check out the guide and our Bookreporter review. We will feature my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
I also spoke with Ann Hood about her new book, THE STOLEN CHILD, which we are featuring in our Historical Fiction Author Spotlight on Bookreporter and will be a Bets On selection.
Ann loves the World War I time period and has researched it through the years. She talks about her travels to WWI battle sites and how her son shares her passion for this history. Her thoughts about the tears she has shed inspired one thread of the storyline. We also touch on some musical references and discuss our shared love of knitting, mistakes and all.
Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast. And here is our review on Bookreporter. Don't miss my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
This month, we are featuring the guide for Leigh Bardugo’s #1 national bestseller, THE FAMILIAR, a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. Deborah Harkness, the #1 bestselling author of the All Souls Trilogy, calls the book “[a] richly imagined, intricate tale... I loved every word of this novel, and it’s a must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.”
Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion in Madrid. But when her scheming mistress discovers that the servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands that Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. As Luzia's notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath.
Be sure to take a look at our Featured Guide page, which has links to discussion questions, critical praise and more. Also, don’t miss our review on Bookreporter here.
We also are featuring the guide for Sheila Roberts’ newly released novel, THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB. Fellow bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry has this to say: “[With] a set of characters so vivid we want to be their best friends, and a story that keeps us turning the pages, THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB is your book club book of the year…. Sheila Roberts delivers a story nestled inside a story, a novel of pure delight!”
Karissa Newcomb, whose husband cheated on her with her supposed best friend, is ready for a new start. So she and her nine-year-old daughter move to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound, where she has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company. Meanwhile, her neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They all could use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket.
Read much more about the book on our Featured Guide page, where you’ll find links to discussion questions, a Q&A with Sheila Roberts, critical praise and more.
We also have added guides for these three books:
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REAL AMERICANS: Rachel Khong’s new novel is May’s Barnes & Noble and “Read with Jenna” Today Show book club picks. “It’s set in 2000, right when Y2K was happening, and it starts as a love story,” Jenna says. “But then it spans time and place, so that really, it’s a story of family and what we carry, what we pass down, secrets, and how they can divide us, and then bring us back together again.” On Tuesday, June 4th at 3pm ET, B&N will host a live virtual event with Rachel Khong, which you can sign up for here.
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THE MINISTRY OF TIME: Kaliane Bradley’s much-talked-about debut novel is this month’s #1 Indie Next pick and “Good Morning America” Book Club selection. The book is being described as “[a] time-travel romance, a spy thriller, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all.” In her Bookreporter review, Rebecca Munro calls Bradley “not only a courageous author, but an incredibly assured and adaptable one as well.”
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ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE: This luminous coming-of-age memoir set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, tracks Tom Seeman’s journey from a child janitor with big ambitions to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard. It’s at once a meditation on finding wonder in unlikely places, an ode to a heroic mother who makes the seemingly impossible possible, and an exploration of what it means to create our own identities. I am reading this book now and finding Tom's story to be fascinating!
Reese’s Book Club pick for this month is HOW TO END A LOVE STORY by screenwriter and director Yulin Kuang. Kuang describes her debut novel as “a meta romance about a screenwriter and a novelist who are linked by a shared tragedy in high school, and then find themselves in the same TV writers room, 13 years later.” Norah Piehl has this to say in her review on Bookreporter: “Beyond the personal dramas at its center, the book is a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at everything that goes into building a television series, written by someone who knows this world intimately.”
For more May selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview event last Wednesday afternoon. I talked about 38 books releasing between now and June 4th, plus 14 from July, that we wanted to get on your radar. You can watch the presentation here and see a list of the featured titles here.
Next month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview event will take place on Wednesday, June 12th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between June 11th and July 2nd, in addition to 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 miss the Buzz Books Editors and Authors Panel, co-sponsored by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association, which will take place TOMORROW, Thursday, May 16th at 7pm ET.
During this free virtual event for booksellers, librarians, media and other tastemakers, five editors will be in conversation with their authors as they describe exciting forthcoming titles excerpted in Buzz Books 2024: Fall/Winter. The authors are Cebo Campbell (SKY FULL OF ELEPHANTS), Juhea Kim (CITY OF NIGHT BIRDS), Kristin Koval (PENITENCE), John Larison (THE ANCIENTS), and Dava Sobel (THE ELEMENTS OF MARIE CURIE). The event will be hosted by Leigh Haber, who most recently was the director of Oprah's Book Club and Vice President of Books for O, The Oprah Magazine.
Buzz Books 2024: Fall/Winter is the 25th volume in Publishers Lunch’s popular sampler series. This newly released edition presents readers with an insider’s look at more than 40 of the buzziest books due out this season. As always, there’s also a comprehensive preview from Publishers Lunch of hundreds of additional noteworthy forthcoming books to have on your radar.
Besides hosting our “Bookreporter Talks To” series, I watch a lot of author interviews. Allison Pataki's latest historical novel, FINDING MARGARET FULLER, was recently voted to be a pick for the CBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi. You can watch their discussion here.
My book group will be discussing THE PARIS NOVEL by Ruth Reichl, a Bets On title for which we featured the guide in the last newsletter. We definitely need some French-themed treats for the evening!
Enjoy your next book group discussion.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who shop online, if you use the store links that appear on our site for shopping, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound. As you check out the discussion guides and various features on our site, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!
New Guide: LONG ISLAND by Colm Tóibín
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick
LONG ISLAND by Colm Tóibín (Historical Fiction)
Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children and Tony’s parents. It is the spring of 1976, and Eilis has no one to rely on in this still-new country. Though her ties to Ireland remain stronger than those that hold her to her new land and home, she has not returned in decades. One day, when Tony is at his job and Eilis is in her home office, an Irishman comes to the door asking for her by name. He tells her that his wife is pregnant with Tony’s child and that he will not raise the baby but instead deposit it on Eilis’ doorstep. It is what Eilis does --- and what she refuses to do --- in response to this stunning news that makes LONG ISLAND so riveting.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to see why the book is Oprah's latest Book Club pick.
- Click here to watch Oprah and Colm Tóibín talk about the book on "CBS Mornings."
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: SUMMERS AT THE SAINT
by Mary Kay Andrews
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation at St. Cecelia. But she could work there. One fateful summer she did, and she married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help --- including the daughter of her estranged best friend --- Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.
- 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 watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Mary Kay Andrews.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Mary Kay Andrews' website.
Click here for the discussion guide.
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea --- Releasing in Paperback on June 4th --- 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 GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea, which releases in paperback on June 4th. This New York Times bestselling novel tells an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 12th at noon ET.
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea (Historical Fiction)
In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Through her friendship with Dorothy and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope is for all three of them to survive the war intact.
- 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 visit Luis Alberto Urrea's website.
- Connect with Luis Alberto Urrea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Featured Guide: THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo
THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo (Historical Fantasy)
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen --- and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive --- even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit Leigh Bardugo's website.
- Click here to connect with Leigh Bardugo on Instagram.
Click here for the featured guide, which includes
discussion questions, critical praise and more.
New Featured Guide:
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts (Fiction)
Karissa Newcomb is ready for a new start in a new neighborhood, as far away as she can get from Seattle, where her husband cheated on her with the neighbor who was supposed to be her best friend. She and her nine-year-old daughter are moving on to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound. She even has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company right in Gig Harbor. Her new boss seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but a job is a job, she loves to read, and the idea of possibly meeting writers sounds fabulous.
Soon she finds that she’s not the only one in need of a refresh. Her new neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They all could use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket. Together, the three women, along with Alice’s grumpy older sister, Josie, embark on a literary journey that just might be the kick-start they need to begin building their best lives yet.
- Click here to visit Sheila Roberts' website.
- Connect with Sheila Roberts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Click here for the featured guide, which includes
discussion questions, an author interview, critical praise and more.
New Guide: REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong
May’s Barnes & Noble and “Read with Jenna”
Today Show Book Club Picks
REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong (Fiction)
REAL AMERICANS begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when 22-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love. In 2021, 15-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.
» REAL AMERICANS is May's Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. On Tuesday, June 4th at 3pm ET, B&N will host a live virtual event with Rachel Khong. Click here to sign up.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Read with Jenna" pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley
May’s #1 Indie Next Pick and “Good Morning America” Book Club Selection
THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (Science Fiction/Romance)
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and shortly afterward is told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to determine if time travel is feasible --- for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time. She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting and monitoring the expat known as “1847,” or Commander Graham Gore. Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined.
- 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.
New Guide: WITHIN ARM'S REACH by Ann Napolitano
WITHIN ARM’S REACH by Ann Napolitano (Fiction)
Releasing in a new paperback edition, Ann Napolitano’s 2004 debut novel charts the emotional life of three generations of an Irish-Catholic family. Shaken reluctantly into self-examination by the unexpected pregnancy of its youngest member, the McLaughlin family is forced to confront ghosts of both past and present, and to reappraise its values in a world of rapid change. Narrated through six subjective first-person accounts --- the pregnant Gracie, her sister Lila, their parents, their matriarchal grandmother, and a family outsider with a curious connection --- WITHIN ARM’S REACH dissects the markedly variant responses that such supposedly similar people can have to the same events.
- 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 sign up for our "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event with Ann Napolitano on Wednesday, May 29th at 8pm ET.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE by Tom Seeman
ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds by Tom Seeman (Memoir)
On Bronson Street, in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, in a crowded house occupied by a family of 14, Tom Seeman starts a very important list. Just as the trash-strewn field in his backyard is home to a treasure trove of wild animals, Tom’s list, “Animals I Want To See One Day,” is home to dreams of adventure in places far away from the downtrodden neighborhood where he lives. But for all its hardship and crime, Bronson Street is also something of a mythical street, populated by unforgettable people who share food, protect each other, and give surprising gifts of beauty and merriment, proving that the bonds of community and friendship (often across racial and social lines) can bridge any divide and transcend what many of us are taught to believe about each other.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for May
New Historical Fiction Author Spotlight
on Bookreporter.com: THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood (Historical Fiction)
For decades, Nick Burns has been haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, when a French artist he’d befriended thrust both her paintings and her baby into his hands --- and disappeared. In 1974, with only months left to live, Nick enlists Jenny, a college dropout desperate for adventure, to help him unravel the mystery.
The journey leads them from Paris galleries and provincial towns to a surprising place: the Museum of Tears, the life’s work of a lonely Italian craftsman. Determined to find the baby and the artist, hopeless romantic Jenny and curmudgeonly Nick must reckon with regret, betrayal and the lives they’ve left behind.
With characteristic warmth and verve, Ann Hood captures a world of possibility and romance through the eyes of a young woman learning to claim her place in it. THE STOLEN CHILD is an engaging, timeless novel of secrets, love lost and found, and the nature of forgiveness.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Ann Hood.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Ann Hood's website.
- Connect with Ann Hood on Facebook and Instagram.
Click here to read more in our Historical Fiction Author Spotlight.
THE STOLEN CHILD will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE PARIS NOVEL by Ruth Reichl
and DID I EVER TELL YOU? by Genevieve Kingston
THE PARIS NOVEL by Ruth Reichl (Historical Fiction)
I do love armchair travel, especially when it is delivered to me by someone who clearly has fabulous taste, a keen eye and a seasoned palate. Ruth Reichl is the perfect guide for this --- and she weaves a terrific story around it in THE PARIS NOVEL.
Stella has had a very tough childhood, with a mother who ignores her more than she favors her. Along the way, she is abused as a child and walks away from her childhood home as soon as she can to build her own life. She finds joy working with an editor at Vintage Books; she is very happy and comfortable at her job there. But when her mother passes away, she finds herself with a rather interesting inheritance --- a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is like a little church mouse with absolutely no idea what to do for an adventure. Her boss says, “Go!” And with that kick in the right direction, she is on a plane.
- 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 more of Carol's commentary on THE PARIS NOVEL.
DID I EVER TELL YOU?: A Memoir by Genevieve Kingston (Memoir)
DID I EVER TELL YOU? by Genevieve Kingston is the kind of book you read --- and never forget.
When Genevieve (who was nicknamed Gwen) lost her mother, she was just 11 years old. Kristina had been ill with cancer for eight years, and she knew she would not live to see her daughter and son grow into adulthood. Instead of mourning her fate, she would busy herself with wrapping paper, ribbon and cards, assembling a treasure trove of gifts for her children. Gwen would see her mother fluttering about clearly on a mission. You could feel she was almost seeing her children at each future stage that she was wrapping a special message for them, taking them up to age 30. These notes and gifts carefully were placed in a box for each of them.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on DID I EVER TELL YOU?
Bookreporter.com's 20th Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature
Summer will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through early August, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
From left to right: Ann Napolitano, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Eve J. Chung
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are eight upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Thursday, May 16th at 7pm ET: Publishers Lunch/American Booksellers Association: Leigh Haber --- who most recently was the director of Oprah's Book Club and Vice President of Books for O, The Oprah Magazine --- will host the Buzz Books Editors and Authors Panel, co-sponsored by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Join five editors in conversation with their authors as they describe exciting forthcoming titles excerpted in Buzz Books 2024/Fall Winter.
Tuesday, May 21st at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Silvia Moreno-Garcia for a live virtual discussion of her thriller, SILVER NITRATE, as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Silvia will be in conversation with the national bestselling author of WOMAN OF LIGHT, Kali Fajardo-Anstine.
Wednesday, May 22nd 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 Steven Rowley about his latest novel, THE GUNCLE ABROAD. Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties, this time for a big family wedding in Italy.
Thursday, May 23rd at 7pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Ann Napolitano, the bestselling and award-winning author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL and DEAR EDWARD, to discuss WITHIN ARM'S REACH, the debut novel that put her on the map and is the B&N Fiction Monthly selection for May.
Thursday, May 23rd at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Daniel Weizmann will discuss CINNAMON GIRL, a neo-noir dive into the dark side of LA’s rock scene that marks the return of Lyft driver-turned-sleuth Adam Zantz, whom readers first met in THE LAST SONGBIRD.
Wednesday, May 29th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to three-time Emmy Award winner Sunny Hostin about her new book, SUMMER ON HIGHLAND BEACH, the captivating third entry in her Summer Beach series.
Wednesday, May 29th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Ann Napolitano about her most recent novel, HELLO BEAUTIFUL, as well as her 2004 debut novel, WITHIN ARM'S REACH, which is available in a new paperback edition. Ann 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 Ann a question on camera, please email Carol with the subject line “Ann” by May 29th at noon ET.
Thursday, May 30th at 6pm ET: Queens Public Library: Eve J. Chung will discuss her extraordinary debut novel, DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG, which is based on her family story about a mother and her daughters and their harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China.
"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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Terah Shelton Harris (LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds by Tom Seeman (Memoir)
A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE explores themes of identity, ambition, religion and friendship --- often across racial and social lines --- as it spotlights a family of 14 and tracks a boy’s journey from a child janitor with big dreams to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard.
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts (Fiction)
It started as a book club. It became a way to build a better life together. According to New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry, “THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB is your book club book of the year.”
A CALAMITY OF SOULS by David Baldacci (Historical/Legal Thriller)
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully accused Black client.
DARLING GIRLS by Sally Hepworth (Domestic Thriller)
DARLING GIRLS is a thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love and murder from New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth.
DAYS OF WONDER by Caroline Leavitt (Fiction)
New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt returns with a tantalizing, courageous story about mothers and daughters, guilt and innocence, and the lengths we go for love.
THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo (Historical Fantasy)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. According to Deborah Harkness, THE FAMILIAR is “[a] must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.”
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea (Historical Fiction)
This New York Times bestselling novel tells an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross.
THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY by Chanel Cleeton (Historical/Gothic Mystery)
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s atmospheric new novel.
LONG ISLAND by Colm Tóibín (Historical Fiction)
From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding and love. LONG ISLAND is the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of BROOKLYN --- Colm Tóibín’s most popular work --- 20 years later.
THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (Science Fiction/Romance)
A time-travel romance, a spy thriller, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to THE MINISTRY OF TIME, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.
THE PARIS NOVEL by Ruth Reichl (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of SAVE ME THE PLUMS and DELICIOUS! comes a dazzling, heartfelt adventure through the food, art and fashion scenes of 1980s Paris.
REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong (Fiction)
How far would you go to shape your own destiny? REAL AMERICANS is an exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?
A SHORT WALK THROUGH A WIDE WORLD by Douglas Westerbeke (Historical Fiction/Magical Realism)
THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LaRUE meets LIFE OF PI in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. Told with Mary Kay Andrews' warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT is a beach read with depth and heart.
WITHIN ARM’S REACH by Ann Napolitano (Fiction)
This tender and perceptive debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL is about three generations of a large Catholic family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
BEWARE THE WOMAN by Megan Abbott (Psychological Thriller)
By the "master of thinly veiled secrets often kept by women who rage underneath their delicate exteriors" (Kirkus Reviews), BEWARE THE WOMAN is Megan Abbott at the height of her game.
THE BREAKAWAY by Jennifer Weiner (Fiction)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets and a life-changing journey.
DEATH VALLEY by Melissa Broder (Fiction/Magical Realism)
DEATH VALLEY is the most profound book yet from the visionary author of MILK FED and THE PISCES, a darkly funny novel about grief that becomes a desert survival story.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT KITTY KARR? by Crystal Smith Paul (Fiction)
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT KITTY KARR? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race and gender --- and the choices some women make to break free of them.
GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen (Domestic Thriller)
Nothing is as it seems in New York Times bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen's GONE TONIGHT, a novel about a mother's secrets to protect her daughter and what happens when they begin to unravel.
HAPPINESS FALLS by Angie Kim (Mystery/Thriller)
When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another. HAPPINESS FALLS is both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis from the award-winning author of MIRACLE CREEK.
THE LAGOS WIFE by Vanessa Walters (Literary Thriller/Mystery)
Previously published as THE NIGERWIFE
In this twisty and electrifying debut novel, a young woman goes missing in Lagos, Nigeria, and her estranged auntie will stop at nothing to find the truth behind her disappearance.
LITTLE MONSTERS by Adrienne Brodeur (Fiction)
From the author of the bestselling memoir WILD GAME comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families and long-buried secrets --- for fans of the New York Times bestsellers THE PAPER PALACE and ASK AGAIN, YES.
THE PARIS DAUGHTER by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
From the bestselling author of THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation.
SAVE WHAT'S LEFT by Elizabeth Castellano (Fiction/Humor)
SAVE WHAT'S LEFT is an outrageously funny debut novel about a woman who moves to a small beach town looking for peace, only to find herself in an all-out war with her neighbors.
THE WHISPERS by Ashley Audrain (Domestic Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE PUSH comes a propulsive page-turner about four families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens --- and what is lost when we give in to our own worst impulses.
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