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February 2012

ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter February 2012

Quick Links to Features on ReadingGroupGuides.com
 
Happy February!
Here's to a February with an extra day in it as we celebrate leap year.

This month we bring you THREE special contests with a chance to win FOUR books, all worthy of discussion in your group.

First, we feature New York Times bestselling author John Hart, who has won multiple awards for his beautifully written thrillers. John's work is known for his strong character as much as for his skill in plotting a thriller. We are giving 50 groups the opportunity to win 10 copies of BOTH Iron House and The Last Child for their book group. Both stories deal with familial bonds, and there are many ways to compare and contrast them. We also have the guides for The King of Lies and Down River with this update.

Like the contest that we ran for Kristin Hannah's Night Road a few months ago, to win, groups must be willing to discuss the books at their March or April meetings and post comments online about the books on their personal Facebook pages, Twitter, blogs, or other websites likes Goodreads. Iron House is a fast-paced thriller about a murder in an orphanage and the man who flees it into the world of New York City organized crime; The Last Child is a similarly rich, suspenseful mystery about a girl who disappears and the brother who attempts to find her. Fill out the form here by Monday, March 5th at noon ET to take part in this great opportunity to explore Hart's work!

Our second contest is for Long Drive Home by Will Allison, the story of a man who, while driving, accidentally causes a teen's death. The question that haunts him: How much does his young daughter who was riding in the back seat of the car remember about what happened the day of the crime? I read this book last weekend and got completely caught up in it as the father gets more and more tangled in a web of truth and lies that unravel his world. Years ago, a driving instructor told me that when driving a car, you are handling a lethal weapon, and this book really drives the point home. We are giving away 300 copies of this book to readers who enter here by Monday, March 5th at noon ET.

Our third contest features a book by debut author Andrea Kayne Kaufman, Oxford Messed Up. It tells the story of a young Rhodes Scholar with severe OCD and her experience with a new life, new friends, and a new form of therapy. The setup in the first few chapters, as the female protagonist flies to the UK to start her new life there quickly draws you into the frantic world of someone who has OCD. When she discovers her roommate is a young man, she is forced to confront his issues as well as her own. You cannot look away once you start reading. We are giving away 25 copies of the book to interested readers who enter here by Monday, March 5th at noon ET.

We also have two special contests for Registered Book Groups this month, featuring The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy and Far From Here by Nicole Baart. Groups that have registered with us by Tuesday, February 21st will receive the exclusive ReadingGroupGuides.com Registered Book Group newsletter with details about this offer.

The Legacy of Eden is a paperback original that tells the tale of Meredith Pincetti, a New Yorker who is called to her family home in Iowa when her grandmother dies. There, she confronts her battered family history and must decide if she wants to restore the family name to honor --- her grandmother's final wish. From the very first page, I found myself wrapped up in this story of legacy and family drama. Three groups will receive up to 12 signed copies of the book, and one of those groups will have the opportunity to chat with Nelle Davy.

In Far From Here, a new book from Nicole Baart, Danica Greene's husband, a pilot, mysteriously disappears in his plane. Danica struggles with her new situation as she grapples with how long to hope for her husband's return. Has she been abandoned? Is she a widow? I read Far From Here a few months ago and enjoyed how Nicole crafted the story with lots of emotion and uncertainty for Danica, as well as an ultimate resolution. 100 groups will receive a copy of the book.

Speaking of contests, to celebrate this season of love, we are featuring special Valentine's Day contests on BOTH Bookreporter.com and Teenreads.com. Each contest features prizes that include books and chocolate! Click here to check out the contest on Bookreporter.com, and send any teens in your life here. The clock is ticking as both contests end at noon ET on Thursday, February 9th. By the way, one of my male friends has the best nickname for Valentine's Day. He calls it "Girl Christmas," which is very amusing.

Speaking of love, we have gotten a huge outpouring of warm response from those who participated in our contest where we shared Kristin Hannah's book, Night Road, with readers.

One of our lucky winners, Denise Neary, posted her thoughts on our blog, which you can see here. Kristin is on tour now, and you check out her schedule here to see if she will be stopping near you. We are looking forward to seeing her at a New York event on Monday evening. If you plan to be there, do let us know.

By the way, many Night Road readers have said that they have been passing the book on to their teens, and discussing it with them as a sort of mother-daughter bonding experience. What a great idea for your book club! One of our staffers was in a mother-daughter book club in high school, and she still remembers how fun it was to hang out with her mom, her friends and their moms, and while away the afternoon gabbing about books.

Our contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com for Home Front, another of Kristin's books, just ended. Home Front tells the tale of a struggling mother whose family suffers when she is deployed to Iraq. We gave away 100 copies of the audio version of the book to lucky readers. We are also promoting Home Front on Bookreporter.com in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight, and you can read our interview with Kristin, as well as a review and the guide.

Last month we also featured a contest for Little Princes, Conor Grennan's account of the year he spent tackling human trafficking in Nepal. This was a truly touching memoir --- and Book Club Girl is featuring an interview with Conor!

We are currently shining our Bookreporter.com Women's Fiction Author Spotlight on Pamela Redmond, author of The Possibility of You. The book tells the interlocking stories of three women who deal with motherhood at various integral points in America's history: the First World War, the era of change in the '60s-'80s, and the autumn of the 2008 election. Reading this book, I loved how the stories wove together and each page was like unwrapping a new layer. It would make for some great, thought-provoking discussions with your book club. You can enter here by Thursday, February 16th at noon ET to win a copy.

Heads up --- are you a twentysomething? Do you still feel like a twentysomething? (In my mind, I am still 27; after all, being in your 20s is a state of mind!) Know any twentysomethings? Well then, sign up --- or tell them to sign up --- for our new 20SomethingReads.com newsletter! 20SomethingReads.com is our BRAND NEW book review website catered specifically to twentysomethings, which will launch in the next month. It essentially will be edited for everyone from college to, well, thirtysomething.

In our new poll, we want to know how you went about acquiring the last book you read. Did you buy it? Find it? Beg, borrow or steal it?

And this month's newsletter contest book is Dreams of Joy by Lisa See, which is a sequel to her bestselling book Shanghai Girls. If you are signed up to receive this newsletter, you are automatically entered to win a copy. By the way, Lisa is going on tour. Click here to see when she will be at a bookstore near you! When I saw Lisa's schedule, I realized that she will be in Tucson the weekend of the LA Times Festival of Books (April 21st and 22nd), which means we will not be able to have our standing date by the pool of the W Hotel talking books and life the Friday of that weekend. Will miss that a lot. If you end up seeing her, be sure to say hi for me.

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

 

Special Contest: Win 10 Copies of IRON HOUSE and THE LAST CHILD by John Hart for Your Group
This month, we’re offering 50 groups a very special opportunity --- a chance to win 10 copies of both Iron House (available in paperback March 27th) and The Last Child by John Hart. To enter, book clubs agree to discuss the books at their March or April meetings, answer the questions that we provide, and promote the two titles via social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, blogs, etc. Please note that not everyone in the group needs to read both books. (For example, you may choose to divide your group into two sections, one for each book, and discuss the titles that way.) Our aim is to have book groups exploring John Hart’s work and sharing their thoughts about it!

The deadline for entries is Monday, March 5th at noon ET.

More about Iron House:
There was nothing but time at the Iron Mountain Home for Boys, time for two orphans to learn that life is neither painless nor won without a fight. Julian survives only because his older brother, Michael, is both feared and fiercely protective. When an older boy is brutally killed, Michael makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect his brother: He flees the orphanage and takes the blame with him. For two decades, Michael thrives on the streets of New York, eventually clawing his way to a world of wealth, fear and respect. But the life he’s fought to build unravels when he meets a woman who knows nothing of his past or sins.

More about The Last Child:
Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is --- confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

-Read the guides for Iron House and The Last Child, along with two more books by John Hart: The King of Lies and Down River.

 
Click here to read all the contest details.

 
Special Contest: Win a Paperback Copy of LONG DRIVE HOME by Will Allison for Your Group
We are celebrating the paperback release of Long Drive Home by Will Allison --- the story of a happily married man who makes a split-second decision that sends his life into a devastating tailspin --- with a special contest. 300 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now available in paperback, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, March 5th at noon ET.

More about Long Drive Home:
Life can change in an instant because of one small mistake. For Glen Bauer, all it takes is a quick jerk of the steering wheel, intended to scare a reckless driver. But the reckless driver is killed, and just like that, Glen’s placid suburban existence begins to unravel. Written in part as a confessional letter from Glen to his daughter, Sara, Long Drive Home evokes the sharp-eyed observation of Tom Perrotta and the pathos of Dan Chaon in its trenchant portrait of contemporary American life.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

 
Click here to read all the contest details.

 
Special Contest: Win a Copy of OXFORD MESSED UP by Andrea Kayne Kaufman for Your Group
We are celebrating the release of Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman --- the story of a clawfoot tub, the music of Van Morrison, and two messed-up souls who bloom with transcendent love --- with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now in stores, for their group. The deadline for entries is Monday, March 5th at noon ET.

More about Oxford Messed Up:
Rhodes Scholar Gloria Zimmerman has come to Oxford University to study feminist poetry. Yet the rigors of academia pale in comparison to her untreated Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, fueled by her overachieving parents and manifested in a deathly aversion to germs and human contact. Her next-door neighbor (who is also, to her mortification, her roommate) is Henry Young, the appealing but underachieving English music student. Still mourning the death of his supportive mother while enduring the mockery of his disapproving and merciless father, Henry is haunted by the unexpectedly serious ramifications of a reckless and tragic youth.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

 
Click here to read all the contest details.

 
Available in Paperback February 14th: SAVE ME by Lisa Scottoline

Nobody could have foreseen what would happen the day that Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in the cafeteria of her daughter’s elementary school. Rose does it to keep a discreet eye on her third-grader, Melly, a sweet, if shy, child who was born with a facial birthmark that has become her own personal bull’s-eye. Melly has been targeted by the mean girl at their new school and gets bullied every day, placing Rose in a no-win position familiar to parents everywhere. Do we step in to protect our children when they need us, or does that make things worse? When the bully starts to tease Melly yet again. Rose is about to leap into action --- but right then, the unthinkable happens.
 

Click here for the reading group guide.

 
ALL THAT I AM by Anna Funder
When 18-year-old Ruth Becker visits her cousin Dora in Munich in 1923, she meets the love of her life, the dashing young journalist Hans Wesemann, and eagerly joins in the heady activities of the militant political Left in Germany. Ten years later, Ruth and Hans are married and living in Weimar Berlin when Hitler is elected chancellor of Germany. Together with Dora and her lover, Ernst Toller, the celebrated poet and self-doubting revolutionary, the four become hunted outlaws overnight and are forced to flee to London.
Click here for the reading group guide.

 
February's Registered Book Group Contests

For February, we have two very special opportunities for Registered Book Groups. Our featured titles this month are The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy and Far From Here by Nicole Baart. Groups that have registered with us by Tuesday, February 21st will have the chance to win author chats and/or free books. If your group is not registered with ReadingGroupGuides.com, click here to register.

The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy --- Author Chat and Book Giveaway: Three groups will receive up to 12 signed copies of the book, and one of those groups will have the opportunity to chat with Nelle Davy.

More about The Legacy of Eden:
For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than 3,000 acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway’s dream to elevate the family name --- no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways --- and the once-prosperous farm.

Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died --- alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for 17 years Lavinia’s youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family’s once-great name.

Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family...and her own part in their mottled history.

Far From Here by Nicole Baart --- Book Giveaway: 100 groups will receive a copy of the book.

More about Far From Here:
Danica has always hated flying. But this doesn’t stop her from falling in love with Etsell Greene, a pilot with dreams of becoming an Alaskan bush pilot. Together the Greenes make their home in Blackhawk, Iowa, where Etsell gives flying lessons while Danica remains on terra firma, running her own beauty salon. When a friend offers Etsell a chance to test-drive his dream, Danica finds herself reluctantly bidding her husband goodbye while he takes off for a trip to Alaska. Only a few days later, Etsell is pronounced missing. While Danica endures nightmares and waits for more news, she turns to her neighbor, Ben --- a single man and pastor who offers gentle guidance and innocent distraction. Ultimately, Danica is forced to search for the truth in her marriage and treks to Alaska to grapple with the unanswerable questions about her husband’s disappearance. But when she learns that Etsell wasn’t flying alone and that a woman is missing too, the bits and pieces of the careful life that she had constructed for them in Iowa take to the wind.

 

Click here to register your group.

 
ReadingGroupGuides.com's "What to Read Next?" Feature
Is your book group stuck in a rut? Or looking to stretch beyond its comfort zone? Maybe you're just searching for that next great read?

We're here to help! Our latest ReadingGroupGuides.com feature, “What to Read Next? Suggest a Book for This Group,” aims to help a group by taking suggestions from our thousands of book group members.

We'll regularly feature groups, tell you something about them and share their previous 6 selections here, and then ask you to leave a suggestion for them in our special form. We're excited to see groups sharing picks back and forth, and hope this feature helps groups find a new favorite discussion title!

-Click here to see the suggestions for last month's group.
-Click here to see the suggestions for previously featured groups.
-Click here to submit your group for consideration.

 
Click here to see this month's featured groups.

 
Bookreporter.com's Special Feature: Reading the Oscars

Which was better: the movie or the book? Film fans and book lovers have just about three weeks to make the ultimate assessment, before the Oscar ceremony takes place on Sunday, February 26th.

The question is even more relevant this year as six out of nine Best Picture Academy Award nominees are based on books --- Hugo (which leads with 11 nominations), War Horse (6 nominations), Moneyball (6 nominations), The Descendants (5 nominations), The Help (4 nominations), and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2 nominations). Further, a total of 20 nominated feature films (out of 46) have book tie-ins, ranging from novels to children’s books, coffee-table books to screenplay books.

Special contributor Harry Burton has compiled a roundup of books tied to the Oscar-nominated films in case you feel like brushing up in advance of the awards by picking up a book (or two, or three) at your favorite bookseller or local library.

 

Click here to see Bookreporter.com's special feature on this year's Oscar nominations.

 
Valentine's Day Features on Bookreporter.com and Teenreads.com --- Contests End Thursday, February 9th at Noon ET!

The countdown to Valentine's Day is on! Stuck on what to buy your Valentine? We have the bookish answer. From now through February 9th, readers will have the chance to win one of our five Bookreporter.com Valentine's Day prize packages, which includes one copy of each of our featured books and some delicious chocolate from Godiva.

The featured Valentine’s Day titles on Bookreporter.com are:

-Everything Romance: A Celebration of Love for Couples by Todd Hafer
-History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
-The Lucky One (movie tie-in edition) by Nicholas Sparks
-The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall

-Click here to read all the contest details and enter to win.


Got any teens in your life? On Teenreads.com, we're spreading the love with our first-ever Valentine's Day contest and feature. From now through February 9th, readers will have the chance to win one of our five Teenreads.com Valentine's Day prize packages, which includes one copy of each of our featured books and a bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares.

The featured Valentine’s Day titles on Teenreads.com are:

-Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
-Fallen in Love: A Fallen Novel in Stories by Lauren Kate
-First Date by Krista McGee
-The Lucky One (movie tie-in edition) by Nicholas Sparks

-Click here to read all the contest details and enter to win.

 

Bookreporter.com's Women's Fiction Author Spotlights: THE POSSIBILITY OF YOU and HOME FRONT

The Possibility of You by Pamela Redmond (Fiction)
The Possibility of You weaves together three interlocking stories involving three women dealing with issues of pregnancy and motherhood at key moments in history of the last century: On the brink of the First World War and the dawn of the modern age; as the liberalism of the ’60s and ’70s gave way to Reagan’s 1980s; and during the autumn of Barack Obama’s election. Contemporary heroine Cait, an African-American journalist raised by white adoptive parents, goes on a search for her birth mother inspired by her own unplanned pregnancy. Orphan Billie travels from her hippie upbringing in San Francisco to discover the upscale New York grandmother she never knew existed. And Irish nanny Bridget loses the boy she cares for and loves in the 1916 polio epidemic, only to try and replace him with a child of her own.

We have 30 copies of The Possibility of You, which will be in stores February 21st, to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment on it. If you are interested, please fill out this form by Thursday, February 16th at noon ET.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Pamela Redmond’s bio.
-Click here to visit Pamela Redmond’s website.
-Click here to connect with Pamela Redmond on Facebook.
-Click here to connect with Pamela Redmond on Twitter.
-Click here to see Pamela Redmond on Goodreads.
-Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction feature.


Home Front by Kristin Hannah (Fiction)
From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore. But after 12 years together, the couple has lost their way; they are unhappy and edging toward divorce. Then the Iraq war starts. An unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart, sending one of them deep into harm’s way and leaving the other at home, waiting for news. When the worst happens, each must face their darkest fear and fight for the future of their family.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our interview.
-Click here to read Kristin Hannah's bio.
-Click here to visit Kristin Hannah's official website.
-Click here to see Kristin Hannah's blog.
-Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction feature.


 

Sign Up for Our NEW 20SomethingReads.com Newsletter
On February 29th, we’re scheduled to launch 20SomethingReads.com, the newest site in The Book Report Network that will be aimed primarily at twentysomethings, a market that also includes college students. The content will be a mix of adult and YA books, graphic novels, and a select group of titles that we think really speak to people in their 20s.

If you know anyone who is twentysomething, may we ask you to share this news with them? Either send them this link or have them click on the graphic. And if you are interested, you can click to sign up as well.

By the way, we chose the 29th as that site only will have an anniversary every four years and thus stay…forever young.

 
Click here to sign up for our 20SomethingReads.com newsletter.

 
New Guides Now Available

Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown: Garnering praise from the likes of Margaret George, Kathleen Kent and Sheri Holman, who calls it a "marvelous story written in searing prose," Accidents of Providence takes us into the streets of 1649 London and the story of an unmarried woman, a glovemaker, whose passionate love affair leads to a trial for murder.
All That I Am by Anna Funder: Award-winning author Anna Funder delivers an affecting and beautifully evocative debut novel about a group of young German exiles who risk their lives to awaken the world to the terrifying threat of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
At Last by Edward St. Aubyn: The fifth and final installment in the acclaimed Patrick Melrose novels (Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and the Man Booker Prize finalist Mother’s Milk), this wickedly dark comedy is an entertaining yet thought-provoking experience, even for those who have never read the previous books.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson: The New York Times bestseller now in paperback --- a disturbing psychological thriller, in which an amnesiac attempts to reconstruct her past by keeping a journal and discovers the dangerous inconsistencies in the stories of her husband and her secret doctor.
Down River by John Hart: A powerful, heart-pounding thriller from the unparalleled New York Times bestselling and two-time Edgar Award-winning author of The Last Child and The King of Lies, Down River --- winner of the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year --- will haunt your thoughts long after the last page is turned.
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See: Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed 19-year-old daughter Joy, who runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father.
Far From Here by Nicole Baart: When Danica Greene’s pilot husband disappears during a trip to Alaska, Danica begins a desperate journey to find him. But when she learns that her husband wasn’t flying alone and that a woman is missing too, she is forced to search for the truth in her marriage.
History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason: Piet Barol has an instinctive appreciation for pleasure and a gift for finding it. He applies for a job as tutor to the son of Europe’s leading hotelier, and soon finds his life transformed as he in turn transforms the lives of those around him.
Home Front by Kristin Hannah: From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all. But after 12 years together, the couple has lost their way. Then the Iraq war starts, and an unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart.
Iron House by John Hart: Two families. Two brothers. One explosive secret. John Hart has written four New York Times bestsellers and won an unprecedented two back-to-back Edgar Awards. The New York Times labeled his work “Grisham-style intrigue and Turow-style brooding.” Now he delivers a gut-wrenching, heart-stopping thriller no reader will soon forget.

Island of Wings by Karen Altenberg: Everything lies ahead for Lizzie and Neil McKenzie when they arrive at the St. Kilda islands in July of 1830. But as they adjust to life at the edge of civilization, where the natives live in squalor and babies perish mysteriously, their marriage --- and their sanity --- are soon threatened.
The King of Lies by John Hart: From the masterful New York Times bestselling and two-time Edgar Award-winning author of The Last Child and Down River comes this tour de force of murder and the dark ripples it sends through a man, his family and community.
The Last Child by John Hart: John Hart’s New York Times bestselling debut, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With Down River, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with The Last Child, he achieves his most significant work to date: an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope and courage in the face of evil.
The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy: For the past 17 years, Meredith Pincetti has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family's once-great name.
Long Drive Home by Will Allison: In Will Allison’s critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, a happily married man makes a split-second decision that sends his life into a devastating tailspin.
Norumbega Park by Anthony Giardina: From the author of White Guys comes a novel about class and parental dreams, sex and spirituality, the way visions conflict with stubborn reality, and a family’s ability to open up, for others, a world they could never fully grasp for themselves.
Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman: Go on a journey where a clawfoot tub, the music of Van Morrison, and two messed-up souls blooms with transcendent love.
The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen: A Saudi-born author’s stunning debut novel tells the story of a Saudi billionaire and the turmoil and heartbreak that rock his family after his American wife discovers he has taken a second bride, and his son begins an ominous journey towards radicalism.
Sipping from the Nile: My Exodus from Egypt by Jean Naggar: Lyrical and engaging, Sipping from the Nile traces the author’s journey from an idyllic Jewish childhood in Arab lands to the Suez crisis that changed her life forever.
Spin by Catherine McKenzie: An undercover newbie gossip reporter nicknamed “Sober” for her partying ways follows a celebrity into rehab to dish all the dirt --- but things are always more complicated than they seem.
We Need to Talk About Kevin: Movie Tie-In Edition by Lionel Shriver: This gripping international bestseller about motherhood gone awry is now a motion picture starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly.
What Happened to Hannah by Mary Kay McComas: As a teenager, Hannah Benson ran away from home in order to save herself. Now, 20 years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her 15-year-old niece.

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

Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War by Annia Ciezadlo: Day of Honey is a tale of war and intercultural conflict explored through food and friendship.
Save Me by Lisa Scottoline: From the New York Times bestselling author of Think Twice and Look Again comes an emotionally powerful novel about a split-second choice, agonizing consequences, and the need for justice.
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman: This New York Times bestselling novel reveals how the events of a single night shatter a Manhattan family’s sense of security and identity --- “a rich, engrossing, and surprisingly nuanced novel exploring timeless questions of guilt and responsibility” (O, The Oprah Magazine).
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown: Three sisters return home to their ailing mother and Shakespeare-obsessed father to confront each other and their pasts.

The following new guides are now available for Christian book groups:

Accused: Pacific Coast Justice #1 by Janice Cantore: Detective Carly Edwards hates working in juvenile and longs to be back on patrol. So when a troubled youth is arrested for the murder of the mayor and Carly is summoned to the crime scene, she's eager for some action.
Heart’s Safe Passage: The Midwives, Book 2 by Laurie Alice Eakes: This second book in Laurie Alice Eakes’s The Midwives series is a stirring tale of love, intrigue, and adventure on the high seas.
When the Smoke Clears: Deadly Reunions, Book 1 by Lynette Eason: Set against the volatile backdrop of political and civil unrest in 1850s Louisville, this exciting story of love and loyalty will hold readers in its grip until the very last page.
Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart: One woman stands ready to defend her newspaper…even if it means losing out on love.


 

This Month's Poll
Where did you get the last book that you read?

I bought it online at Amazon.
I bought it online at BN.com.
I bought it online via an Indie store.
I bought it online at another retailer.
I bought it on my Kindle.
I bought it on my Nook.
I bought it on iTunes for my iPad.
I bought it on another eReader.
I bought it in a chain bookstore (Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million)
I bought it at an Indie store.
I bought it at a big-box store (Costco, Sam’s Club).
I borrowed it from a friend or family member.
I borrowed it from the library.
It was a gift/prize.
Other (Please specify)

 
Click here to answer the poll.

 
This Month's Newsletter Contest Book: DREAMS OF JOY by Lisa See

Win copies of Dreams of Joy by Lisa See for your group!

To be a group to win 20 free copies of this book, all you have to do is sign up for the ReadingGroupGuides.com newsletter by March 1st. If you are receiving this newsletter in your mailbox, you already are signed up!


More about Dreams of Joy:
In her most powerful novel yet, acclaimed author Lisa See returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed 19-year-old daughter, Joy.

Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father --- the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the Communist regime. Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.

 

Click here to read all the contest details.

 

Do you like what you see here, and want to forward it to a friend? Then click our link on the bottom of the page to do just that!

Happy reading. We'll see you next month.

Don't forget to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com:


Bookreporter.com, GraphicNovelReporter.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com and AuthorYellowPages.com.

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228
New York, New York 10107