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ReadingGroupGuides.com Newsletter |
May 2012 |
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Quick Links to Features on ReadingGroupGuides.com
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What a Lineup! |
Happy May to everyone! HOW did it get to be May already? The year is zipping by.
We’ve been hunkered down working on a re-design of ReadingGroupGuides.com, which we hope to take live by the next update. We have been redesigning sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com for almost two years now. There are times when I will ask our really amazing staff to create a piece of art or content for a site in the new format, and they will remind me, “Carol, that’s not live yet.” We are working on the site as it is now, the way it will look when it’s redesigned, and then I am thinking further down the pike on how great it will be to share content among the sites once this whole crazy vision that I had is finally done.
Thus, when this note from one of our readers named Lynn arrived in my mailbox, it really made me smile and, I daresay, kept me going: “Just wanted to let you know the April newsletter was another killer newsletter!! I swear woman, you wear me out!! Keep up the great work. Your newsletter is my favorite. I receive several newsletters a month and yours is always my favorite.” For the record, the pace has been so intense that there are some Saturdays I wake up and think, Did that ALL really happen this week? And then I want a nap!
But instead, I read, which is why I can tell you that this month’s update is filled with great books for discussion.
Chris Cleave is an author familiar to many of our readers. His Little Bee has been a book club favorite, and when I was at the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute in January, his signing line was so long that no matter how many times I circled back, I did not get a chance to meet him! His upcoming book, Gold, will be out in July. I already have earmarked it as a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick, one of the select titles that I bet readers will enjoy.
Gold is the story of Zoe and Kate, world-class athletes who have been friends and rivals since their first day of Elite training. They’ve loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, consoled, gloried, and grown up together. Now on the eve of London 2012, their last Olympics, both women will be tested to their physical and emotional limits as only one of them will be allowed to represent her country. Perfectly timed for the Olympics, it’s going to be a book people will be talking about. So many themes in it to explore about friendship, morality and choices. We have 50 copies to give away to readers who want to give it an early look with eyes on selecting it for a group read. Enter here by Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
We are celebrating the paperback release of Tayari Jones’ Silver Sparrow, which was a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection when it came out last year. In a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, James Witherspoon has two families --- the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. Reader feedback on this book echoes my enthusiasm for it. And, oh boy, there is a LOT to discuss. If your group has read it already, I would love to hear what you had to say about it. If your group is not familiar with it, check it out. Want to read more about how I felt after reading it? Click here. We are giving one group the opportunity to win 12 copies of the book, and 25 additional readers will win a single copy. Enter here by Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
We are also giving away copies of Ellen Feldman’s Next to Love, which releases in paperback on May 15th. Three young women --- Babe, Millie and Grace --- who live in a small town in Massachusetts all send the men they love off to fight in World War II. Not everyone returns, and those who do are profoundly changed, reminding us that the scars of war run deeper than the day that victory is won. This character-rich story begins before the men head out and continues right through the early ’60s. And continuing what may sound like a theme here, this too was a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection when it came out last year. Here is what I said about it. One group will win 12 copies of the book, and 25 additional readers will win a single copy. Enter here by Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
This month, we are featuring a guide for Sandra Dallas’ True Sisters, which was a contest book last month. In order to encourage Mormon converts to emigrate to the promised land (Salt Lake City), a plan was implemented by Brigham Young himself: emigrants were outfitted with two-wheeled handcarts. The settlers were then expected to walk, pushing the handcarts, for the 1,300-mile journey from Iowa City. Several “companies,” as they were called, completed this perilous trek and successfully reached Salt Lake City. But for the Martin Company, one of the very last groups to leave from Iowa City that year, the trip proved disastrous. What a great, great story. I need to circle back and add this to my Bookreporter.com Bets On list! Click here for the reading group guide.
We also have a guide for Toni Morrison’s Home. An angry and self-loathing veteran of the Korean War, Frank Money finds himself back in racist America after enduring trauma on the front lines that left him with more than just physical scars. His home --- and himself in it --- may no longer be as he remembers it, but Frank is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from, which he's hated all his life. As Frank revisits the memories from childhood and the war that leaves him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he thought he could never possess again. Click here for the reading group guide.
Oh, and click here for an interesting piece about Toni Morrison, which includes her real name. Who knew? I have so many author friends who have pen names. It’s a good thing I write under my own name. Dual names would be way, way too complicated for me!
Another featured guide of the month is for Shelter by Frances Greenslade. For sisters Maggie and Jenny growing up in the Pacific mountains in the early 1970s, life felt nearly perfect. But at night, Maggie --- a born worrier --- would count the freckles on her father’s weathered arms, listening for the peal of her mother’s laughter in the kitchen, and never stop praying to keep them all safe from harm. Then her worst fears come true: Not long after Maggie’s 10th birthday, their father is killed in a logging accident, and a few months later, their mother abruptly drops the girls at a neighbor’s house, promising to return. She never does. I have this one on my stack and look forward to it. Click here for the reading group guide.
I am reading The Cottage at Glass Beach and enjoying it. The setting has me looking forward to summer! Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns that her husband has been unfaithful. Click here for the reading group guide. This title is also our newsletter contest selection. All you need to do is to be signed up for this newsletter to be entered to win. Not signed up? Click here!
This month, we interview The Brownstone Reading Group, which hails from Oro Valley, Arizona. They have been reading together for over 16 years! Click here to see what Marilyn Browning, one of the group’s members, had to say.
The other day I was reading posts on Facebook and saw that Jana Riess was waiting for an Erik Larson reading at the Cincinnati Public Library. I quickly messaged her and asked her if we could do an interview with her about the event. She was kind enough to say yes, and you can see our Blog Q&A with her here.
If you are headed to an author event, let me know. Perhaps we can do this same kind of interview with you ---- or have you write a blog piece for us. Fewer and fewer authors are on tour, and they are going to fewer and fewer cities, thus sharing these events with others would be lovely. This year, I had to miss the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, but I was happy to have a blog piece about this event from Kathy Junds, one of our readers. Great to hear your perspectives on events like this.
Also, we had some of our “reader journalists” weigh in on their experiences with World Book Night! You can read what they had to say here.
Speaking of blogs, our Mother’s Day Blog feature, “Celebrating Authors and their Mothers,” is pretty spectacular! One piece is better than the next. This week, we have posts from Paul Levine, Ceri Radford, Tayari Jones, Maryann McFadden, Claire Bidwell Smith and Adriana Trigiani. Keep up with these fabulous posts here through Monday, May 14th.
Looking for ideas on what to ask for this Mother’s Day? Then check out our Mother’s Day feature, which includes eight great mom-friendly titles --- Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel, Grace by T. Greenwood, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Lost and Found by Geneen Roth, A Natural Woman by Carole King, Next to Love by Ellen Feldman, Think by Lisa Bloom, and The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.
Our poll this month on ReadingGroupGuides.com was spurred by my mom talking about one of the book groups that she belongs to. We pulled together a group of adjectives. See which best describe your group! We’re very curious to see the results of this poll, so please weigh in here.
Speaking of polls, we have a VERY popular poll this week on Bookreporter.com about which upcoming book(s) you have read or are looking forward to reading, and we want your input too! Click here to weigh in by Friday, May 11th at noon ET. Reading this newsletter too late for this poll? No worries…a new one goes up right after the old one expires.
Two more links we think you might enjoy: The first is about Harper Lee’s surprise appearance last week at an Alabama literary luncheon. The second is a VERY humorous albeit racy piece that ran on “Saturday Night Live” about the wildly popular Fifty Shades of Grey. I caught it on the show and linked to it from our Bookreporter.com Facebook page…and readers have been sending it to me all week as well. You can view it here!
BIG OPPORTUNITY --- with special prize opportunity. A publisher has contacted us asking our U.S. readers to answer some questions that could help them develop a book group event. Please answer this survey, which should take no longer than 5-7 minutes, by Thursday, June 7th at 11:59PM ET.
In appreciation of your completing the survey, you can enter to be eligible to win one of three sets of 12 books for your book group. You will be offered 5 different selections you can choose from; these will be made available to the winners as we would prefer this publisher remain anonymous until after the survey is closed.
One Note: To be eligible for the prizes, please provide your name and address at the end of the survey. This information will ONLY be used if you are a winner; it will not be shared elsewhere and will be deleted before the results of the survey are presented.
Meanwhile, there is an exciting event coming up especially for book groups at this year’s BookExpo America. Curious as to what book groups will be reading this fall? On Wednesday, June 6th, representatives from 11 publishers will share selections and book group news from their houses in a speed-dating format designed to give book group leaders, booksellers, librarians and bloggers an inside look at what book groups will be tempted by for fall and winter. Galley giveaways and ideas for enhancing book group discussions will be part of this event. Advance signup required and seating will be assigned. Fill out the form here to sign up.
To those of you who are moms out there --- Happy Almost Mother’s Day. For those of you who, like me, think this should be a month-long celebration, I think we should get a petition going. I did my part to get the celebration started weeks ago at Bookreporter.com!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
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Special Contest: Win an Advance Copy of GOLD by Chris Cleave for Your Group |
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We are celebrating the upcoming release of Gold by Chris Cleave --- the story of two longtime friends and rivals who each desperately want to win gold at the 2012 Olympics --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which will be in stores July 3rd, for their group. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
More about Gold:
Kate and Zoe met at 19 when they both made the cut for the national training program in track cycling --- a sport that demands intense focus, blinding exertion, and unwavering commitment. They are built to exploit the barest physical and psychological edge over equally skilled rivals, all of whom are fighting for the last one-tenth of a second that separates triumph from despair.
Now at 32, the women are facing their last and biggest race: the 2012 Olympics. Each wants desperately to win gold, and each has more than a medal to lose.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
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Click here to read all the contest details.
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Special Contest: Win a Paperback Copy of NEXT TO LOVE by Ellen Feldman for Your Group |
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Next to Love by Ellen Feldman follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, when their children are on the cusp of their own adulthood. The paperback edition releases on May 15th, and we’re celebrating with a special contest. One group will receive 12 paperback copies of Next to Love, while 25 additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
More about Next to Love:
It’s 1941. Babe throws like a boy, thinks for herself, and never expects to escape the poor section of her quiet Massachusetts town. Then World War II breaks out, and everything changes. Her friend Grace, married to a reporter on the local paper, fears being left alone with her infant daughter when her husband ships out; Millie, the third member of their childhood trio, now weds the boy who always refused to settle down; and Babe wonders if she should marry Claude, who even as a child could never harm a living thing.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
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Click here to read all the contest details.
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Special Contest: Win a Paperback Copy of SILVER SPARROW by Tayari Jones for Your Group |
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We are celebrating the paperback release of Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones --- a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle --- with a special contest. One group will receive 12 paperback copies of Silver Sparrow, while 25 additional readers will be awarded a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 8th at noon ET.
More about Silver Sparrow:
Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families --- the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode. This is the third stunning novel from an author deemed “one of the most important writers of her generation” (the Atlanta Journal Constitution).
-Click here for the reading group guide.
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Click here to read all the contest details.
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HOME by Toni Morrison
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Frank Money is an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he’s hated all his life.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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TRUE SISTERS by Sandra Dallas
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In order to encourage Mormon converts to emigrate to the promised land (Salt Lake City), a plan was implemented by Brigham Young himself: emigrants were outfitted with two-wheeled handcarts. The settlers were then expected to walk, pushing the handcarts, for the 1,300-mile journey from Iowa City. Several “companies,” as they were called, completed this perilous trek and successfully reached Salt Lake City. But for the Martin Company, one of the very last groups to leave from Iowa City that year, the trip proved disastrous.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH by Heather Barbieri
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Forty-year-old Nora Cunningham has it all: a handsome husband, Malcolm --- the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history --- and two healthy, lively daughters, seven-year-old Annie and 11-year-old Ella. That is, until she and the rest of the world learn of Malcolm’s affair, and his refusal to give up his lover turns their lives upside down.
At the height of the scandal, Nora receives an invitation to visit her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island, off the coast of Maine. To escape the growing political storm and gain perspective on her marriage, Nora packs up her daughters and heads to the remote community, originally settled by Irish immigrants. Nora hasn’t been there since she was three, the summer her mother disappeared and she and her father moved to Boston, never to speak of those months again.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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SHELTER by Frances Greenslade
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For sisters Maggie and Jenny growing up in the Pacific mountains in the early 1970s, life felt nearly perfect. But at night, Maggie --- a born worrier --- would count the freckles on her father’s weathered arms, listening for the peal of her mother’s laughter in the kitchen, and never stop praying to keep them all safe from harm. Then her worst fears come true: Not long after Maggie’s 10th birthday, their father is killed in a logging accident, and a few months later, their mother abruptly drops the girls at a neighbor’s house, promising to return. She never does.
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Click here for the reading group guide.
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Bookreporter.com's Mother's Day Feature and Author Blogs |
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Mother's Day Feature
Mother's Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. Why not brighten her special day with some great books? May 13th is just around the corner, so we encourage you to visit our Mother's Day feature and take a look at our recommended titles. With books that are moving, uplifting, humorous and informative, look no further than Bookreporter.com for the perfect gift for Mom.
-Click here to see our featured Mother's Day titles.
Mother's Day Author Blogs
At Bookreporter.com, Mother’s Day once again has been a month-long celebration with the help of some of our author friends and their mothers. Our Mother’s Day Blog feature, “Celebrating Authors and their Mothers,” has been fantastic! This week, we have posts from Paul Levine, Ceri Radford, Tayari Jones, Maryann McFadden, Claire Bidwell Smith and Adriana Trigiani.Reading these pieces will give you a new understanding and insight into the role Mom played as authors got their start or followed into the literary world.
-Click here to read our Mother's Day Author Blogs.
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Bookreporter.com Bets On: PARIS IN LOVE and ALL WOMAN AND SPRINGTIME |
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Paris in Love: A Memoir by Eloisa James
Eloisa James took readers along on her family’s one-year sabbatical in Paris in Love instead of just sending out postcards. Throughout the year, she shared her experiences on Facebook, and in Paris in Love compiled those posts along with a series of essays to add additional insights to this experience. It’s a very modern-day memoir. She has a strong “voice” that makes even her briefest posts charming, and her skill as a writer makes the discordant pieces flow together to give the reader a breezy travelogue that makes you want to pack up and hit the road. She also has a gift of humor and can be marvelously self-deprecating.
-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts about Paris in Love.
All Woman and Springtime by Brandon W. Jones
Back in January, at a librarian conference, an advance copy of All Woman and Springtime, a debut novel, was handed to me with a comment “I think you will like this” from someone who usually knows my tastes. I got back to my hotel that evening and plucked this book from the stack I had picked up and started reading…and read for hours.
The book opens in North Korea, where Gyong-ho (Gi) is working at a sewing machine in a cold factory. In her view are photos of The Great Leader, Kim Il-Sung, and his son, Dear Leader Kim Jong-il. These two men, whom she has not met, dominate her life as all actions during the day for her and her fellow citizens are done to please them. From the start, author Brandon W. Jones sets up the confinement of this world where each day is measured in tiny bits and bites of success, and there is a constant foreshadowing that danger is everywhere and the world is not safe.
As Jong-il had just died in December, I found myself looking behind the curtain at just what it had meant to live under his tyranny. And while this book is fiction, you know the stories behind it are all too real.
-Click here to read more of Carol’s thoughts about All Woman and Springtime.
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Click here to see all the books Bookreporter.com is betting you’ll love.
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May’s New in Paperback Roundups on Bookreporter.com |
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May’s New in Paperback roundups on Bookreporter.com include the following highlights for book groups:
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.
Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry
After the sudden loss of her formidable mother, Lillian, Ellie discovers the late woman’s diary, which opens up a whole side to her mother she never knew. She decides to return to the summer house in coastal Alabama where Lillian spent the summer of 1961, in the hopes of learning more about her mother and, perhaps, find some closure for herself.
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
Ellis, Julia and Dorie, who have been best friends since grade school, now find themselves in their mid-30s and at the crossroads of life and love. A month renting an old beach house in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what each of them needs. But will this month in a summer rental steer them on the path to happiness and forgiveness?
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
Three women --- two seeking to earn money by donating their eggs, and one wealthier woman who believes a baby will ensure a happy ending for her marriage --- come together in this unexpected love story, which interweaves themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and donorship, the rights of a parent and the measure of motherhood.
-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of April 30th, May 7th, May 14th, May 21st and May 28th.
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Contests Running on Other Sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com |
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We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!
Bookreporter.com
The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo
Bookreporter.com has 200 specially formatted early reader editions of The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases in August, and share their comments about it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 24th at noon ET.
Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
Bookreporter.com has 25 copies of Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon, which will be in stores May 29th, to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 24th at noon ET.
The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall
Bookreporter.com has 25 copies of The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall, which will be in stores May 29th, to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 24th at noon ET.
A Deeper Darkness by J.T. Ellison
Bookreporter.com is celebrating the release of A Deeper Darkness --- the first book in a series featuring medical examiner Samantha Owens --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of J.T. Ellison's latest thriller. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, May 23rd at 11:59PM ET.
20SomethingReads.com
Getting Naked: Five Steps to Finding the Love of Your Life (While Fully Clothed & Totally Sober) by Harlan Cohen
In Getting Naked, the follow-up to Harlan Cohen's bestseller The Naked Roommate, Cohen shares his simple five-step approach to finding the love of your life. 20SomethingReads.com has 100 copies of the book to give away, and the deadline for entries is Thursday, May 24th at noon ET.
Teenreads.com
Short Story Writing Contest
Inspired by Another Jekyll, Another Hyde by Daniel and Dina Nayeri, Teenreads.com is inviting readers (and aspiring writers!) to write a story in which you reinvent a classic story or character, making it modern and, most importantly, your own! Write your story in no more than 1,200 words. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 15th at noon ET.
Grab Bag of Books
In Teenreads.com's Grab Bag of Books contest, five readers will be awarded a Teenreads.com signature tote bag and the following seven books: Breaking Beautiful, The Butterfly Clues, Crazy Dangerous, The Last Echo: A Body Finder Novel, the movie tie-in edition of The Lucky One, Purity and Unraveling. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, May 23rd at noon ET.
Kidsreads.com
Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom written by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Justin is going to start fourth grade --- but first, he has to survive the summer. Kidsreads.com is giving 5 readers the chance to win a copy of Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, June 5th at noon ET.
Alex and the Amazing Time Machine written by Rich Cohen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Alex Trumble is a pretty ordinary kid --- except for the fact that his IQ borders on genius, and he loves to read books on vortexes and time travel. But when two angry hit men kidnap his big brother, Alex’s life changes fast. Kidsreads.com is giving 5 readers the chance to win a copy of Alex and the Amazing Time Machine. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, June 5th at noon ET.
GraphicNovelReporter.com
Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel
In her highly anticipated follow-up to Fun Home, bestselling author Alison Bechdel searches for the meaning of motherhood in her own life, not only from her actual mother but also from therapists, lovers, writers, and more. To celebrate its release, GraphicNovelReporter.com is awarding a copy of the book to 50 readers. The deadline for entries is Monday, May 14th at 11:59PM ET.
FaithfulReader.com
Echoes of Titanic by Mindy Starns Clark and John Campbell Clark
In Echoes of Titanic, the great-granddaughter of a Titanic survivor must race the clock to protect her family legacy, her livelihood and her future. 75 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of Mindy Starns Clark's latest novel (which she co-authored with her husband, John Campbell Clark, a lifelong Titanic buff). The deadline for entries is Friday, May 18th at noon ET.
The Fiddler: Home to Hickory Hollow, Book 1 by Beverly Lewis
FaithfulReader.com is celebrating the release of The Fiddler --- which takes readers to the beloved fictional Amish town of Hickory Hollow, where restless hearts find peace and Old World charm soothes the soul --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the first book in Beverly Lewis' Home to Hickory Hollow series. The deadline for entries is Friday, May 18th at noon ET.
An Uncommon Grace by Serena B. Miller
50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of Serena B. Miller's latest novel, An Uncommon Grace, which centers on the forbidden love between an Amishman and his "Englisch" neighbor. The deadline for entries is Friday, May 18th at noon ET.
Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden Country, Book One by Shelley Shepard Gray
In FaithfulReader.com's latest monthly contest, one reader will receive a copy of Missing, the first installment in Shelley Shepard Gray's The Secrets of Crittenden County trilogy. Can two young people survive the suspicions of their friends and neighbors when tragedy strikes a close-knit Amish community? The deadline for entries is Friday, May 18th at noon ET.
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New Guides Now Available |
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The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri: Escaping the scandal from her husband’s infidelity, a woman attempts to reconnect with her childhood home on a remote island off the Maine coast, uncovering startling secrets.
Gold by Chris Cleave: Little Bee author Chris Cleave examines the values that lie at the heart of our most intimate relationships, and the choices we make when lives are at stake and everything is on the line.
Home by Toni Morrison: Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison extends her profound take on our history with this 20th-century tale of redemption: a taut and tortured story about one man’s desperate search for himself in a world disfigured by war.
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman: Next to Love is a love letter to the brave women who shaped a nation’s destiny, and their stories of love, war, loss and the scars set during the years of World War II and its aftermath.
Noah's Wife by T.K. Thorne: Noah’s wife is Na’amah, a brilliant young girl who sees the world through different eyes (a form of autism now known as Aspergers) and wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in ancient Turkey --- a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother, the love of two men, and a looming disaster.
Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski: In the humorous, heartfelt new novel by the author of The Next Thing on My List, a personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung onto for decades.
The Right-Hand Shore by Christopher Tilghman: Fifteen years after the publication of his acclaimed novel Mason’s Retreat, Christopher Tilghman returns to the Mason family and the Chesapeake Bay in The Right-Hand Shore with this masterful novel that confronts the dilemmas of race, family and forbidden love in the wake of America’s Civil War.
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: This National Book Award winner, now available in paperback, is a searing novel about one family’s struggle to survive Hurricane Katrina.
Shelter by Frances Greenslade: Two young sisters search for the truth behind their mother’s sudden, mysterious disappearance.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones: Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, Silver Sparrow revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families --- the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy.
An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer: Prep meets Dead Poets Society in this elegant and remarkably insightful coming-of-age debut, with an underground Shakespeare Society at Wellesley at the novel’s center.
What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel: From Harvard University's Michael J. Sandel --- the New York Times bestselling author of Justice and “perhaps the most prominent college professor in America” (The Washington Post) --- comes a timely look at the relationship between markets and morals, a book that asks fundamental questions about the reach of markets into our daily lives.
The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller: In this debut novel, a budding teenage journalist at an elite prep school and her enigmatic science teacher each separately attempt to track down a secret society that may hold damning evidence about a shadowy tragedy in the school's --- and the teacher's --- past.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
Escape by Barbara Delinsky: An overworked lawyer takes her life into her own hands when she forsakes the corporate world for a mountain town retreat in New Hampshire.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: A pharmaceutical researcher treks into the Amazon to locate a colleague whose untimely death has raised several questions about his discoveries in the region.
When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman: Lorrie Moore meets John Irving in this “wonderful, darkly comic…and emotionally satisfying” (New York Times Book Review) debut from an extraordinary new literary voice.
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This Month’s Poll and Newsletter Contest Book |
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Poll:
Which of the following adjectives best describes the ambience of your group? Please check as many as apply.
Fun-loving
Serious
Intellectual
Pseudo-intellectual
Lighthearted
Adventuresome
Predictable
Spontaneous
Organized
Disorganized
Chatty
Reserved
Boisterous
Subdued
I am not in a book group.
Other (Please specify)
-Click here to answer our poll.
Newsletter Contest Book:
Win copies of The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri 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 June 1st. If you are receiving this newsletter in your mailbox, you already are signed up!
More about The Cottage at Glass Beach:
Forty-year-old Nora Cunningham has it all: a handsome husband, Malcolm --- the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history --- and two healthy, lively daughters, seven-year-old Annie and 11-year-old Ella. That is, until she and the rest of the world learn of Malcolm’s affair, and his refusal to give up his lover turns their lives upside down.
At the height of the scandal, Nora receives an invitation to visit her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island, off the coast of Maine. To escape the growing political storm and gain perspective on her marriage, Nora packs up her daughters and heads to the remote community, originally settled by Irish immigrants. Nora hasn’t been there since she was three, the summer her mother disappeared and she and her father moved to Boston, never to speak of those months again.
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