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September 17, 2022

Fall is creeping up on us. But that also means there are a number of great book festivals on the calendar. We try to stay on top of these here, so take a peek to see if any are in your area.

In New Jersey, we are lucky enough that the Morristown Festival of Books will be taking place on Saturday, October 8th, with a special opening event featuring New York Times columnist Frank Bruni on the night of Friday, October 7th. I love this festival since it is close to home! I will be interviewing Nita Prose, the author of THE MAID, at 11am, followed by Jamie Fiore Higgins, the author of BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs, at 1:20pm. Both of these books are Bookreporter.com Bets On selections, and I am looking forward to conversations with both of them!
 

Candice Carty-Williams, author of People Person

Dimple Pennington knows of her half siblings, but she doesn’t really know them. Five people who don’t have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad’s gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues. Dimple has bigger things to think about. She’s 30, and her life isn’t really going anywhere. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a terrible and wayward boyfriend, Dimple’s life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen. And despite a small but loyal following, she’s never felt more alone in her life. That is, until a dramatic event brings her half siblings crashing back into her life. And when they’re all forced to reconnect with Cyril Pennington, the absent father they never really knew, things get even more complicated.

Kristina McMorris, author of The Ways We Hide

As a little girl raised amid the hardships of Michigan's Copper Country, Fenna Vos learned to focus on her own survival. Though she performs onstage as the assistant to an unruly escape artist, behind the curtain she's the mastermind of their act. Ultimately, controlling her surroundings and eluding traps of every kind helps her keep a lingering trauma at bay. Yet for all her planning, Fenna doesn't foresee being called upon by British military intelligence. Tasked with designing escape aids to thwart the Germans, MI9 seeks those with specialized skills for a war nearing its breaking point. But when a test of her loyalty draws her deep into the fray, Fenna discovers that no mission is more treacherous than escaping one's past.

Jamie Fiore Higgins, author of Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs

Jamie Fiore Higgins became one of the few women at the highest ranks of Goldman Sachs. Spurred on by the obligation she felt to her working-class immigrant family, she rose through the ranks and saw it all: out-of-control, lavish parties flowing with never-ending drinks; affairs flouted in the office; rampant drug use; and, most pervasively, a discriminatory culture that seemed designed to hold back the few women and people of color employed at the company. Despite Goldman Sachs having the right talking points and statistics, Fiore Higgins soon realized that these provided a veneer to cover up what she found to be an abusive culture. BULLY MARKET sounds the alarm on the culture of finance and corporate America, while offering clear, actionable ideas for creating a fairer workplace.

Maggie O'Farrell, author of The Marriage Portrait

Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?

Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Carrie Soto Is Back

By the time she retires from tennis, Carrie Soto is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed 20 Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan. At 37 years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley.

Editorial Content for The Best Is Yet to Come

Teaser

When a woman alone in the world bravely chooses to open her heart, two lost souls have a new chance at belonging in this intimate novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Promo

When a woman alone in the world bravely chooses to open her heart, two lost souls have a new chance at belonging in this intimate novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

About the Book

When a woman alone in the world bravely chooses to open her heart, two lost souls have a new chance at belonging in this intimate novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

A new beginning in charming Oceanside, Washington, is exactly what Hope Godwin needs after the death of her twin brother. There are plenty of distractions, like her cozy cottage with the slightly nosy landlords next door, and a brewing drama among her students at the local high school.

Even having settled quickly into the community, Hope still feels something is missing. That is, until her landlords convince her to volunteer at their animal shelter. There she meets Shadow, a rescue dog that everyone has given up on. But true to her name, Hope believes he’s worth saving.

Like Shadow, shelter volunteer Cade Lincoln Jr. is suffering with injuries most can’t see. A wounded ex-marine, Cade identifies with Shadow, assuming they are both beyond help. Hope senses that what they each need is someone to believe in them, and she has a lot of love to give. As she gains Shadow’s trust, Hope notices Cade begins to open up as well. Finding the courage to be vulnerable again, Cade and Hope take steps toward a relationship, and Hope finally begins to feel at peace in her new home.

But Hope’s happiness is put to the test when Cade’s past conflicts resurface, and Hope becomes embroiled in the escalating situation at the high school. Love and compassion are supposed to heal all wounds, but are they enough to help Hope and Cade overcome the pain of their past and the obstacles in the way of a better future?

Editorial Content for The Last White Man

Teaser

From the New York Times bestselling author of EXIT WEST comes a story of love, loss and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.

Promo

From the New York Times bestselling author of EXIT WEST comes a story of love, loss and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.

About the Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of EXIT WEST comes a story of love, loss and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.

One morning, a man wakes up to find himself transformed. Overnight, Anders’ skin has turned dark, and the reflection in the mirror seems a stranger to him. At first he shares his secret only with Oona, an old friend turned new lover. Reports of similar events soon begin to surface. Across the land, people are awakening in new incarnations, uncertain how their neighbors, friends and family will greet them. Some see the transformations as the long-dreaded overturning of the established order that must be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders’ father and Oona’s mother, a sense of profound loss and unease wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance at a kind of rebirth --- an opportunity to see ourselves, face to face, anew.

In Mohsin Hamid’s “lyrical and urgent” prose (O Magazine), THE LAST WHITE MAN powerfully uplifts our capacity for empathy and the transcendence over bigotry, fear and anger it can achieve.

Editorial Content for Other Birds

Teaser

From the acclaimed author of GARDEN SPELLS comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

Promo

From the acclaimed author of GARDEN SPELLS comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

About the Book

From the acclaimed author of GARDEN SPELLS comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp, and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors, including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, OTHER BIRDS is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.