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THE WIVES, a recent Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, is a captivating memoir that tells the story of Simone Gorrindo’s experience of joining a community of army wives after leaving her New York City job. Simone has fond memories of her mother reading her bedtime stories each evening. In fact, she loved this part of the day so much that, at the age of six, she came up with an ingenious way of extending the time they spent together right before calling it a night. Simone’s daughter, who is now seven, has adopted this same strategy, and Simone wouldn’t have it any other way.

In her new memoir, BREAKING GLASS: Tales from the Witch of Wall Street, Patricia Walsh Chadwick explains how, after getting kicked out of a cult at the age of 17, she started on the bottom rung of the ladder in the world of business and worked her way to the top --- breaking through the glass ceiling to become a global partner at Invesco. The apple clearly didn’t fall far from the tree, as her mother and grandmother were go-getters whose intelligence, drive and determination to succeed knew no bounds. In her Mother’s Day blog post, Patricia pays loving tribute to these two extraordinary women.

Inspired by her own family story, DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG is Eve J. Chung’s propulsive debut novel about a mother and her daughters’ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China. For the longest time, Eve was under the impression that her mom didn’t like to read, even though she made sure that Eve made frequent trips to the library. It wasn’t until later in life that Eve, a voracious reader, realized she had so much more in common with her mom than she ever thought, which has made their relationship even stronger.

Holly Gramazio’s recently released novel, THE HUSBANDS, is an instant New York Times bestseller and a “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. This exuberant debut delights in asking: How do we navigate life, love and choice in a world of never-ending options? As a child, Holly had plenty of options when it came to books. And for a few years, her mum would read to her almost every night. It was only when Holly was 9 or 10, and she began reading to her brothers, that she gained a greater appreciation for everything her mum did to foster her love of reading at a young age.

We are kicking off this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Janet Skeslien Charles, the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE PARIS LIBRARY. Her latest novel, MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE, is based on the true story of Jessie Carson --- the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France. Janet credits her mother and grandmother for her love of reading at an early age and her desire to write. She and her mom, along with her sister, bonded over countless books, which also helped them cope with some of the most difficult times of their lives. As Janet says, “[r]eading was both a connection and an escape.”

In the March 15th Bookreporter newsletter, Carol Fitzgerald talked about listening to Simone Gorrindo’s upcoming memoir, THE WIVES. When an author writes a memoir, she enjoys hearing it in their own words. So she was curious about how our readers have adapted audiobook listening in their lives. We received so many wonderful replies that we decided to make a blog post out of it. Many thanks to all those who told us about their audio experiences!

The 17th annual Savannah Book Festival took place on February 15-18 centered on Telfair Square and six different venues in the downtown historic district. Thirty-plus authors were in attendance, 22 of whom arrived early to participate in SBF@Schools, a program that gives authors the chance to visit schools in the area to promote a love of reading and writing.

We wrap up this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Allison Pataki, the New York Times bestselling author of THE TRAITOR'S WIFE, THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS, SISI, THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE and THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST, as well as the memoir BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES. Her upcoming novel, FINDING MARGARET FULLER, publishes on March 19th and is an epic imagining of the life of Margaret Fuller --- America’s forgotten leading lady and the central figure of a movement that defined a nation. In 1985, Allison’s aunt gave her and her siblings a copy of the just-released THE POLAR EXPRESS for Christmas. It quickly became a Christmas Eve tradition that her family would gather around and read Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved book before bedtime. What a joyous, comforting and emotional experience it was…and continues to be!

Armando Lucas Correa is the author of the international bestseller THE GERMAN GIRL; THE DAUGHTER’S TALE; and THE NIGHT TRAVELER, for which he was awarded the Cintas Foundation Creative Writing Fellowship. His latest novel, THE SILENCE IN HER EYES, releases on January 16th. This bold and suspenseful psychological thriller is about a young woman with a rare neurological condition who is convinced her neighbor is going to be murdered. Armando grew up in Cuba with his sister, and there was a long period of time when Christmas and Three Kings Day were banned in that country. However, as he explains in this powerful piece, that did not stop his grandparents from continuing to celebrate the holidays.

Freida McFadden, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE HOUSEMAID, is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury. Her new book, THE TEACHER, releases on February 6th. This mind-bending psychological thriller is a story of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge. In her holiday blog post, Freida recalls the Christmas Eves she spent with her grandmother, who would place her presents in an actual stocking. Not surprisingly, Freida’s favorite stocking stuffer was a book…but this was a very special book that she never knew she wanted yet would treasure for many years to come.