August 3, 2001


Dear Reader:

Just on new item this week:

Before Shannon McKenna left on her own vacation she wrote up Summer Reading Tip #10. Read and find out why she tells you that these five books ---COMPROMISING POSITIONS by Susan Isaacs,ROCKET BOYS: A Memoir by Homer Hickam, HORNET'S NEST by Patricia Cornwell, REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier and ROSES ARE RED by James Patterson --- are good ones for your summer reading list.

This week's Bookreporter update is lighter than usual, as we wanted to introduce you to material available on a couple of the other websites in The Book Report Network.

We have three new features on our newest website, Authors On The Web that we thought might interest you. First, our Author of the Month is one of my favorite authors, Clive Cussler. His latest VALHALLA RISING comes out this month.

Wouldn't you like to know what authors have on their summer reading lists? We asked 52 of them to submit their Summer Reading lists. So if you want to know what Warren Adler, Stephen J. Cannell, Homer Hickam, Jan Karon and Jacquelyn Mitchard --- and a host of other authors are reading --- read Authors' Summer Reading Lists. 

As you know, we feel strongly that some of the best writing is written in one of the lesser-read genres -- YA, also known as Young Adult. While these books have received critical praise, many booksellers still are perplexed on how to merchandise them. Are they just for teens? Do they belong in a corner of the kids' area? Or, do they agree with us that these titles deserve a home in the adult area? Read what Laurie Halse Anderson, Meg Cabot, Chris Crutcher, Sarah Dessen, Walter Dean Myers and Garth Nix had to say about this, writing for the teens of today and what influences them at  Authors on the Web - YA GROWS UP: 6 Bestselling Young Adult Authors Discuss The Most-Misunderstood Genre.

Want to make sure you don't miss a single book by that great author you recently discovered? Obsessed with reading series of books in order? You'll find complete lists of books by many favorite authors, in order, in our Author Bibliographies section. Have an author to suggest for this list? Please write to us at Feedback@AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

Also, if you like what you see at AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, sign up for the free monthly online newsletter by sending mail to Newsletter@AuthorsOnTheWeb.com. You could win a copy of Cussler's VALHALLA RISING just for being a newsletter subscriber.

Whether you belong to a reading group, are contemplating starting one, or just like to read, Reading Group Guides.com is worth taking a look at. We have 665 reading group guides there. The guides have been developed to facilitate book group conversations with suggested questions, information about the book and background on the author. However, we have found that they also are terrific adjunct reading for anyone who just loves books.

Our recommends this month range from the non-fiction crime thriller A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr to the softly spoken and deeply moving Plainsong by Kent Haruf. We'd also like to suggest the magic realism classic One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, and the witty lyricism of Frank McCourt's autobiography Angela's Ashes. Our category picks range from the romantic A Chance to See Egypt to the gritty realism of The Women of Brewster Place, and from the classic Demian to the recent bestseller The Island of the Day Before. Oprah's pick is the profound Cane River, about four women who make astonishing choices in order to survive the tragedy of slavery.

The website is about a lot more than the guides. There are tips about starting a group, interviews with established groups and recipes of what to serve during meetings. Pass this one along to any of your bookloving friends. Also, if you like what you see, sign up for the free monthly online newsletter by sending mail to Newsletter@readinggroupguides.com. You could copies of ETERNAL JOURNEY for your entire group just for being a newsletter subscriber.

On Kidsreads.com we added five trivia games to our Harry Potter feature area and are running contest ---  The Harry Potter Magic Spell Contest.

Thanks to all of you who posted your book comments at Word of Mouth. I love looking at the list of books that you are reading and seeing your comments. Each week this feature gets better and better. I encourage you to use this as your forum to talk about books, and I suggest you peruse these lists to see what readers are saying about the books you may want to read. Please note that the new Word of Mouth email address is WordOfMouth@bookreporter.com.

Contests and Giveaways
This week we're giving away a copy of I WISH I HAD A RED DRESS by Pearl Cleage to one lucky winner! Submit to Word of Mouth and your name will go in the hat for your chance to win one.

Every month one Bookreporter.com newsletter subscriber wins a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. To subscribe to the newsletter and automatically be entered to win, send an e-mail to newsletter@bookreporter.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. If you already receive this newsletter in your e-mailbox every week, why not forward it to a friend?

Enter the THIRD WAVE of the Surf the Web for Summer Reading Contest with prizes totaling $1,000! Nine different websites about books and reading have joined together to bring you the ultimate summer contest. Check out each of the websites to find terrific titles that will keep you turning the pages through the lazy days ahead. And while you're there, hunt for the special contest word on each site. Arrange the nine words into a grammatically correct sentence and email your answer to Contests@bookreporter.com. What could be easier! Enter by September 3rd.

Have a great week....hope you spend some time reading....

--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@Bookreporter.com) for The Book Report Network

Bookreporter.com * ReadingGroupGuides.com * AuthorsOnTheWeb.com * Teenreads.com * Kidsreads.com