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October 26, 2001
Dear Reader:
Before I founded The Book Report Network, I spent 17 years at a magazine company noted for producing some of the world's leading fashion magazines. Many times I would sit in an airport and see a woman intently studying a fashion spread. In her dreams, this woman could never hope to look as chic as the women featured in the magazine. (In actuality, few woman can.) And I'd wonder: Do the editors know their readers?
In fact, they do. That is because people who produce a creative product begin by envisioning their ideal readers/viewers. Then they type/draw/design/edit to reach them. And then they watch the audience reaction carefully. Often an editor's dream needs to change to a new reality as readers react. That is exactly what we do here at TBRN when we launch a website. Although it starts as "ours," it very quickly becomes "yours."
I've been thinking about the importance of accepting your audience --- and listening to them --- because I've been reading a lot this week about Jonathan Franzen, the author of THE CORRECTIONS. His book became Oprah's selection of the month. But he was less than delighted. First, he was dismayed at having the "Oprah label" on his book. Then he resisted appearing on her show. Turns out he really didn't want the kind of people who read "Oprah books" reading his.
So our Question of the Week is: Do you think authors should be concerned with WHO is reading and recommending their books, or just be happy that they are being read and talked about? Respond to the question of the week by sending mail to: Question@bookreporter.com As always, I am curious to hear what you have to say.
Last Week's Question
With everything going on, do you find that you are reading a new/different kind of book? Here's what readers had to say.
Getting to Know You
When we plan our features and reviews, we spend a lot of time thinking about what will interest you. We read your mail, your postings on Word of Mouth and study the traffic reports of the features you read most and these all influence our decisions. But we know if we knew more about you, we might be able to make Bookreporter.com even better. In the next week or two we are planning to do a Reader Survey. Be on the lookout for it in your emailboxes. When you get it, we'd appreciate your taking the time to fill it out. If you do, you automatically win, as we will be able to better edit our reviews and features. And we'll come up with some prizes to give to random winners as well. And before you ask, all answers will be confidential.
Word of Mouth
Wondering what fellow Bookreporter.com readers are reading? Look no further than Word of Mouth. Then tell us what YOU are reading and you could win a copy of Pale Horse Coming. Need more details on how to participate in Word of Mouth? Click here. Send your replies to WordOfMouth@bookreporter.com.
Publisher's Pick
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New This Week
Bookreporter Talks To:
Author Tracy Chevalier reveals her feelings about the characters of FALLING ANGELS and why she's compelled to write about the past in an interview with Bookreporter.com's Jennifer Abbots.
Publisher's Pick
Three Website That We Love:
http://www.raybradbury.com
Exclusive video of Ray in his L.A. home
http://www.kennedymen.com
Audio clips of Kennedy dictating notes from the Oval Office
http://www.phillipmargolin.com
Talk to Phillip Margolin, the author of The Associates and Wild Justice
on his message board. He's eagerly responding to fans.
Features
THE LAST FACE YOU'LL EVER SEE: The Private Life of the American Death Penalty by Ivan Solotaroff (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman and excerpted.
REBECCA'S TALE by Sally Beauman (Fiction)
Reviewed by Kathy Weissman and excerpted.
PALE HORSE COMING by Stephen Hunter (Fiction)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub and excerpted.
THE DEADHOUSE by Linda Fairstein (Mystery)
Reviewed by Bob Rhubart and excerpted.
FALLING ANGELS by Tracy Chevalier (Fiction)
Reviewed by Jennifer Abbots and excerpted.
Perspective
Sarah Brennan offers some pearls on the Franzen/Oprah saga and her verdict is...
Amazon.com
On the home page of Bookreporter.com
see the new Amazon Recommends area.
These books and special offers
are based on what our readers are reading.
Be sure to check them out!
Reviews
THE WIZARDS OF LANGLEY: Inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology by Jeffrey T. Richelson (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Robert Finn
THE WEBSTER CHRONICLE by Daniel Akst (Fiction)
Reviewed by Rob Ruggiero
FLEECED by Carol Higgins Clark (Mystery)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
AGING WITH GRACE: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives by David Snowdon, Ph.D. (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Roz Shea
THE FORGOTTEN by Faye Kellerman (Mystery)
Reviewed by Debbie Ann Weiner
THE SHEEP QUEEN by Thomas Savage (Fiction)
Reviewed by Jean Marchand
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT: Essays, Sketches, and Dispatches from Europe in the 1990s by Timothy Garton Ash (History/Politics)
Reviewed by Chuck Leddy
One You Don't Want to Miss:
THE VICTORIA SECRETS CATALOG NEVER STOPS COMING and Other Lessons I Learned from Breast Cancer by Jennie Nash.
Bookreporter.com marketplace
Take a minute to scroll through our mini-mall of great online shops.
Whether you're looking for elegant writing tools, downloadable reading
materials, or great bargains on books and magazines, you'll find
what you need in our collection of great online stores for readers.
Contests and Giveaways
Kidsreads.com Halloween Contest! October 31 is the night when kids of all ages get to dress up as the spookiest character they can imagine. At Kidsreads.com, Booker T. Worm plans to celebrate this frightful night by dressing up, too, and to add to the fun he's holding a special contest just for kids! One Grand Prize winner will receive a $50 collection of books; two runners-up will each win $25 worth of books! Parents, check out the contest rules and then see if your little goblin can find Booker hidden around the Kidsreads.com site in all eight of his costumes. What could be better than a bag full of books as a special Halloween treat!
This week we're giving away a copy of Pale Horse Coming to one lucky winner! Submit to Word of Mouth and your name will go in the hat for your chance to win one. By the way, if you would prefer your contribution remain anonymous, just let us know when you send in your submission.
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?
Don't forget to change the clocks. Hey, it's an extra hour to read!
--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@Bookreporter.com)
for The Book Report Network
Bookreporter.com * ReadingGroupGuides.com * AuthorsOnTheWeb.com * Teenreads.com * Kidsreads.com
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