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Bookreporter.com Newsletter	June 6, 2003
This Week on Bookreporter.com Flying from LA...Reading Away Father's Day Roundup Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Introducing Our Latest Author Tess Gerritsen, More About Lisa Gardner and a William Lashner Contest Bookreporter.com's Best of Summer Contest - Win BOOKS and a LightWedge Reading Light Summer Share: A Terrific Summer Reading Program A BODY TO DIE FOR by Kate White This Week's Book Reviews and Features Poll: On average how many books do you read each week? Question of the Week Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading	On The Book Report Network Bookreporter.com Past Reviews Past Poll: Is there one day of the week when you buy most of your books? Is there a book that you are just relentless about telling people about because you like it so much? If so, what is it?
Flying from LA...Reading Away The theme for this week was jetlagged! After four whirlwind days in LA at BEA (Book Expo America) looking at fall books and seeing the offbeat hot spots of the town with my friend Mindy (who lives there and has written a very funny novel that she's just about ready to sell), I hopped on the redeye for home. I love the redeye. Flying at night I do not lose any of the day and typically it is one of those flights where the person beside you never makes eye contact let alone talks to you. I am sure you all have flown with your fair share of chirpy seatmates and know exactly what I mean. Soon after takeoff the person in front of me reclined his seat somewhere into my lap, forcing me to recline as well. Somehow airplane seats in the recline position do nothing for relaxing me. So about halfway across the country I gave up on faking sleep, turned on my light and read Tess Gerritsen's new one, THE SINNER. Immediately "Mr. Recline in Front" of me grumbles as the position of the light (who figures the position of those out on planes...instead they should distribute LightWedge reading lights on the redeye) shines right on him as well as on my book. Oh well. I keep reading and by the time we land I am well into the story and wish we had a few more hours of flight time. Gerritsen is our next Suspense/Thriller author, and whether you have read Tess before, or want to read her for the first time, you will not be disappointed with THE SINNER. I met her last year at a convention and told her that her books keep me looking over my shoulder for days! We are offering 20 advance reading copies of THE SINNER. Interested? Send a note with your name and snail mail address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, June 13th. What else was I excited about from BEA? Over the next few weeks I'll share a few titles. The entire flight out I read THE DISTANCE FROM NORMANDY by Jonathan Hull, which is due in early September. Jonathan's LOSING JULIA is one of my all-time favorite books. Many of you have written to say the same and I am happy to say that this new book is just as brilliant. As much as I wish that Jonathan wrote faster, his books are so worth waiting for. We are looking for 5 readers who read LOSING JULIA who would like to read an advance copy of this new one. Interested? Drop me a line at Carol@bookreporter.com. Mitch Albom had a standing room only crowd for his talk about his new one THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, which is out September 23rd. The story is about the five people in your life who have an effect on you, for reasons that you do not understand. It's about Heaven being a place to get your unanswered questions, answered. I know I am not doing this justice, but he had 40 minutes and I have a few lines. Just trust that it sounds great. Stan Pottinger's galleys for THE LAST NAZI (August release) flew out of the booth where they were given away. Made me extra glad we have it earmarked as a Best of Summer. And happy I figured this was a winner when I read the manuscript. Another manuscript I read and loved, which was getting huge buzz was NOT FADE AWAY (September) by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton. Peter knew he was dying and asked Shames to write a book so his family would know the things he stood for and who he was. Are you saying sounds like TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE? In overarching theme it does, but this is a different story. It will pull at you and make you think. It has stayed with me since I read it in January. Once again I am giving you such a tiny smattering of this book...instead...just mark down to explore it further with us! Much more to share in the weeks to come, but I am going to stop here because we have a huge lineup this week. There are 22 new reviews, three contests (Best of Summer, Word of Mouth and a William Lashner three-book Sweepstakes). Thank you to Gena, Tom and Wiley who did a great job of pulling this week together while I was away. Super effort. Also, we have a Father's Day feature for all of you stuck on what to buy good old dad. I love the cover of the book on HOW TO MOW THE LAWN! Dad, you know what I mean. For all you NPR listeners I am scheduled to be interviewed for a segment on TALK OF THE NATION on Monday at 3:30ish about children's book clubs. If any of you have children involved in a club with their friends, can you drop me a note? Whew. Okay, imagine if I did not have jetlag! Have a great week. Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
Father's Day Roundup Father's Day is right around the corner, and we at Bookreporter.com know how difficult it is to come up with "the perfect gift" for your dad. No need to worry though, because we have compiled a list of recently published books that we think your father will enjoy. Bookreporter's own Ron Kaplan reviews three books, two of which strive to make men more useful around the house and one that may bring both smiles and tears to fathers everywhere. Tom Donadio also selected some great fiction and nonfiction titles, suspense/thrillers, and sports books that are sure to make your dad one happy camper on his special day. Read our Father's Day Roundup here.
Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Introducing Our Latest Author Tess Gerritsen, More About Lisa Gardner and a William Lashner Contest Tess Gerritsen: THE SINNER will be out in hardcover on August 19th and THE APPRENTICE will be out in paperback on July 29th. -Let us know if you want to be one of 20 advanced readers for THE SINNER. Send your request along with your snail mail address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, June 13th. -Read about THE SINNER -Read about THE APPRENTICE -Read more about Tess Gerritsen -Visit TessGerritsen.com -Send Tess a question Lisa Gardner: THE SURVIVORS CLUB is now out in paperback and THE KILLING HOUR will be in stores on July 15th. In Case You Missed Last Week: -Excerpt 3 of THE KILLING HOUR -Critical Praise for Lisa Gardner -Fast Facts about Lisa Gardner -Books by Lisa Gardner with excerpts William Lashner New This Week: -Enter our William Lashner Contest where you can win a signed copy of FATAL FLAW and copies of HOSTILE WITNESS and BITTER TRUTH. See details on our Suspense/Thriller page. Read our Suspense/Thriller feature here.
Bookreporter.com's Best of Summer Contest - Win BOOKS and a LightWedge Reading Light Enter the Best of Summer Contest for a chance to win 10 hardcovers or 10 paperbacks and a LightWedge reading light! Bookreporter.com kicked off its summer celebration by announcing the "Best of Summer" book selections in three categories: Hardcover, Paperback, and Suspense/Thriller Hardcover. From June 6th to July 11th readers have a chance to win the books on the Best of Summer in Hardcover or Best of Summer in Paperback lists by emailing Contests@bookreporter.com with the answer to this question in 2-5 sentences: "What 5 books are you most excited about reading this summer, and why?" Read more about our Best of Summer Contest here!
Summer Share: A Terrific Summer Reading Program The Summer Share Reads program has five new books for 2003 by extraordinary authors you'll want to know. Spend quality time with friends and fiction worth sharing including the titles noted above, THE ELEGANT GATHERING OF WHITE SNOWS, LOST IN TRANSLATION and PINK SLIP. Here's the idea behind the program --- "When I read a book this good, I need to share it with friends!" Want to know more? Explore their site: it is packed with interviews, readers' guides, and more to make the most of Summer Share. And may we share that all are affordably priced paperbacks? Never been in a book club? Why not try one of these titles and gather a group at the beach or another vacation spot! Everything you need to get started is on the website. For more information about the Summer Share program, go here.
A BODY TO DIE FOR by Kate White A BODY TO DIE FOR by Kate White (Mystery) Reviewed by Maggie Harding In this follow-up to the bestselling IF LOOKS COULD KILL (now in paperback), Bailey Weggins visits the Cedar Inn Spa for some R&R. But when Bailey finds a dead body in the massage room, her detective instincts are unable to take a vacation. As Bailey uncovers the victim's mysterious past, she finds herself becoming infatuated with Jeffrey Beck, a detective working on the case. Meanwhile, another horrifying murder is committed at the inn --- and Bailey finds herself the killer's next target. Next week we will have an interview with Kate White. Be sure to check back for this! Read a review of A BODY TO DIE FOR and an excerpt here.
This Week's Book Reviews and Features BABYVILLE by Jane Green (Fiction) Reviewed by Carlie Kraft Jane Green has written a witty and tender story about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by the life-changing event that hangs over the heads of many women: motherhood. A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING by Bill Bryson (Science) Reviewed by Kate Ayers Bestselling author Bill Bryson sets out to understand everything he can about life and the universe, including the birth of the universe, the creation of life, evolution, the discovery of the elements, and natural disasters. His goal is to take subjects like geology, chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics and see if there is some way to make them comprehensible to people who are completely bored by science. SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS by Marian Keyes (Fiction) Reviewed by Norah Piehl Marian Keyes examines the on-the-job trials of three Dublin women who are searching for happiness in their respective lives. Their intersecting stories culminate when all three face life-shattering revelations. THE SONG READER by Lisa Tucker (Fiction) Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara Mary Beth and her younger sister Leeann are trying to support themselves in their small Southern hometown. Mary Beth works to make ends meet by practicing her own unique talent --- "song reading," in which she uses the song lyrics stuck in people's minds to help them make sense of their lives. But Mary Beth eventually uncovers a devastating secret about one woman that affects the entire town --- and nearly destroys Mary Beth and Leeann. AMANDA BRIGHT@HOME by Danielle Crittenden (Fiction) Reviewed by Judy Gigstad At age 35, Amanda Bright finds herself at home with two children, baking cookies and singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." It certainly doesn't help that her husband's face is all over national television, that her best friend is dating a billionaire, and that every woman she knows seems to have a plastic surgeon and an interior decorator. While everyone else is racing up the fast track, Amanda wonders why she ever left work in the first place. THE MANGO SEASON by Amulya Malladi (Fiction) Reviewed by Judy Gigstad Twenty-seven year old Priya returns to her native India for a visit during the season that mango fruit ripens, a treasured memory from her childhood. But this trip is an overwhelming experience for Priya. Her mother and father have insisted that it's time they arranged her marriage to a "nice Indian boy," while her extended family talks of nothing but marriage. So how on earth can she tell them that she is engaged to an American man? THE ACCIDENTAL VIRGIN by Valerie Frankel (Fiction) Reviewed by Melissa Brown Stacey Temple, a designer at thongs.com, hasn't had a man in her life since breaking up with her lover almost a year ago. This doesn't bother her much, until she reads an article about women who haven't had sex in a year being "revirginized." This means that Stacy has only one week to find a willing partner before returning to "virgin status." Is Stacy doomed to return to life as a virgin, or will her risqué business pay off? GETTYSBURG: A Novel of the Civil War by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen (Historical Fiction) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and Dr. William R. Forstchen, Associate Professor of history at Montreat College in North Carolina, imagine a Confederate victory at Gettysburg, and how it would have changed the destiny of the nation forever. STAR OF THE SEA by Joseph O'Connor (Historical Fiction) Reviewed by Kate Ayers On a ship heading to New York with passengers fleeing the Irish potato blight of 1847, a murderer stalks his victim while a bankrupt lord, his nanny and an American journalist look back over their lives in an attempt to understand what brought them to these desperate circumstances. REUNION by Michael B. Oren (Historical Fiction) Reviewed by David Exum Set in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, the site of a brutal, last-ditch assault by the Nazis in December 1944, Michael B. Oren's debut novel reunites the surviving members of the 133rd Infantry Battalion for one last chance to relive their youth, bury some old ghosts, and try to find answers to the mystery that has haunted them for fifty years. FREQUENCIES by Joshua Ortega (Fiction) Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day Joshua Ortega welcomes readers to the year 2051 in Seattle, where cars and cities float in the sky and people's thoughts are monitored as electromagnetic frequencies. This is the future world of FBI agents Marc McCready and Morris Ignacio, who are sent to investigate a downtown riot, unaware that this is just the beginning of the chaotic upheavals to come. THE SOUTHERN BELLE'S HANDBOOK: Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By by Loraine Despres (Humor) Reviewed by Melissa Brown In this short and sassy book, Sissy LeBlanc will teach women how to find, hold on to, and handle any man, as well as conquer any personal situation with the poise and confidence of a sophisticated female. CERULEAN SINS: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton (Fiction) Reviewed by Barb Wright In Laurell K. Hamilton's eleventh novel in the ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER series, our heroine learns what it is like to be at the new end of a centuries-old bloodline --- and just how far she'll let herself get pushed around by one of the oldest vampires alive. BLINDED BY THE RIGHT: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative by David Brock (Paperback Memoir) Reviewed by Roz Shea In this powerful and deeply personal memoir, David Brock, the original right-wing scandal reporter, chronicles his rise to the pinnacle of the conservative movement and his painful break with it. GULAG: A History by Anne Applebaum (History) Reviewed by Hal Cordry Using newly available documents, as well as her own original historical research, Anne Applebaum has written the first full-scale history of Soviet concentration camps, from its origins in the Russian Revolution to its collapse in the era of glasnost. IN THE COMPANY OF HEROES by Michael J. Durant (Memoir/History) Reviewed by Melissa Brown Black Hawk pilot Michael J. Durant was shot down and taken prisoner during America's biggest firefight since the Vietnam War. Published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Somali conflict, this gripping personal account finally tells the world about Durant's harrowing captivity and the heroic deeds of his doomed comrades. NOTHING SACRED: The Truth About Judaism by Douglas Rushkoff (Religion/Judaism) Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman In this controversial book, Douglas Rushkoff takes the difficult stance that today's Judaism has strayed far from the principle themes and values that are the core of the tradition. He asks if the Judaism that is practiced in modern homes, temples and synagogues --- and is promoted by modern Jewish organizations --- is, in fact, a viable and authentic Judaism at all. BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS: Breakthroughs with Autistic Children by Karen Zelan (Family/Child Care) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub In this important book about how autism affects our youth, Karen Zelan profiles a number of children whom she has encountered and/or treated over the years who have been classified as autistic. She documents, among other things, how psychotherapy with autistic children helps them overcome their problems in communicating, playing, feeling, thinking, and interacting with people on a personal level. WORRIED ALL THE TIME: Overparenting in an Age of Anxiety and How to Stop It by David Anderegg, Ph.D. (Parenting/Psychology and Psychiatry) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Dr. David Anderegg draws on social science research and his more than twenty years' experience as a therapist treating both parents and their children to clarify facts and fantasies about kids' lives today and the key issues that preoccupy parents. GOT A REVOLUTION! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane by Jeff Tamarkin (Biography/Music) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Veteran music writer and historian Jeff Tamarkin has written the first ever full-length biography of Jefferson Airplane, the most successful and influential rock band to emerge from San Francisco during the 1960s. The band members, as well as their families, friends, lovers, crew members, and fellow musicians, all contribute in telling this complex yet fascinating story. HIT AND HOPE: How the Rest of Us Play Golf by David Owen (Sports) Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman Acclaimed columnist and author David Owen has gathered a selection of his columns from Golf Digest magazine. In these essays he talks about the mundane and frustrating aspects of the sport in a candid, thoughtful, and quite humorous way. FEEDING A YEN: Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco by Calvin Trillin (Biography/Autobiography) Reviewed by Bob Rhubart Calvin Trillin's latest book on eating contains 14 of his essays, which first appeared in the New Yorker and other magazines. Each essay covers a different local specialty, including pumpernickel bagels in New York City, pimientos de Padron (a dish made with tiny green peppers) in Galicia, Spain, boudin (a kind of Cajun sausage) in New Iberia, Louisiana, ceviche (a cold fish soup) in Ecuador --- and much more along the way. THE LAST WITNESS by KJ Erickson (Mystery) Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman Tayron "T-Jack" Jackman, star forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves, is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his wife. But Minneapolis Police Detective Mars Bahr discovers that when the murder occurred, T-Jack was with his wife's parents and her lawyer --- the perfect alibi. Nevertheless, it is up to Mars and his partner Nettie Frisch to prove that he did it. Read this week's reviews and features here.
Poll: On average how many books do you read each week? On average, how many books do you read each week? 5 or more 4 3 2 1 Less than one Answer the Poll here.
Question of the Week Here's our question of the week: What book published in the last decade do you think is destined to be a classic? Answer the Question of the Week.
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't. Three lucky readers will win both A BODY TO DIE FOR and IF LOOKS COULD KILL by Kate White. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on June 27th. Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below. Those of you who wish to send mail to the general mailbox at Bookreporter.com, please write to: Mail@bookreporter.com. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us. Quick observation --- we have noticed that many of you have been changing your Internet providers in the past month. If you do, please be sure to "take us along" by signing up for the newsletter in your new name! Happy reading....and don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend. --- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) Back to top.