Bookreporter.com Newsletter

Looming in my mind right now --- how I am going to make up for the hour we are missing this weekend when the clocks change. I confess that I am not understanding how this saves energy, but then I remember that science never was my thing. I operate on the common sense theory of life. If I have X to do in a day that requires daylight and there is only X amount of daylight during a day, the things I can do during that time either X happen in the morning or X happen in the evening according to when there is light. And I cannot figure how changing the clocks saves energy.

I know I am expending an enormous amount of energy thinking about my weekend with one less hour, and re-calibrating the computers in the office and at home so we are not all late all next week. I wonder how many pages I read an hour and what this means for my reading plans for the weekend. I know, I know. I can make up those pages in November. BTW...is anyone but me picking up on the fact that the late clock change in November means that kids will be trick or treating in daylight in October? What fun is that? I know, the things I ponder.

All week I jot myself notes for the newsletter opener, and looking at this week's list, we have quite a lineup in store for you. What's great is that I have read all of the books that I am going to talk about here, and I have met all of the authors. Thus this really feels like I am chatting with friends across the table.

First up is our latest Suspense/Thriller offering, Stephen White's new book, DRY ICE, which hit stores this week. White's protagonist, Alan Gregory, has a lot on his plate in this book, both personally and professionally. Gregory Michael McClelland, the brilliant and determined murderer introduced in PRIVILEGED INFORMATION (the first Gregory novel), has escaped from the Colorado State Mental Hospital and is almost certainly after Gregory's family. At the same time Gregory's personal life is taking some interesting turns. We have 20 copies of DRY ICE to share with readers who would like to read and comment on it. To enter, send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, March 23rd.

We have two One to Watch authors this week. The first is Masha Hamilton, whose new novel, THE CAMEL BOOKMOBILE, will be in stores on April 3rd. As readers who love books, this story will appeal to you as Fiona Sweeney, a New York librarian, gives up her comfortable life to journey to Kenya to run a mobile library powered by camel in Kenya. The one rule of this bookish venture is that, if a book is missing, the library will stop visiting that village. What happens when this occurs gives great heart and soul to the book. We have 10 copies to give away to readers who would like to read an advance copy and share comments. Write to OneToWatch2@bookreporter.com with your name and address if you would like to win a copy.

While Hamilton's story is fiction, she was lucky enough to walk through the bush with the actual camel library last year. As she says, "It was inspiring to see the response to books in the semi-nomadic settlements laid out under the acacia." The bush is hard on books, and sometimes in these semi-nomadic communities, the ones who have checked out the books move on before the library can return. Thus she started a book drive on February 13, and since then, more than 100 authors have joined in. Interested in learning more? Go to Camel Book Drive and learn how you can contribute. The site includes ways to order books in English from an Amazon wish list or your favorite independent, or in Swahili or Somali.

Sandra Dallas is our second One to Watch author. Her novel TALLGRASS tells a haunting story about a Japanese internment camp in Colorado during World War II and what its impact is on a small town, especially a thirteen-year-old woman named Rennie Stroud. I read a very early copy of this last summer and loved not only the story but the research that went into it. I had no idea there had been internment camps in Colorado. Interested in being one of our 10 advance readers? Then write OneToWatch@bookreporter.com with your name and address by Friday, March 16th.

In stores this upcoming week is SCAVENGER by David Morrell, which tells a gripping tale where unwilling players race against a clock to solve the puzzle of a time capsule. My husband flew up to Newfoundland on business this week and devoured this one during his trip, and pronounced it a great title to get stuck at the airport with. High praise! I think that books with really racing action are perfect when you are in someplace like an airport and life is standing all too still. And this week you also can pick up Michele Martinez's book COVER-UP and see why I enjoy reading her character, Melanie Vargas. She's one of those well-defined characters who stays with you.

We have reader comments about Karen Harter's AUTUMN BLUE, and Frank Turner Hollon answers readers' questions. And our Word of Mouth prizes are DRY ICE and QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS. Tell us what you are reading here, and rate it to be eligible to win.

If all this is not enough, ReadingGroupGuides.com has been updated with a number of new guides to share. We also have an offer for book clubs to chat with David Baldacci in early April and to contribute questions for our first-ever Interactive Discussion Guide where groups add their questions for Nora Ephron's I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK.

I finally got my blog about the South Carolina Book Festival and the Books for a Better Life event up. Last week, just as I hit "send," my Internet connection stopped. Thus, I was in "recreate" mode. Never fun. Have a great weekend, fall back, read on and here's to counting down the days til spring. Hey, it's an hour closer after the change on Sunday.