Bookreporter.com Newsletter

I could not have scripted a better week for a booklover! In the past 8 days I have clocked a couple of thousand frequent flyer miles crossing the country in a couple of directions and banked an amazing number of "talking to/listening to author" hours, which have been a real pleasure.

When we last left off I was in Miami for Sleuthfest, the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America's annual conference. What's fun about these conference events is seeing old friends and meeting new ones. To illustrate this, I spent time with William Lashner. His new Victor Carl adventure, A KILLER'S KISS, will be in stores in September, and I had the pleasure of reading an early copy on the flight home from Miami. I love Lashner's voice when he writes. He's also lots of fun to hang out and talk books and movies with.

I met an author who I did not know, Jonathan Santlofer, whose latest thriller, ANATOMY OF FEAR, is getting lots of attention. Jonathan, who is an artist as well as an author, has a forensic artist as his main character in this book. He illustrated the book as well, giving it a very different and exciting look and feel. I spent the flight to LA this morning on the all-too-crowded plane escaping with this one. He's definitely someone to watch. I also had fun sitting poolside for a bit in Miami reading Kate White's new one, LETHALLY BLOND, which will be in stores on May 23rd. It's a quintessential beach read. I kept looking up from my beach chair to see if Kate was poolside watching me read. More on Sleuthfest next week.

While in Miami I left the conference for a bit and went down to Coral Gables to the Books & Books store, which was having a Book Club Mixer. There were more than 200 readers who were in book clubs, or looking to join a book club, gathered to chat about their favorite books and authors. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable store staffers from all of Books & Books locations were on hand to share their personal recommendations, which I will include in the next ReadingGroupGuides.com update. I had a chance to speak to the assembled group and share information about RGG, which was a real pleasure. This store is one of my favorites, and if you find yourself in South Florida it surely is worth a visit, or two.

This week is Edgars Week in New York, with a stellar lineup of events hosted by the Mystery Writers of America. Yesterday I spent the day at their annual Edgars Symposium where panelists included Nelson DeMille, Sandra Brown, Harlan Coben, Janet Evanovich, Joseph Finder, Barry Eisler and Lee Child. The day's true highlight was the interview with Stephen King, who was in town to be honored with the MWA Grandmaster Award. Charles Ardai, the founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, which publishes a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels, was the interviewer, and he did a great job of guiding the conversation so we all felt like we were in King's living room and not in a conference hall. The week culminated with last night's black tie Edgars Award events where Alex Berenson won the Best Novel award for THE FAITHFUL SPY, which was one of my favorite books of last year. Naomi Hirahara won the Best Paperback Original award for SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN, which was one of our One to Watch titles last year. The highlight of the evening for me was my chat with Stephen King about how I think of him and his book, THE STAND, whenever I drive through the Lincoln Tunnel. He told me he wanted to walk through the tunnel at some point and it was not allowed. Fun chatter. More on the Edgars events next week, as well.

I am writing now from Los Angeles, where I have flown for the LA Festival of Books. I am looking forward to this event, which, as always, has a stellar lineup. Anyone in the South California area is in for a real treat. More on all of these events when I have a moment next week to stop and write!

This week's Bookreporter.com lineup has us sharing the work of an author who you all know as "the author of THE KITE RUNNER," Khaled Hosseini. His upcoming book, which will be in stores on May 22nd, is A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. I am thrilled to be sharing his work with you as our latest One to Watch author. I read this book a few months ago and just loved it. There's deep emotion, a well-written story and another insider look at Afghanistan, this time through the eyes of two beautifully crafted female characters. People are saying it's even better than THE KITE RUNNER and I agree on this, which is quite an achievement. We have 10 advance copies to give away to readers who want to enter. Send your name and mailing address to OneToWatch@bookreporter.com by Friday, May 4th to enter.

Our Poll asks how many books you read this month and our Question asks what book you most are looking forward to reading. Our Word of Mouth selections are BODY SURFING by Anita Shreve, UP IN HONEY'S ROOM by Elmore Leonard and SOUL PATCH by Reed Farrel Coleman. Let us know what you are reading here to enter. And our monthly New in Paperback feature is ready for you to make your shopping lists here. And you have til next Friday to enter our Mother's Day Contest. Click here to enter!

We also have our latest Books Into Movies column, written by Jen Krieger. This brings me to some news that has me sad in this otherwise fabulously bookish week, as Jen will be leaving The Book Report Network today. I am going to miss her energy and her enthusiasm. She joined us the week before she graduated from NYU and since then has contributed on so many levels to making this website hum. She frequently would send me emails or show up in my office with "an idea" that she then ran with. Also, she has done a great job of keeping up with me and trying to make my days easier, which, trust me, is no small feat. Please join me in wishing her all good things in the next chapter of her life. Next week, more on our new staffer who joins us Tuesday.

I have been able to knit most of a tank top and a skirt while listening to panels these past 8 days, which has been nice. But I am looking forward to getting back to "normal" next week. Sitting and watching my younger son's baseball games, yapping it up with my older son about colleges and swinging in the hammock while reading will be a tame pleasure after all this travel. I love to be on the run, but I also like to stop. Have a great week...I hope you find something here to read that you love.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

List of titles reviewed and featured on April 27th.

List of titles reviewed and featured on April 20th.