I need school to end. You know the Paul Simon song "Kodachrome"? I feel like I am living it through my older son, who was in his last week of classes at high school this week. He is beyond "senioritis" and on to "checked out." The other day he left for school at 8, which would have been wonderful except school starts at 7:30. I am all for revising the school calendar right now, so it goes something like: Start school after Labor Day (which we already do). Skip Teacher's Convention in November since we already have Thanksgiving vacation. Do two weeks off for Christmas. Four days off in February. A week of spring break. And school over by the Friday after Memorial Day.

Enough! I am tired of homework, exams, cajoling, prompting and begging. Enough of alarms, prodding children out the door and asking "Did you do?" and getting exasperation in reply. I am ready for summer reading. Pleasure reading. At graduation on the 24th I may leap from my seat and yell "Alleluia!" I think I will not be alone.

This morning I spent a few hours shopping for items for our latest Beach Bag contest prize. I always like to theme the bag to go with the selected title. On this week's selection, MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL'S BAR & GRILL by N. M. Kelby, I had a field day. At every store that I shopped at, I had the store staff showing me items that were perfect for the book. When I found the vulture candle, I confess that I was screaming I was so excited. I have everything Tiki and luau piled in my kitchen on the table. Both of my boys are just shaking their heads! Read on for the full listing of prize items and more about this book later in this newsletter, but do know I have hit a new level of excitement on this one.

As I sat here writing, news of Tim Russert's death came across the newswire. When someone that high profile dies so young, it's really shocking. For those of you not familiar with his work as an author, here are our reviews of two of his books, BIG RUSS & ME and WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS, both of which are so appropriate this Father's Day weekend. Russert's own dad still is alive, making this news even more sad.

Here's to a Happy Father's Day to all the dads and grandads out there. For those of you who are still searching for the right gift, we encourage you to browse through the 18 titles that we spotlighted in our annual Father's Day feature for last-minute suggestions. Trust me...we have the perfect book for the dad in your life, no matter what his interest!

We are launching a new Mystery Mayhem feature for Tana French, whose critically acclaimed debut novel, IN THE WOODS, won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best First Novel when it released in hardcover. Now available in paperback, we are thrilled to share this New York Times bestseller with you. We have 10 copies of IN THE WOODS to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. If you are interested, please fill out this form by Friday, June 20th.

Speaking of paperbacks to note, THE REST OF HER LIFE by Laura Moriarty released in paperback this week. I loved this book when I read it in hardcover. It's the story of what happens to a young girl and her family when she is involved in a car accident where another young girl dies. I always fear the rippling effect of a moment like this. There's lots to think about and ponder here. We're suggesting it as a great mother-daughter book club read.

Over the past few weeks, we received great responses for STONE CREEK by Victoria Lustbader. This week, we've received Victoria's responses to our advance readers' questions, which you can read here. Also, this week we bring you our Contributing Editor John Hogan's latest Graphic Novels feature, The New Classics. Good reading for any of you who are interested in delving into this format. A personal favorite of mine --- THE COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS --- is on this list. Reading John's reviews I added a few others to my "to read" list.

Last night I attended Jonathan Santlofer's reading for his new book, THE MURDER NOTEBOOK. I had not been to Otto Penzler's bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, since it moved downtown. It was a wonderful event, and the room was packed with both readers and other authors. Nice to celebrate a book release like that!

This weekend, besides celebrating Father's Day with my own dad and my husband, there will be reading time. And floating time. Last weekend the floating pool chair clocked more than a few laps as I read Ad Hudler's upcoming book, MAN OF THE HOUSE, which is a follow-up to his hilarious book, HOUSEHUSBAND. It will be in stores in September. This latest adventure for Linc has him abandoning his apron for a toolbelt and bodybuilding weights. It's fun to read the transformation, and Ad's site now has a very amusing picture of him with his own new look! It's one of the more amusing author photos that I have seen.

Monday night I am headed to the Jersey shore to see Patti Callahan Henry at the Ocean County Library in Point Pleasant at 7PM. If any of you plan to be there, drop me a note. Happy weekend...no alarm clocks for two whole days!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

In this interview conducted by Bookreporter.com's Norah Piehl, Julia Spencer-Fleming --- the award-winning author of six mystery and romantic suspense novels --- describes what sparked her interest in the timely subject of undocumented foreign workers, upon which her latest effort, I SHALL NOT WANT, is centered, and reveals which characters gave her the most difficulty to write about. She also elaborates on the book's structural elements, explains why she chose to focus her Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series on an Episcopal priest, and discusses where she sees the series going in future installments.

I SHALL NOT WANT: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Romantic Suspense)
In the small Adirondack town of Millers Kill, New York, life doesn’t stop for heartbreak. But when a farmhand stumbles over a Latino man killed with a single shot to the back of his head, an Episcopal priest is sucked into the investigation through her involvement in the migrant community. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

-Click here to read a review of I SHALL NOT WANT.
-Click here to read an excerpt from I SHALL NOT WANT.

Released in hardcover in 2007, IN THE WOODS --- Tana French’s critically acclaimed debut novel --- won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Now available in paperback and a New York Times bestseller, IN THE WOODS is a compelling psychological mystery. When the body of a young girl is found murdered, detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox find chilling links to a disappearance decades earlier.

We have 10 copies of IN THE WOODS to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. If you are interested, please fill out this form by Friday, June 20th.

-Click here to read Tana French’s bio.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.TanaFrench.com.

More about IN THE WOODS:
In the mid-1980s, a terrible tragedy befell a small suburb of Dublin. Two children mysteriously vanished in the woods while a third was found terrified and with no recollection of what happened.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Cassie Maddox --- his partner and closest friend --- find themselves investigating a case with chilling links to that long-ago disappearance.

Whether your "beach" is on sand, your backyard deck or a grassy meadow in the country, the summer months mean it's time for "beach reading." Bookreporter.com is celebrating the lazy days of summer reading with our Fourth Annual "Bookreporter.com Beach Bag of Books."

Every week from May 16th through August 29th, a different title or collection of titles will be featured with a review and contest prize --- a beach bag stocked with the featured book(s), plus summertime essentials that tie in to the weekly theme. Five FABULOUS beach bags will be given away each week, as well as five copies of the featured book(s) to additional winners.

This week we’re spotlighting MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL’S BAR & GRILL by N. M. Kelby, a quirky and sharp comedic mystery. In a bag with a colorful frond design, winners will find a pink, orange and turquoise towel with a butterfly design, a bikini-clad beach cozy, a brightly colored pillow, a bowling game with pineapples and coconuts, Tiki candles, a coconut maraca man, a vulture-shaped Citronella candle and rattan lights, as well as a copy of MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL’S BAR & GRILL. We have five to give away, as well as five additional prizes of copies of MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL’S BAR & GRILL.

To enter, fill out this form and answer the following question by Thursday, June 19th at 11:59PM. You can find the answer by reading the excerpt here.

What does Wilson do to get the vultures away from him?

MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL’S BAR & GRILL by N. M. Kelby (Fiction)
From critically acclaimed novelist N. M. Kelby comes a quirky and sharp comedic mystery about a gated community that suddenly discovers there are no rules in the association’s handbook for the bodies that begin to pile up. Reviewed by Colleen Quinn.

-Read more about N. M. Kelby and MURDER AT THE BAD GIRL'S BAR & GRILL here.

From May 23rd through June 6th, readers had the chance to win one of our five Father’s Day Duffel Bags. Our gray Duffel Bags were stocked with handy and fun items for dad, as well as one copy of ALL 18 of our featured titles. Thanks to all the readers who entered and told us their favorite book that their dads read to them. Click here to see our winners.

Although the contest has ended, we encourage you to visit our Father's Day feature. These selections include stories of suspense, survival, adventure and perseverance. Whether he is a fan of history, thrillers, sports stories or memoirs, Bookreporter.com has the perfect gift suggestions for the dad in your life.

Our featured Father’s Day titles are:

-THE ADVENTURES OF SLIM & HOWDY by Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, with Bill Fitzhugh
-THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates
-THE BILLIONAIRE'S VINEGAR: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace
-A CHAMPION'S MIND: Lessons from a Life in Tennis by Pete Sampras, with Peter Bodo
-CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith
-COURAGE: Portraits of Bravery in the Service of Great Causes by Gordon Brown
-DEAD LUCKY: Life After Death on Mount Everest by Lincoln Hall
-ESCAPE by Robert K. Tanenbaum
-FATHER KNOWS LESS: One Dad's Quest to Answer His Son's Most Baffling Questions by Wendell Jamieson
-THE FILM CLUB by David Gilmour
-IKE: An American Hero by Michael Korda
-AN INCOMPLETE AND INACCURATE HISTORY OF SPORT…and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood by Kenny Mayne
-ONCE UPON A FASTBALL by Bob Mitchell
-THE POET OF BAGHDAD: A True Story of Love and Defiance by Jo Tatchell
-THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MY DAD (IN THERAPY): Humorous and Heartfelt Essays by Heather B. Armstrong
-TIME BANDIT: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs by Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand, with Malcolm MacPherson
-A VOYAGE LONG AND STRANGE: Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz
-WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?: A Son's Memoir of Love and Loss by Blake Morrison

We recently brought you our list of the essential classics of the graphic novel format. In a field that covers virtually every genre imaginable and produces so many titles a year, it’s almost impossible to narrow any list down to just a few titles. And yet here we are, at it once again, with a list of 10 more essential graphic novels. This time, we’re letting you know about newer classics. These are the books released over the past few years that stand head and shoulders above the rest, the best graphic novels in recent memory.

THE BROKEN WINDOW: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
When Lincoln Rhyme's estranged cousin Arthur is arrested on murder charges, the case appears to be open and shut. But at the behest of Arthur's wife, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to investigate. Soon, Lincoln’s team realizes that the "perfect" evidence against Arthur may actually be the result of masterful identity theft and manipulation. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read an excerpt from THE BROKEN WINDOW.

Poll:

Do you have any interest in buying a Kindle or a Sony eReader?
 
I would like to have a Kindle.
I would like to have a Sony eReader.
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Would you be more interested in having a handheld electronic reader if the hardcover/e-version were both available simultaneously for the same price?
 
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Question:

If you wanted to impress people, what book would you carry with you?

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