It's raining the proverbial cats and dogs here today. Where did that expression come from anyway? The rain is pounding on the roof in a pretty regular staccato beat, and I think my typing on the keyboard is keeping rhythm with it. Actually I think I am typing faster than usual since it's coming down so hard. In some ways I like days like this since I just hunker down and work. There is no thought about "whether to swim or not to swim." We also live in a neighborhood where a lot of people take walks. I watch them out my big office window on Fridays and feel guilty that I am being sedentary and ponder if one seriously can consider a keyboard a piece of exercise equipment. Today I will be happy I am not a walker.

Also, Mercury is retrograde. If you live around me, you already know what that means. If not, you can read more about it here. I am not into astrology much more than to know I am a Sagittarius, but I can always tell when Mercury is retrograde. I told a friend last night that I am like the Mercury Retrograde Magnet. I can sense when it is happening as weird communication things occur all around me with information missing and misplaced. Yesterday I wrote the entire speech that I am going to give on Sunday at the Waldorf Astoria's Bestsellers Brunch. When I went to save it into a format I could read on my home computer, the entire thing went poof! I thought as I drove home, I wonder if Mercury is retrograde. It is --- started September 24th and will be until October 15th.  Recreating writing is really hard. I spent a lot of time last night trying to remember what I originally wrote. I am sure there is a great joke that got away.

Wednesday night this week I went to see Dennis Lehane, who was in town to promote his new book THE GIVEN DAY, which has been getting lots of attention. For Lehane fans who loved his previous work, it's a real departure as he ventures into historical fiction. He is very clear on why he took this path. Once he finished MYSTIC RIVER he knew there was a chance to fall into a trap and continue to write the same book over and over. Instead he said he knew he had to push himself off in a new direction. And that he does with THE GIVEN DAY. Here's some background on the plot from our review by Joe Hartlaub: "THE GIVEN DAY is a sprawling tale of the city of Boston in the closing days of World War I, as chaotic as the times and locale it attempts to describe. Romance, violence, racial politics, socialism, corruption and a Boston Red Sox player named Babe Ruth all rear their heads here, along with gratuitous shots at Calvin Coolidge and a Department of Justice attorney named John Hoover."

There are times I wish I could go back and study history again. When I was in school, there was so much emphasis on memorizing dates that I think the context of what was happening was lost. My son's Social Studies teacher made a very wise observation that she rarely quizzes kids on dates of battles and their names. Those can be looked up at any time. Instead she wants them to think about what was happening as part of a bigger story. I know I cannot remember 90% of the dates that I studied. The chapter Lehane read talked about the Spanish flu, which occurred in 1918-19. There were approximately 500,000 deaths in the U.S. and 20 million worldwide; when he said the 20 million number I was startled. I don't remember reading about that. My son's teacher also noted that most school curriculums are so packed that when studying American History in middle school they only get to World War II, which now was 60 years ago. When we think of what has happened since then, we realize how much context has been lost.

Lehane clearly loves characters and giving them voices. As he said, "Plot is the last thing people come to my books for." With these characters he usually addresses three things: violence, the urban landscape and the underdog. As someone who has written for the screen and television, as well as novels, he offered these interesting assessments of the difference between the two. A novelist is like a general contractor, who deals with everything from the foundation to the framing to painting the trim. When he does screenwriting for a show like "The Wire," he only is thinking about painting the trim. It's a completely different way of writing. He also said that it does take quite an ego for an author to write a 700-page book like THE GIVEN DAY, which was quite amusing.

Speaking of films, Nights in Rodanthe opens today at the movies. (Thanks to the commercial we now all can pronounce Rodanthe.) I have a weakness for Nicholas Sparks's books, so the movies made from these books are great for escapes. I have been reading Sparks's THE LUCKY ONE, which will be in stores on Tuesday. He has this way of writing a story that gives readers a nice way to just visit with characters and dip into their worlds. I have had a hectic week and have loved reading these pages before I fall asleep and again when I first wake up in the morning. They make me want to pour lemonade and sit on the porch or at least feel like I am there during a VERY hectic week.

There are always books that I miss telling you about that I enjoyed. One is I'M WITH STUPID by Elaine Szewczyk. It's a very witty romp of a book about a girl who gets the boy and then decides she really does not want him after all. The cover line of "Some flings were meant to last. Theirs was not one of them" truly speaks to the story. Hearing the stories from my single friends about their adventures in dating, I loved reading this one. I realize how smart women really can have trouble finding smart guys who can keep up with them. Read this smart girls and realize you are not alone!

Banned Books Week begins on Saturday. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the American Library Association has launched a new website to help the readers learn more about this year's celebration, which will be held from September 27th through October 4th, and suggests ways they can support it. The key feature of the website is a list that visitors can use to find participating bookstores and libraries in their communities, which you can view here.

We have received some great responses from our advance readers of THE KEEPSAKE by Tess Gerritsen. Click here to read what they had to say.

My younger son is home today with a headache and sore throat. He has traced the lineage of this to his friends whose mothers sent them to school sick. I think this was a lobby to stay home today and it worked, especially with the rain. He keeps showing up in my office telling me he is bored. My suggestion at the 15th visit was that he try to clean his room; he has not returned.

As I re-read this newsletter I realized that I avoided referencing the news you read elsewhere this week ad nauseum, namely "to debate or not to debate" and the financial mess on Wall Street. I am not sure if any of this will be solved while Mercury is retrograde. I loathe politics and I loathe smarmy rich guys in suits who are full of themselves. I do wonder exactly where my 401K is these days. I am sure I will find out soon enough. Until then I keep reading and suggest you do too!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Twenty years ago, Katherine Neville’s groundbreaking bestseller THE EIGHT rewrote the rules of international suspense. Now a thrilling new chapter of this riveting saga begins in THE FIRE, which will be available on October 14th. Steeped in stunning history, enchanted settings, baffling riddles and unforgettable characters, THE FIRE presents a multilayered puzzle of infinite complexity and global importance.

-Click here to read an excerpt from THE FIRE.
-Click here to read Katherine Neville’s bio.
-Click here to see Katherine Neville's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for THE FIRE.
-Visit the author’s official website, www.KatherineNeville.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about THE FIRE:
Katherine Neville’s groundbreaking novel, THE EIGHT, dazzled audiences more than 20 years ago and set the literary stage for the epic thriller. A quest for a mystical chess service that once belonged to Charlemagne, it spans two centuries and three continents, and intertwines historic and modern plots, archaeological treasure hunts, esoteric riddles and puzzles encrypted with clues from the ancient past. Now the electrifying global adventure continues, in Neville’s long anticipated sequel: THE FIRE.

James Villas is the award-winning author of more than a dozen cookbooks and books on food, including MY MOTHER’S SOUTHERN KITCHEN and THE GLORY OF SOUTHERN COOKING. In DANCING IN THE LOWCOUNTRY, his fiction debut releasing on September 30th, Villas tells a story about the places and people that stay with us, the courage it takes to live in the present and the endless ways life can surprise us, over and over again.

-Click here to read a second excerpt from DANCING IN THE LOWCOUNTRY.
-Click here to read James Villas’s bio.
-Click here to see James Villas's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for DANCING IN THE LOWCOUNTRY.
-Click here to find out how you can enter James Villas’s Country Cookin’ Contest, sponsored by KensingtonBooks.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about DANCING IN THE LOWCOUNTRY:
DANCING IN THE LOWCOUNTRY by Beard Award-winning author, journalist and quintessential southerner James Villas is a beguiling first novel featuring an unforgettable heroine, Ella Dubose --- the kind of Southern lady Tennessee Williams peppered plays with. This rich novel is a warm, witty and poignant story of passion, friendship and family set against the lush, mellow backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry. It's as refreshing as a mint julep on a wrap-around porch!

Looking for a way to meet up with other book groups and to have the opportunity to meet authors whose books are perfect for great book club discussions? Then you want to attend the third annual Book Group Expo in San Jose, California on October 25th and 26th. 

More than 75 authors will be there, including Annie Barrows, author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; Andre Dubus III, author of The Garden of Last Days; Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club; Ann Packer, author of Songs Without Words; and Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain. For a complete list of authors, click here.

In addition to the Literary Salons that include authors and various panel conversations, this two-day event includes a Marketplace featuring onsite vendors ready to introduce you to products available to enhance your book group and reading experience, including tastings of wine, tea, chocolate and other savory and sweet delights.

Poll:

Does your local newspaper have book reviews?

Yes, they run book reviews at least every week.
Yes, some of the time.
No
I'm not sure about this.

-Click here to answer our poll.


Question:

What was the last book you bought after reading a review thinking, "I need to read that book!"?

-Click here to answer our question.