I think I should live on the Outer Banks one week each month. I get more of the things I need to do --- and enjoy --- done here than I do at home. This week has been defined by the books that I read, the movies I watched, the knitting projects I worked on, the dinners I made and the time logged sitting on the deck or walking on the beach. Yes, I have answered email and worked, but there has been time to THINK as well.

There is a terrific office space in this house where I have my desktop and a printer set up, and it even has bookshelves, thus I unpacked the box of books that I brought with me and placed them there. I love having this room where I can "set up shop." As we were packing the car, my husband muttered to my younger son that he could not understand how I planned to get through all these books and also tackle knitting projects with the huge tub of yarn I had packed. I tried to explain multitasking and my need for options as he plunked his golf clubs into the car. So far, the plan here has worked.

So, what have I read? I started the week off finishing THE LATE, LAMENTED MOLLY MARX, Sally Koslow's upcoming book (coming May 19th). Sally's characters always have strong voices and presence, and she crafts a good story with sharp wit and prose. Molly has died in an accident, and from another place she watches her family as they try to unravel what happened to her. Through her vantage point we pick up the threads of who Molly was and how the people in her life came to be there. I read it on a warm sunny day on the deck and pronounced it my first beach read of the summer.

Next up was the manuscript for THE SIEGE by Stephen White, which will be out on August 4th. While White is known for his series books with Alan Gregory, this book, like KILL ME (one of my favorite books) from a few years ago, is a departure. Again he has a winner here. The story features Sam Purvey, who has had a role in many of the other books, as one of the characters. The story takes place in New Haven on the Yale University campus, not Boulder, where the Gregory books are set. There's a hostage situation, and Sam is drawn into it. The book has a strong political message wrapped into the quick-paced and deftly plotted story. By the way, Joe Hartlaub, our reviewer, had wanted Sam to have his own book, so it was fun to see the story set up with him in a key role. The interesting thing about reading a manuscript is that there is no back of the book copy to guide you. The story unfolds as you flip the pages, and you have no idea about the setup. It's like you are reading blind, and thus you get all the surprises.

Next up was Patti Callahan Henry's DRIFTWOOD SUMMER, coming June 2nd. It's my second beach book recommendation. Patti's writing gets stronger with each book, and this story of three sisters living in their beach town was just a relaxing emotional read. Next was LABOR DAY by Joyce Maynard, which is a July book. I know, I am reading way ahead here, but just take notes as these are books you will hear more about. I read this in one sitting yesterday. It's a tightly written story about a young boy and his mother and the man who spends a Labor Day weekend with them and his impact on their lives. I love the voice of the boy, which is honest and strong, and the story unfolds perfectly. Very, very powerful. Now I am reading SHANGHAI GIRLS by Lisa See and am swept up in the Chinese American world that she has created. I am just getting into it but already have seen references to SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN.

This house has a second family room that we have dubbed "the screening room." Between Netflix and Redbox at the local Harris Teeter store, I saw a number of movies this week: Milk (brilliant, and I see why Sean Penn won the Oscar), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (wonderful adaptation of the book), Australia (I never had thought about Australia during WWII), Rachel Getting Married (excellent performance by Anne Hathaway, and I liked the camera angles used), In the Valley of Elah (a rental thriller) and You Don't Mess With the Zohan (pure Adam Sandler humor).

I even packed some cookbooks for this trip. ONE SPICE, TWO SPICE has some of my favorite Indian food recipes in it. And the grilled lamb for Easter is from THE SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK. You would think I would have this recipe memorized after all these years. After all, the pages have splashes of balsamic vinegar and red wine!

We have a full lineup this week. Robert Goolrick wrote a wonderful blog post for us on ReadingGroupGuides.com this week that gives some insight into his novel A RELIABLE WIFE, which is my most recent Bookreporter.com Bets On title. We also have an interview with Joel Goldman, whose latest book, THE DEAD MAN, is an office favorite. Joel is someone whose talent has not gotten the recognition that it deserves. Everyone in the office who read it was talking about how well done it was. You can see a video trailer for the book here. And there's a review of COLUMBINE, which I had written you about last week. Our reviewer, Sarah Rachel Egelman, appreciated this one as much as I did. I have not yet read Robert Dugoni's new one, WRONGFUL DEATH, but am glad to see he is back. It's on my "to be read list."

Also, you may remember the great feedback we included in last week's newsletter for Kyle Mills's LORDS OF CORRUPTION. This week, we are featuring the author's responses to our advance readers' questions, which you can read here.

Here's wishing you a Happy Easter...and for our readers who celebrate Passover, we hope you are enjoying Passover week. I would love to find an Easter Egg Hunt down here. When Greg was three, we were in Montauk for Easter. There was a hunt at our hotel. I was afraid that he would not get any eggs since so many kids were bigger. Well, the whistle blew to start hunting, and he was all over the place. Elbowing his way through older kids. And smiling as he showed me his basket jammed full of eggs. Today he is down the coast in Ocracoke shooting pictures of lighthouses with a secondary mission that he can log he was from Maine to the southern Outer Banks since March. Cory has been lobbying for Easter candy for the last few hours, so we are off to the store. He has informed me there is no need for a basket. Just candy will be fine. I love this maturity. Read on.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Lisa Scottoline is the Edgar Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of 16 books, including LADY KILLER, DADDY’S GIRL and DIRTY BLONDE. In LOOK AGAIN, her new novel releasing on April 14th, a reporter’s life takes an unexpected turn when she receives a photo of a missing child who is identical to her adopted son.

-Click here to read a third excerpt from LOOK AGAIN.
-Click here to read fast facts about Lisa Scottoline.
-Click here to read Lisa Scottoline’s bio.
-Click here to see Lisa Scottoline's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for LOOK AGAIN.
-Visit Lisa Scottoline’s official website, www.Scottoline.com.
-Click here to watch a video in which Lisa Scottoline shares her favorite thrillers.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about LOOK AGAIN:
When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops --- the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Everything inside her tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won't be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth.

Jilliane Hoffman began her professional career as an Assistant State Attorney prosecuting felonies in Florida. Through 2001, she was the Regional Legal Advisor for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, advising more than 100 special agents on criminal and civil matters in complex investigations involving narcotics, homicide and organized crime. PLEA OF INSANITY, releasing on April 14th, is her third novel, following her international bestsellers RETRIBUTION and LAST WITNESS.

-Click here to read a third excerpt from PLEA OF INSANITY.
-Click here to read Jilliane Hoffman’s bio.
-Click here to see Jilliane Hoffman's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for PLEA OF INSANITY.
-Visit Jilliane Hoffman’s official website, www.JillianeHoffman.com.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about PLEA OF INSANITY:
The prosecutor --- Julia Vacanti. Young, ambitious, and facing a case that could launch her career. The defendant --- David Marquette. A successful Miami surgeon and devoted family man. The victims --- Marquette’s own wife and three small children. The plea --- Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. The perfect father and model husband, David Marquette seemingly just snapped one night. Or did he? His experienced defense team claims paranoid delusions caused by schizophrenia drove him to slaughter his entire family.

ReadingGroupGuides.com is conducting a survey of book groups. Our goal is to identify trends and topics that are of interest to book groups that we can share with publishers and authors, so they can provide the information and resources to enhance your meetings and discussions. We have not done a survey since 2001, and we know that a lot has changed in the last eight years! Thus, we would love to hear from you.

We estimate it will take 12-15 minutes to complete the survey. Each of the first 2,500 respondents will receive one of these 28 books graciously provided by our publisher colleagues. All other entrants will be entered into a random drawing to win one of 200 books. The titles that have been selected each are worthy of a terrific book group discussion, besides providing some wonderful reading enjoyment. Titles will be selected at random. Your name will not be used for any other mailing.

If you know people in other book clubs, may we suggest that you forward this link to them? The more voices that are heard for this, the more we will be able to have your comments shared with publishers and authors.

The survey will close on April 30th, so click here to answer the survey NOW.

One quick note: Given customs and mailing restrictions, the prize offerings are only available to residents of the United States and Canada. To our international readers, we welcome your participation and regret we cannot send prizes overseas.

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Please note that only our readers who are members of book clubs are eligible to take this survey.