Whenever possible I like to get out to author readings in the city. Last night my older son and I went to see Jonathan Tropper’s standing room-only event for THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. Jonathan read from parts of three chapters of the book, giving readers a version of a book reading based on the style of a movie trailer --- just some highlights. For the record, it worked. Since I enjoyed the humor in this book, during the Q&A I asked him if he gave a lot of thought to the comedic timing in his books. I will get to the answer in a moment, but first I must share my embarrassment. Unbeknownst to me for years I have been pronouncing "comedic" with the British affectation, with a “long e” sound instead of the American way with a “short e.” (And now I feel like an English teacher.) You can hear both versions here by clicking on the little flags at the top of this page.

And the answer to the question? He does not think about the humor when he is writing, but he does later when he is rewriting and editing. Getting the timing right on everything, from the jokes to the dialogue, really matters. I also asked if he laughs when he is writing. He said no, he cries. He confirmed what many authors share over and over, that writing is not easy and suggested that prospective authors consider another career. We are glad he didn't. It was a fun evening.

Next Tuesday night Greg and I are headed back to that Barnes & Noble store on Broadway and 82nd Street to see Joseph Finder, whose much anticipated first book in his Nick Heller series, VANISHED, will be in stores that day. Readers are in for a real treat with it. You want to start this series NOW with the first book. We will have our review (okay, I peeked and it's a total rave) and an interview with Joe next week. We have a video where I interview Joe on the site now, which you can watch here. We had a lot of fun shooting that day since I had read the manuscript and had a number of questions for him about his new character, Nick Heller, and the series, which he answered. Authors, unlike politicians, usually do answer the questions they are asked! Happy viewing!

I really enjoyed Linwood Barclay's FEAR THE WORST that we are bringing you this week. I have had the pleasure of spending time with Linwood at a number of conventions. The way he drops scenes from everyday life into books, like the scene at the start of this book where he is making breakfast, makes me wonder what he really was thinking when we sat across the table eating a crabcake sandwich in Baltimore last year. Was there a plot brewing?

Last weekend a news broadcast on NBC talked about vinyl records returning to popularity. That inspired me to write a blog piece about this trend as publishing races to digitize everything, which you can read here. Alex, one of our staffers who is in his 20s, said he has been buying records for the past few years and he listens to them more than his iPod these days, which is interesting.

I have an iPod that I listen to in hotels and on airplanes. I usually work best in quiet or with music I really know well. For me, unlike other electronics, my iPod has not become a habit, but rather a novelty. I often wonder if eReaders like the Kindle and the Sony eReader will become habits or novelties. It will be interesting to watch this. I have an entire attic filled with my electronic hobbies through the years. My favorite relics are the cell phone that was the size of a small pocketbook and the Astral Tunes player that was a predecessor to the Walkman.

Oddly I still have no desire here for a Kindle. There is something about flipping the pages that works for me. I watched a man on the flight back from San Diego telling the woman across the aisle all about his Kindle. One thing. The battery had died and he did not have a charger, so he did a lot of talking ABOUT it, but not a lot of time reading it. As I read my book he was reading the Continental magazine. I think he had a long five-hour flight! And I who forget to charge everything all the time and have chargers in the cars, my travel briefcase, the office and home just know this would be me if I relied on anything to be plugged in to read.

Our Beach Bag of Books Contest continues this week with four terrific selections that include THE CONDITION by Jennifer Haigh, DO DEAD PEOPLE WALK THEIR DOGS?: Questions You’d Ask a Medium If You Had the Chance by Concetta Bertoldi, JENNIFER JOHNSON IS SICK OF BEING SINGLE by Heather McElhatton and THE SEAMSTRESS by Frances de Pontes Peebles. This is our final Beach Bag Contest of the summer, so enter now for this last opportunity to win some great summer reading and beachy items!

We are launching a new spotlight feature for Shandi Mitchell, whose debut novel, UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY, will be out on September 8th. Set in the 1930s, the author weaves a beautiful story of an immigrant family trying to build a new life in the Canadian prairieland. We have 10 copies 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, August 21st.

Our advance readers raved about Christopher Reich’s new novel, RULES OF VENGEANCE. You may read their responses to the book here. I love when our readers agree with us about books!

I spent most of last weekend in the hammock reading THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Though I read a lot, there are always books that I “miss” and I am playing catchup on. This was one of them. Though I confess that it started slow for me, once all the players were in place it was one very quick read and I enjoyed it. Usually going into the weekend I know what I am going to read, but this weekend I do not have a plan. I am going to surf my shelves to see what's there. I am trying to figure out what I am in the mood to read, and I am sure that many of you know exactly what that is like!

My younger son has finished his summer reading except for the book for history class that he discovered he needs to read when he checked the school website. He has an interesting assignment for the advanced reading program he is doing. For three books that he read he has to write letters to the authors talking about their work, which I think is a really terrific idea. It's more fun to write Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. rather than wax prosaically to the teacher. I will try to sneak a peek at these!

Here's to hammocks, pool chairs, rafts, grilling and all things summer. May they find a way into your weekend. Have a great week. Read on!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

New York Times bestselling author Mary Jane Clark has written 12 novels, all set in the high-stakes world of broadcast journalism. Her new novel, DYING FOR MERCY, is now available in stores. When death shatters the serenity of a wealthy town, the co-host of the country's premier morning television show is on the scene. As she begins searching for the truth, it becomes apparent that someone has conceived a plan to expose the sins of the past involving some of the town's most revered citizens.

-Click here to read a review of DYING FOR MERCY.
-Click here to read a third excerpt from DYING FOR MERCY.
-Click here to read our interview with Mary Jane Clark.
-Click here to read Mary Jane Clark's bio.
-Click here to see Mary Jane Clark's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for DYING FOR MERCY.
-Visit Mary Jane Clark's official website, www.MaryJaneClark.com.
-Click here to watch a trailer for DYING FOR MERCY.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about DYING FOR MERCY:
When death shatters the serenity of the exclusive moneyed enclave of Tuxedo Park, New York, Eliza Blake, co-host of a television show, is on the scene. While attending a lavish gala at her friends' estate, Pentimento, Eliza's host is found dead.

Determined to find out the truth, Eliza and her colleagues discover that Pentimento holds the key. It becomes clear that no amount of wealth or privilege will keep the residents of Tuxedo Park safe.

THE HOPE OF REFUGE: An Ada's House Novel by Cindy Woodsmall (Fiction)
New Yorker Cara Moore has nothing and is on the run. Young Amish woman Deborah Mast has everything and is on her way to the wedding altar. When their lives collide, neither one will be the same. Can the humility and faith of Ada save either of them?

For those of you with teens or kids in your households or who have grandchildren, library patrons or friends, we have surveys running right now on Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com. The Teenreads.com 2009 Reader Survey is open until August 31st, and 775 teens will have the chance to win one of the 27 titles being given away if they complete the survey. The Kidsreads.com 2009 Reader Survey is open until September 15th, and 1,000 readers will have the chance to read one of 24 titles being given away.

If you know other readers who may be interested in responding to these surveys, may we ask you to forward these links to them? The more voices that are heard for this, the better!

-Click here to participate in the Teenreads.com 2009 Reader Survey.
-Click here to participate in the Kidsreads.com 2009 Reader Survey.

With more than 2,700 discussion guides now available, ReadingGroupGuides.com continues to be the leading place for book clubs to find all the resources they need on the web.

Our ReadingGroupGuides.com Blog continues to be a big hit among our readers. Throughout the month we are sharing postings from regular contributors --- including authors, librarians, book club facilitators, booksellers and experts in the publishing industry --- as well as special guests. The latest blog can be found here, and here are quick links to some recent posts:

-The Time Traveler's Wife
-Library Resources for Book Clubs
-Hannah Tinti: Wishful Thinking
-Freshmen Summer Reading 2009
-JULIE & JULIA Spices Up the Big Screen
-Tune in Today to Hear Frances de Pontes Peebles

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE CONFESSIONS OF EDWARD DAY by Valerie Martin: Valerie Martin brilliantly recreates the theater world of 1970s and 1980s New York and plays with the boundary between reality and performance amongst a group of thespians.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF LOVE by Glenda Burgess: A poignant exploration of the depths of the human heart and our ability to love and to trust no matter the obstacles.
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson: In the electrifying follow-up to the bestselling THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Lisbeth Salander, the troubled genius hacker, is drawn into a murderous hunt.
GOOD-BYE AND AMEN by Beth Gutcheon: The follow-up to the critically acclaimed novel LEEWAY COTTAGE follows the newest generation of the Moss family as they gather at their summer home in Maine.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A PROBLEM?: Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi: Moustafa Bayoumi offers a glimpse into the often-ignored struggles a group of twenty-something Arab Americans face.
IN THE HEART OF THE CANYON by Elisabeth Hyde: From the author of THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER, a novel about a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon that changes the lives of everyone on board.
ISRAEL IS REAL: An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and Its History by Rich Cohen: Breaking through the heated polemics and intractable politics, ISRAEL IS REAL is a fresh voice, a tale of people and ideas, of the background of present-day Israel. It’s a new approach to a story we thought we knew.
LABOR DAY by Joyce Maynard: Acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence and devastating treachery seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy.
THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry: THE LACE READER is a mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies and half-truths.
THE NIGHT COUNTER by Alia Yunis: Shifting between the U.S. and the Middle East, first-time novelist Alia Yunis pieces together four generations of family secrets in this hilarious, heartwarming debut that creates a vibrant mosaic of modern Arab American life.
SOUTH OF BROAD by Pat Conroy: The one and only Pat Conroy returns with a big, sprawling novel that is a love letter to Charleston and an ode to lifelong friendship.
THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC by Richard Russo: Richard Russo tells the story of a marriage and all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.
TWO BROTHERS: One North, One South by David H. Jones: Navigated by Walt Whitman and based on real people and events, TWO BROTHERS: One North, One South is the quintessential story of the Civil War.
THE VIRGIN'S DAUGHTERS: In the Court of Elizabeth I by Jeane Westin: The story of Elizabeth I, as it’s never been told before --- through the eyes of two ladies-in-waiting closest to her…
WAIT UNTIL TWILIGHT by Sang Pak: Sang Pak's WAIT UNTIL TWILIGHT is a coming-of-age story that explores the complex darkness infecting a damaged psyche in a small Southern town.
THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE by Heather Gudenkauf: Masterfully written and beautifully told, Heather Gudenkauf’s debut is a stunning novel of family devotion, honesty and regret that will linger long after the last page is turned.
THE WIDOW'S SEASON by Laura Brodie: A lyrical, mysterious novel about a young, seemingly haunted, widow, inspired by Renaissance plays where husbands faked their deaths in order to spy on their wives.
WORLDWEAVERS: Cybermage by Alma Alexander: When Thea Winthrop and her friends are called in by the Federal Bureau of Magic to unlock a mysterious cube left behind by Nikola Tesla, they find themselves in a race against time.
WWW.QUEENMOTORHOME.COM by Patt Fero: WWW.QUEENMOTORHOME.COM is a story about two baby boomer-aged best friends who run away from home in a motor home.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

DECEMBER by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop
THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson
THE GOOD THIEF by Hannah Tinti
THE HOUSE AT SUGAR BEACH: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper
JULY AND AUGUST by Nancy Clark
THE SEAMSTRESS by Frances de Pontes Peebles
THE SISTER by Poppy Adams
SO LONG AT THE FAIR by Christina Schwarz

We have the following new guides for Christian book groups:

THE BELIEVER by Ann H. Gabhart: A romantic story of two people caught up in the storms of life.
THE HOPE OF REFUGE: An Ada's House Novel by Cindy Woodsmall: Cara and her daughter must run to escape a deadly threat. Can they find refuge in an Amish community with complex, unspoken ties to her family history?
JUNE BUG by Chris Fabry: Publishers Weekly calls JUNE BUG “a lovely, moving, present-day account of sacrifice.”
THE JUSTICE GAME by Randy Singer: In his new legal thriller, Randy Singer explores the unseen forces controlling two lawyers involved in a lawsuit against a gun company.
THE SACRED CIPHER by Terry Brennan: More historically and biblically accurate than THE DA VINCI CODE and just as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie, THE SACRED CIPHER draws readers into a world of ancient secrets and international escapades.
SWEET WATERS: An Otter Bay Novel by Julie Carobini: After returning to her hometown, a young woman begins to uncover shocking secrets about why her family left this heaven on earth all those years ago.
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW by Tom Pawlik: In this sequel to the award-winning novel, VANISH, Tom Pawlik explores the murky world between life and death, where your worst fears can become reality.

Poll:

Does the length of a book ever intimidate you?

No, I love long books.
Yes, I shy away from long books.
The length of a book has no effect on me.
I am not sure how I feel.

-Click here to answer our poll.


Question:

Which long book would you recommend?

-Click here to answer our question.

This week we have three great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU by Jonathan Tropper, VANISHED by Joseph Finder and THE WHITE QUEEN by Philippa Gregory. Tell us what you are reading and rate the titles 1-5 by noon on August 28th to ensure that you are in the running to win these books.