Blog
Archives - December 2016
Martha Hall Kelly’s LILAC GIRLS --- the remarkable story of unsung women and their quest for love, freedom and second chances during World War II --- debuted last spring to rave reviews (and was a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick). As a woman who likes to write about women, it’s no surprise that one of Martha’s earliest literary obsessions was JANE EYRE --- more specifically, her mother’s precious woodcut version of the Charlotte Brontë classic. In our final Holiday Author Blog, Martha tells her own story of second chances, a book lost and found, and how her late mother’s legacy lives on through the books she loved.
Marie Benedict’s debut novel, THE OTHER EINSTEIN (a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick), is the fascinating, untold story of Albert Einstein’s first wife, a brilliant scientist in her own right. Marie’s interest in telling the stories of the women overlooked by history was no accident. It was ignited by a fateful Christmas gift from a favorite aunt, THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zimmer Bradley, a book that gives the women of the Arthurian legend voices and, incidentally, gave Marie her own. Here, she describes the power of a good book to change the course of a life.
Wendy Walker is a former commercial litigator who began writing while she was home raising her three sons. Multitasking seems to come naturally to the busy mom and bestselling author, which comes in especially handy this time of year. In her Holiday Author Blog, Wendy considers what, exactly, makes Christmas so magical: a combination of innocence, nostalgia, and a mom working hard behind the scenes. Her debut psychological thriller, ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN, was a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick when it released in July.
Laurie Lico Albanese has a hot tip for delinquent gift-givers who are still struggling to figure out what to get their loved ones for the holidays: judge a book by its title. In her Holiday Blog, the author of BLUE SUBURBIA: Almost a Memoir shares a hilarious guide for the present perplexed, and explains why the holiday season (and every season) is a great time to give a little feminist enlightenment to the women in your life. Her upcoming book, STOLEN BEAUTY, will be in stores February 7th.
Cookstr.com founder and New York Times bestselling author Will Schwalbe knows a thing or two about how important books can be; his latest, BOOKS FOR LIVING --- which will be available on December 27th --- is all about the books that shaped his life. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that he’s not content with simply giving books as Christmas gifts; he’s intent on the interpersonal element of the reading experience. Here, he explains how the ultimate gift isn’t just a book --- it’s bringing people together.
December 19, 2016
Caroline Leavitt: Booking Holiday Parties? I’ll Just Take the Book-ing Part, Please
The holidays are a wonderful time, full of family and friends, but they can also be a bit…overwhelming. Caroline Leavitt has a rather simple and time-honored solution: read a book. Here, the New York Times bestselling author --- most recently of the acclaimed (and Bookreporter favorite) CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD --- shares her strategy for avoiding holiday stress, plus how to pull it off with minimal insult to your loved ones.
Every December, readers, writers and booklovers gather at Random House’s Open House event, a day when readers are invited to meet their favorite authors and Random House’s staffers to learn more about new and upcoming titles. (There are additional events like this hosted throughout the year.) The event is typically hosted at the Random House offices, but last week for their 10th Open House event, they celebrated by taking things out of house, to the nearby Kaye Theater at Hunter College.
Ann Hood is an award-winning author, most recently of the bestselling THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST, which we haven’t stopped raving about since it released in August. That book tells a story of love, loss and the redemptive power of books. Here, Ann continues on those themes with a touchingly personal recounting of a difficult day in her own life --- and the extraordinary way books can make your heart ache and help your heart heal.
We’re excited to kick off this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with award-winning mystery author and groundbreaking journalist Hank Phillippi Ryan. Her latest novel, SAY NO MORE, is the fifth book in her bestselling Jane Ryland series and already is a Library Journal Best of 2016. It seems Hank could do no wrong even from an early age, when she and her sister decided to take Christmas into their own little hands --- as she describes here --- to miraculous results.
