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July 12, 2012

20SomethingReads.com Newsletter July 12, 2012
Summer Lovin': Beach Reads, Thrillers and Olympic Fever
Still Ongoing on 20SomethingReads.com
What's NEW on 20SomethingReads.com?
What's Coming Up on 20SomethingReads.com?
This Week's Reviews
Vote in our Poll!
Subscribe to our Blog
Summer Lovin': Beach Reads, Thrillers and Olympic Fever

The summer of 2012 has been a blur of crazy for us, so it has been quite awhile since our last newsletter. We have a lot of news to share with you, including contests, thrillers, beach reads and more!

First, we have our favorite globetrotting authors, Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg, co-authors of TO TIMBUKTU, who have curated a Summer Travel/Graduation bookshelf, featuring 20 titles that are great for post-grads and traveling 20somethings. If you're going road trippin' this summer, then this is the bookshelf for you.

Our office has been all abuzz about the upcoming Summer Olympics in London --- we all are looking forward to watching the competitions ---even with the schmaltzy athlete pieces --- and seeing the results! To help get you in the spirit as well, we have put together a bookshelf with 20 Olympic-themed titles for you to read up on in preparation for the opening ceremonies on July 27th.

Keeping the summer theme going, we have our first annual Summer Beach Bag of Books contest, featuring five great reads to keep you entertained while you lounge by the pool. Five lucky winners will each receive a beach bag with sunscreen, a beach towel and five beach-perfect titles: GHOST CROWN by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, SPRING FEVER by Mary Kay Andrews, TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal and WHERE WE BELONG by Emily Giffin. All are great summer reading and the deadline for entries is Monday, July 30th, so click on over to enter!

Do you like to read books that have you on the edge of your seat? So do we! This month, we have our second "20 Over 30" feature, showcasing thriller writers who are sharing their picks for readers in their 20s. Dennis Lehane, Sandra Brown, Lisa Jackson, and Eric Van Lustbader are just some of the thriller authors who selected books for 20-somethings, including what book of theirs you should start with, what book by another author they recommend, and what they're reading now.

Over the next few months we will all be drowning in election news, so before you get too overwhlemed by it all, you might want to check out a quasi-light-hearted read on the state of U.S. politics with AMERICA, YOU SEXY BITCH by Michael Ian Black and Megan McCain. One of our interns, Anthony Landi, wrote a great review of this hilarious read, so be sure to check that out.

Now we must bid you adieu as we are off to book conferences. I am in San Diego for Comic-Con this week and Greg and Maureen will be attending ThrillerFest this weekend in New York. There's sure to be a lot to report on in our next newsletter. Until then, here's to great summer reading.

---Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

 

Still Ongoing on 20SomethingReads.com
Bookshelf: Bucket List Books - What’s on your Bucket List? Whether it’s purposeful wanderlust, extreme adventure or just plotting out things that would be fun to do, we’ve got the books to get you started. There are five books with ideas of things to do and 15 titles from people who’ve climbed mountains, surfed oceans, traveled the world, created a charity, cooked like a pro, followed a favorite band --- and otherwise took time to check off what was on their Bucket List. See what motivates you!
What's NEW on 20SomethingReads.com?

Summer Beach Bag of Books Contest: Five winners each will receive a beach bag filled with a number of outstanding books. Among them are GHOST CROWN: The Tracks, Book Two by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, SPRING FEVER by Mary Kay Andrews, TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER by Tom McNeal, and WHERE WE BELONG by Emily Giffin. We'll be adding more titles in the days to come, so please be on the lookout for that!

Along with the books, winners will find their striped beach bag stocked with a polka-dot beach towel, Coppertone Sport Sunblock, and a metallic sports bottle to keep your drink cool.

Click here to enter by Monday, July 30th at noon ET.

Bookshelf: Summer Olympics 2012 - Will Michael Phelps win gold in London? Which Royals will be in attendance? Can London top the opening ceremony in Beijing in 2008? These are just some of the questions on the minds of fans everywhere as the world readies for the Summer Olympics in London.

It seems like we have been waiting for London 2012 for a lot longer than four years, but finally, the Summer Olympics have arrived! In honor of the Games, we wanted to share some Olympic-themed titles to get you pumped leading up to the opening ceremonies on July 27th.

Bookshelf: Top Fantasy Series - Our sci-fi and fantasy expert, Stephen Hubbard had his work cut out for him when creating a bookshelf of quintessential fantasy titles. At one point he had 80 titles on his list! After trying to narrow it down to just 20 titles, which seemed to be impossible, he opted to break his winnowed down list into two bookshelves --- Top Fantasy Series and Best Stand-Alone Fantasy Novels.

This bookshelf features several classic fantasy series, as well as a group of current fantasy writers you'll want to note.

Bookshelf: 20 Great Thrillers - Looking for books that keep you on the edge of your seat? You know, the kind of book that will keep you up all night. We asked our resident thriller reviewer Joe Hartlaub for a list of his favorite recently published thrillers --- and he shared the 20 titles below. If you are up reading all night, you can blame Joe!

Bookshelf: Summer Travel/Graduation - Not sure what you're going to be up to after graduation? Want to hit the road? Check out these books for inspiration or bring 'em along with you on your adventures!

What's Coming Up on 20SomethingReads.com?
New Bookshelf: Stand-Alone Fantasy Titles Bookshelf (8/1)

Review: THE GAGGLE by Jessica Massa

Review: BALLET BEAUTIFUL by Mary Helen Bowers

This Week's Reviews
THE NIGHTMARE by Lars Kepler (Mystery/Thriller)
On a summer night, police recover the body of a young woman from an abandoned boat. The next day, a man turns up dead, hanging from a lamp hook. The obvious explanation for both would be suicides, but the circumstances in each case make that impossible. Detective Inspector Joona Linna begins to piece the two mysteries together, but the logistics are a mere prelude to a dizzying and dangerous course of events. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

INTO THE DARKEST CORNER by Elizabeth Haynes (Psychological Thriller)
Catherine (now Cathy) Bailey learns of the impending release of her former lover Lee, whose erratic, controlling behavior frightened her. She begins to return home to find objects subtly rearranged in her apartment, one of Lee’s old tricks. Convinced she is back in his sights, Cathy prepares to wrestle with the demons of her past for the last time. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

RANSOM RIVER by Meg Gardiner (Mystery/Thriller)
Rory Mackenzie is back in her hometown of Ransom River, California, a place she vowed she would never visit again. While most of the town is focused on the tense and shocking circumstances of a high-profile murder trial, Rory’s return dredges up troubling memories that she can no longer ignore. But she soon realizes that exposing these dark skeletons has connected her to an old case that was never solved, and bringing the truth to light just might destroy her. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

SERPENT’S KISS: A Witches of East End Novel by Melissa de la Cruz (Urban Fantasy)
Joanna and her daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild-child Freya, are just settling into the newfound peace that has been cast over their small, off-the-map town of North Hampton. With the centuries-old restriction against practicing magic lifted, casting spells, mixing potions, and curing troubled souls has never felt so good for the three witches. That is, until everything gets turned upside down. Reviewed by Kathleen M. Purcell.

POTBOILER by Jesse Kellerman (Mystery)
Arthur Pfefferkorn is a middle-aged college professor with long-dead literary aspirations. When his oldest friend, bestselling thriller writer William de Vallèe, is lost at sea, Pfefferkorn is torn between envy and grief, for de Vallèe not only outshone him professionally, but married the woman he also loved. Pfefferkorn's decision to reconnect with de Vallèe’s widow plunges him into a shadowy realm of double crosses and intrigue. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (Fiction)
Logan Wade has built a life for herself in New York City, far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. But when she gets the call that her famous cousin needs a new assistant, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. However, their reunion is quickly overshadowed by the toxic dynamic between Kelsey and her parents, causing Logan to question if their childhood has left them both too broken to succeed. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

THE ROCK STAR IN SEAT 3A by Jill Kargman (Romance)
The night before her flight, Hazel’s boyfriend gave her a free pass if she ever met rock star Finn Schiller, her idol. She never would have thought the very next day the rock god would be sitting next to her on the plane. Now, when fantasy becomes real attraction, Hazel must decide what she wants. Reviewed by Hillary Wagy.

THE LAST KIND WORDS by Tom Piccirilli (Psychological Thriller)
Terry Rand is a man with a devil on both of his shoulders. Raised in a family of grifters and thieves, he must now come to terms with dark family secrets in the weeks prior to his older brother’s execution for a senseless killing spree. The prodigal son returns to find that the things that have changed may turn his visit into one deadly family reunion. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE STONECUTTER by Camilla Lackberg (Mystery)
The remote resort town of Fjallbacka has seen its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman’s net. Local detective Patrik Hedstrom has the grim task of discovering who could be behind the murder of a child both he and his partner Erica knew well. What he does not know is how this case will reach into the dark heart of Fjallbacka, spanning generations, ripping aside its idyllic façade, perhaps forever. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
Vote in our Poll!

Which of the following books releasing in July and August are you most looking forward to reading? Please check as many as apply.

AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD by Laura Lippman
BONES ARE FOREVER by Kathy Reichs
BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French
THE FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva
CRIMINAL by Karin Slaughter
GOLD by Chris Cleave
THE GOOD DREAM by Donna VanLiere
A HUNDRED FLOWERS by Gail Tsukiyama
I, MICHAEL BENNETT by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
THE INN AT ROSE HARBOR by Debbie Macomber
KILL YOU TWICE by Chelsea Cain
THE KINGMAKER'S DAUGHTER by Philippa Gregory
THE NEXT BEST THING by Jennifer Weiner
NIGHT WATCH by Linda Fairstein
ODD APOCALYPSE: An Odd Thomas Novel, by Dean Koontz
THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS by Chris Bohjalian
SHADOW OF NIGHT by Deborah Harkness
SNEAKY PIE FOR PRESIDENT by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
TRICKSTER'S POINT by William Kent Krueger
WHERE WE BELONG by Emily Giffin
None of the above

 

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View past poll results here.

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