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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
December 14, 2012 |
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Bring on the Holidays….
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I know you are not going to believe this….and I totally expect my mailbox is going to be bombarded after I say it. But I went to an advance screening Monday night and saw Jack Reacher --- and I really enjoyed it AND Tom Cruise does work in the role of Reacher. I can feel you all tapping out emails to respond to me that I must be daft, so let me explain. While Cruise is not what we all physically conjure up when we think of Reacher, he does something that makes him right for the role. Much of Lee Child’s writing of Reacher gets readers into the character’s head with short terse sentences. We are in there working out the crimes and tracking the bad guys. Well, that does not lend itself very easily to a movie.
But somehow, when Cruise talks through the possible angles and runs the story through dialogue in sharp sentences, it works. When he talks about “one shot” (the movie is based upon the book ONE SHOT, the 2005 thriller that was the ninth installment in the series), he nails it. Great action. Quick pace. I see it doing really well over the holidays --- and I can see future movies. But I will not think of Cruise as I read future books. There is “Book Reacher” and “Movie Reacher,” at least for me. By the way, I LOVE Daniel Craig as Bond, and he is as far from the stereotypical Bond as one might picture. Oh, and Lee has a cameo in the movie as a policeman, which is quite fun. At the screening with me were a number of mystery authors, including Reed Farrel Coleman and Cornelia Read. I am sure the audience wondered why we clapped at that point and were all excited. Fun little moment.
Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie, and Lee were part of a Q&A from readers/viewers on Monday when Jack Reacher premiered in London. Click here to see what they had to say about the making of the film and why ONE SHOT was chosen over all the other books in the series to be adapted to the big screen. And if/when you see it, let me know what you think!
I still am wildly behind on my holiday shopping. I remain less motivated than usual in part because I am shifting my focus from the usual buy buy buy to a mode of seriously pondering what people need --- and the random acts of kindness that I alluded to a few newsletters ago. I am enjoying the latter so much; it’s making the holiday a lot more fulfilling for me. Here’s an example. The other day, a publicist contact mentioned on Facebook that there was a mom who had lost everything in the storm. She wanted to make a nice Christmas for her children, and Kathleen, the publicist, helped her create a Wish List on Amazon. Moments later, I found myself clicking and buying a present for the woman’s son. I liked that I knew her story and felt like the purchase was personal. I have something else relief-related that I cooked up for my mother and mother-in-law, which I am not divulging here as they both read this newsletter. I AM having fun with this.
Laura, one of our readers, shared this story of fun present-giving with me: “When my best friend's kids were hard-to-buy-for teens and I hadn't seen them for several years, for Christmas I sent them a box of 72 yo-yos. Each one was wrapped separately and each one was different. (I shopped garage sales and flea markets all summer long.) 10+ years later and they are still talking about the Christmas 'Aunt' Laura sent the yoyos.” May you each find your own yo-yo moments as you shop this holiday season.
We’re excited to announce our Second Annual Bookreporter.com Bets On Contest! Over the next three weeks, we are featuring a special giveaway for all the books I picked as part of my Bookreporter.com Bets On feature throughout the year. ONE very lucky reader will be awarded ALL of my 28 selections for 2012, while 28 others will each receive one title. Among the titles you can win are THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB by Will Schwalbe, GOLD by Chris Cleave, IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN by Vaddey Rattner, TRUE SISTERS by Sandra Dallas and TRUST YOUR EYES by Linwood Barclay. To enter, please fill out this form by noon ET on Friday, January 4th.
My final Bookreporter.com Bets On selection for 2012 (and one of the 28 prizes you can win) is MARGARET FROM MAINE by Joseph Monninger, which releases on December 24th; when I read it last month, the story just struck a chord with me. I think readers who enjoyed HOME FRONT by Kristin Hannah will enjoy it as well.
Our latest Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight promotion features Gregg Olsen, who is quite familiar to longtime readers of the site, as this is the FIFTH time we’ve featured him. His latest pulse-pounding thriller is FEAR COLLECTOR. For two women, Ted Bundy --- America’s most notorious serial killer --- is the ultimate obsession. One is a cop whose sister may have been one of Bundy’s victims. The other is a deranged groupie who corresponded with Bundy in prison and raised her son to finish what Bundy started. We’re giving away 25 copies of the book to those who like to read and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, January 3rd at noon ET. As I mentioned last week, serial killers intrigue me (WHAT does THAT say about me?), and thus I enjoyed the book.
We’re also giving 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Libba Bray’s latest novel, THE DIVINERS, a YA book that we feel perfectly crosses over to the adult market. In fact, we spotlighted the book in our Young Adult Books You Want to Read feature when it released in September. Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City, where she lives with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer --- if he doesn't catch her first. To enter, all you have to do is fill out this form by Thursday, January 3rd at noon ET.
And don’t forget to enter our giveaway for THE KASHMIR SHAWL by Rosie Thomas, our latest One to Watch author. If you’d like to be one of the 50 winners who will be selected to read the book and comment on it, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 20th at noon ET.
This week, we review TWO GRAVES, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s latest collaboration. Special Agent Pendergast's wife, Helen, is abducted, but before he can catch the kidnappers, things go tragically wrong. Pendergast retreats back to New York, but then the NYPD calls him in for help on a rash of killings. He soon discovers that the murders are a message from his wife's kidnappers, but what does it mean? Ray Palen has our review and says the book “provides readers exactly what they would expect from a Preston and Child novel --- thrills, high adventure, treacherous plot twists and well-researched scientific intrigue. The story is never predictable, and Pendergast is a multi-layered personality who keeps you guessing throughout.”
We also have a review of INVISIBLE by Carla Buckley, whose debut novel THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE captivated me when I read it in 2010. Her follow-up sounds just as intriguing, as we are introduced to Dana and Julie, who are bonded by sisterhood and separated by a devastating secret. When Dana returns to Black Bear, Minnesota, some people remember her as a troublemaker while others remember her as the one who got away. Dana comes back for her sister's funeral, but stays to help Peyton, her teenaged niece. What she finds in her old hometown will blow open a Pandora's box of tightly-held secrets, and put everyone she loves in jeopardy. Reviewer Norah Piehl calls the book “both suspenseful and ambitious… Buckley does a masterful job of portraying a small community on the verge of crisis and a woman struggling to negotiate her past, her present, and her possible future.”
Once again, we’ve asked our staff and reviewers to share some of their favorite books of the year. I always look forward to reading these lists to see what they’ve selected. Hope you enjoy this feature as well.
We’re also curious to find out what YOU think were the stand-out books of the year. Let us know by answering our Question of the Week, a feature that we have not done in a while. And be sure to take our poll, where we ask how many books you’ve read in 2012. I THINK I read upwards of 200. Next year I need to keep a list, but I think I say that every year.
Our Author Holiday Blog series rolls on, and we’ve been so impressed with the essays that have come in so far. This week, we heard from Paula McLain, the aforementioned Carla Buckley, Roberta Gately, Amanda Cabot and Dan Walsh. This weekend, you can read pieces from Mary Sharratt and Beverly Lewis. Still to come are contributions from Lisa Genova, Eric Van Lustbader, Mark Sullivan, Charles Todd, Cindy Woodsmall, and more. We keep rolling with these pieces through January 1st, so do check back every day. And if you are pressed for time, think about savoring them one day over the holidays. We are enormously grateful to each of the authors who shared a story with us. We consider them a gift to us --- and you.
Our Holiday Cheer contests ended this week. Congratulations to all our winners! Even if you didn’t win any of our 11 contests, we still encourage you to take a look at the feature and see what books you want to add to YOUR shopping list or wish list. And don’t forget to check out our What to Give, What to Get Guide with even more suggestions for everyone on your holiday list. Our selections cover a wide variety of genres, including thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, romances, memoirs and biographies.
Let us know what you’re reading, and you’ll automatically be entered in our Word of Mouth contest for a chance to win these three books: THE BLOOD GOSPEL: The Order of the Sanguines Series by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell, THE BUGHOUSE AFFAIR: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, and THE HUSBAND LIST by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. See a pattern here? Yes, you guessed it! Each of these prize books were written by a pair of authors.
For all you “Downton Abbey” fans (and we know there are MANY of you), have we got a bookshelf for you! We’ve pulled together an assortment of 20 items related to the PBS series, including DVD sets of all three seasons (the third season has already aired in the UK, and the DVD will be available soon here), soundtracks of the show’s original music, and a number of books about the real-life people and places that inspired one of Masterpiece Classic’s most critically acclaimed features. Perusing this bookshelf is a perfect way to get ready for the highly anticipated third season, which kicks off on January 6th here in the US. I had the pleasure of watching “Downton Abbey Revisited” when it recently aired on our local PBS station. Angela Lansbury narrated it, and it was a great recap and a look ahead. Check your local listings to see if it will be airing in your area.
Heads up for those of you with teenagers! Let them know about the opportunity to nominate winners for the Children’s Book Council’s Teen Choice Book of the Year. Right now on Teenreads.com, we are asking teens to list their favorite books of 2012. All their responses will be compiled, and the five most popular books will be entered into a second round of voting for a finalist. They have until Thursday, January 31st to vote.
And we would like to remind you that the Teenreads.com 2012 YA Readers Survey will be up until Tuesday, January 1st. We’d love you to share this with teens who you know as we are very interested in what they are thinking about YA books today. With the holiday coming up, we hope that they will have more time to participate! It will take about 25 minutes to finish the survey, but those who do complete it are entered to win one of 450(!) young adult titles that we will be giving away when the survey closes, with thanks to our publisher friends who contributed them.
We added our 10,000th fan on Facebook today, which made me smile. It was Heather Adams. Alina in our office has been working to keep our Facebook page and Twitter feed full of great information for you, including notes about contests, daily blog posts and other information you might want to check out between newsletters. If you have not “Liked” us yet, may I suggest that you do that now?
On Wednesday night, I enjoyed watching “121212: The Concert for Sandy Relief,” which benefitted victims of the storm --- and the lineup drew me to donate, which is what it was supposed to do. While seeing the big rocker bands like The Stones (still pondering whether to watch their concert Saturday night on Pay-Per-View) and The Who --- and Springsteen and Bon Jovi and Billy Joel and Paul McCartney --- was fun, the highlights for me were Eric Clapton and Chris Martin’s (of Coldplay fame) acoustic sets. I think maybe the cause drew me to think simple instead of big. Also, I love when artists reinterpret their work in a new way. When Alicia Keys was on stage for her set, I was wishing that she would play “Empire State of Mind.” I clicked off about 1AM…and learned later from Eric in our office that she closed the show with that. And, of course, my DVR had stopped whirring by then as the show had gone way over time. I found a clip online, but would have loved to see it live. By the way, here’s a link to donate in case you would like to as well.
Thanks to those who sent birthday wishes my way last week…I really appreciated them. I had a great three days of celebrating.
As we were readying our update, the horrific news about the Newtown shooting in Connecticut was coming in, something I cannot even comprehend. No matter that my boys are 17 and 22; they will be getting extra hugs tonight. May I suggest you hug your loved ones a bit tighter as well?
This is our last newsletter until 2013. We’re taking our holiday hiatus until January 4th. This will give the staff a chance to go home for the holidays and just have some downtime to kick it back a notch and get some personal reading done, along with time away from the computer screen. We are headed to the Outer Banks next weekend until the New Year for our annual holiday getaway. I have been pulling together a pile of winter/spring titles that I cannot wait to get to. As we are driving down instead of flying, I am amassing my usual piles of books and knitting projects to bring along...the piles will be edited in the next week, though I am kidding myself if I think that they will be honed down. If anything, MORE selections will be made of things I MUST read or MUST knit. I am sure you all can relate to this feeling about books.
Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa. No matter what you celebrate, I hope that you enjoy it! And here’s to 2013…though I am trying to figure out how optimistic I can be about a year with the number 13 in it! We’ll see you next year. ’Til then, I think we have left you with lots to keep you busy!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
PS. When you use the following links to purchase books, you also support Bookreporter.com as we have affiliate arrangements with each of them. Please consider this when shopping for books online!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound |
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Bookreporter.com's Favorite Books of 2012: Staff and Reviewer Picks |
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Bookreporter.com Staff Picks
Before ringing in the new year, we at The Book Report Network reflect on some of our favorite books published for the first time in 2012. Though it was difficult to narrow down, each staff member chose up to five books that he or she enjoyed the most this year. Take a look and see if any of our selections match yours --- and which titles you may want to consider reading in the future.
-Click here to see our 2012 staff picks.
Bookreporter.com Reviewer Picks
Recently we asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2012. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published this year. Take a moment to read these varied lists of titles and see if you agree with their selections! Please note that due to personal and professional commitments, some reviewers were not able to participate in this feature.
-Click here to see our 2012 reviewer picks.
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New Featured Suspense/Thriller Author: Gregg Olsen, Author of FEAR COLLECTOR |
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We have 25 copies of FEAR COLLECTOR by Gregg Olsen, which will be in stores December 24th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, January 3rd at noon ET.
FEAR COLLECTOR by Gregg Olsen (Thriller)
Ted Bundy. America’s most notorious serial killer. For two women, he is the ultimate obsession. One is a cop whose sister may have been one of Bundy’s victims. The other is a deranged groupie who corresponded with Bundy in prison --- and raised her son to finish what Bundy started. To charm and seduce innocent girls. To kidnap and brutalize more women than any serial killer in history. And to lure one obsessed cop into a trap as sick and demented as Bundy himself…
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read Gregg Olsen’s bio.
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Click here to read more in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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Special Contest: Enter to Win a Copy of THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray |
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We're giving 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Libba Bray's latest novel, THE DIVINERS, the story of a small-town girl who moves to the big city and gets wrapped up in an occult mystery. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, January 3rd at noon ET.
THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray (Historical Fantasy)
Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City --- and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult --- also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer --- if he doesn't catch her first.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read Libba Bray’s bio.
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Click here to read all the contest details. |
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Bookreporter.com Bets On: MARGARET FROM MAINE by Joseph Monninger --- In Stores December 24th |
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MARGARET FROM MAINE by Joseph Monninger (Romance)
MARGARET FROM MAINE by Joseph Monninger has at its heart a young mother who is raising her young son as her husband, who was gravely injured in war, lies in a coma at a local veterans hospital. Margaret visits her husband regularly where life is at a standstill and then goes back to their dairy farm to keep that going with her father-in-law. Her life is sedate, measured and full of responsibility. As she heads to Washington, D.C. for a ceremony honoring wounded soldiers, she is escorted by Charlie King. In Charlie she finds a new love, but is torn between these feelings and her commitment to her marriage vows. It’s both a wonderful love story and an impassioned look at the toll of war, the world of soldiers, and those who love them.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to see all the books we're betting you'll love.
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Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book. |
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Featured One to Watch Author: Rosie Thomas, Author of THE KASHMIR SHAWL |
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We have 50 copies of THE KASHMIR SHAWL by Rosie Thomas, which will be in stores January 10th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, December 20th at noon ET.
THE KASHMIR SHAWL by Rosie Thomas (Fiction)
It is the eve of 1941 and World War II is engulfing the globe. Newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Britain to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to India, but when he leaves her in the exotic lakeside city of Srinagar to take on a complicated mission elsewhere, she discovers a new world. Here, in the heart of Kashmir, the British dance, flirt and gossip against the backdrop of war, and Nerys soon becomes caught up in a dangerous liaison. By the time she is reunited with her husband, she is a very different woman.
Years later, Nerys’s granddaughter, Mair Ellis, clears out her dead father’s house and finds an exquisite shawl --- a kaleidoscope of silvery blues and greens. Wrapped in the folds of this delicate object is a lock of a child’s curly hair. With nothing else to go on, Mair decides to trace her grandparents’ roots back to Kashmir, embarking on a quest that will change her own life forever.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to watch the book trailer.
-Click here to read Rosie Thomas’s bio.
-Click here to visit Rosie Thomas’s official website.
-Click here to connect with Rosie Thomas on Facebook.
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Click here to read more in our One to Watch Author Spotlight and enter the contest. |
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In Theaters December 21st: Jack Reacher |
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On December 21st, the much-anticipated Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise makes its debut in theaters. The movie is based on ONE SHOT, the 2005 thriller that was the ninth installment in Lee Child’s popular series.
When a gunman takes five lives in what seems like an open and shut murder case, all evidence points to the suspect in custody. On interrogation, the suspect offers up a single note: "Get Jack Reacher!" So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence, a secret to keep and a target on Reacher's back.
-Click here to visit the official movie site.
-Click here to see a Q&A with Tom Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie and Lee Child about the making of the film.
-Click here to read a review of ONE SHOT.
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Click here to read more about the film in December’s Books on Screen feature. |
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Bookreporter.com’s “Downton Abbey” Bookshelf |
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The BBC’s period drama “Downton Abbey” has quickly become one of the most popular series on television, even outside of the UK. Can’t get enough of the Crawleys? Thirsty for more early 20th-century love, loss, blackmail and betrayal? We’ve put together a bookshelf consisting of everything “Downton,” including DVD sets of all three seasons, soundtracks of the show’s original music, and a number of books about the real life people and places that inspired one of Masterpiece Classic’s most critically acclaimed features.
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Click here to see our “Downton Abbey” bookshelf. |
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Bookreporter.com's Holiday Cheer Feature and “What to Give, What to Get” Gift Guide |
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Holiday Cheer Feature
Our Holiday Cheer contests have ended. Congratulations to all our winners! Even if you didn’t win any of our 11 contests, we still encourage you to take a look at the feature and see what books you want to add to YOUR shopping list or wish list.
This year’s featured titles are:
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AFRAID TO DIE: A Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli Novel by Lisa Jackson
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ANGELS AT THE TABLE: A Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy Christmas Story by Debbie Macomber
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BEACH SEASON by Lisa Jackson, Cathy Lamb, Holly Chamberlin and Rosalind Noonan
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BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE: Life in Icicle Falls by Sheila Roberts
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CAPTURING CAMELOT: Stanley Tretick's Iconic Images of the Kennedys by Kitty Kelley
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THE CHRISTMAS PLAINS by Joseph Bottum
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THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY: A New Era by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis
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HOW I CAME TO SPARKLE AGAIN by Kaya McLaren
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MERRY EX-MAS: Life in Icicle Falls by Sheila Roberts
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THE PARIS WIFE by Paula McLain
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SWEET TOOTH by Ian McEwan
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TO HEAVEN AND BACK: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story by Mary C. Neal, M.D.
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UNSPOKEN by Lisa Jackson
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YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW by Lisa Jackson
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ZOOBORNS: The Next Generation: Newer, Cuter, More Exotic Animals from the World's Zoos and Aquariums by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland
-Click here to read more about this year's featured Holiday Cheer titles.
“What to Give, What to Get” Gift Guide
Bookreporter.com knows that readers crave ideas for gift-giving --- and getting --- at the holidays. With this in mind, we're offering a "What to Give, What to Get" Guide with suggestions for everyone on your holiday list! Our selections cover a wide variety of genres, including thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, romances, memoirs and biographies. And while you're looking for gifts for others, may we suggest you jot down notes for books YOU want?
This year’s featured titles include:
-Click here to see this year’s "What to Give, What to Get" Holiday Gift Guide.
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Paperback Spotlight: CITY OF DARK MAGIC by Magnus Flyte |
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CITY OF DARK MAGIC by Magnus Flyte (Urban Fantasy/Thriller)
Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood.
Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to see the book trailer.
-Click here to read Magnus Flyte's bio.
-Click here to visit Magnus Flyte's official website.
-Connect with Magnus Flyte on Facebook and Twitter.
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Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight. |
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This Week’s Reviews |
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TWO GRAVES by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Thriller)
For 12 years, he believed she died in an accident. Then, he was told she’d been murdered. Now, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast discovers that his beloved wife Helen is alive. But their reunion is cut short when Helen is brazenly abducted before his eyes. Pendergast is forced to embark on a furious cross-country chase to rescue --- but what he finds is the origin of a nefarious international plot that he is unwittingly at the heart of. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
INVISIBLE by Carla Buckley (Psychological Suspense)
Dana and Julie were bonded by sisterhood and separated by a devastating secret. When Dana returns to Black Bear, Minnesota, some people remember her as a troublemaker while others remember her as the one who got away. Dana comes back for her sister's funeral, but stays to help Peyton, her teenaged niece. What she finds in her old hometown will blow open a Pandora's box of tightly-held secrets, and put everyone she loves in jeopardy. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
A POSSIBLE LIFE: A Novel in Five Parts by Sebastian Faulks (Fiction)
Throughout the five stories that make up A POSSIBLE LIFE, characters risk their bodies, hearts and minds in pursuit of the manna of human connection. Between soldier and lover, parent and child, servant and master, and artist and muse, important pleasures and pains are born of love, separations and missed opportunities. These interactions --- whether successful or not --- also affect the long trajectories of characters' lives. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
MARMEE & LOUISA: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother by Eve LaPlante (Biography)
Since its release nearly 150 years ago, Louisa May Alcott’s classic LITTLE WOMEN has been a mainstay in American literature, while passionate Jo March and her calm, beloved “Marmee” have shaped generations of young women. In this riveting dual biography, Eve LaPlante draws on unknown and unexplored letters and journals to show that Louisa’s “Marmee,” Abigail May Alcott, was the intellectual and emotional center of her daughter’s world. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.
CROSS ROADS by Wm. Paul Young (Fiction)
Anthony Spencer is egotistical, proud of being a self-made business success at the peak of his game. But when a cerebral hemorrhage leaves Tony comatose in a hospital ICU, he "awakens" to find himself in a surreal world. It is here that he has vivid interactions with others he assumes are projections of his own subconscious, but whose directions he follows nonetheless with the possibility that they might lead to authenticity and, perhaps, redemption. Reviewed by Marcia Ford.
SHADOW CREEK by Joy Fielding (Psychological Thriller)
A group of unlikely traveling companions --- a woman, her two oddball friends, her teenage daughter, and her estranged husband's fiancée --- find themselves on a camping trip in the Adirondacks at the same time that a pair of teenage killers is terrorizing the area. When an elderly couple is found slaughtered and her daughter goes missing, Valerie finds herself in a nightmare much worse than anything she could have anticipated. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE TRIAL OF FALLEN ANGELS by James Kimmel, Jr. (Mystery)
Everything that Brek Cuttler has ever known disappears when she finds herself standing on a deserted train platform, covered in blood. A man from her past explains that she has been chosen to join the elite team of lawyers charged with prosecuting and defending souls at the Final Judgment. As Brek struggles to find her way back to her husband and daughter, she will discover that her first client holds the shocking secret of her fate. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
RAISED FROM THE GROUND by Jose Saramago (Fiction)
José Saramago’s novel RAISED FROM THE GROUND was published in Portugal in 1980 and has only now been translated into English by the marvelous Margaret Jull Costa. The book is a portrait of 20th-century Portugal as viewed through generations of the Mau-Tempo family, poor laborers who work on a latifundio (large estate) in the Iberian countryside. Communism, atheism, wry humor, and dogs --- the Saramago staples are all here in this early work. Reviewed by Michael Magras.
THE BOY KINGS OF TEXAS: A Memoir by Domingo Martinez (Memoir)
Domingo Martinez lays bare his interior and exterior worlds as he struggles to make sense of the violent and the ugly, along with the beautiful and the loving, in a Texas border town in the 1980s. Partly a reflection on the culture of machismo and partly an exploration of the author’s boyhood spent in his sister’s hand-me-down clothes, this book delves into the enduring, complex bond between Martinez and his deeply flawed but fiercely protective older brother, Daniel. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO THIRST: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt (Mystery)
It is only the beginning of May, but to Norwegians, the unseasonable heat already feels tropical when criminal investigating officer Hanne Wilhelmsen is sent to a macabre crime scene on the outskirts of Oslo: an abandoned shed that is covered in blood. On one wall is an eight-digit number written in blood, and there is no sign of a victim. Is it just a kid’s prank, or foul play? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE CLEANER by Paul Cleave (Thriller)
Joe is in control of everything in his simple life --- both his day job as a janitor for the police department and his “night work.” He isn’t bothered by the daily news reports of the Christchurch Carver, who has murdered seven women. Joe knows, though, that the Carver killed only six. He knows that for a fact, and he’s determined to find the copycat. He’ll punish him for the one, then frame him for the other six. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE DARK WINTER by David Mark (Mystery)
A series of suspicious deaths has rocked Hull, a port city in England. Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is sure there is a connection between these crimes, but his fellow officers would rather get a quick arrest than find the true killer. So McAvoy decides to strike out alone --- but in the depths of the dark winter, on the hunt for a murderer, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
MUNSTER’S CASE: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery by Hakan Nesser (Mystery)
Waldemar Leverkuhn and three of his friends have just won the lottery and are toasting their good luck with a blowout at their favorite bar. The celebration ends, however, with Waldemar drunk, stumbling, belligerent, and eventually dead in his own bed. Taking charge of the case that ends up having shocking twists and turns is Intendent Münster, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren’s longtime right-hand man, and his beguiling colleague, Ewa Moreno. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
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Contests Running on Other Sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com |
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We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!
ReadingGroupGuides.com
ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART by Jane Green
We currently are offering a very special opportunity to our readers. 250 book clubs have the chance to win a copy of ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART by Jane Green --- which releases in paperback on February 12th --- for each member of their group (up to 20), provided that they agree to discuss the book at their February or March meeting; email friends and tell them about the book; and post comments or feedback about the book and/or their discussion on Jane Green’s Facebook page, their personal Facebook pages, Twitter accounts or blogs. The deadline for entries is Monday, January 7th at noon ET.
Teenreads.com
Word of Mouth
Send us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. This contest period, one teen reader will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken and FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, January 2nd at noon ET.
FaithfulReader.com
CROSS ROADS by Wm. Paul Young
We are celebrating the release of CROSS ROADS by Wm. Paul Young (author of the mega-bestseller THE SHACK) with a special contest that will give 100 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Monday, January 14th at noon ET.
THE MATCHMAKERS OF BUTTERNUT CREEK by Jane Myers Perrine
We are celebrating the release of THE MATCHMAKERS OF BUTTERNUT CREEK by Jane Myers Perrine with a special contest that will give 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Thursday, January 3rd at noon ET.
FaithfulReader.com’s Monthly Contest
In our latest monthly contest, five readers will receive a copy of VANISHED, the first installment in Irene Hannon’s romantic suspense series, Private Justice. The deadline for entries is Monday, January 14th at noon ET.
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This Week’s Poll, Question, and Word of Mouth Contest |
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Poll:
How many books did you read in 2012?
1-25
26-50
51-75
76-100
101-125
126-150
More than 150
None
I’m not sure.
-Click here to answer our poll.
Question:
What book that released for the first time in 2012 do you think was “The Book of the Year”? Since we know you may have trouble selecting just one, you can name up to three.
-Click here to answer our question.
Word of Mouth:
Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from December 14th to January 4th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE BLOOD GOSPEL: The Order of the Sanguines Series by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell, THE BUGHOUSE AFFAIR: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, and THE HUSBAND LIST by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
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As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online or change your preferences below.
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