May 16, 2014

Cory came home from school on Tuesday. By that night, both Son 2A and Son 2B, his best pals from town here, were at the house. Sleepovers, videogames in the man cave, and late-night trips to Sonic were back on the agenda. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, the guest list layered in Dennis, a friend from college, and Tom joked that he and Cory’s other college friend, Skyler, are Son 2C and Son 2D. It's fun having him back, though we have not had much time to talk yet. After all, being the host is a lot of work for a guy! I will say that that was one fast school year. By the way, Cory’s move out from the dorm took about 30 minutes, including getting the fridge from his room to the car. He is a very efficient packer --- his engineering major is coming into play there. Also, he had all the laundry lined up to hit the laundry room here; such a smart boy I raised.

This was a busy week for me with lots of events. At Hachette’s preview lunch for librarians on Wednesday (which they graciously invited me to), the agenda opened with a talk by Meryl Gordon, the author of THE PHANTOM OF FIFTH AVENUE: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark, which will be in stores on May 27th. Clark was also the subject of the New York Times bestseller EMPTY MANSIONS by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr., which came out last September. My husband read EMPTY MANSIONS over the holidays and shared anecdotes from it throughout the week. I furiously took notes from Meryl’s talk on the back of my program. As she was writing her book, the battle for Clark’s estate was going on; it was settled after EMPTY MANSIONS was published, thus she has lots of new information in her book. In what she calls a “biographer’s dream,” she was given access to 75 boxes of documents, including Huguette’s diary. The recluse also saved every piece of scrap paper on which she had jotted notes, and for three glorious days, Meryl had access to these materials. I shared the copy of THE PHANTOM OF FIFTH AVENUE with Tom when I got home, though for a moment I thought of holding it back until Father’s Day. I hope he reads quickly as I am looking forward to reading it as well!

On Wednesday night, Shara Zaval, our Editorial Manager for Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com, and I attended the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala, which is a benefit for Every Child a Reader (ECAR), of which I sit on the Board. ECAR is a 501(c)(3) literacy nonprofit dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children, and is the Children’s Book Council’s charity of choice. ECAR’s national programs --- including Children’s Book Week (which is this week), the Children’s Choice Book Awards, and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Program --- strive to make the reading and enjoyment of children’s books an essential part of America’s educational and social aims and to enhance public perception of the importance of reading.

This event was a wonderful way to celebrate children’s books. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when children read from the nominated books, reminding us once again what this event is all about. You can see a list of the winners here and a photo of the stage above, where all the winners were announced. We had events in all 50 states this year, which was a huge milestone for the organization. Tomorrow, as part of Children’s Book Week, Indie bookstores across the country will be having the Indies First National Storytime Day, so visit this website to see if any authors are reading aloud at a bookstore near you!

Out this week is WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart, which I had the pleasure of reading in manuscript last October. This is a YA novel that I see has tremendous crossover appeal to both adults and twentysomethings. We will have our review next week, and I will be selecting it as a Bookreporter.com Bets On book. Here’s what I had to say about it in a blurb last fall: “Perception often is not reality --- and it certainly is not in WE WERE LIARS. This is a look at what 'a perfect world' looks like on the inside and how it unravels once one of the players sees it for what it is. Pitch perfect in both plotting and character development."

We are working on our Summer Reading feature with dedicated newsletters and contests, where once again throughout the summer we will be offering readers a chance to win books for summer reading. We will be announcing the featured titles next week, and we certainly have a fabulous lineup. As with our other contests like this, you will only receive these Summer Reading emails if you have opted in to receive them. If you already signed up last year, you will receive them again. Want to get added to this list? Then sign up here. If you have issues with signing up, please write our new Advertising/Promotion Assistant, John Maher, at [email protected], and he will get you set up!

Also launching next week is our Father’s Day feature, where we will have dad-friendly book suggestions, as well as a contest, just as we did for mom!

I have been listening to THE COLLECTOR by Nora Roberts, and I was trying to figure out if the narrator was the same one who was on SHOTGUN LOVESONGS. Alas it is not, reminding me that I have a lot to learn about this world as I expand my enjoyment of audiobook listening. We are contemplating adding more coverage of audiobooks in the months ahead. We would love to hear from you about what you would be interested in learning more about. Shoot me a note at [email protected] with the subject line “Audiobook Ideas.”

In sports-related book news (words that rarely are seen together), Harlan Coben threw out the first pitch at the NY Yankees/Mets Subway Series on Tuesday night. In our house, we are ardent Yankee fans so it was fun seeing Harlan in pinstripes. On Facebook, he had this to say about the pitch: “it painted the outside corner for a generously called strike.” Also, with the Rangers headed into the next round of the hockey playoffs, I was reminded of a story that Lorenzo Carcaterra told a group of journalists about interviewing people at hockey games. He said the noise is so loud there that he gets some good intel since folks know that if you were wearing a wire, you could not get anything good based on the noise. Now THAT is something I never thought about. Ah, writers and their sources. And now we move from the sports desk back to books.

THE SKIN COLLECTOR, Jeffery Deaver’s new Lincoln Rhyme thriller, is now in stores. In this latest installment, the nation's most renowned investigator and forensic detective must untangle a twisted web of clues before a killer targets more victims --- or Rhyme himself. When a connection is made to the Bone Collector --- the serial killer who terrorized New York more than a decade ago --- Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, along with the NYPD, must race against time to answer the many questions the investigation uncovers. Joe Hartlaub has our review and says, “In addition to its multiple corkscrew twists and turns, THE SKIN COLLECTOR puts Deaver’s extensive and exhaustive research on display. There is a great deal of information provided about the history and the nuts and bolts (literally) of skin art, presented in such a manner that even those who possess absolutely no interest in the topic will be intrigued.”

Jo Nesbø, author of the internationally bestselling Harry Hole series, returns with a stand-alone novel, THE SON, set inside Oslo’s maze of high-level corruption. Sonny Lofthus has been in prison for nearly half his life. The inmates who seek out his uncanny abilities to soothe leave his cell feeling absolved. They don’t know or care that Sonny has a serious heroin habit --- or where or how he gets his uninterrupted supply of the drug. Or that he’s serving time for other peoples’ crimes. According to Joe Hartlaub, “THE SON doesn’t just contain elements of such timeless classics as A TALE OF TWO CITIES and LES MISERABLES; it is, dare I say, worthy of standing with those books. Nesbø has the ability to tell a dark story in a voice that is unflinching yet roughly poetic, resulting in works that transcend any genre to which one might be inclined to assign them.”

Craig Johnson is back with another Walt Longmire mystery. In ANY OTHER NAME, Detective Gerald Holman is dead, and Lucian Connally wants to know what drove him to take his own life. With the clock ticking on the birth of his first grandchild, Sheriff Walt Longmire learns that the by-the-book detective might have suppressed evidence concerning three missing women. Digging deeper, Walt uncovers an incriminating secret so dark that it threatens to claim other lives even before justice can be served. Joe Hartlaub has this to say in his review: "ANY OTHER NAME is a contemporary western of the best kind, featuring a quietly upright and stand-up protagonist with a strong supporting cast and an interesting mystery ultimately solved by old-fashioned police work." The book’s publication coincides perfectly with the third season of “Longmire,” which premieres Monday, June 2nd on A&E.

This week, we have FOUR interviews to share with you. First up is Camilla Läckberg, whose latest novel, THE HIDDEN CHILD, we’ve been featuring in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight. Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother’s possessions. To uncover her family's past, Erica must read her mother’s wartime diaries. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? In his review, Joe Hartlaub (who, as you can clearly see, has had quite the busy week for us!) says, “THE HIDDEN CHILD is a complex work that shifts back and forth in time across the decades between World War II and the present, and across the points of view of multiple characters. Läckberg, though, never lets readers lose track of the story’s intriguing, compelling thread, pacing the proceedings perfectly from first page to last.” Click here to read Joe’s interview with Camilla. Next week, I will share why I am making this a Bets On selection.

Our very first Nonfiction Author Spotlight feature is wrapping up with our review of ENDURING COURAGE: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed and our interview with John F. Ross. Here, the author tells the electrifying story of Eddie Rickenbacker, an innovator on the racetrack, a skilled aerial dualist and squadron commander, and founder of Eastern Air Lines. He showed a war-weary nation what it took to survive against nearly insurmountable odds when he and seven others endured a harrowing three-week ordeal adrift without food or water in the Pacific during World War II. My son, Greg, was completely riveted by the book, and the proof is in his review: “ENDURING COURAGE is a biography but reads more like a well-plotted novel. Rickenbacker’s exploits are larger than life, and the breadth of his life experiences are hard to grasp. Yet Ross has made them manageable and conveyed the true magnitude of his life expertly.” Greg was thrilled to have the chance to interview John, and you can read their discussion here. We’ve heard from many of you that you have been enjoying our increased editorial coverage of nonfiction. It’s been an exciting new direction for us.

Our next interview is with Lauren Francis-Sharma, whose debut novel, ’TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY, we featured in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight and reviewed three weeks ago; I then made it a Bets On selection the following week. The book tells the twinned stories of a spirited woman’s love for one man, her bottomless devotion to her children, and the family secret she must keep to protect them all. Our reviewer, Jana Siciliano, loved the book just as much as I did, thus she was excited to have a chance to interview Lauren about her first foray into fiction, including her real-life inspiration for the story.

Finally, we’ve posted our interview with Francesco Durante and Robert Viscusi, the editors of ITALOAMERICANA: The Literature of the Great Migration, 1880-1943. Francesco curated and edited this definitive collection of classic writings on, about and from the formative years of the Italian-American experience; Robert edited the American edition, which is now available in the US. Among the many fascinating topics explored in the interview, Francesco and Robert talk about some of the research that was necessary for such a massive undertaking. Click here for the interview and here to learn much more about this one-of-a-kind book.

Tom Donadio, our Editorial Director, attended a dinner last week to celebrate the publication of ITALOAMERICANA. He had the pleasure of meeting both Francesco and Robert, who were so grateful for the support they received from all in attendance. In addition to mingling with the guests, they read portions of the book to everyone (Francesco read in Italian first, then Robert translated into English). At one point, Francesco sang some of the passages, which only added to the already happy and festive atmosphere. I so wish I could’ve been there, but I had a previous commitment that night that prevented me from going. Our reviewer Jennifer Romanello, who is working on the publicity for the book, was kind enough to send me a copy. I can’t wait to dig into it and then pass it along to my mom, who I know will LOVE every page of it.

Two of our reviews this week were provided to us by Jesse Kornbluth, who founded Bookreporter.com with me and went on to create and run HeadButler.com. They are MY LADY OF THE BOG by Peter Hayes, which follows an anthropologist as he seeks to unravel the ultimate "cold case," and WHY HIRE JENNIFER? by Richard W. Lewis, a modern manual perfect for recent college graduates that arms job seekers to find their first “real” job and every job thereafter. I love having Jesse’s writing on the site; it takes me back to those early days of Bookreporter.com. And Richard harkens me back to my Condé Nast days when he was the genius behind the Absolut ad campaigns, and the creative team at Mademoiselle developed one that they actually used!

There's one more week left to enter for your chance to win a copy of SAVE THE DATE, Mary Kay Andrews's latest novel that releases on June 3rd, and share your comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, May 22nd at noon ET, and be sure to read more about the book in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight.

As promised, I’m pleased to share THREE of my latest Bookreporter.com Bets On selections with you. Click on the titles to see my commentary on ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr, THE BLESSINGS by Elise Juska and THE PEARL THAT BROKE ITS SHELL by Nadia Hashimi.

Our History Books feature has been updated for May. Among this month’s titles chosen by Greg are the aforementioned ENDURING COURAGE and THE PHANTOM OF FIFTH AVENUE, along with THE LION’S GATE: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War by Steven Pressfield (which we’re reviewing this week), JAMES MADISON: A Life Reconsidered by Lynne Cheney, and SUPREME CITY: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America by Donald L. Miller.

Don’t forget to vote in our latest poll, where we’re asking you which books releasing in May are you planning to read (if any). Click here to see our choices and let us know! We love seeing what is of interest to you!

Also, be sure to enter our Word of Mouth contest for a chance to win FOUR books: DELICIOUS! by Ruth Reichl and MILLION DOLLAR ARM by J. B. Bernstein, on which the movie starring Jon Hamm (now in theaters) is based, along with the aforementioned ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE and THE SKIN COLLECTOR. To enter, please let us know by Friday, May 23rd at noon ET what books you’ve read.

Besides moderating the Book Group Speed Dating Session at BookExpo America, also known as BEA (note that registration is open until May 22nd), I am moderating the Author Buzz Panel where I will interview seven authors whose books have been selected as Buzz titles at BEA. This weekend, I will be doing some intense reading for this, and I am so looking forward to the session. We will have a list of these books for you in the weeks to come; all are fall and winter titles, so you can mark your “to be read” files for them.

My niece is graduating from the University of Pennsylvania this weekend, which means lots of family festivities are on the agenda. In between, there will be gardening as the yard has sprouted lots of green these last few weeks, as well as lots of weeds. If only dandelions were beloved flowers! Why did I think that the cold would have meant death to the weeds? They instead seem to have propagated. Layer in a dinner with our good friend, Dez, and it’s going to be one full weekend. Read on, and here’s to a great week ahead!

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

Camilla Läckberg is a #1 bestselling author in Sweden, as well as the #1 bestselling female author in Europe last year. Her latest novel is THE HIDDEN CHILD, the fifth installment in her Fjällbacka series, featuring the husband and wife team of Detective Patrik Hedström and crime writer Erica Falck. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Läckberg discusses the powerful image that inspired THE HIDDEN CHILD: a gravestone marked "Tyskungen" (“The German Child”). She also talks about writing the endings of her books first, her method for keeping track of all the complicated storylines in her novels, and how she finds time to continue writing international bestsellers while balancing countless personal and professional obligations.

THE HIDDEN CHILD by Camilla Läckberg (Psychological Thriller)
Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother’s possessions. To uncover her family's past, Erica must read her mother’s wartime diaries. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? The dark past is coming to light, and no one will escape the truth of how they came to be. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read Camilla Läckberg's bio.
-Click here to visit Camilla Läckberg's official website.
-Connect with Camilla Läckberg on Facebook and Twitter.
-Click here to see the 35 winners selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight.

ENDURING COURAGE: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed by John F. Ross (Biography/History)
ENDURING COURAGE is the electrifying story of the beginning of America’s love affair with speed --- and how one man above all the rest showed a nation the way forward. Eddie Rickenbacker was an innovator on the racetrack, a skilled aerial dualist and squadron commander, and founder of Eastern Air Lines. He showed a war-weary nation what it took to survive against nearly insurmountable odds when he and seven others endured a harrowing three-week ordeal adrift without food or water in the Pacific during World War II. Reviewed by Greg Fitzgerald.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to read John F. Ross's bio.
-Click here to see the 25 readers selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Nonfiction Author Spotlight.

Lauren Francis-Sharma, a child of Trinidadian immigrants, was born in New York City and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Her debut novel, 'TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY, tells the twinned stories of a spirited woman’s love for one man, her bottomless devotion to her children, and the family secret she must keep to protect them all. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Jana Siciliano, Francis-Sharma talks about the real-life inspiration for the story: her grandmother, and the regret she felt for not seizing the opportunity to get to know her grandmother’s history better. She also shares her sunny life philosophy, which is rooted in Trinidadian culture, what she learned from being a lawyer at a high-profile firm, and a little hint at what she’s working on next.

'TIL THE WELL RUNS DRY by Lauren Francis-Sharma (Historical Fiction)
Young Marcia Garcia, a gifted and smart-mouthed 16-year-old seamstress, lives alone, raising two small boys and guarding a family secret. When she meets Farouk Karam, an ambitious young policeman, the risks and rewards in Marcia’s life amplify forever. The novel follows Marcia and Farouk from their amusing and passionate courtship through personal and historical events that threaten Marcia’s secret, entangle the couple and their children in a scandal, and endanger the future for all of them. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to see why we're betting you'll love this book.
-Click here to read Lauren Francis-Sharma's bio.
-Click here to visit Lauren Francis-Sharma's official website.
-Connect with Lauren Francis-Sharma on Facebook and Twitter.
-Click here to see the 25 winners selected to read and comment on the book.
-Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight.

THE LION'S GATE: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War by Steven Pressfield (History)
Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with veterans of the war --- fighter and helicopter pilots, tank commanders and Recon soldiers, paratroopers, as well as women soldiers, wives and others --- Steven Pressfield tells the story of the Six Day War as you’ve never experienced it before: in the voices of the young men and women who battled not only for their lives but for the survival of a Jewish state, and for the dreams of their ancestors. Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds.

THE KRAKEN PROJECT by Douglas Preston (Thriller)
NASA is building a probe to be splashed down in the Kraken Mare, the largest sea on Saturn’s great moon, Titan. It is one of the most promising habitats for extraterrestrial life in the solar system, but the surface is unpredictable and dangerous, requiring the probe to contain artificial intelligence software. To this end, Melissa Shepherd, a brilliant programmer, has developed "Dorothy," a powerful, self-modifying AI whose true potential is both revolutionary and terrifying. When miscalculations lead to a catastrophe during testing, Dorothy flees into the Internet. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

-Click here to read an excerpt.

THE KEEPER by John Lescroart (Thriller)
Hal Chase drives to the airport to pick up his stepbrother for the weekend. When they return, Hal’s wife, Katie, has disappeared without a clue. Hal becomes the prime suspect in her presumed murder, and the lawyer he wants for his defense is none other than Hardy himself. Hardy calls on his friend, former homicide detective Abe Glitsky, to look into the case. Glitsky’s mission is to identify other possible suspects, and there proves to be no shortage of them. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

JACK OF SPIES by David Downing (Historical Thriller/Espionage)
Jack McColl has always hoped to make a job for himself as a spy. As his sales calls take him from city to great city, he moonlights collecting intelligence for His Majesty's Navy. With a geopolitical catastrophe brewing, he soon realizes what his aspirations may cost him. Meanwhile, an American suffragette journalist has wiled her way deep into his affections, and it’s not long before he realizes that her family might be embroiled in the Irish Republican movement his bosses are fighting against. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

MICHAEL JORDAN: The Life by Roland Lazenby (Sports/Biography)
When most people think of Michael Jordan, they think of the beautiful shots, his body totally in sync with the ball, hitting nothing but net. But for all his greatness, there's also a dark side to Jordan: a ruthless competitor, a gambler. Drawing on personal relationships with Jordan's coaches; countless interviews with friends, teammates, family members, and Jordan himself; and a career in the trenches covering Jordan in college and the pros, Roland Lazenby provides the first truly definitive study of Jordan. Reviewed by Miriam Tuliao.

LIVE TO SEE TOMORROW by Iris Johansen (Romantic Suspense)
Catherine Ling, one of the CIA’s prized operatives, faces a monster whose crimes stretch back 40 years. The job grows even more complicated when Catherine meets Richard Cameron, a supposed ally who’s clearly not telling all he knows. Their attraction is immediate, but Catherine isn't sure he can be trusted. If she’s going to rescue American journalist Erin Sullivan with a story worth killing for, she’ll need to keep Cameron very close. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

INVISIBLE CITY by Julia Dahl (Mystery)
When tabloid reporter Rebekah Roberts is thrust headfirst into the story of a murdered woman who was a member of an Hasidic Jewish community located in Brooklyn, she realizes that it may also present her with an opportunity to learn more about her mother, who gave birth to her and then disappeared weeks later to rejoin the very group that Rebekah is now investigating. Reviewed by Amie Taylor.

SUMMER DAYS by Lisa Jackson, Elizabeth Bass, Mary Carter and Holly Chamberlin (Romance)
Join Lisa Jackson, Elizabeth Bass, Mary Carter and Holly Chamberlin for stories that will get you in the mood for summer --- and romance. It's all about sun-filled days, warm nights, and the sweet expectation that comes with finding --- or rediscovering --- love. Reviewed by Hillary Wagy.

THE LONG SHADOW: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century by David Reynolds (History)
One of the most violent conflicts in the history of civilization, World War I has been strangely forgotten in American culture. It has become a ghostly war fought in a haze of memory, often seen merely as a distant preamble to World War II. In THE LONG SHADOW, historian David Reynolds seeks to broaden our vision by assessing the impact of the Great War across the 20th century. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

WONDERLAND by Stacey D'Erasmo (Fiction)
Rock star Anna Brundage went down as fast as she went up, and then walked off the scene for seven years. Without a record deal or clamoring fans, she sells a piece of her famous father’s art to finance just one more album and a European comeback tour. Anna is now 44. This may be her last chance to cement her place in the life she chose, the life she struggled for, the life she’s not sure she can sustain. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

QUEEN OF THE DARK THINGS by C. Robert Cargill (Fantasy)
Colby Stevens can’t catch a break. Only six months after an epic battle in a magical realm, he’s doing his best to live in a drunken stupor, but the creatures that inhabit the shadows won’t let him be. When a long lost friend reemerges and brings an army with her demanding revenge for something Colby did as a child, he begins making deals --- deals even monsters and magical creatures don’t want to make. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.

DEATH MONEY: A Detective Jack Yu Investigation by Henry Chang (Mystery)
When the body of an unidentified Asian man is found in the Harlem River, NYPD Detective Jack Yu is pulled in to investigate. The murder takes Jack from the benevolent associations of Chinatown to the take-out restaurants, strip clubs and underground gambling establishments of the Bronx, to a wealthy, exclusive New Jersey borough. With the help of an elderly fortune teller and an old friend, the unpredictable Billy Bow, Jack races to solve his most difficult case yet. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

MY LADY OF THE BOG: An Archeo-Forensic Mystery by Peter Hayes (Mystery/Thriller)
MY LADY OF THE BOG follows American anthropologist Xander Donne as he seeks to unravel the ultimate "cold case": that of a beautiful young woman found in an English bog. Donne identifies her as an ancient sacrifice, wondrously preserved by the bog's airless waters, and dead for 700 years! His investigation into her identity and frightful death embroils him in an illicit passion with a gorgeous, enigmatic Deshi princess with, just maybe, a penchant for murder. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth, founder of HeadButler.com.

WHY HIRE JENNIFER?: How to Use Branding and Uncommon Sense to Get Your First Job, Last Job, and Every Job in Between by Richard W. Lewis (Business/Self-Help)
WHY HIRE JENNIFER? is a modern manual that arms job seekers to find their first “real” job and every job thereafter. It's written for college students, grads, twentysomethings, and all the people who know them. Finding your unique positioning or brand, and communicating why its components are useful to the firms is the key to finding a good job. The problem with most college career services is they emphasize the students' similarities as opposed to their differences. It's all backwards. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth, founder of HeadButler.com.