May 30, 2014

I think we need more three-day weekends. I love the extra reading time, and people were so excited going into a long weekend and so relaxed when they came back on Tuesday that it was wonderful to see. Hold that as a concept! The pool is open and warm enough to swim in, thanks to the heater! I have flowers everywhere, and the splashes of color are making me smile. I go from nursery to nursery in our area looking for the right flowers in the right shades. Some shrubs did terribly in the bad winter and need to be replaced. I fear the hydrangeas are not going to flower. We are not alone with this. The weight of the snow and the frequency of it was just too hard for even hearty plants. Dandelions thrived, though. Yowser, we NEVER have had this many of those puffing in the breeze. As the seeds fly, I fear we will have a yellow lawn next spring!

Last weekend, I went to visit one of my favorite yarn shops, Down Cellar, for one last time. They closed their doors on Saturday after a really tough year of business that was a combo of customers who had bought a lot of product on deep sales last year when the store was headed out of business (before someone bought it and rescued it), a terrible winter and high overhead --- a triple whammy. I bought my fair share of full-price yarn over the past year to support the store, but as I was in there the last few weeks, I was amazed at the crowds of people there to buy at discount prices. Hundreds of dollars of orders were being racked up day after day while people lamented the store closing. Another nearby store is closing as well. A third closed a few years ago.

Above, you can see a table that I bought as they were selling the furnishings as well. It’s one of two that I purchased. When I look at them, there will be some nice memories of winding yarn on them in a corner at the front of the store. It also will remind me of the value of shopping where I can touch and feel the merchandise. This is not to say that everything needs to be bought at a physical store; I am a realist. I am a regular customer at TheCompanyStore.com for bedding, and I have other online haunts. But I know the value of bricks and mortar as well. I will miss this store near me where I can feel the yarn, check out the colors and get advice. I have my eye on another shop that has some of the fibers I love, but at this time, it lacks the camaraderie that I had as I raced in the store for a question for Kerie, Carrie, Lynn and Tess.

As you shop, think about what you love about the experience. And make sure you support the places that make you happy. All of them!

We have had a hectic week as this week is all about BookExpo America, also known as BEA! Our staff has been all over the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center combing the aisles and texting each other on what we are seeing. I cannot wait to hear what everyone says when we get together on Monday! Above you can see a photo of the authors who I interviewed during the Author Buzz session on Thursday morning. We will have much more about them in the weeks and months to come.

Also, during the day, I saw Garth Stein speak about his upcoming book, A SUDDEN LIGHT. It's easy to remember the title as I allowed myself to get a temporary tattoo of the title and lovely image on my hand. Note to self: this is a really easy way to keep track of a title. By the way, the tattoo had blues in it that matched my outfit, which was quite lovely and led to lots of conversation!

One sad note. As we headed to the convention on Wednesday, we heard the news of the passing of Maya Angelou. John Maher, one of our new staffers, wrote a thoughtful tribute for us to share with you that you can read here. She is a literary force who will be missed! As I walked the show floor, I heard so many stories about her; everyone seemed to have an Angelou memory to share. She had been honored by the National Book Foundation at the National Book Awards in November. You can watch her acceptance speech here.

Now, without further ado, here's our lineup for this week.

It’s here. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIR by Joël Dicker, which we’ve talked about many times here, is now in stores and the latest book featured in our New Release Spotlight. This debut novel, which has topped bestseller lists around the world and is now available in the US for the first time, is a literary thriller about the disappearance of a 15-year-old New Hampshire girl and, 33 years later, a young American writer’s determination to clear his mentor’s name --- and find the inspiration for his next bestseller. In his review, Joe Hartlaub calls the book "a very well-paced, character-driven novel that is, at various times, reminiscent of OUR TOWN by Thornton Wilder and LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov, yet on balance is wholly original." It will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection next week.

I had a chance to meet Joël at a dinner on Wednesday night, and he was genuinely excited to hear that I had enjoyed his book. It's an international bestseller, but as we talked, you would think I was his first fan, which was so charming. As he signed my book, he added a drawing that reflected his enthusiasm with a character jumping and waving. He also loved hearing how Greg read the last 300 pages of the book in one fast clip. You can see a photo of him above.

I also got to meet Robyn Carr at this dinner, as well as her son, who is an Army Major. Robyn and I had a nice catchup on how she enjoyed her evening meeting with one of our ReadingGroupGuides.com book groups.

Joseph Finder, who we last heard from in 2011 with the release of BURIED SECRETS, is back with a new stand-alone novel, SUSPICION. When Danny Goodman suddenly finds himself unable to afford his daughter’s private school, Thomas Galvin, the father of his daughter’s new best friend, offers to lend him money. However, the moment the money is wired into Danny’s account, the DEA comes knocking on his door. Danny faces an impossible choice: an indictment for accepting drug money that he can’t afford to fight in court, or an undercover assignment helping the government get close to his new family friend. Joe Hartlaub has our review and says, “The implicit question of ‘what would you do?’ resonates on and off the page, and echoes hauntingly well after the last line is read.” This book has a completely rocking first half where I barely looked up.

This week, our resident baseball aficionado, Ron Kaplan, offers his take on THE CLOSER, the bestselling memoir of Mariano Rivera, who was a member of the New York Yankees for 19 years before retiring at the end of last season and is considered the greatest closer of all time with an astounding 652 career saves. In his review, Ron has this to say: “Aided by Wayne Coffey, who co-wrote R.A. Dickey’s incredibly personal and sensitive WHEREVER I WIND UP in 2012, THE CLOSER is an innocuous, straight-ahead look at Rivera’s impoverished childhood in Panama and his improbable rise to stardom…. All in all, THE CLOSER is a modest book by a modest man whom Yankee --- and baseball --- fans should appreciate on numerous levels.” This one screams “Father’s Day” at our house for both my husband and my dad!

In stores this week is I AM PILGRIM, a debut espionage thriller from award-winning writer and producer Terry Hayes that’s been talked about a lot leading up to its publication. In fact, the publisher describes it as depicting “the collision course between two geniuses, one a tortured hero and one a determined terrorist, in a breakneck story reminiscent of John le Carré and Robert Ludlum at their finest.” High praise, indeed, and Joe Hartlaub wholeheartedly agrees in his review, calling it “the must-read book of this summer” and “a mammoth book, one that criss-crosses the world and goes back and forth over a couple of decades within the course of several hundred pages, with side journeys off the wild night’s ride of the two main plots.” I have not gotten to it yet…I'm kicking myself as in my head it was publishing in August instead of THIS WEEK.

Also releasing this week is THE VACATIONERS, Emma Straub’s second novel, following her 2012 debut, LAURA LAMONT’S LIFE IN PICTURES. For the Posts, a two-week trip to Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their 35th wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. But all does not go according to plan. Over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated. Terry Miller Shannon has this to say in her review: "Although at first glance this might seem like a plot that we've seen too many times, THE VACATIONERS feels fresh and vital, delving deep below surfaces while managing to keep the plot stepping along." I actually have this book back at my hotel and have been enjoying reading it nights when I collapse after the days' events and before I head back out in the morning.

Summer vacation is also the theme of our latest poll question. Are you going on vacation this summer? Or are you opting for a staycation? Vote in the poll and let us know! If you’re indeed going on vacation, we hope it’s more relaxing and much less drama-filled than the Post family’s excursion!

Our popular Summer Reading Contests and Feature is now up and running, where we’re giving away a different book on select days throughout the summer. In our first series of contests this week, we gave away THE CURSED by Heather Graham, SUMMER DAYS by Lisa Jackson, Elizabeth Bass, Holly Chamberlin and Mary Carter, and the aforementioned THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIR. Next week’s prize books will be ALL GOOD THINGS: From Paris to Tahiti: Life and Longing by Sarah Turnbull, HEADHUNTERS ON MY DOORSTEP: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story by J. Maarten Troost, THE IDEA OF HIM by Holly Peterson and SAVE THE DATE by Mary Kay Andrews. Click here to see all of our featured titles. Are you signed up for our Summer Reading newsletter so you get word as soon as these contests go live? If not, click here to get signed up! Please note: If you signed up for the Summer Reading newsletter in the previous years we’ve done these contests, you don’t need to do so again…you already are signed up!

We’re celebrating dads for the NINTH year in a row with our Father’s Day Contest and Feature. From now through June 13th at noon ET, we’re giving you the chance to win books and assorted goodies for you or the special man in your life. Ten readers will be awarded a prize package that includes nine of the titles in this year’s feature, along with a "Best. Dad. Ever." T-shirt, a $10 Starbucks gift card, and some dark chocolate with toffee. Click here to see all our featured titles and enter the contest.

We’ve updated our Young Adult Books You Want to Read feature, reviews we’ve posted recently on our Teenreads.com site that we think you’ll enjoy. This month’s selections are WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart (which I praised last week in my Bets On commentary), DEAR KILLER by Katherine Ewell, TEASE by Amanda Maciel, and A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman.

Our current Word of Mouth contest will be up for another week. Let us know the books you’ve read by Friday, June 6th at noon ET, and you’ll have the opportunity to win the aforementioned SUSPICION, along with MR. MERCEDES by Stephen King and CHINA DOLLS by Lisa See, both of which we’ll be reviewing next week.

In the above photo, you can see some fabulous survival bracelets that were made by and sent to me by one of our readers. When I opened the package, the boys immediately told me how they work. As you can imagine, I LOVE the color!

I am finishing up this note on Thursday night as I know Friday will be very busy with BEA events. Then I am going to be back in the city on Saturday for the consumer-focused programming. By Sunday, I will be ready to collapse on the patio --- and read. There are soooo many wonderful new book choices to consider!

Have a great week….and read on….

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

SUSPICION by Joseph Finder (Thriller)
When single father Danny Goodman suddenly finds himself unable to afford his daughter’s private school, he has no one to turn to for financial support. Until Thomas Galvin, the father of his daughter’s new best friend, offers to lend him money. However, the moment the money is wired into Danny’s account, the DEA comes knocking on his door. Danny faces an impossible choice: an indictment for accepting drug money that he can’t afford to fight in court, or an unthinkably treacherous undercover assignment helping the government get close to his new family friend. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
 

THE CLOSER: My Story by Mariano Rivera with Wayne Coffey (Sports/Memoir)
Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. The greatest relief pitcher of all time tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.

-Click here to read more about the book.
 

I AM PILGRIM by Terry Hayes (Espionage Thriller)
PILGRIM is the code name for a world class and legendary secret agent. At the novel’s opening, a woman lies face down in a pool of acid. The room has been sprayed down with DNA-eradicating antiseptic spray. All the techniques are pulled directly from Pilgrim's book, a cult classic of forensic science written under a pen name. In offering the NYPD some casual assistance with the case, Pilgrim gets pulled back into the intelligence underground. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

-Click here to read more about the book.
 

Summer is just around the corner! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We will be hosting a number of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days throughout the summer, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also will be sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, June 2nd at noon ET.

This year's featured titles include:
 

• ALL GOOD THINGS: From Paris to Tahiti: Life and Longing by Sarah Turnbull
• ALL THOSE VANISHED ENGINES by Paul Park
• THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB by Lily Koppel
• THE CURSED by Heather Graham
• FAIR PLAY by Deeanne Gist
• THE FAMILY BEACH HOUSE by Holly Chamberlin
• FLYING SHOES by Lisa Howorth
• THE FORTUNE HUNTER by Daisy Goodwin
• THE GLASS KITCHEN by Linda Francis Lee
• GOOD AS GONE by Douglas Corleone
• THE GOOD GIRL by Mary Kubica
• GUESTS ON EARTH by Lee Smith
• HEADHUNTERS ON MY DOORSTEP: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story by J. Maarten Troost
• THE IDEA OF HIM by Holly Peterson
• MY ACCIDENTAL JIHAD: A Love Story by Krista Bremer
• NECESSARY LIES by Diane Chamberlain
• NO RIVER TOO WIDE by Emilie Richards
• SAVE THE DATE by Mary Kay Andrews
• SCARED SCRIPTLESS by Alison Sweeney
• THE STORIES WE TELL by Patti Callahan Henry
• SUMMER DAYS by Lisa Jackson, Elizabeth Bass, Holly Chamberlin and Mary Carter
• THE SUPREME MACARONI COMPANY by Adriana Trigiani
• The Tangled Series (TANGLED, TWISTED, TAMED) by Emma Chase
• THAT NIGHT by Chevy Stevens
• THE THIRD SON by Julie Wu
• THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIR by Joël Dicker
• WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler

• AMERICAN GUN: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms by Chris Kyle with William Doyle
• BLACKLIST by Jerry Ludwig
• THE BOYS IN THE BOAT: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
• A CASE FOR REDEMPTION by Adam Mitzner
• CRY FATHER by Benjamin Whitmer
• A DAD'S PRAYERS FOR HIS DAUGHTER: Praying for Every Part of Her Life by Rob Teigen and Joanna Teigen
• ENDURING COURAGE: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed by John F. Ross
• GOOD CALL: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Fowl by Jase Robertson with Mark Schlabach
• GUY ON FIRE: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking by Guy Fieri with Ann Volkwein
• THE HOUR OF THE INNOCENTS by Robert Paston
• THE KILL SWITCH: A Tucker Wayne Novel by James Rollins and Grant Blackwood
• NATCHEZ BURNING by Greg Iles
• THE SERPENT OF VENICE by Christopher Moore
• STARFIRE by Dale Brown
• THINK LIKE A FREAK by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIR by Joël Dicker
• WARRIORS: An Alex Hawke Novel by Ted Bell
• WHEN I FIRST HELD YOU edited by Brian Gresko
  

THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub (Fiction)
For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their 35th wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. But all does not go according to plan. Over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
 

TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR by Joshua Ferris (Fiction)
Paul O'Rourke is a Manhattan dentist with a thriving practice. But he is a man made of contradictions, and his biggest fear is that he may never truly come to understand anybody, including himself. When someone begins impersonating Paul online, his quest to learn why his identity has been stolen forces him to confront his troubled past and his uncertain future in a life disturbingly split between the real and the virtual. Reviewed by Jane Krebs.

-Click here to read more about the book.
 

SNIPER'S HONOR: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel by Stephen Hunter (Thriller/Adventure)
Kathy Reilly of The Washington Post becomes interested in the story of Ludmilla “Mili” Petrova, a legendary, beautiful female sniper who seems to have vanished from history. Reilly enlists former marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger to parse out the scarce details of Mili’s military service. The more Swagger learns about Mili’s last mission, the more he’s convinced her disappearance was no accident. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

REMEMBER ME LIKE THIS by Bret Anthony Johnston (Fiction)
Since Justin Campbell's disappearance four years ago, his family has been stuck in the grooves of grief. They are unable to comfort themselves, let alone one another. Then the impossible happens: Justin has been found only miles away, completely okay. Though the reunion is a miracle, Justin’s homecoming exposes the deep rifts that have diminished his family, the wounds they all carry that may never fully heal. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

WOLF: A Jack Caffery Thriller by Mo Hayder (Thriller)
WOLF kicks off when a vagrant --- the Walking Man --- finds a dog wandering alone with a scrap of paper with the words “HELP US” attached to its collar. He calls on Detective Inspector Jack Caffery to investigate. Caffery is reluctant to get involved --- until the Walking Man promises in exchange new information regarding the childhood disappearance of Caffery’s brother. Caffery has no idea who or what he is searching for, but one thing he is sure of: it’s a race against time. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE NOBLE HUSTLE: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death by Colson Whitehead (Humor/Memoir)
In 2011, Grantland magazine sent Colson Whitehead to brave the harrowing, seven-day gauntlet of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. There was just one hitch: he'd never played in a casino tournament before. With just six weeks to train, Whitehead plunged into the gritty subculture of Texas Hold'em, writing what began as a series of articles and has been expanded into THE NOBLE HUSTLE. Reviewed by John Maher.

THE DIRECTIVE by Matthew Quirk (Thriller)
In this highly anticipated sequel to THE 500, Mike Ford's brother is in over his head in a powerful conspiracy to steal a secret worth billions of dollars from the little-known but unbelievably influential trading desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In an effort to help, Mike soon finds himself trapped by the dangerous men in charge --- and forced to call on all the skills of his criminal past in order to escape. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE TRANSCRIPTIONIST by Amy Rowland (Fiction)
When Lena, the transcriptionist for the Record, a New York City newspaper, reads a shocking piece about a Jane Doe mauled to death by a lion, she is surprised to see that she recognizes the woman, having met her on the bus a few days before. Obsessed with understanding what caused the woman to deliberately climb into the lion's den, Lena begins a campaign for the truth that will destroy the Record's complacency and shake the venerable institution to its very foundation. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

NEXT LIFE MIGHT BE KINDER by Howard Norman (Fiction)
Sam Lattimore meets Elizabeth Church in 1970s Halifax, in an art gallery. The sparks are immediate, leading quickly to a marriage that is dear, erotically charged and brief. In Howard Norman’s new novel, the gleam of the marriage and the circumstances of Elizabeth’s murder are revealed in heart-stopping increments. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE LOST by Sarah Beth Durst (Thriller/Fantasy)
It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassible dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing --- and what she's running from --- before she can leave. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

-Click here to read an excerpt.

DARK AEMILIA: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady by Sally O'Reilly (Historical Fiction)
The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair. A decade later, Queen Elizabeth is dead, and Aemilia is now married to a fool. Like the rest of London, she fears the plague. And when her young son Henry takes ill, Aemilia resolves to do anything to save him, even if it means seeking help from her estranged lover, Will --- or worse, making a pact with the Devil himself. Reviewed by Robert Doyle.

WYNNE'S WAR by Aaron Gwyn (Western/Adventure)
Corporal Elijah Russell is assigned to an elite Special Forces unit preparing to stage a secret mission in eastern Afghanistan. His task is to train the Green Berets --- fiercely loyal to their enigmatic commander, Captain Wynne --- to ride the horses they will use to execute this mission through treacherous mountain terrain. But as the team presses farther into enemy territory, the nature of their operation only becomes more mysterious and Wynne’s charismatic power takes on a darker cast. Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds.