August 5, 2016

Well, I served jury duty and never had to show up! In our county, you check in the night before to see if you need to go to court the following day. This happens for four days or one trial. My number never came up to appear at the courthouse, thus I was sprung from my civic duty. Of course, I also will not get the $5 a day that I would have earned if I was called in. What I could have done with that $20!

Since jury duty was a non-event, I moved my trip out to the Hamptons up by a few hours. There was something ever so splendid about cutting out of the office midday on Thursday instead of leaving after the typical work day. The bus on the way out had Wi-Fi, so I was able to connect and finish up a few last things. Last weekend was one very wet weekend, which kept my reading and floating time to a minimum. I am hoping for better weather this weekend! But then again, there are two bookstores that I want to check out in the Hamptons --- BookHampton in Easthampton and Southampton Books. We are out one weekend too early this year for me to hit the East Hampton Authors Night, which I have enjoyed in the past.

The amazing hibiscus flowers that you see above were in all their glory last Saturday. We bought two plants two years ago, and my how they have thrived!

Last weekend, I discovered a new author, Lisa Jewell. I read two of her books. The first was I FOUND YOU, which will be published on April 4th of next year, and the second was THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN, which came out earlier this year and which we reviewed. It’s one of those times when I thought How did I not find this author sooner? I loved the plotting and the characters in both books. And for those of you who are keeping me on my toes, they both were added to Carol’s 2016 Reads, and I FOUND YOU was added to my future Bookreporter.com Bets On list. There is something wonderful about discovering a new writer whose work you enjoy.

Our friends Cathy and Lisa came over for dinner last weekend. Both are avid readers. I am trying to come up with a new author for Cathy to binge. She loves Lee Child, Greg Iles and Harlan Coben. Based on those three, I am accepting suggestions from you for her. Shoot me an email with “Cathy’s Next Binge” in the subject line. She is off to Portugal on Wednesday night and is ready to load up her eReader. Lisa reads widely and broadly, and left here with galleys of some of my favorites. It's really lovely when you can spend an evening talking books like this.

Tom and Cory drove out to the Hamptons on Wednesday with my bag packed with something like 10 books. Tom is reading --- and enjoying --- UNDERGROUND AIRLINES, but as he will finish that soon, I hand-picked some books for him. I just started MISCHLING by Affinity Konar, and a few chapters in I am looking forward to reading more of it. It's another World War II book giving me yet another perspective on the war.

Oprah is back with a new book club selection, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead, which is just out in stores this week (note that the publication date was moved up from September 13th, which is why we did not share this with you sooner). You can read more about Whitehead’s publishing journey here in the New York Times and here in Newsweek. And for those in New Jersey, I am happy to share that he will be at the Morristown Book Festival on October 1st, and I am sharing his entire list of tour events here.

The New Yorker staff writer and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is the bestselling author of THE NINE and THE RUN OF HIS LIFE: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Now, his deft hand at history delves into the frantic, startling era of 1970s crime in AMERICAN HEIRESS: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst. On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by a group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The sensational story took its first twist when, a few months later, Patty announced she had joined the SLA; the numerous bizarre turns of the tale are truly astonishing. Based on more than a hundred interviews and thousands of previously secret documents, the book thrillingly recounts the craziness of the times.

Stuart Shiffman has our review and calls AMERICAN HEIRESS “a riveting book that skillfully captures the saga and spirit of the 1970s. Toobin presents this stormy decade with the extraordinary skill of a true historian, placing Hearst, her abductors and her kidnapping in the context of an America that 40 years ago faced many of the same tribulations and fears that presently confront our citizenry.” I had the pleasure of hearing Toobin talk about this book at a media event a few months ago; he told anecdote after anecdote that made me realize just how wild those days were.

Debbie Macomber’s Rose Harbor series concludes with the heartwarming SWEET TOMORROWS. Nine months ago, Mark Taylor left Cedar Cove to right a wrong from his past, and innkeeper Jo Marie Rose is unsure if he’s ever coming back. She finds companionship when she takes on a new boarder. Emily Gaffney, a young teacher, is staying at the inn while she looks for a home of her own. Having given up on marriage, Emily dreams of adopting children someday and has her eye on one house in particular. Although Emily’s inquiries about the house are initially rebuffed, her rocky start with the owner eventually blossoms into a friendship. But when the relationship verges on something more, Emily will have to rethink what she truly wants. The inn seems to be working its magic again --- until Jo Marie receives shocking news.

Reviewer Susan Miura has this to say: "Overflowing with the poignancy, sweetness, conflicts and romance for which Debbie Macomber is famous, SWEET TOMORROWS captivates from beginning to end. Like her other novels set in Cedar Cove, it transports the reader to a charming harbor town, and a cozy inn, where healing takes place in ways none of the characters ever anticipated." Note that we are going to have a special Summer Reading Contest with this series later in the summer. Stay tuned!

We’re kicking off a very special contest for William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor mystery series. To celebrate the September 6th release of its 15th installment, MANITOU CANYON, we’re awarding one winner all 15 books in the series, including the eBook THE WORLD OF CORK O’CONNOR, a just-released reader’s companion that details the back story on the series, how Cork O’Connor came into existence as a character, and how the setting --- Minnesota’s great Northwoods --- has become an integral part of the series. Thirty-five additional winners will receive the first book in the series, IRON LAKE, and THE WORLD OF CORK O’CONNOR. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, August 25th at noon ET.

Our latest Paperback Spotlight title is Heather Gudenkauf’s MISSING PIECES. Sarah Quinlan's husband, Jack, has been haunted by the untimely death of his mother since he was a teenager, when her body was inexplicably found in the cellar of their family farm. No answers were ever uncovered. For years Jack has avoided returning home, but when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded. Upon their arrival, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack had left behind all those years ago. But as facts about Julia's accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. We reviewed MISSING PIECES when it released in hardcover earlier this year; click here for the review and here for our discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com. You can read by Bets On commentary about it here.

You can win a copy of MISSING PIECES in our next round of Summer Reading contests, which kick off Tuesday, August 9th at noon ET. The other prize books next week will be HOUSE OF THIEVES by Charles Belfoure (I selected this as a Bets On title after its hardcover publication last year) and MAGICAL JUNGLE: An Inky Expedition and Coloring Book for Adults by Johanna Basford (Joanna is going to be in New York at the Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side on Tuesday night, and I plan to be there). This week, we gave away ENCHANTED AUGUST by Brenda Bowen; THE NURSES: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital, by Alexandra Robbins; and A TAPESTRY OF SECRETS by Sarah Loudin Thomas. We're currently giving away AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes; click here to enter by Monday, August 8th at 11:59am ET.

Also, MISSING PIECES is just one of many books we’re featuring in this month’s New in Paperback roundups. Other titles include M TRAIN by Patti Smith, MY LIFE ON THE ROAD by Gloria Steinem, X by Sue Grafton, THE HEART GOES LAST by Margaret Atwood, and THE RACE FOR PARIS by Meg Waite Clayton (a Bets On pick when it released in hardcover).

Doug Johnstone’s latest thriller is THE JUMP, which is now in stores and is also being featured in this month’s New in Paperback roundups. Struggling to come to terms with the suicide of her teenage son, Ellie lives in the shadows of the Forth Road Bridge, meandering along its footpaths and seeking solace swimming in the waters below. One day she talks down another suicidal teenager, Sam, and sees a shot at her own redemption. But even with the best intentions, she can't foresee the situation she's falling headlong into. We’re happy to feature a blog post by Doug himself that gives us an inside look at his thought process and the question of authority when it comes to sensitive topics in fiction.

I realized on Saturday that I didn’t mention “The Boys of ’36”, which premiered this past Tuesday on PBS as part of their “American Experience” series, in last week’s newsletter. The one-hour documentary, which is based on Daniel James Brown's 2013 bestseller, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, tells the story of nine working-class young men from the University of Washington who took the rowing world and America by storm when they captured the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. If you missed Tuesday’s airing, you can watch the entire program on the PBS site here. Tom and I watched it, and we both loved the chance to see photos and videos, which made us both recall why we loved the book so much.

For more movies and TV shows that are based on books, don’t miss our Books on Screen feature for August. In theaters this month are Ben-Hur, The Little Prince and A Man Called Ove (among others), and Me Before You releases on DVD August 30th.

Do you read the acknowledgements in books? That’s out latest poll question; click here to let us know! Our previous poll asked if you read the last page of a book first. A whopping two-thirds of you (66%) don’t, saying it would ruin the reading experience for you, while 21% of you do (whether it’s all the time, most of the time, or sometimes). Thanks to all of you who weighed in. Click here for all the results.

We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, August 19th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS by Nadia Hashimi and STING by Sandra Brown. I am a huge fan of both of these authors!

We’ve also posted our new Sounding Off on Audio contest for August. This month’s prizes are the audio versions of Imbolo Mbue's BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, read by Prentice Onayemi, and Fiona Davis' THE DOLLHOUSE, read by Tavia Gilbert. If you’d like to be in the running to win both these titles, then let us know by Tuesday, September 6th at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve finished listening to. I have read these books, and both will be Bets On selections; I loved them!

News & Pop Culture:

Reader Mail: Cheryle wrote, “I really enjoy all the features of your newsletters and contests and miss them very much when I am not getting them. The only complaint I have is because of your great information, my "to read" list just keeps growing! Keep up the good work you and your staff do each week to further my frustrations about keeping up.” I love this kind of a complaint!

Nice note from Lindsey, a contest winner: “Thank you for sending me LILAC GIRLS. It was an excellent, well-written book with very believable characters and an educational storyline. I knew the Nazis performed experimental surgery on prisoners, but this book brought it to life in a very real way. It was a very different WWII viewpoint than I have read before in novels about the war. I also enjoyed learning of the efforts Americans made to help the French and other countries before the US entered the war.”

Many of you wrote to thank us for the heads up about "The Boys of '36," which we included in our Tuesday “On Sale This Week” newsletter, as well as on our Facebook pages for Bookreporter and ReadingGroupGuides. Sign up for that newsletter here if you are not getting it already. On Facebook we limit our info to little nuggets like that and reminders about contests. I loathe memes about reading and why you should love it, thus you will not find those on our pages. Seriously.

13 Hours: We watched this film about Benghazi last weekend; I confess that prior to watching this, I thought the entire siege took place at the embassy. Clearly I missed a lot!

I'm looking forward to the Olympics...interesting that Michael Phelps will be marching in the Opening Ceremony for the first time (and carrying the flag). Usually swimming is the first day, thus the swimmers do not participate in the parade. And THAT is your Olympic factoid for the day.

Book-based Olympic Trivia: The swimmers at the Olympics have many of their events in prime time, so there is some worry that they will not get enough sleep. Thus I loved this piece on how it’s suggested that they read in print instead of on eReaders.

I just saw that yet another yarn shop in my area is closing. This is the fourth one that I can recall. I do not like seeing small businesses closing. Support the local businesses that you love!

Our websites have had some perplexing tech issues all week. Yesterday I noted that it was four years since we relaunched the site. Maybe they are reacting to the fact that there was no party to celebrate. So please be patient if you are clicking around and things are slow to load. We have a few chin scratchers going on!

In addition to 10 books for this long weekend, I have two knitting projects with me: a tank top that I have not started that will match a skirt that is still in two pieces, and a bias knit scarf in lace weight that is going to take forever to finish. I am starting to long for the bulky yarns of winter for instant gratification.

I am off to find some sand and salt water, so I can read and watch the horizon --- a very nice version of multitasking.

Read on, and have a great week.

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!

Praised by the New York Times as “a gifted poet of that dark lushness in the heart of the American landscape,” Jonis Agee is the award-winning author of 12 books. Her latest, THE BONES OF PARADISE, is a multigenerational family saga set in the unforgiving Nebraska Sand Hills in the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee, and is at once a mystery, a tragedy, a romance, and an unflagging exploration of the beauty and brutality that defined the settling of the American west. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Alexis Burling, Agee --- in characteristically sumptuous prose --- discusses why she chose to tell this particular story at this particular moment in time, why she believes it’s futile for people to fight the truth of their histories, and how in the world she has come to own over 20 pairs of cowboy boots.

THE BONES OF PARADISE by Jonis Agee (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Christina Traister
Ten years after the Seventh Cavalry massacred more than 200 Lakota men, women and children at Wounded Knee, J.B. Bennett, a white rancher, and Star, a young Native American woman, are murdered in a remote meadow on J.B.’s land. The deaths bring together the scattered members of the Bennett family: J.B.’s cunning and hard father, Drum; his estranged wife, Dulcinea; and his teenage sons, Cullen and Hayward. As the mystery of these twin deaths unfolds, the history of the dysfunctional Bennetts and their damning secrets is revealed, exposing the conflicted heart of a nation caught between past and future. Reviewed by Alexis Burling.

-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review.
-Click here for the discussion guide.

• AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes
• AGE OF CONSENT by Marti Leimbach
• ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN by Wendy Walker
• ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD by Caroline Angell
• THE ALLIANCE by Jolina Petersheim
• BACHELOR UNFORGIVING by Brenda Jackson
• BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley
• BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue
• BEN-HUR: A Tale of the Christ by Carol Wallace
• BLUEPRINTS by Barbara Delinsky
• BUKOWSKI IN A SUNDRESS: Confessions from a Writing Life by Kim Addonizio
• CIRCLING THE SUN by Paula McLain
• CLEAR TO LIFT by Anne A. Wilson
• THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena
• DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE by Susan Mallery
• THE DAY OF THE DONALD: Trump Trumps America! by Andrew Shaffer
• DEAD WAKE: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
• DECEPTION ISLAND by Brynn Kelly
• DETROIT HUSTLE: A Memoir of Love, Life and Home by Amy Haimerl
• DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg
• DISCOVERING YOU: A Whiskey Creek Novel by Brenda Novak
• THE DOLLHOUSE by Fiona Davis
• AN ELEGANT FAÇADE: Hawthorne House, Book 2 by Kristi Ann Hunter
• ENCHANTED AUGUST by Brenda Bowen
• FIRST COMES LOVE by Emily Giffin
• THE GIRLS by Emma Cline
• A GIRL’S GUIDE TO MOVING ON by Debbie Macomber
• THE GOLDEN AGE by Joan London
• GOOD AS GONE by Amy Gentry
• HOUSE OF THIEVES by Charles Belfoure
• HOW TO START A FIRE by Lisa Lutz
• THE JAPANESE LOVER by Isabel Allende
• JUST LIFE by Neil Abramson
• KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST by J. Ryan Stradal
• THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton
• LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly
• MAGICAL JUNGLE: An Inky Expedition and Coloring Book for Adults by Johanna Basford
• MARLENE by C. W. Gortner
• THE MERMAID'S SECRET by Katie Schickel
• MISSING PIECES by Heather Gudenkauf
• MURDER ON THE QUAI: An Aimée Leduc Investigation by Cara Black
• THE NURSES: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital by Alexandra Robbins
• RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles
• SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN by Sarah Morgan
• SOBER STICK FIGURE: A Memoir by Amber Tozer
• STRANGER, FATHER, BELOVED by Taylor Larsen
• SWEET TOMORROWS: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber
• A TAPESTRY OF SECRETS by Sarah Loudin Thomas
• TWAIN'S END by Lynn Cullen
• UNDER THE HARROW by Flynn Berry
• THE WEEKENDERS by Mary Kay Andrews
• WHEN WE MEET AGAIN by Kristin Harmel
• THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware

• Always, before I start the book.
• Always, when I finish the book.
• Most of the time
• Some of the time
• Never
• Only if it is an author with whom I am familiar.
• I am not even aware that there are acknowledgements.