December 29, 2017
|
 December 29, 2017Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On      As 2017 is Almost a Wrap, Happy New Year!I hope you are enjoying the holidays. I ducked out of the office this week, which traditionally is one of the quietest ones of the year as most of the publishers close their offices for the week. Before we headed our separate ways, the staff and I enjoyed a holiday lunch to celebrate the year. You can see a photo of us above --- our annual selfie. I also solved the mystery of the saxophone player who I have heard outside the window of my new office since we moved in in late July. A few weeks ago, I figured out he was playing from a corner near our office. Last Wednesday, Greg and I chased him down, and I thanked him for the music that wafts up to my office during the day. His name is Tyler; he busks and also has a gig playing for a tourist bus line in the city for the holidays. I told him how he has been entertaining me for months and pointed to my window. Sometimes it's the small things that matter...this one made me smile. You can see a photo of me with him above. My event playing an elf with Mrs. Claus was so rewarding; I was impressed with how personal the day was for each of the families who attended the festivities. I read ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS to each family, before they moved on to do a craft with their group and then to meet Mrs. Claus to receive their gifts. Finally they enjoyed home-baked cookies and treats. By the end of the day, when I had read it to 20+ individual families, I actually knew the names of all eight reindeer --- and I had explained each time that none was named Rudolph. I also had mastered all the flaps on Robert Sabuda’s pop-up book that I chose to use to read the story. I had not read aloud in a long time and was a bit rusty at the start of the day, but as time went on, I found myself getting my expressive voice right --- and nailing the pop-ups. I remembered all the things that I hear at librarian previews about “why this will be a great read-aloud” when they talk about some books. This definitely was with pop-ups. Reading the story critically, there are a number of lines that are tough for young kids to understand, so I glossed over some and rewrote others to words that they would grasp. Check out the photo of me in the elf costume above. I have been doing a lot of cooking and baking this week. On Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, our way. The courses: 1) eel sushi, 2) tuna sushi club sandwich with caviar, 3) Mary Kay Andrews’ crab artichoke dip from her cookbook, THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK, 4) shrimp cocktail, 5) New England clam chowder, 6) swordfish tacos, and 7) scallops with lime/brown sugar sauce. It was a group effort for the four of us, including picking up the sushi. Christmas Day was prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, which marked my first time making the pudding. I watched Jamie Oliver's video for pointers. In other culinary adventures, I made an edible plate out of Starlight peppermints (it took four stores to find those) and used that for serving cookies. You can see a photo of ours above...and before you ask, here are some directions in case you want to try this on your own. We used parchment paper and a springform pan. With frigid temperatures making us want to hunker down, after a flurry of holiday activity, I grabbed time for reading this week. I finished Lisa Jewell's THEN SHE WAS GONE, which will be in stores on April 24th. It was a good read as the pieces of the plot slid into place like a puzzle. Most attentive readers will guess what has happened fairly quickly, but why and how things unfolded the way they did keeps you turning the pages --- the sign of strong writing. Now I am reading STILL ME by Jojo Moyes, the follow-up to ME BEFORE YOU and AFTER YOU. I confess that I was not a fan of AFTER YOU, but I am thoroughly enjoying STILL ME. Louisa Clark is in New York, and her adventures have me smiling, picturing her navigating the city. I still am listening to SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney, which will be in stores on March 13th, as I have not grabbed much listening time this week. I have a print galley here and am so tempted to read the last third, but I like the narration so much that I do not want to do that! While we do not have any new reviews in this newsletter, we are reprising a number of special year-end features. We know that the past few weeks have been busy ones, so here we have lots for you to catch up on, including contests, some terrific holiday blog pieces and year-end wrap-ups. Reader Mail: Kathy wrote this lovely note about our reader whose house burned in the Ventura fire: “I just love your Bookreporter.com newsletter! I look forward to reading it every week and always find so much great book information for myself and my book group. I was wondering if you think it would be possible for you to arrange for readers of your newsletter to purchase a book and have it sent to Virginia in Ventura after she is settled in her new location. It is heartbreaking to read of her loss. Everyone who reads your newsletter loves books, and being able to help replenish someone’s book collection after a tragedy would be a wonderful thing to do! So many people are always looking for a way, big or small, to help someone. Just a thought! Happy, Happy Holidays to you, your staff, and your family.” We agree, and will wait for the word from Virginia whenever she is settled so that we, as a group, can help her rebuild her collection. Additionally, Sandy wrote, “I have many hardback and paperback books that I would love to send to Virginia in California. New books, read once. Is there a way to do that? Also, could we gather handwritten recipe cards with special recipes to send? I just cannot imagine what these people are going through. Merry Christmas to you and yours.” I shared Kathy's note with Virginia, and she said, “The highlight of my week came bursting like a star with your email and forward from a fellow reader. Thank you more than I can say.” So stay tuned for more on this when she is ready in 2018! Hedy wrote with news for our audiobook lovers: “I thought your audio lovers might like to know that THE SHELL SEEKERS and SEPTEMBER by Rosamunde Pilcher are finally available through Audible. I have been waiting for this for some time. Last time I listened was on cassette. I believe THE SHELL SEEKERS may have been my first audio listen. Have a great New Year." Carol wrote, “Merry Christmas and a relaxing Happy New Year. You are amazing for all you get done and the busy life you lead. Your book reviews, suggestions and information make reading so enjoyable for me and my book group. I couldn't do it without you and all who work with you. You help me enjoy a major form of pleasure in my busy life by helping me select books that I would enjoy. I just can't read everything and then pick the best. Thank you.” Elizabeth, who had been looking for leather bookmarks, wrote with appreciation for readers who helped her crowdsource these: “Thank you, Carol, for your help in coordinating my search for leather bookmarks. There are so many places to try, but my favorite is Florence. I have fond memories of that city and just might have to make another trip back in search of the perfect bookmark. “ There has been lots of movie watching this week, which is a holiday tradition. Here are my thoughts on what we have watched so far: Dunkirk: While it’s wonderfully shot, I found myself a tad lost with the minimal dialogue. I was looking up more about Dunkirk online as I was watching! Wonder: A lovely adaptation of the book. Jacob Tremblay is the young actor who all of us in the office want to adopt. Baby Driver: I had seen this over the summer with Greg, but since it has some great car chase scenes in it, I watched it again with Tom. It also has a great soundtrack, and it always makes me smile when a film is made for $34 million and makes $236 million. Get Out: This typically would not be the kind of movie that I would enjoy as it had tinges of the horror genre in it, but Cory said it was worth watching. And it was. I have NO idea how this possibly belongs in the Golden Globes Best Picture race in the Musical or Comedy category. I clearly missed something. Downsizing: Interesting concept for the first 30 minutes; from there it fell apart. I also got a new phone, which means I have a phone with a working camera for the first time in a couple of years. I know...why did I wait so long? I used my regular camera, but it never was the same for snaps on the fly. A new phone means I now have bought new adapters and cords because, of course, these are all a new size. Years ago when we started The Book Report Network, people told me that the real money to be made on the internet was similar to that in the Gold Rush. Few made it finding gold, but, ah, the money made on selling picks and shovels. For the internet in those early days, it was all about hardware, wiring and firewalls. It's the same game today with phones. The service itself is one thing (including the latest play/ploy, which is unlimited data), but the phones, chargers, etc...oh, and Bluetooth. Seriously, that is the money game. I think I finally have everything I need. I am glad I had a quiet week off to take care of this! My New Year’s Resolution: Keep a good list of what I read in 2018. This year my notes got off track when we moved offices. Clean slate for the New Year! I am looking forward to more family time this weekend as both boys are around...and lots and lots of college football. Read on, and have a great week. Happy New Year! Here’s to a brilliant 2018; we look forward to sharing more with you in the year to come.     Special Contest: Enter to Win Our End-of-the-Year Celebration, Featuring All 40 "Bets On" Titles from 2017We are thrilled to announce a very special contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2017. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40 books, while eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, January 8th at noon ET. Here are this year's Bookreporter.com Bets On titles:
Click here to enter the contest.   
Bookreporter.com Reviewers Choose
|
