March 8, 2019
 March 8, 2019Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On  Latest Update on Our GoFundMe Campaign Thank you to those of you who already have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far we have raised over $24,150 (48%) of our $50,000 goal, with online donations and checks! Vickie: "I donated because I look forward to the newsletters so much! You always give me so much useful information about new books that are coming out and that I can look forward to reading. I can’t imagine a week without checking out Bookreporter.com!" Mary: “I apologize for the delay in submitting this contribution. I had every intention of submitting it sooner, but time flew away from me. Every Saturday morning when I receive your newsletter, I look forward to reading it with my coffee. Therefore, I wanted to contribute so it can continue.” Dorothy: “I have been a faithful reader of Bookreporter for many years, and there is truly nothing like it anywhere. I am honored to contribute in a small way to your expansion.” If you have not donated yet, may we ask that you consider it? Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. You can read more about our plans and donate here. If you would rather donate via check, our address is: The Book Report, Inc. Thank you again for your consideration and your donation.  Carol moderated three panels at the Tucson Festival of Books.  Carol's second panel, "Bringing History to Life," featured Whitney Scharer (THE AGE OF LIGHT),  Carol's third panel, "Piecing It Together," featured Jennifer Robson (THE GOWN), The Tucson Festival of Books --- FABULOUS!For years, people have been telling me to go to the Tucson Festival of Books --- and I am so very glad I did. What a fabulous weekend of books, authors and mingling with book lovers. While the Festival is big, I quickly got myself acclimated to where the panels were taking place. People were so friendly and helpful, clearly very proud to be hosting this event. There were lively conversations among the attendees, as well as great banter among the authors. I moderated three panels, and above you can see me with the authors who I had the delight of speaking with. As always, I kept the conversation fast-paced and loved my role as “talk show host.” There was not a dull moment, and we could have kept talking well past the allotted time. In between, I slipped into other panels, including a standing room only one (if only you were allowed to stand, which you were not) with Marie Benedict, Kate Quinn and Rachel Kadish; another with Kathy Wang and Rebecca Serle (nice to have two Bookreporter.com Bets On authors on the same panel); Gregg Hurwitz (who I asked about his research, to which he replied that the NSA would be interested in what his Google history looks like) and Alan Jacobson; and Ann Hood talking about a collection of stories with two other authors. For all I saw, there was so much more I would have loved to see. There was a hospitality suite where I was able to spend time with the authors between their panels, and the place took on the tone of a clubhouse as we sat chatting and catching up. Marie Benedict, Lynda Cohen Loigman and I chatted while devouring York Peppermint Patties. We kept joking about how addicting they were. I met so many authors who were new to me and then had fun conversations with Sandra Brown, Tess Gerritsen, Lou Berney, Matthew Quirk and Lisa Genova. Robin Kall from Reading With Robin organized a really fun dinner for a couple of dozen authors on Saturday night, which was so enjoyable. And I had dinner with William Kent Krueger and his wife, Linda, on Sunday night, where we had great fun talking about his amazing upcoming book, THIS TENDER LAND, which will be out on September 3rd. I will share more about that next week! Late on Sunday afternoon, I roamed the Festival booths with Gregg Hurwitz and his family. There was a lot to see and do, and I happily spent more than an hour doing just that, seeing what was there besides the panels. And, of course, it was such fun to meet some of our readers, and I am sorry that I missed meeting others. I got this note from PJ this week: “While I knew Carol would be attending the Tucson Festival of Books last weekend, my own plans were uncertain. Imagine my delight to access an opening session, "Traversing the Unknown," and discover she was the moderator! The author panel (Mary Kubica, John Jay Osborn and Karen Thompson Walker) and audience no doubt appreciated her skill in guiding the flow of questions and responses. I hope she will return again next year!” PJ was sitting in the third row at my first panel, and when I asked if there were Bookreporter readers in the room, she raised her hand, but I did not get to chat with her after the event. Eve from Spokane, Washington, and I went to see Gregg’s panel together, which was lovely. She weighed in, saying this about the Festival: “The opportunity to cross paths with Carol Fitzgerald and attend a gathering of great writers --- who could resist? This was a first class presentation of authors, journalists, publishers and booksellers, and there was truly something for everyone. Being able to sit down with favorite authors and hear about their inspirations, research and writing methods that give us wonderful stories was truly priceless. But there was so much more --- beautiful weather, food, entertainment and the University of Arizona campus was spectacular. And I should mention that it is a free event. So much hard work goes into this festival, and I appreciated and enjoyed every moment. Tucson is a beautiful and friendly city, and I hope to be there again next year.” Eve is on an RV trip for the winter and having a wonderful time seeing the country. I met Jan, as well as another reader whose photo I snapped, but whose name I cannot remember (you were wearing pink), so please forgive me. It was so hectic, and I think everyone needs name tags; Jan was wearing one! Muriel, another of our readers, reported on the Festival for us last year and again is sharing commentary with us this year. Click here to see the notes she shared from the panels that she attended and here for a roundup of photos from throughout the weekend, including some of me with readers. It was the kind of weekend that made me feel so energized about what we do at Bookreporter.com! I hope to be back in Tucson next year and that more of you can join me there. There was an error in last week’s newsletter, something that we rarely do. Northshire Bookstore is in Manchester, Vermont, not New Hampshire, and so is Booktopia. Last week was quite a blur, so clearly I was geographically challenged! Thanks to Linda Johnson for correcting me, as we had talked about this event at breakfast. Now to this week’s update… Lisa See’s latest novel, THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives. Our reviewer Roz Shea calls it "a must-read for anyone who treasures the strength of the powerful female relationships that hold us together through trying times." It will be one of my Bets On selections, and I will share my commentary next week. I am planning to see Lisa at Indigo Books & Music in Short Hills, New Jersey, next Friday night; I hope to see some of my local Jersey readers there! I was so happy to hear the news that Lisa's book is March’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. Barnes & Noble will be selling a special Exclusive Book Club Edition of THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, in addition to hosting a free Book Club Night to discuss the novel, in stores across the country on Tuesday, April 9th at 7pm local time. Click here to sign up for the event. And just as Lisa had Chinese tea for her readers to share with their book groups for THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE, for THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, she has Korean tea and cakes to indulge in. On her website, she also has an extensive section that includes her research for the book, which you can find here. You will want to check this out after you read the book. To me, this is the same as when I googled "foot binding" after reading SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN. THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN is also one of the books we’re giving away in our Word of Mouth contest; the other is THE MALTA EXCHANGE by Steve Berry, which we’re reviewing next week. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win both these novels. Be sure to enter by Friday, March 15th at noon ET. Greg Iles, author of the Natchez Burning trilogy, returns with a stand-alone novel, CEMETERY ROAD, an electrifying tale of friendship, betrayal and shattering secrets that threaten to destroy a small Mississippi town. Our reviewer Ray Palen raves, “There is so much action and character development here that it is impossible to turn away. It's like binge-watching your favorite TV drama, and you don’t dare take your eyes off the screen for fear of missing out on another revelation. CEMETERY ROAD is full of them." He goes on to say, “Quite frankly, I didn't want this tale to end.” The audio version of CEMETERY ROAD (read by the amazing Scott Brick) is one of the prizes in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest, along with James Rollins’ CRUCIBLE (read by Christian Baskous). Let us know by Monday, April 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, DAISY JONES & THE SIX, is March’s Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick, a #1 Indie Next pick, a Book of the Month Club top selection, and one of my upcoming Bets On titles. Here’s what Reese has to say about it: “[I]t ROCKS. Literally. The book centers on the meteoric rise of a rock band in the ‘70s and its lead singers Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, whose connection is as electric as the music they make together. It’s sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, people!!... And the very best part?! Hello Sunshine is turning this into a TV show with Amazon Studios… so stay tuned for more updates!” DAISY JONES & THE SIX is just one of the books in this year’s Spring Preview, which went up this week. The contests for this feature will kick off on Tuesday, March 19th at noon ET. As we’ve done for the last seven years, we’ll be spotlighting a number of new and upcoming releases that we think people will be talking about this spring --- and beyond. We’ll be hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these books on select days this month and next. You can sign up here for alerts so you’ll be notified as soon as these giveaways go live. Click here to take a look at all of our featured titles; we may be adding more in the days to come. We’re thrilled to announce the start of a two-week contest for Martha Hall Kelly’s upcoming novel, LOST ROSES. Set in 1914, this highly anticipated follow-up to Martha’s 2016 debut, LILAC GIRLS, features Eliza Ferriday, who is excited to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs who has become a close confidante. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza heads back to America, while Sofya and her family escape to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. Meanwhile, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming, she fears the worst for her best friend. The book doesn’t release until April 9th, but we’re giving 25 readers the chance to preview it and give us their feedback on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 21st at noon ET. LOST ROSES will be a Bets On pick just as LILAC GIRLS was three years ago. Don’t miss our review of the book and interview with Martha in the April 12th newsletter, followed by my Bets On commentary the week after. Dare I say that I enjoyed it even more than LILAC GIRLS? Our Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight of BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward wraps up this week with our review of the book and interview with the author. This debut psychological thriller is a twisted novel about a devoted wife, a loving husband and a chilling crime that no one saw coming. Our own Rebecca Munro says, "This is one thriller where I can truly say I could not have predicted the ending, and I feel certain that I will reread select passages so that I can truly appreciate Ward’s choreography at work. That is how expertly plotted and smartly twisted BEAUTIFUL BAD is." Michael Barson, who works at Poisoned Pen Press, loved the book so much that he approached us about interviewing Annie. Check out their lively and informative discussion here. I really enjoyed this book; Annie has written a very compelling thriller! WE WERE RICH AND WE DIDN’T KNOW IT is the latest title we’re featuring in our New Release Spotlight. Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy and back-breaking. It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland. This heartfelt memoir recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. On ReadingGroupGuides.com, we have a BIG contest where we’re giving 10 book groups the chance to win up to six digital copies of the audiobook edition of THE MOMENT OF LIFT: How Empowering Women Changes the World, written and read by Melinda Gates (on sale April 23rd), and share their comments on it. We also are awarding 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. Click here for all the details; the deadline for your entries is Wednesday, April 3rd at noon ET. Our New in Paperback roundups are now available for March. We're featuring paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Amor Towles (A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW) Lisa Scottoline (AFTER ANNA), Fredrik Backman (US AGAINST YOU), John Sandford (TWISTED PREY) and Martha Grimes (THE KNOWLEDGE); nonfiction titles, including HEAVY: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon and FLY GIRLS: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien; and paperback originals like THE NIGHT VISITORS by Carol Goodman and THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY by Kelly Rimmer. Our poll continues to ask if you use Goodreads to help make decisions on what to read. Click here to let us know what you do. On Monday night, the Audio Publishers Association announced the winners of this year’s Audie Awards at their 24th Annual Audies Gala in New York City. These awards recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. Click here for all the winners. News & Pop Culture Reader Mail: Loretta wrote, “Thank you for sending the feel-good and historical fiction lists. I'm a big fan of the Outlander series, both the books and the TV series. I also read Geraldine Brooks and Susanna Kearsley. I'd like to suggest to your readers books by James R. Benn, Louise Penny, Jacqueline Winspear, the Sherlock series by Laurie R. King and the Hannah Vogel series by Rebecca Cantrell. I'm always looking for the next book by these authors.” Nancy wrote, “Hope your trip to Tucson went well and you don’t have any issues coming back to NJ! The author lineup looked great, and I’ve put it on my possible travel list for next year. Your program last Sunday at the Bernardsville Public Library was great. I enjoyed the book suggestions/discussions, and being able to take home a book was a nice surprise. I’ve suggested your program to the Morristown library and hope they get in touch with you.” "The Today Show" Book Club: This week, "Today" announced a new monthly Book Club with Jenna Bush Hager called #ReadWithJenna. Their first selection is THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin, which also is a recent Bets On pick. The Favourite: Saw it on the flight back from Tucson. It’s very well done, and I enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite. Alex Trebek: So sad to hear that he has pancreatic cancer. So many authors have been "Jeopardy!" clues. And last night, I learned that our reviewer, the aforementioned Norah Piehl, was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" 11 years ago! Tayari Jones on what she did with her “Oprah Money”: Loved reading what she shared here. Quiet weekend on tap, and I think everyone is home! I still am laughing that Greg, Cory and I all were in Houston at various points this week. I sent them a video of a funny display that was by Gate E10, hoping they could wander by and see it...and they both did. I am thinking of making tortilla shells from scratch. Whitney Scharer and I had a whole conversation about this last weekend in Tucson, talking about tortilla presses. So not all the talk was about books in Tucson. And I ate some wonderful Mexican food, including Tucson Tamales when I was at the book festival! I also would love to see Free Solo, which won Best Documentary at the Oscars. Tom climbed for years, and Cory enjoys it too. I hope this is not super-inspiring to either of them as I hear the climb is really quite daunting. Spring forward the clocks this weekend. I do so, so badly with this springtime change. I will feel a version of jet lag for most of the week next week. I am just glad that the change did not happen last weekend! Read on, and have a great week. 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!    Featured Review:  THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN by Lisa See (Historical Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Featured Review: CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles  CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles (Thriller) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. Featured Review: DAISY JONES & THE SIX  DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Fiction) - Click here to read more about the book. Click here to read the review. DAISY JONES & THE SIX will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.  New Special Contest: Enter to Win an Advance Copy of LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly --- a Bookreporter.com Bets On Pick --- and Share Your Comments on It  The runaway bestseller LILAC GIRLS introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. LOST ROSES, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I. We have 25 advance copies of Martha Hall Kelly's upcoming novel to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases on April 9th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 21st at noon ET. LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly (Historical Fiction) But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming, she fears the worst for her best friend. From the turbulent streets of St. Petersburg to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian émigrés who live there, the lives of Eliza, Sofya and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history. Click here to enter the contest.  Our Interview with Annie Ward   BEAUTIFUL BAD is Annie Ward’s page-turning debut psychological thriller about a devoted wife, a loving husband and a chilling murder that no one saw coming. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, the Director of Publicity at Poisoned Pen Press, Ward talks about her inspiration for writing in this genre; why she chose to set the novel in exotic and unusual locations like Sofia, Bulgaria, and Skopje, Macedonia; her decision to turn the book, which was originally intended to be a memoir, into a fictional thriller; why she made her story’s romantic love interest such an atypical figure; and her excitement over her next novel, which she is having a lot of fun writing, and the film adaptation of BEAUTIFUL BAD that is in the works. BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward (Psychological Thriller)  New Release Spotlight:  WE WERE RICH AND WE DIDN'T KNOW IT: A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood by Tom Phelan (Memoir) Tom Phelan, who was born and raised in County Laois in the Irish midlands, spent his formative years working with his wise and demanding father as he sought to wrest a livelihood from a farm that was often wet, muddy and back-breaking. It was a time before rural electrification, the telephone and indoor plumbing; a time when the main modes of travel were bicycle and animal cart; a time when small farmers struggled to survive and turkey eggs were hatched in the kitchen cupboard; a time when the Church exerted enormous control over Ireland. WE WERE RICH AND WE DIDN'T KNOW IT recounts Tom’s upbringing in an isolated, rural community from the day he was delivered by the local midwife. With tears and laughter, it speaks to the strength of the human spirit in the face of life's adversities. Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.  Announcing Bookreporter.com's Eighth Annual Spring is in the air (or will be very soon)! We’ve already caught the fever --- and it’s being fueled by some wonderful new and upcoming releases. Our eighth annual Spring Preview Contests and Feature spotlights many of these picks, which we know people will be talking about over the next few months. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through April 26th. You will need to check the site to see the featured book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce each title, which you can sign up for here. Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, March 19th at noon ET. This year's featured titles include:
Click here to read all the contest details  New Special Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com:  ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for THE MOMENT OF LIFT: How Empowering Women Changes the World, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment. Ten book groups will win six digital copies of the audiobook, which is read by the author, Melinda Gates, and releases on April 23rd. Additionally, we will be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, April 3rd at noon ET. In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to listening to and discussing THE MOMENT OF LIFT, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, June 21st. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com's “Sounding Off on Audio” feature. THE MOMENT OF LIFT: How Empowering Women Changes the World (Audiobook) written and read by Melinda Gates (Social Science/Women's Studies) In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book --- to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.” Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention --- from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world ---- and ourselves. Writing with emotion, candor and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another. When we lift others up, they lift us up, too. Click here to enter the contest.    March’s New in Paperback Roundups March’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, Amor Towles' transporting work of historical fiction about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel; THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A. J. Finn, a twisty Hitchcockian thriller about an agoraphobic woman who believes she witnessed a crime in a neighboring house; AFTER ANNA, a groundbreaking domestic thriller, as well as a novel of emotional justice and legal intrigue, from Lisa Scottoline, who keeps readers on their toes until the final shocking page; and US AGAINST YOU, an instant New York Times bestseller penned by Fredrik Backman, who reveals how loyalty, friendship and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days. Among our nonfiction highlights are the powerful and provocative memoir HEAVY, in which genre-bending essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies and deception does to a black body, a black family and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse; FLY GIRLS by Keith O'Brien, the untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and '30s --- and won; Penny Junor's THE DUCHESS, the first in-depth biography of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and her remarkable transformation from pariah to popular royal consort; and I AM, I AM, I AM, Maggie O'Farrell's astonishing memoir of the near-death experiences that have punctuated and defined her life. Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of    More Reviews This WeekUNTO US A SON IS GIVEN: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon (Mystery) OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin (Self-Help/Personal Growth) BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM by Peter Swanson (Psychological Thriller) THE LIGHT OVER LONDON by Julia Kelly (Historical Fiction) THE SILK ROAD by Kathryn Davis (Fiction) THE SECRETARY by Renée Knight (Psychological Thriller) TRIGGER by David Swinson (Mystery) ALL ROADS END HERE by David Moody (Science Fiction/Horror) HER FATHER'S SECRET by Sara Blaedel (Thriller)   
Next Week’s Notables:
|
