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Joyce Carol Oates, author of Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.

NIGHT. SLEEP. DEATH. THE STARS. is a gripping examination of contemporary America through the prism of a family tragedy. When a powerful parent dies, each of his adult children reacts in startling and unexpected ways, and his grieving widow in the most surprising way of all. Stark and penetrating, Joyce Carol Oates’ latest novel is a vivid exploration of race, psychological trauma, class warfare, grief and eventual healing, as well as an intimate family novel in the tradition of the author’s bestselling WE WERE THE MULVANEYS.

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Susan Elizabeth Phillips, author of Dance Away with Me

When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal. But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a town suspicious of outsiders, especially one as headstrong as Tess. Just as headstrong is Ian North, a difficult, gifted man with a tortured soul --- a man who makes Tess question everything.

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Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely --- an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth, hope and humor --- has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

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Lucy Foley, author of The Guest List

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But as the champagne is popped and the festivities get underway, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And, perhaps more importantly, why?

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Do you attend virtual author, library, bookstore, book festival and/or publisher-sponsored events? Through what platforms do you attend these events?

June 12, 2020, 365 voters

June 12, 2020

Over the past few weeks, I have had one very busy virtual life. On Wednesday night, I helped the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library launch their Summer Reading event with a talk about books that readers might want to explore for summer reading. Next week, I will be doing the same for the Rockville Centre Public Library, and I have future events with Fairfield Public Library, Avalon Free Public Library and Baldwin Public Library. I typically have not traveled outside the tri-state area for events like this, but given the restrictions on travel now, I realize that I could book at libraries around the country. If any one is interested in hearing more about the programs that we might be able to work on together, please let me know!

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June 12, 2020 - July 2, 2020

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of June 12 - July 2.

Esther Broner

The total person sings, not just the vocal chords.

Attribution

Esther Broner

Victor Hugo

There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.

Attribution

Victor Hugo

June 10, 2020

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we think is a great summer reading selection. Read more about it, and enter our Summer Reading Contest by Thursday, June 11th at 11:59am ET for a chance to win one of five copies of FINDING MRS. FORD by Deborah Goodrich Royce, which is now available in paperback. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

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