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Which of the following goals, if any, have you currently set for yourself in your reading life? Please check all that apply.

August 14, 2020, 377 voters

August 14, 2020 - August 28, 2020

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of August 14 - August 28.

Magic Johnson

If you're a competitive person, that stays with you. You don't stop. You always look over your shoulder.

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Magic Johnson

Caroline B. Cooney, author of Before She Was Helen

When Clemmie goes next door to check on her difficult and unlikable neighbor, Dom, he isn't there. But something else is. Something stunning, beautiful and inexplicable. Clemmie photographs the wondrous object on her cell phone and makes the irrevocable error of forwarding it. As the picture swirls over the internet, Clemmie tries desperately to keep a grip on her own personal network of secrets. Can 50 years of careful hiding under names not her own be ruined by one careless picture?

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The New Chardonnay: The Unlikely Story of How Marijuana Went Mainstream by Heather Cabot

From gleaming dispensaries stocked with elegantly wrapped edibles to the array of CBD lotions and oils for sale at your local drugstore to tastemaker Martha Stewart cooking up marijuana munchies on prime-time television, one thing is clear: Pot has fully shed its stoner image.

In this deeply reported journey into the new world of legal cannabis, award-winning reporter Heather Cabot takes readers on the road with Snoop Dogg and his business partner, Ted Chung, as they roll out the star’s own brand of bud; to California wine country, where chefs and vintners are ushering in a new age of elevated dining; on wild adventures with marijuana mogul Beth Stavola, for whom fending off shady characters is just another day at the office; and to rural Canada to meet the Willy Wonka of Weed.

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Interview: Owen Laukkanen, author of Lone Jack Trail

Aug 13, 2020

Owen Laukkanen is a former professional poker journalist and the author of the Stevens and Windermere novels, which have been nominated for the Anthony, Barry, Edgar and Thriller Awards. His latest book, LONE JACK TRAIL, is the sequel to DECEPTION COVE, which kicked off a brand new series featuring Jess Winslow, a U.S. Marine turned trainee sheriff’s deputy, and Mason Burke, an ex-convict and Jess’ boyfriend. In this interview, Laukkanen talks to Michael Barson, who has worked in book publicity since 1984, about LONE JACK TRAIL’s feminist spin on the “drifter” trope in thrillers; hitting “the wall” in his writing career and pushing through it; HBO Max’s acquisition of his young adult novel, THE WILD; and his beloved pit bull mix, Lucy, who is featured in his Winslow and Burke series.

Theodore N. Vail

Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.

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Theodore N. Vail

Abraham Maslow

If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.

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Abraham Maslow

August 11, 2020

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of August 10th and August 17th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our Sounding Off on Audio contest for August. This month's prizes are the audio versions of Emma Donoghue's THE PULL OF THE STARS, read by Emma Lowe, and Sandra Brown's THICK AS THIEVES, read by Kyf Brewer. Submit your comments about the audiobooks you've listened to by Tuesday, September 8th at noon ET, and you'll be in the running to win both these audio titles.

We also would like to remind you about our special contest for HOMELAND ELEGIES by Ayad Akhtar, which ends this week. This deeply personal work, which is about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. At its heart is the story of a father, a son and the country they both call home. Although the book is not releasing until September 15th, we are giving 25 readers the opportunity to win a finished copy. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, August 14th at noon ET.

Carol's latest Bookreporter.com Bets On selections are THE END OF HER by Shari Lapena and HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney. Click on the titles for her commentaries. If you missed Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Alice Feeney, click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

Our Second Live Virtual Event: This is your last reminder to sign up for our second "Bookaccino Live” event, which will take place via Zoom TOMORROW, Wednesday, August 12th at 2pm ET. Carol will share some great summer reads that are out now through September 8th, as well as a few October titles. If you already signed up, please do not register again. This will ensure that we have an accurate attendee count. Registration closes at 10am ET so we have time to get leave behinds out before the event.

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John Lubbock

As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.

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John Lubbock