Last week at BookExpo America (BEA), I got a chance to meet some of our readers at the Speed Dating sessions that we sponsored on Friday and Saturday. One reader said “she wanted to be me” after reading the newsletters for years. A few moments later, when I was toting some big boxes of galleys, I joked, “Still want to be me?” It was amusing as the crazy behind-the-scenes action that rolls the week we are pulling together an update includes a lot of feverish writing and gathering of materials for the books we are featuring. It also means that, by Friday night, I usually decompress by…watching a movie. I am a big Netflix fan, though recently we have queued up films that end abruptly, leaving us to guess the ending, leading my husband to glance at me and say, “Again?” I think that should be included with a rating. “Ends abruptly; be prepared.”

We know that many of you were not able to join us in New York last week, but you still are curious about what fall/winter 2013 books are perfect for book group discussions. Click here to find suggestions from more than 20 publishers. To give you an easy way to mark what you want to suggest at your future meetings, we also are providing a spreadsheet with all the featured titles here. In the weeks to come, we also will have videos from some of the publishers who presented at BEA so you can share those with your book group as well. The abject enthusiasm of the publisher participants, as well as the rapt attention from the attendees, made this a really fun event. We also have shared some pictures so you can see how the day unfolded, including one above.

As we celebrate the imminent start of summer, we have FIVE contests to tell you about, and all feature books that I have read --- and enjoyed. First up is Pastors’ Wives by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. The three women who are at the heart of this story set at a megachurch end up to be women much like many of us, trying to hold hearth and home together. Their troubles are earthly, and there were a lot more humorous moments in this book than I thought I would encounter --- some of which were laugh-out-loud. My favorite character was Candace; I can picture her looks of ice as she maneuvers her way to make Greenleaf thrive. Cullen’s gift as a storyteller is a terrific balancing act between being respectful and also entertaining. There is no overt religious message in this book, and it is not preachy. We’re giving 25 groups the opportunity to win a copy of the book. All you have to do is fill out this form by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

Next up is The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard. Kirsten Hammarstrom hasn’t been home ever since the mysterious disappearance of a local teenage girl shattered her family. Kirsten was just nine years old when Stacy Lemke went missing, and the last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Johnny, Kirsten’s older brother. Years later, a new tragedy forces Kirsten and her siblings to return home, where they must confront the devastating event that shifted the trajectory of their lives. When I read about someone accused or convicted, I often think what it must be like to be related to that person, especially a sibling. Here that role is examined in fiction, as well as how lives are shattered when the truth is buried. We have 25 copies of the book to give away to readers; to enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

Meanwhile, we’re giving 100 readers the chance to win a copy of The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti. Michelle got this book into my hands, and I am excited about sharing it with you. If you enjoyed The Kite Runner or In the Shadow of the Banyan, you will want to read The Almond Tree. The story explores the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through the eyes of a young boy who calls a plot of land in the embattled territory --- home. Ichmad Hamid is gifted with a mind that continues to impress the elders in his village, but he struggles with knowing that he can do nothing to save his friends and family. Living on occupied land, his entire village operates in fear of losing their homes, jobs and belongings. But more importantly, they fear losing each other. On Ichmad's 12th birthday, that fear becomes reality. With his father imprisoned, his family's home and possessions confiscated, and his siblings quickly succumbing to hatred in the face of conflict, Ichmad begins an inspiring journey using his intellect to save his poor and dying family. To enter the contest, please fill out this form by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

If you’re a Debbie Macomber fan and looking for a fun summer getaway, have we got an exciting offer for you. Win a trip to Debbie Macomber’s Fan Retreat for you and a friend! It will take place at the Opryland Resort from August 9-11; this is the perfect way to experience all the tastes, sounds and Southern charms of Nashville while also enjoying the company of other fans of Debbie’s --- and spending time with this beloved author. Read on for more about this weekend later in this newsletter, or just click here for more and to enter for your chance to win a FREE pair of tickets to attend this three-day celebration, which includes entry to all the events. (The prize does not include travel or accommodations.) But even if you can’t make it to Nashville, you can still return to the beloved town of Cedar Cove with Debbie’s new Rose Harbor series. Start your journey with The Inn at Rose Harbor, which was published last summer in hardcover and will be out in paperback on July 30th, and don’t miss Rose Harbor in Bloom, out on August 13th!

The latest book in our "What Are You Reading" contest is Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky, which we’ve talked about in previous newsletters. Here, readers meet Charlotte and Nicole, who were once the best of friends but have since grown apart. They eventually reunite, but what both women don't know is that they are each holding a secret that may change their relationship forever. Let us know what your group is reading in June by filling out this form, and you could be one of three winners who will receive 12 copies of Sweet Salt Air (which releases on June 18th) for you and your group members. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

Back in February, we offered book clubs the chance to win up to 12 copies each of Sweet Salt Air, provided that members of the winning groups agreed to discuss the book at their April, May or June meeting; email friends and tell them about the book; and post comments about the book and/or their discussion on Barbara Delinsky’s Facebook page, their personal Facebook pages, Twitter accounts or blogs. We’re now pleased to share with you what some of the winning book groups had to say about the book --- along with photos of some of the groups and even a video clip of a group discussing the book. Many thanks to those who have given us their feedback thus far, and we look forward to sharing more reports from our readers in the future!

We have a number of featured guides to tell you about, and we begin with Lionel Shriver’s Big Brother. For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. But her husband, Fletcher, now spurns her “toxic” dishes and devotes hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.

Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan have teamed up for the first time to pen I’ll Be Seeing You, which we’re featuring in our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight on Bookreporter.com. Glory Whitehall and Rita Vincenzo have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are soldiers fighting in World War II. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, they begin a remarkable correspondence as their letters allow them to survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front. Those who read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will appreciate the epistolary format of this book. Read the guide, along with our Bookreporter.com review and interview.

Jami Attenberg’s much-talked-about novel from last year, The Middlesteins, is now available in paperback. For more than 30 years, Edie and Richard Middlestein shared a solid family life together in the suburbs of Chicago. But now things are splintering apart, seemingly for one reason: Edie's enormous girth. When Richard abandons her, it is up to the next generation of Middlesteins to take control. Do Edie's devastating choices rest on her shoulders alone, or are others at fault, too? Read the guide and our Bookreporter.com review.

Available in paperback on June 25th is Luanne Rice’s 2012 novel, Little Night. After serving prison time for assaulting her sister's abusive husband, Clare Burke has become used to living without family. However, when her grown niece, Grit, contacts her, Clare welcomes her with open arms in an attempt to rebuild severed relationships and garner answers to her confusing and painful past. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.com.

In The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro, young newlywed Grace Monroe receives some shocking news: she has inherited a large sum of money from a woman she’s never met. Then, upon discovering her husband may not be who she thought he was, she flees her marriage and finds herself in Paris, embarking upon a journey to find not only the identity of her mysterious benefactor but also the hidden secrets of her own past. Click here for the guide.

Daphne Kalotay, the critically acclaimed author of Russian Winter, is back with a new novel, Sight Reading. Hazel and Remy spot each other for the first time in years. Remy, a gifted violinist, is married to the Scottish composer Nicholas Elk --- once the love of Hazel's life, now struggling with a masterwork he cannot realize. In the 20 years since Hazel's world was tipped on its axis, these three artists have faced unexpected joys, mysterious afflictions and other puzzles of life, their fates irrevocably interlaced. Read the guide and our Bookreporter.com review.

Shohreh Aghdashloo is an Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actress whose prolific work on stage and screen has been lauded for decades in both her native Iran and her adopted home in the United States. American audiences know her from roles as Ben Kingsley’s character’s wife in House of Sand and Fog, in HBO’s acclaimed House of Saddam, and as a terrorist in season 4 of Fox’s “24.” Aghdashloo now shares her personal journey from a childhood in the Shah’s Iran to the red carpets of Hollywood in The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines, a memoir of family, faith, revolution and hope. Click here for the guide.

Our final featured guide is The Way Back to Happiness by Elizabeth Bass. The death of Bev’s estranged sister, Diana, leaves her in a maelstrom of remorse. She longs to provide a stable home for Diana’s 14-year-old daughter, Alabama. All Alabama knows about Aunt Bev is what her mother told her --- and none of it was good. In desperation, Alabama sets out to find her late father’s family. Instead she learns of the complicated history between her mother and aunt, and how guilt can shut down a life. Click here for the guide.

Once again, we’re celebrating dads on Bookreporter.com with our Eighth Annual Father’s Day Contest and Feature. From now through June 10th at noon ET, readers can win a collection of books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five winners will receive all the books we’re featuring, along with a cooler that is touted to keep contents cold for two days, a flashlight, and an iTunes gift card. Click here to see all our featured titles and enter for a chance to make your dad one happy camper.

We’re giving away a different book on select days through July 31st in our Summer Reading Contests on Bookreporter.com. This week, we posted giveaways for Sutton by J. R. Moehringer (here’s a great video of J.R. talking about the story behind this book) and Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff, a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Next week, we’ve be giving away The Innocents by Francesca Segal and Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe. Are you signed up for our Summer Reading newsletter so you get word as soon as our contests go live? If not, click here to get signed up!

June is Audiobook Month, and to celebrate, we’re kicking off a month-long blog series on Bookreporter.com with pieces from authors who are avid fans of audiobooks. This week, we heard from Janis Ian, Mary Kay Andrews, Jack Gantos, Francesca Serritella and Gary Dell’Abate. Next week, we look forward to pieces from Aaron Hartzler, Mary Roach, Rainbow Rowell, Joseph Finder and Karin Slaughter.

More news from other sites in The Book Report Network…. Know a teen reader? Then send them over to this link to enter our Teenreads.com Beach Bag Contest, where we are giving away 20(!) books, along with a beach bag and a towel! Know a twentysomething reader? Then send them over to this link to enter our 20SomethingReads.com Beach Bag Contest, where we have 20 books that will appeal to them, along with their own special beach bag and towel. Both sites are full of reading ideas; one of our passions is curating books for readers of all ages.

Rainy, rainy day here, which may be remnants from the first tropical storm of the season, which hit down south. I never am sure about such things. It’s a good day for clearing out all the emails that have little red flags next to them; there are way, way too many of them. Also, I can look at the picture above of the really beautiful hibiscus plant that is being rain-watered on my patio. I love these flowers, and we have MANY of them surrounding us this year.

Here’s to a great month of reading for you and your group….we’ll be back to you next month after the loooong 4th of July weekend as we know many people will be busy with holiday plans the first week in July. We’re leaving our contests up a few extra days to be sure you get to enjoy them!

We are celebrating the release of Pastors’ Wives --- Lisa Takeuchi Cullen’s debut novel that follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch--- with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now in stores, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

More about Pastors’ Wives:
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen’s debut novel, Pastors’ Wives, follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a megachurch called Greenleaf. Candace is Greenleaf’s "First Lady," a force of nature who will stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their roads collide in one chaotic event that exposes their true selves.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

We are celebrating the upcoming release of The Mourning Hours by debut author Paula Treick DeBoard --- a gripping novel of betrayal and forgiveness as a family is forced to confront the devastating event that changed the trajectory of their lives --- with a special contest. 25 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which will be in stores on June 25th, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET.

More about The Mourning Hours:
Kirsten Hammarstrom hasn’t been home to her tiny corner of rural Wisconsin in years --- not since the mysterious disappearance of a local teenage girl rocked the town and shattered her family. Kirsten was just nine years old when Stacy Lemke went missing, and the last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Johnny--- the high school wrestling star and Kirsten’s older brother. No one knows what to believe --- not even those closest to Johnny --- but the event unhinges the quiet farming community and pins Kirsten’s family beneath the crushing weight of suspicion. Now, years later, a new tragedy forces Kirsten and her siblings to return home, where they must confront the devastating event that shifted the trajectory of their lives.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

More about The Almond Tree:
The Almond Tree is a big-hearted story of a small Palestinian boy who learns to survive in a brutal environment and doesn’t simply endure, but emerges from the fire with the wisdom gleaned from the example of a father who has taught him that all men have value, even their enemies. This is a tale of innocence moving through a vicious world, compassion learned against an environment of daily horrors, and wisdom forged through a boy’s journey through a life we would never wish upon our own children.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

Let us know what your group is reading in June, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky, the story of a woman who has a secret that may save the life of her best friend's husband --- or destroy him. We have 12 copies of the book, which will be in stores on June 18th, to give away to three groups. Enter here by Tuesday, July 9th at noon ET for your chance to win copies for you and your group members.

More about Sweet Salt Air:
Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole's family's island house, but they have since grown apart. A successful travel writer, Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, lives in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian. When Nicole returns to the island house in order to write a book about island food, she invites her old friend Charlotte for both sentimental and practical reasons. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for talking to people and making friends, and Nicole would like her help interviewing locals for her book. Missing a genuine connection, Charlotte agrees.

But what both women don't know is that they are each holding a secret that may change their relationship forever. Are the bonds of friendship strong enough to weather past indiscretions and betrayals? Can love survive an honest mistake?

For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed cabinetmaker who crafts high-end, one-of-a-kind furniture, now spurns the “toxic” dishes that he’d savored through their courtship, and loses hours a day to manic cycling. But the couple’s comfortable, if sometimes strained, routine is about to implode. When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she literally doesn’t recognize him. In the four years since the grown siblings last saw one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened?

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother, impulsive and free as a bird. Rita is a sensible professor's wife with a love of gardening and a generous, old soul. Glory comes from New England society; Rita lives in Iowa, trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, Glory and Rita begin a remarkable correspondence.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to read our interview on Bookreporter.com.

For more than 30 years, Edie and Richard Middlestein shared a solid family life together in the suburbs of Chicago. But things are splintering apart, for one reason, it seems: Edie is fixated on food --- thinking about it, eating it --- and if she doesn’t stop, she won’t have much longer to live. When Richard abandons his wife, it is up to their distant daughter, easygoing son and perfectionist daughter-in-law to save Edie’s life.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Clare Burke’s life took a devastating turn when she defended her sister, Anne, from an abusive husband and ended up serving prison time for assault. Nearly 20 years later --- long estranged from her sister --- Clare is living a quiet life in Manhattan as an urban birder and nature blogger, when Anne’s daughter, Grit, shows up on her doorstep. When it appears that Anne has followed Grit, each woman wonders what their long-awaited reunion will bring.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

On a Boston street one warm spring day, Hazel and Remy spot each other for the first time in years. Although their brief meeting may seem insignificant, behind them lie two decades in which their life paths have crisscrossed, diverged and ultimately interlaced. As their story unfolds from 1987 to 2007, from Europe to America, from conservatory life to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, each discovers the surprising ways in which the quest to create something real and true can lead to the most personal of revelations.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

PS. When you use the links below to purchase books, you also support ReadingGroupGuides.com as we have affiliate arrangements with each of them. Please consider this when shopping for books online!

We are celebrating the release of The Inquisitor’s Wife by Jeanne Kalogridis --- a tale of love, loss and treachery set during the perilous days of the Spanish Inquisition --- with a special contest. Five readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now in stores, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, June 4th at noon ET.

More about The Inquisitor’s Wife:
1481 Seville: The Inquisition makes its first appearance in Spain. Its target: conversos, Christians of Jewish descent --- specifically those who practice Judaism secretly in their homes. The penalty for “crypto-Judaism”: Burning at the stake.

Marisol Garcia, a young conversa, is hurriedly wed to Gabriel, a civil lawyer working for the Inquisition, in hopes that he will protect her. But she still yearns for the childhood love who abandoned her four years earlier, and she’s shocked when he reappears suddenly at her wedding.

When her father is arrested and tortured, Marisol finds herself caught between her love for him and her desire to save the lives of her people. After becoming a favorite of the ruthless Queen Isabella, Marisol discovers a dangerous secret about her former lover, Antonio, and finds herself trapped in a life-threatening web of intrigue. As the Inquisition’s snares tighten around her, Marisol’s love for Antonio and loyalty to her Jewish family is tested as never before.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here for our Paperback Spotlight feature on Bookreporter.com.

We are celebrating the release of The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb --- a modern take on a gothic ghost story with long-buried family secrets bubbling to the surface --- with a special contest. Three book groups will win a chat with Wendy (by phone, via Skype, or in person) and 12 copies of The Fate of Mercy Alban, while 25 other groups will win one copy of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, June 4th at noon ET.

More about The Fate of Mercy Alban:
Grace Alban has spent 20 years away from her childhood home, the stately Alban House on the shores of Lake Superior, for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother's unexpected death brings Grace and her teenage daughter home, she finds more haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House than her own personal demons.

Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters and a lost manuscript plunge Grace Alban into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at the stately Alban House, when a world-famous author took his own life and Grace's aunt disappeared without a trace. The night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for years, and Grace realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the secret passages of Alban House. Her mother was intending to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died. Could it have been murder? Or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse?

With the help of the disarmingly kind --- and attractive --- Reverend Matthew Parker, Grace must uncover the truth about her home and its curse before she and her daughter become the next victims.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

We are celebrating the release of The One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier --- an unforgettable portrait of loneliness, family, community, and the kinds of changes we make for love --- with a special contest. Three readers will have the opportunity to each win 12 copies of the book, which is now in stores, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Tuesday, June 4th at noon ET.

More about The One-Way Bridge:
Cathie Pelletier draws readers back to the beloved town of Mattagash, a seemingly quiet New England outpost in Maine. Yet Mattagash is anything but tranquil. While its citizens bicker publicly over small-town theft or their neighbors’ offensive mailboxes, they privately struggle through deeper life issues: scandal, loss, failed ambitions, and the scars of war. Reaching across the vastness of America and into the jungles of Vietnam, The One-Way Bridge is an unforgettable portrait of loneliness, family, and community --- and the kinds of changes we make for love.

-Click here for the reading group guide.

More about Beautiful Ruins:
From the moment it opens --- on a rocky patch of Italian coastline, circa 1962, when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat --- Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, Beautiful Ruins is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising --- a story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring three women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need one another --- and maybe a miracle --- to transform their lives. An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to read our interview with Kristin Hannah.

Kate Vaughan has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. But she wants more than the perfect on paper relationship; she wants a real and imperfect love. That's why, when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan's drawer, she panics. It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we’re betting you’ll love this book.
-Click here to read our interview with Patti Callahan Henry.

Neglected by her parents, 19-year-old Maya Vidal grows up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother, Nidia, affectionately known as Nini, is a force of nature --- willful and outspoken, unconventionally wise with a mystical streak, and fiercely protective --- a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya’s grandfather, is an African-American astronomer and professor --- a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya’s adolescence. When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

An immigrant tale that combines elements of Jewish and Arab folk mythology, Helene Wecker’s sparkling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who arrive separately in New York in 1899. The woman is a golem created out of clay in Poland by an aged dabbler in the dark Kabbalistic arts to be the wife of a man who then dies at sea, leaving her unmoored and adrift as the ship comes into New York harbor; the man is a jinni, a being of fire, who is trapped by a Bedouin wizard in a copper flask and released accidentally by a Syrian tinsmith in lower Manhattan. The narrative traces their respective journeys, as they explore the strange human city.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to read an interview with Helene Wecker.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother --- a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang --- and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty and keen instincts. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do rises in the ranks. He becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

It is 1943 --- the height of the Second World War --- and Berlin has essentially become a city of women. Sigrid Schröder is, for all intents and purposes, the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime. But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman who dreams of her former lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. Her lover is a Jew. But Sigrid is not the only one with secrets.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we’re betting you’ll love this book.

Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear. Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, but most just say he’s “on the spectrum.” None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can’t protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.

-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry: And Then I Found You gives new life to the phrase “inspired by a true story.” By traveling back to a painful time in her own family’s history, bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry explores the limits of courage, and the price of a selfless act.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter: From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, Beautiful Ruins is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising --- a story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.
The Blue Fox by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb: A hunter’s determination raises questions about his approach to life and the survival of the most vulnerable members of his community.
The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb: The Fate of Mercy Alban is a modern take on a gothic ghost story with long-buried family secrets bubbling to the surface in an old mansion on Lake Superior when Grace Alban’s mother dies under questionable circumstances.
Fly Away by Kristin Hannah: An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss and new beginnings, Fly Away returns to the beloved characters first introduced in Firefly Lane and reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness.
A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story by Qais Akbar Omar: This stunning coming-of-age memoir set in Afghanistan reveals the richness and suffering of life in a country whose history has become deeply entwined with our own.
From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb: From the Mouth of the Whale takes us to 17th-century Iceland, where persecution and superstition obscure the truths revealed by a compassionate healer.
Godiva by Nicole Galland: From the author of The Fool’s Tale comes a brilliantly-crafted retelling of the legend of Lady Godiva.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker: The Golem and the Jinni is a marvelous and absorbing debut novel, a combination of vivid historical fiction and magical fable, about two supernatural creatures in turn-of-the-century immigrant New York.
A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb: From international bestselling author Katherine Webb comes a spellbinding portrait of the power of love and obsession, the unfaithful nature of memory and the passions that move us.
Hemlock Grove: Movie Tie-in Edition by Brian McGreevy: Hemlock Grove is a reinvention of the gothic novel, inspired by the iconic characters of our greatest myths and nightmares, and is now a Netflix Original Series.
The Inquisitor’s Wife: A Novel of Renaissance Spain by Jeanne Kalogridis: From the bestselling author of The Borgia Bride and The Scarlet Contessa comes a tale of love, loss and treachery set during the perilous days of the Spanish Inquisition.
Magnificent Joe by James Wheatley: Magnificent Joe is a poignant, compelling, often dark, and frequently funny novel about how an extraordinary friendship can offer redemption and help rebuild a life.
Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende: From New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende comes a riveting story of a teenage girl’s descent into drugs, crime and prostitution, and her rocky rebirth.
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks: Narrated by Budo, a character with a unique ability to have a foot in many worlds --- imaginary, real, child and adult --- Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend touches on the truths of life, love and friendship as it races to a heartwarming…and heartbreaking conclusion.
The One-Way Bridge by Cathie Pelletier: In her highly anticipated new novel, acclaimed literary master Cathie Pelletier returns to Mattagash, Maine, the beloved New England town where it all started.
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson: In this epic, critically acclaimed tour de force --- and winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize --- Adam Johnson provides a riveting portrait of a world rife with hunger, corruption and casual cruelty, but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: This critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller by the renowned psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics is a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains how we make decisions.
Unwritten by Charles Martin: In Charles Martin’s latest novel, an actress running from her past finds escape with a man hiding from his future.
The Whispering Muse by Sjón, translated by Victoria Cribb: Readers board a sailing vessel in the aftermath of World War II, but find themselves transported to ancient Greece.
The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne: The World’s Strongest Librarian is an impassioned testimony to the importance of family and the redemptive power of books and libraries.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

City of Women by David R. Gillham: It is 1943, the height of the Second World War. With the men away at the front, Berlin has become a city of women.
Gold by Chris Cleave: Little Bee author Chris Cleave examines the values that lie at the heart of our most intimate relationships, and the choices we make when lives are at stake and everything is on the line.
Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French: Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind the notorious murder of a young Englishwoman, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.
The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan: The Big Chill meets The Group in Deborah Copaken Kogan's wry, lively and irresistible new novel about a once-close circle of friends at their 20th college reunion.
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian: The Sandcastle Girls, a sweeping historical love story, is steeped in the author's Armenian heritage --- a subject his legions of fans have been asking him to write about for years.
Where We Belong by Emily Giffin: The author of five blockbuster novels, Emily Giffin delivers an unforgettable story of two women, the families that make them who they are, and the longing, loyalty and love that binds them together.

The following new guide is now available for Christian book groups:

When Love Calls: The Gregory Sisters, Book 1 by Lorna Seilstad: It is 1908, and Hannah Gregory has her hands full providing for her two younger sisters. When romance calls, will she choose to answer?