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We know we have added a number of new subscribers in the last few weeks, so I wanted to take a moment to welcome you to the ReadingGroupGuides newsletter!
How can we be just two weeks into January? I feel like it should be at least mid-February. I think being on Omicron alert has made these days feel very, very long. Somehow the word "Omicron" keeps making me think of a video game character bouncing around the screen, like Pac-Man trying to catch us.
My book group is pivoting to Zoom next week as we talk about our latest selection, TASTE: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci. I would have so loved to cook something for the group for this event, but alas I will turn on the ring light and log on. I am curious: Are your groups back to meeting in person, or are you meeting remotely? Shoot me a note and let me know!
Updates on Our Year-End Features
Over the last two months, we asked you to tell us your favorite book that you read with your book group last year and your favorite book that you read outside your group. The results are in, and we’re happy to share them with you here! THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah, a 2021 Bets On selection, was the top pick in both categories.
A special congratulations to our contest winner, Amy C. of Fort Worth, TX, who won eight titles releasing early this year that I think will be great for book group discussions (we will be talking about three of them later in this newsletter): THE GOOD SON by Jacquelyn Mitchard, HER HIDDEN GENIUS by Marie Benedict, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET by Diane Chamberlain, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis, THE MAID by Nita Prose, OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan, and VIOLETA by Isabel Allende. Amy, I am waiting for a few books to arrive and then I will get your prize on its way. To all those who contributed, thank you for sharing!
Also, our Most Requested Guides of 2021 are now available. We pulled together the 30 guides that were accessed the most by you last year. Your top five picks are ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman, AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro, THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett, and THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah. We always love seeing which guides appealed to you the most!
Our Latest Monthly Contest is Live!
Our first “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest title of the year is ETERNAL, Lisa Scottoline’s debut historical novel and a Bets On pick. It releases in paperback on February 1st.
Despite their differences, Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro are best friends. Elisabetta dreams of becoming a novelist, Marco comes from a family of professional cyclists, and Sandro is a Jewish mathematics prodigy. Both Sandro and Marco hope to win Elisabetta's heart. But everything changes in the autumn of 1937 as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. It isn’t long before everything these friends treasure the most --- their families, their homes and their connection to one another --- is tested in ways they never could have imagined.
Three groups will win up to 12 copies of this New York Times bestseller. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, February 9th at noon ET.
I am thrilled to announce that Lisa Scottoline will be our first “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest of 2022. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 23rd at 8pm ET, and you can sign up for it here. After I talk to Lisa about the book, we will take questions from the audience. If you have a question that you would like to ask on camera during the event, please email it to me using the subject line “Question for Lisa Scottoline.” ETERNAL was one of my favorite books of 2021, and I continue to be fascinated by the research that Lisa did for it, so I am looking forward to our discussion!
In our previous “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, here are the five books mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read: THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles, THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger, and THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett. Scroll further down the newsletter to see the Top 15.
My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Xochitl Gonzalez, whose debut novel, OLGA DIES DREAMING, will be a Bets On selection. Olga is a wedding planner for New York socialite types, and she deftly handles all of their quirks and high-end dreams. Her brother is a politician in Brooklyn who strives to represent the Puerto Rican community. While they seem to be in control of their lives, these appearances are deceiving. Both are haunted by their absent mother, who was a revolutionary in Puerto Rico. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, their lives collide with her again.
In the interview, Xochitl explains how her life and work have been influenced by growing up in Brooklyn. She talks about writing OLGA DIES DREAMING, which started at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and was once conceived as a memoir. She also penned the Hulu pilot script for the book and shares her writing process for that, as well as what it was like being on set with the cast and crew. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. The discussion guide is here, and we will feature my Bets On commentary in the late January newsletter.
One of the most buzzed-about books of the year is THE MAID by debut novelist Nita Prose. It’s January’s “Good Morning America” Book Club selection, a Top LibraryReads Pick, an Indie Next pick, and an upcoming Bets On title.
Here’s how “GMA” explains the plot: “Molly Gray [is] a 25-year-old maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a five-star boutique hotel, who has an obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette…. Gray's life is turned upside down when she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black. Not only is the room in a state of disarray, but Black is also dead in his bed. Police immediately turn to Gray and target her as their lead suspect due to her unusual demeanor and Gray quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception.” Click here for the guide.
Nita was on “GMA” yesterday to talk about THE MAID and how she came up with the idea for it. You can watch the segment here. I had the pleasure of chatting with Nita on Wednesday. The interview will be up on our YouTube channel next week, and we will feature it in our late January newsletter, along with my Bets On commentary.
Jessamine Chan’s much-talked-about debut novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS, is this month’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites selection.
“Today” describes the book as a “dystopian drama…about a young Chinese mother whose pride and joy is her only daughter, Harriet. After making one critical mistake, Frida finds herself in a government reform program for bad mothers. While the custody of her child hangs in the balance, she must prove her worth as a mother or risk losing Harriet forever.” Jenna raves that it “was so captivating, thought-provoking and beautifully written, everything I tried to pick up next paled in comparison. It was all I wanted to talk about, think about and read." Click here for the guide.
On Monday, January 31st at 3pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will discuss THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS with Jessamine on S&S’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. You can RSVP by clicking here.
We also have added discussion guides for these three books:
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HONOR: In Thrity Umrigar’s latest novel, which is Reese’s Book Club pick for this month, two courageous women try to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.
Here’s what Reese has to say about the book: “HONOR by Thrity Umrigar is about an Indian-American journalist named Smita who returns to India on assignment. The story she’s covering is an emotionally riddled one that utilizes the lives of characters to portray the cultural realities of India, both new and old. Her experiences lift the veil on the complexities of journalism and leave Smita questioning her boundaries as a reporter. Complex and unfiltered, these are the type of characters that stick with you long after you turn the pages.” I am a huge fan of Thrity’s work, and HONOR is on my to-be-read list.
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FIONA AND JANE: Spanning countries and selves, Jean Chen Ho’s debut short story collection is an intimate portrait of a friendship, a deep dive into the universal perplexities of being young and alive, and a bracingly honest account of two Asian women who dare to stake a claim on joy in a changing, contemporary America.
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THE REDEMPTION OF PHILIP THANE: Lisa Berne is back with the sixth book in her Penhallow Dynasty series. Philip Thane, a gentleman and a scoundrel, finds himself destined to relive the same day over and over until he gets it right --- including winning the affections of Miss Margaret Allen, who hates him. You can read a Q&A with Lisa here.
ANTHEM, Noah Hawley’s new literary thriller, is this month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. According to our Bookreporter reviewer Norah Piehl, the novel “kicks off a few years in the future, when today’s children --- now teenagers who are still emotionally scarred from growing up during a pandemic --- have begun killing themselves in vast numbers, a new and horrific sort of pandemic that is leaving their Gen-X parents both perplexed and terrified.” Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister’s tragic passing. He joins a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Their journey is spun through the pages of ANTHEM.
Hawley will discuss the book during a virtual B&N event on Tuesday, February 8th at 3pm ET. Click here to register.
For more January selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
We hosted our first “Bookaccino Live” preview event of 2022 on Wednesday afternoon. I talked about 33 books releasing between now and February 1st, along with seven from March, that I wanted to get on your radar. You can watch it here and see a list of the featured titles here.
Next month’s “Bookaccino Live” preview event will take place on Wednesday, February 9th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between February 8th and March 1st, along with a few from April, that I think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win a prize.
For our first "Bookreporter Talks To" interview of 2022, we did something different. As our producer Austin Ruh is much more familiar with the fantasy genre than I am, he chats with James Rollins about his latest novel, THE STARLESS CROWN, which kicks off his Moon Fall fantasy series. A gifted student who foretells an apocalypse, a broken soldier, a drunken prince and a thief who escapes from prison chains embark on a dangerous journey to uncover the secrets of the distant past and save their world.
In the interview, Rollins talks about bringing what he learned from writing thrillers to the fantasy genre. He also discusses his path to becoming a writer, inspirations for his worldbuilding, and the collaboration that took place to make this fantasy world a reality. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. I listened in and loved hearing the conversation between Rollins and Austin. We hope you enjoy it, too!
On Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm ET, Emma Straub will host the Buzz Books Editors Panel, a virtual event sponsored by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Six breakout authors will chat with their editors about their forthcoming titles: Melissa Bond (BLOOD ORANGE NIGHT), Melissa Chadburn (A TINY UPWARD SHOVE), Zain Khalid (BROTHER ALIVE), Robin Peguero (WITH PREJUDICE), Dolen Perkins-Valdez (TAKE MY HAND), and Shelby Van Pelt (REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES). Click here to sign up. Also, be sure to download the entire Buzz Books 2022: Spring/Summer guide to read excerpts of these titles as well as dozens more before the event. I am looking forward to this!
This year already has brought us so many terrific books to read. Every book that I have read would lend itself to a wonderful discussion!
We are meeting next Thursday on some redesign plans for ReadingGroupGuides.com. If you have anything that you would like us to consider, please drop me a note.
Here’s to your group having a great discussion this month!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of
ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline for Your Group
Each month in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" feature, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win up to 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
Our latest prize book is ETERNAL, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that releases in paperback on February 1st. Fueled by shocking true events, Lisa Scottoline's first historical novel is the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, February 9th at noon ET.
ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline (Historical Fiction)
Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kindhearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear --- their families, their homes and their connection to one another --- is tested in ways they never could have imagined.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Lisa Scottoline.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Lisa Scottoline's website.
- Click here to sign up for our "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event featuring Lisa Scottoline on Wednesday, February 23rd at 8pm ET.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: THE MAID by Nita Prose
January’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
and an Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE MAID by Nita Prose (Mystery)
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, 25-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter --- she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. But her orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Don't miss Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Nita Prose
and her Bookreporter Bets On commentary in the late January newsletter.
New Guide: THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS
by Jessamine Chan
January’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Pick
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan (Dystopian Fiction)
Frida Liu doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough. Until Frida has a very bad day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read an interview with Jessamine Chan.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Read with Jenna" pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez (Fiction)
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can’t seem to find her own...until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets. Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Xochitl Gonzalez.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Don't miss Carol's Bookreporter Bets On commentary
in the late January newsletter.
New Guide: HONOR by Thrity Umrigar
Reese's Book Club Pick for January
HONOR by Thrity Umrigar (Fiction)
Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly. Long ago, she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena --- a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man --- Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past. While Meena’s fate hangs in the balance, Smita tries in every way she can to right the scales. She also finds herself increasingly drawn to Mohan, an Indian man she meets while on assignment.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to visit the Reese's Book Club website.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: FIONA AND JANE by Jean Chen Ho
FIONA AND JANE by Jean Chen Ho (Fiction/Short Stories)
Best friends since second grade, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts. When Fiona moves to New York and cares for a sick friend through a breakup with an opportunistic boyfriend, Jane remains in California and grieves her estranged father's sudden death, in the process alienating an overzealous girlfriend. Strained by distance and unintended betrayals, the women float in and out of each other's lives, their friendship both a beacon of home and a reminder of all they've lost.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide:
THE REDEMPTION OF PHILIP THANE
by Lisa Berne
THE REDEMPTION OF PHILIP THANE: The Penhallow Dynasty by Lisa Berne (Historical Romance)
Philip Thane --- rogue, rake and scoundrel extraordinaire --- hadn’t wanted to visit some dumpy provincial town to give a speech, but he’d struck a devil’s bargain with old Henrietta Penhallow, the imperious family matriarch. Nor did he expect that once he got there, he’d somehow be living the same day over and over again. It’s strange! It’s terrible! On the other hand, it is giving him time to cozy up to the delectable and brainy Margaret Allen, in town to research the book she’s writing. Philip is sure she’ll fall starry-eyed into his arms, just as women always do. But to his amazement, Miss Allen stands firm against his wiles, day after day. How can she resist his seductive charm? Why won’t she change her mind? What must he do to win her heart?
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read critical praise.
- Click here to read an interview with Lisa Berne.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Our Reader-Selected Best Books of 2021
Over the last two months, we asked you to share both your favorite book that you read with your book group and your favorite book that you read outside your group in 2021. The top 10 results in each category are in! THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah was the top pick in both categories.
A special congratulations to our contest winner, Amy C. of Fort Worth, TX, who won eight fabulous book group titles releasing this year: THE GOOD SON by Jacquelyn Mitchard, HER HIDDEN GENIUS by Marie Benedict, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET by Diane Chamberlain, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis, THE MAID by Nita Prose, OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan, and VIOLETA by Isabel Allende.
Click here for our reader-selected best books of 2021.
Most Requested Guides of 2021
Our Most Requested Guides feature for 2021 has been updated. We took a look at all of the guides that you accessed last year, and from there we pulled together a list of the top 30 titles. Below are the 10 most popular guides, and you can click here for the full list. We love seeing which books resonated the most with you and your group!
Click here for the complete list of the Most Requested Guides of 2021.
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for January
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Costco's "Buyer's Pick." We also feature a number of other prominent picks, including Oprah’s Book Club, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Reese's Book Club, Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites.
Below is a preview of January's "Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks." For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: TO PARADISE by Hanya Yanagihara
LOST & FOUND: A Memoir by Kathryn Schulz
THE MAID by Nita Prose
FIONA AND JANE by Jean Chen Ho
OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez
LibraryReads
Top Pick: THE MAID by Nita Prose
THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS by Eva Jurczyk
ELECTRIC IDOL by Katee Robert
A FLICKER IN THE DARK by Stacy Willingham
MUST LOVE BOOKS by Shauna Robinson
Target Book Club
THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain
Costco's "Buyer's Pick"
SOMETHING TO HIDE: A Lynley Novel by Elizabeth George
Barnes & Noble Book Club
ANTHEM by Noah Hawley
Reese's Book Club
HONOR by Thrity Umrigar
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan
"Good Morning America" Book Club
THE MAID by Nita Prose
Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan
Our Most Popular Book Group Selections for November/December’s "What's Your Book Group
Reading This Month?" Contest
ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 10 ½ Annual Book Group
Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups
On November 12th, we hosted our 10 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians and book club leaders. More than 75 books that would make great book group selections for Winter/Spring 2022 were presented by 17 publishers. You can watch the entire presentation here. The video is timestamped, so if you would like to jump ahead to a specific publisher, be sure to use the links below.
Bloomsbury • Grove Atlantic • Hachette Book Group • Harlequin Trade Publishing • Ingram Publishing Group (Godine, Keylight Books, Restless Books, Scribe US, Zando) • Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group • Random House Publishing Group • Simon & Schuster • Soho Press • Sourcebooks • Tom Doherty Associates • William Morrow • W. W. Norton
If you would like to know more about these books, here is a link to a page with the PowerPoint presentation of the featured titles, as well as an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books both by publisher and alphabetically by title.
Click here to watch our 10 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event.
From left to right: Weike Wang, Thrity Umrigar, Eva Jurczyk
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
As so many book and author events are happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.
Tuesday, January 18th at 7:30pm ET: Macmillan Publishers: Join New York Times bestselling biographer Charles J. Shields for a virtual discussion of his latest book, LORRAINE HANSBERRY: The Life Behind A Raisin in the Sun, with Alison Cuddy.
Wednesday, January 19th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Jillian Cantor (BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS), Jenny Judson and Danielle Mahfood (THE LAST SEASON).
Wednesday, January 19th at 7pm ET: McNally Jackson: Join Weike Wang for the virtual launch of her new novel, JOAN IS OKAY, which is about a marvelously complicated woman who can’t be anyone but herself.
Friday, January 21st at 7pm ET: Loganberry Books: Thrity Umrigar and Paula McLain will be in conversation about Thrity’s dazzling new book, HONOR, which is this month's Reese's Book Club pick.
Monday, January 24th at 7pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Eva Jurczyk will discuss her debut novel, THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, in which a librarian's quiet life is turned upside down when a priceless manuscript goes missing.
Tuesday, January 25th at 7pm ET: Sourcebooks: Sourcebooks Landmark --- in partnership with Buxton Books, Copperfish Books, FoxTale Book Shoppe, Politics & Prose and Titcomb's Bookshop --- welcomes Marie Benedict in conversation with Beatriz Williams for the virtual launch of Marie's new book, HER HIDDEN GENIUS.
Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm ET: American Booksellers Association/Publishers Lunch: Emma Straub will host the Buzz Books Editors Panel, a virtual event sponsored by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Six breakout authors will chat with their editors about their forthcoming titles.
Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm ET: Cuyahoga County Public Library: Fiona Davis will be in conversation with Jillian Cantor (author of BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS) about her latest historical novel, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE.
Wednesday, January 26th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Amor Towles about his most recent novel, THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY, a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Wednesday, January 26th at 8pm ET: Loyalty Bookstores: Loyalty is super psyched to celebrate the release of JOAN IS OKAY, the new novel from Weike Wang, who will be in conversation with Angie Kim.
Thursday, January 27th at 7pm ET: Belmont Books and Books & Books: Belmont Books and Books & Books will be co-hosting a virtual evening with author Thrity Umrigar, in conversation with Ellen Barry, whose New York Times articles inspired Thrity to write her new book, HONOR.
Thursday, January 27th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Marie Benedict will discuss her new novel, HER HIDDEN GENIUS, which shines a light on a woman who sacrificed her life to discover the nature of our very DNA.
Thursday, January 27th at 8:30pm ET: Murder By The Book: Fiona Davis will talk about her new book, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
Here are our latest interviews:
Other authors we've interviewed include:
Upcoming interviews include:
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
ETERNAL by Lisa Scottoline (Historical Fiction)
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism.
FIONA AND JANE by Jean Chen Ho (Fiction/Short Stories)
FIONA AND JANE is a witty, warm and irreverent book that traces the lives of two young Taiwanese American women as they navigate friendship, sexuality, identity and heartbreak over two decades.
HONOR by Thrity Umrigar (Fiction)
In this riveting and immersive novel, bestselling author Thrity Umrigar tells the story of two couples and the sometimes dangerous and heartbreaking challenges of love across a cultural divide.
THE MAID by Nita Prose (Mystery)
A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed. Solving the mystery will turn her once orderly world upside down in this utterly original debut.
OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez (Fiction)
A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social ambitions, absent mother and Puerto Rican roots --- all in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
THE REDEMPTION OF PHILIP THANE: The Penhallow Dynasty by Lisa Berne (Historical Romance)
How many times can a rake get it wrong...before he becomes Mr. Right? The celebrated Penhallow Dynasty series continues in this deliciously witty and romantic Regency, perfect for readers of Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas and Sarah MacLean.
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan (Dystopian Fiction)
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgment lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME by Julia Claiborne Johnson (Historical Fiction)
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME is the dazzling second novel from the bestselling author of BE FRANK WITH ME, a charming story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities and complications of friendship and love, set in late 1930s Reno.
THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD by Melanie Benjamin (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE AVIATOR’S WIFE comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.
DON'T LOOK FOR ME by Wendy Walker (Psychological Thriller)
From the bestselling author of ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN comes DON'T LOOK FOR ME, a compelling and emotionally powerful story of a daughter's desperate search to find her mother before it's too late.
THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE by Nancy Jooyoun Kim (Fiction)
A profoundly moving and unconventional mother-daughter saga, THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE illustrates the devastating realities of being an immigrant in America.
THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS by Susan Meissner (Fiction)
From the acclaimed author of THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR and AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
OF WOMEN AND SALT by Gabriela Garcia (Fiction)
Gabriela Garcia's OF WOMEN AND SALT is a sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter's fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.
THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain (Psychological Thriller)
THE PUSH is a tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family, and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for --- and everything she feared.
THE SANATORIUM by Sarah Pearse (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Set in the eerie and isolated Swiss Alps at Le Sommet, a luxurious, five-star resort built on the site of an abandoned tuberculous sanatorium, Sarah Pearse's debut novel beautifully balances a heart-pounding plot with intriguing, three-dimensional characters. You won't want to leave...until you can't.
THE SURVIVORS by Jane Harper (Mystery/Thriller)
Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets in THE SURVIVORS, a thrilling mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper.
YELLOW WIFE by Sadeqa Johnson (Historical Fiction)
Called "wholly engrossing" by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Grissom, this harrowing story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
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