February 12, 2022

February 12, 2022

The Joy of a Group Discussion

I love to read, but when I close a book, I only have my impression of it. It’s why I love reading what our reviewers say about books on Bookreporter.com. And why I crave discussing a book with my book group. There is always something I have missed, or another way of looking at something. As time goes on in our group, we have come to know what someone will cringe over, or fall in love with, or want to read. But for all we know, we still surprise each other. And I always walk away with a more rounded look at a book. I am so looking forward to discussing THE MAID by Nita Prose with them next week. It’s one of those brisk books with a strong voice.

We have one really fun event coming up, and this is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for it. It's our “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event on Wednesday, February 23rd at 8pm ET. Our guest will be Lisa Scottoline, whose first historical novel, ETERNAL, released this month in paperback. Here’s the format if you have never participated in one of these programs before. We will open with my talking to Lisa about ETERNAL and asking her some questions about what’s next for her. Following my opening dialogue with her, Lisa will answer questions from our attendees, including a select few who will join us “on stage.”

If you’d like to ask your question on camera during the event, please send me an email with the subject line “Question for Lisa Scottoline,” along with your question, by Tuesday, February 22nd at 6pm ET. Do not be shy about this. Lisa LOVES talking to readers. Those who are camera shy may share their thoughts with her via the Q&A section on Zoom. Austin Ruh, our producer, will then share them with Lisa. We look forward to “seeing” you there.

Elizabeth, one of our readers, won copies of ETERNAL for her group in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest. She wrote, “How absolutely exciting; I cannot wait to tell everyone. Thank you so very, very much. Our group is actually from Malvern, Pennsylvania, and we read every book Lisa writes. We are definitely super fans! We have even attended her Big Book Parties. Thank you again!”

It’s been four years since the release of Francine Rivers’ last book, THE MASTERPIECE, so I’m happy to say that her latest novel, THE LADY’S MINE, is now in stores. She returns to the California frontier to tell the story of a displaced New England suffragette and a former Union soldier disinherited by his Southern family who join forces to save a small mining town. Click here for the discussion guide.

The book’s publication coincides with the theatrical release of Redeeming Love, based on Francine’s mega-bestselling book of the same name, and the launch of the Redeeming Love Sanctuary Foundation, whose mission is “to aid in preventing sex trafficking and abuse and to support those impacted, by funding survivor support services, education, recovery and prevention programs in the United States and abroad.” Click here to visit the Foundation’s website and learn more about it.

Charmaine Wilkerson’s much-talked-about debut novel, BLACK CAKE, is this month’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Charmaine calls the book “a story about the inheritance of loyalty, of betrayals, of secrets and the power of friendship, the power and possibility of second chances.” And according to Jenna Bush Hager, “There is something almost mysterious about it. I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen and who these characters were.”

I am looking forward to chatting with Charmaine next week, and we will feature my interview with her in the next newsletter. In the meantime, click here for the guide and here for my Bets On commentary of this wonderful, very cleverly told story.

We also have added discussion guides for these four books:

THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR: Nina de Gramont’s latest novel is Reese’s Book Club pick for February. Here are Reese’s thoughts on the book: “This novel covers the 11 days in 1926 when famed novelist Agatha Christie went missing. That's right, an unexpected mix of historical fiction and romance, heartbreak and revenge based on true happenings. But here's the twist: it's told through the perspective of her husband's mistress! I found myself binging this book in one sitting…”
THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY: Brendan Slocumb’s debut novel is this month’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick. It revolves around a Black classical musician’s desperate quest to recover his lost violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. Slocumb told “GMA,” “You'll learn a lot about a world you might not have known anything about: classical music. [And] stories like Ray's happen all the time but rarely have an opportunity to be heard. Now people seem to be more receptive to listen and empathize and gain a new perspective on what it's like for young artists --- especially what Black artists have to go through.”
VERY COLD PEOPLE: Sarah Manguso’s eagerly awaited debut novel is “[a]t once an ungilded portrait of girlhood at the crossroads of history and social class, as well as a vital confrontation with an all-American whiteness where the ice of emotional restraint meets the embers of smoldering rage…” Our Bookreporter reviewer Sarah Rachel Egelman calls the book “compelling, smart and full of heartache.”
EDUCATED: Four years after its hardcover release, Tara Westover’s #1 New York Times bestselling memoir (a Bets On pick) is finally out in paperback. Tara was born to survivalists, thus she was isolated from mainstream society and kept out of school. Lacking any formal education, she began to educate herself and was admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, and went on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. Tara wrote a terrific piece for the Times earlier this month, “I Am Not Proof of the American Dream,” which you can read here.

THE WAY OF INTEGRITY: Finding the Path to Your True Self is Oprah’s latest Book Club pick. Here, Martha Beck presents a four-stage process that anyone can use to find integrity, and with it, a sense of purpose, emotional healing and a life free of mental suffering.

Oprah says, “For over 15 years, I have looked to Martha Beck for her wisdom, and marveled at how she helps people through crises in their lives with such grace, insight, and humor. As we all navigate this watershed moment in our collective history, THE WAY OF INTEGRITY provides a road map on the journey to truth and authenticity. Her latest work is filled with aha moments and practical exercises that can guide us as we seek enlightenment.” Click here for more of Oprah's thoughts on the book.

Earlier this week, Oprah interviewed Martha for the second installment of Oprah Daily’s new monthly livestream event, “The Life You Want” Class. You can watch the interview here.

This month’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick is THE FAMILY CHAO by Lan Samantha Chang. Brimming with heartbreak, comedy and suspense, this reimagining of THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town. On Tuesday, March 8th at 3pm ET, Barnes & Noble will welcome Chang for a live virtual event to discuss the book. Click here to sign up.

This week, Noah Hawley talked to Barnes & Noble’s Shannon DeVito and Miwa Messer about ANTHEM, which was January’s B&N selection. If you missed their conversation, you can watch it here.

On Wednesday, March 2nd at 3pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will discuss this month’s Book Club Favorites pick, CIRCUS OF WONDERS, with author Elizabeth Macneal. Click here to RSVP for the event. If you missed their discussion of last month’s pick, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS, featuring Jessamine Chan as their special guest, you can watch it here.

For more February selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.

We have three new “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews to share with you in this newsletter. First up is Heather Gudenkauf, whose new thriller, THE OVERNIGHT GUEST, is a Bets On pick that we featured in our last newsletter. The book has a chilling setting, literally and figuratively. Wylie Lark, a true crime writer, is snowed in while writing her new book in a house where, decades earlier, two people were murdered and a young girl disappeared. As a blizzard swirls outside, she finds a child in the snow --- and realizes that the story she is writing may not end up the way she thinks.

Heather shares the wild story of how the idea for the novel came to her and the challenges of writing dual timelines, especially when it is so key to the backstory to get it right. She also walks us through how she begins with handwritten copy and then works with her editor to hone the writing. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. Also, my Bets On commentary is here.

Next up is Wendy Corsi Staub, whose new book, THE OTHER FAMILY, will be a Bets On selection. In this fast-paced novel, a family making a fresh start moves into a house that was the site of an unsolved triple homicide --- and they are being watched by an unknown person.

Wendy, who has written a number of series, talks about freeing herself with a stand-alone book this time around. She walks us through the difference between suspense, thrillers and mysteries --- and this alone is worth listening for. She also discusses a Victorian-era tradition that seems macabre to us today. And yes, she leaves clues about what she's working on next. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. Don’t miss my Bets On commentary in the next newsletter.

Finally, Austin talked to Christopher Golden about his latest supernatural thriller, ROAD OF BONES. The book follows two National Geographic filmmakers, Teig and Prentiss, as they travel into the farthest reaches of Siberia. Known as the Road of Bones, the Kolyma Highway was the place where hundreds of thousands of people were sent to die as prisoners. Now Teig and Prentiss must survive the cold and uncover long-forgotten folklore in this unfamiliar land. Unfortunately for them, it may be more real than they expected.

Christopher talks to Austin about the values of horror as therapy for readers, how he wrote this novel with the intention that anyone could enjoy it, and why Siberia is the perfect setting for something so thrilling. He also announces something big that's coming up next. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” preview event on Wednesday afternoon. I talked about 23 books releasing between now and March 1st, along with eight from April, that we 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, March 9th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between March 8th and April 5th, along with a few from May, 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.

Enter Our Bookreporter Contests and Win Some Fabulous Books!
Although we don't have a "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest for you this month, we do have two contests running on Bookreporter that we would like to make you aware of: our special contest for Kim Michele Richardson’s upcoming novel, THE BOOK WOMAN’S DAUGHTER (a sequel to her 2019 book, THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK), and our Valentine’s Day contest. Scroll further down the newsletter for more details on these giveaways.

And of course, you always can let us know what you're reading in our Word of Mouth feature on Bookreporter, and you'll have a chance to win two books (a new contest goes up every two weeks). For this contest period, we're giving away DARK HORSE: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz and THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki. The deadline for your entries is Friday, February 18th at noon ET.

Enjoy your book group discussion this month. Here’s to some great conversation…and to getting to know each other better --- through books.

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!

New Guide: THE LADY’S MINE by Francine Rivers

THE LADY'S MINE by Francine Rivers (Historical Romance)
When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the farthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle’s newspaper --- and then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada’s most powerful men. Matthias Beck, owner of a local saloon and hotel, has a special interest in the new lady in town.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit Francine Rivers' website.