April 29, 2022

April 29, 2022

We Love Sharing Authors with You --- We've Done
More Than 125 Interviews!  

There’s lots to share in this late-month update, so let’s get right to it!

Last Wednesday night, we hosted our latest "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event. Our guest was Miranda Cowley Heller, and we had a wonderful conversation about her debut novel, THE PAPER PALACE, which is now out in paperback. It was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection when it released in hardcover last year.

I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with Miranda. She talked about the depth of her characters and the need to see the situation through their eyes in order to grasp the complexity of their choices. She also explained her decision to write in first person and set the book in a specific time frame. During the event, we conducted a poll where we asked our attendees what they thought about the ending (which was so much fun!), and Miranda discussed her choice to write it the way she did.

If you missed the event, or would like to revisit any part of it, you can watch it here and listen to the podcast here.

THE PAPER PALACE continues to be the prize in our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. Three readers will win up to 12 copies of the book for their group. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 11th at noon ET.

I am thrilled to announce that Janet Skeslien Charles will be our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest. The event will be held on Wednesday, May 25th at 8pm ET, and you can sign up for it here. We will be talking about Janet’s novel, THE PARIS LIBRARY, an instant New York Times bestseller and a Bets On selection. The hardcover released last year, and the paperback is now available.

Just as we did last Wednesday night, there will be a two-part Q&A session after I talk to Janet. For the first part, those who are asking a question “on camera” will be featured. This includes spending time with Janet backstage in our virtual green room before the show starts. If you would like to ask your question "live on screen" this way, please email it to me using the subject line “Question for Janet.” For those who are camera shy, there will be a traditional Q&A segment as well. I interviewed Janet last February, so I am looking forward to catching up with her and having much more conversation about the book.

For those of you who have been waiting for the paperback edition of WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker to read with your book group, you can now schedule your meeting. And if you would like to know more about Chris and the story behind his latest novel, look no further than this interview that I did with him last week for Macmillan's Book + Author virtual book club series. He shared his inspiration for the book, and we talked more about the plot and his writing.

One question he was not asked on screen came from Jill, one of our readers. She wanted to know if Chris ever went back to the trading desk and handed all those people around the table his book! I asked him that in email, and he replied, “Great question! Unfortunately the company no longer exists, though if it did, I’m still not sure I’d ever want to head back there again. I like the idea, though!” Watch or listen to the interview to see why this question intrigued Jill.

For those of you who like knowing more about the authors behind the books, we have loved bringing you interviews like this one. We have 127 author interviews and nine “Bookaccino Live” Book Group events now available for you to watch or listen to.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 30th at 12:15pm ET, I will be interviewing Jean Hanff Korelitz virtually about her upcoming novel, THE LATECOMER, which has a terrific premise. There are triplets --- Harrison, Lewyn and Sally ---- who are born via IVF. As the three leave for college, their mother, Johanna, decides to have a fourth child, using another egg that was harvested, which becomes known as the “latecomer.” Just what will this mean for the family? The book will be in stores on May 31st, and I will be previewing it in this discussion with Jean. You can register for the event here.

Last Chance to Enter Our Special Contest
Wednesday, May 11th at noon ET is the deadline to enter our contest for FENCING WITH THE KING by Diana Abu Jaber, where we’re giving 25 readers the chance to win a copy of the book. Here’s how bestselling author Geraldine Brooks describes it: “A delicate arabesque of intertwining family relationships, FENCING WITH THE KING probes the cost of exile and voluntary expatriation, asking: When is inheritance a blessing, and when is it merely a burden?” And Lorraine W. Shanley says in her Bookreporter review that it “builds to an unforgettable denouement that juxtaposes the tragedies of inheritance and displacement.”

Oprah’s latest Book Club pick (her 95th) is Viola Davis’ memoir, FINDING ME, which is now in stores. Oprah says, “There are so many lessons to be learned from this breathtaking memoir about triumphing over adversity and trauma. Viola Davis leaves it all on the page --- from her beginnings in South Carolina as the fifth of six children born in a sharecropper’s shack to acclaim as an actor, producer, and philanthropist. I was so moved by this book that I just had to share it with our entire OBC audience.” Oprah recently talked to Viola in-depth about the book, and their conversation is now streaming on Netflix.

In this update we have added guides for these five books:

• THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE by Adriana Trigiani: Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to leave no stone unturned, including her own mother’s revelation about her two great loves: her childhood friend, Silvio, and proud Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew.
   
• THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET: Karen White’s latest novel is the first book in a spinoff of her Tradd Street novels. Nola Trenholm is looking to begin anew in New Orleans but must deal with ghosts from her past, as well as new ones. Along with the guide, we’re sharing a Q&A with Karen where she talks about her inspiration for this new series, the research she conducted, and more.
   
• UNMASKED: This fascinating memoir is written by Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator who is perhaps best known for tracking down the Golden State Killer. Says Holes, “Crime solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me, for better or worse, to the point of obsession.”
   
• DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES: Betsy Prioleau has penned the first major biography of the glamorous and scandalous Miriam Leslie. Here, she reveals the unknown, sensational life of the brilliant and brazen “Empress of Journalism,” who presaged the feminist future and reflected, in bold relief, the Gilded Age, one of the most momentous, seismic and vivid epochs in American history.
   
• SHADOWS OF BERLIN by David R. Gillham: From the cafés of war-torn Germany to the frantic drumbeat of 1950s Manhattan, this captivating novel dramatically explores survival, redemption, and the way we learn to love and forgive across impossible divides. I look forward to chatting with David soon for a “Bookreporter Talks To” interview!

We also continue to feature the guide for Chandler Baker’s THE HUSBANDS, which is now available in paperback. A “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and a Bets On title, this smart, sharp and timely novel imagines a world where the burden of the “second shift” is equally shared --- and what it might take to get there.

This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for next month’s “Bookaccino Live” preview event, which will take place on Wednesday, May 11th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on titles releasing between May 10th and June 7th, in addition to a few from July, that I would like to get on your radar. Click here to register. 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.

Book Club Event Reminders

• SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel is April’s Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. On Tuesday, May 10th at 3pm ET, Emily will talk about the book during a live virtual event. You can register by clicking here.
   
• Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites pick for this month is Jennifer Egan’s highly anticipated new novel, THE CANDY HOUSE. This Monday, May 2nd at 1pm ET, members of the S&S team will talk to Jennifer about the book. Click here to RSVP.

Our Bookreporter Summer Reading Contests are Back!
On select days through the end of August, we are hosting a series of 24-hour giveaways and on each of the contest days awarding five readers a book that we think is a great summer read. You will have to check Bookreporter each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here. The first contest will go live on Wednesday, May 4th at noon ET.

Celebrating Mother’s Day on Bookreporter with Two Special Features
Also returning this year is our Mother’s Day Author Blog series. For the 13th year in a row, we’re sharing pieces from authors who reminisce about reading books with their moms, or with their own children, and talk about how their moms influenced them to become readers and writers. So far we have heard from Kimberly Belle, who I had the pleasure of interviewing recently about her new psychological thriller, MY DARLING HUSBAND. Still to come are contributions from Zain E. Asher, Kimberly Brock, Chloé Cooper Jones, Sarah McCoy and Deborah Goodrich Royce.

Zain E. Asher’s WHERE THE CHILDREN TAKE US, Kimberly Brock’s THE LOST BOOK OF ELEANOR DARE and Deborah Goodrich Royce’s RUBY FALLS are among the books we’re giving away in this year’s Mother’s Day contest, along with five other fabulous titles. Click here to take a look at all of the prize books and enter the giveaway, which will be open until Friday, May 6th at noon ET.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 30th, is Independent Bookstore Day, a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country. According to their website, “Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to authors, live music, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, kids events, art tables, readings, barbecues, contests, and other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Nowhere else.”

YA author Angie Thomas, this year’s Independent Bookstore Day Ambassador, says, “Indie bookstores are the heart of our industry, and we must continue to support them in the same way that they support and champion books.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Click here to read more about this very special day and all the different ways you can celebrate it.

I love Santa Fe; it’s one of my favorite places. So I wanted to bring to your attention the inaugural Santa Fe Literary Festival, which will take place at the Santa Fe Convention Center on May 20-23. The festival will kick off on Friday evening, May 20th, with Colson Whitehead, followed by an entire weekend of programming, including large and small lectures and conversations, lunches with celebrated chefs and cookbook authors, and walking tours with acclaimed authors. The stellar author lineup includes Margaret Atwood, George R. R. Martin, John Grisham, Jon Krakauer, Sandra Cisneros, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Ashley C. Ford, and so many more. Click here for all the details and here to purchase your tickets.

Here’s to a great discussion with your book group in May!

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 GOOD LEFT UNDONE by Adriana Trigiani

THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE by Adriana Trigiani (Fiction)
In the halcyon days of the past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until the day her beloved home becomes unsafe as Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. As her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool --- where Italian Scots were imprisoned without cause --- Domenica experiences love, loss and grief as she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her great-granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy as Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for, and when to let go. The Cabrellis have survived so much, and it is only through the transformative power of love that they can hope to truly heal.

- 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 SHOP ON ROYAL STREET
by Karen White

THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET by Karen White (Mystery)
Nola Trenholm is looking to begin her life anew in New Orleans. But the historic fixer-upper she buys comes with even more work than she anticipated when the house’s previous occupants don’t seem to be ready to depart. Although she can’t communicate with ghosts like her stepmother can, luckily Nola knows someone in New Orleans who is able to --- even if he’s the last person on earth she wants anything to do with ever again. Beau Ryan comes with his own dark past --- a past that involves the disappearance of his sister and parents during Hurricane Katrina --- and he’s connected to the unsolved murder of a woman who once lived in the old Creole cottage Nola is determined to make her own...whether the resident restless spirits agree or not.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read an interview with Karen White.
- Click here to visit Karen White's website.

Click here for the discussion guide.

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of THE PAPER PALACE
by Miranda Cowley Heller 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 THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller, an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that releases in paperback on April 19th. In the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, May 11th at noon ET.

THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller (Fiction)
Elle, a 50-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace” --- the family summer place that she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: Last night, Elle and her oldest friend, Jonas, crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next 24 hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Miranda Cowley Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity.

- 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 our "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event with Miranda Cowley Heller.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the event.

Click here to enter the contest.

Special Contest: Enter to Win One of 25 Copies of
FENCING WITH THE KING by Diana Abu-Jaber

With sharp insight into modern politics and family dynamics, taboos around mental illness, and our inescapable relationship to the past, FENCING WITH THE KING asks how we contend with inheritance: familial and cultural, hidden and openly contested. We are giving 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of Diana Abu-Jaber's latest novel, which is now available. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, May 11th at noon ET.

FENCING WITH THE KING by Diana Abu-Jaber (Fiction)
The King of Jordan is turning 60! How better to celebrate the occasion than with his favorite pastime --- fencing --- and with his favorite sparring partner, Gabriel Hamdan. Amani, a divorced poet, jumps at the chance to accompany her father to his homeland for the King’s birthday. Her father’s past is a mystery to her --- even more so since she found a poem on blue airmail paper slipped into one of his old Arabic books, written by his mother, a Palestinian refugee who arrived in Jordan during World War I. Her words hint at a long-kept family secret, carefully guarded by Uncle Hafez, an advisor to the King, who has quite personal reasons for inviting his brother to the birthday party. The Hamdan brothers must face a reckoning, with themselves and with each other --- one that almost costs Amani her life.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to enter for a chance to win a book club visit from Diana Abu-Jaber.

Click here to enter the contest.

New Guide: UNMASKED by Paul Holes,
with Robin Gaby Fisher

UNMASKED: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes, with Robin Gaby Fisher (True Crime/Memoir)
In UNMASKED, cold case investigator Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including the hunt for the Golden State Killer, Laci Peterson's murder and Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping. This is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones, the inability to walk away from a challenge --- even at the expense of his own happiness. Holes opens up the most intimate scenes of his life: his moments of self-doubt and the impact that detective work has had on his marriage.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES
by Betsy Prioleau

DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age by Betsy Prioleau (Biography)
For 20 years Miriam Leslie ran the country’s largest publishing company, Frank Leslie Publishing, which chronicled postbellum America in dozens of weeklies and monthlies. A pioneer in an all-male industry, she made a fortune and became a national celebrity and tastemaker in the process. But she also flouted feminine convention, took lovers, married four times, and harbored unsavory secrets that she concealed through a skein of lies and multiple personas. DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES reveals the unknown, sensational life of the brilliant and brazen “empress of journalism,” who dropped a bombshell at her death: She left her entire multimillion-dollar estate to women’s suffrage --- a never-equaled amount that guaranteed passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit Betsy Prioleau's website.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: SHADOWS OF BERLIN by David R. Gillham

SHADOWS OF BERLIN by David R. Gillham (Historical Fiction)
1955 in New York City: the city of instant coffee, bagels at Katz's Deli, new-fangled TVs. But in the Perlmans' walk-up in Chelsea, the past is as close as the present. Rachel came to Manhattan in a wave of displaced Jews who managed to survive the horrors of war. Her Uncle Fritz fleeing with her, Rachel hoped to find freedom from her pain in New York and in the arms of her new American husband, Aaron. But this child of Berlin and daughter of an artist cannot seem to outrun her guilt in the role of American housewife, not until she can shed the ghosts of her past. And when Uncle Fritz discovers the most shocking portrait that her mother had ever painted, Rachel's memories begin to terrorize her, forcing her to face the choices she made to stay alive --- choices that might be her undoing.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.

Click here for the discussion guide.

Don't miss Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with
David R. Gillham in the next newsletter.

Featured Guide:
THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker
Now Available in Paperback

THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
Nora Spangler is a successful attorney, but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too...but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder? The Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, a nice suburban neighborhood where Nora meets a group of high-powered women with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s gruesome wrongful death case, she delves into the lives of the women there. As the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having it all. One that’s worth killing for.

- 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 Chandler Baker.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here for the featured guide.

New April Releases of Interest to Book Groups

Below are a number of books releasing in April for the first time (which we aren't currently featuring on the site or in the newsletter) that we think will be of interest to book groups.

EASY BEAUTY: A Memoir by Chloé Cooper Jones (Memoir)
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Chloé Cooper Jones comes a groundbreaking memoir about disability, motherhood, and a journey to far-flung places in search of a new way of seeing and being seen.

FINDING ME: A Memoir by Viola Davis (Memoir)
“FINDING ME is a deep reflection on my past and a promise for my future. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.”

HEALING: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient by Theresa Brown, RN (Memoir)
New York Times bestselling author Theresa Brown tells a poignant, powerful and intensely personal story about breast cancer. She brings us along with her from the mammogram that would change her life through her diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

AN HONEST LIE by Tarryn Fisher (Psychological Thriller)
This seething, gut-punch of a thriller can only have sprung from the fiendish brain of Tarryn Fisher, one of the most cunning writers of our time.

INSOMNIA by Sarah Pinborough (Psychological Thriller)
Emma can’t sleep. It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer. Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own 40th birthday. She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it. Is that what’s happening to Emma?

LEFT ON TENTH: A Second Chance at Life: A Memoir by Delia Ephron (Memoir)
In LEFT ON TENTH, Delia Ephron enchants as she seesaws us between tears and laughter, navigating the suicidal lows of enduring cutting-edge treatment and the giddy highs of a second chance at love.

THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction)
The bonds between three picture-perfect --- but viciously protective --- mothers and their close-knit sons are tested during one unforgettable summer in a gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of THE JETSETTERS.

LITTLE SOULS by Sandra Dallas (Historical Fiction)
Sandra Dallas' LITTLE SOULS is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic.

THE LOST BOOK OF ELEANOR DARE by Kimberly Brock (Historical Fiction)
In this sweeping tale from award-winning author Kimberly Brock, the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written.

THE PUZZLER: One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life written by A.J. Jacobs, with original puzzles by Greg Pliska (Memoir)
The New York Times bestselling author of THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains and how they can improve our world.

SISTER STARDUST by Jane Green (Historical Fiction)
In her first novel inspired by a true story, Jane Green reimagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging '60s.

WHERE THE CHILDREN TAKE US: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by Zain E. Asher (Memoir)
In this spellbinding memoir, popular CNN anchor Zain E. Asher pays tribute to her mother’s strength and determination to raise four successful children in the shadow of tragedy.

THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth (Domestic Thriller)
From the author of THE GOOD SISTER, the breakout New York Times bestseller and “stunningly clever thriller” (People), comes Sally Hepworth’s latest novel of domestic suspense about the tangled vines of family secrets.

Announcing Bookreporter.com's 18th Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature

Bookreporter.com’s 17th Annual
Mother’s Day Contest: Books Mom Will Love

Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win books for yourself or the special lady in your life in our 17th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Friday, May 6th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes eight great fiction and nonfiction titles that we think moms will love.

This year's prize books are:

• ATOMIC ANNA by Rachel Barenbaum
• BRIGHTER BY THE DAY: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams by Robin Roberts with Michelle Burford
• THE CHANGE by Kirsten Miller
• THE LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner
• THE LOST BOOK OF ELEANOR DARE by Kimberly Brock
• RUBY FALLS by Deborah Goodrich Royce
• THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME by Julia Quinn
• WHERE THE CHILDREN TAKE US: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by Zain E. Asher

Click here to enter the contest.

Bookreporter.com’s 13th Annual
Mother’s Day Author Blogs

From left to right: Jennifer Weiner, Ann Hood, Sarah McCoy

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.

Sunday, May 1st at 3pm ET: Madison Books: Join Books in Common NW for a laugh-out-loud look at LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, a "Good Morning America" Book Club pick, with authors Bonnie Garmus and Claire Lombardo.

Monday, May 2nd at 1pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Jennifer Egan will join members of the Simon & Schuster team to discuss her new novel, THE CANDY HOUSE, which is April's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.

Monday, May 2nd at 7pm ET: Cuyahoga County Public Library: Join Cuyahoga County Public Library for a conversation with A.J. Jacobs about his new book, THE PUZZLER: One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life.

Monday, May 2nd at 7pm ET: Joseph-Beth Booksellers: Emily Henry will be in conversation with Laura Hankin about her new romantic comedy, the insightful and delightful BOOK LOVERS.

Wednesday, May 4th at 6pm ET: RJ Julia Booksellers: A.J. Jacobs will be in conversation with award-winning comedian and New York Times bestselling author Andy Borowitz about his new book, THE PUZZLER, a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles.

Wednesday, May 4th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will throw a launch party for the release of Mary Kay's new book, THE HOMEWRECKERS, and the paperback release of Kristin's most recent book, THE FOREST OF VANISHING STARS.

Wednesday, May 4th at 9pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's, in partnership with Tattered Cover Book Store, will host Adriana Trigiani as she discusses her new book, THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE, with Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Thursday, May 5th at 7pm ET: Books & Books: Books & Books and Miami Book Fair will present a virtual event with Ann Hood, who will be in conversation with Laura Lippman about her new memoir, FLY GIRL.

Monday, May 9th at 7pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Jennifer Weiner for a live virtual event to celebrate the publication of her new novel, THE SUMMER PLACE.

Monday, May 9th at 7pm ET: William Morrow: Join Sarah McCoy in celebrating the release of her new novel, MUSTIQUE ISLAND. She will be in conversation with Jane Green, the New York Times bestselling author of SISTER STARDUST.

Tuesday, May 10th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Emily St. John Mandel for a live virtual event to discuss SEA OF TRANQUILITY, April's B&N Book Club pick.

Wednesday, May 11th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books": Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between May 10th and June 7th, along with a few from July, that she would like to get on your radar.

Wednesday, May 11th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Adriana Trigiani about her new novel, THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE. Robyn Carr, author of A FAMILY AFFAIR, will appear on the Aftershow.

Friday, May 13th at 7pm ET: Cuyahoga County Public Library: Sarah McCoy and Paula McLain will be in conversation about Sarah's latest novel, MUSTIQUE ISLAND.

"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:

• Jane Green (SISTER STARDUST) Video | Podcast
• Gilly Macmillan (THE LONG WEEKEND) Video | Podcast
• Amanda Eyre Ward (THE LIFEGUARDS) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Kimberly Belle (MY DARLING HUSBAND) Video | Podcast
• Katherine Faulkner (GREENWICH PARK) Video | Podcast
• Christopher Golden (ROAD OF BONES) Video | Podcast
• Xochitl Gonzalez (OLGA DIES DREAMING) Video | Podcast
• Heather Gudenkauf (THE OVERNIGHT GUEST) Video | Podcast
• Bonnie Kistler (THE CAGE) Video | Podcast
• Jacquelyn Mitchard (THE GOOD SON) Video | Podcast
• Allison Pataki (THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST) Video | Podcast
• Nita Prose (THE MAID) Video | Podcast
• James Rollins (THE STARLESS CROWN) Video | Podcast
• John Searles (HER LAST AFFAIR) Video | Podcast
• Brendan Slocumb (THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY) Video | Podcast
• Wendy Corsi Staub (THE OTHER FAMILY) Video | Podcast
• Karen White (THE ATTIC ON QUEEN STREET) Video | Podcast
• Charmaine Wilkerson (BLACK CAKE) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• David R. Gillham (SHADOWS OF BERLIN)
• Sarah McCoy (MUSTIQUE ISLAND)
• Kim Michele Richardson (THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER)

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Our Latest Guides

We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE CANDY HOUSE by Jennifer Egan (Fiction)
Jennifer Egan, one of the most celebrated writers of our time, has written a “sibling novel” to A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD --- an electrifying, deeply moving novel about the quest for authenticity and meaning in a world where memories and identities are no longer private.

DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age by Betsy Prioleau (Biography)
DIAMONDS AND DEADLINES is the first major biography of the glamorous and scandalous Miriam Leslie, titan of publishing and an unsung hero of women’s suffrage.

FENCING WITH THE KING by Diana Abu-Jaber (Fiction)
With sharp insight into modern politics and family dynamics, taboos around mental illness, and our inescapable relationship to the past, FENCING WITH THE KING asks how we contend with inheritance: familial and cultural, hidden and openly contested.

THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE by Adriana Trigiani (Fiction)
From Adriana Trigiani comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE unfolds in breathtaking turns.

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus (Historical Fiction/Humor)
Meet Elizabeth Zott: a one-of-a-kind scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.

MEMPHIS by Tara M. Stringfellow (Fiction)
MEMPHIS is a spellbinding debut novel tracing three generations of a Southern Black family and one daughter’s discovery that she has the power to change her family’s legacy.

SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel (Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction)
The award-winning, bestselling author of STATION ELEVEN and THE GLASS HOTEL returns with a novel of art, time, love and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon 500 years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.

SHADOWS OF BERLIN by David R. Gillham (Historical Fiction)
SHADOWS OF BERLIN is David R. Gillham's captivating novel of a Berlin girl on the run from the guilt of her past and the boy from Brooklyn who loves her.

THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET by Karen White (Mystery)
Nola Trenholm is hopeful for a fresh start in the Big Easy but must deal with ghosts from her past --- as well as new ones --- in this first book in a spinoff series of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street novels.

TRUE BIZ by Sara Nović (Fiction)
From the acclaimed author of GIRL AT WAR comes TRUE BIZ, which follows a year of seismic romantic, political and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf.

UNMASKED: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes, with Robin Gaby Fisher (True Crime/Memoir)
From the detective who found the Golden State Killer comes a memoir of investigating America’s toughest cold cases and the rewards --- and toll --- of a life solving crime.

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

THE HUSBANDS by Chandler Baker (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
The New York Times and Reese Witherspoon Book Club bestselling author of WHISPER NETWORK returns in a novel that asks: To what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband?

THE NEWCOMER by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads, delivers her next page-turner for the summer with THE NEWCOMER.

OH WILLIAM! by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout explores the mysteries of marriage and the secrets we keep, as a former couple reckons with where they’ve come from --- and what they’ve left behind.

THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller (Fiction)
In the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.

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