September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

The Best Night of the Month

My book group met last week, and we talked about THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid. For humor, I wrote to the group on our Facebook page that I could not find my copy of the book. One of our group members, Julia, walked in an hour later and said, “That is because you loaned it to me!” I had read it when mentions of it on TikTok made it a craze and marched it onto the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction Bestseller list. Right now that list still is dominated by Taylor, Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry, with a slot for THE SILENT PATIENT and another title or two along the way.

When a book receives a lot of hype, the bar gets up there pretty high. I enjoyed it when I read it last summer, and I have suggested it to people. But for our group --- and a discussion --- it fell flat. Some books just belong in what I call “the moment.” You read it. You close it. You mention it even more than once in a while. You tell people to read it. But discussing it is not going to work. I am betting many of you in book groups know exactly what I am talking about.

That said, the next day I was chatting with Kathleen, one of the founders of our group. She said that book group night is her favorite night of the month. It’s funny, but I feel the same way. Yes, we talk about books, but we also talk about life in an honest way. We are as honest about that as we are about our opinions of books!

I am thrilled to announce that Joyce Maynard will be our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest. The event will be held on Thursday, October 27th at 8pm ET, and you can sign up for it here. We will be talking about Joyce’s most recent novel, COUNT THE WAYS, which is the mesmerizing story of a family --- from the hopeful early days of young marriage to parenthood, divorce and the costly aftermath that ripples through all their lives. The hardcover released last year, and the paperback is now available.

Just as we did last night, there will be a two-part Q&A session after I talk to Joyce. For the first part, those who are asking a question “on camera” will be featured. This includes spending time with Joyce 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 “Joyce.” For those who are camera shy, there will be a traditional Q&A segment as well.

After a brief hiatus, our “Bookreporter Talks To” series is back…and we have two new interviews to share with you in this newsletter.

First up is Lynda Cohen Loigman, whose latest novel is THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT. Lynda was writing something else when Lynda’s daughter brought her roommate home when their college classes shut down during the pandemic. The three of them ended up watching “Indian Matchmaking” on Netflix, and the roommate piped up and said that her grandmother had been a matchmaker. This sparked an idea for Lynda. Suddenly she found herself casting aside the book that she was writing to tell the story of a Jewish matchmaker who had been born in 1910, along with that of the matchmaker’s granddaughter, a divorce lawyer in 1994.

THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT is laced with lots of historical details about matchmaking and Rabbinical courts, and is peppered with Yiddish expressions. Lynda talks about how she nails her storytelling --- and shares wonderful details about how she approached her research. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. We also have posted the discussion guide here and our review on Bookreporter here.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Sally Koslow about her new novel, THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS, a Bets On pick that explores three generations of a family living in New York City. It revolves around three very different women, and their interactions with each other make for strong storytelling. Aside from their own stories, they are contending with the possible backlash of a traffic incident that the grandson, son and husband drove away from without exploring its consequences.

I met Sally decades ago when we both worked at Mademoiselle magazine. We talk about Sally's career as a novelist and nonfiction writer since then, and we also reminisce about what magazines used to be. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast. Also, be sure to check out the guide here and our Bookreporter review here.

Fredrik Backman has wrapped up his Beartown trilogy with the release of THE WINNERS, an emotion-packed novel that asks us to reconsider what it means to win, what it means to lose, and what it means to forgive. Although this concluding volume can be read as a stand-alone as Backman sufficiently explains much of the backstory, we strongly suggest that you read the first two installments, BEARTOWN and US AGAINST YOU, if you haven’t already so you can experience the full impact of this much-lauded series. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.

LUCY BY THE SEA is the fourth entry in Elizabeth Strout’s series featuring her beloved protagonist, Lucy Barton. This time, Lucy is stuck during lockdown with her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. This empathetic, pitch-perfect novel vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. Strout’s previous Lucy books are MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE and OH WILLIAM! You can find the guide here and our Bookreporter review here.

Andrew Sean Greer follows up his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel LESS with the eagerly awaited sequel, LESS IS LOST. From his estranged father and strained relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less eventually must face his personal demons. LESS IS LOST is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love and the stories we tell along the way. Click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookrpeorter.

We also are featuring the guide for Leigh Seippel’s debut novel, RUIN: A Novel of Flyfishing in Bankruptcy. This vivid story opens with every couple’s nightmare --- the disappearance of their comfortable known world. RUIN explores the unpredictable progression of character and chance for Francy and Frank Campbell, newly destitute in their early 30s, along with their lovers and foes. And a murder investigator.

Barnaby Conrad III, the author of GHOST HUNTING IN MONTANA and JACQUES VILLEGLÉ AND THE STREETS OF PARIS, has this to say about the book: “RUIN is a dangerously psychological romantic nightmare about a young couple’s loss and redemption…. Seippel unfurls this tragicomic tale in a haunting manner, deeply echoing the vulnerability of early Hemingway and the bitterness of T.S. Eliot. The journey is thrilling, its vividly evolving characters long memorable.” I am looking forward to reading this one!

Last Chance to Enter Our Monthly Contest
You have until Wednesday, October 12th at noon ET to enter our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. Three groups will win up to 12 copies of HONOR by Thrity Umrigar, an upcoming Bets On selection that will be out in paperback on October 18th. A Reese’s Book Club pick at the beginning of the year when it released in hardcover, the book is about two courageous women who are trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.

According to our Bookreporter reviewer Pamela Kramer, “HONOR is a moving account of the multifaceted layers that are India --- both the beauty and the ugliness. It's a novel that screams ‘book club’ because of its thoughtful and beautiful prose and the essential points it raises.” I am planning to interview Thrity soon, and my Bets On commentary will appear in the late October newsletter. In the meantime, you can click here for the guide and here for our review on Bookreporter.

This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our upcoming “Bookaccino Live” preview event, which will take place on Wednesday, October 12th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on titles releasing between October 11th and November 1st, in addition to a few from December, 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.

I am so excited to be moderating three author events at the Morristown Festival of Books next Saturday, October 8th. I will be interviewing Nita Prose about THE MAID at 11am, Jamie Fiore Higgins about the aforementioned BULLY MARKET at 1:20pm, and the one and only James Patterson at 5:15pm for a very special Closing Event, which will be ticketed. Scroll further down the newsletter for more info about these events and other programming happening at this year’s festival. I hope to see some of you there!

Simon & Schuster is excited to announce the lineup for the third edition of AuthorFest, a series of virtual author events that, through a network of book festivals, literary venues and author lecture series, provide live author programming to communities and readers in the U.S. and Canada.

The Fall 2022 AuthorFest event is scheduled for Thursday, October 13th at 7pm ET and will feature John Irving and Jason Reynolds. These New York Times bestselling authors are famous for crafting thought-provoking stories about the expression of self-identity through explorations of race, class and sexuality. Their conversation will be moderated by Simon & Schuster’s CEO, Jonathan Karp, who is Irving's editor. Click here to register.

On Tuesday, October 25th at 1pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will discuss October’s Book Club Favorites pick, THE NIGHT SHIP, with author Jess Kidd. Click here to RSVP for the event. Unfortunately, their discussion of September's pick, PEOPLE PERSON, featuring Candice Carty-Williams as their special guest had to be postponed this week. We will let you know once they are able to reschedule.

A reminder that this Tuesday, October 4th at 3pm ET, Barnes & Noble will host a virtual event featuring Sarah Addison Allen, who will discuss her new novel, OTHER BIRDS, which is B&N’s September Book Club selection. Click here to sign up.

This weekend I am prepping for the panels that I am doing for the Morristown Festival of Books. I am really looking forward to this day with book lovers and authors. Speaking of book festivals, they are all across the country this time of year. I got an email Monday from my good friend, Beverley, noting that Bookreporter was mentioned in an Opinion column in the New York Times. Sure enough, Margaret Renkl had written an article entitled “The Joy of Finding People Who Love the Same Books You Do.” In a reference to book festivals across the country, she cited our Book Festivals list that Tom Donadio meticulously curates. Here’s the piece. And yes, I reached out to thank her for the mention.

I hope your October discussion is a good one!

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 WINNERS by Fredrik Backman

THE WINNERS by Fredrik Backman (Fiction)
Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. They can see how much Beartown has changed. There is a sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake. Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry that has always been fought through their ice hockey teams.

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

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: LUCY BY THE SEA by Elizabeth Strout

LUCY BY THE SEA by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it’s just Lucy, William and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we’re apart --- the pain of a beloved daughter’s suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love.

- 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 Featured Guide: RUIN by Leigh Seippel

RUIN: A Novel of Flyfishing in Bankruptcy by Leigh Seippel (Fiction)
Frank is another dreamer whose life is suddenly burned to the ground. More a disillusioned literature Ph.D. than an experienced financier, he had naively agreed to join his wife’s inheritance with his own personal guarantee of a college friend’s private equity partnership debt. The business implosion and subsequent bankruptcy took all their assets. Francy, an orphaned European heiress, now finds herself homeless, still married to pleasant, witty Frank. The couple flees Manhattan to live at a desolate non-working Hudson Valley farm. Frank starts an artisanal brewery with a charismatic new eccentric friend and takes up fly fishing. A local doctor, perceiving Frank’s depression, prescribes that he gain some confidence through self-taught fishing.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read critical praise.
- Click here to visit the book's official website.

Click here for the featured guide.

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
HONOR by Thrity Umrigar for Your Group

New Guide: LESS IS LOST by Andrew Sean Greer

LESS IS LOST by Andrew Sean Greer (Fiction/Humor)
Arthur Less is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US. Less roves across the “Mild Mild West,” through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo --- a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. We cannot, however, escape ourselves. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Less must eventually face his personal demons.

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

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: THE MATCHMAKER’S GIFT
by Lynda Cohen Loigman

THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT by Lynda Cohen Loigman (Historical Fiction)
Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men --- men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers. Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers.

- 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 Lynda Cohen Loigman.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New Guide: THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS by Sally Koslow
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title

THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS by Sally Koslow (Fiction)
It’s 2015 in New York City, and three women all known as Mrs. Tobias --- Veronika, the matriarch; her daughter-in-law, Mel; and Mel’s daughter-in-law, Birdie --- are trying to navigate personal difficulties, some of which are with one another. Veronika and Mel are both psychotherapists who are more skilled at helping other people than solving their own problems. Birdie, still dealing with the culture shock of moving to New York City and marrying into the Tobias clan, is pushed to her limit when her husband gets into trouble. Overwhelmed, she bolts --- along with the couple’s young daughter --- to her Midwestern hometown, hoping that space, warmth and wisdom from her own feisty grandmother will help her find a path forward.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- 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 Sally Koslow.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

Click here for the discussion guide.

New September Releases of Interest to Book Groups

Below are a number of books that released in September 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.

THE DECEPTIONS by Jill Bialosky (Fiction)
THE DECEPTIONS is a page-turning and seductively told exploration of female sexuality and ambition, as well as a human drama that dares to test the stories we tell ourselves. It is also a brilliant investigation of a life caught between the dueling magnetic poles of privacy and its appropriation in art and literature.

DREAMLAND by Nicholas Sparks (Romance)
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE WISH comes a poignant love story about risking everything for a dream --- and whether it’s possible to leave the past behind.

FAIRY TALE by Stephen King (Supernatural Thriller/Dark Fantasy)
Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a 17-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher --- for that world or ours.

THE GIRL FROM GUERNICA by Karen Robards (Historical Fiction)
Inspired by Picasso’s great masterpiece Guernica, New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards returns with a riveting story of intrigue, deception and bravery in the face of war.

HOW NOT TO DROWN IN A GLASS OF WATER by Angie Cruz (Fiction)
From "GMA" Book Club pick and Women's Prize finalist Angie Cruz, author of DOMINICANA, comes an electrifying new novel about a woman who has lost everything but the chance to finally tell her story.

JACQUELINE IN PARIS by Ann Mah (Historical Fiction)
From the bestselling author of THE LOST VINTAGE comes a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon --- before the world knew her as Jackie.

LESSONS by Ian McEwan (Fiction)
From the bestselling author of ATONEMENT and SATURDAY comes the epic and intimate story of one man's life across generations and historical upheavals: from the Suez Crisis to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall to the current pandemic, Roland Baines sometimes rides with the tide of history, but more often struggles against it.

ONE HUNDRED SATURDAYS: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank, with artwork by Maira Kalman (Biography)
This is the remarkable story of 99-year-old Stella Levi, whose conversations with the writer Michael Frank over the course of six years bring to life the vibrant world of Jewish Rhodes, the deportation to Auschwitz that extinguished 90 percent of her community, and the resilience and wisdom of the woman who lived to tell the tale.

SHRINES OF GAIETY by Kate Atkinson (Historical Fiction)
The #1 national bestselling, award-winning author of LIFE AFTER LIFE transports us to a restless London in the wake of the Great War --- a city fizzing with money, glamour and corruption --- in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal.

A SONG OF COMFORTABLE CHAIRS: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (23) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Grace Makutsi encounters a pair of quandaries that will require all of her and Mma Ramotswe’s cleverness and generosity to resolve.

Join Carol Fitzgerald for Three Special Author Events
at the Morristown Festival of Books on October 8th!

Created by and for people who love books, the Morristown Festival of Books in Morristown, New Jersey, has become a destination event for authors and readers. Since its inception, the festival has established itself among the top book festivals nationwide, drawing thousands of annual attendees.

This year's festival will kick off on Friday, October 7th at 7:30pm with the Keynote Event, featuring longtime New York Times columnist Frank Bruni as their Keynote Speaker. Bruni will discuss his lauded memoir, THE BEAUTY OF DUSK: On Vision Lost and Found, in an on-stage conversation with MSNBC news anchor Katy Tur. You can purchase your tickets by clicking here.

The Main Festival is free and will get underway on Saturday, October 8th starting at 10am with in-person author talks, Q&As and signings. Carol Fitzgerald will be moderating three events that day, and we want to make sure they are on your radar.

• At 11am, Carol will talk to Nita Prose about her #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling debut novel, THE MAID, which is a "Good Morning America" Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
   
• Then, at 1:20pm, Carol will be in conversation with Jamie Fiore Higgins about her much-talked-about memoir, BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs, which also is a Bets On pick.

The festival will wrap up on Saturday with a very special Closing Event at 5:15pm. Carol will interview James Patterson, the world’s best-selling author, who has sold over 300 million books worldwide. Click here to purchase your tickets. Please note that each ticket includes a signed copy of Patterson's new hardcover thriller, BLOWBACK.

Also taking place on Saturday during the festival is KidFest, where kids and teens can meet their favorite authors and illustrators and partake in interactive presentations and book readings.

Click here for more information about the Morristown Festival of Books.

Bookreporter.com Bets On:
DAISY DARKER by Alice Feeney

DAISY DARKER by Alice Feeney (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
While Alice Feeney crafts a good plot, what I really enjoy about her writing is her twist of a phrase. As I read her work, I find myself folding down one page after the next where the writing gives me pause. Her plotting aside, this is what makes me want to read one of her books, and DAISY DARKER fits the bill for this. I am not sharing them here as I want you to uncover these little Easter eggs of word joy for yourself.

The family has gathered at Nana’s house, Seaglass, for her 80th birthday, which is on Halloween. This is their last planned get-together as Nana long ago was told by a palm reader that she would not live past 80. The setting is an island that gets cut off from the mainland for eight hours each day, which is creepy enough to think about and then lay a plot against it. Nana is quirky. She only dresses in pink and purple. She has 80 clocks, one for each year of her life --- and when they chime, things get loud! She also is quirky when it comes to objects in the house, as in each person has a chair painted in a color that makes her think of them.

- 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 more of Carol's commentary.

Bookreporter.com's 12th Annual Fall Preview Feature

From left to right: Lynda Cohen Loigman, Jodi Picoult, Joanna Quinn

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

As many book and author events are still 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.

Monday, October 3rd at 8pm ET: Random House Studio Sessions: Random House Studio Sessions is Random House's new event series featuring live conversations with the biggest names on your bookshelf, filmed in their studio and broadcast virtually to wherever you are. Join Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan as they discuss their new novel, MAD HONEY, with moderator Anna Quindlen.

Tuesday, October 4th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Sarah Addison Allen for a live book club event to discuss OTHER BIRDS, September's B&N Book Club pick. She will be in conversation with Shannon DeVito, the Director of Category Management at B&N, and Miwa Messer, B&N’s Editorial Director.

Tuesday, October 4th at 5pm ET: Print: A Bookstore: Joanna Quinn will be in conversation with Maggie Shipstead about her debut novel, THE WHALEBONE THEATRE, a story of love, bravery, lost innocence and self-transformation.

Tuesday, October 4th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's will host Laurie Lico Albanese as she discusses her new book, HESTER, in conversation with Sarah Penner. Albanese has published fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing, creative nonfiction and a memoir.

Tuesday, October 4th at 9pm ET: Book Soup: William Shatner, in conversation with coauthor Joshua Brandon, will discuss his new memoir, BOLDLY GO: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder. The beloved star of "Star Trek" and recent space traveler reflects on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature, and the joy that comes from exploration in this inspiring, revelatory and exhilarating collection of essays.

Wednesday, October 5th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- for a special "Just Us" episode featuring the Fab Four themselves.

Thursday, October 6th at 7pm ET: Warwicks: Warwick's will host Lynda Cohen Loigman as she discusses her new book, THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT, with Rachel McMillan. Loigman is also the author of THE WARTIME SISTERS and THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE.

Tuesday, October 11th at 3pm ET: Boswell Book Company: Joanna Quinn will talk to Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin about her first novel, THE WHALEBONE THEATRE, which takes its heroine from the gargantuan cavity of a beached whale into undercover operations during World War II.

Wednesday, October 12th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books": Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between October 11th and November 1st, along with a few from December, that she would like to get on your radar.

Wednesday, October 12th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Veronica Roth about her upcoming new novel for adults, POSTER GIRL, a haunting dystopian mystery that explores the expanding role of surveillance on society --- an inescapable reality that we welcome all too easily.

Thursday, October 13th at 7pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Fall 2022 AuthorFest: Simon & Schuster partners with the book festival community each season to bring exclusive author programming to readers across the US. Their Fall 2022 AuthorFest event will feature New York Times bestselling authors John Irving and Jason Reynolds in conversation with Simon & Schuster's CEO, Jonathan Karp.

"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:

• Sally Koslow (THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS) Video | Podcast
• Lynda Cohen Loigman (THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Kimberly Belle (MY DARLING HUSBAND) Video | Podcast
• Julie Clark (THE LIES I TELL) Video | Podcast
• Bonnie Garmus (LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY) Video | Podcast
• Jane Green (SISTER STARDUST) Video | Podcast
• Jennifer Hillier (THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK) Video | Podcast
• Gilly Macmillan (THE LONG WEEKEND) Video | Podcast
• Sarah McCoy (MUSTIQUE ISLAND) Video | Podcast
• Meg Mitchell Moore (VACATIONLAND) Video | Podcast
• Chris Pavone (TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON) Video | Podcast
• Tom Perrotta (TRACY FLICK CAN'T WIN) Video | Podcast
• Kim Michele Richardson (THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER) Podcast
• Katie Runde (THE SHORE) Video | Podcast
• John Searles (HER LAST AFFAIR) Video | Podcast
• Casey Sherman (HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod)
  Video | Podcast
• Amanda Eyre Ward (THE LIFEGUARDS) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Scott Shepherd (SHOULD I FALL)
• Thrity Umrigar (HONOR)

Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.

Our Latest Guides

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

BULLY MARKET: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs by Jamie Fiore Higgins (Business & Economics/Memoir)
BULLY MARKET is a rare, riveting insider’s account on Wall Street --- an updated LIAR'S POKER --- where greed coupled with misogyny and discrimination enforces a culture of exclusion in the upper echelons of Goldman Sachs.

CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Fiction)
In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime --- from the New York Times bestselling author of MALIBU RISING.

THE FORTUNES OF JADED WOMEN by Carolyn Huynh (Fiction)
For fans of Jonathan Tropper, KJ Dell’Antonia and Kevin Kwan, Carolyn Huynh's debut novel follows a family of estranged Vietnamese women --- cursed to never know love or happiness --- as they reunite when a psychic makes a startling prediction.

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.

LESS IS LOST by Andrew Sean Greer (Fiction/Humor)
In this follow-up to the “bedazzling, bewitching, and be-wonderful” (New York Times) bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning LESS, the awkward and lovable Arthur Less returns in an unforgettable road trip across America.

LUCY BY THE SEA by Elizabeth Strout (Fiction)
From Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout comes a poignant, pitch-perfect novel about a divorced couple stuck together during lockdown --- and the love, loss, despair and hope that animate us even as the world seems to be falling apart.

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O'Farrell (Historical Fiction)
The author of the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award winner HAMNET brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.

THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT by Lynda Cohen Loigman (Historical Fiction)
Lynda Cohen Loigman's THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT is a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to realize their unique talent of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places.

ON THE ROOFTOP by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (Historical Fiction)
This stunning novel is about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters’ ambitions for their own lives --- set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San Francisco.

PEOPLE PERSON by Candice Carty-Williams (Fiction)
The author of the “brazenly hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is first novel” (Oprah Daily) QUEENIE returns with another witty and insightful novel about the power of family --- even when they seem like strangers.

THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS by Sally Koslow (Fiction)
THE REAL MRS. TOBIAS is a sharply funny and big-hearted multigenerational story about the deeply complicated relationships between mothers- and daughters-in-law, told through three women who marry into the same family.

RUIN: A Novel of Flyfishing in Bankruptcy by Leigh Seippel (Fiction)
This vivid story opens with every couple’s nightmare --- the disappearance of their comfortable known world. RUIN explores the unpredictable progression of character and chance for Francy and Frank Campbell, newly destitute in their early 30s, along with their lovers and foes. And a murder investigator.

THE WAYS WE HIDE by Kristina McMorris (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of SOLD ON A MONDAY comes a sweeping World War II tale of an illusionist whose recruitment by British intelligence sets her on a perilous, heartrending path.

THE WINNERS by Fredrik Backman (Fiction)
A breathtaking new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ANXIOUS PEOPLE and A MAN CALLED OVE, THE WINNERS returns to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown for a story about first loves, second chances and last goodbyes.

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

BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY: A Memoir of an Undocumented Childhood by Qian Julie Wang (Memoir)
An incandescent memoir from an astonishing new talent, BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world.

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr (Fiction)
Dedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” CLOUD CUCKOO LAND is a beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship --- of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.

DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY by Kirthana Ramisetti (Fiction)
In this thought-provoking and entertaining debut novel about a multicultural family, a dying billionaire matriarch leaks news of her death early so she can examine her legacy --- a decision that horrifies her children and inadvertently exposes secrets she has spent a lifetime keeping.

FEMLANDIA by Christina Dalcher (Dystopian Thriller)
FEMLANDIA is a chilling look into an alternate near future where a woman and her daughter seek refuge in a women-only colony, only to find that the safe haven they were hoping for is the most dangerous place they could be.

SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE TYPING by Calvin Kasulke (Fiction/Humor)
Told entirely through clever and captivating Slack messages, this irresistible, relatable satire of both virtual work and contemporary life is "The Office" for a new world.

Quick Links to Features on ReadingGroupGuides.com

Find a Guide by Title | Find a Guide by Author | Find a Guide by Genre
Contests | Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks | The Book Report Network YouTube Channel 
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts | "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books"
Book Festivals | Carol's Event Schedule

Please visit the other websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com: Bookreporter.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

And be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.