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Once Halloween is over, I feel like we start a mad dash to the year-end holidays. With that in mind, we wanted to share some ideas from readers about celebrating the holidays with your book group. Not surprisingly, three include giving books.
Edie wrote, “One of the book groups I belong to does lunch, with everyone bringing their wrapped-up book (often off their shelves and not from the list of those we read), along with their gift of something for lunch. We then stand in a circle (or sit) and pass our gifts around to holiday music. When the music stops, we open our gifts --- the wrapped present held in our hands at that moment. We then verbally share our find and sometimes exchange. Often the book is about the holidays, or a favorite we don't want to sell used to a bookstore but are willing to part with, or a book for people younger than our age. It works, we get books, it doesn't cost much, and it is fun to share.”
Beth wrote, “At our December meeting, each member wraps up a book, and we have a 'white elephant' exchange --- except it is usually a book the person loved and wants to share! It’s a great way to get new books and gift one that you are done with!”
Diane wrote, “Not sure if you wanted book ideas or meeting ideas, but I guess mine is both! Our book club (together for 23 years) has a tradition of a wrapped book gift swap in December. Often this is a book that the member is recommending for the upcoming year. We make our reading list for next year at our December gathering. Many years ago, someone adorned their gift with an extra pretty bow. Our host kept it, added more decoration and put it on her gift book the next year! Now the bow is quite elaborate with all sorts of fun stuff as we’ve passed it around. Unfortunately, we’ve misplaced it a few times and years were skipped, but it always reappears after one of us has cleaned up our holiday stuff.”
Denise wrote, “Every January, we play White Elephant/Dirty Santa. Everyone brings a wrapped gift (in theory, a gift that wasn’t quite to their liking). The gifts are all on the central table where everyone can examine them (shake, not open). Everyone pulls a number that corresponds with the number of people attending. The person with number one chooses a gift to unwrap. The person with number two has a choice --- choose a new gift or take the unwrapped gift from number one. And so on. No surprise that in our group, people often wrap a second copy of a book they receive during the holidays --- so pretty great 'bad' gifts.”
Do you have more ideas to share? Send them my way with the subject line “Holiday,” and we will include your suggestions in next month's newsletter.
We hosted October’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event last Wednesday night. Our guests were Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, who joined us to discuss their novel, MAD HONEY, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that recently released in paperback.
To start off the event, Jennifer explained that the idea for the book came to her in a dream that she had in 2017. She and Jodi talked about their characters and who wrote each, as well as how they worked with one portion of the narrative going forward and another going backward. Jodi is a complete outliner, and they discussed how having this structure allowed them to develop the story with each of them writing on their own. This truly was a partnership throughout the entire process of writing, editing and promoting the book. Jodi and Jennifer also pointed out that they wanted to tell a story about a person who was transgender but frame it against a much bigger narrative and a mystery.
Two readers appeared on camera to ask Jodi and Jennifer questions, and I shared questions from two others who were unable to join us before we moved to Q&A from our other attendees. They gave such insightful answers, and we learned a lot about their writing process and how the story came together. If you weren’t able to attend the event or would like to revisit it, you can watch the video here or listen to the podcast here.
Our last “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event of the year will be held on Thursday, November 30th at 8pm ET. Our guest will be Dani Shapiro, and we will be talking about her national bestseller, SIGNAL FIRES, a Bets On selection that is now in paperback. It’s also our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” prize book.
Just as we did last Wednesday night, there will be a two-part Q&A session after I talk to Dani. For the first part, those who are asking a question on camera will be featured. This includes spending time with Dani 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 me with the subject line "Dani" by noon ET on November 30th. Be sure to include your name, city and state, as well as your question. If you do not want to appear on camera but still would like to ask a question, please note that you want to be off camera, and share your question --- adding your name, city and state.
You can sign up for the event by clicking here. In the meantime, for those who would like to win up to 12 paperback copies of SIGNAL FIRES for your book group, be sure to fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, November 8th at noon ET.
Our 12 ½ Annual Book Group Speed Dating event will take place THIS Friday, November 3rd at 1pm ET. If you are a librarian, bookseller or book club leader of three or more groups, and would be interested in attending this event, please email me and tell me a bit about yourself using the subject line “Speed Dating.” Although this is a “trade only” event, we will be sharing the publisher videos, PowerPoint slides and other materials with you in the next newsletter.
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our first-ever LIVE “Bookreporter Talks To” program. Our guest was William Kent Krueger, who talked about his latest novel, THE RIVER WE REMEMBER, a Bets On title that recently was named a Barnes & Noble Best Mystery of 2023 Selection. Six of the 25 readers who won a copy of the book in a Bookreporter contest we ran over the summer appeared on camera to ask Kent questions that they submitted to us ahead of time. There were a number of contest winners who either were camera-shy or couldn’t make it to the live event, so I shared their questions with Kent on their behalf.
We covered a variety of topics during the interview, including Kent’s inspiration for the book, his choice of setting, his writing process, why he is able to write such strong female characters, how the book’s title came about, what’s next for him, and so much more. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast. A huge thanks to the readers who participated for making this such a wonderful event.
Last week, I had a fascinating conversation with Jessica Knoll about her latest novel, BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN, a Bets On pick that we reviewed on Bookreporter when it released in September. The book is a fictional look at the victims of a serial killer, based on Ted Bundy, though he is never called by name here.
Jessica talks about the structure of the novel, where the crimes that open the book are captured hour by hour and day by day. She explores the three characters in the book, as well as the research that she did to get the right tone and tenor for the story. Jessica realizes that if the victims had survived, they would be in their 50s and 60s today. She also touches on the television series adaptation that she has been tapped to write, as well as her experience with the film adaptation of LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.
I also had the pleasure of talking to Sharon Virts about her new novel, VEIL OF DOUBT, a mystery set in 1872. Sharon shares how her love of history helped her to discover this story. She talks about the character of Emily, who is accused of poisoning her daughter, and how she had to learn not only the legalese of the day, but also about chemistry and how poisoning may have happened in that time frame. Sharon needed to stay grounded in what information was available. She researched the trial and learned some interesting things about what went on in court then as opposed to now.
Sharon discusses how this post-Civil War time period was important to the story, explaining what the times meant as men returned home with emotional as well as physical scars. She also reveals the novel’s original title and shares what she loves about the cover. Like Sharon’s debut, MASQUE OF HONOR, this one is a Bets On selection. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast. We also are featuring the discussion guide for VEIL OF DOUBT, which we encourage you to check out if you talk about the book with your group.
It was announced this week that Jesmyn Ward’s new novel, LET US DESCEND, is Oprah’s latest Book Club pick. This reimagining of American slavery centers on an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War. It’s a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.
Oprah calls the book “a vital work of culture” and “ultimately a tale of resilience and humanity in the face of such horrible cruelty written as only Jesmyn Ward can. So be prepared to go on a journey by an author who is, among many things, a two-time National Book Award winner."
Jesmyn appeared with Oprah on “CBS Mornings” last week. She talked about finding out that her book was selected for Oprah's Book Club, her experience writing the book, and how her own personal loss and grief helped her write about the enslaved teen, Annis, at the center of the book. Click here to watch the interview.
Be sure to join Oprah, Jesmyn and Oprah's Book Club readers for a special discussion of LET US DESCEND on OprahDaily.com, following the reading schedule on this page. You also can access the guide here and read our Bookreporter review here.
In this newsletter, we are featuring the guide for Kerry Washington’s instant New York Times bestselling memoir, THICKER THAN WATER. Here, the award-winning actor, director, producer and activist gives readers an intimate view into both her public and private worlds. Throughout the book, she attempts to answer the questions so many have struggled with: Who am I? What is my truest and most authentic self? How do I find a deeper sense of connection and belonging?
THICKER THAN WATER has received much praise from authors and critics alike. Isabel Wilkerson, the author of THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS and CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents, has this to say: “Kerry Washington takes us along her hard-won transformation from a sheltered young girl growing up in the Bronx, to a brilliant actor who would portray one of the most iconic roles in television. And all the while, she shines a light on the acting world, the traumas and triumphs of womanhood and the true, full meaning of family. A gift and a revelation.”
We also have added guides for these four books:
This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our final “Bookaccino Live” book preview event of 2023, which will take place on Wednesday, November 8th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on titles releasing between November 7th and the end of the year, in addition to a few from January and February 2024, that we would like to tell you about. 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.
Two Notable Features on Bookreporter
Our current New Release Spotlight title on Bookreporter is SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN by Heather Morris, a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances from the bestselling author of THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, CILKA'S JOURNEY and THREE SISTERS. Read more about the book later in this newsletter.
Also, be sure to check out my Bets On commentary for THE LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok, for which we featured the guide in the last newsletter. The bestselling author of SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE and GIRL IN TRANSLATION has penned an evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women.
Please note: With the holidays coming up, and the lighter publishing season that happens towards the end of the year, we will be doing just one newsletter in November and one in December.
Enjoy the next discussion with your book group!
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who shop online, if you use the store links that appear on our site for shopping, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound. As you check out the discussion guides and various features on our site, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!
New Guide: LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick
LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward (Historical Fiction)
LET US DESCEND is a reimagining of American slavery --- a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take.
- 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 Oprah's latest Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Featured Guide:
THICKER THAN WATER by Kerry Washington
THICKER THAN WATER: A Memoir by Kerry Washington (Memoir)
While on a drive in Los Angeles, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question. In THICKER THAN WATER, Washington gives readers an intimate view into both her public and private worlds --- as a mother, daughter, wife, artist, advocate and trailblazer. Chronicling her upbringing and life’s journey thus far, she reveals how she faced a series of challenges and setbacks, effectively hid childhood traumas, met extraordinary mentors, managed to grow her career, and crossed the threshold into stardom and political advocacy, ultimately discovering her truest self and, with it, a deeper sense of belonging.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for discussion questions.
- Click here to read critical praise.
- Click here to visit the book's website.
- Click here to watch a video about the making of the book's cover.
Click here for the featured guide.
New Featured Guide: VEIL OF DOUBT by Sharon Virts
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
VEIL OF DOUBT by Sharon Virts (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
Emily Lloyd, a young widow in Reconstruction-era Virginia, is accused of poisoning her three-year-old daughter, Maud. Her husband and three other children all died of mysterious illnesses, so when Maud succumbs to an unexplained malady, the town suspects foul play. Soon Mrs. Lloyd is charged not only with poisoning the child but also with murdering her children, her husband and her aunt. Enter Powell Harrison, a soft-spoken, brilliant attorney who recently returned to his Virginia hometown to help his brother manage their late father’s practice. As details about the widow’s erratic behavior and her reclusive neighbors emerge, Harrison begins to suspect that an even more sinister truth might lurk beneath the family’s horrible fate and finds himself irresistibly drawn to the case.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for discussion questions.
- 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 visit Sharon Virts' website.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Sharon Virts.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the featured guide.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win 12 Copies of SIGNAL FIRES
by Dani Shapiro --- a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
Now Available in Paperback --- 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 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.
SIGNAL FIRES by Dani Shapiro (Fiction)
An ancient majestic oak stands beneath the stars on Division Street. And under the tree sits Ben Wilf, a retired doctor, and 10-year-old Waldo Shenkman, a brilliant, lonely boy who is pointing out his favorite constellations. Waldo doesn’t realize it, but he and Ben have met before. And they will again, and again. Across time and space, and shared destiny. Division Street is full of secrets. An impulsive lie begets a secret --- one that will forever haunt the Wilf family. And the Shenkmans, who move into the neighborhood many years later, bring secrets of their own. Spanning 50 kaleidoscopic years, on a street --- and in a galaxy --- where stars collapse and stories collide, these two families become bound in ways they never could have imagined.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for discussion questions.
- 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 Dani Shapiro.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to sign up for our "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event with Dani Shapiro on Thursday, November 30th at 8pm ET.
New Guide: AMERICA FANTASTICA by Tim O’Brien
AMERICA FANTASTICA by Tim O’Brien (Fiction/Satire)
Boyd Halverson --- star journalist turned notorious online disinformation troll turned JCPenney manager --- robs a bank and takes the teller, Angie Bing, as a hostage and for a ride. Haunted by his past and weary of his present, Boyd has one goal before the authorities catch up with him: settle a score with the man who destroyed his life. By Monday, Boyd and Angie reach Mexico; by winter, they are in a lakefront mansion in Minnesota. On their trail are hitmen, jealous lovers, ex-cons, an heiress, a billionaire shipping tycoon, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, and the ghosts of Boyd’s past. Everyone, it seems, except the police.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: HOW TO SAY BABYLON by Safiya Sinclair
October’s “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club Pick
HOW TO SAY BABYLON: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair (Memoir)
Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity --- in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience. As Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence.
- 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 October's "Read with Jenna" pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE SISTERHOOD by Liza Mundy
THE SISTERHOOD: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy (History)
Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency relied on women even as it attempted to channel their talents and keep them down. They were unlikely spies, which is exactly what made them perfect for the role. Because women were seen as unimportant, pioneering female intelligence officers moved unnoticed around Bonn, Geneva and Moscow, stealing secrets from under the noses of their KGB adversaries. Back at headquarters, women built the CIA’s critical archives --- first by hand, then by computer. And they noticed things that the men at the top didn’t see. As the CIA faced an identity crisis after the Cold War, it was a close-knit network of female analysts who spotted the rising threat of al-Qaeda --- though their warnings were repeatedly brushed aside.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: MY DARLING GIRL by Jennifer McMahon
MY DARLING GIRL by Jennifer McMahon (Psychological/Supernatural Thriller)
Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call. Mavis, Alison’s estranged mother, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her remaining days with her daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters. But Alison grew up with her mother’s alcoholism and violent abuse and is reluctant to unearth these traumatic memories. Still, she eventually agrees to take in Mavis, hoping that she and her mother could finally heal and have the relationship she’s always dreamed of. But when mysterious and otherworldly things start happening upon Mavis’ arrival, Alison begins to suspect that her mother is not quite who she seems.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New October Releases of Interest to Book Groups
Here are a number of books that released in October 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.
ABSOLUTION by Alice McDermott (Historical Fiction)
From renowned National Book Award winner Alice McDermott comes a riveting account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War.
BROOKLYN CRIME NOVEL by Jonathan Lethem (Fiction)
From the bestselling and award-winning author of THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE and MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN comes a sweeping story of community, crime and gentrification, tracing more than 50 years of life in one Brooklyn neighborhood.
THE BURNOUT by Sophie Kinsella (Romantic Comedy)
Sparks fly in this delightful novel about two burned-out professionals who meet at a ramshackle resort on the British seaside.
EVERYTHING IS NOT ENOUGH by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström (Fiction)
From Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, the internationally bestselling author of IN EVERY MIRROR SHE'S BLACK, comes her highly anticipated second novel, focusing on the lives of three Black women as they fight their own personal struggles in one of the most egalitarian societies: Sweden.
FAMILY MEAL by Bryan Washington (Fiction)
From the bestselling, award-winning author of MEMORIAL and LOT comes an irresistible, intimate novel about two young men, once best friends, whose lives collide again after a loss.
FROM A FAR AND LOVELY COUNTRY: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (24) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
In this latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s cherished No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, two confounding cases compete for Mma Ramotswe’s attention --- and she may need to call in back-up.
SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN by Heather Morris (Historical Fiction)
SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances, from the multimillion-copy bestselling author of THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, CILKA'S JOURNEY and THREE SISTERS.
THE TWELVE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS by Susan Wiggs (Fiction)
The ultimate holiday gift from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs: a delightful novel about a Christmas transport of rescue puppies that’s guaranteed to warm readers’ hearts.
New Release Spotlight on Bookreporter.com:
SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN by Heather Morris
SISTERS UNDER THE RISING SUN by Heather Morris (Historical Fiction)
In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter, Sally, on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.
Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese, she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed.
After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit Heather Morris' website.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok
THE LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
Jean Kwok’s THE LEFTOVER WOMAN is the story of two women and one child. In China, Jasmine Yang had a baby girl. Her husband told her the infant died, but instead he had their girl given up for adoption. The One Child Policy was in place in China, and he wanted a son, not a daughter. Jasmine later learns what happened and heads to New York to find her child. To get there, she sells her wedding ring and entrusts her safe passage to snakeheads, to whom she owes a huge financial debt.
Jasmine’s daughter is living happily with a couple in New York. Rebecca Whitney is an executive at a publishing company, one that was run by her father, who she adored. Her husband, Brandon, has spent considerable time in China, and his friendship with Jasmine’s husband is the reason that they have Fiona, who is nicknamed Fifi. For Rebecca, work is filled with tension these days. A memoir she edited that was destined for multiple prizes has been found to contain lies, and she absorbs much of the professional blame for this.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for discussion questions.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Jean Kwok.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
From left to right: Ariel Djanikian, Paul Auster, Tess Gerritsen
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are 10 upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Wednesday, November 1st at 4pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Janice Hallett will talk about her new novel, THE CHRISTMAS APPEAL, an immersive holiday caper that follows the hilarious Fairway Players theater group as they put on a Christmas play --- and solve a murder that threatens their production.
Wednesday, November 1st 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 Angie Kim about her new novel, HAPPINESS FALLS, which is both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis.
Wednesday, November 1st at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Andrew Klavan will talk about his new mystery, THE HOUSE OF LOVE AND DEATH, the latest entry in his Cameron Winter series. The ex-spy-turned-English professor defies accepted narratives and corrupt local authorities to investigate the murder of a wealthy family in the Chicago suburbs.
Tuesday, November 7th at 8pm ET: Book Passage: Paul Auster will be in conversation with Rachel DeWoskin about his new novel, BAUMGARTNER, which asks the question: Why do we remember certain moments and forget others?
Wednesday, November 8th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books": Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between November 7th and the end of the year, along with a few from January and February, that she would like to get on your radar
Wednesday, November 8th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Michael Connelly for a live virtual discussion of RESURRECTION WALK, the seventh installment in his Lincoln Lawyer series, as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Michael will be in conversation with S. A. Cosby, the New York Times bestselling author of ALL THE SINNERS BLEED.
Wednesday, November 8th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Meg Cabot about ENCHANTED TO MEET YOU, the opening installment in her Witches of West Harbor series. A plus-size witch must team up with a handsome stranger to help protect her village from an otherworldly force.
Wednesday, November 8th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Janet Evanovich will talk about DIRTY THIRTY, the appropriately named 30th book in her series starring Stephanie Plum, who this time is on the trail of a stolen cache of dirty diamonds.
Tuesday, November 14th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Ariel Djanikian for a live virtual event to discuss THE PROSPECTORS, October's B&N Book Club pick. She will be in conversation with Shannon DeVito, the Sr. Director of Book Strategy and Customer Experience at B&N, and Miwa Messer, the host and Executive Producer of B&N's “Poured Over” podcast.
Wednesday, November 15th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Tess Gerritsen about her latest book, THE SPY COAST, a fresh take on the spy thriller featuring a retired CIA operative in small-town Maine who tackles the ghosts of her past.
"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:
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Douglas Brunt (THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I)
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Tess Gerritsen (THE SPY COAST)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
AMERICA FANTASTICA by Tim O’Brien (Fiction/Satire)
The author of THE THINGS THEY CARRIED delivers his first new novel in two decades, a brilliant and rollicking odyssey, in which a bank robbery sparks “a satirical romp through a country plagued by deceit” (Kirkus, starred review).
DEATH VALLEY by Melissa Broder (Fiction/Magical Realism)
DEATH VALLEY is the most profound book yet from the visionary author of MILK FED and THE PISCES, a darkly funny novel about grief that becomes a desert survival story.
EVERYTHING I LEARNED, I LEARNED IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT: A Memoir by Curtis Chin (Memoir)
EVERYTHING I LEARNED, I LEARNED IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT tells the story of Curtis Chin’s time growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980s Detroit.
HOW TO SAY BABYLON: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair (Memoir)
With echoes of EDUCATED and BORN A CRIME, HOW TO SAY BABYLON is the stunning story of Safiya Sinclair’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet.
THE INTERN by Michele Campbell (Legal Thriller)
A young Harvard law student falls under the spell of a charismatic judge in this timely and thrilling novel about class, ambition, family and murder.
THE LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
From the New York Times bestselling author of SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE and GIRL IN TRANSLATION comes an evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women.
LET US DESCEND by Jesmyn Ward (Historical Fiction)
From Jesmyn Ward --- the two-time National Book Award winner, youngest winner of the Library of Congress Prize for Fiction, and MacArthur Fellow --- comes a haunting masterpiece, sure to be an instant classic, about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War.
THE LIST by Yomi Adegoke (Fiction)
In this sensational, page-turning debut novel, a high-profile female journalist’s world is upended when her fiancé’s name turns up in a viral social media post.
MY DARLING GIRL by Jennifer McMahon (Psychological/Supernatural Thriller)
The New York Times bestselling author of THE DROWNING KIND and THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL returns with a spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect that demonic possession is haunting her family.
THE PROSPECTORS by Ariel Djanikian (Historical Fiction)
This sweeping rags-to-riches story of survival and greed across American history follows a family transformed by the Klondike Gold Rush.
SIGNAL FIRES by Dani Shapiro (Fiction)
From the beloved author of INHERITANCE comes a gripping novel about two families bound together across generations by an unspeakable tragedy.
THE SISTERHOOD: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy (History)
The acclaimed author of CODE GIRLS returns with a “rip-roaring” (Steve Coll) history of three generations at the CIA, “electric with revelations” (Booklist) about the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft and tracked down Osama bin Laden.
THICKER THAN WATER: A Memoir by Kerry Washington (Memoir)
In her instant New York Times bestselling memoir, award-winning actor, director, producer and activist Kerry Washington shares the "exquisitely moving” journey of her life so far (Isabel Wilkerson) and the bravely intimate story of discovering her truth.
VEIL OF DOUBT by Sharon Virts (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
When a mother is charged with murder in a town already convinced of her guilt, can defense attorney Powell Harrison find truth and justice in a legal system where innocence is not presumed?
WHAT WE KEPT TO OURSELVES by Nancy Jooyoun Kim (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
The New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE returns with a timely and surprising new novel about a family’s search for answers following the disappearance of their mother.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
FLIGHT by Lynn Steger Strong (Fiction)
With the urgency and artfulness that cemented her previous novel, WANT, as “a defining novel of our age” (Vulture), Lynn Steger Strong once again turns her attention to the structural and systemic failings that are haunting Americans, but also to the ways in which family, friends and strangers can support each other through the gaps.
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.
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