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Moving the Discussion Outside
Yes, it’s that time of year. We moved our book group discussion out to the deck this month, which is one step closer to what I know will be an eventual meeting in the pool as the summer goes on. Next month, my group will be discussing DID I EVER TELL YOU? by Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston. I was so moved by this memoir and my conversation with Gwen about it (you can see that later in this newsletter). There are books that are special and will stay with you. This is one of them!
There is a lot going on as we wrap up May, so let's get right to it!
On Wednesday evening, we hosted May’s "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event with Ann Napolitano as our special guest.
Ann joined us to discuss her New York Times bestseller from last year, HELLO BEAUTIFUL, which Oprah selected as her 100th Book Club pick. We also talked about her 2004 debut novel, WITHIN ARM’S REACH, which recently released in a new paperback edition. She gave us a peek inside her writing process, which includes nine months of musing before putting pen to paper, and shared a hint of what her next book will be about.
I enjoyed our conversation, and as always, we had fabulous questions from our attendees. We even touched on Ann’s novel, DEAR EDWARD, which was a “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick when it released in 2020. Click here to watch the event or here to listen to the podcast.
I am so excited to announce that William Kent Krueger will be our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest. The event will be held on Tuesday, June 25th at 8pm ET, and you can sign up here for it. We will talk about his 2023 New York Times bestseller, THE RIVER WE REMEMBER, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick and an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel that is now in paperback. In this spellbinding stand-alone novel set in 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances.
Just as we did on Wednesday night, there will be a two-part Q&A session after I talk to Kent. For the first part, those who are asking a question on camera will be featured. This includes spending time with Kent 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 "Kent" by noon ET on June 25th. 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.
LAST REMINDER: Please keep in mind that we will be hosting our 13th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event next Friday, June 7th 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.
Remember to Enter Our Monthly Contest
You have until Wednesday, June 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 GOOD NIGHT, IRENE, which releases in paperback on Tuesday. Luis Alberto Urrea’s New York Times bestselling novel tells an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross.
Here’s what our Bookreporter reviewer Stuart Shiffman said about the book in his review last year after the hardcover came out: “Urrea tells Irene and Dorothy’s story in moving and emotional fashion. It took many veterans quite a long time to openly share their experiences, and now it is probably too late. Perhaps we are left with only the tales that novelists rather than historians will produce. Urrea’s talent makes GOOD NIGHT, IRENE a beautiful account of World War II and the generation that saved democracy. Hopefully it serves as an inspiration to us all.”
We have two new “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews to tell you about in this newsletter.
First up is Terah Shelton Harris, who talks about her second novel, LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE, which is a Bets On selection. In it, four siblings --- each fighting their own personal battle --- return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them.
Terah explains what heir property is and the research she did about it to inform her story. She talks about developing the plot from four different points of view and her inspiration for that. Terah always knows how a book will end when she begins writing, and she crafts the story towards that conclusion. She reveals who the easiest character was to write --- and who challenged her the most.
Terah also shares the meaning of the dedication in the front of the book (which gave both of us a good laugh) and what’s next for her. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.
As I mentioned earlier, I had the pleasure of interviewing Genevieve Kingston about her memoir, DID I EVER TELL YOU?, which is a Bets On title. When Gwen was three years old, her mother, Kristina, was diagnosed with breast cancer; she passed away when Gwen was 11. When Kristina realized that her cancer was terminal, she created a box filled with individual presents for each year through Gwen’s 30th birthday, as well as special occasion notes for events like engagement, marriage and first baby. With just those last three to open, Gwen explored what these treasures had meant to her along the way.
Life lessons and gifts were shared that showed what Kristina wanted to be sure her daughter knew, a guiding light of sorts for when she was not around. It was as much about the note that accompanied each present as it was about what was inside. Gwen talks about taking this box with her from place to place as she moved across the country. Trained as a playwright, she explains the difference between writing for the stage and penning a memoir. She points out that she showed the book to her brother and some close family friends before publication to be sure she had the facts right and that their memories aligned.
Gwen also narrated the audiobook and notes what she learned from that experience. And she reveals what is next for her. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.
LIES AND WEDDINGS is the highly anticipated new novel from Kevin Kwan, the iconic internationally bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.
In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakesh, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex and the lies we tell about them all. Click here for the discussion guide.
Plum Sykes, the New York Times bestselling author of BERGDORF BLONDES, calls the book “vintage Kwan and this time we take a hilarious dive into the Anglo-Asian billionaire scene which is populated with fierce Chinese moms, power-mad aunties, penniless English Lords, fabulous weddings, stately homes and too many secrets to mention. Imagine Crazy Rich Asians mated with Saltburn and you've got LIES AND WEDDINGS --- a heavenly summertime read!"
Ann Hood returns to fiction with her new novel, THE STOLEN CHILD, her first since 2016’s THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST and a Bets On selection.
For decades, Nick Burns has been haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, when a French artist he’d befriended thrust both her paintings and her baby into his hands --- and disappeared. In 1974, with only months left to live, Nick enlists Jenny, a college dropout desperate for adventure, to help him unravel the mystery. Click here for the guide.
In her review on Bookreporter, Sarah Rachel Egelman has this to say: “Hood does a wonderful job allowing the setting to help tell the story, which adds to the overall richness of the book. From the French countryside to Rhode Island, from Paris to Naples to Capri, and from diners to museums, she lets her characters explore the world as they explore their own emotions and motivations, needs and choices…. [T]he narrative is engaging and entertaining with interesting and nuanced characters. THE STOLEN CHILD is a sweet and charming tale of love, purpose and self-acceptance.”
If you missed my recent “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Ann, be sure to watch the video here or listen to the podcast here.
We also have added guides for these two books:
We continue to feature the guides for THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by USA Today bestselling author Sheila Roberts and Leigh Bardugo’s #1 national bestseller, THE FAMILIAR.
Celebrating Father’s Day on Bookreporter
Our Father’s Day contest on Bookreporter is back for a 19th year! From now through Friday, June 14th at noon ET, readers can enter to win all seven of our featured titles: AGE OF REVOLUTIONS by Fareed Zakaria, ALL THE GLIMMERING STARS by Mark Sullivan, ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE by Tom Seeman, I LIVED TO TELL THE WORLD by Elizabeth Mehren, I WILL RUIN YOU by Linwood Barclay (a Bets On pick), THE MALACHI COVENANT by Dee Kelly Jr., and the aforementioned THE RIVER WE REMEMBER by William Kent Krueger. Click here to read more about the books and enter the giveaway.
This is your last ReadingGroupGuides newsletter reminder to sign up for our June “Bookaccino Live” book preview event, which will take place on Wednesday, June 12th at 2pm ET.
The focus will be on titles releasing between June 11th and July 2nd, in addition to a few from August, 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.
Have a GREAT next discussion with your 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: LIES AND WEDDINGS by Kevin Kwan
LIES AND WEDDINGS by Kevin Kwan (Fiction)
Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel, has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, resulting in a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort and seduce a woman with money. Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the humble daughter of a doctor? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans --- and their reputation --- go up in flames.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood (Historical Fiction)
For decades, Nick Burns has been haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, when a French artist he’d befriended thrust both her paintings and her baby into his hands --- and disappeared. In 1974, with only months left to live, Nick enlists Jenny, a college dropout desperate for adventure, to help him unravel the mystery. The journey leads them from Paris galleries and provincial towns to a surprising place: the Museum of Tears, the life’s work of a lonely Italian craftsman. Determined to find the baby and the artist, hopeless romantic Jenny and curmudgeonly Nick must reckon with regret, betrayal and the lives they’ve left behind.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Ann Hood.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest: Enter to Win Up to 12 Copies of
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea --- Releasing in Paperback on June 4th --- 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 GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea, which releases in paperback on June 4th. This New York Times bestselling novel tells an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, June 12th at noon ET.
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea (Historical Fiction)
In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Through her friendship with Dorothy and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope is for all three of them to survive the war intact.
- 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 visit Luis Alberto Urrea's website.
- Connect with Luis Alberto Urrea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES
MOTORCYCLE AND FLYING CLUB by Helen Simonson
THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES MOTORCYCLE AND FLYING CLUB by Helen Simonson (Historical Fiction)
It is the summer of 1919. Now that all the men have returned from the front, Constance Haverhill has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. She is sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after rescuing the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy, from a social faux pas. Poppy runs a ladies’ motorcycle club, to which she plans to add flying lessons. She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.
- 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: MISS MORGAN’S BOOK BRIGADE
by Janet Skeslien Charles
MISS MORGAN'S BOOK BRIGADE by Janet Skeslien Charles (Historical Fiction)
1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. This group of international women help rebuild destroyed French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen --- children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears. 1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. Eventually she discovers that they have more in common than their work at New York’s famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.
- 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.
Featured Guide:
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts (Fiction)
Karissa Newcomb is ready for a new start in a new neighborhood, as far away as she can get from Seattle, where her husband cheated on her with the neighbor who was supposed to be her best friend. She and her nine-year-old daughter are moving on to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound. She even has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company right in Gig Harbor. Her new boss seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but a job is a job, she loves to read, and the idea of possibly meeting writers sounds fabulous.
Soon she finds that she’s not the only one in need of a refresh. Her new neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They all could use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket. Together, the three women, along with Alice’s grumpy older sister, Josie, embark on a literary journey that just might be the kick-start they need to begin building their best lives yet.
- Click here to visit Sheila Roberts' website.
- Connect with Sheila Roberts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Click here for the featured guide, which includes
discussion questions, an author interview, critical praise and more.
Featured Guide: THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo
THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo (Historical Fantasy)
In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.
What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen --- and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive --- even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit Leigh Bardugo's website.
- Click here to connect with Leigh Bardugo on Instagram.
Click here for the featured guide, which includes
discussion questions, critical praise and more.
New May Releases of Interest to Book Groups
Here are a number of books releasing in May 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.
ALL FOURS by Miranda July (Fiction)
New York Times bestselling author Miranda July returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life.
ALL THE GLIMMERING STARS by Mark Sullivan (Historical Fiction)
Inspired by a true story, two teens kidnapped by an African warlord find salvation through love in a powerful and healing historical novel from the #1 bestselling author of BENEATH A SCARLET SKY and THE LAST GREEN VALLEY.
DAUGHTERS OF SHANDONG by Eve J. Chung (Historical Fiction)
Based on Eve J. Chung's family story, this propulsive, extraordinary debut novel is about a mother and her daughters’ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China.
KNIFE RIVER by Justine Champine (Literary Mystery)
KNIFE RIVER is a tense, intimate and heartrending portrayal of how deeply and imperfectly women love one another: in romantic relationships, in friendships and especially as sisters.
THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Stuart Turton (Dystopian Mystery/Thriller)
From the bestselling author of THE 7½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE and THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop and an audacious solution.
LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE by Terah Shelton Harris (Fiction)
From the author of ONE SUMMER IN SAVANNAH comes an explosive and emotional story of four siblings --- each fighting their own personal battle --- who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them.
THE LOST LETTERS FROM MARTHA'S VINEYARD by Michael Callahan (Historical Fiction)
THE LOST LETTERS FROM MARTHA'S VINEYARD is a tantalizing novel of two women bound by blood but divided by a long-buried secret, and the island that holds the key to the fateful summer that changed everything forever.
LOVERS AND LIARS by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction)
Three wildly different sisters reunite for a destination wedding at an English castle in this heartfelt and rollicking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of THE JETSETTERS.
ONE PERFECT COUPLE by Ruth Ware (Psychological Thriller)
Harking back to Agatha Christie’s classic AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them.
THE PARADISE PROBLEM by Christina Lauren (Romantic Comedy)
Christina Lauren returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.
THE PASSIONATE TUDOR: A Novel of Queen Mary I by Alison Weir (Historical Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the dramatic and poignant life of King Henry VIII’s daughter --- infamously known as Bloody Mary --- who ruled England for five violent years.
THE SECOND COMING by Garth Risk Hallberg (Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of CITY ON FIRE comes an intimate epic that plunges us deep into the lives of a troubled teenage girl and her estranged father when he returns home in an attempt to save her. Navigating love, grief, betrayal and redemption, Jolie and Ethan must find a way to survive as a family.
THE STELLAR DEBUT OF GALACTICA MacFEE: A 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith (Fiction/Humor)
This latest installment in the warm and welcoming 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents of Scotland's most celebrated address navigating their enchanting and eventful lives.
SUMMER ON HIGHLAND BEACH by Sunny Hostin (Fiction)
"The View" cohost and three-time Emmy Award winner Sunny Hostin transports readers to Highland Beach in this captivating third novel of her New York Times bestselling Summer Beach series.
THIS STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY by Claire Messud (Historical Fiction)
Over seven decades, from 1940 to 2010, the pieds-noirs Cassars live in an itinerant state --- separated in the chaos of World War II, running from a complicated colonial homeland, and, after Algerian independence, without a homeland at all.
YOU ARE HERE by David Nicholls (Romance/Humor)
From the internationally bestselling and Booker Prize-longlisted author of ONE DAY, one of the most enduring love stories of its generation, comes an uplifting and unputdownable love story about second chances.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews,
I WILL RUIN YOU by Linwood Barclay,
and LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE by Terah Shelton Harris
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
I love big hotels that have a lot of history to them, so I was immediately drawn to SUMMERS AT THE SAINT. Here, Mary Kay Andrews has all the elements for a perfect beach read --- a beloved hotel with a storied reputation, a great cast of characters, and a few mysteries that include a murder. And she parlays this into a page-turning story!
The St. Cecelia (which everyone refers to as “the Saint”) is being run by Traci Eddings, who grew up as “an Ain't,” meaning that she was not wealthy or connected enough to frequent the resort. She married a man whose family owned the hotel and took over his position running it when he died in a plane crash.
- 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 watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Mary Kay Andrews.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Mary Kay Andrews' website.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on SUMMERS AT THE SAINT.
I WILL RUIN YOU by Linwood Barclay (Psychological Thriller)
I am a longtime fan of Linwood Barclay’s books, and I think I have read them all. I especially love the characters he delivers, all of whom are well drawn and relatable. Then he puts them in circumstances that upend their lives. Often I think, What would *I* do? And yes, I am happy that these are his characters’ problems, not mine.
In I WILL RUIN YOU, we start with a sadly familiar situation. A teacher is confronted by a former student armed with dynamite who is ready to blow up the school building and himself. Just as Richard has talked Mark into walking away, fate intervenes, and the young man trips. Bang! That is on page 11.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Linwood Barclay's blog post about book banning.
- Click here to visit Linwood Barclay's website.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on I WILL RUIN YOU.
LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE by Terah Shelton Harris (Fiction)
I was not familiar with heir property before I heard Terah Shelton Harris talk about it at a book preview event as she discussed her new novel, LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE. I found myself intrigued by this idea of land that was bought by Black people during the time of Reconstruction. These properties often were held by entire families and passed from generation to generation, but without much in the way of printed documents. Many times, the land was in areas that were swampy or near water, which was not considered desirable as people wanted property that could be farmed. As a result of the scant paperwork, there have been lots of ways for developers to try to lay claim to this land.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Terah Shelton Harris.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on
LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE.
Announcing Bookreporter.com's 19th Annual
Father's Day Contest: Best Books for Dad
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? In our 19th annual "Best Books for Dad" contest, we have a selection of books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five readers will be awarded a copy of each of our seven featured titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, June 14th at noon ET.
This year's prize books are:
Click here to enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com's 20th Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature
Summer will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through early August, so you will have to check the site 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.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
From left to right: Lisa Wingate, James Lee Burke, Rachel Khong
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are seven upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Tuesday, June 4th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Rachel Khong for a live virtual event to discuss REAL AMERICANS, May's B&N Book Club pick. Rachel 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, June 5th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Ivy Pochoda for a live virtual discussion of her thriller, SING HER DOWN (which is now available in paperback), as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Ivy will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Danielle Trussoni.
Wednesday, June 5th 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 Annabel Monaghan about her latest novel, SUMMER ROMANCE. It's the romantic and hilarious story of a professional organizer whose life is a mess, and the summer she gets unstuck with the help of someone unexpected from her past.
Monday, June 10th at 5pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: James Lee Burke will talk about his new book, CLETE. In this 24th installment of the Dave Robicheaux series, Dave and his partner and friend, Clete Purcel, attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug.
Tuesday, June 11th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood will talk about their new thriller, RED STAR FALLING, an action-packed adventure that finds Luke Daniels embarking on a quest in search of the legendary library of Ivan the Terrible.
Wednesday, June 12th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Preview: Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between June 11th and July 2nd, along with a few from August, that she would like to get on your radar.
Wednesday, June 12th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors will talk to Lisa Wingate about her new book, SHELTERWOOD, a sweeping novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth.
"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:
-
Terah Shelton Harris (LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE) Video | Podcast
-
Genevieve Kingston (DID I EVER TELL YOU?: A Memoir) Video | Podcast
Other authors we've interviewed this year include:
Upcoming interviews include:
-
Ruth Reichl (THE PARIS NOVEL)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds by Tom Seeman (Memoir)
A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, ANIMALS I WANT TO SEE explores themes of identity, ambition, religion and friendship --- often across racial and social lines --- as it spotlights a family of 14 and tracks a boy’s journey from a child janitor with big dreams to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard.
THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB by Sheila Roberts (Fiction)
It started as a book club. It became a way to build a better life together. According to New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry, “THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB is your book club book of the year.”
THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo (Historical Fantasy)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. According to Deborah Harkness, THE FAMILIAR is “[a] must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.”
GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea (Historical Fiction)
This New York Times bestselling novel tells an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross.
THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES MOTORCYCLE AND FLYING CLUB by Helen Simonson (Historical Fiction)
This timeless comedy of manners --- refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside --- is about a generation of young women facing the seismic changes brought on by war and dreaming of the boundless possibilities of their future.
LIES AND WEDDINGS by Kevin Kwan (Fiction)
A forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent tropical wedding in this outrageous comedy of manners from the iconic author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.
LONG ISLAND by Colm Tóibín (Historical Fiction)
From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding and love. LONG ISLAND is the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of BROOKLYN --- Colm Tóibín’s most popular work --- 20 years later.
THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (Science Fiction/Romance)
A time-travel romance, a spy thriller, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to THE MINISTRY OF TIME, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.
MISS MORGAN'S BOOK BRIGADE by Janet Skeslien Charles (Historical Fiction)
The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE PARIS LIBRARY returns with a brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson --- the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France.
REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong (Fiction)
How far would you go to shape your own destiny? REAL AMERICANS is an exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?
THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood (Historical Fiction)
An unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child’s fate in this moving, page-turning novel from Ann Hood, who captures a world of possibility and romance through the eyes of a young woman learning to claim her place in it.
SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. Told with Mary Kay Andrews' warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, SUMMERS AT THE SAINT is a beach read with depth and heart.
WITHIN ARM’S REACH by Ann Napolitano (Fiction)
This tender and perceptive debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL is about three generations of a large Catholic family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
THE BEACH AT SUMMERLY by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
This ravishing summer read from New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams sweeps readers back to a mid-century New England rich with secrets and Cold War intrigue.
FAMILY LORE by Elizabeth Acevedo (Fiction)
From the bestselling, National Book Award–winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for adults, the story of one Dominican-American family told through the voices of its women as they await a gathering that will forever change their lives.
HELLO STRANGER by Katherine Center (Romantic Comedy)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE BODYGUARD comes a hopelessly romantic novel about finding love, confronting a haunting past, and figuring out what --- and who --- really matters.
THE INVISIBLE HOUR by Alice Hoffman (Historical Fiction)
From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of THE MARRIAGE OF OPPOSITES and the Practical Magic series comes an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery and the enduring magic of books.
LEARNED BY HEART by Emma Donoghue (Historical Romance)
From the bestselling author of ROOM and THE WONDER comes a heartbreakingly gorgeous novel based on the true story of two girls who fall secretly, deeply and dangerously in love at boarding school in 19th-century York.
THE RIVER WE REMEMBER by William Kent Krueger (Historical Mystery)
In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling stand-alone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of THIS TENDER LAND.
THE SISTER EFFECT by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
Beloved bestselling author Susan Mallery brings readers an emotional, witty and heartfelt story that explores the nuances of a broken family’s complex emotions as they strive to become whole in this uplifting story of human frailty and resilience.
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