Reading Group Guides Updates

August 2011

noreply@blogger.com (webmaster) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:33:00 +0000

We are celebrating the paperback release of How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway --- a story of a mother and her daughter reconnecting with their Japanese heritage --- with a special contest. Fifteen readers will have the opportunity to each win one copy of the book, which is in stores now, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET.

More about How to Be an American Housewife:
How to Be an American Housewife is a novel about mothers and daughters, and the pull of tradition. It tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and aspired to be a proper American housewife; and her grown daughter, Sue, a divorced mother whose life as an American housewife hasn’t been what she’d expected. When illness prevents Shoko from traveling to Japan to be reunited with her brother, she asks Sue to go in her place. The trip reveals family secrets that change their lives in dramatic and unforeseen ways. Offering an entertaining glimpse into American and Japanese family lives and their potent aspirations, this is a warm and engaging novel full of unexpected insight.

Click here to read all the contest details.
Click here for the reading group guide.

We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers --- the acclaimed retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea as set during the California Gold Rush --- with a special contest. Three readers will have the opportunity to each win an autographed copy of the book for their group, while five readers will win a copy of the book. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 7th at noon ET.

More about Redeeming Love:
Bestselling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel's life to draw her into the Savior's redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold more than a million copies globally and has been a fixture on bestseller lists for nearly a decade. A six-part reading guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this bestselling novel.

Click here to read all the contest details.
Click here for the reading group guide.

New and Recommended - Fiction

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne
Magdalena, the clever and headstrong daughter of Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl, lives with her father outside the village walls and is destined to be married off to another hangman’s son --- except that the town physician’s son is hopelessly in love with her. It is 1659, the Thirty Years’ War has finally ended, and there hasn’t been a witchcraft mania in decades. But now, a drowning and gruesomely injured boy, tattooed with the mark of a witch, is pulled from a river and the villagers suspect the local midwife, Martha Stechlin.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
Wickedly hilarious and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tells the story of three women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love --- all while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers. Isabella, Mary and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and doll-sized cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with and the problems that come with them.

Click here for the reading group guide.

The Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal
To Soorya Giri, arranged marriages have always seemed absurd. But while her career as an environmental lawyer has flourished, Soorya is still a virgin, living with her parents in suburban New Jersey. She wants to be married. And she is finally ready to do the unthinkable. In choosing between two very different men, Soorya must reconcile her burgeoning independence and her conservative background. And she must decide what matters most to her --- not just in a husband, but in a family, a culture, and a life…

Click here for the reading group guide.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life by Cathy Lamb
Madeline O’Shea tells people what to do with their lives. A renowned life coach, she inspires thousands of women through her thriving practice --- exuding enviable confidence along with her stylish suits and sleek hair. But her confidence, just like her fashionable demeanor, is all a front. For decades, Madeline has lived in fear of her traumatic past becoming public. Now a reporter is reinvestigating the notorious crime that put Madeline’s mother behind bars, threatening to destroy her elaborate façade.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Registered Book Club Promotions

For August we have a very special opportunity for Registered Book Groups. Our featured title this month is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Groups who have registered with us by Tuesday, August 16th have the chance to win an author chat. If your group is not registered, click here to register.

New Guides

Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund: Set against the searing debate between evolutionists and creationists, Adam & Eve is a thriller, a romance, an adventure, an idyll --- a tour de force from Sena Jeter Naslund, one of the most imaginative and inspired writers of our time.

Blue Skies Tomorrow: Wings of Glory, Book 3 by Sarah Sundin: A pilot and a volunteer find love amidst the throes of World War II combat in the final volume of this popular series.

The Call by Yannick Murphy: A father desperately tries to keep his family together as they cope with the aftermath of a hunting accident that leaves their eldest son in a coma.

The Colonel’s Lady by Laura Frantz: A young woman seeks her soldier father along the Kentucky frontier only to find herself longing for his commanding officer.

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy: The lives of three strangers intersect in the searing summer heat of Athens as they explore the ancient city, and their own lives, together.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life by Cathy Lamb: A successful life coach finds her prominent public image threatened with the revelation of a horrible family tragedy from her past.

The Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal: A young Indian woman finds herself at the crossroads of independence and cultural tradition when her family begins arranging her marriage.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close: A group of friends navigate their lives amidst the commotion of weddings and bridal showers that serve to remind them they’re all unlucky in love.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard: Two girls born on the same day to very different families find their lives weaving together over several decades.

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch: The Hangman’s Daughter is a rich, historical tale of a witch hunt and fanaticism in 17th-century Bavaria.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: An amateur florist discovers that her understanding of plants and the moods they convey can truly help those around her.

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson: The Lantern is a modern gothic novel of love, secrets and murder --- set against the lush backdrop of Provence.

Layla by Céline Keating: An antiwar activist reflects on her past while trying to understand the current state of political unrest.

My Two Wives and Three Husbands: A True Love Story by S. Stanley Gordon: This is the true story of one man searching for love in both the straight and gay communities over several decades.

River’s Song: The Inn at Shining Waters, Book 1 by Melody Carlson: A widow returns to her childhood home to find perspective on her troubled life and reconnects with her Native American heritage.

The Submission by Amy Waldman: In an ambitious reimagining of 9/11, a committee selects a memorial design only to learn that its creator is Muslim.

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman: A devastating exploration of the blurring boundaries of privacy and the fragility of self, this clear-eyed portrait of modern life will have readers debating their assumptions about family, morality, and the sacrifices and choices we make in the name of love.

Wings of Promise: Alaskan Skies, Book Two by Bonnie Leon: A woman finds herself torn between her love for a fellow bush pilot and a handsome doctor in the untamed frontier of Alaska.

July 2011

noreply@blogger.com (webmaster) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Win a Copy of MISS TIMMINS’ SCHOOL FOR GIRLS by Nayana Currimbhoy for Your Group
We are celebrating the release of Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy --- a story about a murder at a British boarding school in the hills of western India that launches a young teacher on the journey of a lifetime --- with a special contest. 15 readers will have the opportunity to each win one copy of the book, which is in stores now, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, August 3rd at noon ET.

More about MISS TIMMINS’ SCHOOL FOR GIRLS:
In 1974, three weeks before her 21st birthday, Charulata Apte arrives at Miss Timmins' School for Girls in Panchgani. Shy, sheltered and running from a scandal that disgraced her Brahmin family, Charu finds herself teaching Shakespeare to rich Indian girls in a boarding school still run like an outpost of the British Empire. In this small, foreign universe, Charu is drawn to the charismatic teacher Moira Prince, who introduces her to pot-smoking hippies, rock ‘n' roll, and freedoms she never knew existed.

Then one monsoon night, a body is found at the bottom of a cliff, and the ordered worlds of school and town are thrown into chaos. When Charu is implicated in the murder --- a case three intrepid schoolgirls take it upon themselves to solve --- Charu's real education begins.

Click here to read all the contest details.
Click here for the reading group guide.

New and Recommended - Fiction

Escape by Barbara Delinsky
Emily Aulenbach is 30, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. She doesn’t connect with much in her life, period, with the exception of three things --- her computer, her BlackBerry and her watch. Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here.

Click here for the reading group guide.

The Gap Year by Sarah Bird
In The Gap Year, told with perfect pitch from both points of view, we meet Cam Lightsey, lactation consultant extraordinaire, a divorcée still secretly carrying a torch for the ex who dumped her, a suburban misfit who’s given up her rebel dreams so her only child can get a good education. We also learn the secrets of Aubrey Lightsey, tired of being the dutiful, grade-grubbing band geek, ready to explode from wanting her “real” life to begin, trying to figure out love with boys weaned on Internet porn. When Aubrey meets Tyler Moldenhauer, football idol-sex god with a dangerous past, the fuse is lit.

Click here for the reading group guide.

A Stranger Like You by Elizabeth Brundage
Now Available in Paperback
In A Stranger Like You, the border between screen fantasy and grim reality is quick to dissolve, as Hugh Waters, bent on proving his script is believable, drugs Hedda Chase, stuffs her into the trunk of her vintage BMW, and drives the car to a long-term parking lot at LAX. He leaves the keys in the ignition, the parking ticket on the dashboard, and Hedda to the whims of fate. But fate is waiting for Waters as well, and he little suspects that the forces of destiny he has set in motion will lead to strange sexual encounters, a desperate search in the California desert, and a terrible, vengeful reunion.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Summer Friends by Holly Chamberlin
Over the course of one eventful summer, nine-year-old native Mainer Delphine Crandall and Maggie Weldon, a privileged girl “from away,” become best friends. Despite the social gulf between them, their bond is strengthened during vacations spent rambling around Ogunquit’s beaches and quiet country lanes, and lasts throughout their college years in Boston. It seems nothing can separate them, yet after graduation, Delphine and Maggie slowly drift in different directions. Twenty years pass, until one summer, Maggie announces she’s returning to Ogunquit to pay an extended visit. And for the first time, the friends are drawn to reflect on their choices and compromises, the girls they were and the women they’ve become, the promises kept and broken --- and the deep, lasting ties that even time can never quite wash away…

Click here for the reading group guide.

Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago
As a young girl growing up in Spain, Ana Larragoity Cubillas is powerfully drawn to Puerto Rico by the diaries of an ancestor who traveled there with Ponce de León. And in handsome twin brothers Ramón and Inocente --- both in love with Ana --- she finds a way to get there. She marries Ramón, and in 1844, just 18, she travels across the ocean to a remote sugar plantation the brothers have inherited on the island. Ana faces unrelenting heat, disease and isolation, and the dangers of the untamed countryside even as she relishes the challenge of running Hacienda los Gemelos. But when the Civil War breaks out in the United States, Ana finds her livelihood, and perhaps even her life, threatened by the very people on whose backs her wealth has been built: the hacienda’s slaves, whose richly drawn stories unfold alongside her own.

Click here for the reading group guide.

For Christian Readers

The Blessed by Ann H. Gabhart: A woman stuck in a dead-end marriage finds herself tempted by a young Shaker man who tests both their faith and beliefs.

Chasing Sunsets: A Cedar Key Novel by Eva Marie Everson: A divorcee gets a second chance at love after a summer vacation to the tiny island she’s always yearned to call home.

The Protector: Families of Honor, Book 2 by Shelley Shepard Gray: A young woman is forced to sell her family’s farm to support her siblings, but a suitor awaits and hopes to support them all.

Registered Book Club Promotions

There are no registered book club contests for July. Please check back next month. If your group is not registered, and you are interested in future monthly contests, click here to register.

New Guides

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume One: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson: This National Book Award winner tells a gothic tale of slavery, science and the Revolutionary War.

The Blessed by Ann H. Gabhart: A woman stuck in a dead-end marriage finds herself tempted by a young Shaker man who tests both their faith and beliefs.

Chasing Sunsets: A Cedar Key Novel by Eva Marie Everson: A divorcee gets a second chance at love after a summer vacation to the tiny island she’s always yearned to call home.

Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago: A sweeping historical novel of love and adventure as a young Spanish woman finds her way to exotic Puerto Rico as the Civil War unfolds just to the north in America.

Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan: An Irish woman ventures across the Atlantic Ocean to land in New York City as a maid for a wealthy family, but can’t forget the country --- or man --- she left behind.

Escape by Barbara Delinsky: An overworked lawyer takes her life into her own hands when she forsakes the corporate world for a mountain town retreat in New Hampshire.

The Gap Year by Sarah Bird: A novel as hilarious as it is heartbreaking about a single mom and her 17-year-old daughter learning how to let go in that precarious moment before college empties the nest.

Hassie Calhoun: A Las Vegas Novel of Innocence by Pamela Cory: A teenager hopes to launch her singing career on the Las Vegas show circuit, but finds that Sin City is much more than just a nickname for the city.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler: This international bestseller has a frustrated detective resorting to hypnotism to help crack the case of a brutal triple homicide.

Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayan Currimbhoy: A murder at a British boarding school in the hills of western India launches a young teacher on the journey of a lifetime.

The Protector: Families of Honor, Book 2 by Shelley Shepard Gray: A young woman is forced to sell her family’s farm to support her siblings, but a suitor awaits and hopes to support them all.

A Stranger Like You by Elizabeth Brundage: A struggling screenwriter goes to great lengths to prove his script is ready for the big screen, and extract revenge on the executive who’s blocking its way.

Summer Friends by Holly Chamberlin: Two childhood friends who have followed very different paths to adulthood reconnect at the summer retreat of their youth.

June 2011

noreply@blogger.com (webmaster) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Win an Advance Copy of THE LAST NUDE by Ellis Avery for Your Group

We are celebrating the forthcoming release of The Last Nude by Ellis Avery --- a stunning story of love, sexual obsession, treachery and tragedy, about an artist and her most famous muse in Paris between the world wars --- with a special contest. 100 readers will have the opportunity to each win one advance copy of the book, which will be in stores on January 5, 2012, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 6th at noon ET.

More about The Last Nude:
Paris, 1927. In the heady years before the crash, financiers drape their mistresses in Chanel, while expatriates flock to the avant-garde bookshop Shakespeare and Company. One day in July, a young American named Rafaela Fano gets into the car of a coolly dazzling stranger, the Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka. Struggling to halt a downward slide toward prostitution, Rafaela agrees to model for the artist, a dispossessed Saint Petersburg aristocrat with a murky past. The two become lovers, and Rafaela inspires Tamara's most iconic Jazz Age images, among them her most accomplished --- and coveted --- works of art. Inspired by real events in de Lempicka's history, The Last Nude is a tour de force of historical imagination.

Clickhere for the reading group guide.

New and Recommended - Fiction

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Dr. Marina Singh, a research scientist with a Minnesota pharmaceutical company, is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have all but disappeared in the Amazon while working on what is destined to be an extremely valuable new drug, the development of which has already cost the company a fortune. Nothing about Marina's assignment is easy: not only does no one know where Dr. Swenson is, but the last person who was sent to find her, Marina's research partner Anders Eckman, died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding her former mentor as well as answers to several troubling questions about her friend's death, the state of her company's future, and her own past.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh
Estranged for years from her difficult and demanding relatives, Sheila McGann has remained close to her older brother Art, the popular, dynamic pastor of a large suburban parish. When Art finds himself at the center of the maelstrom, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him and his reputation. What she discovers is more complicated than she imagined. Her strict, lace-curtain-Irish mother is living in a state of angry denial. Sheila's younger brother Mike, to her horror, has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is 32 and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago. By turns wickedly funny and achingly sad, Maine unveils the sibling rivalry, alcoholism, social climbing and Catholic guilt at the center of one family, along with the abiding, often irrational love that keeps them coming back, every summer, to Maine and to each other.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Daughters of the Revolution by Carolyn Cooke

It’s 1968. The prestigious but cash-strapped Goode School in the town of Cape Wilde is run by its aging, philandering headmaster, Goddard Byrd, known to both his friends and his enemies as God. With Cape Wilde engulfed by the social and political storms of integration, coeducation and the sexual revolution, God has confidently promised coeducation “over my dead body.” And then, through a clerical error, the Goode School admits its first female student: Carole Faust, a brilliant, intractable 15-year-old black girl. Carolyn Cooke has written a ferociously intelligent, richly sensual novel about the lives of girls and women, the complicated desperation of daughters without fathers, and the erosion of paternalistic power in an elite New England town on the cusp of radical social change.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

On a soft summer night in Vermont, 12-year-old Lisa went into the woods behind her house and never came out again. Before she disappeared, she told her little brother, Sam, about a door that led to a magical place where she would meet the King of the Fairies and become his queen. Fifteen years later, Phoebe is in love with Sam, a practical, sensible man who doesn’t fear the dark and doesn’t have bad dreams --- who, in fact, helps Phoebe ignore her own. But suddenly the couple is faced with a series of eerie, unexplained occurrences that challenge Sam’s hardheaded, realistic view of the world. As they question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made years ago is revealed --- a promise that could destroy them all.

Click here for the reading group guide.

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young

The lives of two very different couples are irrevocably intertwined and forever changed in this stunning World War I epic of love and war. From the day in 1907 that 11-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, daughter of a well-known orchestral conductor, he takes in the difference between their two families: his, working-class; hers, "posh" and artistic. Just a few years later, romance and these differences erupt simultaneously with the war in Europe. In a fit of fury and boyish pride, Riley enlists in the army and finds himself involved in the transformative nightmare of the twentieth century. Moving among Ypres, London and Paris, this emotionally rich and evocative novel is both a powerful exploration of the lasting effects of war on those who fight --- and those who don't --- and a poignant testament to the power of enduring love.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Threading the Needle: A Cobbled Court Novel by Marie Bostwick

The economic downturn has hit New Bern, Connecticut, and Tessa Woodruff's herbal apothecary shop, For the Love of Lavender, is suffering. So is her once-happy 34-year marriage to Lee. They'd given up everything to come back to New Bern from Boston and start their business, but now they're wondering if they made the right decision. To relieve the strain, Tessa signs up for a quilting class at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop, and to her surprise, rediscovers the power of sisterhood --- along with the childhood friend she thought she'd lost forever. From New York Times bestselling author Marie Bostwick comes a beautiful novel of sisterhood lost and found --- and of the ways we create the rich tapestries that encompass the past and the future.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner

In the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, a young Orthodox Jewish woman in the holy city of Jerusalem is expected to marry and produce many sons to help hasten the Messiah's arrival. While the feisty Esther Kaminsky understands her obligations, her artistic talent inspires her to secretly explore worlds outside her religion, to dream of studying in Paris --- and to believe that God has a special destiny for her. When tragedy strikes her family, Esther views it as a warning from an angry God and suppresses her desires in order to become an obedient "Jerusalem maiden."

Click here for the reading group guide.

New and Recommended - Nonfiction

Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir by Oscar Hijuelos

Oscar Hijuelos has enchanted readers with vibrant characters who hunger for success, love and self-acceptance. In his first work of nonfiction, Hijuelos writes from the heart about the people and places that inspired his international bestselling novels. Born in Manhattan's Morningside Heights to Cuban immigrants in 1951, Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing. The son of a Cuban hotel worker and exuberant poetry-writing mother, his story, played out against the backdrop of an often prejudiced working-class neighborhood, takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship to his family and culture changes forever. During a sojourn in pre-Castro Cuba with his mother, he catches a disease that sends him into a Dickensian home for terminally ill children. The yearlong stay estranges him from the very language and people he had so loved.

Click here for the reading group guide.

For Christian Readers

Martha by Diana Wallis Taylor: The Biblical character of Martha of Bethany comes to life in this historical romance about one woman’s quest for true love while holding her family together.

Megan’sHero: The Callahans of Texas, Book Three by Sharon Gillenwater: An unwed mother-to-be is rescued from a tornado by a strapping cowboy, leaving both to wonder if this chance meeting was truly fate.

Registered Book Club Promotions

For June we have two very special opportunities for Registered Book Groups. Our featured titles this month are The Summer We Came to Life by Deborah Cloyed and Broken Wings by Carla Stewart. Groups who have registered with us by Tuesday, June 21st have the chance to win an author chat and/or free books. If your group is not registered, click here to register.

Click here for details.

New Guides

The Bells by Richard Harvell: The life of fictional singer Moses Forben is chronicled, from his humble upbringing in a small Swiss town in the Alps to stardom in bustling Vienna during the 18th century.

Broken Wings by Carla Stewart: A singer finds herself pondering her future alone as her husband --- and duet partner --- succumbs to Alzheimer’s.

Daughters of the Revolution by Carolyn Cooke: The headmaster of a prestigious New England prep school vows never to desegregate his campus, until the school accidentally admits a 15-year-old black girl.

Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon: Family secrets and fairy lore create a shifting reality in Jennifer McMahon's unsettling novel about the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl who longed to become Queen of the Fairies.

Downfrom Cascom Mountain by Ann Joslin Williams: Newlywed Mary Hall brings her husband to settle in the rural New Hampshire of her youth to fix up the house she grew up in and to reconnect to the land that defined her, with all its beauty and danger.

Eromenos by Melanie McDonald: Eros and Thanatos converge in the story of a glorious youth, an untimely death, and an imperial love affair that gives rise to the last pagan god of antiquity.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh: Set in 2002 amid the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church, and particularly the Boston archdiocese, Jennifer Haigh's novel reaches far beneath the headlines to imagine the impact of allegations on one priest's family.

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott: The quiet, circumscribed world of divorcée Clara Purdy gets shaken up when she gets in a car accident with the Gage family, who are homeless and have been living in their car.

Healer by Carol Cassella: A housewife tries to hold her family together after her husband’s medical company loses a fortune.

Hello Goodbye by Emily Chenoweth: A family convenes at a posh New England hotel to celebrate the matriarch’s birthday, which may be her last due to an inoperable tumor.

Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carner: A young woman is torn between her strict Orthodox Jewish heritage and her desire to explore the world, especially Paris, during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery: The unlikely pairing between an American expatriate and a Russian painter with a murky past leads to a classic work of Jazz Age art.

TheLondon Train by Tessa Hadley: A train ride proves fateful for a father searching for his long-lost daughter and a young woman returning home to claim her inheritance.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan: Three generations of women share their hopes, dreams and fears at the family’s summer retreat along coastal Maine.

The Mighty Walzer by Howard Jacobson: A table-tennis prodigy hones his game with the paddle --- and the ladies --- thanks to sage advice from his father and teammates.

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young: A young couple wonders if their love and relationship can survive through the horrors of World War I.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: A pharmaceutical researcher treks into the Amazon to locate a colleague whose untimely death has raised several questions about his discoveries in the region.

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel: While visiting southern Florida, a young woman falls madly in love with one of the locals from Stiltsville, a community of raised houses in Biscayne Bay.

The Summer We Came to Life by Deborah Cloyed: A group of friends try to enjoy their annual summer retreat but can’t help but notice the void left by a recently-deceased member.

Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir by Oscar Hijuelos: The award-winning novelist chronicles his childhood growing up the son of Cuban immigrants in New York City’s rough Washington Heights district.

Threading the Needle: A Cobbled Court Novel by Marie Bostwick: Two friends rekindle their relationship as each faces tough times during the recent economic depression.

May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (webmaster) — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Special Features and Contests

Win a Copy of THE NINTH WIFE by Amy Stolls for Your Group

We are celebrating the release of The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls --- a smart, funny, eye-opening tale of love, marriage, and the power of stories to unlock the true meaning of home and family --- with a special contest. 15 readers will have the opportunity to each win one copy of the book, which will be in stores May 10th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, June 8th at noon ET.

More about The Ninth Wife:

Bess Gray is a 35-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, DC. Just as she's about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love. But Rory is a man with a secret, which he confesses to Bess when he asks for her hand: He's been married eight times before. Shocked, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer. With her bickering grandparents (married 65 years), her gay neighbor (himself a mystery), a shar-pei named Stella, and a mannequin named Peace, Bess sets out on a cross-country journey --- unbeknownst to Rory --- to seek out and question the wives who came before. What she discovers about her own past is far more than she bargained for.

Click here to read all the contest details.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Win a Copy of THE GRIEF OF OTHERS by Leah Hager Cohen for Your Group

We are celebrating the forthcoming release of The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen --- a gorgeous, absorbing, intricately told tale of one family on the brink of collapse --- with a special contest. 100 readers will have the opportunity to each win one advance copy of the book, which will be in stores September 15th, for their group. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, June 8th at noon ET.

More about The Grief of Others:

In the tradition of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, a gripping, generous and provocative novel chronicling the grief that follows the death of a newborn --- and leads to a family’s emotional reawakening. Moving, psychologically acute and gorgeously written, The Grief of Others is Leah Hager Cohen at the height of her talent in what is sure to be her breakout book, one that forces readers to ask themselves: What would I have done? The Grief of Others exposes the paradox that facing tragedy together can in fact awaken us to our better selves and take us from fear to a place of hope and optimism.

Click here to read all the contest details.

Click here for the reading group guide.

New and Recommended - Fiction

The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

Now Available in Paperback
As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always been the one to look out for her twin brother Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But as Charles begins to refuse medication and his manic tendencies worsen, Karena finds herself caught between her loyalty to her brother and her fear for his life. Always obsessed with the weather --- enraptured by its magical unpredictability that seemed to mirror his own impulses --- Charles starts chasing storms, and his behavior grows increasingly erratic…until a terrifying storm chase with Karena ends with deadly consequences, tearing the twins apart and changing both of their lives forever.

Click here for the reading group guide.

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart

Now Available in Paperback
Sarah Price has never regretted trading her MFA for a steady job so that her husband, Nathan, could write fiction. But at age 35, her world is turned upside-down by a shocking revelation: Nathan's upcoming novel, Infidelity, is based on fact. Reeling from his betrayal, Sarah is plagued by dark questions. How well does she really know her husband? More important, how well does she know herself?

Click here for the reading group guide.

Rivals in the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan

As Queen Catherine's maid and daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, the future seems bright for Elizabeth Stafford. But when her father gives her hand to Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, the spirited young woman must sacrifice all for duty. Yet Elizabeth is surprised by her passion for her powerful new husband. And when he takes on a mistress, she is determined to fight for her love and her honor…

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New and Recommended - Nonfiction

The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir by Brianna Karp

Brianna Karp entered the workforce at age 10, supporting her mother and sister throughout her teen years in Southern California. Although her young life was scarred by violence and abuse, Karp stayed focused on her dream of a steady job and a home of her own. By age 22 her dream became reality. Karp loved her job as an executive assistant and signed the lease on a tiny cottage near the beach. And then the Great Recession hit. Karp, like millions of others, lost her job. In the six months between the day she was laid off and the day she was forced out onto the street, Karp scrambled for temp work and filed hundreds of job applications, only to find all doors closed.

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Click here to see our Paperback Spotlight feature for The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness on Bookreporter.com.

The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner
With their 30th birthdays looming, Jen, Holly and Amanda are feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones --- score the big promotion, find a soul mate, have 2.2 kids. Instead, they make a pact to quit their jobs, leave behind everything familiar, and embark on a yearlong round-the-world search for inspiration and direction. Traveling 60,000 miles across four continents, Jen, Holly and Amanda push themselves far outside their comfort zones to embrace every adventure.

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For Christian Readers

The Gift: Chiveis Trilogy, Book 2 by Bryan M. Litfin: A retelling of popular Bible parables set in a fantastical land.

A Great Catch: Lake Manawa Summers, Book 2 by Lorna Seilstad: An ambitious young woman becomes interested in a local baseball heartthrob while on summer vacation.

A Heart Divided: Heart of the Rockies, Book 1 by Kathleen Morgan: A daughter becomes embroiled in a family feud for ranch land, and the target of the sheriff’s investigation.

A Killer Among Us: Women of Justice, Book 3 by Lynette Eason: A hostage negotiator and detective are ensnared in a deadly plot that targets them.

Lilies in Moonlight by Allison Pittman: A young woman stumbles upon a war-ravaged mansion and curmudgeonly veteran, and makes it her mission to fix both.

My Foolish Heart: Deep Haven, Book 4 by Susan May Warren: A radio host begins falling in love with one of her regular callers, who happens to be an Iraq war veteran.

Registered Book Club Promotions

For May we have one very special opportunity for Registered Book Groups. Our featured title this month is The Bride’s House by Sandra Dallas. Groups who have registered with us by Tuesday, May 17th have the chance to win an author chat and/or free books. If your group is not registered, click here to register.

Click here for details.

New Guides

The Bride’s House by Sandra Dallas: From the New York Times bestselling author of Whiter Than Snow and Prayers for Sale comes a novel about the secrets and passions of three generations of Colorado women who have all lived in the same Victorian home called the Bride’s House.

The Council of Dads: A Story of Family, Friendship & Learning How to Live by Bruce Feiler: Bestselling author Bruce Feiler chronicles his diagnosis and fight with cancer, and his decision to form a council of fathers to help raise his young daughters.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin: Two boyhood friends from opposite sides of town are linked by an unspeakable tragedy that remains unresolved decades later.

The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick: A mother and daughter cross the country in hopes of breaking into the fashion industry in New York City circa 1890.

The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir by Brianna Karp: A young professional finds herself living in a camper after the economic collapse of 2008.

The Great Night by Chris Adrian: An innovative and daring retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream told in the present day.

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen: The death of a newborn shatters family members, and then teaches them to share one another's burdens.

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart: A groom confesses his infidelity on the eve of his wedding, and his bride reconsiders their past, present and future.

The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner: Three friends celebrate their 30th birthdays by embarking on an around the world adventure.

Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee: An ambitious small-town girl flees an arranged marriage and finds herself having all sorts of adventures --- professional, social and sexual --- in Bangalore.

The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls: The Ninth Wife is a smart, funny, eye-opening tale of love, marriage, and the power of stories to unlock the true meaning of home and family.

No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene: A journalist writes about her family’s plans to adopt several children from impoverished nations.

Rivals in the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan: Intrigue and romance among British royalty during Henry VIII’s tumultuous rule.

Skinny by Diana Spechler: A grieving twenty-something takes a job at a camp for obese kids, only to find herself entangled in a web of family lies.

The Summer of Us by Holly Chamberlin: Three strangers share a summer rental on Martha’s Vineyard, and find they have much in common despite their different backgrounds.

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman: A family saga unfolds across generations and continents as a brother and sister learn secrets about their family.

When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg: A prominent choreographer seeks to leave his rakish ways behind him, until he meets a seductive waitress.

A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism by Peter Mountford: A hedge fund employee finds himself caught between career and personal aspirations when he’s charged with a delicate, international task.