|
Never Miss a Contest or a Promotion!
Follow and Like Us on Social Media
Last month, I wrote that our group was not enjoying a book that had been selected for discussion. It ended up that no one had read it in advance. Many did not finish it.
Fran from Page Turners wrote, “I enjoyed the current Reading Group Guides newsletter where you wrote about your book group’s selection process. We are a group of mostly retired educators who began meeting 27 years ago in the school library. We started out way back using a similar selection process to what you’ve described.
“Since we’ve graduated from the school library to our homes, the hostess usually picks the book and sometimes asks for guidance. It’s been working for us. Usually, the hostess already has read the book.
“One of our guidelines --- all having taught either middle school or high school, we don’t really like 'rules' --- is you should make an attempt to read the book if you’re coming to the discussion. Now that could mean 50 pages, and you quit --- and we want to know why!”
We love this idea. I know my group feels the same way. Come and tell us why you did or did not finish it!
Terry wrote about winning copies of LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY in our special contest from earlier this year: “Thank you from all of us at The Jasper Book Club for the dozen copies of LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY! Everyone is thrilled, and they are already delving into their copies. I thought you'd like to know that the one extra copy we had was donated to Lake Agassiz Regional Library, a seven-county, 22-facility public library system serving northwest Minnesota. Recently we celebrated the opening of our newly constructed library and system headquarters in Moorhead, Minnesota, and I donated the extra copy of Brisa Carleton's book to add to the collection there.
“While attending the celebration, a chance conversation with our historical society's education director led to the discovery that he had just obtained THE SAVOY COCKTAIL BOOK by Harry Craddock for a program he's doing. He's promised to loan it to us as we prepare for our discussion with Brisa. There will be fancy drinks! We're in touch with Brisa and hope to have our date confirmed soon. You can expect pictures, and, of course, we'll toast all the work you do to promote books and authors.”
I love emails like this! One of the many reasons we enjoy what we do is because we get to hear how you connected to the books we recommended.
This is your last Reading Group Guides newsletter reminder to sign up for our special afternoon “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event on Thursday, April 23rd at 1pm ET.
Our guest will be debut novelist Lisa Ridzén, and she will discuss her international bestseller, WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH, which was a 2025 Bets On selection. The feedback that we have been getting on this book has been terrific. Readers clearly are enjoying it as much as I did.
After I talk to Lisa, we will give readers the chance to share a question for her on screen. We have special sign-in directions for these attendees, and they will get to chat with Lisa in our “backstage green room” before the program starts. Then we will turn to questions that have been dropped into Zoom’s Q&A feature. Click here to register for the event.
If you would like to ask Lisa a question, please fill out this form by Wednesday, April 22nd at noon ET. Be sure to include your name, city, state, email address and phone number, as well as your question. And indicate if you would like to be on camera or off.
This also is your last Reading Group Guides newsletter reminder to sign up for our second “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event of the month, which will take place on Wednesday, April 29th at 8pm ET.
Laura Dave will join us to discuss her instant New York Times bestseller, THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM, which was my first Bets On pick of 2026. We also will talk about the Apple TV series “The Last Thing He Told Me”, the second season of which just wrapped up and was inspired by Laura’s latest novel, which is a sequel to 2021’s THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME.
I will interview Laura, and then we will turn to readers who would like to share a question for her on screen (we have special sign-in directions for these attendees, and they will get to chat with Laura in our “backstage green room” before the program starts), followed by audience questions. Sign up for the event by clicking here.
If you would like to ask Laura a question, please fill out this form by Wednesday, April 29th at noon ET. Be sure to include your name, city, state, email address and phone number, as well as your question. And indicate if you would like to be on camera or off.
We have two new “Bookreporter Talks To” interviews to share with you in this newsletter.
First up is Allison Pataki, whose latest novel, IT GIRL, is a USA Today bestseller and a Bets On selection. Allison shares that her inspiration for the book was Evelyn Nesbit, one of the Gibson Girls of the early 20th century, who became America's first self-made female celebrity and “It Girl,” rising from poverty in Pittsburgh to Broadway stardom.
The story takes place during a transformative period following the Gilded Age with new technology like electricity, automobiles and cameras, and the birth of Broadway as the “Great White Way.” It examines the exploitation of young women in early celebrity culture while exploring themes of survival, agency and female empowerment.
We also talk about our mutual love of audiobooks. I listened to IT GIRL and appreciated Barrie Kreinik’s narration.
Click here to watch the interview or here to listen to the podcast. And in case you missed it in the last newsletter, be sure to check out the discussion guide and our Bookreporter review.
I also had the pleasure of talking to Devi S. Laskar about her third novel, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, which is set primarily in the years after 9/11. The protagonist, Rita Das, is a journalist inspired by Christiane Amanpour and Sylvia Poggioli, who planted themselves in conflict zones for their reporting.
The book explores both personal and professional challenges faced by Rita, who is running from conflicts in her own life into parts of the world where she finds herself in unknown political circumstances as she works. She has complicated relationships, including a rocky marriage, a lover, a sick mother, and difficulties with her father.
The unnamed location where Rita is stationed allows readers to focus on universal themes rather than specific geopolitical details. It provides a look at a time when journalism was much more fact-based than it is now, where the most important thing seems to be “being first” instead of “being right.”
Click here to watch the interview or here to listen to the podcast. According to our Bookreporter reviewer Sarah Rachel Egelman, “Laskar’s prose is timeless and understated. So much happens in this short novel, but it doesn’t really feel action-packed.... Both broadly political and personally intimate, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR is a complex, brave and powerful novel that will not be forgotten any time soon.” Click here to read more of Sarah's review and here for the guide.
The aforementioned YESTERYEAR, Caro Claire Burke’s much-talked-about debut novel, is April’s “Good Morning America” Book Club selection, #1 Indie Next pick, Top LibraryReads Pick, and a Bets On title.
A traditional American woman --- a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers --- suddenly awakens cold, filthy and terrified in the brutal reality of 1855. Now she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister.
Rebecca Munro has this to say in her review on Bookreporter: “It’s easy to see why this remarkable novel is already being touted as the book of the year. More than that, though, it seems like an instant modern classic that will continue to inform generations of readers about this particularly peculiar moment in our shared history. Fiercely intelligent, wickedly funny, and a searing takedown of tradwife culture, it widens the lens and examines our world in a way that allows the mind to broaden, expand and change.”
See the full review here, and take a look at the discussion guide here. Also, don’t miss my Bets On commentary here.
It was announced this week that GO GENTLE is the latest Oprah’s Book Club pick. Its author, Maria Semple, is best known for her 2012 international bestseller, WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, which subsequently was adapted into a feature film starring Cate Blanchett.
Here’s how Oprah describes the book: “It centers around a woman named Adora, who is a divorced philosopher, happily content living in New York City with her teenage daughter. And then a handsome stranger mysteriously comes into her life, and she's suddenly swept into this whirlwind of secret rendezvous and a new chance at love. It's all about what she's willing to risk for it all.
“For all those who crave a good page-turner, this is one wild ride of a story that carries equal parts wit and wisdom. I learned so much about Stoicism --- I laughed out loud for real. And underneath the humor, there was always something tender, a quiet truth about relationships, identity, and what it means to find peace with yourself.”
Oprah and Maria recently talked about GO GENTLE, and they were joined by readers from across the country who had questions for Maria. Click here for their discussion. Also, be sure to check out the guide and our Bookreporter review.
Jane Harper, the author of such bestsellers as THE DRY and EXILES, returns with her latest thriller, LAST ONE OUT. This time, she explores what lingers after tragedy when a mother revisits her son's missing person case five years later. Set in a rural Australian town bled dry by a mining company operating along its borders, the book paints an unsettling picture of a community hollowed out by corporate greed.
According to our Bookreporter reviewer Norah Piehl, “Harper does an admirable job of drawing readers into the heart and mind of a grieving mother…. [O]nce Ro and Griff uncover a pivotal clue, the pieces start to slide into place quickly, and the narrative momentum ratchets up to match the emotional stakes. I can’t say I’d ever want to visit a place like Carralon Ridge, but thanks to Harper’s excellent writing, at least now I can begin to picture and understand it.” Click here to read more of Norah's thoughts on the book and here for the guide.
I had a wonderful conversation with Jane about the book this week. We will share the interview as both a video and a podcast in the next newsletter.
We also have added guides for these four books:
-
INTO THE BLUE: Emma Brodie’s second novel, following SONGS IN URSA MAJOR, is Reese’s Book Club pick for April. Reese says that the book is “a story that really stayed with me --- about love, timing, and what happens when the past finds its way back into your life. I was so drawn to the way it explores fate versus choice.”
-
UPWARD BOUND: Woody Brown became the first nonspeaking autistic graduate of UCLA, and now his debut novel is this month’s “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick. Jenna calls the book “an extraordinary story about what becomes possible when even one person believes in you.” She goes on to say, “This is a love story about mothers and sons --- a window into a world so often misunderstood. I am confident it will open hearts and change minds.”
-
MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS: This intimate and searing novel about mothers and daughters, destiny and desire, takes a full-hearted look at those relationships in life that are as impossible as they are utterly essential. Perfect for readers of Claire Lombardo and J. Courtney Sullivan, Corey Ann Haydu’s adult debut is April’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick.
-
RUINS: Lily Brooks-Dalton follows up her national bestseller, THE LIGHT PIRATE (a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick), with a sweeping, deeply resonant novel about an ambitious archaeologist in pursuit of a rare artifact from an ancient civilization that would change not only her life but potentially society at large.
For more April selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
Each month, we are sharing the discussion guides that you have accessed most frequently on our site. Here are the 10 most popular guides from March.
Bookreporter's “Books Mom Will Love” Contest
Returning for a 21st year is Bookreporter’s Mother's Day contest. Once again, we are featuring some great titles that we think moms will love.
Readers will have the opportunity to win one of our five prize packages, which includes all five books to treat yourself or your mom: THE CALAMITY CLUB by Kathryn Stockett, HARBOR POINTE by Irene Hannon, LITTLE WONDER by Sophie Chen Keller, THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB by Susan Patterson and James Patterson, and THE MOUNTAINS WE CALL HOME by Kim Michele Richardson.
The deadline for your entries is Monday, May 11th at noon ET.
We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview event last Wednesday. I talked about 41 books releasing between April 7th and May 5th, along with 14 from June, that we wanted to get on your radar. Click here to watch the event and here to see a list of the featured titles.
Next month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview event will take place on Wednesday, May 13th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on books releasing between May 12th and June 2nd, in addition to some titles from the first half of July, that we think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up.
I want to give you a heads up about Independent Bookstore Day, which is happening on Saturday, April 25th. This is a nationwide celebration of independent bookstores and books! Their official press release notes that “[o]ver 40 bookstore crawls are being hosted in more than half the states, many extending beyond a single day and rewarding readers the more bookstores they visit. The Indie Bookstore Day Map serves as the ultimate guide to it all, spotlighting hundreds of events and experiences happening in communities nationwide.” It would be fun to celebrate this day with your group and plan an outing!
Here’s wishing you a wonderful next meeting 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: YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke
April’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
and a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke (Psychological Thriller)
Natalie Heller Mills lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s eight million followers don’t know won’t hurt them. But then one morning, Natalie wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's “Good Morning America” Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: GO GENTLE by Maria Semple
Oprah’s Book Club Pick for April
GO GENTLE by Maria Semple (Fiction)
A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, Adora Hazzard lives a contented life on New York City’s Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she’s applied this insight to blissful effect: relishing her teenage daughter, the freedom of being solo, and her job as a moral tutor for the twin boys of an old-money family. She’s even assembled a “coven” --- like-minded women who live on the same floor in the legendary Ansonia --- and is making active efforts to grow its membership. Adora’s carefully curated life is humming along brilliantly until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger. Soon, her ordered world is upended by black-market art deals, secret rendezvous and international intrigue…and her past lands like a bomb in her present.
- 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 this month's Oprah's Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: LAST ONE OUT by Jane Harper
LAST ONE OUT by Jane Harper (Mystery/Thriller)
Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, the skeletal town is all but abandoned. After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she'd become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college. He had loved Carralon Ridge and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam's disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Don't miss Carol's “Bookreporter Talks To” interview
with Jane Harper in the next newsletter.
New Guide: MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR by Devi S. Laskar
MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR by Devi S. Laskar (Fiction)
Foreign correspondent Rita Das has left New York for the war-torn Middle East, a reassignment she asked for after learning she is pregnant but uncertain if the father is her husband or her lover. As she strives to shed light on the fallouts of the war, Rita finds herself embroiled in her own conflicts with her interpreter and her news editor, her sources and her colleagues. She is unable to accept the loss of her mother and deal with her guilt for not being by her side when she died. As she goes into the field to report on the war, she grapples with the physical and emotional tolls of her pregnant body and a turbulent region. When her news editor delivers urgent orders for her to return to New York, Rita is faced with a choice about how she wants to live her life as a journalist and a soon-to-be mother.
- 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 Devi S. Laskar.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Announcing Bookreporter.com’s 21st Annual
Mother’s Day Contest: Books Mom Will Love
Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win books for yourself or the special lady in your life in Bookreporter.com's 21st annual “Books Mom Will Love” contest.
From now through Monday, May 11th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes five great titles that we think moms will love.
This year's prize books are:
Click here to enter the contest.
New Guide: INTO THE BLUE by Emma Brodie
Reese’s Book Club Pick for April
INTO THE BLUE: A Love Story by Emma Brodie (Romance)
In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for “Saturday Night Live.” Instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond --- first as friends, then as acting partners --- until one day, Noah disappears without a word. Seven years later, AJ is shocked to find herself cast in the same intergalactic TV production as Noah. As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin to blur. Unable to stay away from each other, AJ and Noah are forced to confront the truth of what happened years ago --- and the devastating secret that will send their lives careening apart, even as fate continues to draw them together.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's Reese's Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: UPWARD BOUND by Woody Brown
April’s “Read with Jenna” Book Club Pick
UPWARD BOUND by Woody Brown (Fiction)
Upward Bound is a dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community. For many of its clients and staff, it’s a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister, Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend; Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center’s pool; and Dave, Upward Bound’s director, who is staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center’s irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives --- and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways --- is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide:
MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS by Corey Ann Haydu
April’s Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS by Corey Ann Haydu (Fiction)
When Sydney and Mae meet on the playground as toddlers, it seems like kismet. Even their very different mothers --- the Type-A Beth Ann and the free-spirited Joni --- agree the girls are made for each other. Then a falling-out draws them apart, and decades later, the loneliness still lingers for the newly pregnant Sydney. Adrift in the absence of her closest friend, Sydney has been drawn into a Multi-Level Marketing scheme. Across the city, Mae is stunned to find herself single, pregnant, and still haunted by the loss of her mercurial late mother, Joni. When Sydney and Mae find themselves back in one another’s lives, each with a baby girl on the horizon, it once again seems like destiny. But soon they will discover a devastating secret at the center of their orbits --- a truth that finally will bind them or shatter them for good.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
New Guide: RUINS by Lily Brooks-Dalton
RUINS by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Fiction)
Professor Ember Agni is a rising star in archaeology, trying to balance an unfulfilling career in academia and a crumbling marriage, all while pursuing her true passion: unearthing a lost empire that no one else believes existed. Just as she’s about to give up on the ambitious expedition she spent a decade trying to fund, a message arrives from overseas. A former student claims to have found something extraordinary --- an artifact that hints at the forgotten world lying beneath history’s tidy surface. With vindication finally within reach, Ember risks everything for the sake of discovery and undertakes an odyssey that will either make her name or ruin her. But as she journeys deep into an untouched wilderness, in dogged pursuit of a dead civilization, she collides with the wreckage of her own life.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the discussion guide.
Our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for April
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads. We also feature a number of other prominent selections, including the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the “Good Morning America” Book Club, Oprah’s Book Club, the PBS Books Readers Club, the “Read with Jenna” Book Club, Reese's Book Club, and the Target Book Club.
Below is a preview of April's “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks.” For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke
AMERICAN FANTASY by Emma Straub
THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF by Evelyn Clarke
HONEYSUCKLE by Bar Fridman-Tell
GO GENTLE by Maria Semple
LibraryReads
Top Pick: YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke
JAPANESE GOTHIC by Kylie Lee Baker
THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF by Evelyn Clarke
THISTLEMARSH by Moorea Corrigan
THE DUKE by Anna Cowan
Barnes & Noble Book Club
MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS by Corey Ann Haydu
"Good Morning America" Book Club
YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke
Oprah's Book Club
GO GENTLE by Maria Semple
PBS Books Readers Club
WILDING: Returning Nature to Our Farm, by Isabella Tree
"Read with Jenna" Book Club
UPWARD BOUND by Woody Brown
Reese's Book Club
INTO THE BLUE: A Love Story by Emma Brodie
Target Book Club
THE LAST LETTERS OF SALLY AND WALTER by Cammie McGovern
Click here for April's Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: IT GIRL by Allison Pataki
IT GIRL by Allison Pataki (Historical Fiction)
Allison Pataki has a way of making the past seem like it was a whole lot of fun in her latest novel, IT GIRL. Who’s the girl? She’s Evelyn Talbot, who’s based on Evelyn Nesbit, the real-life Gibson Girl who landed in New York City from Pittsburgh during the days leading up to and through the Gilded Age. The scene it sets --- with Mrs. Astor holding court in the city, traveling abroad on ocean lines --- is all the rage, and the New York theater is a place where you see shows not just once but rather multiple times.
Evelyn first moves to Philadelphia with her mother and younger brother. Her mother gets a job at the department store Wanamaker’s. Seeing a chance for Evelyn to bring in even more money for the family, she makes sure that Evelyn works there too, even though she is only 13. So while others her age are becoming book smart, Evelyn is honing her street-smart skills.
- 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 Allison Pataki.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Click here to read more of Carol's Bets On commentary.
From left to right: Marie Benedict, Lisa Ridzén, Laura Dave
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are six upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Wednesday, April 22nd at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Lynn Cullen and Priya Parmar about their new historical novels. Lynn's WHEN WE WERE BRILLIANT explores the exceptional and complicated friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold. Priya's THE ORIGINAL plunges into the tumultuous life of screen icon Katharine Hepburn.
Thursday, April 23rd at 1pm ET: “Bookaccino Live” Book Group: In a special afternoon “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Lisa Ridzén about her debut novel, WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH, an international bestseller and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Lisa also will answer questions from guests who will be “on stage,” as well as from other members of the audience.
Sunday, April 26th at 2pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Marie Benedict will talk about her latest novel, DAUGHTER OF EGYPT, a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten pharaoh --- rewriting both of their legacies forever.
Tuesday, April 28th at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Allison Winn Scotch about her latest novel, THE INSOMNIACS. The lives of four sleepless strangers intersect late at night as they attempt to solve not just their own anxieties but also the mysterious disappearance of one of their own.
Wednesday, April 29th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with F&F's own Kristy Woodson Harvey about her latest novel, SUMMER STATE OF MIND. A burnt-out NICU nurse, an injured baseball star, and an eccentric southern aunt find themselves unlikely allies when an abandoned baby thrusts them into each other’s lives and forces them to face the scars of their pasts.
Wednesday, April 29th at 8pm ET: “Bookaccino Live” Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Laura Dave about her latest novel, THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM, an instant New York Times bestseller and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Laura also will answer questions from guests who will be “on stage,” as well as from other members of the audience.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers long-form, in-depth author interviews. 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 recently include:
Upcoming interviews include:
-
Rachel Beanland (THE HALF LIFE)
-
Jane Harper (LAST ONE OUT)
-
Susan Patterson (THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB)
-
Kathryn Stockett (THE CALAMITY CLUB)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
We currently are featuring the following guides on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
DAUGHTER OF EGYPT by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
Known for her “delightful blend of historical fiction and suspense” (People), New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict returns with a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten Pharaoh --- rewriting both of their legacies forever.
THE END OF MY LIFE IS KILLING ME: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker by Annabelle Gurwitch (Memoir)
In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, New York Times bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places.
A FAR-FLUNG LIFE by M. L. Stedman (Historical Fiction)
From the author of the acclaimed bestseller THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS comes a breathtaking and epic novel --- set in the vast outback of Australia --- about tragedy, family secrets and the enduring power of love.
FINLAY DONOVAN CROSSES THE LINE by Elle Cosimano (Mystery/Humor)
In this highly anticipated sixth installment in Elle Cosimano's beloved series, Finlay Donovan's nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, is facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn’t commit.
THE FORTUNE TELLERS OF RUE DARU by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (Gothic Horror/Historical Mystery)
A fearless fortune teller in 1920s Paris must use her powers to divine who she can trust when an exiled Romanov princess and her brother come to her seeking answers about a decades-old mystery.
GO GENTLE by Maria Semple (Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE returns to form in her most exuberant and life-affirming novel yet with the story of one woman’s cheerful determination to live a life of the mind only to have the heart force its way in.
INTO THE BLUE: A Love Story by Emma Brodie (Romance)
INTO THE BLUE is an epic, decades-spanning love story that blazes through the worlds of acting and comedy and charts a connection unlike any other.
LAST ONE OUT by Jane Harper (Mystery/Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author of EXILES and THE DRY comes a captivating novel set in a modern ghost town that explores what lingers after tragedy when a mother revisits her son's missing person case five years later.
MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR by Devi S. Laskar (Fiction)
Inspired by journalists Christiane Amanpour and Sylvia Poggioli, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR is a novel about a reporter chasing the biggest story of her career as she contends with a tense newsroom, a dangerous global conflict, and all the problems she’s running away from at home.
MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS by Corey Ann Haydu (Fiction)
An intimate and searing novel about mothers and daughters, and destiny and desire, MOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS takes a full-hearted look at those relationships in life that are as impossible as they are utterly essential.
NONESUCH by Francis Spufford (Historical Fiction)
NONESUCH is a spellbinding tale about an ambitious young woman who must thwart an occult plot by time-traveling fascists during the chaos of the London Blitz.
RUINS by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Fiction)
From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of THE LIGHT PIRATE comes a powerful, deeply resonant novel about an ambitious archaeologist in pursuit of a rare artifact from an ancient civilization that would change not only her life but potentially society at large.
SERVED HIM RIGHT by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
A woman’s brunch with friends quickly turns dark in this gripping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.
UPWARD BOUND by Woody Brown (Fiction)
UPWARD BOUND is a wondrous, deeply affecting portrait of the interlocking lives at an adult day care center in Southern California, depicting an often overlooked community with extraordinary wit and grace.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? by Sarah McCoy (Historical Fiction)
From New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy comes a spellbinding novel based on a true story: a beautiful young movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Age gives up her bright career to become a nun.
YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke (Psychological Thriller)
A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855. In this sensational debut novel, she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
THE AMALFI CURSE by Sarah Penner (Historical Fantasy/Adventure)
Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse. Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance, and the untamed magic of the sea.
BIG CHIEF by Jon Hickey (Fiction)
BIG CHIEF is a gripping literary debut about power and corruption, family, and facing the ghosts of the past.
CITY OF NIGHT BIRDS by Juhea Kim (Fiction)
A once-famous ballerina faces a final choice --- to return to the world of Russian dance that nearly broke her, or to walk away forever --- in this incandescent novel of redemption and love.
COUNT MY LIES by Sophie Stava (Domestic Thriller)
This read-in-one-night thriller is narrated by a compulsive liar whose little white lies allow her to enter into the life and comfort of a wealthy married couple who are harboring much darker secrets themselves.
A FAMILY MATTER by Claire Lynch (Fiction)
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything in this heartbreaking yet hopeful debut novel.
A FASHIONABLY FRENCH MURDER: An American in Paris Mystery by Colleen Cambridge (Mystery)
American expat Tabitha Knight has found a new life in postwar Paris, along with a delightful friend in aspiring chef Julia Child. Yet there are perils in peacetime too, as a killer infiltrates one of the city’s most famous fashion houses.
THE HOMEMADE GOD by Rachel Joyce (Fiction)
With sparkling wit and insight, this powerful novel from the bestselling author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY reminds us that family is everything, even when it falls apart.
HOW TO SEAL YOUR OWN FATE by Kristen Perrin (Mystery)
Kristen Perrin is back with the second novel in her Castle Knoll series. Annie Adams is caught in a new web of murder that spans decades, returning us to the idyllic English village that holds layers of secrets.
RABBIT MOON by Jennifer Haigh (Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of MERCY STREET comes a tense, propulsive drama set in Shanghai about a fractured American family, secret lives, and the unbreakable bond between two sisters.
THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
New York Times bestselling author Kristin Harmel returns with an electrifying novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.
THREE DAYS IN JUNE by Anne Tyler (Fiction)
Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, THREE DAYS IN JUNE is about a socially awkward mother of the bride who navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.
UNDER THE STARS by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
When a daughter and her famous mother return to Winthrop Island to confront their complicated past, they discover a secret trove of paintings that connect them to a mysterious woman who vanished on a luxury steamship two centuries earlier.
|
