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BookBrowse Highlights
| March 6, 2014
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Hello,
Among the many books to explore in this issue is TaraShea Nesbit's debut novel The Wives of Los Alamos, in which she delves into the minds of the women married to the creators of the atom bomb. You'll also find three recently published books recommended by our members: The Headmaster's Wife, Safe With Me and Precious Thing.
If you like to be ahead of the crowd (and top of the library waitlist!) make sure to check out our book previews - including this issue's featured book, Shotgun Lovesongs by debut novelist Nickolas Butler. All this and much more to explore...
Thanks for reading!
Best regards
Davina, BookBrowse Editor
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Editor's Choice
The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit
Hardcover (February 25, 2014), 240 pages.
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA.
ISBN 9781620405031
BookBrowse Rating: 5/5 Critics' Consensus: 4.8/5 In her impressive debut The Wives of Los Alamos, TaraShea Nesbit delves into the minds of the women married to the creators of the atom bomb. Nesbit spent years researching oral histories, memoirs, and archival documents to craft this unsentimental yet deeply moving story. Her choice to write in the collective (we) voice of the wives works surprisingly well. In less capable hands, this treatment could easily grow irritating, even gimmicky, especially if the novel were a doorstopper in weight. Wisely, Nesbit keeps the story taut with spare but powerful prose that brings these women and their... continued Read the full review, backstory and an excerpt
Reviewed by Suzanne Reeder More Editor's Choice features Although visitors can view a lot of BookBrowse for free, full access to our reviews, previews, backstories and more is for members only. But you will always find four free Editor's Choice reviews and backstories on our homepage.
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 First Impressions: Members Recommend
Each month we give away books to US resident members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to take part receive a free book (including free shipping) about every three months. Here are their opinions on three recently published books:   Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany Publisher: Washington Square Press Publication Date: Mar 2014 Novel, 352 pages Number of reader reviews: 64 Readers' consensus: 4.0/5.0 BookBrowse Members Say"The comparison to Jodi Picoult is what drew me to this book; however, the subjects discussed and the characters themselves are what connected me to the story from start to finish. This is a thought-provoking book about difficult subjects: domestic violence, death of a child, organ donation, and women's independence." - Ginny H. (Oregon) "I was drawn into this book immediately. The author caught the emotions of Hannah and was able to convey them to me, the reader, in such a way that I felt that I was on the street with Hannah. I will be recommending this one to my book group!" - Lee W. (Knoxville, TN) "Thank God for BookBrowse! BB pulls me away from my first love of thrillers with yet another good book I would have missed. Very timely topics give this book a lot of punch. A great book for book clubs and anyone who wonders what they would do if the unthinkable happens to them!" - Toni K. (Memphis, TN)
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 Precious Thing by Colette McBeth Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Publication Date: Mar 2014 Thrillers, 304 pages Number of reader reviews: 32 Readers' consensus: 4.0/5.0 BookBrowse Members Say"I was smitten from the beginning wondering how well I knew my best friend. The plot twists and turns into darkness with plenty of psychological intrigue. I would highly recommend to book clubs for thought provoking discussion. Is she really your best friend or are you being used at all costs, even human life." - Wendy R. (Pewaukee, Wisconsin) "Colette McBeth's Precious Thing is a brilliantly dark and chilling story. A wonderful debut novel from an author whose work I will be looking out for in the future!" - Christine D. (Closter, NJ) "Do I recommend this? WOW, oh yes, and I'm rereading it because it was that good. Lots of discussion points for book clubs. Loved this book." - Darlene C. (Simpsonville, SC) | Read all the reviews | Buy at Amazon
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 The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Publication Date: Feb 2014 Novels, 288 pages Number of reader reviews: 23 Readers' consensus: 4.0/5.0 BookBrowse Members Say"I loved The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene! It grips you right from the beginning and introduces you to broken people that seem just too real to forget. I was often reminded of Stuart O'Nan's descriptive style of writing about the mundane. I will definitely go back and read Greene's other books!" - Diane D. (South Portland, ME) "A story that grabbed me from the beginning. It's the kind of story that you think you have figured out but you don't until small details are reveled at the end. This book is a sharp turn from Greene's Mirror Lake but has the same superb character development and unique writing style." - Gretchen M. (Martinsburg, WV). "A book that I will recommend to my friends. The writing is beautiful and sensual...I look forward to reading his other books." - Roni S. (Pittsburgh, PA)
More about this book | Read all the reviews | Buy at Amazon
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 Publishing Soon Each month BookBrowse previews 80-100 notable books publishing the following month. Here is a particularly interesting title from debut novelist Nicolas Butler: 
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
Debut Novel publishing March 11 Thomas Dunne Books, 320 pages Critics' Consensus: 4.5/5
From the Book JacketSeldom has the American heartland been so richly and accurately portrayed. Though the town may have changed, the one thing that hasn't is the beauty of the Wisconsin farmland, the lure of which, in Nickolas Butler's hands, emerges as a vibrant character in the story. Shotgun Lovesongs is that rare work of fiction that evokes a specific time and place yet movingly describes the universal human condition. It is, in short, a truly remarkable book - a novel that once read will never be forgotten. ReviewsEach month BookBrowse previews 80-100 notable books publishing next month. here is a particularly interesting title from this upcoming books. "Starred Review. Despite some soap-opera machinations and occasional literary overreach, the novel will strike a responsive chord in any reader who has found his life reflected in a Bob Seger song." - Kirkus More about this book More Books Publishing Soon
More New & Notable
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Book Clubs & Discussions |
 The BookBrowse Book Club
Please Join Us to Discuss
 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Published Feb 2014
400 pages
A brilliant debut novel that brings to life an abandoned hospital where a tough-minded doctor decides to harbor a hunted young girl, with powerful consequences.
 Discussions Opening Soon
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Discussion opens 11 Mar
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Discussion opens 22 Apr
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 Also Recommended for Book Clubs
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Beyond The Book
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 The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
 Everytime we review a book we also go beyond the book to explore a topic related to the book. Here is a recent "beyond the book" backstory for Wake by Anna Hope.  When English clergyman Reverend David Railton spied a British grave marked "Unmarked British Soldier" in 1916, he developed the idea for a national war memorial. It would take until 1920, however, for his idea to come to fruition, but this proved to be the perfect time. Two years after the end of World War I there were still tens of thousands of dead British soldiers unidentified. Feelings of ... continued Read this backstory in full, plus an excerpt & review
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 News
Mar 06 2014: Today is World Book Day in the U.K and Ireland. The goal of the annual celebration "is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own." The event is marked by many local events at schools,...(more)
Mar 06 2014: Nearly 3,000 people, including author Anne Rice, have signed a petition asking Amazon.com to "protect users and indie publishing authors from bullying and harassment by removing anonymity and requiring identity verification for reviewing and forum...(more)
Mar 04 2014: The Media Coalition and a group of booksellers, librarians, publishers and media organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, a case before the Supreme Court, urging the court to "reaffirm the principle that persons who have a well-founded fear of ...(more)
Feb 27 2014: In a brief but informative conference call following the release of its third quarter results, Barnes & Noble executives talked about the downsizing of the Nook division, the need for the company to maintain a presence in the digital reading device market as well to reverse the slide in digital ...(more)
Feb 21 2014: Building on the success of the Indies First movement launched last year by Sherman Alexie, the American Booksellers Association today unveiled plans for Indies First Storytime Day, spearheaded by award-winning author Kate DiCamillo, the Library of Congress' 2014 -2015 National Ambassador for Young ...(more)
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Themed Reading
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 Books Set in the 18th Century Whatever your interests you can find the books that are just right for you by browsing and cross-referencing our recommended reading lists by genre, time period, setting and wide variety of themes. For example, here are three recommendations from our 18th century recommended reading list:
 The Black Count by Tom Reiss
Here is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo - a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero. |
 Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire... but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin. |
 The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
Winner of the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, Kate Grenville's The Lieutenant - a stunning follow-up to her Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning book, The Secret River, is a gripping story about friendship, self-discovery, and the power of language along the unspoiled shores of 1788 New South Wales. |
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Free & Fun
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 Wordplay
Solve this clue "I A F Y Don't S, T, T A" and be entered to win the book of your choice: Enter
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 Why Do We Say? "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs" Find out the origins of this well-known expression, and many others!
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 Win This Book 
The Line by J. D. Horn Publication Date: Feb 2014 Enter the Giveaway From the Jacket Savannah is considered a Southern treasure, a city of beauty with a rich, colorful past. Some might even call it magical... To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South. Despite being powerless herself, of course. Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content. But when a series of mishaps-culminating in the death of the Taylor matriarch-leaves a vacuum in the mystical underpinnings of Savannah, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that could shake her family apart...and unleash a darkness the line of Taylor witches has been keeping at bay for generations. In The Line, the first book of the Witching Savannah series, J.D. Horn weaves magic, romance, and betrayal into a captivating Southern Gothic fantasy with a contemporary flare. 5 people will each win a paperback copy of The Line. This giveaway is open to residents worldwide except where restricted by law. Enter the giveaway Past Winners
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