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BookBrowse Highlights
| June 19, 2014
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Hello,
In this issue we bring you What is Visible, an exceptional first novel about Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind person who learned language and blazed a trail for Helen Keller. We also find out what our members' think of three books they've been reading recently as part of our First Impressions promotion: The Quick by Lauren Owen, Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican and The Devil in The Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson; and take you "Beyond the Book" to explore the infamous Marshalsea Prison.
In our Free and Fun section you can try your hand at our latest Wordplay, enter to win copies of Dark Aemilia about the mysterious Dark Lady Shakespeare wrote about in his sonnets; and find out why we say "everything is hunky-dory".
All this and much more to explore. Thanks for reading!
Davina, BookBrowse
Editor
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BookBrowse features the kinds of books you can't wait to tell your friends about, providing insightful reviews, stories behind the books, previews of notable titles publishing soon, book discussions, and free books to read and review. You can view some of BookBrowse for free but full access is for members only. Find out more!
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 Editor's Choice 
What Is Visible
by Kimberly Elkins
Hardcover (June 03, 2014), 320 pages.
Publisher: Twelve Books.
ISBN 9781455528967
BookBrowse Rating: 5/5 Critics' Consensus: 4.5/5 Review "Without Laura Bridgman there could never have been a Helen Keller," philosopher William James declared. Yet Laura has been largely forgotten, whereas Helen is an inspirational household name. Who was Laura Bridgman, and why was she so famous in her time? With her debut novel, Kimberly Elkins imagines Laura's rich inner life and places her within a fertile mid-century New England context - replete with educators, scientists, and reformers, but also with the threat of war and debates over slavery and religion. The novel is bookended by scenes set in 1888, when fifty-eight-year-... continued Read the full review, backstory and an excerpt Reviewed by Rebecca Foster
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 our 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: Due to rights issues the publishers who provide these books can only ship to US addresses.
The Quick by Lauren Owen
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: Jun 2014
Novel, 544 pages
Number of reader reviews: 37
Readers' consensus: 3.8/5.0
Members Say
"The Quick was not like anything I expected. Right from the start I was drawn into a world that kept me intrigued. I was able to connect with the characters and felt part of their lives immediately. About the time I thought I had the whole thing figured out there would be a new twist that would totally throw me for a loop and hook me all over again. This book has it all, mystery, intrigue, romance and even the undead!" - Barbara M. (Grants, NM)
"I was pleasantly surprised by The Quick. I thought this book would be about a young man's coming-of-age in Victorian London, but it's so much more than that. There is a supernatural element that completely changes the path of the story. Lauren Owen knows how to evoke a setting, her characters are memorable, and her writing is so smooth that the pages just fly by." - Lianne D. (Redmond, WA)
"I will start by saying that I probably would not have chosen this to read if I saw it in the bookstore, but I am so glad that I was given a copy to read! I stared to read it and I was unable to put it down. The whole book kept me on edge the entire time, never once disappointing. I will keep the secrets under lock and key, because that way others may be able to enjoy this book as much as I did." - Michele C. (Harvard, MA)
 Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: Jun 2014
Novel, 416 pages
Number of reader reviews: 16
Readers' consensus: 4.1/5.0
Members Say
"I was pretty blown away by Brutal Youth, the first novel by Anthony Breznican. Taking place in the early 1990s, it's the story of a year at a Catholic high school. It's full of humor, revenge, pranks, petty arguments, and gossip. I loved it!" - Rebecca K. (Chicagoland, IL)
"The minute I read the first paragraph, I knew this book was unique... I believe that this book is well written enough to lend itself to development into a movie and possibly even a television series." - Rebecca
"I liked that this book tackles issues that are current and relevant today. The teenage characters at first seem very broadly drawn in both thought and action But as the story unfolds many of their interior lives begin to impact not only their classmates and teachers but neighbors and strangers alike." - Shaun D. (Woodridge, IL)
"I loved the characters and how well high school was brutally portrayed with loyalties, betrayals, alliances and pride. Who can you trust? Who can you love? And who will always be there by your side, even from afar. How far can an individual be pushed before they reach their ultimate limit?" - Emily B. (Hinsdale, IL)
More about this book | Read all reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
 The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
Publisher: Mariner Books
Publication Date: Jun 2014
Historical Fiction, 400 pages
Number of reader reviews: 27
Readers' consensus: 4.6/5.0
Members Say
"An infamous gaol in 1727 England; a likeable rogue who can't pay his debts; a friendly warrant officer; a beautiful, mysterious widow; a prison where anything goes even murder - these are all the ingredients and characters Antonia Hodgson has woven in her novel The Devil in the Marshalsea. Ms Hodgson has given a glimpse of a horrific time in English history where men, women, and children were worth only what they could afford to pay. A terrifically written book. I look forward to her next novel." - Charlene M. (Murrells Inlet, SC)
"Is it too much to hope that The Devil in the Marshalsea is just the first novel in a planned series?" - Terri O. (Chapel Hill, NC)
"Highly recommend for fans of period pieces and mysteries." - Alan K. (Westport, MA)
"A cunning debut historical mystery by Antonia Hodgson, editor in chief of Little, Brown, UK. Thoroughly researched, this mystery is set in London's Marshalsea debtor's prison in 1727. Populating her fast-paced narrative with real-life characters, Hodgson weaves a vivid tale which intrigues both as a solid historical mystery as well as a lucid portrait of a little known aspect of early Eighteenth century London society. A winner! I read, I learned, I thought about this book for many days after I finished reading it." - Julia E. (Atlanta, GA)
More about this book | Read all reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
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 Publishing Soon
Each month BookBrowse previews 80-100 notable books. Here is a particularly interesting title from these upcoming books.  Landline by Rainbow Rowell Publisher: St. Martin's Press Publication Date: Jul 2014 Novels, 320 pages Critic's Opinion: 4/5 Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply - but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. | Read Reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
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 Blog: Best Multi-Generational Sagas In addition to reviewing books, BookBrowse goes "beyond the book" to explore interesting aspects relating to each book we feature. Here is a "Beyond the Book" feature for The Blessings by Elise Juska... The Blessings is a novel, but it's also a portrait ân ensemble in which assorted members of three generations reveal various complexities and challenges. Here is a handful of other books that also offer multi-generational stories about family. Read this post
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Book Clubs & Discussions |
 The BookBrowse Book Club
Discussions Opening Soon Please mark your calendar to join us to discuss these books!  |
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Discussion opens 01 Jul
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Opens 15 Jul
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Discussion opens 22 Jul
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 Recommended for Book Clubs
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Book Club Chat: @railbookclub
In the UK, a commuter-led book discussion group, @RailBookClub, utilizes Twitter and train station digital screens to bring recommendations to passengers. Read the Q&A
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Beyond The Book
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 Marshalsea Prison
Every time 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 The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson.A fragment of a wall is all that is left of Marshalsea Prison. But Charles Dickens has made sure that its memory lives on. His father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison in 1824. He owed forty pounds to a local baker (about 3000 pounds today). Charles scurried around the city trying to collect money on his father's behalf but it was insufficient and his father was arrested. Dickens was only ... continued Read this backstory in full, plus an excerpt & BookBrowse's review
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Author Interview
 Gabrielle Zevin answers questions about The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, and talks about her family's love of books and their deep held belief that no child left in a bookstore ever came to any harm! Read the Interview | The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
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 News Jun 16 2014 Next year's BookExpo America - the USA's leading publishing trade event - will take a different format to this year's event (which in turn was different to previous years). Next year BEA will run for two and a half days, opening on Wednesday afternoon, closing Friday. This will be followed by two ... (more)Jun 16 2014 Amazon is expected to introduce a smartphone on Wednesday at an event in Seattle, a long-rumored project that aims to close any remaining gap between the impulse to buy and the completed act. Jun 16 2014 "If God had been a bookseller, he could have done no better than welcoming you to this temple of words," Hilary Mantel (now Dame Hilary) told the crowd gathered at Foyles bookshop in London last Friday evening. The novelist did the honors during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the official opening of ... (more)Jun 12 2014 The Library of Congress is to announce on Thursday that the next poet laureate will be 78-year-old Charles Wright. Wright, a retired professor at the University of Virginia, has already won just about every other honor in the poetry world, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the ... (more)Jun 12 2014 Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez has won the €100,000 Impac award for his exploration of Colombia's drug trade, The Sound of Things Falling. One of the world's richest literary prizes, the International Impac Dublin literary award this year pitted debut novels against big literary names. ... (more)Jun 11 2014 Eric Hill, the children's author who topped bestseller charts with his brightly-coloured picture books about the mischievous yellow puppy Spot, has died at the age of 86 at his home in California after a short illness. Jun 11 2014 The Everything Store is shrinking again. Amazon customers who want to order forthcoming Warner Home Video features, including "The Lego Movie," "300: Rise of an Empire," "Winter's Tale" and "Transcendence," are finding it impossible to do so. The retailer's refusal to sell the movies is part of ... (more)
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Themed Reading
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 Readalikes
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Free & Fun
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 Wordplay Solve this clue "G M L or G M D" and be entered to win the book of your choice:
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 Win This Book  Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady
by Sally O'ReillyPublication Date: May 2014 Enter the Giveaway
From the JacketThe daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano came of age in Queen Elizabeth's royal court. The Queen's favorite, she develops a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a young woman known not only for her beauty but also her sharp mind and quick tongue. Aemilia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, but her position is precarious. Then she crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair. A decade later, the Queen is dead, and Aemilia Bassano is now Aemilia Lanyer, fallen from favor and married to a fool. Like the rest of London, she fears the plague. And when her young son Henry takes ill, Aemilia resolves to do anything to save him, even if it means seeking help from her estranged lover, Will - or worse, making a pact with the Devil himself. In rich, vivid detail, Sally O'Reilly breathes life into England's first female poet, a mysterious woman nearly forgotten by history. Full of passion and devilish schemes, Dark Aemilia is a tale worthy of the Bard. Reviews"Starred Review. A gripping novel that gives feisty feminist voice to the unknown woman who inspired Shakespeare's sonnets...First-rate historical fiction: marvelously atmospheric and emotionally engaging." - Kirkus "I loved this book! Dark Aemilia wears its expert research lightly and is filled with all the passion, drama, and magic of Elizabethan England. Highly recommended." - Paula Brackston, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Midnight Witch " Dark Aemilia is a magical, ravishing literary masterpiece. Sally O'Reilly is an outstanding storyteller, at once devilish and divine, and her unique, sparkling prose makes every paragraph a delight." - Anne Fortier, author of The Lost Sisterhood and the New York Times bestseller, Juliet 5 people will each win a hardcover copy of Dark Aemilia. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live. Enter the giveaway Past Winners
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