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This Week's Top 10
| August 14, 2014
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Hello,
In this issue our members recommend two just published books they've been reading for our First Impressions program: The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewel and Small Blessings by Martha Woodruff.
We also preview The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, one of the 50+ notable books you'll find on BookBrowse that are publishing in the next couple of weeks. Don't miss our "beyond the book" article on spies who became authors, our themed reading suggestions for war in the Middle East, and the chance to win copies of California by Edan Lepucki.
Thanks for reading! Davina, BookBrowse Editor
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A lot of BookBrowse's content is available for free but full access is for members. Most readers of this newsletter are not members. Membership is $10 for 3 months or $35 for a year. Find out more!
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1. First Impressions: Members Recommend
Each month we give away books to US resident members to read and review. Members who choose to take part receive a free book (including free shipping) about every three months. Here are their opinions on two recently published books:
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell Publisher: Atria Books Publication Date: Aug 2014 Novels, 400 pages Number of reader reviews: 40 Readers' consensus: 4.3/5.0 Members Say "A great story about family dynamics, secrets that tear us apart and the ties that bring us back full circle. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, they were well described and easy to relate to. The plot is engaging and I really cared about them. I believe any reader that likes books about family with a touch of dysfunction will find this book appealing. Book groups will have many themes to discuss as well." - Lesley M. (Mesa, AZ) "What a wonderful read this book is. The characters are well fleshed out, and the story is believable. Reading it feels like you're getting a glimpse into the lives of real people in an average family, gradually learning their secrets and watching them find out who they really are. I'll be digging into Lisa Jewell's earlier novels immediately after reading this one." - Lauren T. (Orlando, FL)
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2. First Impressions: Members Recommend
Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof Publisher: St. Martin's Press Publication Date: Aug 2014 Novels, 320 pages Number of reader reviews: 21 Readers' consensus: 4.2/5.0 Members Say "Martha Woodruff has written one of the most heartwarming and delightful novels I've come across in quite a while ... Thank you, Martha for a deep, soul-satisfying read." - Roseanne S. (Middlebury, CT) "Characters are well-drawn, and descriptions are so visually alive that I can see this as a successful stage play or movie. I loved this book and will recommend it to my book club. Woodroof is spot-on about life in a small college town." - Susan J. (Twain Harte, CA) "I'll be passing my copy of Small Blessings along to friends who are in the mood for a funny, quirky, yet serious read." - Julie P. (Fort Myers, FL)
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3. Publishing Soon
Each month BookBrowse previews 80-100 notable books. Here is a particularly interesting title from these upcoming books. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Publisher: Ecco Publication Date: Aug 2014 Historical Fiction, 416 pages
Critic's Opinion: 5/5
On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office - leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.
But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist - an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways...
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4. Editor's Choice
Shadows in the Vineyard by Maximillian Potter
Hardcover (July 29, 2014), 304 pages. Publisher: Twelve Books BookBrowse Rating: 5/5 Critics' Consensus: 5.0/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
You've been warned: That two-buck chuck from Trader Joe's you've got lying around? It's probably going out the window, after you read the delightful Shadows In the Vineyard. You'll develop a craving for the best wine, more specifically, a Burgundy from Romanée-Conti, the most exclusive vineyard in the world. "Bottle for bottle, vintage for vintage, Romanee-Conti is the most coveted, rarest, and thereby the most expensive wine on the planet," writes Maximillian Potter in this real-life whodunit, "At auction, a single bottle of Romanée-Conti from 1945 was then fetching as much as $124,... continued Read the review | More Editor's Choices | More reviews by Poornima Apte Full access to our reviews & beyond the book articles are for members only. But there are always four free Editor's Choice reviews and beyond the book articles on our homepage.
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5. Beyond the Book: Every time we review a book we also explore a related topic. Here is a recent "beyond the book" article for...
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
Hardcover (July 29, 2014), 384 pages.
Buy at Amazon | B&N | IndieFrom Spy to Author Several men have worked for the British Intelligence services and have gone on to have successful writing careers including: - John Michael Ward Bingham, 7th Baron Clanmorris (aka Michael Ward, 1908-1988)
- Richard Tomlinson (b. 1963)
- Graham Greene (1904-1991)
- Paul Dukes (1889-1967)
- David John Moore Cornwell (aka John le Carré, b. 1931)
- Ian Fleming (1908-1964)
Read more about each of these authors in our "beyond the book" feature. Read in full | More about this book
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6. News
Aug 07 2014 Authors United, a group of nearly 1,000 authors led by Douglas Preston, is running a full-page ad in this Sunday's New York Times,. The ad reproduces the open letter that the group began circulating a month ago, protesting Amazon for having "directly targeted Hachette's ...(more)
Aug 08 2014 The sale of Perseus Books Group to Hachette Book Group and Ingram Content Group has been called off. "Despite much effort from all three parties, we could not reach agreement on everything necessary to close the transaction," Perseus CEO David Steinberger said in an e-mail to employees.
Aug 11 2014 Late Friday night Amazon issued another strange note about its dispute with Hachette, this time in the form of a letter from the "Amazon Books Team" to Kindle Direct Publishing authors with the subject line "Important Kindle request." The e-mail asked the authors, most of whom are self-published, ...(more)
Aug 11 2014 The following is the reply that Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch is sending to those who are writing to him after Amazon contacted its Kindle authors on Friday, providing Pietsch's personal email address and asking them to write to him... (more)
More News Stories
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7. Readalikes The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders In this fascinating exploration of murder in the nineteenth century, Judith Flanders examines some of the most gripping cases that captivated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction. If you liked The Invention of Murder, try these:
Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
Paperback Jun 2008
Filled with evocative descriptions of Cambridge, past and present, of seventeenth-century glassmaking, alchemy, the Great Plague, and Newton's scientific innovations, Ghostwalk centers around a real historical mystery that Rebecca Stott has uncovered involving Newton's alchemy.
Paperback Feb 2004
Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
Paperback Oct 2006
What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed-and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful-and utterly unforgettable.
Paperback Sep 2007
The interwoven stories of two men whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time - Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication.
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8. Author Interview
Chris Tomlinson answers questions about Tomlinson Hill: The Remarkable Story of Two Families who Share the Tomlinson Name - One White, One Black Read the Interview | About the book
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9. War in the Middle-East
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, to find books relating to war in the Middle East, we first looked up books set in the Middle East, and then filtered for "in time of war, effects of war"
Redeployment by Phil Klay
Hardcover: Mar 2014
Redeployment takes readers to the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, asking us to understand what happened there, and what happened to the soldiers who returned. |
Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel
Hardcover: Oct 2013, Paperback 30 Sep 2014
Thank You for Your Service is an act of understanding - shocking but always riveting, unflinching but deeply humane, it takes us inside the heads of those who must live the rest of their lives with the chilling realities of war. |
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Hardcover: Sep 2012, Paperback Apr 2013
With profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home, The Yellow Birds is a groundbreaking novel about the costs of war that is destined to become a classic. |
The Long Walk by Brian Castner
Hardcover: Jul 2012, Paperback Apr 2013
In the tradition of Michael Herr's Dispatches and works by such masters of the memoir as Mary Karr and Tobias Wolff, a powerful account of war and homecoming that grabs readers by the throat even as it touches their hearts. |
Fobbit by David Abrams
Paperback: Sep 2012
Darkly humorous and based on the author's own experiences in Iraq, Fobbit is a fantastic debut that shows us a behind-the-scenes portrait of the real Iraq war. |
I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish
Hardcover: Jan 2011, Paperback Jan 2012
The extraordinary, riveting story of a Palestinian doctor who, rather than seek revenge after witnessing his three daughters' deaths by Israeli tank shells, continues his humanitarian call for the people of the region to come together in understanding, respect, and peace. | Beaufort by Ron Leshem
Hardcover: Dec 2007, Paperback Feb 2009
Beaufort. To the handful of Israeli soldiers occupying the ancient crusader fortress, it is a little slice of hell-a forbidding, fear-soaked enclave perched atop two acres of land in southern Lebanon, surrounded by an enemy they cannot see....
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10. Win This Book
California by Edan LepuckiPublished Little, Brown & Co
Hardcover Jul 2014, 400 pages
From the Jacket
The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.
Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.
A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent, California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind's dark nature and deep-seated resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.
5 people will each win a hardcover copy of California. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA & Canada only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live.
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