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BookBrowse Highlights
| April 9, 2015
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Hello,
Our First Impression readers were swept away by the imagery of nineteenth-century Paris in The Witch of Painted Sorrows, a book that just might resonate with you too.
We have a peek at additional book features, including a review and "beyond the book" look at A Reunion Of Ghosts, about women through generations of one strong family, and an exploration of the materials around us in Stuff Matters, a new paperback release.
Don't miss our book club which is going to be buzzing with many new discussions in the coming weeks, and the previews of notable, soon-to-be-published books.
I encourage you to enter our book giveaway while you're here. As always, happy reading!
Davina
BookBrowse Editor |
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1. First Impressions: Members Recommend As part of the First Impressions program. each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on one recently published novel:   The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M. J. Rose Publisher: Emily Bestler Books Publication Date: Mar 2015 Novel, 384 pages Number of reader reviews: 17 Readers' consensus: 3.9/5.0 Members Say "This is my first time reading M.J. Rose. Where have I been? It's Paris in the late 1800s, and this is the story of Sandrine,who has run away from her husband in the States after some shady banking deals and the suicide of her father caused by said deals. She has gone to Paris to seek the comfort of her grandmother and the house that she hasn't been to since she was fifteen. Now you are going to have to get a copy and read it yourself. This book has everything: A great setting (you can hear the winter rain on the sidewalks), romance, the occult, art, and characters that you care about. I really liked this book and you will too. Now to find her other books!" - Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL) "I was very excited to receive my copy of M.J. Rose's newest book, The Witch of Painted Sorrows. Rose is one of my newest favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint." - Patricia S. (Chicago, IL) "Indeed a haunting tale of possession...I loved this book. I'm a fan of historical novels but I also loved the bewitching side of this story. I'm a huge fan of all art and the inclusion of that just made this a satisfying novel for me. I will now pick up more of this author's books." - Vicky R. (Cumming, GA) |
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 2. The BookBrowse Book Club
We have an incredible lineup of books to discuss over the next couple of months - please do join us for any and all discussions. BookBrowse members are eligible to request free copies but all are welcome to join the discussions. Mark your calendar for the opening dates, and participate at bookbrowse.com/booktalk.
Discussions stay live for about six weeks from when they first launch and can be read in their entirety even after they're closed.
Click the images to find out more about each book.
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Hardcover on sale now. Discussion opens Apr 14
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Hardcover on sale Apr 21. Discussion opens Apr 21
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Hardcover on sale now. Discussion opens Apr 28
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Paperback on sale now. Discussion opens May 5
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Paperback on sale now. Discussion opens May 12
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Paperback on sale now. Discussion opens May 19
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Paperback on sale now. Discussion opens June 2
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Hardcover on sale June 9. Discussion opens June 23
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 3. Editor's Choice 
A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith C. Mitchell
Hardcover (March 01, 2015), 400 pages. Publisher: Harper. BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus: 4.6/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | IndieLady, Vee and Delph Alter are the last descendants of Lenz Alter (based on the real-life chemist Fritz Haber), the man behind the Manna Project that developed the world's first chemical fertilizer. This same science led to the invention of chlorine gas, which Germany used to kill tens of thousands of soldiers during WWI. Decades later, chlorine gas gave way to the development of Zyclon, used to kill millions of Jews during WWII. Somehow, the Alter family has carried Lenz Alter's shadow of death for four generations, their guilt littering the family tree with numerous suicides. Now it is Lady, ... continued 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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 4. 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 Reunion of Ghosts by Judith C. Mitchell
The First Person Plural - Why We Use It
One unique aspect of Judith Claire Mitchell's A Reunion of Ghosts is her use of the first person plural literary voice. According to most sources, this point of view dates back to ancient Greece and its famous Greek choruses, which spoke in unison as a group. With such a rich history, you might think more authors would be writing using this perspective. However, Laura Miller in her 2004 article in the New York Times, notes that it is difficult to pull off and has many drawbacks: "You could say that the history of Western literature so far has been a journey from the first-person plural to the first-person singular, the signature voice of our time." Still, this isn't stopping writers from employing it, and recently they've been on the rise. ... continuedRead in full | More about this book |
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5. Editor's Choice 
Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik
Paperback (March 01, 2015), 272 pages. Publisher: Mariner Books. BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus: 4.8/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | IndieWhat if you were stabbed one day? What would your take-home message be? Maybe you would avoid that particular walking route, perhaps you would start carrying pepper spray, or you might chalk the incident up to the vagaries of life. If you were Mark Miodownik, however, you would marvel at the material that sliced through so much. Miodownik, who was stabbed on a London Tube while a schoolboy, admits that the moment was life-changing, almost an epiphany. As the police quizzed him about the accident, all he could do was to stare at the steel blade lying on the table between them and feel amazement... continued 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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 6. Readalikes for Stuff Matters  An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, from concrete and steel to denim and chocolate, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science.
If you liked Stuff Matters, try these:
Paperback Feb 2013
The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
Paperback Oct 2013
Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous-vide of the modernist kitchen. It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating: a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks.
Paperback Jul 2014
A consideration of all things paper: Entertaining, illuminating, irresistible, a book that masterfully guides us through paper's inseparability from human culture.
Hardcover Oct 2014
The fascinating story of one of the most important scientific discoveries of the twentieth century.
Hardcover Sep 2014
A beguiling, optimistic engagement with the changes affecting every part of our lives, The Human Age is a wise and beautiful book that will astound, delight, and inform intelligent life for a long time to come.
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 7. Publishing Soon
Each month BookBrowse previews 80+ notable books. Here is a particularly interesting title from these upcoming books.  Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa ScottolinePublisher: St. Martin's Press Publication Date: Apr 2015 Thrillers, 448 pages Critic's Opinion: 5/5 Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife Alice, he is doing his best as a single Dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors ... continued
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 8. Author Interview
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 9. News Apr 09 2015: Amazon threatens to drop all sales of HarperCollins books in repeat of 2014 Hachette standoff. HarperCollins is "preparing to return" to an agency model for all e-book sales from April 14 which requires retailers to sell at prices set by the publisher. Last week, Business Insider, which is partly owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, said that the current contract between HarperCollins and ... (more)
Apr 08 2015: There's a new website in town - The Literary Hub, created by Grove Atlantic Publishing and book site Electric Literature, in partnership with hundreds of publishers, booksellers and magazines. The aim being to 'celebrate the vitality of bricks-and-mortar bookstores.' ... (more)
Apr 07 2015: The continuing bias towards men in the British and American literary establishment has been confirmed by a study released on Tuesday. Vida, a US organization championing women in literature, examined a wide range of publications from both sides of the Atlantic, including the New Yorker, the London ... (more)
Apr 07 2015:Atticus Lish won the $15,000 PEN/Faulkner Award on Tuesday for his debut novel, Preparation for the Next Life. In a statement released Tuesday morning, the judges praised Lish's novel as a work of fiction that "scours and illuminates the vast, traumatized America that lives, works and loves outside ... (more)
Apr 01 2015: President Barack Obama has appointed bestselling author and noted book industry philanthropist James Patterson to coordinate the administration's support of independent bookstores nationwide, a White House official confirmed Monday. The new "Book Czar" will report directly to the Department of ...
Apr 01 2015: Barnes & Noble is piloting a program to place IndieBound kiosks (to be known as Crannies) in some stores. Nearby independent booksellers will visit weekly and adjust inventory on an as-needed basis. The kiosks will also have a touch screen allowing users to explore book inventory at local indies, ... (more) Mar 30 2015: Tomas Transtromer, Scandinavia's best-known and most influential contemporary poet, died on Thursday in Stockholm. He was 83. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2011, his work has been translated into over 50 languages, with substantial or complete editions published in over 20 languages.
Mar 29 2015:A Publishing Technology survey of 1000 Millennials (aged 18-34) in the U.S. found that 79% read a print book in the last year, while 46% had read an e-book on a tablet and only 31% had read an e-book on a dedicated e-reader. Millennials also reported reading e-books on phones (36%) and computers (37... (more)
Mar 25 2015:: Scott Bonner, director of the Ferguson Public Library in Missouri, has been selected to receive the second annual Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity worth $10,000.Last summer, the shooting of unarmed teenager Mike Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson ... (more)
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 10. Win This Book
 Stillwater by Nicole Lea HelgetPublished Mar 2015. 336 pages
Enter the Giveaway From the Jacket Raised in the same small community, Clement and Angel, fraternal twins separated at birth, grow up in different worlds. He lives among orphans, nuns, Native Americans, prostitutes. She lives in the town mansion, dressed in taffeta skirts and dodging her mother's manic attention. Bound by a mystical connection, the twins rarely meet, but Clement knows if he is truly in need, Angel will come. Near the Mississippi River and Canada, Stillwater becomes an important stop on the Underground Railroad. As the nation pushes boundaries, geographic and moral, and marches into civil war, the territory is at a crossroads. Clement and Angel have both learned to survive at the edge of things, but what will this new world hold for them? Will it set them free? Stillwater is a lyrical, vibrant, often hilarious, and always unforgettable journey into our past, ourselves, and the impulses that drive us to create and explore. Enter the giveaway Past Winners |
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