Each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on one recent release.

 The Shore by Sara Taylor

 Publisher: Hogarth Books
 Publication Date: May 2015
 Novel, 320 pages

 Number of reader reviews: 17
 Readers' consensus: 3.8/5.0

Members Say
"This is exactly the type of book I like to read. weaving back and forth in time and between characters, then all the loose ends are brought together. You can actually be transported to this island off the coast of Virginia, smell the decay and be there in the moment. From beginning to end I was in awe of the author's talent to utilize words and prose and create such a beautiful and strange novel. Thank you for the opportunity to receive this book ahead of time BookBrowse."
- Barbara B. (Holbrook, NY)

"Taylor's use of language is stunning - she sings this story together! She has created a weird menagerie and connected them all in a crazy quilt design. The time span from 1885 to 2143, not in chronological order, isn't confusing at all - once the rhythm catches you. The Shore is populated by characters that when you meet them, you hear those banjos playing and wonder how many places there are that hatch such oddballs. They do latch on to you and get under your skin, and you have to keep reading. I enjoyed this book very much, and hope to see a lot more from Sara Taylor." - Annie P. (Murrells Inlet, SC)

More about this book | Read all the reviews   Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie

Hardcover (Jun 2015), 224 pages
Publisher: Scribner
BookBrowse Rating: 5/5, Critics' Consensus:  4.8/5
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Review by Davida Chazan

Review: Walbert gives us prose that is poetic, luscious, and utterly exquisite, while remaining both accessible and elusive. She also litters her story with footnotes, which are essentially aside descriptions. This could easily have been distracting (aside from their being technically problematic to navigate on an eReader), but instead, these tidbits add extra color to an already brilliantly vibrant mosaic.

Rather than swamp this review with adjectives, I will simply say that I haven't read a book this beautifully written since Ondaatje's The English Patient. While I'm sure The Sunken Cathedral won't appeal to everyone, I'm certain that lovers of contemporary literary fiction will enjoy this novel immensely, and I cannot recommend it more highly. ... continued

Monet's Haystack

When we hear the word impressionism, the first things that come to mind are the names Monet, Degas, Cezanne and other artists who were part of this movement of painting and sculpture during the late 19th century. Their unique use of color and style, combined with their ability to express their impression

Claude Debussy

At about the same time, this movement also spilled over to the world of music. Most people believe that composers Ravel and Debussy were at its forefront (although some align Debussy more with the symbolist movement of music.) According to the Norton A History of Western Music, what the impressionist and symbolist movements have in common is "a sense of detached observation: rather than expressing deeply felt emotion or telling a story ... [it] typically evokes a mood, feeling, atmosphere, or scene." A prime example of this is Debussy's piano prelude "The Sunken Cathedral", which was the composer's impression of the story of the Breton legend of the City of Ys. While Debussy and Ravel's names are well known, their connection to the impressionist movement is less familiar.

But the link between impressionism and literature is even more obscure. Here, too, impressionist writers seems to have quite a bit in common with those writers categorized as symbolists ... continued

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In case you missed last week's feature...

As we know, Dads come in all stripes. There are the ones who anoint themselves King Of the Grill and flaunt their culinary skills with their barbecue magic, some others who find nothing more refreshing than a day out on the golf course, and yet others who use Father's Day as a free pass to tinker away in their workshops. Most Dads we know are a combination of all of these, but best of all are the ones who love to get absorbed in a good book. Keeping every kind of father in mind, we have culled ten intelligent recommendations to make his day extra special. And if you're a Dad, Happy Father's Day! Hope it is filled with happy times with family -- and great reading.  continued...

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It took me a couple of minutes to recognize her. It was only after a burly security guard urged me to move along did the realization sink in: that was the actress Julianne Moore signing copies of her new kids' book, Freckleface Strawberry: Lunch, or What's That?, at the Penguin Random House booth.

Some years ago, when I first attended Book Expo America (or BEA as it is usually known) I noticed just one signing line, an insanely long one for Stephen Colbert. If I were to know that he would leave The Colbert Report in a few short years, I would have expended the energy to wait around for his signature on the book he was releasing then.

 

Over the years, the celebrity glitz and pomp seems to have been dialed up. This year, for example, in addition to Julianne Moore, we had Kunal Nayyar from Big Bang Theory and Mindy Kaling, the television writer and actress, all make an appearance. For me the real star of the show was Gloria Steinem, one of the icons of the feminist movement, and it was heartwarming to see so many lined up to pay homage as it were. Steinem was there to promote her upcoming book, My Life On the Road .... continued.

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Lauren Acampora discusses The Wonder Garden, her return to suburbia and how it has impacted her writing.

Read the Interview | The Wonder Garden

More interviews, plus pronunciation guide, games & biographies

9. News

The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango

Enter the Giveaway




From the Jacket
Dark, witty, and suspenseful, this literary crime thriller reminiscent of The Dinner and The Silent Wife follows a famous author whose wife - the brains behind his success - meets an untimely death, leaving him to deal with the consequences.

"Evil is a matter of opinion..."

On the surface, Henry Hayden seems like someone you could like, or even admire. A famous bestselling author who appears a modest everyman. A loving, devoted husband even though he could have any woman he desires. A generous friend and coworker. But Henry Hayden is a construction, a mask. His past is a secret, his methods more so. No one besides him and his wife know that she is the actual writer of the novels that made him famous.

For most of Henry's life, it hasn't been a problem. But when his hidden-in-plain-sight mistress becomes pregnant and his carefully constructed facade is about to crumble, he tries to find a permanent solution, only to make a terrible mistake.

Now not only are the police after Henry, but his past - which he has painstakingly kept hidden - threatens to catch up with him as well. Henry is an ingenious man and he works out an ingenious plan. He weaves lies, truths, and half-truths into a story that might help him survive. But bit by bit the noose still tightens.

Smart, sardonic, and compulsively readable, here is the story of a man whose cunning allows him to evade the consequences of his every action, even when he's standing on the edge of the abyss.




5 people will each win a hardcover copy of The Truth and Other Lies.
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.

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Past Winners