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Bookreporter.com Newsletter	October 25, 2002
This Week on Bookreporter.com Loving Books --- and Sharing Them Author Talk: Hilary Knight, Illustrator of ELOISE TAKES A BAWTH MY LOSING SEASON by Pat Conroy SUMMERLAND by Michael Chabon THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tartt Celebrate Jewish History Month This Week's Reviews Poll/Question of the Week Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading Book Awards Announced This Week - Booker Prize and the Shamus Award	On The Book Report Network Bookreporter.com Past Reviews What author has you racing to the store to buy his/her book? Which of the following fall releases are you most looking forward to reading?
Loving Books --- and Sharing Them Last Friday night I went to a bookstore. You may be wondering why I am noting this, something which to most bibliophiles is a weekly or at least a monthly venture. However, when your office looks like a bookstore with books being delivered by messenger and mail throughout the day, there's not the same urgency to venture to the store. But my younger son needed a new reading light (for night reading in the car) and the older one wanted a book about lighthouses, so off we went. Looking on the displays and the shelves I saw so many titles that we had covered here at Bookreporter.com. It was like our home page came alive! When I saw people picking up a particular title I held back on asking why they were migrating towards that one instead of another. Okay, I confess that I did approach five shoppers to make suggestions --- it's really hard to hold back when you loved a book and you know Bookreporter.com readers did too. I love sharing books that matter to me. It's interesting how many I have read because of reading the reviews here. I spent Saturday afternoon working on this week's lineup and quickly noted that I wanted to read SUMMERLAND after reading Curtis Edmund's review and how could I pass up Fannie Flagg's STANDING IN THE RAINBOW after what Roberta O'Hara wrote. I heard Nan Talese, Pat Conroy's editor talk about MY LOSING SEASON at BEA last spring. Her unbridled enthusiasm for it had me wanting to read it long before publication. Family, friends and neighbors rarely leave the house without my pressing a book into their hands with a "you are going to love this." The best part --- they usually do. So onto this week's lineup where I hope that you too find a book that you'll love. Setting the atmosphere for Halloween, AuthorsOnTheWeb brought together seven spine-tingling masters to discuss their personal definitions of horror, share their opinions about the "horror writer" label, and reveal their first attempts at writing in the genre. Participants include Suzy McKee Charnas, Geoffrey Huntington, Gregory Maguire, Michael Norman, Fred Saberhagen, F. Paul Wilson, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. We have a VERY full lineup this week, so keep reading... -- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) Read the Horror Author Roundtable
Author Talk: Hilary Knight, Illustrator of ELOISE TAKES A BAWTH Hilary Knight, illustrator of ELOISE TAKES A BAWTH, talks about artistic influences, pets, the Plaza, and having the time of his life. See our Don't Miss feature about this book on the home page of Bookreporter.com Read an interview with Hilary Knight
MY LOSING SEASON by Pat Conroy MY LOSING SEASON by Pat Conroy (Memoir) An American classic about young men and the bonds they form, about losing and the lesson it imparts, and about finding one's self in the midst of defeat. Reviewed by R. Scott Hillrock and excerpted Read a review of MY LOSING SEASON and an excerpt
SUMMERLAND by Michael Chabon A glorious work about life, adventure and the Great Game, populated by a small universe of mythical, memorable characters, and enlivened by Chabon's singular mastery of the written word. Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds and excerpted Read a review of SUMMERLAND and an excerpt
THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tartt A complex novel about how the vagaries of life and the loss of innocence impact families in irrevocable ways, often invading the lives of the children who must then cope with the ugly truths of the adult world they inhabit. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum and excerpted Read a review of THE LITTLE FRIEND and an excerpt
Celebrate Jewish History Month In celebration of Jewish Book Month, Sarah Rachel Egelman takes a look at six of the most recent additions to the vast canon of Jewish literature. SLOAN-KETTERING by Abba Kovner (Poetry) ABRAHAM: A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THREE FAITHS by Bruce Feiler (Nonfiction) REKINDLING THE FLAME: HOW JEWS ARE COMING BACK TO THEIR FAITH by Samuel Osherson (Nonfiction) A TIME FOR EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN: THE JEWISH LIFE-SPIRAL AS A SPIRITUAL PATH by Arthur Ocean Waskow and Phyllis Ocean Berman (Nonfiction/Religion) BURNT BREAD AND CHUTNEY: GROWING UP BETWEEN CULTURES-A MEMOIR OF AN INDIAN JEWISH GIRL by Carmit Delman (Memoir) ONE PEOPLE, TWO WORLDS: A REFORM RABBI AND AN ORTHODOX RABBI EXPLORE THE ISSUES THAT DIVIDE THEM by Ammiel Hirsch and Yosef Reinman (Judaica/Religion) Read our Celebration of Jewish History Month feature
This Week's Reviews STANDING IN THE RAINBOW by Fannie Flagg (Fiction) Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara This story of transitions after World War II for the citizens of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, finds the author at her funniest, most touching and surprising best. BRADBURY: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE by Jerry Weist (Biography) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub A beautifully illustrated "visual biography" pays tribute to one of America's most prolific and revered icons. For more about Ray Bradbury, please go to RayBradbury.com COASTLINERS by Joanne Harris (Fiction) Reviewed by Heather Grimshaw After a decade in Paris, Madeline finds herself on a sleepy island where she joins the town's lost souls in a struggle for survival and salvation. THE LAST GIRLS by Lee Smith (Fiction) Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum Wonderfully revealing of women's lives --- of romance, memory and desire --- this story tells how college friends who grew up in an era when they were called "girls" have negotiated life where they are now know as "women." DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA by Thomas Steinbeck (Fiction) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub A natural-born storyteller, Steinbeck depicts what happens at the edge of a frontier, where nature has a stronghold over man. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE by Christopher Reeve (Memoir) Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds Christopher Reeve challenges readers not to accept limitations and to harness the untapped resources within us that are waiting to be discovered. AFTER THE DANCE: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti by Edwidge Dandicat (Travel/Memoir) Reviewed by Alvin C. Romer The Haitian-American author returns to her homeland to walk us through the unforgettably colorful Carnival of Jacmel. 25 TO LIFE by Leslie Crocker Snyder (Autobiography) Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds One of America's toughest and most respected judges writes a true life "Law & Order," filled with stories from her controversial career. CRIMINAL INTENT by William Bernhardt (Mystery) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Proving that his client, a radical parish priest, is innocent means Tulsa attorney Ben Kincaid must plunge into a whirlpool of secrets and dangerous church politics. HELLO TO THE CANNIBALS by Richard Bausch (Historical Fiction) Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum A finely wrought tale about Victorian scholar/explorer Mary Kingsley, whose exploits and accomplishments capture the imagination of a twentieth-century playwright. CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE: A Death in the Night by Lawrence Schiller (Nonfiction) Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman In a startling legal case, the giant Ford corporation --- sued for wrongful death --- accuses a small town dentist of strangling his wife after a low-speed auto collision with a utility pole. JIM AND LOUELLA'S HOMEMADE HEART-FIX REMEDY by Bertice Berry (Fiction) Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara Filled with sex, love, folklore and family history, this smart story explores a Southern couple whose marriage has lost it pizzazz. LUCY by Jamaica Kincaid (Fiction - Paperback) Reviewed by Alvin C. Romer The coming-of-age story of a young Caribbean girl who travels to North America and works as an au pair for a seemingly happy couple and their four children. Read This Week's Reviews here
Poll/Question of the Week Do you think that most authors' second --- or as we call it sophomore --- work holds up to their first book? Yes, most of the time Some of the time Rarely Not sure Question: What sophomore effort by an author either pleased, or disappointed you? In your reply, please specify the title and whether you were satisfied, or left wanting. Write Question@bookreporter.com and let us know. Vote and tell us what you think
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't. One lucky reader will win CHASING THE DIME by Michael Connelly. Send your replies to WordOfMouth@bookreporter.com. Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
Book Awards Announced This Week - Booker Prize and the Shamus Award Two awards were announced this week. We have the Booker Prize Winner and the winners of the Shamus Award (Private Eye Writers of America) here. Read about the Booker and Shamus Prize winners here, along with other award winners
As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below. Those of you who wish to send mail to the general mailbox at Bookreporter.com, please write to: Mail@bookreporter.com. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us. Happy reading....and don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend. --- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) © Copyright 2002, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved. Back to top.