Summer Beach Bag of Books Promotion

"Wish you were here." How many postcards have you sent with this line over the years? I know I have sent my fair share. I am in Miami for the Miami Book Fair, which is in its 23rd year; I am attending for the third time. The dates moved up a couple of weeks this year, and thus the Fair is coinciding with my boys' school break for Teacher's Convention and they have joined me for this trip. It's fun sharing the places that I travel to with them. Of course, with them the entire experience takes on a new tone. They have a pretty good grasp of dealing with the hotel personnel, so this morning as I wrote they handled their own needs from housekeeping, room service and the concierge. There was a steady stream of people in and out of the other room as I sat writing, but since calm seemed to be prevailing I just kept writing.

As I worked more on this newsletter I sat in a park at the Cape Florida Lighthouse while they took a tour. As I was writing a woman nearby shouted something at me. I could not understand her at first. Then I grasped what she was saying --- "There is a raccoon right behind you. Don't move." Well, you sit still hearing that! I did not. I moved ONTO the table clutching my laptop. The raccoon, which had both paws on the bench, came closer. I kept typing. It came closer. These are brazen raccoons. I wanted to say, "You have a raccoon pal you want to IM, or send an email to, it's all yours. Type away." Hey, he had fingers that looked like they could work my BlackBerry better than me. Why not the laptop? Well, the boys came back and shot some photos of Rocky and me (a picture of Rocky is above!), and I gave up working and moved to the car. As soon as I left, Rocky took my seat. Wonder if there was a book he wanted info about! Or maybe the IM bells sounded like a song. I will say that was enough drama for one afternoon.

Last night we went to a favorite Cuban spot in Little Havana called Versailles that I was introduced to by one of our readers at the Fair last year. My younger son inhaled plantain chips and fried plantains, adding a new food to his rather limited reportoire. We then cruised Miami Beach in our super cool Escalade rental seeing the art deco district on Washington, the large hotels on Collins and the tacky tourists on Ocean. They still are marveling at the plates of food on display at the restaurants on Ocean to try to entice people to eat there. Nothing gets by these two.

This afternoon we will wander over to the Fair. Tonight I am planning to attend the evening event with Caroline Kennedy, who will be talking about her new book, A FAMILY CHRISTMAS. Caroline and I are about the same age, thus I will be interested to hear her reflections on the holiday and more about this book. The weekend promises to be terrific, but what I always love are the surprises that happen at these kinds of events. Here are some that grabbed me in the past: the author whose work I did not know, but fall in love with; the great line I hear that inspires a blog; and the neat backstories I hear about books that I already love. I am going to meet Laurie Perry, whose book CRAZY AUNT PURL'S DRUNK, DIVORCED & COVERED IN CAT HAIR: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split sounds like a hoot. I look forward to sharing more with you about Laurie and everything else at the Fair next week.

I often say that I think better when I leave the office, thus trips like this can be refreshing. I find myself sitting on planes or in meetings scribbling notes for new ideas. Just pulling myself out of the day-to-day can get me thinking. When I was in Chicago earlier this week, I sat through three panels that gave me a direction for a new feature I want to do on FaithfulReader.com next Spring.

Of course, with our intrepid team back in New York, the update this week is just as robust as ever. I hope you enjoy the interview with Marie Bostwick. I have had the pleasure of spending time with Marie at a few conferences, and her warm personality and knack for storytelling are evident in this piece. Our Holiday Basket of Cheer book is THE CHRISTMAS PROMISE by Donna VanLiere. Donna's books are an annual holiday pleasure of mine. I always carve out time to read them no matter how hectic the season is. This one is about a promise from one person to another that shows us the true meaning of faith, remembrance, forgiveness and love. We have also received responses to readers' questions from John Hart, author of DOWN RIVER, which you can see here.

Lots to read this week...and enjoy. Have a great week...and I really do wish you were here. Next year maybe we can make that happen!

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Reading a Marie Bostwick novel is like treating yourself to a long, luxurious bubble bath --- restful and invigorating at the same time. In ON WINGS OF THE MORNING, Bostwick mixes romance, rich historical details and faith to offer an engaging story of male and female pilots in World War II. In this interview, she talks with Bookreporter.com’s Cindy Crosby about how Anne Frank inspired her as a young girl to investigate history, her early joyrides in her father’s small airplane, why faith is woven into her novels and a secret desire that might surprise you.

ON WINGS OF THE MORNING by Marie Bostwick (Historical Fiction)
Marie Bostwick picks up the storyline from her debut, FIELDS OF GOLD, to create a Word War II novel that will charm historical fiction fans and intrigue faith fiction readers. Using settings that range from Oklahoma to Chicago, Bostwick spins a sweet romance between a man and a woman who both love to fly. Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.

-Click here to read a review of ON WINGS OF THE MORNING.
-Click here to read an excerpt from ON WINGS OF THE MORNING.

STONE COLD by David Baldacci (Thriller)
In David Baldacci’s newest thriller featuring a mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, leader Oliver Stone comes up against lethal odds. An assassin is on his trail, while at the same time a revenge killing is planned against one of their other members. Can the group survive this latest crisis? Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

-Click here to read an excerpt from STONE COLD.

With more than 2,200 discussion guides now available, ReadingGroupGuides.com is the leading place for book clubs to find all the resources they need on the web. Here is a list of recently added guides.

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE by Laurie R. King
CAPOTE IN KANSAS: A Ghost Story by Kim Powers
DEAREST DOROTHY, IF NOT NOW, WHEN?! by Charlene Ann Baumbich
DISCIPLINE by Paco Ahlgren
THE ECHO MAKER by Richard Powers
ELIZABETH & LEICESTER: Power, Passion, Politics by Sarah Gristwood
FAMILY TREE by Barbara Delinsky
FOUR QUEENS: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone
THE GIANT'S HOUSE by Elizabeth McCracken
HOME TO BIG STONE GAP by Adriana Trigiani
THE HOUSE OF LANYON by Valerie Anand
ISABELLA MOON by Laura Benedict
THE JANISSARY TREE by Jason Goodwin
JEZEBEL: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton
THE JUDAS FIELD: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr
JUDGING THE LAWYERS: A Jury-Box View of the Case Against American Lawyers by Ted Preston
THE LION'S WAY by Marco Marsan with Peter Lloyd
MATING IN CAPTIVITY: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel
THE NAKED QUAKER: True Crimes and Controversies from the Courts of Colonial New England by Diane Rapaport
ON WINGS OF THE MORNING by Marie Bostwick
THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME by Adriana Trigiani
SOLDIER'S HEART: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet
YOU'RE NOT YOU by Michelle Wildgen

We have the following new guide for Christian book groups:

A PROPER PURSUIT by Lynn Austin

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS by John Boyne
PIECE OF WORK by Laura Zigman

Stumped on what to get for all the people on your holiday list? Get a jump on holiday shopping with our What to Give/What to Get Holiday Gift Guide, which spotlights books in a host of popular categories such as cookbooks, humor, sports, games, stocking stuffers, fiction, mysteries and more. It will be live on Friday, November 16th. It also includes holiday gift ideas for kids and teens!

Have a teen in your life? Our Holiday Basket for Teens promotion kicks off next week on Teenreads.com. Five winners will each receive a basket that includes up to 10 books, along with holiday-themed items such as peppermint candies, holiday-scented candles, a kit to make a gingerbread house and more!