Attention NYC residents! Join us for a reading with:
Author of the Orange Prize Winner &
New York Times Bestseller:
Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00pm
The Cooper Union
The Great Hall
7 E. 7th St. at 3rd Ave.
New York, NY
Don't know much about Banned Books Week? Let in-house favorite Ken Davis help you out. Kenneth C. Davis is the author of the ‘Don’t Know Much About…’ series, as well as America's Hidden History and A Nation Rising. Here in the Library Marketing department, this subject is especially close to our hearts, as some of our favorite Harper books have been banned or challenged in the past, including modern classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Check out Ken's post, and 10 Ways to Celebrate Banned Books Week, courtesy of the New York Times.
-Virginia, Bobby, and Kayleigh
We are huge Tom Franklin fans here. We’ve been talking up his latest book, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter ever since we first laid eyes on the manuscript a year ago. It’s a terrific story and Tom is a great guy. Check out this fantastic Q&A session with Tom. This is a perfect book for reading groups, and the attached Reading Group Guide might be helpful to you! If you want a complimentary copy of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter send an email to librarylovefest AT harpercollins DOT com. We’d love to hear what you think. Thanks! Download Crooked Letter Q&A Download Crooked Letter RGG (2)
-Virginia
We are so happy about the huge response we received for Stiltsville, by Susanna Daniel. The love for Stiltsville continues!
We received a great review from Lisa Steckhahn, Reference Librarian from the West Allis Public Library in Wisconsin. Here is Lisa's review of Stiltsville:
This book is a look at the lifespan of a marriage and a friendship starting at the beginning and checking in at all of the major milestones along the way. Frances meets Dennis and Marse at the same time. Marse likes Dennis but he ends up falling for Frances. Even with this rocky start Marse and Frances become best friends. This is a testament to the author’s ability to create characters that are likeable but still fully realized with authentic flaws and strengths. Susanna Daniel manages to avoid clichés and craft a believable story filled with a marriage’s mistakes and triumphs. The Miami setting is another character in the book that lends an unforgettable setting. It would be a great book to return to during the coldest days of winter.
-Lisa Steckhahn
Reference Librarian
West Allis Public Library
Many thanks to Lisa and everyone at the West Allis Public Library. If you have not added Stiltsville to your reading list, what are you waiting for? I believe you will love Stiltsville as much as we do!
Enjoy,
-Bobby
Scott Spencer delivers the goods in his new novel and receives STARRED reviews in Kirkus and Booklist and Publishers Weekly.
The Washington Post says:
“This is a book to savor and read aloud, a book that is variously wise, funny and heartbreaking…The outcome must not be revealed here, except to say that it is as powerful as everything else in the book… ‘MAN IN THE WOODS’ is one of the three best novels I've read this year… and if you pressed me, I'd put it at the top of the list."
Want to read Man in the Woods?
Send an email to librarylovefest at harpercollins dot come and we’ll send a copy your way – with our compliments!
- Virginia
Congratulations are in order for James L. Swanson! He just received a starred review from Library Journal for his new book, Bloody Crimes!
*Swanson, James. Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse. Morrow. Oct. 2010. 448p. ISBN 9780061988479. $26.99.
Swanson, Edgar Award–winner for his best-selling Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, now brilliantly reveals how, when Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis each relinquished executive power in April 1865, one as a result of assassination and the other through military defeat, they set in motion two enduring myths—the legend of the Union's emancipating, secular saint and the South's cult of the Lost Cause. Lincoln's assassination, national mourning, and funeral pageant, and Davis's manhunt, imprisonment, exoneration, release, and long postwar life, insists Swanson, continue to unsettle Civil War and Reconstruction historiography, not to mention American society, to this very day. Despite an artful job of portraying the rebel president of the Confederate States of America in a benign light, Swanson concludes that the 20th and 21st centuries belong to Lincoln, not Davis, whose legacy of favoring sectionalism and slavery has been lost through time, much as his beloved Beauvoir plantation was swept away during the Katrina disaster of 2005.
Verdict: Swanson successfully fuses the strengths of historical integrity, balance, and masterful prose into one compelling work. Bloody Crimes should be required reading for every American.
Job well done James! Keep that star shining bright!
-Bobby
"I'm pretty sure librarians can change the world," she said. "Libraries are such resources and librarians make it all happen." This article from the Wisconsin State Journal hit our inbox over the weekend. If you get a second, read up–it's all about the increased internet usage in libraries over the last year or so. Thanks for the tip, Melissa!
-Kayleigh
Hey Romance fans! Check out this Booklist STARRED REVIEW of Mad about the Duke!
Booklist Online, September 20, 2010
Review of the Day
He has to be going mad. That is the only explanation James Lambert St. Maur Thurston Tremont, the Duke of Parkerton, can come up with that would explain why he agreed to work for Elinor Sterling, the second dowager Lady Standon. After mistaking James for the Duke of Hollindrake’s man of business, Elinor proceeds to hire him as her new matchmaker. While Elinor already has come up with her own list of potential husbands ––all dukes and nothing but dukes––she wants James to vet the candidates. For some maddening reason, James finds himself accepting the task, but what is even more vexing is that his name isn’t even on the list. Well, James is just going to have to do something about that! Readers will have to be mad themselves not to fall in love with Boyle’s latest impeccably crafted romance. Featuring a captivating cast of engaging characters, a romance fueled by an abundance of sexy chemistry, and irresistibly witty writing, Mad about the Duke is an absolute delight.— John Charles
Whether she’s penning her latest suspense novel or outlining in precise detail why libraries are a necessity, Karin Slaughter’s words are perfectly chosen and pack a powerful punch. Her passion for libraries is as fierce as her novels are thrilling. Check out this amazing article by this dedicated library champion.
-Virginia
What's the perfect drink after a good book buzz? Let Bobby break it down for you.
Thirsty yet?
-Virginia, Bobby, and Kayleigh
I tweeted about this earlier, but it's too good not to post. Craig Ferguson, in his charming brogue, calls Laura Lippman a "naughty librarian" and reads an excerpt from I'd Know You Anywhere, which we've been steadily buzzing about.
Enjoy!
-Kayleigh
Happy September! A fresh batch of Fall books ease the sorrow as we bid summer one last lingering adieu. Shelves get crowded, reading piles teeter, and new hardcovers cage-match for nightstand rights. Here's one of the contenders: Sena Jeter Naslund's Adam & Eve, a literary tour de force from the acclaimed author of Ahab's Wife and Abundance. Library Journal writes: “Naslund pulls it off. This thriller is rich in brilliant discourses on religion, fanaticism, the meaning of ancient cave art, the speculative future, and love." Here's Sena's message to librarians.
-Kayleigh
