July 2013

Hello lovelies!  Please help me welcome the newest member of our LibraryLoveFest team, Amanda Rountree! Amanda hails from Georgia, and started with us today. I'm sure you will quickly become familiar with her as she tweets, posts, and entertains with her book buzzes. 

We are thrilled to have her!

– Annie and Virginia

I know it's super disappointing when a book you enjoy is turned into a movie that is spectacularly bad (Imma lookin' at you, Congo), but I have high hopes for the following adaptations coming to a theater near you. 

Serena by Ron Rash: Not only is this book amazing - greed, corruption, revenge, an epically ruthless female lead – it is going to star that beloved pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. I think we can all agree that having Jennifer Lawrence as your bestie would be pretty rad. Out September 27, 2013.

Horns by Joe Hill: Harry Pot…I mean Daniel Radcliffe returns to his fantastical roots in this psychological suspense from the author of NOS4A2. Ignatius Perrish (perhaps one of my fave names), suspected of murdering his girlfriend, has understandably sunk into a pit of despair. One hungover morning he wakes up to discover he has sprouted horns and developed some serious supernatural powers perfect for exacting revenge. Out October 11, 2013.

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight: A recent YA crossover praised for the way it handles topics of teenage bullying and mother/daughter relationships. In early stages of production with Nicole Kidman as Kate, a single mom determined to find out the truth behind her daughter Amelia's death. Out Not Soon Enough.

So grab some $32 movie popcorn and enjoy!

– Annie

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Erica who knew that the connection was that each author has the same initials. 

I felt like playing a game today, so drum roll please…..CONNECTION CONJECTURE! The rules are simple: you have to guess what the commonality is between these three books. It can literally be anything from theme to same pub date to same number of words in the title (spoiler alert: that's not it). I will accept answers until noon on Thursday, July 25 and one entry will be chosen at random. The winner gets galleys of all three.

The Big Disconnect by Catherine Steiner-Adair: A look at how the intrusion of the Internet and all things digital are creating a profound change in parent-child dynamics and how parents can shepherd their children discerningly through the technological wilderness, from Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Men in Miami Hotels by Charlie Smith: Buried emeralds, crashing planes, speed boats, machine guns, lurking assassins, and improvised explosives propel this narrative at a
breathtaking pace.

Very Recent History by Choire Sicha: An idiosyncratic and elegant non-fiction narrative following a handful of young men in New York City, after the Wall Street crash of 2008, as they navigate through the ruins of money and power, in search of love and connection.

Email librarylovefest@harpercollins.com with your answers.

Good luck!

– Annie

For fans of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, The Tilted World is going to be a treat. Tom Franklin's ability to paint an image of the American South combined with Beth Ann Fennelly's ability to write beautiful prose creates an incredible story. Oh and yeah, it just got a starred review from Booklist. Boom.

*The Tilted World.

 Husband-and-wife authors Franklin and Fennelly join forces for a suspenseful, emotionally moving novel about the Great Flood of 1927 that resurrects this nearly forgotten natural disaster and showcases both their talents. Sent to the Mississippi Delta to solve the disappearance of two fellow Prohibition agents, Ted Ingersoll and his partner come upon a botched robbery that left a baby boy the only survivor. When he arrives at his destination of Hobnob Landing, Ingersoll deposits the child with Dixie Clay Holliver, a sad young woman whose son had died two years before. Ingersoll’s attraction to Dixie Clay is dangerous; he doesn’t realize she’s the secret creator of Black Lightning, the region’s finest moonshine, or that she and her shifty husband were the last to see the missing men. Meanwhile, floodwaters continue to rise, the levees are barely holding, and financially motivated saboteurs are itching to strike. The pacing amplifies to mirror the increasing tension. The authors superbly depict the bonds of maternal, romantic, and brotherly love, and their slangy dialogue and piquant metaphors enrich their setting. This is a full-bodied shot of bluesy Americana with just the right amounts of grit, heart, and woeful longing, and it goes down smooth and satisfying. — Sarah Johnson

Confession: I think about food a lot. I spend an unnecessary amount of time reading recipes (that I aspire to but will probably never make) and scouring food blogs (for the pictures). So as I was perusing Smitten Kitchen this morning, I thought, hey I'll write about food related books! Obvi a genius and totally original idea.

First up is Grand Forks by Marilyn Hagerty. Although Marilyn has been writing for her local North Dakota newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald since 1957, it wasn’t until 2012 that she became an overnight sensation, when her earnest, plain spoken review of a new outpost of The Olive Garden went viral on the interwebs. Anthony Bourdain
(swoon!) is an ardent supporter.

L.A. Son by Roy Choi. From the maverick chef the New Yorker called “The David Chang of L.A.” and founder of the wildly popular Kogi taco trucks, comes a cookbook that pays homage to the city that made him: Los Angeles. 

Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious.com and author of the upcoming Weelicious Lunches, makes some crazy, tasty things. I can vouch for this because she charmed everyone at the ALA Cookbook Pavilion (and as a plus plied us with homemade granola bars and this hummus). She focuses on recipes and tips for healthful and flavorful lunches for kids of every age.

Can you show me someone who doesn't like French food? I'm not talking snails, I'm talking cheese, pain au chocolat, duck…drool. With The French Kitchen Cookbook, Patricia Wells provides fresh, inspiring recipes and lessons from her much-coveted cooking classes, held in her beautiful homes in Paris and Provence (rough life!).

Ok, that's enough torture. Go make something delicious for dinner (or order it, same thing).

– Parenthetically yours, Annie

What I Had Before I Had You is a contemporary, debut novel from Sarah Cornwell, an acclaimed short story and Pushcart Prize winning writer.

The writing.is.beautiful. 

I am not going to do it justice, so I will just tell you a bit about the story. Recently divorced Olivia returns to her hometown on the Jersey Shore for the first time since 1987 with her daughter, Carrie, and son, Daniel, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Lost in her memories, Olivia does not immediately realize her son has disappeared, and when she does she is quickly brought back to the summer she was 15 when she goes searching for her twin sisters and discovers buried family secrets. 

Basically, What I Had Before I Had You is about past and present appearances and disappearances, told in two suspenseful parallel narratives. A riveting, deeply poignant story of parents and children, deep-seeded memories, and mental illness which is handled with grace and compassion.

Please download an egalley from Edelweiss. You won't be sorry.

– Annie

I'm sure you all know about LibraryReads, the program where librarians around the country vote on their favorite ten newly released must-reads every month, so I'm just going to emphasis how cool I think this program is and how all you lovely librarians should participate and have your voices heard!  You share so much with your patrons, this is just an extension of that.  America is your patron base – dramatic, much?

The first list will be announced in September 2013, with nominations due by August 2nd, so there is still time to submit your suggestions. Sign up here!

Also, they have an awesome tumblr. 

– Annie

So many books* celebrated their birthdays yesterday!  
(*that I highly recommend)

Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich - The debut novel that everyone will take to the beach this summer! A rollicking, sexy, heartfelt romantic comedy about a grieving widow who starts out wanting to get in shape and winds up finding love. Warning: Dreamboat status male protagonist. 

The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan - Michael Crichton meets The Time Traveler’s Wife in
this powerful debut novel in which a man, frozen in the Arctic ice for more than a century, wakes up to the present day, has to cope with the vast changes —and falls in love with the beautiful scientist who found him.

Lost Girls by Robert Kolker - A literary account of the lives and presumed serial killings of five “Craigslist” prostitutes, whose bodies were found on the same Long Island beach in 2010. Based on the New York Magazine cover story.

Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda – a huge in-house fave! A riveting literary mystery set against the rough-hewn backdrop of the New York waterfront (one part Richard Price, one part The Lovely Bones) in which the disappearance of a teenaged girl sends shock waves through her community. Part of Dennis Lehane's line of books. 

– Annie

Hello lovelies! 

What a wonderful ALA! Incredible booth traffic, great author events and signings, fantastic colleagues….all in all, I think it was my favorite. 

Thought I'd pass along the handouts we provided at our book buzz for anyone who wasn't able to attend. This is the full list we spoke about, these are the YA Crossover suggestions, and these are the Book Club recommendations.

And this is the fabulous HarperCollins Authors ♥ Librarians video that we showed.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

– Annie