December 2018

We are so excited to share an amazing new quote from author Stephen King, praising Lou Berney's November Road: “When people say they want to read a really good novel, the kind you just can't put down, this is the kind of book they mean. Exceptional.”

Wow! Check out some additional praise for November Road:

“November Road is a remarkable and unforgettable reading experience. Lou Berney’s artistry as a writer hits you in the heart and tugs hard at your soul. This tense and riveting thriller unfolds in the shadow of the assassination of JFK and is a deeply moving love story about people caught in moral dilemmas for which there are no easy answers and who together find hope against all odds. It will stay with you long after you read the final page. You will recommend it to friends. You will read it again. Berney is a writer to be read and admired. This is a staggeringly brilliant book and a flat-out terrific read.”
—Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of The Force

“From its first frenetic pages to its wrenching final ones, Lou Berney takes us on the ride of a lifetime as two people collide, dangerously, with history in 1963 America. It’s a crime story, a love story, a deeply American story. With November Road, Berney proves beyond doubt that he’s one of the most talented crime novelists working today.”
—Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of You Will Know Me

Everyone on the LLF team has major love for November Road, and we can't wait for you to check it out. Get your copy here!

—Lainey

Today, the Texas Library Association announced the 2019 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List. We are proud to announce that two HarperCollins adult titles made the list!

                  

 Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston       The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty

The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. Because this list covers a wide array of topics, it makes a wonderful resource for librarians to use while considering purchasing titles for their own local collection development.

In order to make the list, the book must have a copyright date within the last three years prior to the release of the list and have a favorable review in a scholarly journal or magazine for grades Pre-K through 12, or adults.

Both of these titles made the list with a unanimous vote by the committee!

Additionally, three HarperCollins Children's books also made the list:

Chasing Space (Young Reader’s Edition) by Leland Melvin

*Shaking Things Up by Susan Hood

*The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

(*) denotes a unanimous vote by the committee.

Find out more about the Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List and see the rest of the titles selected here.

-Lainey

Dearest librarians, who's excited? ALA Midwinter 2019 is almost here! We're thrilled to have a wonderful line-up of authors and events, not to mention our world-famous Adult Book Buzz, where exciting upcoming titles, snacks, and sound machines come hand-in-hand(-in hand). Use our schedule below to mark your calendars so you don't miss a thing!

ALA Midwinter 2019 

Saturday, January 26, 2019

   

8:30-10:00am
HarperCollins Adult Book Buzz
Sheraton Grand Seattle / Metropolitan A Ballroom
1400 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
(A 2-minute walk from the convention center!)

We just wrapped up the HarperCollins Book Buzz at ALA Midwinter in Seattle!

 

For a printable copy of the handout, with details on all of the titles we buzzed about, click here!

Refreshments will be served and seating is limited, so RSVP to librarylovefest@harpercollins.com today!

Don't forget to come to our booth #1101 and meet our authors!

10:00-11:00am
Chanel Reynolds / What Matters Most
Booth signing

10:30-11:00am
BONUS BOOK BUZZ!
HarperCollins Publishers with Sterling, Norton, and Workman
Book Buzz Theater
Exhibit Hall: Aisle 2400

11:00am-12:00pm
Julia Quinn / The Other Miss Bridgerton
Marie Tremayne / The Viscount Can Wait
Booth signing

1:00-2:00pm
Juliet Grames / The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
Booth signing

2:00-3:00pm
Glen Erik Hamilton / Mercy River
Booth signing

3:00-4:00pm
LibraryReads Debut Authors Panel
Juliet Grames / The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
Washington State Convention Center, Room 3A

Sunday, January 27

11:00am-12:00pm
Taylor Adams / No Exit
Booth signing

12:00-1:00pm
Tara Conklin / The Last Romantics 
Booth signing

1:00-2:00pm
Susan Wiggs / The Oysterville Sewing Circle
Booth signing

2:00-3:00pm
Kate Quinn / The Huntress
Booth signing

2:00-4:00pm
UFL Author Gala Tea*
Juliet Grames / The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
Grand Hyatt Seattle, Leonesa Ballroom

*HarperCollins is a proud sponsor of UNITED FOR LIBRARIES (UFL)
www.ala.org/united
Call 1-800-545-2433 ext 2161 for tickets.

3:00-4:00pm
Isha Sesay / Beneath the Tamarind Tree 
Booth signing

4:00-5:00pm
Elise Hooper / Learning to See 
Booth signing

Monday, January 28

8:00-9:00am
LibraryReads Breakfast Panel
Tara Conklin / The Last Romantics
Sheraton Grand Seattle / Cirrus Ballroom
1400 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
(A 2-minute walk from the convention center!)

SEATING IS LIMITED, so please RSVP
by January 7th, 2019.
http://bit.ly/LRMidwinterBreakfast2019

10:30-11:00am
BONUS BOOK BUZZ!
HarperCollins Publishers and Harlequin
Book Buzz Theater
Exhibit Hall: Aisle 2400

2:00-3:00pm
CLOSING SESSION
Isha Sessay / Beneath the Tamarind Tree
In conversation with Booklist's Donna Seaman
Washington State Convention Center, Ballroom 6, A-B

 

Click here for a printable version of our full conference schedule!

"Where I come from, we’ve learned to silence ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of—dangerous, the ultimate shame.”

In Etaf Rum's debut novel, A Woman Is No Man, three generations of Palestinian-American women living in Brooklyn are torn between individual desire and the strict mores of Arab culture. Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and closed cultural world, and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect. It is a heart-wrenching story of love, intrigue, courage, and betrayal that will resonate with women from all backgrounds, giving voice to the silenced and agency to the oppressed.

In this week's podcast episode, Etaf discusses her upcoming book, writing about a closed community and the potential pushback she may receive, and what she wants readers to take away from the book. Check out some of the amazing reviews of A Woman Is No Man and be sure to listen to the episode below!

“First-time novelist Rum’s setting…is rare: a Brooklyn Palestinian enclave in which reputation matters above all else….The daughter of Brooklyn Palestinian immigrants, Rum was often told ‘a woman is no man.’ Overcoming her fear of community reprisal, she alchemizes that limiting warning into a celebration of ‘the strength and power of our women.’”
—Booklist

“Etaf Rum’s A Woman is No Man is a shattering, revelatory tale of immigration, womanhood, and the cyclical impact of violence and oppression. An unflinchingly written story of both loss and hope, strewn with enthralling, vibrant characters, Rum has accomplished the extraordinary: a tale that bridges the domestic and global, memory and future, the old world and the new. A spectacular debut.”
—Hala Alyan, author of Salt Houses

A Woman Is No Man will be available on March 5, 2019. You can download an egalley on Edelweiss now.

-Lainey

Hello, librarian friends!

'Tis the holiday season and we're thrilled to bring you good book-tidings and cheer, alongside a hefty dose of flannel. If you're looking for new reads to warm you up as the days grow cold, we're here to help!

To begin, we have an incredible line-up of reading suggestions for the February LibraryReads list (and beyond), including new novels from librarian-favorites Kate Quinn, Tara Conklin, and Elizabeth McCracken, as well as Nickolas Butler, Peter Swanson, and Lissa Evans. We also have some wonderful debuts, including When You Read This by Mary Adkins and American Pop by Snowden Wright.

Keep reading for more details on all of the books we're currently loving. We can't wait for you to dip in and let us know what you think!

Enjoy!

P.S. We've also put together a helpful guide to voting for LibraryReads on Edelweiss, available as a podcast, video, and handout!

We hope you find these resources helpful! Remember: be heard, vote early and often, and if you have questions, email us!

***

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
For fans of: The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin and The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
The New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl explores the lives of four siblings in this ambitious and absorbing novel in the vein of Ann Patchett's Commonwealth.
"Despite spanning almost a century, The Last Romantics never feels rushed. Conklin places readers in the center of the Skinner family, moving back and forth in time and allowing waves of emotion to slowly uncurl. Perfectly paced, affecting fiction."  
—Booklist

Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: January 1st

The Huntress by Kate Quinn
For fans of: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel The Alice Network, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.
"An impressive historical novel sure to harness WWII-fiction fans’ attention…. Laced with Russian folklore allusions and deliciously witty banter, Quinn’s tale refreshingly avoids contrived situations while portraying three touching, unpredictable love stories; the suspenseful quest for justice; and the courage involved in confronting one’s greatest fears."
—Booklist  review

Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: January 1st

Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken
For fans of: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan and Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo
A sweeping and enchanting new novel from the widely beloved, award-winning author of The Giant's House about three generations of an unconventional New England family who own and operate a candlepin bowling alley.
"McCracken writes with exuberant precision, ingenious lyricism, satirical humor, and warmhearted mischief and delight…. This compassionate and rambunctious saga about love, grief, prejudice, and the courage to be one’s self chimes with novels by John Irving, Audrey Niffenegger, and Alice Hoffman." 
—Booklist  review

Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: January 1st

American Pop by Snowden Wright
For fans of: News of the World by Paulette Jiles and Some Luck by Jane Smiley
Moving from Mississippi to Paris to New York and back again, an epic saga of family, ambition, passion, and tragedy that brings to life one unforgettable Southern dynasty—the Forsters, founders of the world’s first major soft-drink company—against the backdrop of more than a century of American cultural history.
"This spectacular novel blends history and lore….This is an American saga of one man’s ambition, the woman who stoked it, and the family whose complex identity it became. Snowden Wright takes us into the heart of the deep south with insight, sophistication, and humor. What a ride!" 
—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of Kiss Carlo

Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: January 1st

…

LLF Staff Suggestions for the February LibraryReads List (and Beyond!)Read More »

Congratulations to our authors who made Library Journal’s Best Books of 2018 list!

November Road by Lou Berney

Sunburn by Laura Lippman

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay 

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam

How to Be Famous by Caitlin Moran

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Planetside by Michael Mammay

Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine by Kevin Wilson

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Famous Father Girl by Jamie Bernstein

Grateful by Diana Butler Bass

A Call for Revolution by the Dalai Lama and Sofia Stril-Rever

Fatal Discord by Michael Massing

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

The Making of a Dream by Laura Wides-Muñoz

Doing Harm by Maya Dusenbery

To see the full list, click here. 

-Virginia

On this very special episode of Editors Unedited, Executive Editor Carrie Feron called author Sally Thorne—from New York to Sally's home in Australia—to discuss her much anticipated second novel, 99 Percent Mine. Sally is the USA Today bestselling author of the smash hit debut novel, The Hating Game—which sold in over 20 countries. Now she’s back with a new unforgettable romantic comedy!

In 99 Percent Mine, we meet Darcy Barrett—who has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%.

When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.

Be sure to listen to the episode below; wait until the end to hear Sally answer questions submitted by her fans!

Sally also shared a Spotify playlist of songs that inspired her while writing 99 Percent Mine! 

99 Percent Mine will be available on January 29, 2019. Be sure to download an egalley on Edelweiss now!

-Lainey