August 2020

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LLF Guest Post: Spike Carlsen, author of A WALK AROUND THE BLOCK

Screen Shot 2020-08-07 at 11.24.32 AM"Writing in the mode of Edward Humes, David Owen, and Mary Roach, Carlsen offers an eye-opening and exuberantly informative walk–around–the–block tour that is made-to-order for this time of necessary at-homeness."
—Donna Seaman, Booklist Starreview

 

Today, we welcome Spike Carlsen, author of A Walk Around the Block, to the blog. We loved learning all about the book on our July 21st Door to Door episode. If you haven't had the time to view it, please take some time to watch the video here. In A Walk Around the Block, the bestselling author of A Splintered History of Wood uses a walk around his hometown to explore how every part of our urban landscape—from manhole covers and recycling bins to pedestrian crossings and bike lanes—impact and shape our lives in this fascinating work of popular science.

***

LIBRARY LOVE FEST is sooooooo appropriately named. Getting together with other book lovers, book promoters, book writers, and librarians to discuss the who, what, when, where, and why of writing is what it’s all about.

I’ve served on the Stillwater Public Library Board of Trustees in my hometown for 7 years, gaining a front row seat to what goes on behind the façade of our 1902 Beaux Arts Carnegie library. I see a place like no other—a place where kids, teens, adults, and senior citizens blend with ease. Where community meetings are held, weddings are celebrated, and issues discussed. Where there’s something for everyone. A place open to all.

My soon-to-be-released book, A Walk Around the Block, discusses how, in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, we often overlook less obvious groups of “essential” workers; those that keep our water and sewage safely flowing, collect our trash and recycling, generate our electricity, repair our roads. Another group of essential workers is often overlooked—those who continue to work away behind the façades of 1902 Carnegie libraries, as well as the employees and book lovers offering curbside pickup, presenting online storytime, trivia nights, field trips, art projects, answering questions and offering guidance—presenting some semblance of “ordinary” in these extraordinary times.

So thank YOU for your service, librarians, everywhere.

And I can’t wait until I can once again stand in front of a wall of books, scratching my head, wondering whose world I should next explore.

***

Thank you, Spike! Find a few photos from the book, some of the places Spike traveled to research the book, and a video of Spike talking about the book here. You can get your copy of A Walk Around the Block on October 20, 2020.

Download an egalley on Edelweiss+ and NetGalley now. LibraryReads votes are due September 1st.

-Lainey

 

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Editors Unedited: Jean Marie Kelly in Conversation with Mandy Robotham, Author of THE BERLIN GIRL

This week's episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast features an interview with Mandy Robotham, author of The Berlin Girl, and the Affiliate Publisher at HarperCollins 360, Jean Marie Kelly. Learn all about Mandy's new historical fiction novel and her background as a journalist and midwife, as well as a sneak peek of what she is writing next.

Listen to the conversation here:

More about The Berlin Girl (available December 8, 2020):

From the USA Today bestselling author of The German Midwife and The Secret Messenger, comes a new historical novel set in 1938 Berlin with England on the brink of war.

Berlin, 1938: It’s the height of summer, and Germany is on the brink of war. When fledgling reporter Georgie Young is posted to Berlin, alongside fellow Londoner Max Spender, she knows they are entering the eye of the storm.

Arriving to a city swathed in red flags and crawling with Nazis, Georgie feels helpless, witnessing innocent people being torn from their homes. As tensions rise, she realizes she and Max have to act—even if it means putting their lives on the line.

But when she digs deeper, Georgie begins to uncover the unspeakable truth about Hitler’s Germany—and the pair are pulled into a world darker than she could ever have imagined…

___

  • We mentioned the podcast episode where Jean Marie gave us an overview of the HarperCollins 360 imprint. Listen to that here.
  • Jean Marie also mentioned the book will be available as a library hardcover edition. Find out more info here.

-Lainey

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Booklist’s Donna Seaman Interviews Nancy Pearl, Author of THE WRITER’S LIBRARY

The day is almost here! The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager publishes on September 8th. We can't wait to throw a very Happy Book Birthday celebration on Facebook Live for Nancy on publication day—featuring some very special guests! You can RSVP and sign up for notifications here. The buzz just continues to grow for this special book.

Donna Seaman, Adult Books Editor at Booklist, recently spoke with Nancy Pearl on the latest episode of the Booklist's Shelf Care podcast. Listen to the interview here:

The Writer's Library is an intimate, moving, and insightful collection from "American's Librarian" Nancy Pearl and noted playwright Jeff Schwager that celebrates the power of literature and reading to connect us all. It features twenty-three of today's living literary legends, including Donna Tartt, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andrew Sean Greer, Laila Lalami, and Michael Chabon, revealing the books that made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives. 

The Writer's Library was selected as a September 2020 LibraryReads pick. Check out more of the star-studded reviews it has received:

"The nearly two dozen literary conversations gathered here are at once substantial and effervescent—magnetic qualities attributable to the focus on what writers read and the expertise and passion of the two interlocutors, renowned librarian and book champion Pearl and playwright, producer, and journalist Schwager.…Complete with lists of titles from each writer’s inner library, this is a zestfully elucidating and inspiring portal onto the lives and thoughts of truly exceptional writers."
—Donna Seaman, Booklist Star review

"Pearl and Schwager bring boundless enthusiasm and curiosity to this eclectic and probing book of interviews. The 22 authors represented are a varied and never boring cohort…. Readers of this delightful compendium will relish the chance to find many of those shared loves, as well as discover new ones."
—Publishers Weekly Star review

We also had Nancy on our Door to Door episode:

We featured a conversation between Nancy and LLF's Virginia Stanley on our podcast:

The Writer's Library comes out on September 8th, but there's still some time to download the egalley from Edelweiss+ and NetGalley. 

-Lainey

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Door to Door: Questions for Diane Cook, Author of THE NEW WILDERNESS

On August 4th, the library team hosted Diane Cook, author of The New Wilderness, on our Door to Door program. The New Wilderness is a debut novel that explores a moving mother-daughter relationship in a world ravaged by climate change and overpopulation, a suspenseful second book from the author of the acclaimed story collection, Man V. Nature. This book has been receiving so many rave reviews, including the honor of being longlisted for the Booker Prize.

Watch the recorded conversation here:

We were not able to get to all the amazing questions that were submitted by viewers, but Diane was kind enough to answer these questions separately. We have listed the answers below. 

1. There were so many layers—experimental societies, marriages, relationships to each other and with others. Do you have a relationship to living off the land? —Kim McGee, Lake Travis Community Library

I've never lived off the land, but I've spent a lot of time in remote, rustic places. And have also read a lot of literature about doing similar things. I grew up in suburbs and cities. I think my draw to these landscapes is a reaction to that.
 
2. What is your background, Diane? Your topics in the book seem to deal with psychology/sociology/human relations. —Shannon Wilson Spease 
 
I studied literature and writing in college. And I went on to be a producer for public radio's This American Life. So I have  spent a lot of time thinking about stories and how people tell them, and how we process and talk about the things that happen to us. I also moved a lot as a kid and as the one who was always the new kid, I think I learned very early to watch and observe people to figure out how I could fit in, or how I didn't.
 
3. What books have informed your own writing? —Lillian Dabney, Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum Library
 
Walden is a foundational text for me. I've taught at an experiential literature program for years, where we go to New England, live rustically and read Thoreau, Emerson, Dickinson, Frost, the big names of their time. The ideas in their work, especially in Walden, and from this program, really informed The New Wilderness. As far as a fiction hero, Aimee Bender and George Saunders are two very inspirational writers to me. Aimee Bender taught me I could make the mundane into something fantastical. That was an essential lesson for me.
 
4. Was it your intention to use the relationship between these future people and nature as a theme to caution us in today's society? —Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library (WI)-retired librarian
 
I'm not sure it was so much an intention as something unavoidable. When writing speculative fiction, part of my goal is to see where we might end up if our current culture and society goes unchecked. I take it to the farthest and most logical point. In that way, our time now and the future time of the book are inextricable.
 
5. What lessons about nature would you like to convey to your children? —Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library (WI)-retired librarian
 
I think about this a lot because I currently live in a city and worry often that this will always be the case. But I think it reminds me that one important lesson about nature is that we always have a relationship with it, even when it feels distant or absent. When I write about the City in the book, in my mind, I'm really writing about the natural world and its absence. And that absence is telling me and the reader something about our characters. I also want to make sure my kids can see the natural world in places that aren't obvious. Because even as I talk about its "absence," it's never really absent from any part of our day, regardless of where we live. It's all in how we think about it and define it.
 
6. Please tell us more about the New England Literature Program. The rustic nature and non-traditional study methods sound fascinating! and How did your experience in radio influence your writing? —Maureen Roberts, Baltimore County Public Library
 
The New England Literature program is an experiential literature program though the University of Michigan (but you can be a student at any university to apply.) I was a student there and I taught there for many years. As I mentioned above in another question, we read Thoreau, Emerson, Frost, Dickinson and others and live in rustic cabins, with fire heat and not a lot of electricity. The students give up their technology for 6 weeks, and we all live, work, and study together, cooking, cleaning and teaching as part of the program. It's an amazing opportunity for students to study a text in the landscape that generated it, and ask how place affects our experience of a text, and to have a completely different educational experience. Find out more here: https://lsa.umich.edu/nelp
 
Thanks for taking time to answer these thoughtful questions, Diane!
You can get a copy of The New Wilderness now.
 
-Lainey
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LLF Guest Post: Thomas Hynes, Author of WILD CITY

9780062938541_0f39f113-78e9-4312-99c2-8ce7985e2d22We were lucky to have Thomas Hynes, author of Wild City, on our July 21st Door to Door episode. If you haven't had the time to view it, please take some time to watch the video here. We loved chatting about Wild City, an illustrated guide to 40 of the most well-known, surprising, notorious, mythical, and sublime non-human citizens of New York City. There is so much to explore in this book: illustrations, fun facts, and an appreciation of all the wildlife that calls New York City home. Today, we welcome Tom to the blog for a guest post.

***

I spent a lot of time in New York City libraries while writing my book, Wild City. But if I’m being totally honest, it had probably been years since I had stepped foot inside a library. I supported them in the abstract. Who wouldn’t? Libraries are the mark of a great society, a brick and mortar place where anyone can learn anything, an institution not driven by profit or sales, but rather purely for the benefit and education of humanity.

But even though I wax poetic about libraries, I rarely ever went inside one. I overlooked them. All that changed when I started working on my book. Writing was a relatively new occupation for me. It didn’t exactly come with an office. I needed a reliable place to work and a trusted source for research. I needed a library.

My first stop was the crown jewel of the New York Public Library system, the main branch on 42nd Street. I would walk upstairs to the iconic and beautiful Rose Reading Room and stare at the beautiful ceiling. Then a half hour would pass and I’d realize I’d been admiring the room the whole time and not getting much else done. For the sake of my attention span and productivity, I needed something slightly less distracting.

So I went downtown to the Jefferson Market Library. For those who don’t know this branch, it looks like a fairytale castle was dropped on to 6th Avenue. There’s even a turret and a winding spiral staircase. It’s technically a former women’s prison among other things. But today it’s a library, and it’s definitely the most beautiful and interesting building for blocks. And anyone can walk right in and learn about whatever they like. That’s the beauty of libraries.

Closer to home, I spent time working and writing at the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Othmer Library. Their second floor space was featured in the TV show, Mozart in the Jungle, and the film, Blackkklansman, among other productions. The Othmer Library isn’t part of any municipal system, but it’s still free to enter, provided you sign in, check your bags, and promise to follow their rules. For example, they ask guests to not use any pens. Though, not to worry, the friendly librarians are happy to provide pencils as well as anything else you might need from their impressive archives.

Libraries provided me with the space and the research materials I needed to write my book, just as they provide similar opportunities to millions of others. As the country grapples with rising unemployment and tough budgetary decisions, it’s more important than ever to support these institutions.

My book in a lot of ways is about the wonderful things we tend to overlook in our lives. Incidentally, writing it gave me a new-found appreciation for the overlooked institution in my own life: libraries.

***

Thank you, Tom! You can get a copy of Wild City now. Learn some fun facts and see a few illustrations from the book here.

-Lainey

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Walter Thompson-Hernández, Author of THE COMPTON COWBOYS, Has a New Podcast!

Walter Thompson-Hernández, author of The Compton Cowboys, just released his new podcast called California Love. This is an audio love letter to Los Angeles. The description of the series says: "Tupac and Dr. Dre's 'California Love' served as a love letter and anthem for a generation. The song inspired author and New York Times writer, Walter Thompson-Hernández, to create a show as prescient as it is personal. In his California Love series, Walter invites listeners to join him in his family home, on horseback through the streets of Compton, and up into the sky to examine belonging. Walter takes us deep into his own story as he explores what it means for him to love Los Angeles." You can listen to the episode about the Compton Cowboys here.

More about Walter's book, The Compton Cowboys:
A rising New York Times reporter tells the compelling story of The Compton Cowboys, a group of African-American men and women who defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America’s most notorious cities.

We have had the honor of hosting Walter on our own podcast and on our Door to Door program. Listen to both interviews about The Compton Cowboys below. Find posts from Walter's Instagram takeover on our Instagram feed here.

 

You can get a copy of The Compton Cowboys and The Compton Cowboys: Young Readers' Edition now.

-Lainey

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Join the Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon from 8/22 to 9/5!

Screen Shot 2020-08-20 at 3.53.58 PM

Hello, librarians. Big news! Saturday, August 22nd marks the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury! In a must-see celebration—The Ray Bradbury Centennial Read-A-Thon—book lovers from across the country can enjoy a star-studded reading of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 streamed over YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The reading begins Saturday, August 22nd and runs until Saturday, September 5th. Check out the promo below!

Contributors include Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, who will introduce each of the three parts of Bradbury’s book, as well as John Szabo with the Los Angeles Public Library, actress Rachel Bloom, Charles F. Bolden Jr. (12th NASA Administrator), and writer/producer/director Ann Druyan who will offer additional introductions.

The all-star line-up of readers includes William Shatner, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, and many more. Author Susan Orlean will also provide an afterword. 

A lifelong lover and advocate for libraries, Ray Bradbury framed their importance in his own words: "I'm completely library educated. Libraries are absolutely at the center of my life. Since I couldn’t afford to go to college, I attended the library three or four days a week from the age of eighteen on, and graduated from the library when I was twenty-eight."

We hope you will join in this extraordinary celebration of the 100th birthday of Ray Bradbury. Which of his classics will you read to celebrate? You can check out all the Ray Bradbury novels available from HarperCollins Publishers here. 

-Chris

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HarperCollins Titles Included in Oprah.com’s “Best Books to Pick Up Before Summer Ends” List

We were so excited to see THREE of our books listed on Oprah.com as "…the Best Books to Pick Up Before Summer Ends." The article included: Wandering in Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins, Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall. Find out more about these titles below.

 

9780062873040_d30edFrom the acclaimed cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing—a writer whom Roxane Gay has hailed as “a force to be reckoned with”—comes this powerful story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots, the Great Migration, and the displacement of black people across America.

 

 

 

 

From the article on Oprah.com:

"Feeling like 'an outsider among my blood,' the stellar essayist of This Will Be My Undoing sifts through the 'scraps, rubble, and frayed threads' of her personal history—her father’s Southern roots, her mother’s Northern pedigree—and charts the path of the migrant diaspora in this edifying 'journey in reverse.'"
 
Additional praise for Wandering in Strange Lands:
 
“A thrilling, emotional, and engaging ride that almost commands the reader to turn the page, Wandering in Strange Lands is required reading, accurately widening the lens of American history.”
—Booklist Star review
 
“[A] forthright and informative account…. Jerkins’s careful research and revelatory conversations with historians, activists, and genealogists result in a disturbing yet ultimately empowering chronicle of the African-American experience. Readers will be moved by this brave and inquisitive book.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Driven by a need to understand her own identity, cultural critic Jerkins mounted an investigation into her family's tangled history, recounting in this candid memoir the surprising discoveries that emerged from her emotional journey. . . A revelatory exploration of the meaning of blackness.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
Wandering in Strange Lands is available now.
 
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9780062968944_6a9fdAn addictive and groundbreaking debut thriller set on a Native American reservation.

Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s own nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.

 

From the article on Oprah.com:

"In his assured debut novel, David Heska Wanbli Weiden melds the gritty realism of Dashiell Hammett with the lyricism of Tommy Orange."

Additional praise for Winter Counts:

“Weiden combines funny, complex, and unforgettable characters with strong, poetic prose. . . This is crime fiction at its best.”
—Publishers Weekly Star review

"Winter Counts is a terrific debut—tight and tense, hard-eyed and big-hearted. David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s main character, Virgil Wounded Horse, is as compelling, complex, and sharply observed as the world he inhabits." 
—Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone

“Winter Counts is a marvel. It’s a thriller with a beating heart and jagged teeth. This book is a brilliant meditation on power and violence, and a testament to just how much a crime novel can achieve. Weiden is a powerful new voice. I couldn’t put it down.” 
—Tommy Orange, author of There There

Request the egalley from Edelweiss+
Request the egalley on NetGalley
On Sale: August 25, 2020

____

 

9780062968623_305b8An enthralling literary tour-de-force that pays tribute to Detroit's legendary neighborhood, a mecca for jazz, sports, and politics, Black Bottom Saints is a powerful blend of fact and imagination reminiscent of E.L. Doctorow's classic novel Ragtime and Marlon James' Man Booker Award-winning masterpiece, A Brief History of Seven Killings.

 

 

 

 

From the article on Oprah.com:

"In this alluring cocktail of a novel, a dying dance teacher reminisces and records for posterity his memories of Detroit’s postwar ferment of Black artists, writers, musicians, and activists, a 'caramel Camelot…a rare light and a heat,' with cameos by Ethel Waters and Dinah Washington."

Additional praise for Black Bottom Saints:

"This is an exuberant celebration of the arts, including the arts of living well and caring for others…. Each of Randall’s books is a literary event, and readers will embrace this radiant celebration of African American art and culture."
—Booklist Star review

"Black Bottom Saints is easily the most inventive and musical novel I've read in a decade. Alice Randall has rewritten and re-energized the rules of the American novel!"
—Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division and Heavy, Professor of English and Creative Writing, University of Mississippi

Black Bottom Saints is available now.

 

Find the full list of books here.

-Lainey

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The September LibraryReads List is Here!

SeptLRTILENEWYou voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole is the #1 LibraryReads pick for September! Congratulations, Alyssa!

More great news: Monogamy by Sue Miller and The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager have also been selected for the September LibraryReads List. And that's not all! Tessa Bailey officially joins the LibraryReads Hall of Fame with the selection of Tools of Engagement.

Want to hear how our authors reacted to being selected for the September LibraryReads List? Listen to our newest Library Love Fest Podcast episode below to hear their responses.

Congratulations to all of our wonderful authors!
 
Click here to see the full list.

***

image from edel-images.azureedge.net LrtoppickWhen No One Is Watching
by Alyssa Cole: Rear Window meets 
Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a Brooklyn neighborhood takes on a sinister new meaning…

"[A] searing indictment of the inseparable evils of racism and gentrification wrapped in an anxiety-inducing thriller with elements of romance and horror… Cole expertly layers plot twists, raising the stakes until the dramatic finale, and readers will cheer when the real heroes are revealed. Cole is a sure-bet suggestion for romance readers, and When No One Is Watching will expand her already enthusiastic audience."
—Booklist  review

Request the egalley from Edelweiss+
Request the egalley from NetGalley


Join us TOMORROW, Tuesday, August 18th at 2:00pm ET
 to watch author Alyssa Cole LIVE!
Click below to sign up for the official Facebook Event.

D2d818

 

And be sure to catch Alyssa's Alyssa Cole Instatakeover of our Instagram page on Friday, August 21st.

Follow us on Instagram so you don't miss a thing!

 

 


image from cdn.shopify.comMonogamy by Sue Miller: A brilliantly insightful novel, engrossing and haunting, about marriage, love, family, happiness and sorrow, from New York Times bestselling author Sue Miller.

"A robust, character-driven examination of the inner workings of a lengthy marriage…. The novel is grounded by vibrant prose, vividly portrayed secondary characters, and the resiliency of everlasting love…A spectacular, powerful return."
—Publishers Weekly  review

Request the egalley and audiobook egalley from Edelweiss+
Request the egalley from NetGalley
Request the audiobook egalley from NetGalley


Watch author Sue Miller's guest appearance on Door to Door!

 

 

image from cdn.shopify.comThe Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl &
Jeff Schwager: Twenty-three of today's living literary legends, including Donna Tartt, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Andrew Sean Greer, Laila Lalami, and Michael Chabon, reveal the books that made them think, brought them joy, and changed their lives in this intimate, moving, and insightful collection from "America's Librarian" Nancy Pearl and noted playwright Jeff Schwager that celebrates the power of literature and reading to connect us all.

"Pearl and Schwager bring boundless enthusiasm and curiosity to this eclectic and probing book of interviews. The 22 authors represented are a varied and never boring cohort…. Readers of this delightful compendium will relish the chance to find many of those shared loves, as well as discover new ones."
—Publishers Weekly  review

Request the egalley from Edelweiss+
Request the egalley from NetGalley


Watch Nancy Pearl's guest appearance on Door to Door!

 

 

image from cdn.shopify.com LibraryReads-Hall-of-Fame-Author-Blue-RibbonTools of Engagement
by Tessa Bailey: In Tessa Bailey’s rom-com follow-up to Fix Her Up and Love Her or Lose Her, two enemies must team up to flip a house—and the sparks between them will either burn the place down or ignite a passion that neither can ignore!

"Quirky secondary characters, inviting small-town setting, and sensual scenes are highlights of this charming and funny novel…. Fans of Christina ­Lauren and Helena Hunting should add Bailey to their list of go-to rom-com authors."
—Library Journal  review

Previous LibraryReads selections:
Love Her or Lose Her (January 2020)
Fix Her Up (June 2019)

Request the egalley from Edelweiss+
Request the egalley from NetGalley

***

Thanks to all who participated and submitted votes for the September LibraryReads list! Be sure to submit your votes for the October LibraryReads list by September 1st. Click here to find out what we're recommending!  

Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

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Editors Unedited: A Conversation with Sara Nelson, Vice President and Executive Editor at Harper Books

We are back with another podcast episode of Editors Unedited with Sara Nelson, Vice President and Executive Editor at Harper Books. She's got some exciting reads coming up; take a listen to the episode and find a list of the titles discussed below.

Listen to the episode here:

Titles discussed:

Thanks for coming on the podcast, Sara!

-Lainey

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How to Start (and Sustain) a Virtual Book Club: A Podcast Interview with Linda Cohen, Head of the Zumbette Book Club

Libraries are dealing with a lot of changes around the way they interact with their patrons. One challenge is having to transition to online meeting spaces. How do you pick a platform? Get the word out? Make sure you include readers who are not tech-savvy? We explore these questions in our latest podcast episode. I sat down with Linda Cohen, Sales Director at Booklist, to discuss her long-time book club and how they have made time to meet via Zoom to keep the book club alive during the pandemic. We discuss best practices—both technical and emotional—and I also sit in on one of their meetings. At the end of the podcast, you can hear how the group navigates their virtual meeting as they discuss Jennifer Chiaverini's Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters.

Listen to the podcast episode below:

More about Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters (available now):
The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker returns to her most famous heroine, Mary Todd Lincoln, in this compelling story of love, loss, and sisterhood rich with history and suspense.

"Through meticulously researched historical detail and sympathetic portrayal of each character, including Mary herself, Chiaverini provides a fascinating glimpse into the women of an influential family on the front lines of some of the most important moments of that indelible time."
—Booklist

Rachel Kahan, the editor for this book, gave the book group a few discussion questions. You can use these in your own book club discussion!

  • What was your impression of Mary Lincoln? Is she a sympathetic character?
  • We see Mary’s relationships with her sisters, and with her son Robert, go from intimacy to estrangement more than once. Why do you think it was so hard for Mary to maintain her relationships with her family?  
  • Mary suffers many almost unimaginable traumas: losing her mother at an early age, losing three of her four children, witnessing the murder of her husband. Was her “madness” inevitable? Was institutionalizing her the best solution?
  • How does the trauma and sorrow of the Todd sisters’ lives and their periodic estrangements mirror what had been happening to the nation they lived in? Were they able to patch things up and move on? Was the nation able to?
  • Did the Todd sisters’ life of relative comfort and privilege influence how they behaved as adults? Did it protect them during the Civil War?

Find supplemental information about Mary Todd Lincoln in this family tree and dramatis personae from the author. Listen to an audio sample of the book here.

We also mentioned the past book club episode with Linda. You can listen to that here. 

Want even more book suggestions for your book club? Take a look at our book club catalog.

Let us know how your book club is adapting to the virtual meeting space. Leave us a message on our voicemail: 212-207-7773.

A huge thank you to Linda Cohen for taking the time to share her expertise. I had such fun sitting in on this conversation.

-Lainey

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The Buzz is Building for Diane Cook’s THE NEW WILDERNESS!

image from cdn.shopify.comThe buzz is seriously building for Diane Cook's The New Wilderness (on sale August 11th)! In addition to being longlisted for the Booker Prize, this powerful debut novel (following Diane's short story collection Man V. Nature) is garnering wide-spread praise in national publications, including a feature in Entertainment Weekly, who posted the first serial excerpt from The New Wilderness, as well as including it in their Late-Summer Must-Reads. Their thoughts? "Could this be the great climate change novel of our time? Buzz is building fast for the epic debut novel of Diane Cook."

On Tuesday, August 4th, we had the pleasure of welcoming Diane Cook to Door to Door to discuss The New Wilderness, along with legendary author Jonathan Lethem, who discussed his upcoming novel The Arrest. You can watch the replay below!

As you can tell from our interview, the Library Love Fest team was blown away by
The New Wilderness. Timely, haunting, beautiful, and challenging, this book will stay with you long after the final page.

Below, you can check out just a sampling of the praise this unforgettable novel has received. The New Wilderness goes on sale August 11th, so you can pre-order your copy now! 

 

Praise for The New Wilderness

"Gripping, fierce, terrifying examination of what people are capable of when they want to survive in both the best and worst ways. Loved this."
—Roxane Gay

"More than a version of ‘Survivor: Woodlands,’ this novel asks tough questions about love and sustainability."
—Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post

"In this wry, speculative debut novel, Cook envisions a crowded and polluted near future in which only one natural area remains, the Wilderness State…. Cook’s unsettling, darkly humorous tale explores maternal love and man’s disdain for nature with impressive results."
—Publishers Weekly Star review

"This ecological horror story (particularly horrifying now) explores painful regions of the human heart."
—Kirkus Reviews Star review

"In her gripping and provoking debut novel, Cook extends the shrewd and implacable dramatization of our catastrophic assault on the biosphere that she so boldly launched in her short story collection, Man V. Nature…. Violence, death, tribalism, lust, love, betrayals, wonder, genius, and courage—all are enacted in this stunningly incisive and complexly suspenseful tale akin to dystopian novels by Margaret Atwood and Claire Vaye Watkins."
—Donna Seaman, Booklist Star review

"I’ve been impatiently waiting for Diane Cook’s first novel since I discovered her collection, Man V. Nature, in 2014. It’s finally here—and to answer your first question, yes, it was indeed worth the wait…it tackles the deepest of human emotions—as well as big ideas about the planet—in satisfying ways. Also, it’s a page-turner!"
—Emily Temple, author of The Lightness and Managing Editor at Literary Hub                          

"Few books electrify me the way Cook’s surreal short story collection Man V. Nature did, but her debut novel—which continues her exploration of the interplay between nature and civilization—has done it again."
—Arianna Rebolini, Buzzfeed                                                  
        

"[Diane Cook] returns this summer with her first novel, a dystopian tale being compared to Station Eleven. A mother and daughter flee the dangers of pollution and join a community that hopes to build a new life in protected wilderness. But how to live in nature and not destroy it? These are questions many of us are already asking, and we can’t wait to dive into Cook’s exploration."
—BookPage

"The New Wilderness is a virtuosic debut, brutal and beautiful in equal measure."
—Emily St. John Mandel, New York Times bestselling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel

"The New Wilderness left me as stunned as a deer in headlights. Gut-wrenching and heart-wrecking, this is a book that demands to be read, and urgently. With beauty and compassion, Diane Cook writes about the precariousness of life on this planet, about the things that make us human—foremost the love between mothers and daughters, at once complex and elemental. Cook observes humanity as a zoologist might—seeing us exactly as the strange animals we really are."
—Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin

"Diane Cook upends old tropes of autonomy, survival, and civilization to reveal startling new life teeming beneath, giving a glimpse into the ways the world we think we know could come unstuck and come to life in the care of the women and girls of the future. This is not just a thrilling, curious, vibrant book–but an essential one, a compass to guide us into the future."
—Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine

-Chris

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LLF Staff Suggestions for the October LibraryReads List

OctoberlrtileHello, librarians! 

We are thrilled to present our staff suggestions for the October LibraryReads List! Simply put: October is packed with propulsive, thought-provoking, masterful reads. We cannot wait to hear what you think.

Remember: votes for the October LibraryReads List are due September 1st! 

-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)

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CM-LR-Ecard

image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Cold Millions by Jess Walter
For fans of: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan and
Moonglow by Michael Chabon
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ruins delivers another "literary miracle" (NPR)—a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two adventure-seeking brothers, the enemies who threaten them, and the women who reveal to them an unjust world on the brink of upheaval.

"The fact that the same author has written books as wildly different and all as transporting as The Zero (2006), The Financial Lives of the Poets (2009), Beautiful Ruins (2012), and now this latest tour de force is testimony to Walter’s protean storytelling power and astounding ability to set a scene, any scene…. We have heard that Jess Walter writes nonstop: Seven days a week, 365 days a year. Please, never stop."
—Kirkus Reviews Star review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: September 1, 2020

 
Watch Jess Walter's guest appearance on Door to Door!

image from edel-images.azureedge.netLeave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
For fans of: The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
and The River by Peter Heller
From the author of Rich and Pretty and That Kind of Mother, a magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

"Spectacular and ominous…. This illuminating social novel offers piercing commentary on race, class and the luxurious mirage of safety, adding up to an all-too-plausible apocalyptic vision." 
—Publishers Weekly  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: September 1, 2020

Listen to a podcast interview between Rumaan Alam and LLF's Chris Connolly!

 

 

image from edel-images.azureedge.netPlain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth
For fans of: The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and 
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
The Favourite meets The Haunting of Hill House in this highly imaginative and original highbrow horror-comedy centered around a cursed New England boarding school for girls, a wickedly whimsical celebration of the art of storytelling, sapphic love, and the rebellious female spirit—and the highly-anticipated adult debut from the award-winning author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

"Plain Bad Heroines wears its brilliance lightly and like the Black Oxford apples described in these pages, it's dark, sweet, and addictive. emily danforth displays all the gothic wit of Edward Gorey and all the soaring metafictional ambitions of David Mitchell, alongside a generosity and humanity that is uniquely her own.  Simply one of the best books I've read in the last decade."
—Joe Hill, New York Times  bestselling author of The Fireman

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Listen to a podcast interview between emily m. danforth and Jessica Williams, Executive Editor at William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers!  

 

 

image from edel-images.azureedge.netGoodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
For fans of: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and 
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
From "master of clever misdirection" (Kirkus Reviews) Aimee Molloy, author of the New York Times
bestseller The Perfect Mother, comes an irresistible psychological thriller featuring a newly married woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband goes missing.

"Constructed with house-of-cards precision, this cunning story surges forward as though powered by outboard motor. But Molloy proves equally skilled in the elusive arts of character and dialogue: Goodnight Beautiful isn’t only the most suspenseful novel you’ll read this year; it’s likely to be the funniest, too. I wish that every book, in every genre, were as deeply imagined and fully inhabited as this one."
—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

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LibraryReads Votes Due: September 1, 2020

Watch Aimee Molloy's guest appearance on Door to Door!

 

 

image from edel-images.azureedge.netSpoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
For fans of: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert and The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.

"Spoiler Alert is a gentle, funny, and sexy romance that captivated me from the first page and kept me enthralled to the very (happy) end. I adored these characters and every moment of their journey to love. Olivia Dade has crafted an unforgettable story, one that’s earned an immediate spot on my comfort-reads shelf."
—Mia Sosa, USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netA Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson
For fans of: Field of Bones by J. A. Jance and Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin
The first book in a thrilling series featuring a wildlife biologist who courts trouble as she saves endangered species…and a mysterious killer who buries his dead in the land she helps preserve—a fast-paced, action-driven tale of suspense with the atmosphere and propulsive tension of works by Jane Harper, C. J. Box, William Kent Krueger, and Nevada Barr.

"A true stunner of a thriller debut. Both a mystery and a survival story, here is a novel written with a naturalist’s eye for detail and an unrelenting pace. It reminded me of the best of Nevada Barr, where the wilderness itself is as much a character as the feisty wildlife biologist who must solve a crime in a remote town where no one is talking, and everyone is a suspect. It's so fraught with excitement and wondrous details that it demands to be read in one sitting and savored afterward. Don’t miss it."
—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Odyssey

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netA Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire
Also from the author: Hiddensee and After Alice
After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans," transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York.

"Maguire (Wicked) continues his fabulist fairy tale remixes with this enchanting story…. Maguire parallels the swan boy’s story of brokenness to Laura’s own struggles overcoming class and cultural differences. Fans of Maguire’s retellings will love this simple, elegant story." 
—Publishers Weekly

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Forgotten Daughter by Joanna Goodman
For fans of: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton and
The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor
From the author of the bestselling novel The Home for Unwanted Girls comes another compulsively readable story of love and suspense, following the lives of two women reckoning with their pasts and the choices that will define their futures.

Praise for The Home for Unwanted Girls: "A study of how love persists through the most trying of circumstances. Deep and meaningful, this novel captures the reader’s attention until they’re rewarded with a happy ending."
—Booklist 

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle
For fans of: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson and 
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Written with the chilling, twisty suspense of The Wife Between Us, a seductive debut thriller about greed, lust, secrets, and deadly lies involving identical twin sisters.

"Rose Carlyle's The Girl in the Mirror took my breath away, page after page. It has it all: a superbly taut plot. Unforgettable, haunting characters. A setting that will instantly transport you to the lush landscape of the Seychelles. And one of the best endings I've read in a very long time. Bottom line—this book is exactly what we're all craving right now: a delicious, perfect escape."
—Aimee Molloy, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother 
and Goodnight Beautiful

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netA Walk Around the Block by Spike Carlsen
For fans of: Soonish by Kelly Weinersmith and Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik
The bestselling author of A Splintered History of Wood uses a walk around his hometown to explore how every part of our urban landscape—from manhole covers and recycling bins to pedestrian crossings and bike lanes—impact and shape our lives in this fascinating work of popular science.

"No neighborhood walk will ever be the same after Spike Carlsen reveals to you the extraordinary origins of your ordinary surroundings. His grand storytelling style will make you wonder why you’ve always taken for granted alleyways, asphalt, and manhole covers, and how your ancestors could ever have lived without them."
— Rebecca Martin, technical editor, 
Mother Earth News and Grit

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Watch Spike Carlsen's guest appearance on Door to Door!

 

 

image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Lost Shtetl by Max Gross
For fans of: Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss
A remarkable debut novel—written with the fearless imagination of Michael Chabon and the piercing humor of Gary Shteyngart—about a small Jewish village in the Polish forest that is so secluded no one knows it exists…until now.

"Lively and imaginative…. 
alternately reminiscent of early Isaac Bashevis Singer and a Catskills comedian. Gross’s entertaining, sometimes disquieting tale delivers laugh-out-loud moments and deep insight on human foolishness, resilience, and faith."
—Publishers Weekly Star review

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netWhen We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor
Also from the author: Meet Me in Monaco and Last Christmas in Paris
The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school.

"Gaynor's story of courage and strength will make you believe in the heroic spirit in each of us."
 —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netChristmas at the Island Hotel by Jennie Colgan
Also from the author: 500 Miles from You and Christmas as Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop
Another heartfelt and delightful Christmas tale from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop on the Corner  and Christmas on the Island.

Praise for Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe: "This tale is even sweeter than the first. Festive and charming, it’s another triumph for Jenny Colgan."
—Cosmopolitan (UK)

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Fragile Earth edited by David Remnick and Henry Finder
For fans of: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells
A collection of the New Yorker’s groundbreaking reporting from the front lines of climate change—including writing from Bill McKibben, Elizabeth Kolbert, Ian Frazier, Kathryn Schulz, and more.

"An informative, stimulating collection…. Top-shelf writers deliver urgent and compelling
calls for dramatic change."
—Kirkus Reviews Star review

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netJane in Love by Rachel Givney
For fans of: The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
A charming, romantic debut novel in which Jane Austen, heralded author, ends up time-traveling almost 200 years in the future. There she finds the love she's written about and the destiny she's dreamed of…but is it worth her legacy?

"Artfully written and engaging, Jane in Love is a lively effusion of wit and humor."
—Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of 
                               The Rosie Project

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netThe Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison
Also from the author: Every Time You Go Away and One Less Problem Without You
New York Times bestselling author Beth Harbison whips together a witty and charming—and delicious—story about the secrets we keep, the friends we make, and the food we cook.

Praise for Every Time You Go Away: "A heartwarming story about love transcending time and space…tempering tragedy with wry humor, heartfelt introspection, and an unexpected romance."
—Booklist

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netHouse of Correction by Nicci French
For fans of: Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day
In this heart-pounding standalone from the internationally bestselling author that People calls "razor sharp," a woman accused of murder attempts to solve her own case from the confines of prison—but as she unravels the truth, everything is called into question, including her own certainty that she is innocent.

"This well-written, psychological thriller has a gripping plot that will satisfy fans of Val McDermid and Sharon J. Bolton."
—Library Journal

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image from edel-images.azureedge.netSanta Monica by Cassidy Lucas
For fans of: What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
A debut novel in the vein of Liane Moriarty and Tom Perrotta, about dark secrets brought to life after the mysterious death of a handsome and charismatic trainer to the elite women in Santa Monica.

"Part riveting mystery, part incisive domestic drama, Santa Monica is a sharp look at the superficial lives of the pretending-to-be-perfect in gorgeous seaside California, expertly walking the line between satire, suspense and biting social commentary."
—Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and A Good Marriage

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For more great reading suggestions for October, check out our
The deadline to submit your votes is September 1! 
 

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We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!

-Chris

Uncategorized

Don’t Leaf These Fall Books Behind

LJ fall 2020 2 pg ad_final (1)

Check out these upcoming Fall reads that were included in our August Library Journal ad. 

Additional titles not included in the ad:

Find more upcoming HarperCollins titles in our Edelweiss+ catalogs.

-Lainey

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