Author name: Library Love Fest

This week, we welcome James Bailey, author of The Flip Side. He is interviewed by Tessa Woodward, Executive Editor at William Morrow/Avon. They chat about writing a Rom-Com from the male perspective and how they took steps to edit the book for a global audience.

More about The Flip Side, available on November 17, 2020:
Penny wise or pound foolish? A heartbroken young Brit decides to turn his love life over to the flip of a coin—in this delightfully British rom-com in the vein of Jenny Colgan, Rosie Curtis, Nick Hornby, and David Nicholls.

Listen to the interview below:

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Thank you to Tessa and James for coming on the podcast!

-Lainey

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

This month, we are thrilled to share that we have two titles selected for the November LibraryReads List: The Burning God by R. F. Kuang and Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. Additionally, Anthony Horowitz joins the LibraryReads Hall of Fame with the selection of Moonflower Murders!

Want to hear how our authors reacted to being selected for the November LibraryReads List? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast below to hear their responses!

Click here to see the full list!

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The Burning God by R. F. Kuang: The exciting end to
The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

"Bringing her complex Poppy War trilogy to a poignant conclusion, Kuang shines a searing light on the devastating price and valiant sacrifices that warfare requires of all involved."
—Booklist STARRED review

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Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur:
With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer holiday rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!

"Written in the Stars is everything I want from a romcom: fun, whimsical, sexy. This modern Pride and Prejudice glitters with romance."
—Talia Hibbert, USA Today bestselling author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown

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Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz: Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

"Moonflower Murders showcases Horowitz’s full battalion of strengths: the whiplash plotting, the leather-smooth prose, the bold energy…. Sophisticated, literate novels aren’t supposed to be so much fun." 
—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

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Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Magpie Murders (June 2017)
The Word Is Murder (June 2018)

***

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

Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller
For fans of: Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
From the Nebula Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City comes a frightening and uncanny ghost story about a rapidly changing city in upstate New York and the mysterious forces that threaten it.

"A successful 'influencer' photographer returns to the gentrifying hometown that nearly broke him, and all hell breaks loose. The Blade Between is as addictive and brutal as it is smart and challenging. Miller unflinchingly confronts the sins of our past and present. The horrors here are rooted in there being no easy answers despite our individual and collective souls being ultimately at stake. Plus whales!"
—Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and Survivor Song

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LibraryReads Votes Due: November 1, 2020

Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane
For fans of: The Secret She Keeps by HelenKay Dimon
Debut author Darby Kane thrills with this twisty domestic suspense novel that asks one central question: shouldn’t a dead husband stay dead? An atmospheric, smart suspense novel with a fresh spin, Pretty Little Wife will appeal to fans of Tarryn Fisher, Gilly Macmillan, and Liv Constantine.

"Pretty Little Wife is domestic suspense at its best, with a chilling premise that keeps you guessing to the last page. Add Darby Kane to your must-read list!"
—Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times bestselling author of The Butcher's Daughter

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LibraryReads Votes Due: November 1, 2020

Girl Gurl Grrrl by Kenya Hunt
For fans of: Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
In the vein of Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist and Issa Rae’s 
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, but wholly its own, a provocative, humorous, and, at times, heartbreaking collection of essays on what it means to be black, a woman, a mother, and a global citizen in today's ever-changing world.

"From its title and construction to its rhythms and its rigor,
Girl Gurl Grrrl is a radical and magical diasporic curation of love for Black dialect, Black freedom, Black cool, Black culture, Black joy, and mostly-—and specifically—Black women."
—Damon Young, author of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker

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LibraryReads Votes Due: November 1, 2020

Dancing in the Mosque by Homeira Qaderi
For fans of: Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene
An exquisite and inspiring memoir about one mother’s unimaginable choice in the face of oppression and abuse in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

"A modern-day Sophie's Choice, this memoir about a mother's love for her child and country is heartbreaking, but also triumphantly hopeful and inspiring. Thank God for courageous women like Homeira Qaderi."
—Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of The Secrets Between Us

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LibraryReads Votes Due: November 1, 2020

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

-Chris

The library world is absolutely loving Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench. It's our Lead Read title for Fall 2020 and I knew immediately after reading that I would be shouting about it from the rooftops. Hench is The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation. It's a smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower—for good or ill—is a properly executed spreadsheet. Check out a few of the (many) rave reviews:

"Walschots playfully pokes at both office politics and comic book absurdity while offering gripping action and gut-wrenching body horror. The inventive premise, accessible heroine, and biting wit will have readers eager for more from this talented author."
—Publishers Weekly  review

"Smart, witty, and at times bloody, this book will please comic book fans who wish to take a jab at the superhero tropes, as well as readers who enjoy dark humor with a bit of satire tossed into the mix."
—Library Journal  review

"In this refreshing, subversive, and darkly humorous debut novel, poet and journalist Walschots slowly reveals the nuances of her superpower-filled world, keeping readers guessing. Hench reads like a comic without the illustrations and is packed with subplots and rapid-fire wit. With a diverse and inclusive cast of characters, Walschots' original tale performs a brilliant and exciting variation on the superhero trope and is not to be missed."
—Booklist  review

Nancy Pearl also love Hench! She left us a voicemail singing its praises:

I recently had the honor of interviewing Natalie for the podcast. It was so fun to chat about what makes a villain evil, what a hench person has to be willing to overlook to work in an evil office, Millennial office politics, and much more. Take a listen to the interview below:

We mentioned the fun behind-the-book pieces and the "Supercollided" certificate in the recording. You can find those on the Edelweiss page here.

The book is available now—you can see our book birthday celebration with Natalie and her Editor that took place on publication day (September 22nd) on our Door to Door episode. View the video here.

A big thank you to Natalie for coming on the podcast!

-Lainey

We are thrilled to welcome Mandy Robotham, USA Today bestselling author of The German Midwife and The Secret Messenger, to the blog for a guest post. The Berlin Girl is her new historical novel set in 1938 Berlin with England on the brink of war, on sale December 8th, 2020. There will also be a Library Hardcover Edition. 

A few words from Mandy:

***

It’s the smell that always hits first for me—somewhere between the delicious agedness of a second-hand book shop and the crisp fresh pages of a book store. Since my childhood, libraries have delivered that heady cocktail odor, triggering an anticipation of the search through shelves, and then the find—the texture of the slightly weathered cover, sometimes jacketed in plastic. Then, if like me, you are of a certain age you will remember the clunk of the date stamp on the inside leaf and the joy of temporary ownership—mine to devour for two whole weeks! Stories to absorb and bank; me as a caretaker of words.

Libraries features among my earliest memories, when in my nursery school we took turns in marching crocodile fashion over a small field to our local branch to select story books for the week—such a responsibility! Then, the school library as I grew, followed by the monolithic university library where plenty of socializing was done, and sometimes very little work. Just being surrounded by books was enough to inspire.

I marveled from a young age at the ability of writers to sustain a story—that they could engage and excite someone’s attention with words, a jumble of letters that simply spiraled out of their heads and landed in a new and thrilling order! I wanted to be that storyteller for as long as I can remember. Waylaid for many years by life, journalism and midwifery, I got there in the end, and nothing pleases me more to know that others might now be date stamping my books (albeit electronically), to read words that spilled from my fingers. It makes me smile every day.    

As a writer, I regularly spend time in the fabulous British Library in London’s King’s Cross, taking a large breath as I go in and marvel at the resources, feeding off the hush as people toil and read and tap on their laptops. In researching my third novel, The Berlin Girl, I spent several days leafing through a whole eighteen-months of the now defunct British newspaper, the News Chronicle, page by page—heavy on the eyes but a perfect way to gauge the country’s feeling of pre-war anxieties.

It’s not always work that sends me on a library pilgrimage; any visit to a foreign city means tracking down a library or two—the main branch of the New York Public Library, with no other purpose than to marvel at its vast, grandiose nature (and a sniff or two, of course), and the equally impressive Boston Public Library. It helps if they have a nice café, in which to sit and marinate in the soup of so many books.

I hope we never lose sight of a place where thoughts and philosophies are certain of a safe haven, where the scribed word has value. Because libraries worldwide are so much more than just bricks and mortar, whether they be very grand, or plain and simple; they mean something—full of people, alive and dead, sentiments that are ancient but still relevant. And we should strive to keep that spirit of the printed page alive for our children and grandchildren in this age of the screen.

Long live libraries, I say (and please can we bottle that smell?).

Cheerio, Mandy x

***

Thank you, Mandy!

We recently had opportunity to call Mandy in the UK and record a podcast interview with Affiliate Publisher at HarperCollins 360, Jean Marie Kelly. Listen to the podcast episode below.

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Be sure to get your LibraryReads votes in by November 1st! 

-Lainey

Happy book birthday to Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, on sale today! There are so many incredible developments for this breakout novel, including the announcement that it is a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction! Leave the World Behind was also just announced as Today's Read with Jenna Book Club Pick for October. You can watch the Today announcement below!

We cannot wait to host Rumaan on Door to Door next Tuesday, October 13th at 2pm ET! Click here to sign up for the official Facebook event!

The list of praise for this suspenseful, bracingly insightful novel is a mile long. Check out some of the buzz below!

• Barnes & Noble has announced Leave the World Behind for its October Book Club selection! Read about it here and watch an exclusive video from Rumaan Alam!
• The New Yorker's review called Leave the World Behind "enthralling."
• USA Today included Leave the World Behind in its "5 Books not to miss" feature and gave it a glowing review. 
• Leave the World Behind has also received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, who said,"Alam brilliantly captures the shift in dynamics between the two families, from apprehension about each other to a collective front against an external entity. The narrative’s increasing tempo expertly dives into subtle yet incisive intersections between class and race…"

We also had a chance to interview Rumaan for the Library Love Fest Podcast. You can listen below!

Congratulations, Rumaan!

-Chris

We are so excited for the publication of The Souvenir Museum, a new collection of short stories from award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken, publishing on April 13, 2021.

In these stories, the mysterious bonds of family are tested, transformed, fractured, and fortified. A recent widower and his adult son ferry to a craggy Scottish island in search of puffins. An actress who plays a children’s game-show villainess ushers in the New Year with her deadbeat half brother. A mother, pining for her children, feasts on loaves of challah to fill the void. A new couple navigates a tightrope walk toward love. And on a trip to a Texas water park with their son, two fathers each confront a personal fear. 

With sentences that crackle and spark and showcase her trademark wit, McCracken traces how our closely held desires—for intimacy, atonement, comfort—bloom and wither against the indifferent passing of time. Her characters embark on journeys that leave them indelibly changed—and so do her readers. The Souvenir Museum showcases the talents of one of our finest contemporary writers as she tenderly takes the pulse of our collective and individual lives.

Oprah.com recently posted one of the short stories, "Two Sad Clowns," calling it "a hilariously surreal romantic comedy." Read the full short story excerpt here.

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-Lainey

In May 2020 we published a terrific book by TV pioneers Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue. This dynamic duo traversed the country, interviewing 40 famous couples, looking for the ‘secret sauce’ that explained why their marriages lasted. The result is What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life. 

These couples ranged in age, length of marriage, and career background. The interviews yielded personal and honest answers that not only offer an inside look into the lives of the famous, but they also provide a resource for getting through the tough times.

Actors, singers, politicians, presidents. They’re all represented in this book.

I was fortunate to interview Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue for our Facebook Live program. It was an incredible hour and I learned a lot.

Putting this book together seemed to me an enormous undertaking and I wanted to know how the authors managed such a Herculean task. I recently spoke with the editor, Shannon Welch, Executive Editor at HarperOne, who shared some interesting stories about compiling these interviews.

Listen to the podcast interview with Shannon Welch below as well as some highlights from the interview with Marlo and Phil.

Enjoy!

-Virginia

Watch our Door to Door episode:

Watch on  : https://youtu.be/78GQV8lvhUU

On Tuesday, September 22nd, we were thrilled to welcome authors Clare McHugh / 
A Most English Princess and Natalie Zina Walschots / Hench on Door to Door. Both Clare and Natalie were celebrating their debut book birthdays, so to add to the festivities, we invited their editors on the program to interview them. You can watch the replay above and keep reading to learn more about these fantastic debut novels!

About A Most English Princess by Clare McHugh: Perfect for fans of the BBC's Victoria, Alison Pataki's The Accidental Empress, and Daisy Goodwin's Victoria, this debut novel tells the gripping and tragic story of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal.

"A most fascinating read…. Kudos to Ms. McHugh for giving us a fresh perspective on the life of Vicky, Princess Royal."
—Allaboutromance.com (Click here to read the full review)

Purchase your copy of A Most English Princess by Clare McHugh

About Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots: The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower—for good or ill—is a properly executed spreadsheet.

"Anna is a villain’s henchman, or a 'hench,' one of the countless factotums, gofers, grunts, peons, warm bodies that villains use to do their evil bidding. In Natalie Zina Walschots’s witty and inventive first novel, these workers are treated as expendable, often melted or bisected in crossfire, ground under the boots of superheroes in the name of law and order."

—New York Times (Click here to read the full review)

Purchase your copy of Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

-Chris

This week's podcast episode features a conversation between Annie Lyons, author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, and LLF's own Virginia Stanley. Virginia has been a champion of this book from the start and this conversation feels like you are listening in on a chat between two friends. Take a listen to the podcast below and then be sure to watch the replay from our past Door to Door Facebook Live episode with Annie.

More about The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, available now:

Infused with the emotional power of Me Before You and the irresistible charm of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Be Frank with Me, a moving and joyous novel about an elderly woman ready to embrace death and the little girl who reminds her what it means to live.

Check out these reviews:

Hello librarians!

Who's going to Library Journal's Day of Dialog event on Friday, September 25th? If you haven't yet signed up for this free, all-day event, you can still register here. Join us for egalley giveaways, author panels, and so much more!

Below, you will find our full author speaking schedule, with links to egalleys so you can read ahead. 

We can't wait to see you there!

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

***

Author Booth Chats!

11:40am-12:00pm ET
Russell Banks, author of Foregone

About Foregone: A searing novel about memory, abandonment, and betrayal—and a man’s end-of-life need for forgiveness and redemption—from the acclaimed and bestselling Russell Banks.

"Russell Banks is, word for word, idea for idea, one of the great American novelists. Foregone is a book about not coming to a conclusion.  Banks presents us with a series of mirrors, some of them broken, some of them intact, and all of them wildly reflective of our times.   It is a book about the shifting shapes of memory and the chimerical nature of our lives."  
 —Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin

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2:20-2:40pm ET
Nancy Johnson, author of The Kindest Lie

About The Kindest Lie:For fans of Tayari Jones and Jacqueline Woodson, a thought-provoking, page-turning debut about race, class, identity, and the pursuit of the American dream.

"The Kindest Lie is a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, what secrets we owe to those we love, and what it means to grow up Black. Does our past become the skeleton upon which our future fleshes out—or can we erase our beginnings? This beautifully crafted debut will keep you asking these questions and more."
—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways and Small Great Things

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Program Speakers!

Mystery Panel
9:30-10:30am ET
SJ Bennett, author of The Windsor Knot

About The Windsor Knot: The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties, perfect for fans of The Crown.

Read SJ Bennett's Behind the Book Essay!

"Hilarious, affectionate, and so well observed… I loved it."
—Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

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Additional Mystery Panel authors:
• Charles Finch, An Extravagant Death, Minotaur: Macmillan 
• Anna Porter, Deceptions, ECW Press
• Qiu Xiaolong, Hold Your Breath, 
China, Severn House Publishers 
• Jeri Westerson, Spiteful Bones, Severn House Publishers

About The Captive: A rural noir about a woman on a pulse-pounding expedition to deliver a fugitive—and forced to confront her own past on the journey.

"Fiona Foster has written a tension-wire novel, suspenseful from the first line to the last. A story about a fractured country quickly transforms into a study of the ways in which the darkest parts of our history follow us around like shadows."
—Omar El Akkad, author of American War

About We Run the Tides: An achingly beautiful and wickedly funny story of female friendship, betrayal, and a mysterious disappearance, set in the changing landscape of San Francisco.

"There’s violence lurking here, but also humor (it’s funny!), also love. This is one of the best novels about girlhood and female friendship I’ve ever read."  
—Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes

 

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Additional Book Club Bests Panel authors:
•Ali Benjamin, The Smash-Up, Random: Penguin Random House
•Janet Skeslien Charles, The Paris Library, S. & S.: Simon & Schuster
•Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Burning, Ballantine: Penguin Random House
•Morgan Rogers, Honey Girl, Park Row: Harlequin

Literary Fiction 2 Panel
4:00-5:15pm ET
Andrew J. Graff, author of Raft of Stars
 

About Raft of Stars: An instant classic for fans of Jane Smiley and Kitchens of the Great Midwest: when two hardscrabble young boys think they’ve committed a crime, they flee into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. 

"In ruggedly beautiful prose, and with a deep affection for his damaged, but always lovable characters, Graff delivers a novel with real heart and soul." 
—Nickolas Butler, author of Little Faith

 

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Additional Literary Fiction 2 Panel authors:
•Brandon Hobson, The Removed, Ecco: HarperCollins 
•Imbolo Mbue, How Beautiful We Were, Random: Penguin Random House
•Susan Mihalic, Dark Horses, Gallery/Scout Press: Simon & Schuster 
•Kirstin Valdez Quade, The Five Wounds, Norton: W. W. Norton 
•E. Lily Yu, On Fragile Waves, Erewhon: Workman

Literary Fiction 2 Panel
4:00-5:15pm ET
Brandon Hobson, author of The Removed

About The Removed: Steeped in Cherokee myths and history, a novel about a fractured family reckoning with the tragic death of their son long ago—from National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.

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Additional Literary Fiction 2 Panel authors:
•Andrew J. Graff, Raft of Stars, Ecco: HarperCollins 
•Imbolo Mbue, How Beautiful We Were, Random: Penguin Random House
•Susan Mihalic, Dark Horses, Gallery/Scout Press: Simon & Schuster 
•Kirstin Valdez Quade, The Five Wounds, Norton: W. W. Norton 
•E. Lily Yu, On Fragile Waves, Erewhon: Workman

Help and Inspiration Panel
4:00-5:15pm ET
Amy Chan, author of Breakup Bootcamp
 

About Breakup Bootcamp: A self-affirming, holistic guide to transforming heartbreak into healing by the founder of the innovative and revolutionary Renew Breakup Bootcamp.

"This is what Chan is passionate about—digging deep into women’s wounds and rewiring their hearts and minds for the future."
—Marie Claire (Australia)

 

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Additional Help and Inspiration Panel authors: 
•Jeff Belanger, The Call of Kilimanjaro, Imagine: Charlesbridge
•Molly Galbraith, Strong Women Lift Each Other Up, Harper Horizon: HarperCollins Focus
•Kirsteen MacLeon, In Praise of Retreats, ECW Press 
•Katie Russell Newland, A Season with Mom, Harper Horizon: HarperCollins Focus 
•Kelly Rippon, Parent Up, Sourcebooks

 

 

And So Much More!

Be sure to visit the Library Love Fest Team at the HarperCollins Publishers booth for giveaways, chats, book club resources, and so much more!

Register for Library Journal's Day of Dialog here. It's free!

 

-Chris

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

This month, we are thrilled to share that we have FOUR titles selected for the October LibraryReads List: Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam, Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth, and Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade! Congratulations to these wonderful authors!

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

Click here to see the full list.

***

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy: 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.

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

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam: A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

"Alam brilliantly captures the shift in dynamics between the two families, from apprehension about each other to a collective front against an external entity. The narrative’s increasing tempo expertly dives into subtle yet incisive intersections between class and race, since the vacationers are white, and G. H. and Ruth are Black. Alam's novel lobs a series of unsettling questions: How will we react to the next nebulous horror? How will we parent? What will we define as home?"
—Booklist review

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Listen to our podcast interview with Rumaan Alam!

Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth: 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.

"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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman

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Watch emily m. danforth's guest appearance on Door to Door!

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: 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.

"With considerable empathy and a generous helping of snarky wit, Dade invites readers into the fascinating world of fan fiction while at the same time deftly addressing some serious topics—body image issues and dyslexia—within the context of a scorchingly sexy contemporary romance… a force to reckon with in the romance genre."
—Booklist review

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***

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

Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

We are so excited to celebrate the publication day of The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah, on sale today! This new installment in the Hercule Poirot mystery series finds the legendary detective and star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile summoned to the Kingfisher Hill estate where multiple people confess to a murder they couldn't possibly have committed.

Sophie Hannah joined us on July 30th on Door to Door to discuss The Killings at Kingfisher Hill and all things Agatha Christie. You can watch the replay below! 

Also check out some of the praise The Killings at Kingfisher Hill has received!

• CrimeReads included the book in their "12 Books You Should Read in September" Roundup.   
                                      
• Booklist reviewed the book and gave it the following praise: "Readers will feel steeped in the environs of upper-middle-class England of days past, the chill emanating from a dysfunctional family, and the torture of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons as they enjoy Catchpool's exasperation and Poirot's genius-at-work sensibilities…. Recommend this to board-game aficionados as well as to fans of Christie and Hannah."
• Publishers Weekly gave it a STARRED review: "Bestseller Hannah displays her superior ability to devise mind-blowing setups in her fourth authorized continuation of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series…. Fans of classic fair-play puzzle mysteries will clamor for more."
• BookPage raved: "Author Sophie Hannah made a name for herself with clever, dark and intricately plotted standalone thrillers… It is no small undertaking to follow in the footsteps of Christie, but Hannah nails it in her latest, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill. The tone is pitch-perfect, the mystery aspect is as convoluted as anything ever crafted by Hannah’s predecessor."

Congratulations to Sophie Hannah for this wonderful achievement! You can get your copy of The Killings at Kingfisher Hill here.

-Chris

New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman's My Life as a Villainess is a collection of her recent essays exploring motherhood as an older mom, her life as a reader, her relationships with her parents, friendship, and other topics that will resonate with a large audience. Her voice is wry and relatable, her takes often surprising.

My Life as a Villainess is now available in Library Hardcover Edition! 

There are so many rave reviews:

"Candid and quirky, this book will have special appeal to fans of her crime fiction. A wryly observed collection from a reliably good writer."
—Kirkus Reviews

"…compelling and clever self-interrogation."
—Los Angeles Times

"Lippman’s revelations about herself and her life are refreshingly candid and imbued with a seriously robust overtone of humor, a double-barreled approach that dovetails nicely with Lippman’s self-description of being 'gleefully honest.'"
—Boston Globe

"The essays, some new, some previously published, are overall a delight…Fans of Lippman’s novels (The Lady in the Lake) and her Twitter followers will gobble up this short collection and beg for more nonfiction from this gifted storyteller."
—Library Journal

"She revels in confession and connection, surprise and provocation, and she performs all with panache, wisdom, wit, and courage. Lippman asserts: “I’m a tough old bird,” and readers will declare: and one helluva true-tale teller."
—Booklist

"With its 'gleefully honest' hits of humor and willingness to take a close look at some discomfiting truths, it will come as no surprise to Lippman’s fans that My Life as a Villainess is an engaging read—an intrepid investigation of the author’s inner landscape…"
—BookPage

“Lippman contributes an appealingly candid voice to the literary conversation.”
—Publishers Weekly

Watch our interview with Laura Lippman from our Door to Door episode:

Take a look at an excerpt from the book here.

Listen to a clip from the audio book:

Hello, librarians! We hope you all are enjoying these last days of summer. Like you, we are deep into our fall reading, with no shortage of fantastic books on the TBR pile. Below, you will find our staff suggestions for the November LibraryReads List. As a reminder: votes for the November LibraryReads List are due October 1st! 

Enjoy!

***

The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem
For fans of: Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller and
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
From the award-winning author of The Feral Detective and Motherless Brooklyn comes an utterly original postapocalyptic yarn about two siblings, the man that came between them, and a nuclear-powered super car.

"An impeccably executed, moving, and wildly inventive tale of madness and narrative at the end of the world. Lethem is at the top of his game." 
—Emily St. John Mandel, bestselling author of The Glass Hotel and Station Eleven

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Watch Jonathan Lethem's guest appearance on Door to Door!

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
For fans of: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert and
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer holiday rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!

"Readers will be rapt by the sensuous love scenes once Darcy and Elle throw pretense aside…. while astrology memes ('What brunch food are you based on your zodiac?') and nods to Pride and Prejudice scattered throughout add texture. This is a delight."
—Publishers Weekly  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Listen to a podcast interview with Alexandria Bellefleur!

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Also from the author: The Sentence Is Death and 
The Word Is Murder 
Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

"Moonflower Murders showcases Horowitz’s full battalion of strengths: the whiplash plotting, the leather-smooth prose, the bold energy…and above all, the bright spark of joy that ignites the best fiction—the joy of a storyteller finding brave new ways to dazzle his audience. Sophisticated, literate novels aren’t supposed to be so much fun."
—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Eartheater by Dolores Reyes
For fans of: The Affairs of the Falcóns by Melissa Rivero
Electrifying and provocative, visceral and profound, a powerful literary debut novel about a young woman whose compulsion to eat earth gives her visions of murdered and missing people—an imaginative synthesis of mystery and magical realism that explores the dark tragedies of ordinary lives.

"A powerful story whose narrator wields brutally honest observations on the intersections of class, poverty, and gender…. A stirring genre blend of fantasy and crime fiction that combines graceful prose and magic realism."
—Booklist  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Orchard by David Hopen
For fans of: Trust Exercise by Susan Choi and
The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon
A commanding debut and a poignant coming-of-age story about a devout Jewish high school student whose plunge into the secularized world threatens everything he knows of himself.

"This is a brilliantly conceived and crafted coming-of-age novel of ideas, replete with literary and philosophical references, many of them Judaic. Indeed, the novel almost demands familiarity with Judaism, its culture, rituals, and vocabulary. Happily, though, this doesn’t compromise in any way the larger metaphysical meanings of the novel…. [An] unforgettable novel."
—Booklist  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Lady Brewer of London by Karen Brooks
For fans of: The Girl from The Savoy by Hazel Gaynor
Set in fifteenth-century England, an unforgettable historical tale of a brilliant woman’s defiance, courage, and ingenuity—from the author of The Locksmith’s Daughter and The Chocolate Maker’s Wife.

Praise for The Chocolate Maker's Wife: "A sweeping tale brimming with historical details and figures…[this] sumptuous novel covers five eventful years that include a dreadful plague and the Great Fire of London."
—Booklist

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Flip Side by James Bailey
For fans of: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and
One Day by David Nicholls
Penny wise or pound foolish? A heartbroken young Brit decides to turn his love life over to the flip of a coin—in this delightfully British rom-com in the vein of Jenny Colgan, Rosie Curtis, and Nick Hornby.

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
For fans of: Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss
A gritty and darkly hilarious novel quaking with life—winner of Australia’s Miles Franklin Award—that follows a queer, First Nations Australian woman as she returns home to face her family and protect the land of their ancestors.

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Transatlantic Book Club
by Felicity Hayes-McCoy
For fans of: Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan
The beloved author of The Mistletoe Matchmaker returns with an enchanting, cozy new novel, perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Nina George, and Nancy Thayer, about residents of Ireland's Finfarran Peninsula who set up a Skype book club with the little US town of Resolve, where generations of Finfarran's emigrants have settled.

"I was utterly charmed—a pitch-perfect delight."
—Marian Keyes, bestselling author of Watermelon and The Break

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Fossil Men by Kermit Pattison
For fans of: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
by Steve Brusatte
A behind-the-scenes account of the discovery of the oldest skeleton of a human ancestor, named "Ardi"—a find that shook the world of paleoanthropology and radically altered our understanding of human evolution.

"Compelling science centered on a polarizing personality, this is perfect for National Geographic readers who want to dig deep into the human evolutionary tree."
—Library Journal

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Little Wishes by Michelle Adams
Also from the author: Between the Lies and 
If You Knew My Sister
For anyone who loves One Day in December and Me Before You, a sweeping love story, written with tenderness, warmth, and a generosity of spirit, about first love and second chances, a lifelong dream and finding the courage to follow your heart.

"A story of love long postponed but never forgotten, Little Wishes is a tale to be treasured. Michelle's Adam's lovely, luminous writing is a beacon that draws readers closer and brings them home to the lasting truths about life and love."
—Marie Bostwick, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 
The Restoration of Celia Fairchild

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Greatest Beer Run Ever
by John "Chick" Donohue and J. T. Molloy
For fans of: Smokejumper by Jason A. Ramos
Soon to be a major motion picture written and directed by Peter Farrelly, who won two Academy Awards for Green Book—a wildly entertaining, feel-good memoir of an Irish-American New Yorker and former U.S. marine who embarked on a courageous, hare-brained scheme to deliver beer to his pals serving Vietnam in the late 1960s.

"Donohue’s memoir is a fascinating, vividly narrated recollection of the chaos of the Vietnam war."
—Publishers Weekly  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

The Burning God by R. F. Kuang
For fans of: The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

Praise for The Dragon Republic: "Kuang has created a young woman torn by her connections to friends and family, searching for love and belonging, and given power beyond her imagining. Her story is unforgettable."
—Library Journal  review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Earth Keeper by N. Scott Momaday
Also from the author: The Death of Sitting Bear and 
House Made of Dawn
A beautifully written and poignant tribute to the Earth, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday.

"Short but satisfying…. Using lyrical, heartfelt language, [Momaday] looks back on a life lived close to nature, and on the joy that natural wonders have given him…. At a time when bad news is in plentiful supply, readers will find Momaday’s words refreshing and comforting in their sincerity."
—Publishers Weekly

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas
For fans of: The Child by Fiona Barton and
I Found You by Lisa Jewell
From the award-winning author of The Sisters, Local Girl Missing, and Last Seen Alive, comes a taut psychological thriller in which family secrets and hidden pasts build to a violent climax in a guesthouse among the idyllic Welsh mountains.

Praise for Last Seen Alive: "Fast-paced and chock-full of twists, Last Seen Alive is both absorbing and gripping. After reading it you’ll never dream of a house swap again."
—Paula Daly, author of The Mistake I Made

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

Dearly by Margaret Atwood
For fans of: Devotions by Mary Oliver and
The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins
A new book of poetry from internationally acclaimed, award-winning and bestselling author Margaret Atwood.

In Dearly, Margaret Atwood’s first collection of poetry in over a decade, Atwood addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature and—zombies. Her new poetry is introspective and personal in tone, but wide-ranging in topic. In poem after poem, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived.

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LibraryReads Votes Due: October 1, 2020

***

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

-Chris

This February at the Public Library Association conference in Nashville, legendary authors—and real-life best friends—Ann Patchett and Kevin Wilson sat down to record a conversation for the PLA Virtual Conference. We are so lucky to have this audio to share on our podcast episode this week. It's a really intimate, candid talk with two really close friends and I hope you take some time to listen. They discuss how they met, the writing process, and how they are—first and foremost—readers. What better time than now—as we celebrate the paperback release of Nothing to See Here—to share this audio with you!

Listen to the episode here:

Both The Dutch House and Nothing to See Here are Today show #ReadWithJenna Picks. Find out more about this book club here.

The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a New York Times Bestseller. It has been named TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2019, included in Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, a Kirkus Best of 2019 pick, NPR's Best Books of 2019, and a Women's Prize for Fiction Finalist. It's a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.

Nothing to See Here is a New York Times Bestseller and has been named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar. It is now available in paperback! This novel is moving and uproarious, following a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with a remarkable ability.

Lots of love for this one:

“Wilson captures the wrenching emotions of caring for children in this exceptional, and exceptionally hilarious, novel.”
—Publishers Weekly review

“Lillian tells the story, revealing immediately that she’s another of Wilson’s normal extraordinary protagonists…. She fills the book with her wry humor and large, embracing heart.”
—Booklist

A big thank you to PLA for supplying this audio and allowing us to share. 

-Lainey

"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 review

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

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

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

-Lainey

We 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

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

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

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.

From 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:

—Booklist  review