A Bookish Miscellany

This week's roundup is a departure from my norm. Besides my weekly book list, I want to tell you about a couple bookish events this month plus alert you to a super podcast. So let's jump right in.

For Audiobook Fans

It's November, which means it's one of the biggest travel months of the year. And you know what I like to do when driving or flying? That's right, I listen to a good audiobook, which makes the time zip on by and the trip that much more fun.

If you're not sure what to listen to next or which audiobooks to pack for your holiday travel, put aside your worries. The Audiobook Publishers Association teamed up with 21 bloggers, who have some great listening recommendations and who are offering one of their readers the chance to win 8 audiobooks. Visit the APA's website to get the list of participating bloggers. Don't be shy, enter for a chance to win. Good luck!

If you need even more audiobook recommendations, be sure to tune in to AudioFile Magazine's new podcast, Behind the Mic. The podcast airs every weekday and is available via whatever podcast app you use and whatever operating system you like.

The really cool thing about this podcast is that it lasts only about 5 minutes! Each episode (they're up to about 60 now) focuses on a single book, which means you can listen quickly whenever you have a spare moment: while getting ready for work in the morning, when settling into your office for the day, or while walking to your car at lunchtime. Check out the list of available episodes and get ready to add to your wish list.

Giving the Gift of Reading

It's that time of year when we're reminded to be grateful for what we have and to give to those who are less fortunate. Zulily and Penguin Random House have once again joined forces to provide books to children in need.

When shopping for books for the kids on your holiday list, be sure visit the Zulily website or app and look for the Buy One, Give One banner. For every book you buy, Penguin Random House will donate one book to First Book, which provides quality books to families, children, and classrooms across the country. Here is a list of holiday books that are part of this generous program.

Borrowing Books

This week's roundup is quick look at some random books I have checked out of the library.

The Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Ace, February 2018): This is the first in an epic fantasy trilogy that a friend of mine told me about. Here's the short blurb from the publisher: "A brand-new epic fantasy trilogy about a girl of rare talents who enters a convent to learn the art of combat and is drawn into a battle for empire." I didn't want to research the book too much (for fear of spoilers), but I think the main character is harboring secrets and powers. Reviews have been mostly glowing, noting that the world and concept are fresh. Most also mention how quickly they were drawn to the characters and their plight. I'm intrigued by the fighting nuns! Book two is already out and the final installment is just a few months away.

My Twenty-Five Years in Provence by Peter Mayle (Knopf, June 2018): you may recall that I reviewed this memoir in September. So why did I wait in the library hold line to get a copy of the book? I listened to the unabridged audiobook for a review assignment, which meant I missed out on the photographs that were included in the memoir. The library ebook became available just yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to flip through it, but I plan on spending an hour or so this weekend just looking at the pictures. As much as I love audiobooks, I hate missing out on the visuals and wish audiobook publishers would include PDFs of the illustrations.

The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson (Viking, April 2018): Speaking of missing out on visuals, I held off starting the audiobook of this true-crime story because I wanted to see the photos while I was listening. This book is about an obsessed American fly-tier who stole 299 rare bird carcasses from a branch of the British Natural History Museum. Why? So he could sell the feathers to fellow fly-fishing enthusiasts and make a fortune. What was so devastating about this strange crime is that many of the birds were collected over 150 years ago by the famous naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Johnson, also a fly-fisherman, became fascinated with this story and wanted to know more about Edwin Rist, the music student who became a feather thief. The book won all kinds of starred reviews, and I'm really looking forward to being able to view the photographs while listening to this weird twenty-first-century heist.

At My Table by Nigella Lawson (Flatiron, April 2018): I have a major weakness for cookbooks. In an effort to feign restraint, I've developed the habit of delaying buying a new one until I've had a chance to check it out of the library or at least look through it at the store. Last week one of my Weekend Cooking participants wrote about Nigella's newest cookbook, and I couldn't resist taking a look. I've gone through this cookbook only very quickly, but it looks like it's focused--as the subtitle says--on home cooking and geared to cooks of a variety of skill levels. There are about 275 recipes that take you from breakfast to cocktail hour drinks and nibbles all the way through to after-dinner dessert. The photographs are stunning, and I'm afraid I can already tell that this is a must-own book. There are a couple of fall/winter recipes that are calling my name, such as a beet and goat cheese salad and a pork with prunes dinner. God save my wallet. Full review sometime in the future.

Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth (Penguin, June 2011): Not long ago a friend of mine recommended a mystery series set in Aix-en-Provence, featuring a chief magistrate and his law professor girlfriend. I love the concept and setting of these mysteries. It's the south of France! I expect to read about the beautiful countryside, good wine, and excellent food . . . n'est-ce pas? In this first installment we meet the investigators and learn of the importance of an excellent neighborhood cafe. Oh, and there's the murder of the count and whodunit puzzle. Reviewers comment on the vivid descriptions of the town, the chateau, and the secondary characters. I always seem to find room to add just one more series to my reading list.

I'm not quite sure who the library gods are, but I do know they like to play with me. No matter how spread out I make my library requests, all the books always seem to become available within a few days of each other. I waited months for some of these, and others I got right away. In any case, I'd better get reading or resign myself to the sadness that is returning books to library before I've had a chance to read them.

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Got Litsy? Interview with Co-Founder Todd Lawton

You've all heard me rave about the book-lovers app Litsy, where I and many members of the online book community share our thoughts about the books we read and the books we want to read.

Many of you also know that the app was developed by Todd Lawton and Jeff LeBlanc (pictured below) from Out of Print, which is where you can find very fun book-related clothing, mugs, pouches, and more. (I really need to buy myself a few pairs of their super-cool book-themed socks!)

If you haven't yet had a chance to look into Litsy, it's an app that lets you rate books, share your thoughts, and talk to other readers. I like using the app because it combines some of my favorite things: books, the book community, social media, and photography. My Litsy user name is @BethFishReads, what's yours?

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Litsy co-founder Todd Lawton. I tried to think of all the questions you might have in regard to the book community and how the app is currently being used. In addition, I took the opportunity to find out what's in store for the future (pay attention Android users!), and I'm very happy about the projected new features.

Help me welcome Todd to Beth Fish Reads. Pour your self a cup of your favorite drink, sit down, and listen in (read in?) to our conversation.

ME: One of the things I really like about Litsy is how easy it is to connect with people through our shared love of books. Although the app has been called a combination of Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram, Litsy is really an entity all of its own. What are some of the ways readers have used the app's features to combine their love of reading with photography and the online community?

TODD: We think the best way to share and talk about books is through many moments we have with them—not just our final thoughts or reviews. Litsy is a platform where readers can be as spontaneous and fun as they want to be. We're thrilled to see the community create new ways within Litsy to express their "Lit-Lives"—by creating book clubs, powering read-a-thons, creating photo communitywide campaigns, sharing book hauls and lists, and hearing from authors that they want to use Litsy while on book tours. We're learning so much about what readers want from Litsy just by the new ways they are "hacking" the experience to create new uses and functionality. We love it!

ME: I love it too, especially some of the memes, such as @Liberty's Fun Friday Photo, which has a weekly theme, and TBR Tuesday, in which users celebrate the books they're excited about.

Social media is, of course, all about communicating with others, and I've been enjoying how the commenting feature of Litsy is used to start conversations, ask questions, and share thoughts about books. What are some of the unique things you've seen in the comments?

TODD: It seems counterintuitive, but limiting the number of characters allowed in posts and comments translates to more conversations being created and reacted to. We're seeing many people ask questions in their posts or make open-ended statements. These posts get a lot of comments. Personally, I have been surprised by how much reaction is generated when a reader marks a book as "bail" in their review. As far as we know, we're the first to include the action of not completing a book in a rating system. Every book moment, the good and the bad, is an opportunity to start a conversation on Litsy.

ME: I think the bail rating is brilliant. People have been using it silently or have used it as a way to talk about why a book wasn't for them. I also like "spoiler alert" feature. This is so great because it allows readers to talk about specific scenes or the ending of a book without ruining anything for others. Both posts and comments can be hidden until you, the user, decide to tap and read.

I love taking photographs, so I was instantly attracted that feature of Litsy. When you decided to include photographs with the app, how did you anticipate readers would use that feature? What has surprised you about how readers incorporate photographs?

TODD: We started Litsy on the shoulders of a literary merchandise company that largely specialized in uncovering and celebrating iconic book art, called Out of Print. With Litsy, we wanted to continue to celebrate the visual nature and joy of reading as much as the verbal. Sharing a personally stylized picture of a book cover is much more appealing than something we can suggest from a digital database. I love seeing Litsy posts with stacks of books after a book haul or to share a reading list. There's a lot of cool ways people are highlighting quotes off a printed or digital page as well.

ME: Over the last few months I've also noticed a change in the types of photographs people share. At first many photos were simply conventional book covers. Now, however, we're seeing scenery, the ocean, the kids' baseball practice, and other non-book photos. So much fun.

Although I love thinking about and setting up photographs to accompany my Litsy posts, I think it's great that users don't have to include a photo if they don't want to. I've noticed that there is no obligation or pressure to have to use your camera app (or the built-in Litsy feature). I was curious if you know about how many posts go up without an accompanying photo.

TODD: Between 25 and 30 percent of posts go up with a photo.

ME: I think that's awesome. I love it that people can join in the fun of Litsy without the need to snap a pic. So if someone isn't the photographing type, he won't be alone. No need to hold back on downloading the app.

Now let's take a look into the future. So far the Litsy app is available only for iOs, where it has seen rapid growth. As the app becomes more popular, I know two of the biggest questions my readers have are, When is Litsy coming to Android? and Will there be a web version?

TODD: You can look for the Android app sometime in July or August. Our website will launch this fall.

ME: Great news! I can't wait until everyone has access to Litsy. I'm looking forward to even more great book-related conversation.

I like the simplicity of Litsy and how easy and intuitive it is to use, right from the start. But, of course, everyone has her own little wish list of future features. Here are two items on mine: an audiobook icon (and audiobooks showing up in the search) and a way to make lists or collections. Are either of these in Litsy's future? What other features can users expect to see in the coming year?

TODD: There are a lot of audiobook lovers out there. We definitely have it marked as an area to focus on. In the near term, we will be adding more discovery and explore options—better ways to connect with like-minded readers and trending books, genres, etc. Push notifications are high on our list. Our view is that Litsy exists to be a reader's companion and to create joy. We're most excited by the functions and experiences we can add to make book talk more fun. If you're on Litsy and like what's happening today, you’re going to love what’s to come.

ME: I can't wait to see what the future will bring.

Okay, I just have to ask: Who is the Litsy poet who writes your update notes? I love reading them. [If you haven't read the update notes, you're missing out!]

TODD: That tradition was started by our co-founder, Jeff (his many talents never cease to amaze us), but we’re lucky to have another brilliant writer who has penned an update text or two.

ME: Thanks so much, Todd. It was fun to talk with you about one of my favorite places to chat about my love of books and reading. You can find me there off and on throughout the day as (oh shock) @BethFishReads.

If you want to know more about Todd and Jeff, read the stories at Tech Crunch and Publishers Weekly. For more on the app itself, visit the Litsy site. For questions or just to say hi to the Litsy people, follow them on Twitter where they're @getlitsy.

Be sure to set up your account and join the community. I'd love to see you there.

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BEA 2014 Book Group Speed Dating Sesson: Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to one of my favorite BEA sessions—Book Group Speed Dating, presented by Reading Group Guides—and talked about the books presented by Bloomsbury USA, Henry Holt, Grove Atlantic, and Hachette Book Group. Today, I cover the remaining three publishers who visited my table.

To recap: During the session, representatives from the major publishing companies and imprints present their top recommendations for readers looking for the perfect book club selection. Here are the books I learned about (with my summary) and my top pick from each presentation (with the publisher's summary).

Penguin Group USA

• The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood: mystery/thriller; the six residents of a boarding house all harbor secrets, but one of them is also a killer; which of group has been chosen to be the next victim?
• On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee: dystopian; a woman leaves the safety of her government-protected city to search for her missing lover and discovers what life is like in the wilds of America.
• The Look of Love by Sarah Jio: contemporary fiction/fantasy; a young woman, born on Christmas Day, has the ability to see love; what happens when she falls for a pragmatic scientist?
• Mrs. Lincoln's Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini: historical fiction; the relationship between Mary Todd Lincoln and Kate Chase, daughter of 1864 presidential hopeful Salmon P. Chase.

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes: historical fiction; based on the true story of the author's grandparents; after World War II, 650 Australian war brides crossed the oceans to the UK to join their soldier husbands. From the publisher's summary:

1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime.

In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England—aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted—forever.

Picador

• Dark Aemilia by Sally O'Reilly: historical fiction; in Queen Elizabeth's England Aemilia Bassano is the daughter of a musician and a poet in her own right who draws the eye of both the queen and Shakespeare.
• The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman: contemporary (literary) fiction; dating and love in the twenty-first century; the hardback original garnered much critical acclaim.
• Someone by Alice McDermott: historical fiction; a woman navigates the changing atmosphere of her Brooklyn home from her prewar youth to the bright new world of the 1950s.

Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt: family saga, southern fiction; Jerene Jarvis Johnston contends with unruly children, a dwindling fortune, and her precarious place in Charleston society. From the publisher's summary:

Steely and formidable, Jerene Jarvis Johnston sits near the apex of society in contemporary Charlotte, North Carolina, where old Southern money and older family skeletons meet the new wealth of bankers, land speculators, and social climbers. Jerene and her Civil War reenactor husband, Duke, have four adult children—sexually reckless real estate broker Annie; earnest minister Bo; gay-but-don’t-tell-anyone Joshua; and naive, impressionable college freshman Jerilyn. Jerene’s brother, Gaston, is an infamously dissolute novelist and gossip who knows her secrets and Duke’s; while her sister, Dillard, is a reclusive prisoner of her own unfortunate choices. When a scandal threatens the Johnston family’s status and dwindling finances, Jerene swings into action . . . and she will stop at nothing to keep what she has and preserve her legacy. Wilton Barnhardt's Lookaway, Lookaway is a headlong, hilarious narrative of a family coming apart on the edge of the old South and the new, and an unforgettable woman striving to hold it together.

Simon & Schuster

• A Sudden Light by Garth Stein: coming-of-age story set in 1990s coastal Washington State (includes a ghost); a fourteen-year-old boy tries to save his parents' marriage and protect a seemingly abandoned estate from being logged.
• Juliet's Nurse by Lois Leveen: historical fiction; a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet told from the point of view of Juliet's personal maid
• Before I Go by Colleen Oakley: issue-driven women's fiction; when a young women is diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, she is determined to find her husband a new wife.
• Henna House by Nomi Eve: historical fiction; based on true events; in the 1920s, orphaned Jewish children in Yemen were required to be adopted by Muslim families and convert; as her parents' health begins to fail, a young woman is faced with life-altering choices

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas: historical fiction, family saga; follows an Irish family from immigration after the war through to the twenty-first century; themes include ambition, marriage, and the American Dream. From the publisher's summary:

Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty is raised by her Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, in an apartment where the mood swings between heartbreak and hilarity, depending on whether guests are over and how much alcohol has been consumed.

When Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist whose bearing is nothing like those of the men she grew up with, she thinks she's found the perfect partner to deliver her to the cosmopolitan world she longs to inhabit. They marry, and Eileen quickly discovers Ed doesn't aspire to the same . . . stakes in the American Dream. . . .

Through the Learys, novelist Matthew Thomas charts the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of domestic bliss and economic prosperity that captured hearts and minds after WWII. The result is a riveting and affecting work of art. . . .

Check back on Monday when I talk about what's hot from the HarperCollins imprints.

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BEA 2014 Book Group Speed Dating Session: Part 1

As many of you know, last week I was in New York to attend Book Expo America, the major annual publishing industry conference. Every year I remind you that my favorite panel is the one geared to book clubs: Book Group Speed Dating, presented by Reading Group Guides.

During the session, representatives from the major publishing companies and imprints present their top recommendations for readers looking for the perfect book club selection. Here are the books I learned about (with my summary) and my top pick from each presentation (with the publisher's summary).

Bloomsbury USA

• The Impulse Society by Paul Roberts: nonfiction; how corporate America is tapping into society's need for instant gratification to the detriment of country's future needs.

Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre. A novel about Iraq and how veterans fare once they've returned home. From the publisher's summary:

Lieutenant Donavan leads the platoon, painfully aware of his shortcomings and isolated by his rank. Doc Pleasant, the medic, joined for opportunity, but finds his pride undone as he watches friends die. And there’s Kateb, known to the Americans as Dodge, an Iraqi interpreter whose love of American culture . . . is matched only by his disdain for what Americans are doing to his country.

Returning home, they exchange one set of decisions and repercussions for another, struggling to find a place in a world that no longer knows them. A debut both transcendent and rooted in the flesh, Fives and Twenty-Fives is a deeply necessary novel.

Grove Atlantic

• The Undertaking by Audrey Magee: historical fiction; about marriage and love in World War II; from an Irish author.
• Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly: thriller; takes place at a B&B in the English Lake District; when a friend gets just a little bit too close to a young couple.

Painted Horses by Malcolm Brooks. Set in 1950s Montana, a woman archaeologist meets a horseman with a dark past. Think Kent Haruf or Annie Proulx. From the publisher's summary:

Catherine Lemay is a young archaeologist on her way to Montana, with a huge task before her—a canyon “as deep as the devil’s own appetites.” Working ahead of a major dam project, she has one summer to prove nothing of historical value will be lost in the flood. From the moment she arrives, nothing is familiar—the vastness of the canyon itself mocks the contained, artifact-rich digs in post-Blitz London where she cut her teeth. And then there’s John H, a former mustanger and veteran of the U.S. Army’s last mounted cavalry campaign, living a fugitive life in the canyon. John H inspires Catherine to see beauty in the stark landscape, and her heart opens to more than just the vanished past. Painted Horses sends a dauntless young woman on a heroic quest, sings a love song to the horseman’s vanishing way of life, and reminds us that love and ambition, tradition and the future, often make strange bedfellows. It establishes Malcolm Brooks as an extraordinary new talent.

Hachette Book Group

• A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin: contemporary fiction; after being falsely accused of a crime, a man learns the true meaning of love and success; a literary Nicholas Sparks.
• The Moment of Everything by Shelly King: contemporary fiction set in California; the novel features a bookstore, a book club, and a woman on a journey of self-discovery
• Reunion by Hannah Pittard: contemporary fiction; a woman who is reunited with her many siblings and step-siblings after their father's suicide; themes involve family secrets, forgiveness, and acceptance
• Delicious Foods by James Hannahan: contemporary fiction; while grieving the death of her husband, a woman makes some questionable decisions and must struggle to find a way back to normalcy.

Neverhome by Laird Hunt: historical fiction; based on the true stories of women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the U.S. Civil War. From the publisher's summary:

She calls herself Ash, but that's not her real name. She is a farmer's faithful wife, but she has left her husband to don the uniform of a Union soldier in the Civil War. Neverhome tells the harrowing story of Ash Thompson during the [war]. Through bloodshed and hysteria and heartbreak, she becomes a hero, a folk legend, a madwoman and a traitor to the American cause.

Laird Hunt's dazzling new novel throws a light on the adventurous women who chose to fight instead of stay behind. It is also a mystery story: why did Ash leave and her husband stay? Why can she not return? What will she have to go through to make it back home?

Henry Holt

• The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel: contemporary short stories; themes include marriage, politics, British culture, and love.

The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan: contemporary fiction set in Montana; the unlikely friendship between an aging killer and a younger small-town deputy; good vs. evil and thin line that separates them; think Cormac McCarthy. From the publisher's summary:

At the center of this searing, fever dream of a novel are two men—a killer awaiting trial, and a troubled young deputy—sitting across from each other in the dark, talking through the bars of a county jail cell: John Gload, so brutally adept at his craft that only now, at the age of 77, has he faced the prospect of long-term incarceration and Valentine Millimaki, low man in the Copper County sheriff’s department, who draws the overnight shift after Gload’s arrest. With a disintegrating marriage further collapsing under the strain of his night duty, Millimaki finds himself seeking counsel from a man whose troubled past shares something essential with his own. Their uneasy friendship takes a startling turn with a brazen act of violence that yokes together two haunted souls by the secrets they share, and by the rugged country that keeps them.

Stop back tomorrow when I present the books from Penguin Group USA, Picador, and Simon & Schuster. On Monday, I'll talk about the HarperCollins imprints.

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BEA Book Group Speed Dating Session: Part 2

**NB: Imprint Friday will return next with the results of my survey (there is still time to answer the 7 questions) and hints of what's to come.

Yesterday I mentioned that my favorite panel at BEA each year is the one geared to book clubs. Here is Part 2 of my recap of that event, covering four of the eight publishers that stopped by my table to present their hottest book club titles for the coming seasons. (Be sure to check out BEA Book Group Speed Dating Session: Part 1, which I posted yesterday.)

Here are the books I learned about at the session, plus my top pick from each publisher. Titles in boldface are books that made it to my wish list.

Random House Publishing Group

• The Boleyn Deceit by Laura Andersen: alternate history in which Anne has a son who becomes king; second in a series
• The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin: historical novel focusing on the life and accomplishments of Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• Defending Jacob by William Landay: contemporary novel; a lawyer must defend his young son who has been accused of murder
• A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee: contemporary novel; can a family survive a man's poor choices?
• Perfect by Rachel Joyce: contemporary novel; how much does a young teen really know about his perfect mother? [This is my real top pick, but the publisher's summary and book cover are currently unavailable.]

Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at home—a change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their preteen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Ben’s recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.

Thrust back into the working world, Helen finds a job in public relations and relocates with Sara from their home in upstate New York to an apartment in Manhattan. There, Helen discovers she has a rare gift, indispensable in the world of image control: She can convince arrogant men to admit their mistakes, spinning crises into second chances. Yet redemption is more easily granted in her professional life than in her personal one.

As she is confronted with the biggest case of her career, the fallout from her marriage, and Sara’s increasingly distant behavior, Helen must face the limits of accountability and her own capacity for forgiveness.

What will book clubs talk about? Marriage, trust, forgiveness, how far can a family bend without breaking, moving on, second chances. On sale August 6; ISBN 13: 9780812983388

Sourcebooks / Landmark

• Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon: contemporary novel; three women unexpectedly connected and forever changed over the course of a summer
• Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thomson: contemporary novel; two points of view; how a couple tears apart their family
• Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure: historical fiction; how an architect creates hiding places for Jews during the German occupation

Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews. So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn't really believe in. Ultimately he can't resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces--behind a painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe--detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye. But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.

Written by an expert whose knowledge imbues every page, this story becomes more gripping with every life the architect tries to save.

What will book clubs talk about? Morality, ethical dilemmas, selflessness, religion, tolerance. On sale October 1; ISBN 13: 9781402284311

William Morrow

• Swimming in the Moon by Pamela Schoenewaldt: historical fiction about a mother and daughter in the early 1900s during a time of social change
• Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson: southern fiction; messy love story
• The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly: historical fiction about the 1927 Mississippi flood
• The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle: contemporary fiction; a happy, successful family is torn apart when the parents discover that their teenage daughter is having an affair with a married teacher
• Help for the Haunted by John Searles: contemporary novel; the deeper a young girl looks into the death of her parents the more she realizes she cannot trust anyone
• The House Girl by Tara Conklin: contemporary and historical; intertwined stories of two women: one a New York lawyer and one a runaway slave

It begins with a call in the middle of the snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is differnt than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behnd the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

Nearly a year later, we meed Sylvie again, struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, Rose, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter. As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family's past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years. (Note: copy from publicity memo; no summary available.)

What will book clubs talk about? Family secrets, sisters, spirituality, truth, ghosts, loss, death. On sale September 17; ISBN 13: 9780060779634

Norton

• The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood: historical fiction (1919 and 1961); two women living in different time periods that were marked by great changes in women's rights
• Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III: contemporary; stories about finding fulfillment via food, sex, work, and love
• A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn: contemporary and historical novel involving twin sisters; about jealousy, memory, and secrets from the historic past
• Brewster by Mark Slouka: historical fiction about two teens and their dreams for a better life beyond the confines of their small town

The year is 1968, a year after the summer of love and the peak of the Vietnam War. The world is changing, and sixteen-year-old Jon Mosher is determined to change with it. Racked by guilt over his older brother's childhood death, Jon turns his rage into victories running track. When he meets Ray Cappicciano, a local legend in the making, a rebel as gifted with his fists as Jon is with his feet, he recognizes a friendship with the potential to save him. Realizing that Ray needs saving too, Jon sets off on the race of his life--a race to redeem his past and save them both. Reverberating with compassion, heartache, and grace, Brewster is sure to remind readers of Andre Dubus III and Richard Russo.

What will book clubs talk about? Redemption, forgiveness, hopes, dreams, friendship, life before modern technology, social change On sale August 5; ISBN 13: 9780393239751

Don't forget that discussion guides will be available for all these titles. Check ReadingGroupGuides.com and the publishers' websites for more information about book club resources, the books, and the authors.

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BEA Book Group Speed Dating Sesson: Part 1

My favorite panel at BEA each year is the one geared to book clubs. For the second year, the Reading Groups Guides panel has been set up in a speed-dating format. Attendees sit at round tables, and the publicity and marketing people from various publishing houses move from table to table to tell us about their hottest titles that will prompt the best discussions. Here is Part 1 of my recap of that event, covering four of the eight publishers that stopped by my table. (Come back on tomorrow for BEA Book Group Speed Dating Session: Part 2.)

Here are the books I learned about at the session, plus my top pick from each publisher. Titles in boldface are books that made it to my wish list.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

• Man Alive! by Mary Kay Zueavleff: a contemporary novel of family and values
• Someone by Alice McDermott: a woman scorned in the 1930s; we are all fools for something
• Tinderbox by Lisa Gornick: contemporary novel about how a nanny disrupts a family's dynamics
• Hild by Nicola Griffith: historical novel; a seer in 7th-century Britain, just as Christianity is taking hold in the kingdom

All it takes is a quarter to change pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Owen Lerner’s life. When the coin he’s feeding into a parking meter is struck by lightning, Lerner survives, except that now all he wants to do is barbecue. What will happen to his patients, who rely on him to make sense of their world? More important, what will happen to his family?

The bolt of lightning that lifts Lerner into the air sends the entire Lerner clan into free fall. Mary Kay Zuravleff depicts family-on-family pain with generosity and devastating humor as she explores how much we are each allowed to change within a family—and without. Man Alive! captures Owen and Toni Lerner and their nearly grown children so vividly you’ll be looking over your shoulder to make sure the author hasn’t been watching your own family in action.

What will book clubs talk about? Family, the importance of money, ambition, the true meaning of success, marriage and expectations, adapting to change. On sale September 3; ISBN 13: 9780374202316

Grove / Atlantic

• Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly: contemporary novel about a woman whose friend's child disappears while she is in charge
• Wash by Margaret Wrinkle: historical novel; effects of slave breeding in early 1800s Tennessee
• It's Not Love, It's Just Paris by Patricia Engel: focuses on the inhabitants of a woman's rooming house in Paris

In this luminous debut, Margaret Wrinkle takes us on an unforgettable journey across continents and through time, from the burgeoning American South to West Africa and deep into the ancestral stories that reside in the soul. Wash introduces a remarkable new voice in American literature.

In early 1800s Tennessee, two men find themselves locked in an intimate power struggle. Richardson, a troubled Revolutionary War veteran, has spent his life fighting not only for his country but also for wealth and status. When the pressures of westward expansion and debt threaten to destroy everything he’s built, he sets Washington, a young man he owns, to work as his breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto his only solace: the spirituality inherited from his shamanic mother. As he navigates the treacherous currents of his position, despair and disease lead him to a potent healer named Pallas. Their tender love unfolds against this turbulent backdrop while she inspires him to forge a new understanding of his heritage and his place in it. Once Richardson and Wash find themselves at a crossroads, all three lives are pushed to the brink.

What will book clubs talk about? Slavery, breeding programs, spirituality, cultural differences. On sale November 9; ISBN 13: 9780802122032

Harlequin Mira

• The Sweetest Hallelujah by Elaine Hussey: described as The Help meets Beaches; 1950s Mississippi
• The Returned by Jason Mott: contemporary novel; what if your loved ones could return from the dead?
• Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel: early 1940s India; unlikely love story at the brink of great social change; the author grew up on a tea plantation in India
• The Tulip Eaters by Antionette Van Heugten: contemporary and historical (World War II); thriller in which the crime has roots in the Dutch resistance

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time. . . . Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

What will book clubs talk about? Death, spirituality, religion, love, hope, what happens when wishes come true. Extra: this has been picked up as a television series, which will be called Resurection. On sale August 27; ISBN 13: 9780778315339

Penguin USA

• Margot by Jillian Cantor: contemporary novel with flashbacks to World War II; what if Anne Frank's sister escaped to the United States and now must relive past horrors when her sister becomes posthumously famous
• Me before You by Jojo Moyes: contemporary novel; UK setting; love story
• A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins: what happens when a man tries to build the first sentient computer using his late-father's journals
• The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol: translated from French; two sisters try to help each other out with unexpected results

When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is left in an unhappy state of affairs. The mother of two—confident, beautiful teenage Hortense and shy, babyish Zoé—is forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. Meanwhile, Joséphine’s charismatic sister Iris seems to have it all—a wealthy husband, gorgeous looks, and a très chic Paris address—but she dreams of bringing meaning back into her life. When Iris charms a famous publisher into offering her a lucrative deal for a twelfth-century romance, she offers her sister a deal of her own: Joséphine will write the novel and pocket all the proceeds, but the book will be published under Iris’s name. All is well—that is, until the book becomes the literary sensation of the season.

What will book clubs talk about? Marriage, sisters, motherhood, get-rich-quick schemes, honesty, jealousy. On sale December 31; ISBN 13: 9780143121558

Don't forget that discussion guides will be available for all these titles. Check ReadingGroupGuides.com and the publishers' websites for more information about book club resources, the books, and the authors.

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BEA 2012: Book Club Picks

As many of you know, I was in New York last week for Book Expo America, where I participated on a panel at the BEA Book Bloggers Convention; attended BEA panels; and met with publishers, editors, publicists, and marketers. One of my favorite panels at BEA is the book club recommendations.

Dozens of titles were introduced at the "Hot Book Group Titles for Fall/Winter" session this year. Although many of the books made it to my must-read list, six novels struck me as having the potential to be major book club hits. Because I've read only one of these, I'll share the publishers' summaries.

Hikikomori and the Rental Sister by Jeff Backhaus (Algonquin Books, January 2013)

Possible discussion topics: family, depression, culture contrasts, marriage, relationships

Thomas Tessler, devastated by a tragedy, has cloistered himself in his bedroom and shut out the world for the past three years. His wife, Silke, lives in the next room, but Thomas no longer shares his life with her, leaving his hideout only in the wee hours of the night to buy food at the store around the corner from their Manhattan apartment. Isolated, withdrawn, damaged, Thomas is hikikomori.

Desperate to salvage their life together, Silke hires Megumi, a young Japanese woman attuned to the hikikomori phenomenon, to lure Thomas back into the world. In Japan Megumi is called a "rental sister," though her job may involve much more than familial comforts. As Thomas grows to trust Megumi, a deepening and sensual relationship unfolds. But what are the risks of such intimacy? And what must these three broken people surrender in order to find hope?

Revelatory and provocative, Hikikomori and the Rental Sister tears through the emotional walls of grief and delves into the power of human connection to break through to the waiting world outside.

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (Little, Brown, paperback: January 2013)

Possible discussion topics: survival, truth, morality, selfishness

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life.

In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying Grace and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize has exceeded capacity. For any to live, some must die.

As the castaways battle the elements and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found. Will she pay any price to keep it?

The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.

A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead (Harper Perennial, October 2012)

Possible discussion topics: bravery, survival, doing the right thing, personal sacrifice, friendship

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycee; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.

Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

In January 1943, they were sent to their final destination: Auschwitz. Only forty-nine would return to France.

A Train in Winter draws on interviews with these women and their families; German, French, and Polish archives; and documents held by World War II resistance organizations to uncover a dark chapter of history that offers an inspiring portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and survival—and of the remarkable, enduring power of female friendship.

The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets by Kathleen Alcott (Other Press, September 2012)

Possible discussion topics: friendship, marriage, relationships, family

Ida grew up with Jackson and James—where there was "I" there was a "J." She can't recall a time when she didn't have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys' room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as teenagers. While the world outside saw them as neighbors and friends, to each other the three formed a family unit—two brothers and a sister—not drawn from blood, but drawn from a deep need to fill a void in their single parent households. Theirs was a relationship of communication without speaking, of understanding without judgment, of intimacy without rules and limits.

But as the three of them mature and emotions become more complex, Ida and Jackson find themselves more than just siblings. When Jackson’s somnambulism produces violent outbursts and James is hospitalized, Ida is paralyzed by the events that threaten to shatter her family and put it beyond her reach. Kathleen Alcott’s striking debut, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets, is an emotional, deeply layered love story that explores the dynamics of family when it defies bloodlines and societal conventions.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Penguin Paperback, June 2012)

Possible discussion topics: fate, social class divisions, naivete, high society

Set in New York City in 1938, Rules of Civility tells the story of a watershed year in the life of an uncompromising twenty-five-year- old named Katey Kontent. Armed with little more than a formidable intellect, a bracing wit, and her own brand of cool nerve, Katey embarks on a journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool through the upper echelons of New York society in search of a brighter future.

The story opens on New Year's Eve in a Greenwich Village jazz bar, where Katey and her boardinghouse roommate Eve happen to meet Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a ready smile. This chance encounter and its startling consequences cast Katey off her current course, but end up providing her unexpected access to the rarified offices of Conde Nast and a glittering new social circle. Befriended in turn by a shy, principled multimillionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow who is ahead of her times, Katey has the chance to experience first hand the poise secured by wealth and station, but also the aspirations, envy, disloyalty, and desires that reside just below the surface. Even as she waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her orbit, she will learn how individual choices become the means by which life crystallizes loss.

Elegant and captivating, Rules of Civility turns a Jamesian eye on how spur of the moment decisions define life for decades to come. A love letter to a great American city at the end of the Depression, readers will quickly fall under its spell of crisp writing, sparkling atmosphere and breathtaking revelations, as Towles evokes the ghosts of Fitzgerald, Capote, and McCarthy.

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (Simon & Schuster, October 2012)

Possible discussion topics: fate, addiction, brothers and sisters, acceptance, forgiveness

Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen’s wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidentally hits and kills a girl on a dark country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, craft their lives in response to this single tragic moment. As one character says, "When you add us up, you always have to carry the one." Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest calamities and triumphs of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we’d expect. As they seek redemption through addiction, social justice, and art, Anshaw’s characters reflect our deepest pain and longings, our joys, and our transcendent moments of understanding. This wise, wry, and erotically charged novel derives its power and appeal from the author’s exquisite use of language; her sympathy for her recognizable, very flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

The following books are my runners-up:

• Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe (Little, Brown, October 2012)
• We the Animals by Justin Torres (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 2012)
• The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogan (Voice, January 2013)
  
• The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar (Picador, September 2012)
• History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason (Vintage Books, November 2012)
• The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen (Norton, September 2012)

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Indie Lit Awards: Memoir / Biography Short List

As I've mentioned many times a couple of times, I'm thrilled to be on the voting board for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards. In case you missed any of my announcements and don't know what these awards are, you can find information at the awards' blog

I'm serving on the panel for the biography and memoir category, and I'm pleased to announce this year's short list. As per the judging panel guidelines, I will not be posting about these books again until after the winners have been announced.

The Independent Literary Awards 2011: Biography/Memoir Short List

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Amy Chua
ISBN-13: 9780143120582 / Penguin Group USA

An awe-inspiring, often hilarious, and unerringly honest story of one mother's exercise in extreme parenting, revealing the rewards-and the costs-of raising her children the Chinese way.

All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choice inspires.

Bossypants
Tina Fey
ISBN-13 9780316056878 / Hachette Group, Reagan Arthur Books

Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon--from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you boss.

I Pray Hardest When Being Shot At
Kyle Garret
ISBN-13 9781555716868 / Hellgate Press

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, eighteen-year-old Robert Stuart had a decision to make: keep working at the steel mill in Warren, Ohio, or volunteer to serve his country. Stuart's father had served in the first World War, and service was in his blood, so he enlisted in the Marines.

Anne Davis had a decision of her own to make. The girls in her high school were going to send letters to alumni who were going off to war. She looked at the list of soldiers and saw a familiar name: Robert Stuart.

The letters Anne sent would mark the beginning of a relationship that would span sixty years, two marriages, two children, and three wars.

Over half a century after those first letters were sent, the Stuarts' grandson, Kyle, began chronicling their life together. He would discover pieces of a family history that only he dug deep enough to learn. But in the back of his mind, one concern lingered: the story of a person's life can only have one ending, and his grandfather's health was deteriorating.

I Pray Hardest When I'm Being Shot At is a true story of love and war, of three generations and two romances, one of sixty years, the other of just a few months. Pray deals with one generation trying to connect with another and how it affected them both.

Little Princes
Conor Grennan
ISBN-13 9780061930065 / HarperCollins, William Morrow

In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal. Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war--for a huge fee--by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life’s work.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
Nina Sankovitch
ISBN-13 9780061999840 / HarperCollins, Harper

Nina Sankovitch has always been a reader. As a child, she discovered that a trip to the local bookmobile with her sisters was more exhilarating than a ride at the carnival. Books were the glue that held her immigrant family together. When Nina's eldest sister died at the age of forty-six, Nina turned to books for comfort, escape, and introspection. In her beloved purple chair, she rediscovered the magic of such writers as Toni Morrison, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ian McEwan, Edith Wharton, and, of course, Leo Tolstoy. Through the connections Nina made with books and authors (and even other readers), her life changed profoundly, and in unexpected ways. Reading, it turns out, can be the ultimate therapy.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair also tells the story of the Sankovitch family: Nina's father, who barely escaped death in Belarus during World War II; her four rambunctious children, who offer up their own book recommendations while helping out with the cooking and cleaning; and Anne-Marie, her oldest sister and idol, with whom Nina shared the pleasure of books, even in her last moments of life. In our lightning-paced culture that encourages us to seek more, bigger, and better things, Nina's daring journey shows how we can deepen the quality of our everyday lives--if we only find the time.

To see what books made the short lists for fiction, nonfiction, GLBTQ, mystery, poetry, and speculative fiction, visit the Indie Lit Awards blog.

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Don't-Miss Books to Read: Memoir and Biography 2

As I've mentioned here before, I'm pleased to be on the voting board for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards. In case you missed my earlier posts and don't know what these awards are, here's a brief description from the awards' blog:

Independent Literary Awards are given to books that have been recommended and voted on by independent literary bloggers. Nominations are open to all readers, and are then voted upon by a panel of bloggers who are proficient in the genre they represent. Each panel is led by a Director who oversees the integrity of the process.

I'm serving on the panel for the biography and memoir category, two genres I particularly love. Although I cannot nominate a title for award consideration, you can. In just a few weeks, nominations will be open, so now's the time to start thinking about which books you'd like to see make the short lists. I hope you take the time to nominate outstanding memoirs and biographies as well as great books in the other genres included in the 2011 awards.

This has been a great year for biography and memoir. I introduced you to a few titles in June, and now it's time to tell you about some more. I haven't read any of these yet (in fact some haven't been released yet), but they all grabbed my attention.

Out of a job and low on self-confidence Noelle Hancock decided to take Eleanor Roosevelt's advice to "Do one thing every day that scares you." My Year with Eleanor (Ecco Books) chronicles Hancock's project to do just that. Julie Salamon's Wendy and the Lost Boys (Penguin Press) is the authorized biography of the Tony-winning, trail-breaking playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Alexander Fuller's third book about her native Africa, Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgiveness (Penguin Press), focuses on her parents' childhoods during the fading years of colonial rule. In the early 1900s, two young women turn their backs on East Coast high society to try their hand at teaching in the wilderness of Colorado. In Nothing Daunted (Scribner), Dorothy Wickenden, the granddaughter of one these adventurous women, uses letters, interviews, and historical research to reconstruct their experience.

I'm not sure if young adults are as taken with Salinger as those of us who were reading him in the twentieth century, but Kenneth Slawenski's J. D. Salinger: A Life (Random House) will likely be one of the most-read biographies of 2011. In her latest memoir, Blue Nights (Knopf), Joan Didion turns her attention to her daughter, parenthood, and aging. Because I too can become somewhat obsessed over finding and creating the perfect loaf of bread with the perfect crust, William Alexander's 52 Loaves (Algonquin) is high on my list. I'm not quite as fanatic as he is, though, I truly have never considered growing my own wheat. Firsthand accounts of life in the American West of the nineteenth century is a particular love of mine. Frank Clifford's Deep Trails in the Old West (Oklahoma University Press), a "newly discovered memoir" has been edited and annotated by Frederick Nolan. Clifford recalls the rough and dangerous Wild West of his youth.

If you've read any great memoirs or biographies published this year, please remember to take the time in September to nominate them for an Indie Lit Award. If those aren't among your favorite genres, perhaps you can nominate titles in one of the following groups: literary fiction, GLBTQ, nonfiction, speculative fiction, and mystery.

What was the last memoir or biography you read?

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