Thursday, June 11, 2009

June 2009

Special Features and Contests

Win a Copy of PERFECTION by Julie Metz for Your Group

We are celebrating the release of Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz with a special contest. Ten readers will have the opportunity to each win one finished copy of Perfection, which will be in stores on June 9th, for their group.

More About Perfection:
A breathtakingly honest, gloriously written memoir about the complexities of forgiveness --- the story of a young widow who discovers her husband's secret life only after his sudden death.

Julie Metz's life changes forever on one ordinary January afternoon when her husband, Henry, collapses on the kitchen floor and dies in her arms. Suddenly, this mother of a six-year-old is the young widow in a bucolic small town. And this is only the beginning. Seven months after Henry's death, just when Julie thinks she is emerging from the worst of it, comes the rest of it: she discovers that what had appeared to be the reality of her marriage was but a half truth. Henry had hidden another life from her. Perfection is the story of Metz's journey through chaos and transformation, as she creates a different life for herself and for her young daughter. It is the story of coming to terms with painful truths, of rebuilding both a life and an identity after betrayal and widowhood. It is a story of rebirth and happiness --- if not perfection.

Click here to read all the contest details.
Click here for the reading group guide.



New and Recommended Fiction


The Angel's Game
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon


In the turbulent and surreal Barcelona of the 1920s, David Martin, a young novelist obsessed with a forbidden love, receives an offer from an enigmatic publisher to write a book like no other before --- a book for which "people will live and die." In return, he is promised a fortune and, perhaps, much more.

Soon David begins to see frightening parallels between the book he's been commissioned to write and an old religious manuscript retrieved from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Once again, Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic universe first seen in The Shadow of the Wind and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance and tragedy.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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The Actor and the Housewife
by Shannon Hale


Seven months pregnant and far from home, Becky Jack walks into the office of a Hollywood producer to sell her first screenplay and, much to her shock, meets silver screen heartthrob (and the object of her celebrity affection) Felix Callahan. They spend an awkward and unexpected day together, and, though his cursing and drinking contradict her strict Mormon values, Felix and Becky somehow form an unshakable friendship.

Through the next decade, Felix and Becky experience tests of their bond they could never have anticipated.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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The Late, Lamented Molly Marx
by Sally Koslow

Exploring the bonds of fidelity, family and friendship, and narrated by a memorable and endearing character, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx is a hilarious, deeply moving and thought-provoking novel that is part mystery, part love story and all heart.

"Equal parts self-deprecating, wry and sassy, Molly is honest about her faults and equally forgiving of the others' as she reviews her life with a hearty dose of honesty and humor... The narrative's heavy dose of hilarity and heartbreak will win readers over." -- Publishers Weekly

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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Censoring an Iranian Love Story
by Shahriar Mandanipour


A dazzlingly inventive novel about what it's like to live, love and be an artist in today's Iran. A writer named Shahriar --- the author's fictional alter ego --- sets out to write a bewitching love story, yet writing freely of his protagonists' forbidden encounters would put him in as much peril as his lovers. Thus we read not just the scenes Shahriar has written, but also the sentences and words he's crossed out or merely imagined, knowing they can never be published.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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The Likeness
by Tana French


Now Available in Paperback:
With her richly nuanced characters and deep psychological insight, Tana French explores themes of self-invention, deception and the ways truth can emerge from even the most convincing disguises. Set against a backdrop of tightly knit class and cultural tensions, The Likeness goes beyond the conventions of the whodunit to comment on the inequities and misguided values of modern society.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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The Unit
written by Ninni Holmqvist, translated by Marlaine Delargy


One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. Here, women over the age of 50 and men over 60 --- single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries --- are expected to contribute themselves for the good of society. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, Dorrit finds her conditions pleasant and comfortable. But when she meets a man and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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What We Remember
by Michael Thomas Ford


What We Remember paints a compelling, thought-provoking portrait of a family as ordinary, as unique, as comforting and strange as our own. With unerring insight and candor, Michael Thomas Ford explores the complex ties --- between fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, mother and child --- that we may strive to leave behind but are compelled to carry with us, revealing how little we can ever know with certainty...especially about those closest to us.

"Ford's fast-moving yet thoughtful exploration of family love and the things we do in its name." -- Booklist

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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One in a Million
by Kimberla Lawson Roby


Now Available in Paperback:
Kennedi and Blake Mason have a good marriage. At least, Kennedi thinks they do --- until one fateful day. It starts out so well. Kennedi gets what she considers the best news ever and can't wait to tell her husband because it's something he's always dreamed about and wanted.

But when Blake arrives home that evening, he has some news of his own, which shocks Kennedi into silence.

Sometimes what we think we have and what we think we want aren't real at all.

Click Here for the reading group guide.

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The Compass
by Tammy Kling and John Spencer Ellis


The Compass is a life-transforming novel that will guide you on a journey of self-discovery. New York Times bestselling author Brian Tracy raves: "The Compass will take you from where you are now to that place you've been destined to reach. It will help you achieve your goals and dreams."

Click Here for the reading group guide.


New and Recommended Nonfiction

The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women & a Forty-Year Friendship
by Jeffrey Zaslow


The New York Times bestseller hailed as "a testament to how women bond." (NPR's "On Point")

Meet the Girls from Ames --- the true story of a group of ordinary women who formed an extraordinary friendship --- and discover a moving portrait of a generation.

The Wall Street Journal called it, "A moving example of friendship at its best --- forgiving, accepting, offering enduring respite and support."

This summer you'll want to share it with the friends in your life.

Click Here for the reading group guide.



For Christian Readers

New Christian Guides

Registered Book Club Promotion


For June we have three very special opportunities for Registered Book Groups. Our featured titles this month are The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, Apples and Oranges by Marie Brenner and A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick. Groups who have registered with us by Monday, June 15th have the chance to win author chats and/or free books. If your group is not registered, click here to register.

Click here for details.



New Guides

  • An Accidental Light by Elizabeth Diamond: A car accident takes the life of a 13-year-old girl, and the ripple effects of a single moment of tragedy become a journey from sorrow to hope, and even, ultimately to joy.
  • The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale: A very different kind of fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale.
  • The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: From master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon comes The Angel's Game --- a dazzling new page-turner about the perilous nature of obsession, in literature and in love.
  • The Air Between Us by Deborah Johnson: A novel with the appeal of The Secret Life of Bees that explores the interactions of a small town in 1960s Missouri as it struggles with integration.
  • All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown: A smart, comic page-turner about a Silicon Valley family in free fall over the course of one eventful summer.
  • Appassionata by Eva Hoffman: On tour in Europe, Isabel Merton, a renowned concert pianist, becomes ensnared in a passionate love affair with a Chechen political exile.
  • Atlas of Unknowns by Tania James: A funny and blazingly original novel about sisterhood, the tantalizing dream of America and the secret histories of families everywhere.
  • Beginner's Greek by James Collins: Beginner's Greek is a romantic comedy of the highest order, with characters who are perfectly, charmingly real as they swerve and stumble from fairy tale to social satire and back again.
  • Censoring an Iranian Love Story written by Shahriar Mandanipour, translated by Sara Khalili: From one of Iran's most acclaimed writers, a dazzlingly inventive novel about what it's like to live, love and be an artist in today's Iran.
  • Come Sunday by Isla Morley: Come Sunday, set in the hills of Hawaii and the veldt of South Africa, is that joyous, special thing: a saga that captivates from the very first page, breaking our hearts while making our spirits soar.
  • The Compass by Tammy Kling and John Spencer Ellis: The Compass is a life-transforming novel that will take you from where you are to where you want to be.
  • The Divorce Party by Laura Dave: An insightful and funny multi-generational story, this deeply moving novel is sure to touch anyone whose heart has weathered an unexpected storm.
  • An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah: Set in the chaos and confusion of everyday life in Zimbabwe, Petina Gappah's debut collection, An Elegy for Easterly, is full of verve, wit and compassion.
  • Enduring Love: Sydney Cove Series, Book 3 by Bonnie Leon: The suspenseful conclusion to the Sydney Cove series, Enduring Love is a gripping story laced with the tender romance and hope that readers have come to expect from Bonnie Leon.
  • Entertaining Angels by Judy Duarte: From the author of the heartwarming Mulberry Park comes an uplifting, unforgettable new novel.
  • Finding Sara by Linda Hope Lee: A young woman's cross country journey to avoid marrying a man she does not love takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself stranded and alone.
  • Foreign Tongue: A Novel of Life and Love in Paris by Vanina Marsot: A young woman is forced to confront her notions of love, language and culture when, in the wake of a breakup, she moves to Paris and begins work translating a mysterious erotic novel.
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: From the internationally bestselling author of The House at Riverton, an unforgettable new novel that transports the reader from the back alleys of poverty of pre-World War I London to the shores of colonial Australia.
  • Forsaken by James David Jordan: What would it take for you to renounce your faith in Christ? Author James David Jordan confronts readers with this challenging question in his new book, Forsaken.
  • The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson: "A vivid, smartly calibrated achievement...a ghost story, family psychodrama, and murder mystery all in one." -- Entertainment Weekly
  • The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow: From the co-author of the million-copy bestseller The Last Lecture comes a moving tribute to female friendships, with the inspiring story of 11 girls and the 10 women they became.
  • A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy by Charlotte Greig: Philosophy student Susannah Jones stumbles through 1970s university life the only way she knows how: with the help of some of the most important philosophers of modern times.
  • The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato: In this international bestseller, a woman leaves her life in London to embark on a grand exploration of life and love as a glassblower in the city of her ancestors: Venice.
  • God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens: In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion.
  • High: Confessions of an International Drug Smuggler by Brian O'Dea: High weaves together extracts from Brian O'Dea prison diary with the vivid recounting of his outlaw years as one of the world's most efficient marijuana traffickers.
  • Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg: The bestselling author of The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted and The Year of Pleasures returns with a wonderful novel about a woman, a daughter, and a surprising change in life.
  • The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey: Two unlikely college friends form a lifelong bond, bringing them mutual good luck for years; but now that they've both found "true love," tragedy threatens to strike.
  • The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide: A gorgeously crafted, witty and uplifting novel that captures the reader --- heart and mind --- and expands our understanding of a meaningful life.
  • How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson: A playful, witty and remarkably accomplished debut novel about --- of all things --- how reading can save your life.
  • The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow: Exploring the bonds of fidelity, family and friendship, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx is a hilarious, deeply moving and thought-provoking novel that is part mystery, part love story and all heart.
  • The Likeness by Tana French: With her richly nuanced characters and deep psychological insight, Tana French explores themes of self-invention, deception and the ways truth can emerge from even the most convincing disguises.
  • Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida by Debby Mayne: Can Amanda, whose mother and sister refuse to grow up, and Jerry, primary caretaker of aging parents, find the treasure of unconditional love?
  • Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts: The bestselling author of Where the Heart Is returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home.
  • The Nine Lessons: A Novel of Love, Fatherhood, and Second Chances by Kevin Milne: August Witte is firmly against having children. But after seven years of marriage, his wife is delighted when she realizes she is unexpectedly pregnant.
  • Nothing But Trouble: PJ Sugar Series, Book 1 by Susan May Warren: Award-winning author Susan May Warren returns with Nothing But Trouble, the first novel in a new series for Christian fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.
  • Oxygen by Carol Cassella: Oxygen is a riveting new novel by a real-life anesthesiologist, an intimate story of relationships and family that collides with a high-stakes medical drama.
  • Parenting Your Teen and Loving It: Being the Mom Your Kid Needs by Susie Davis: Davis's unfailing advice and encouragement will help you be the best mom you can be by empowering you to parent your teenagers with wisdom.
  • A Passion Denied: The Daughters of Boston, Book 3 by Julie Lessman: Brimming with romance, longing and redemption, A Passion Denied, will quicken your pulse and gladden your heart with a riveting story of the true power of love.
  • Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz: Perfection is the story of coming to terms with painful truths, of rebuilding both a life and an identity after betrayal and widowhood.
  • A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick: With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.
  • Right of Thirst by Frank Huyler: In this haunting, resonant tour de force, an American doctor's search for redemption lands him halfway across the world on a relief mission that goes horribly awry.
  • The Road Home by Rose Tremain: In the wake of factory closings and his beloved wife's death, Lev makes his way from Eastern Europe to London, seeking work to support his mother and his little daughter.
  • The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly: Jack McEvoy decides to use his final days at the Los Angeles Times to write the definitive murder story of his career.
  • The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry: An epic story of family, love and unavoidable tragedy from the two-time Man Booker Prize finalist.
  • Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain: One afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says that she's going to the store --- and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenaged son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets.
  • Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove: In this tender, quirky novel about embracing life, Grove patiently walks readers through the depths and mysteries of extreme sorrow after the death of a loved one.
  • Things Left Unspoken by Eva Marie Everson: Every family --- and every house --- has its secrets. Jo-Lynn Hunter isn't sure she wants to know the truth, but sometimes the truth has a way of making itself known.
  • A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick: Marie Bostwick's new novel A Thread of Truth weaves together new beginnings, old friends, and the rich, varied tapestry of lives fully lived. It's the perfect pick for books clubs as diverse and yet connected as sewing circles.
  • The Turnaround by George Pelecanos: A novel of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory and violent redemption, The Turnaround is another compelling, highly charged novel from George Pelecanos, "the best crime novelist in America." --Oregonian
  • Up at the College by Michele Andrea Bowen: After her marriage of 15 years ends, Yvonne Fountain Copeland returns to her hometown of Durham, North Carolina in search of peace and joy.
  • The Unit written by Ninni Holmqvist, translated by Marlaine Delargy: When Dorrit Weger turns 50, she is checked into the Unit. She is single, childless, and considered "dispensable" to society. But what happens when Dorrit falls in love inside the Unit? What will she do to get out?
  • Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten: A wry folktale about life, love and capitalism in a tiny village off the map of Hungary.
  • We Are Our Mothers' Daughters: Revised and Expanded Edition by Cokie Roberts: In this 10th-anniversary edition of We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, renowned political commentator Cokie Roberts once again examines the nature of women's roles through the revealing lens of her personal experience.
  • We Are Rich: Stories by Dori Carter: A novel in stories, We Are Rich presents a fresh look on the burdens of wealth, class and the unwitting arsonists of the American Dream.
  • What We Remember by Michael Thomas Ford: Award-winning author Michael Thomas Ford's ambitious new novel will appeal to his core readership, but also fans of Julia Glass, Chris Bohjalian and Jodi Picoult.
  • The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels: Anne Michaels, author of Fugitive Pieces, writes a love story of extraordinary depth that juxtaposes an intriguing bit of history with the intimate moments of individual lives.


Oprah's Book Club Selection
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski


This month's prize:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon


Get a Book Club Makeover
Whether your book club is just a few months old or has been around for a while, you might be in need of a Book Club Makeover from ReadingGroupGuides.com. After reading your emails --- and talking to book clubs across the country --- we see that book groups often can fall into a routine and need a bit of livening up. It's ReadingGroupGuides.com to the rescue! We'll select groups each month for makeovers, review the problems, and make suggestions. Interested in a Book Club Makeover for your group? Click here for details.

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