BOOKREPORTER.COM (April 2016)

I follow many sites dedicated to book lovers. One of my favorites is Bookreporter.com which provides a detailed commentary about current books and authors. The weekly newsletter is always full of the latest buzz along with lighthearted book banter and a peek into the editor's world.

If you're looking for a place to scope out new books, (other than Joyce's Choices!!) Bookreporter.com provides author interviews, excerpts from new releases, detailed reviews, and a variety of on trend bookish information.

Bookreporter recently spotlighted two of my favorite authors paired with an unknown author whose debut novel, The Nest is getting high praise.

AT THE EDGE OF THE ORCHARD by Tracy Chevalier (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Mark Bramhall, Hillary Huber, Kirby Heyborne and Cassandra Morris

1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuckre --- in the muddy, stagnant swamps of northwest Ohio. They and their five children work relentlessly to tame their patch of land, buying saplings from a local tree man known as John Appleseed so they can cultivate the 50 apple trees required to stake their claim on the property. But the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle. James loves the apples, reminders of an easier life back in Connecticut, while Sadie prefers the applejack they make, an alcoholic refuge from brutal frontier life. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

FOOL ME ONCE by Harlan Coben (Thriller) Audiobook available, narrated by January LaVoy Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe --- who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband --- and herself. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE NEST by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Fiction) Audiobook available, narrated by Mia Barron The Plumb family is spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of tensions finally reach a breaking point as Melody, Beatrice and Jack Plumb gather to confront their older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got in a car accident that has endangered the Plumbs' joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Now, the siblings must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives. Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol. CHECK OUT Http://www.bookreporter.com

BLOCKBUSTERS...MAYBE ( APRIL 2016)

Two releases by popular authors are debuting soon. I've been a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld since her first novel Prep, an achingly funny coming of age story published in 2005.

Don DeLillo is best known for novels which focus on American life in the late 20th and 21st century.  The recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, his 17th novel, Zero K is predicted to be a blockbuster.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Random House

 

Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible is a playful, wickedly smart retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Set in the 21st century, the modern Bennet family grew up in a sprawling Tudor home in Cincinnati but now lives in New York City, while Mr. Bingley is a doctor and recent reality TV star and Mr. Darcy is a neurosurgeon. Austen herself would surely approve.

ZERO K by Don DeLillo

 

Joyce Ravid

 

Set in a future where humans can control death, Don DeLillo’s new novel Zero K centers around a scientific compound that preserves bodies indefinitely until technological and medical advances can heal and revive them. With humor and wisdom, DeLillo reflects on our relationship with death (and life), and our choices to preserve or leave behind those we love.

Thankyou Buzzfeedbooks.com

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART (March 2016)

I recently commented on the novel A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. (Scroll down to Quick Picks).I feel compelled to share more details. It is probably the most deeply moving book I have read in ages...yes, ages!

It's an epic study of four men, a study of friendship, so consuming and gripping that the 700 pages are going way too fast. No, it's not for everyone...not for the faint of heart or the unadventurous reader. This is a harrowing story, complex and exsquisitely written. It's a book like no other..

This devastating, unconventional novel is a must read...if you can withstand it.

MARCH MADNESS

An historical novel by accomplished author Tracy Chevalier is part of this month's new releases. Reviews have been excellent. Spotlighted below are other releases, all recipients of glowing reviews.

 

I'm halfway through A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara..only 400 pages to go..and what a read!!! Exhausting, hypnotic, and heartwrenching.....but in a good way!

AT THE EDGE OF THE ORCHARD by Tracy Chevalier (Historical Fiction)

In the muddy, stagnant swamps of northwest Ohio, James and Sadie Goodenough and their five children work relentlessly to tame their patch of land so they can cultivate the 50 apple trees required to stake their claim on the property. But the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle.

All Things Cease to Appear By Elizabeth Brundage This riveting literary thriller opens on a snowy night in small-town Chosen, New York, when art history professor George Clare finds his wife murdered at home. Or does he? A local police officer is convinced that Clare committed the crime, but a lengthy investigation that turns up many unseemly details fails to solve the case. Brundage masterfully switches between characters and viewpoints as she traces the threads of the story to its chilling denouement.

Under the Influence   by Joyce Maynard (Fiction) I always like Joyce Maynard’s writing and find her books to be compelling --- and memorable --- reads. In UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Helen’s life has unraveled due to her excessive drinking. Her marriage has fallen apart, and she has lost custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Her career as a photographer is on the skids like the rest of her life. Then she meets Ava and Swift Havilland, who are wealthy and connected philanthropists, and becomes swept up in their “fabulous” world. They embrace Helen and Ollie, who quickly become like extended family. Also new to Helen’s world is Elliott, a serious man who is an accountant and gives balance --- not excitement --- to Helen’s life. He’s solid and dependable, something that has been alien to her for a long time. But the Havillands dismiss him as neither fabulous nor exciting enough. The story comes to a crescendo when Ollie witnesses an accident, and the ramifications of it unravel the world that has been carefully built around Helen.  Thanks Bookreporter.com and Buzzfeed.com