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August 2, 2010
Greetings:
We're thrilled to bring you another summer issue of Buzzing About Books, featuring five terrific works of fiction.
In this issue:
-Joyce Maynard tells the story of a young boy whose life changes when a stranger comes into his life over one long weekend in Labor Day
-Katrina Kittle imagines a recently divorced veterinarian seeking the secrets to a happy marriage in The Blessings of the Animals
-Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus bring their heroine Nan back to the privileged world of New York City's Upper East Side in Nanny Returns
-Nancy Woodruff writes of an actress who takes her family to London in a story about infidelity, My Wife's Affair
-Ayelet Waldman tells the story of two families brought together after tragedy strikes in Red Hook Road
We hope you enjoy Buzzing About Books. Please let us know what you think!
Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
info@bookclubcookbook.com
bookclubcookbook.com
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 Labor Day
by Joyce Maynard
Fiction / 272 pages / Paperback
Harper Perennial / August, 2010
Dear
Reader:
In the nearly four decades I've spent as a writer, I've told true stories from my life and made up stories about people who exist only in my imagination. Labor Day belongs in that second group, but like everything I have ever written, the characters and what happens to them -- their d reams and obsessions and struggles -- are traceable to experiences in my own life that moved me most deeply. Whether the story is real or invented, the feelings my characters live through and express are true. I hope you enjoy reading about them.
Joyce Maynard
JOYCE MAYNARD IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF LABOR DAY. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.
About Labor Day:
All summer long, thirteen-year-old Henry kept hoping
that something different would happen, but it never did. Then, just as the
Labor Day weekend gets under way, a bleeding man approaches Henry and asks for
help.
Frank is a man with a secret, and a man on the run. Adele is a wounded soul
whose dreams of family life and romantic dancing died years ago, even before
her husband left her and their son. And Henry is a "loser" and a loner, a boy
on the cusp of manhood who, over the next five days, will learn some of life's
most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect peach
pie, and the importance of placing others -- especially those you love -- above
yourself.
Reviews for Labor Day:
"Joyce Maynard is in top-notch form with Labor Day. From the perfect pitch of a teenaged boy narrator
to the eloquent message of how loneliness can bind people together, this is
simply a novel you cannot miss."
- Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and Handle With Care
"[The] story is moving and fast-moving, affirming Maynard's reputation as a
master storyteller and showing her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted
ear and heart. . . . Maynard illuminates the human experience."
- People (four stars)
For more information about Joyce Maynard, visit her website.
Joyce Maynard is available to speak with your book club. Please contact her by email.
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The Blessings of the Animals
by Katrina Kittle
Fiction / 464 pages / Paperback
Harper Perennial / August, 2010
Dear Reader:
All my books "begin" for me with a social issue. What issue was the seed for my new novel, The Blessings of the Animals? Marriage.
Marriage may not be as edgy as other topics I've explored (AIDS, addiction, child abuse), but it's one that touches more readers. The story of a veterinarian's first year post-divorce surrounded by a crew of rescue animals (who end up rescuing her), the novel looks at marriages strong and stagnant, same-sex marriage, and divorce.
I adore visiting book clubs -- in person or through Skype -- and the discussion has surged when we talk about Blessings. Every club has had much to say about finding worthy partners with whom to share our lives, and the place marriage holds in our c ulture, our expectations, and our hearts...and that's before they've even read the novel.
Looking forward to many more discussions!
Many thanks and take care,
Katrina Kittle
KATRINA KITTLE IS GIVING
AWAY 5 COPIES OF THE BLESSINGS OF THE ANIMALS. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.
About The Blessings of the Animals:
Shaken by her recent divorce,
veterinarian Cami Anderson is on a quest to unravel the secret ingredients of a
happy, long-lasting marriage. Cami's parents are preparing to celebrate their
fiftieth anniversary, yet her brother and his partner find themselves legally
blocked from marriage. Her best friend -- and ex sister-in-law -- is newly engaged,
but her teenaged daughter's romance has developed its own complications.
Surrounded
by several couples approaching different milestones in their relationships,
Cami reflects on the meanings of love and partnership, sharing her hopes and
fears with the damaged and frightened horse in her care. As she tends to the
abused horse, so, too, does Cami begin to heal herself. Coming to terms with
her own divorce, she learns poignant lessons in forgiveness, flexibility and
happiness that help her master the art of simply moving on.
Reviews for The
Blessings of the Animals
"Beautifully crafted. . . . A must-read not only for
animal lovers, but for anyone who has found the courage to come back from
heartbreak and find love again, without reservation, without fear."
- Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water
for Elephants
"Wonderfully poignant characters and a deeply satisfying exploration of love in
its many incarnations, some of them a bit furrier than others, make this novel
Katrina Kittle's most insightful yet. Don't miss it!"
- Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author of
Tomorrow River
For more information about Katrina Kittle, visit her website, her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter.
Katrina Kittle is
available to speak with your book club via phone or Skype. Please contact her by email.
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Nanny Returns
by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Fiction / 305 pages / Paperback
Atria / August, 2010
Dear Reader:
Our first novel, The Nanny Diaries, was about the bizarre childrearing and employment practices of a community that consistently chooses money over love. And we really thought by the time the book was published in 2002 that we had exhausted the subject. But then, six years later, the economy came crumbling down and suddenly the conversations we were overhearing in locker rooms, dressing rooms and restaurants changed. Suddenly there was a whole new story to tell. What if the money went away? Then what?
From the CEOs of companies who took us all for a ride in 2008, to their teenage children, headed for the same amoral fate, we look at how the members of a small zip-code reac hed out and made their problems our problems.
We are eager to connect with you and hear what you think. Please check out our website and reach out to us on Facebook.
Best,
Nicki & Emma
EMMA MCLAUGHLIN AND NICOLA KRAUS ARE GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF NANNY RETURNS. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.
About Nanny Returns:
After living abroad for twelve years, Nan and H.H. have returned to Manhattan to start a family. But in the midst of construction and marital chaos, Nan is shocked when her former charge, now 16-year-old Grayer X, makes a drunken, late-night visit, wanting to know why she left without saying good-bye so many years ago. In an attempt to assuage her guilt Nan tries to help Grayer and his younger brother, Stilton, through their parents brutal divorce, drawing her back into the ever-bizarre life of Mrs. X and her Upper East Side enclave of power and privilege. After putting miles and years between herself and this world, Nan finds she's once again on the front line of the battle with the couture-clad elite for their children's well-being.
Reviews for Nanny Returns:
"As bitingly funny as its predecessor, this Nanny also makes serious points about the pitfalls of modern parenting. It does chicklit proud."
- People
"McLaughlin & Kraus leave no dry eyes as they once again wield a razor-sharp wit that cuts down the most uppity mortals even as it lifts up their vulnerable children. You could safely bet your firstborn that this'll be another smash hit."
- Publisher's Weekly
For more information about Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, visit their website, Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.
Emma and Nicki are available to speak with your book club on the phone or through Skype. Please email them to submit your request.
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My Wife's Affair
by Nancy Woodruff
Fiction / 288 pages / Hardcover
Amy Einhorn Books / April, 2010
Dear Reader:
I love book clubs. Mine -- which I faithfully attended last night despite having arrived home that morning on the redeye! -- yours, everyone's. When I meet with book clubs to talk about My Wife's Affair, one of the first questions I'm asked is, "Did you have an affair?"
No, I didn't, but as a writer I can imagine a woman having an affair. I can imagine a husband's reaction to it. And I can imagine a story unfolding from these circumstances that brings heartbreak to all involved.
That's what's so great about being a fiction writer: You get to imagine. You get to make stuff up. Most of all, you get to observe. As my narrator -- also a writer -- says, writers commit themselves "to a sort of sanctioned life gazing into others' brightly lit picture windows."
Please join me as I look through my characters' picture windows and tell their story.
Thanks for reading,
Nancy Woodruff
NANCY WOODRUFF IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF MY WIFE'S AFFAIR. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.
About My Wife's Affair:
Georgie and Peter move to London with their three children and once there, Georgie's dormant acting career takes off. She wins the role of Dora Jordan, the most famous comic actress of the eighteenth century and the mother of thirteen illegitimate children, ten by the future king of England.
As Georgie rehearses for her part, she becomes increasingly drawn to Dora Jordan, who she sees as a working mother with struggles exactly like her own. And when Georgie can no longer fight her attraction to the playwright, she begins an affair with tragic results.
Narrated by Peter, a failed-writer-turned-businessman, My Wife's Affair is about infidelity, but more than that, it is about the tensions between work and family, parents and children, art and life. It is about finally getting what you want and then wanting still more.
Reviews for My Wife's Affair:
"Woodruff leaves not a dry eye in the house in this gripping ode to theater and the love it can command -- and crush. . .the kicker at the novel's end makes the adultery feel like a cozy little tea party. It's brutal and lovely."
- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Woodruff takes the unusual step of narrating the affair from Peter's point of view, a choice that makes reading about it even more heartrending. The shocking twist at the conclusion of the book will leave stunned readers gasping for air."
- Booklist
For more information about Nancy Woodruff, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter.
Nancy Woodruff is available to speak with your book club in person, on the phone or through Skype. Please email Nancy to submit your request.
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 Red Hook Road
by Ayelet Waldman
Fiction / 343 pages / Hardcover
Doubleday / July, 2010
Dear Reader:
My new novel, Red Hook Road, began many years ago as a short article in the newspaper. A bride and a groom were killed on their way from the church to the reception, when a speeding car smashed into their limousine. The horror of that happening on that day, at that moment, when you are about to embark on acredit: Reenie Raschke  | completely new life, where everything is possible and the future is all that is on your mind... that stuck with me for years. I'd think of it time and again, as anyone would.
A normal person thinks about that tragedy, and maybe gets sad all over again. A writer thinks of it and wonders, "Can I use this?"
Until one day, you can, and you do.
Ayelet Waldman
AYELET WALDMAN IS GIVING
AWAY 5 COPIES OF RED HOOK ROAD. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.
About Red Hook Road:
Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity.
A marriage collapses under the strain of a daughter's death; two bereaved siblings find comfort in one another; and an adopted young girl breathes new life into her family with her prodigious talent for the violin. As she writes with obvious affection for these unforgettable characters, Ayelet Waldman skillfully interweaves life's finer pleasures -- music and literature -- with the more mundane joys of living. Within these resonant pages, a vase filled with wildflowers or a cold beer on a hot summer day serve as constant reminders that it's often the little things that make life so precious.
Book Reviews for Red
Hook Road:
"You won't be able to tear yourself away from Waldman's powerful evocation of grief."
- Real Simple
"Every day, families are shoved into new realities. Red Hook Road is a masterful imagining of the way a single tragic event impacts the psyches and behaviors and dynamics of two families. Waldman's writing is elegant and riveting."
- Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place
For more information about Ayelet Waldman, visit her website, follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and see her upcoming events.
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