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| February 2008
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Schwartz Bookshops Book Club Newsletter
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Greetings,
Welcome to the first full-length edition of the Harry W. Schwartz Book Club Newsletter of 2008. In this issue, we'll profile another book club, suggest titles for your club to consider, share a "field report" from our friends at The Mystery Lover's Bookshop, highlight some upcoming events, and more. Pay attention-you will be quizzed!
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Book Club Profile-The Novel Evening Book Club
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by Rebecca Bialek
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 The Novel Evening Book Club was founded about three years ago by Susan Reading, (a perfect name for a book club member if there ever was one!) Susan got the book club together to help lift her spirits after open-heart surgery. "I was always a voracious reader, and during my recovery I read a lot," she recalls. "I decided to get in touch with several people I knew enjoyed books but who I didn't see as often as I'd like. I had so many books I wanted to talk about with someone and with their affirmative replies to my initial letter, The Novel Evening Book Club was born."
There are seven full-time members of Novel Evening, and five members who come when they can. They meet on the last Monday of the month and often hold the meeting at a restaurant, though they sometimes meet in members' homes. Made up from people in their twenties to people in their seventies, the club includes two college professors, a former nurse, a community activist, a second grade teacher, a college student, an artist, and an elementary school counselor. Their interests, just as eclectic as their backgrounds, include quilting, backpacking, reading romance novels and watching old movies.
Susan chooses the titles for the year and presents them to group in November or December. She also takes the time to contact as many authors from the list as she can to invite them to join Novel Evening either in person or by teleconference, and several authors, among them Chris Bohjalian, Elizabeth Flock and Jacquelyn Mitchard, have met with the group this way. Susan also enjoys making some kind of favor that relates to the book they are reading. "Since I do not work outside the home, I have more time to spend on such pursuits. I truly love doing this little bit extra because it really enhances our meetings."
The Novel Evening Book Club has particularly enjoyed reading Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhust, Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock, and Ann Patchett's Bel Canto. Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard, Jane Hamilton's When Madeline was Young and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon are also enthusiastically recommended. Not everyone loved The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and Unless by Carol Shields, but, like most book clubs, that doesn't prevent them from having a rousing discussion.
The philosophy of this book club is "there are no book club rules." There are no minimum meetings required, and it's okay if someone didn't read the book. The main point of the Novel Evening club is to enjoy an evening out, to laugh or argue a point, or just listen to what other people are thinking. Susan sums it up nicely: "Our most common thread is a love of books and an enjoyment of reading. Everything else is icing on the cake."
Thanks to Susan Reading and the Novel Evening Book Club for participating in this profile. They will receive a copy of The Book Club Companion courtesy of our friends at Penguin.
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Book Club Recommendations
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 Here are our latest picks for titles that are sure to spark lively discussions in your book club. All are paperback books and all are recent releases.
Fiction:
The Bastard of Istanbul
Elif Shafak
You may recall hearing news stories about Elif Shafak being accused by nationalist lawyers of insulting Turkish identity when The Bastard of Istanbul was first published. She was acquitted, but the case sparked an international debate about art and censorship. Now you and your book club can experience this powerful tale of two families-one Turkish, one Armenian-American-and their struggle to forge their unique identities against the backdrop of Turkey's violent history. Filled with humor and understanding, the dramatic novel explores memory and forgetting, and the tension between the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it.
Read about Shafak's acquittal
$14.00
 The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears
Dinaw Mengestu
Hailed by The New York Times as "a great American novel," The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears is a novel of the immigration experience by an author who lived it. Seventeen years ago, Sepha Sephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution for the United States. He wanted a new start, but instead finds himself running a failing grocery store in a poor area of Washington D.C. For a time his only companions were two fellow African immigrants. Hope for a less isolated existence comes when Sepha befriends his new neighbors, Judith and her daughter Naomi. But when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, Sepha may lose everything all over again.
$14.00
 The Boys in the Trees
Mary Swan
William Heath, his wife, and two daughters-newly arrived in the countryside-appear to be the picture of a devoted family until accusations of embezzlement spur William to commit an unthinkable crime. Those who have witnessed the attentive, affectionate father go about his routine of work and family must now reconcile action with character. Meanwhile, one man searches for clues that might uncover the mystery of William's motivation. O. Henry Award-winner Mary Swan offers a chilling story that swells with acutely observed emotion.
$14.00
 Forgive Me
Amanda Eyre Ward
Restless and hungry for work after getting badly injured on assignment, foreign correspondent Nadine finds a story she can't resist: a local couple is heading to South Africa to hear their son's murderer confess at a hearing. She travels with them, (to a country where her own secrets are buried), intent on telling their story. When the boy's father gives her his son's journal, neither realizes how entangled their family stories will become or the gravity of the choices Nadine will have to make. Forgive Me is a gripping, ambitious novel by the author of How to Be Lost.
$13.95
 Mistress of the Art of Death (9780399154140)
Ariana Franklin
In medieval Cambridge, England, Adelia, a female forensics expert, is summoned by King Henry II to investigate a series of gruesome murders that has wrongly implicated the Jewish population. As her investigation takes her behind the closed doors of the country's churches, the killer prepares to strike again. "Vivid and engaging...succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime thriller. [A] terrific book."-Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series.
Paperback
$14.00
Nonfiction:
 Grayson
Lynne Cox
It was the dark of early morning; teenaged Lynne Cox was swimming back to the pier after a long workout when she became aware of something swimming with her. Whatever it was felt large enough to be a white shark coursing beneath her. In fact, it was a baby gray whale who had been separated from his mother. Lynne knew that if she went back to the pier, he'd follow her onto the shore where he'd die from dehydration. She knew she had to find his mother. Suddenly something so enormous seemed very small in the vast Pacific Ocean. This is the story-part mystery, part magical tale-of what happened next.
$13.00
 Stealing Buddha's Dinner
Bich Minh Nguyen
Vivid and viscerally powerful, this memoir about growing up in the 1980s-in the pre-PC-era Midwest-is a new spin on the classic assimilation story. As a Vietnamese girl coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Nguyen is filled with a hunger for American identity and a desire to belong that transmutes into a passion for American food. More exotic seeming than her Buddhist grandmother's traditional specialties are the glossy prepackaged Pringles and Kit-Kats which become a metaphor with Nguyen's struggle to become a "real" American.
$14.00
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A Report from the Field
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A Specialty Mystery Bookstore Offers Book Club Suggestions
 The Mystery Lovers Bookshop in metro Pittsburgh is considered one of the finest specialty bookstores in the country. So when bookseller Mary Alice Gorman wrote a piece on mysteries as book club suggestions, originally in a trade newsletter called Shelf Awareness, I asked if we could reprint it here, with some minor editing, especially as it ties in so well with our upcoming Mysteries Abroad presentation at Shorewood on February 20th. Whether you have a specialty book club, or a general one that is looking to spice up your selections, Gorman's recommendations might do the trick. -Daniel Goldin
At Mystery Lovers Bookshop we have several book groups who meet here over food ...an important factor. The oldest one is the Women Lawyers Group who celebrates 14 years in May. The others who have all met for more than 10 years-Second Thursday, Second Monday, History, No Lunch Bunch-and they read mysteries, too, while the Eclectic Book Group reads just that. There are other groups for whom we make suggestions when asked and order all books. Each year about a half dozen other groups come to the store for a mystery field trip. So you can see we have much experience with what works and what doesn't.
We try to suggest books that prompt good discussions, provide some new and interesting information and hold their own among the readers of the more "literary" novels. The following is a list of some hits and misses when Reading Groups come calling for a mystery suggestion:
1. Nancy Pickard's The Virgin of the Small Plains has headed our bestselling trade book list several times because it is such a good choice. Pickard sustains crackling suspense from the opening truck crash to the stories of what happened on January 23, 1987, and the impact of those events on the tiny town's professional leaders and their families. She also depicts the gorgeous country, a vicious tornado and lingering love with the sure grace of a gifted writer. The plot and characters are very rich and always promote a discussion of the element of suspense and the fate born of secrets.
2. Ken Follett's marvelously tense Jackdaws introduces a fictionalized version of the story of a heretofore little known group of English women. The central figure is Flick Clairet, an Englishwoman married to a Frenchman in the Resistance, who works for British intelligence--one of a small number of women serving behind enemy lines. The action takes place just before D-Day--the goal is to take out a crucial German installation before the invasion. Follett does his typically fine job of keeping you turning pages while filling in a slew of facts about the Resistance movement and why this operation had to be undertaken by women. Loads of discussion here about the real story behind the novel and the role of women in war.
 3. Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline is one of her best. In it, she moves beyond the legal thriller with mystery elements to embrace a story founded in her own personal history: the genesis of the book came from Lisa's discovery of her grandparents' alien registration cards. In the book, Mary DiNunzio--who fans may remember as the protagonist of Scottoline's debut, Everywhere That Mary Went--is involved in a case related to the internment of tens of thousands of Italian-American immigrants during World War II. (While many of us are familiar with the internment of Japanese-Americans, the internment of Italian-Americans was less well known.) This case involves a man interned during the war who committed suicide in the camp. Mary represents his estate, which is seeking reparations. All of Scottoline's trademark humor and suspense are present in full measure in this absorbing book. Discussion of the plot always brings forth a variety of memories of World War II.
4. Laura Lippman's To the Power of Three is a brilliant look at the lethality of loyalty when three best friends are found in a locked girl's room after a school shooting. The role of family, the details of teenage communications and the gripping secret that compels all of the survivors are riveting. Much discussion ensues about female relationships and teen-age experiences.
5. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane is a big surprise. At the book's heart are three men, once friends, whose lives have diverged although still bound by complex threads that lead back to their childhoods in the immigrant, working-class neighborhood of East Buckingham. Lehane has done an extraordinary job of bringing these characters to life. The neighborhoods, so well evoked, became a powerful fourth character. Much of the long discussion generated by this book involves neighborhood as well as the relation of the women characters to the story.
What doesn't work so well in book groups are the humorous mystery books like Janet Evanovich's. While mystery readers do love them, the discussions tend to be limited to punch lines and favorite scenes. Groups who read Sayers or Christie also report the same sort of flagging discussion.
Enjoy!
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Book Club Field Trips
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Mysteries Abroad
Wednesday, February 20 · 7 p.m. presentation · Shorewood
If your book club is looking for the next great mystery book to discuss, you're in luck! Schwartz Bookshops and Penguin Group USA have your ticket to international intrigue and sensational suspense. Penguin sales representative Lee Swenka and Schwartz bookseller-and avid mystery reader-Catherine Wallberg will present the latest mysteries with international settings. Their presentation at our Reader's Retreat last fall was one of the highlights of the weekend-don't miss out on what's sure to be another fun, lively event.
Manil Suri · author of The Age of Shiva
Neeta Saluja · author of Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking
Saturday, Februrary 23 · 2 p.m. presentation · Mequon
Celebrate Indian culture with the author of The Death of Vishnu, Manil Suri. His latest novel, The Age of Shiva, is the story of one woman's quest to establish herself in a male-dominated society set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil. Joining Manil is Neeta Saluja, who will discuss how to prepare simple, delicious Indian cuisine and offer a tasting based on her cookbook, Six Spices.
James McBride · author of Song Yet Sung
Saturday, February 23 · 3 p.m. reading · Shorewood
The latest page-turner by the author of The Color of Water is a powerful story about a runaway slave and a determined slave catcher. Liz Spocott flees into the world of the underground railroad, with its double meanings and unspoken clues known as "The Code." The web of relationships in a small Chesapeake Bay town collapses as Liz and her pursuer face off in this gripping drama.
Chris Bohjalian · author of The Double Bind
Sunday, February 24 · 2 p.m. reading · Brookfield
The author of Midwives is back with a spellbinding literary thriller that travels between the roaring twenties and the twenty-first century. A formerly outgoing young woman, Laurel Estabrook withdraws into her photography and volunteer work at a homeless shelter after being attacked while riding her bicycle. During her volunteer work she meets Bobbie Crocker, who had been a successful photographer before becoming homeless. As her fascination with his former life grows, she becomes convinced that his photographs reveal a hidden secret.
Joshilyn Jackson · author of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
Sunday, March 9 · 2 p.m. reading · Mequon
Meet the author of #1 Book Sense Picks Gods in Alabama and Between Georgia. Her latest finds Laurel Gray Hawthorne shaken by a devastating discovery in her own backyard. Though her life seems neat and on track with a passionate marriage, beloved daughter, lovely home-and family skeletons safely buried-everything Laurel holds dear is threatened when the body of her teenage neighbor is found in the family swimming pool.
Charles Baxter · author of The Soul Thief
Friday, March 14 · 7 p.m. reading · Downer Ave.
The latest novel by the acclaimed author of Feast of Love finds Nathaniel Mason, a new graduate student in upstate New York, drawn into a tangle of relationships with people who seem to hover just out of his reach. One of those people is the cryptic Jerome Coolberg who seems to have taken parts of Nathaniel's past as his own. It's Jerome who triggers Nathaniel's total breakdown, and it's Jerome who shows up at his door thirty years later, after Nathaniel has rebuilt his life, to suggest Nathaniel's identity may not be his own.
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Schwartz Live at Alverno Presents: Jodi Picoult
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Author of Change of Heart
 Wednesday, March 12 · 7 p.m.
Jodi Picoult returns to our Schwartz Live at Alverno series for her latest novel, Change of Heart. Picoult fans will enjoy the return of Ian Fletcher from Keeping the Faith in this book that looks at the nature of organized religion and belief. Change of Heart finds a death row inmate making one last request: to donate his heart to the sister of his victim, who is looking for a transplant. Picoult once again mesmerizes and enthralls with this story of a mother's tragic loss and a criminal's last chance at salvation.
This event takes place at The Pitman Theater at Alverno College, 3401 S. 39th St., Milwaukee
$33 includes admission to the event and a signed copy of Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart.
Purchase your tickets online or by calling the box office at 414-382-6044
There is a $5 handling fee for each order placed (per order, not per ticket). A Schwartz Bookshops gift card may be requested in place of book.
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A Reader's Day Away |
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 Cold. Snow. Slush. Repeat. If only there were some way to escape it. Some kind of "mini-retreat" in an elegant setting where you could relax with your friends, meet new people to discuss books with-even meet an author or two.
It seems the first ever Harry W. Schwartz Reader's Day Away with Scribner Publishing is just the thing to chase away the winter blues. On March 8, our daylong event at the gorgeous Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee begins at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast with Aryn Kyle, author of the bestselling The God of Animals. Like our Reader's Retreat in the fall, you'll mingle with publishing insiders, booksellers, fellow book lovers, and authors, and you'll attend fun, informative workshops. For lunch, you'll join Eileen Favorite, author of The Heroines, and her editor, V.P. and Editor-in-Chief of Scribner, Nan Graham, who is also responsible for editing Stephen King, Don DeLillo and Frank McCourt, among others.
With special room rates available-and a gift certificate to the new Well Spa courtesy of The Pfister Hotel-it's easy to make A Reader's Day Away a fantastic weekend getaway. More information is available below.
$125 includes:
· Breakfast with Aryn Kyle and a signed paperback copy of the bestselling The God of Animals
· Two breakout sessions. Choose from: · Inside Publishing presented by Nan Graham, V.P. and Editor-in-Chief of Scribner
· New Books for Spring presented by Schwartz Bookshops
· What to Read Next for You or Your Book Club presented by Simon & Schuster
· Memoirs and Biographies presented by Schwartz Bookshops
· Lunch and conversation with Eileen favorite and her editor, Nan Graham; a signed copy of The Heroines · $25 gift certificate to Well Spa at The Pfister Hotel
To register for A Reader's Day Away, call (414) 220-4447.
The Pfister Hotel is offering a special room rate of $179 for attendees. To make hotel reservations, please call 800-558-8222. Mention the event to receive the special rate.
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Win a Free Paperback
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 We've given away free galleys and paperbacks in the past, but this time we're going to do it a little differently. This time, we're asking you to answer a question about this Book Club Newsletter in order to win. (We told you there'd be a quiz.) Just send your answer to the question below in an email with the subject line "Paperback Giveaway" to rbialek@schwartzbooks.com If you've answered correctly, you'll be entered in a drawing to receive a paperback copy of one of these titles:
Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
They Did it With Love by Kate Morgenroth
Courtesy of Penguin Group USA
After This by Alice McDermott
The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
Courtesy of Dial Press
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet
Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards
Courtesy of Harcourt Press
Without further ado, the question is:
Which author of two back-to-back #1 Book Sense Picks will be coming to Schwartz in Mequon this March?
The answer can be found somewhere in this newsletter! Good luck!
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Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops
Milwaukee's Very Own Independent Bookshop Since 1927
Downer Ave., 2559 N. Downer Ave., 414-332-1181, ondowner@schwartzbooks.com
Bay View, 2262 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., 414-481-3401, bayview@schwartzbooks.com
Brookfield, 17145 W. Bluemound Rd., 262-797-6140, brookfield@schwartzbooks.com
Mequon, 10976 N. Port Washington Rd., 262-241-6220, mequon@schwartzbooks.com
Shorewood, 4093 N. Oakland Ave., 414-963-3111, shorewood@schwartzbooks.com
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