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Laura Dave Book Group Event

Laura Dave Book Group Event

Which of the following fiction titles releasing in May have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.

May 1, 2026, 526 voters

May 1, 2026 - May 15, 2026

Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from May 1st to May 15th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE FOURSOME by Christina Baker Kline and THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY by Elizabeth Strout.

We are kicking off this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Devi S. Laskar. Her third novel, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, is about a reporter chasing the biggest story of her career as she contends with a tense newsroom, a dangerous global conflict, and all the problems she’s running away from at home. The book’s release has been bittersweet for Devi, as she explains in this heartwarming tribute to her family of voracious readers. She is especially eager to hear what her mother thinks of her latest work.

Devi S. Laskar

Devi S. Laskar is a poet, novelist, artist, photographer, songwriter and former newspaper reporter. Her debut poetry collection, SELF-PORTRAITS EX MACHINA, is out now from Finishing Line Press. Laskar is the author of the award-winning novel THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES and, recently, CIRCA, a GOOP Book Club selection. Her third novel is the newly released MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, and her first spoken-word album is coming out this spring. In 2022, USA Today named her one of 50 AAPI authors to read. She holds degrees from Columbia University, University of Illinois and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Editorial Content for Phases: A Memoir

Reviewer (text)

Barbara Bamberger Scott

In PHASES, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer and actress Brandy recounts the secrets, sorrows and successes that brought her into the limelight from an early age. Read More

Teaser

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston. Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling. In PHASES, Brandy shares the humble roots of her decades-spanning career, her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler, the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums, and so much more.

Promo

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston. Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling. In PHASES, Brandy shares the humble roots of her decades-spanning career, her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler, the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums, and so much more.

About the Book

The iconic, multiplatinum, Grammy Award®–winning performer Brandy brings us a raw, intimate portrait of her life, charting her growth to stardom from Mississippi churches to Hollywood spotlights.

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston.

Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling.

In this piercing, revelatory memoir, Brandy shares:

  • The humble roots of her decades-spanning career
  • Her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler
  • the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums
  • her star-studded connections with Whitney Houston and Diana Ross
  • the affirmation of friends and family, including her brother Ray J, that helped her through challenging times
  • her inspirational journey to reclaim her sense of self, and her autonomy as a woman in Hollywood and in music
  • and so much more

PHASES is a fearless and remarkable story of hope, resilience and the strength it takes to make peace with the past.

Audiobook available, read by Brandy

Editorial Content for The Caretaker

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Marcus Kliewer, whose debut, WE USED TO LIVE HERE, announced him as a startling new voice in horror fiction, returns with THE CARETAKER. In this eerie, atmospheric work, a desperate young woman accepts a job as a caretaker to a house with strict, rigid protocols known as the Rites. “Follow the Rites,” her directions begin, “Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.” Read More

Teaser

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it’s only three days’ work. Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

Promo

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it’s only three days’ work. Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

About the Book

Follow the Rites...

Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.

From Marcus Kliewer, a new “titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater --- and more dangerous --- than she ever could have imagined.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work.

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

..--- / ..... / ---..

Audiobook available, read by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Corey Brill

Editorial Content for Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

For the greater part of its 236 years of existence, the United States Supreme Court has been the least discussed of the three branches of government. While significant decisions were covered by some journalists, the justices toiled in relative obscurity. Few Americans could even name them. Read More

Teaser

Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans and only three by Democrats. So how does that 6-3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024-25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows? To truly understand the Court, argues Sarah Isgur, you have to look beyond partisan politics --- the “X-Axis.” The wisest court watchers apply another measuring stick, the “Y-Axis," where the nine justices span from order-loving institutionalists to true chaos agents.

Promo

Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans and only three by Democrats. So how does that 6-3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024-25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows? To truly understand the Court, argues Sarah Isgur, you have to look beyond partisan politics --- the “X-Axis.” The wisest court watchers apply another measuring stick, the “Y-Axis," where the nine justices span from order-loving institutionalists to true chaos agents.

About the Book

A myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, revealing what we get wrong about the Roberts Court, what the justices' clerks gossip about, and how to fix a court in crisis --- from the popular ABC News pundit and top legal podcaster.

Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans and only three by Democrats. So how does that 6-3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024-25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows?

To truly understand the Court, argues Sarah Isgur, you have to look beyond partisan politics --- the “X-Axis.” The wisest court watchers apply another measuring stick, the “Y-Axis," where the nine justices span from order-loving institutionalists to true chaos agents. Once you appreciate these overlapping and even competing impulses, the Court begins to look a lot more like a 3-3-3 split than 6-3.

The ultimate insider, Isgur takes readers on a deep dive inside the Supreme Court: how cases land at the Court’s doorstep, which justices attend clerk happy hours (and which ones even bother showing up to the office), why conservatives already have buyer’s remorse about Amy Coney Barrett, and how the whole judicial system is kind of a constitutional anomaly. She’ll even help you decide if you should throw your hat in the ring and go to law school!

Blending irreverent humor and incisive commentary, Isgur goes underneath the robes --- and shows us what we need to do to preserve the rule of law amid dicey times in this little self-governing experiment we’ve been running for the last 250 years.

Audiobook available, read by Sarah Isgur

Editorial Content for We Burned So Bright

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

TJ Klune, the bestselling author of THE HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA and UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR, returns with WE BURNED SO BRIGHT, a stand-alone novella set at the end of the world. No, really. Read More

Teaser

A rogue black hole is coming for Earth, and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone. Suddenly, after 40 years together, husbands Don and Rodney are out of time. They’re in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over. On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how --- impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals and new friends. And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.

Promo

A rogue black hole is coming for Earth, and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone. Suddenly, after 40 years together, husbands Don and Rodney are out of time. They’re in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over. On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how --- impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals and new friends. And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.

About the Book

A heart-wrenching stand-alone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, WE BURNED SO BRIGHT follows an elder gay couple on an end-of-the-world road-trip.

The road stretched out before them. No other cars, just the headlights on the blacktop. Above, the cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky...

Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they’ve experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world.

Now, the world is ending for real. A rogue black hole is coming for Earth, and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone.

Suddenly, after 40 years together, Don and Rodney are out of time. They’re in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over.

On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how --- impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals and new friends.

And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.

Is it enough to burn bright if nothing comes from the ashes?

Audiobook available, read by Kirt Graves