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Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz

July 2007

Jon Katz is one of America’s best-loved dog writers, and his keen insights into the animal world have earned him the title of Squire of Bedlam Farm. His new memoir, DOG DAYS, allows us to live our dreams of leaving the city for the country, and shares the unpredictable adventure of farm life.

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Interview: John Flanagan, author of Ranger's Apprentice, Book 3: The Icebound Land

Jul 1, 2007

In this interview with Kidsreads.com’s Sarah Wood, John Flanagan --- author of the bestselling Ranger’s Apprentice series --- describes how he created these stories as a way of encouraging his young son to read and explains how his characters have evolved over the course of several novels. He also discusses his interest in history and mythology, from which he draws inspiration, and shares what readers can look forward to in future installments, following the recently-released THE ICEBOUND LAND.

July 2007

Greetings from Atlanta. I have spent the last week on the road for business and pleasure visiting both Atlanta and the mountains of North Carolina. Along the way I got to visit Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina and Coffee Buy the Book in Roswell, Georgia. This afternoon we are touring the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, giving this trip a true literary flavor. I hope that you too are finding some terrific places to read this summer.

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Would your group discuss any Harry Potter titles?

July 1, 2007, 418 voters

June 29, 2007

Last weekend's American Library Association Convention in DC was a great experience. Everywhere I turned in the convention center there were wonderfully informed librarians ready to chat up books. They not only knew books, they knew ALL about them. Sitting at various breakfasts and lunches I enjoyed their conversation about plots, themes, recent releases, old favorites and trends. Each title I mentioned was met with informed discussion with none of those awkward silences that usually occur when people meet for the first time.

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Interview: Anita Amirrezvani, author of The Blood of Flowers

Jun 29, 2007

June 29, 2007

Anita Amirrezvani’s debut work of fiction, THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS, chronicles the hardships a young girl faces in 17th-century Persia as she attempts to make a better life for herself after the untimely death of her father.

Interview: Adriana Bourgoin, author of Nine Months in August

Jun 29, 2007

June 29, 2007

Adriana Bourgoin's debut novel, NINE MONTHS IN AUGUST, captures the physical and emotional challenges one woman must experience after learning she is pregnant. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Barbara Bamberger Scott, Bourgoin shares some of her own habits, practices and fears while carrying her two children, and makes comparisons between herself and her protagonist, Gretchen.

Interview: Brett Battles, author of The Cleaner

Jun 29, 2007

June 29, 2007

Brett Battles’s debut novel, THE CLEANER, features an ex-cop who now works for a government intelligence agency, "cleaning" up the traces of violence they leave behind. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Battles discusses some of the offbeat professions and characters he has encountered in the entertainment business that served as the inspiration for his main character and elaborates on his decision to approach this novel from an angle unique to the thriller genre. He also describes his writing process, explains the travel and research involved in bringing the book's exotic settings to life and cryptically reveals details about a possible sequel.

June 2007

As I am sitting here writing this on a beastly hot afternoon in New York City, I am thinking of an old song by a group called Mungo Jerry, which is somewhat of a summertime classic. I reworked the words a bit to talk about summertime reading....

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Interview: Pete Hamill, author of North River

Jun 22, 2007

June 22, 2007

In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Tom Callahan, author, essayist and journalist Pete Hamill discusses the lost New York of the 1930s that he captures in his latest novel, NORTH RIVER, and describes the extensive research he performed --- as well as his reliance on memories and family stories --- to bring that period to life.