Skip to main content

April 6, 2007

Greetings from the Outer Banks where the weather has been great! I have gotten a ton of reading done poolside this week, which has been heavenly. The house we are renting is on a golf course, and I have been spying the balls for the golfers who are not hitting it straight. I tell people that for $1 I will point them to where their ball has landed. This offer is getting some good laughs. For a complete travelogue of our trip thus far, you can read my blog here. It includes updates on my reading, as well as assorted other tales from the trip, including the $1 DVD rentals that have the boys and me jazzed.

Bookreporter.
Read More

Interview: Sandra Dallas, author of Tallgrass

Apr 6, 2007

April 6, 2007

Author and journalist Sandra Dallas has written 10 nonfiction books and seven novels, including her latest work of fiction, TALLGRASS. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Alexis Burling, Dallas describes the past and current events that inspired this story, which revolves around Japanese internment camps during World War II, and discusses the amount of research she conducted in preparation for the book. She also reveals some of her characters' real-life counterparts, explains how the elements of the plot have evolved during the writing process and shares what she hopes readers will take away from the novel.

Interview: Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Bookmobile

Apr 6, 2007

April 6, 2007

Masha Hamilton has worked for the Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press and NBC-Mutual Radio, and is the author of THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US and STAIRCASE OF A THOUSAND STEPS. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Alexis Burling, Hamilton discusses the real project that inspired her latest novel, THE CAMEL BOOKMOBILE, and elaborates on some of the themes covered in the book regarding the clash of disparate cultures and the ways in which Americans approach issues overseas.

Interview: Anne Lamott, author of Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith

Apr 6, 2007

April 6, 2007

Anne Lamott's writing is witty, often profane and deeply authentic. In GRACE (EVENTUALLY) she continues in the vein of TRAVELING MERCIES and PLAN B, chronicling her life as a Christian, liberal, parent and friend. As she embarks on her latest book tour, Bookreporter.com's Cindy Crosby chats with Lamott about middle age, living with a teenager, her new mellow outlook on life and what she considers the greatest joy of all.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

April 2007

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens --- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy.

Read more »

In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing by Lee Woodruff

April 2007

In January 2006, while reporting on U.S. and Iraqi security forces, Bob Woodruff was seriously injured by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle near Taji, Iraq. In this dual memoir, Bob and his wife, Lee, share their never-before-told story of romance, resilience and survival following the tragedy that transformed their lives. 

Read more »

My Father's Secret War: A Memoir by Lucinda Franks

April 2007

In this moving and compelling memoir, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lucinda Franks discovers that the remote, nearly impassive man she grew up with had in fact been a daring spy behind enemy lines in World War II. MY FATHER'S SECRET WAR is an intimate account of Franks coming to know her own father after years of estrangement. 

Read more »

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez

April 2007

Deborah Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, moves to Afghanistan and opens up a beauty school that changes the lives of those living in this war-torn nation for the better. With warmth and humor, she details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. 

Read more »

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley

April 2007

Walter Mosley attempts to tell readers "everything I know about novel writing in less than 25,000 words." He succeeds brilliantly in this valuable little book that should take its place alongside THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE and ON WRITING WELL on the bookshelf of any aspiring writer and those interested in how novels are put together. 

Read more »

April 2007

I am writing this week from the Outer Banks where I am on vacation with my family. The weather has been spectacular, which is lovely after a gray and drab New York winter. I have been getting a lot of reading done poolside, which is a treat. I usually end up "reading ahead" with books that are coming out in the next few months. One that you are going to be excited about is A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini who many of you know as the author of THE KITE RUNNER. It's just brilliant, and readers will not be disappointed in this sophomore effort. Again the setting is Afghanistan. It's a deeply moving story of two women that takes place over thirty years. It will be in stores on May 22nd. There's also a debut author who I want to have on your radar --- Anita Amirrezvani, whose book, THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS, is set in 17th century Persia. The protagonist is a young woman who is a carpet designer and weaver. I am not a fan of historical fiction, but this story definitely wove its way into my heart. It's on sale June 5th.

Read More