Kudos first - in my last blog I told you about Bookworks' Book Group creating the Reading Group Guide questions for WHITE HORSE, a book coming out in April from Atria.  We've found out that the questions will also be published in the UK and Australian editions of the book.  Cool!!  Yay for Bookworks' Book Group!

I read two good, very different books this week.

The first one is definitely a woman's kind of story.  I laughed.  I loved the three women in it.  It is THE LION IS IN by Delia Ephron, who wrote the screenplays for THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS and YOU'VE GOT MAIL.  I think everyone in the Ephron family must have a fabulous sense of humor - I'll bet it's fun to be with all of them at the same time.  THE LION IS IN will be published the end of this month, March, by Blue Rider Press.  $24.94.  Two women are running away, ala Thelma and Louise, when they find a third woman, Rita, walking along the highway.  Rita is older but she is running away from home also. 

They end up at this deserted old bar out in the middle of nowhere.  Inside is a large cage with a large male lion in it.  Marcel.  You will have fun with this and cheer these women on.  It's light but it is a kick and Marcel is a sweetie.  Fun book!

The other book I read this week is not coming out until April but put it on your list now.  I've been of fan of David Baldacci's since his first book, ABSOLUTE POWER, years ago.  This new one, THE INNOCENT  (Grand Central $27.99) was excellent.  The covert assassin, Will, inadvertently gets stuck with a whip-smart, calculus capable 14 year old girl and their interactions and conversations are wonderful.  A number of people are trying to kill them and since they are both brilliant, their actions and methods are brilliant, also.  Very good thriller.

Last thing is that yellow Peeps are in the stores.  Yay.  Yes, I know they are sugar mixed with chemicals but once in a while it's ok.  Best thing to do with them is 1) open the package and let them dry out for several days, 2) hide the packages while they dry out, and 3) eat them before other family members find them.  Let me know if you've ever tried the ones that are purple, a gross shade of red, and orange.  I'll stick with the yellow ones.  Happy sugar high!

You may or may not know that booksellers, librarians and reviewers get early reading copies of books prior to publication.  They are called ARCs (advance reading copy), galleys, uncorrected proofs, whatever, but what is important is that they are not available to the general public. 

A few months ago I read an early manuscript of a book titled WHITE HORSE by Alex Adams.  It will be published in April by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Publishers, and it is the first book of a trilogy.  I loved it and sent the publisher a bookseller quote.

Atria contacted Bookworks wanting to know if the store had a book group (yes, Bookwork's Book Group - aka BBG) and if BBG would be interested in reading advance copies of WHITE HORSE and then create questions to be used in the Reading Group Guide.  The Guide would be bound in the finished book to be used by reading groups around the country.

WHITE HORSE is a post-apocalyptic (or dystopian) novel and it is not the kind of book that BBG normally reads.  Like any good dystopian novel today, it has some pretty gruesome details in it.  Bookwork's Book Group said "yes, let's do it!". 

In December, Atria shipped a box of bound manuscripts to the store.  The BBG members picked up copies and employees started reading it, too.  Atria sent us a stack of WHITE HORSE bookmarks with my bookseller quote and a link to Bookworks on them.

7:00 p.m. January 25, was chosen as THE Night To Come Up With The Reading Group Guide Questions.  Bookworks provided pizza, sparkling cider, garlic bread and yummy cinnamon/sugar goodies.  We laughed a lot.  We disagreed.  We even got a bit rowdy at times.  We talked until it was time for the store to close.

Best of all, we created some interesting, intelligent, thought-provoking questions (which, thankfully, will be edited by professionals at Atria!).

My thanks to the people at Atria for letting us participate in this process; thanks to Bookworks for the food & drink; and thanks to everyone, BBG members and store employees, who read the book and provided questions.  It was a unique experience and everyone involved is excited about seeing the finished book and the Reading Group Guide.  April.  Check it out!  WHITE HORSE by Alex Adams.

And if you are interested in attending Bookworks' Book Group, it is open to the public, everyone is welcome, and all opinions matter.  2nd Wed. of every month, 7:00 p.m., at Bookworks.  

When I was given a copy of James Carlos Blake's COUNTRY OF THE BAD WOLFES to read in advance of publication, my first thought was "ok, it isn't a spy thriller or a murder mystery but I'll try it".

I was completely hooked within a few pages and I have been telling readers about it ever since.

James Carlos Blake will be at Bookworks this Saturday, January 28th, at 3:00 p.m.

I can't wait to meet him.  I can't wait to hear him discuss this book.  Yes, I am excited about this!

Here is what I told his publisher (Cinco Puntos Press) about the book and my quote was chosen to be in the Indie Bound, Indie Next flyer for January.    FREE copies of Indie Next can be found on the front counter at Bookworks.  We get new flyers each month - Indie booksellers from around the country tell you about great new books just being published.  It is a wonderful resource, especially if you aren't sure what book you want to read next.

So, here is my quote:

"In the early 1800s, Irishman Roger Blake Wolfe arrived in New Hampshire, married, and fathered twin boys.  Within a year, he was arrested and executed for maritime piracy in Veracruz, Mexico.  Thus begins the Wolfe family connection with Mexico.  One twin, Samuel Thomas Wolfe, fought in the Mexican-American War, deserted and joined the San Patricios on the Mexican side, married, and lived in Mexico City.  His twin, John Roger Wolfe, became very wealthy and lived on a hacienda near Veracruz with coffee plantations and entire vilages within his ownership.  John Roger and his wife had twin boys, who are the very meat of the book - a sprawling, magnificent story of three generations of men, their fortunes, loves and losses, during a fascinating time in the history of the United States and Mexico."  

Reminder:  this Saturday at 3:00 p.m.   If you can't be there, you can always order the book online or over the phone - after the event, we'll have signed copies for sale on the shelves.

I am looking forward to seeing you there! 

I've been under the weather but now I am ready to start telling you about some books that would make terrific gifts for the holidays.

My husband, an old basketball player (oops - guess I should say EX basketball player!) reads every night but it usually takes him several weeks to finish a book because he only reads for a short time, not hours like I do. 

I have never seen him finish a book as quickly as he did ONE ON ONE, Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game by John Feinstein.  It is in hardcover - $27.99 (Little Brown), published this week.  It is Feinstein's encounters off the fields, in the locker rooms, behind the scenes with everyone from Jim Valvano and Bob Knight to Tiger Woods and John McEnroe.

Don, my old (ex) basketball playing husband, says this is the most enjoyable book he has read in a very long time.  He wants to read it again.  This is the highest praise he could possibly give a book.  I am so impressed with how much he liked it that now I'm going to read it.

My old basketball player says it doesn't even matter what sport someone enjoys, and whether they are a player or an armchair fan, either way, this book will be the hit of their season.  Check it out!  

I grew up in ABQ, just a few blocks from Bookworks, when there was a whole lot more vacant land in the North Valley.  I had Quarter horses and a show jumper and to this day, I miss the smell and feel of horses.  I even miss cleaning stalls and tack!

When I hear about a new book with horses in it, I know I will have to read it.  HORSES NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her by Jana Harris, award-winning poet, novelist, essayist. (Free Press/Simon & Schuster $24.00).  This is wonderful - wonderfully wonderful! 

Harris lives in the Pacific NW at the base of the Cascade Mountains and she raises and trains a breed called Warmbloods (they are gorgeous horses!).  She also trains and shows in dressage.

Her life changes when she buy a mare named True Colors.  A difficult mare.  Harris's descriptions of breeding, raising, training are extensive so it is very interesting whether or not you know anything about horses.  Calling the vet time and time again, calling the horse shoer time and time again, sleeping in the barn when you think a mare is ready to foal.  I'm using the word wonderful much too often but it truly describes her narrative and how enjoyable this book would be for any one who loves to read. 

The holidays are coming and I'm going to start giving you gift ideas soon - book titles, of course!