You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers and authors.
In an ongoing effort to build community among readers, writers, and publishing types in real life, we are hosting our next Mediabistro Book Club tonight (Thursday, February 17th) at Underbar in New York City.
Follow this link to RSVP for the free party–we will give away more than 60 books to attendees. Our guest list includes an indie novel, a real life relationship collection, a literary legends sourcebook, and a break-up cookbook. More information about the Book Club authors follows below…
Barbara Browning – The Correspondence Artist: “For three years, a rather unremarkable woman named Vivian has been carrying on with an internationally recognized artist, largely via e-mail. Fame contaminates things. There are people who stand to profit from the most trivial information about this affair, and others who stand to lose. So she creates a subterfuge: a series of fictional versions of her lover.”
Emily Rogan – Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart – 28 True Stories of Love, Loss and Everything in Between: “For anyone who has fallen in love, been betrayed, lost a parent or let a child fly from the nest, Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart will resonate with your heart. A woman recalls her decision to lose her virginity at 17 – and the emotional roller coaster that ensues when her parents discover a secret stash of prophylactics. A mother comes to terms with her adopted daughter’s quest to find her birth mom. A black Labrador wreaks havoc on one woman’s idyllic relationship with her boyfriend- until she, too, falls in love with the beautiful canine. A pregnant woman discovers her husband’s affair – and realizes that the baby she’s carrying is her ticket to rebirth. A daughter learns that the way into her father’s heart is through her hair. These are just a few of the essays in Fits, Starts & Matters of the Heart: 28 True Stories of Love, Loss & Everything in Between. In this compelling collection, a group of writers, who connected through a professional community called Freelance Success, share the joy and angst at the root of all relationships.”
Alex Palmer – Literary Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Literature: “Here are behind-the-book stories and facts about authors, publishing and everything literary that will entertain both casual and serious readers. Among the questions asked and answered: When Did Literature Finally Get Sexy? Is Coffee or Opium Better for Literary Creativity? Why Are the Best Autobiographies so Embarrassing? Why Do Some Detectives Use Their Minds and Others Their Fists? Who knew that bestseller lists and children’s books could be the source of intense controversy? Or that even the biggest writers had to scrape by, with odd jobs and inventions like the Mark Twain Self-Pasting Scrapbook? In Literary Miscellany, examine the trend of ‘fake memoirs,’ with a list of who lied about what, and a rogues’ gallery of hoaxers dating back centuries. From epic poetry and Homer to pulp fiction and Harry Potter, Literary Miscellany is a breezy tour through the literature of today and yesterday, packed with enough interesting facts to entertain both the erudite professor and pleasure reader.”
Nicole Porter – The Break-up Cookbook: Recipes for Singles Who Aren’t Getting Any … Anymore : “It’s ‘The Ladies’ Home Journal’ meets ‘The Anarchist’s Cookbook,’ featuring more than 100 of the greasiest, sweetest, and most decadent recipes, THE BREAK-UP COOKBOOK is chock full of fun features, revenge-worthy crafts, outrageous mad-libs, and new and interesting ways to tell your ex to ‘kick rocks.'”