Bookreporter Talks To

We have a new format for our first “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, in which we discuss American Dirt with the author, Jeanine Cummins.

Carol interviews Jeanine at the start and then invites eight readers to ask questions live. To finish we went to questions from our Zoom audience. Carol had been looking forward to this interview for a long time. American Dirt is a Bookreporter Bets On pick, as well as an Oprah Book Club selection and is a finalist for the Goodreads Reader’s Choice Award in Fiction.

Jeanine and Carol cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including her research for the book, the stops and starts it had over a five-year period, her various inspirations, and her passion for the subject matter. And yes, they talked about the controversy surrounding it at publication.

Readers who joined asked about the title, the cover design, the incorporation of Spanish into the prose, and what Jeanine hoped people would take away from it. And there was also a lively conversation about the audio version. It’s a deep-dive conversation into a book that readers loved --- and which they have noted made a strong impact on them.

Books discussed:

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/american-dirt

A Rip in Heaven

The Crooked Branch

The Outside Boy

The Book of Rosie by Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo 

Jeanine is working with the International Rescue Committee to raise funds to help support severely under-resourced programs that offer protection and hope to the men, women, and children waiting in Mexico to get to the United States. She is matching donations up to $100,000 until the end of 2020.

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/borderlands

60 Minutes Episode Mentioned: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-families-how-acting-dhs-chief-kevin-mcaleenan-plans-to-handle-southern-border-60-minutes-2019-04-28/

The Trade on Showtime: https://www.sho.com/the-trade#

Audiobook Excerpt Included
American Dirt narrated by Yareli Arizmendi

Susie Yang joins Carol to discuss her debut novel, White Ivy, which is the “Today Show Read With Jena” selection for November.
Susie's main character, Ivy Lin, was born in China. Her parents left her there and moved to the States, bringing her to join them when she was five. When Ivy is accepted as a scholarship student at the school where her father works, her goal is to fit in with others enrolled there. Her grandmother has taught her to  shoplift  from stores and yard sales to have the trappings of other American teenagers. Her crush is on a wealthy teen boy, Gideon Speyer whose father is a politician.
Ivy's parents disapprove of her trying to Americanize, and she is sent back to China, which furthers her conflict with her family. She crosses paths again with Gideon, and inserts herself into his life, the way she'd always wanted. But she is challenged by an old acquaintance who knows enough about her to tear her new-found world apart.
The author Susie has lived around the world --- in fact she spoke with Carol from Istanbul, where she is living this month. Her peripatetic  lifestyle contributed to her writing, as she has moved so often. The two talk deeply about the characters in this book, as well as the multi-step editing process that took this book from first draft to publication.

Books discussed in this episode:

White Ivy by Susie Yang

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Aimee Molloy, the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother, joins Carol to discuss her second novel, Goodnight Beautiful. It is one of those books Carol simply cannot stop talking about, with stellar twists that are so well plotted. In Goodnight Beautiful, Sam, a psychotherapist, and Annie are newly married. While Sam works long hours with his patients, he doesn't realize that every word can be clearly heard upstairs through a floor vent upstairs. Then Sam goes missing, forcing Annie to try to figure out what happened to him. Aimee shares how she shelved another book, just as it was due to the publisher, and went forth instead with the plot for this one! It’s a great publishing story. They discuss her journey in becoming a novelist, and the ways her own marriage may accidentally have had a part in accidentally influencing her work.

Books discussed in this episode:

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

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Rose Carlyle joins Bookreporter Talks To from New Zealand to discuss her debut thriller, The Girl in the Mirror, which is a Bookreporter Bets On selection. Carol loves this line to describe it, “It’s a thriller with identical twins, fast yachts, tropical harbors, secrets and deceit, sex, and crocodiles.” She read it floating in the pool and looked up thinking she was on her way to the Seychelles.
In the book, Iris and Summer are mirror twins, meaning they're completely identical but physically asymmetrical. Iris, who has always been envious of her sister's perfect life, joins Summer on a sailing trip that goes awry. When Iris returns to land, she's assumed to be her sister and lives out the life she's always wanted. How long does she have until she's discovered, and what will the consequences be?
Rose and Carol discuss what it means to be a mirror twin and the effect it can have on people's lives. With quite a bit of experience in sailing and traveling, Rose describes her own adventures in the context of the book. There's plenty more to hear as the two unravel the book's deeper messages.

Books discussed in this episode:

The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle

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Lisa Jewel joined Carol from London to discuss her newest novel, Invisible Girl. Carol and Lisa first met at BookExpo a few years ago, where they quickly bonded over Lisa’s thriller writing. Carol has interviewed Lisa before, which brings a very funny moment to the interview. They talk about Lisa’s inspiration for Invisible Girl, which came from a rather innocuous sighting, which got her imagination going. There are intertwined stories of three characters; two who live in the same neighborhood. Lisa reveals that the third character did not have a voice at the beginning and she then clearly emerged and demanded her own robust storyline. Lisa and Carol talk about the incel ideology that one of her characters has embraced, and the strange ways it's creeped into society. And the conversation leads to Lisa describing her thoughts on perfectionism, how it influences her work, and how it affects her life.

Books discussed in this episode:

Invisible Girl  by Lisa Jewell

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Lisa Unger, the New York Times bestselling author of 18 novels, joins Carol to discuss her newest psychological thriller, Confessions on the 7:45. In this thriller, Selena's usual train commute is interrupted and stalled. She begins a deep conversation with her seat neighbor and reveals a few too many secrets from her personal life the way many of us would during a long plane trip. Selena assumes they'll never meet again when the train arrives at the station, and they part ways. However, Selena comes to realize that the stranger on the train will have a bigger impact in her life than she could have realized. Carol talks with Lisa about how easy it is to confess dark secrets with strangers, how intense connections can easily be formed in short periods of time, and the reasons people might lie to themselves and others. Lisa explains her writing process and describes how dedicating her life to writing has changed the way she approaches each new novel.

Books discussed in this episode:

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

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Suzanne Skyvara, the Vice President of Marketing & Editorial for Goodreads and Danny Feekes, who is their Managing Editor, return for a fall book discussion with Carol where they share titles that are resonating with Goodreads readers! Like their talk in June, there's a lot here to discover, with discussions about each new suggestion. They share books from eight genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Fantasy, Horror, Women’s Fiction, Romance, and Memoir --- so you’ll want to stay tuned until the end. Here’s to discovering something new to read!

For more suggestions, watch Carol's first discussion with Suzanne and Danny:
Video
Podcast

Books discussed in this episode:

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Memorial by Bryan Washington

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

All About Us by Tom Ellen

Group by Christie Tate

This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear

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Robert Dugoni joins Carol to talk about The Last Agent, the second book in his Charles Jenkins series.

Jenkins has walked away from his life as an agent after being exonerated on charges of espionage. But when he learns that Paulina Ponomayova, the woman who saved his life, is being held in a Russian prison, he is lured out of retirement to return to Russia to save her. The action in the book is brisk; there is one section that reminded Carol of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Carol read Robert’s work since his first book, The Jury Master back in 2006. They talk about his three series, his standalone work, his writing schedule and what he likes to bring to the page for readers.

Books discussed in this episode:

The Last Agent by Robert Dugoni

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Wendy Walker joins Carol to discuss her newest thriller, Don't Look for Me, which like her previous books, All is not Forgotten, Emma in the Night, and The Night Before, is a Bookreporter Bets On selection.

In Don't Look for Me, Molly Clarke has disappeared, leaving behind only an empty car at the edge of town and a note at a hotel. She's not the first to leave this way, following the same behaviors police call a "walk away." But something feels strange to her family. When a new lead is revealed, Nicole returns to the town her mother last appeared and unravels secrets about the town and the people who live there. Molly was last seen getting in the car with a stranger who offered her a ride. What really happened? Readers know this from the start, since we follow Molly as people try to find her, and with this knowledge, tension is ratcheted up at the turn of every page.

Wendy and Carol talk about these "walk outs" and how often they actually happen in real life. Wendy shares a personal story that sparked her idea for the story. It opened a lot of the possibilities that Wendy considered during her writing, and especially in how she could make this a psychological thriller that keeps people on the edge of their seat. Wendy also shares fun stories about the camaraderie that she shares with her fellow thriller authors.

Books discussed in this episode:

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker

Watch our previous Bookreporter Talks To with Wendy:
The Light Before by Wendy Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAsZkYfc2H0

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Ruth Ware joins Carol to discuss her newest suspense/thriller, One by One. This is her sixth thriller, and again it’s a Bookreporter Bets On selection.

One by One takes place in a luxury ski cabin in a spectacular setting. It’s attended to by a two-person staff at the ready to cater to the visitors’ every need. The current guests: eight coworkers from a booming tech company and a former colleague. The “locked in” theme that is such a huge part of Ruth’s work clicks into play as the group finds themselves stranded there after an avalanche. As panic and the desire to escape increases, something more sinister is in the works: members of the group are found dead one by one.

Carol and Ruth reminisce on their first interview, which was back in 2015 prior to the release of Ruth’s first novel, In a Dark, Dark Wood. Ruth fills Carol in on how she's continued her steady writing career since then, and the two discuss the trials involved in "relaxing" ski trips (and the slopes that they would ski on together), the ways renowned mystery writers influenced Ruth for One by One, as well as a sneak peek of what Ruth is working on next.

Books discussed in this episode:

One by One by Ruth Ware

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