Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Last month, Jia reviewed a new to us YA book called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s a story about a teenager forced to fight in a brutal game to the death against 23 other teenagers. Others decided to read it and so we thought it would be fun to have a Book Club discussion. We’ve never really done this before so bear with us.

Please remember that this discussion will be full of spoilers so don’t read/participate if you don’t want to be spoiled.
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The following are questions that we thought of in relation to the book. Let us know if you have answers or other questions.

What does the future hold for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?
What did you think of Heymitch? Troublemaker? Untrustworthy? Surprising savoir?
What do you think is the future of the political structure?
Will there be a rebellion? If so, who will lead it? How do you think it will play out?
Will there be retaliation against Katniss for her actions?
Did you think it was fair for Katniss to get the rating that she did in archery?
Did you think that Katniss had to face difficult moral decisions or …

On October 15th, Dear Author will host a book club event for Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games. This is a book that was recommended by Jia. It’s a story about a sixteen year old girl who offers herself up as a Tribute in place of her younger sister, as a player in the annual hunger games, whereby 12 children compete to the death to win a year of boon for his or her district and a lifetime of wealth for themselves.

This is a gripping story. With twists, turns, and lots of action, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Not only that, there’s no denying the power of its themes. War and violence leave scars on the next generation. Haymitch may be the town’s middle-aged drunk but can you blame him? Not did he survive a brutal battle to the death, now as a victor he must mentor future tributes. That hurts. Imagine getting to know these children, coaching them, hoping for their victory… and then watching them die. Year after year, that has been Haymitch’s fate. Of all the things he could have resorted to in order …

Dear Ms Estep,

I was never a comic book fan and it’s been a long time since I read one but I recognized a few givens of the standard American superhero comic book. We’ve got your big city, alter egos, intrepid newspaper reporter, heroes, villains and brightly colored spandex for everybody.

Carmen Cole steps into the dual role of reporter and possible love interest. I wasn’t so sure of her reasoning for spending so much time unmasking superheroes wherever she could. Sure her fiance turns out to be one and she discovers this 1) on their wedding day when 2) she catches him shagging a] his nemesis who is b] her best friend but since superheroes are almost duty bound to spend their time saving the average citizen who needs help and/or thwarting the villains, why is the general public so happy that she exposes them and makes their lives more difficult? The excuse that cities want the superheroes to help pay for the damage they cause while battling villains doesn’t make much sense when compared to the fact that they’re saving the city from villains and crime. Do the people of Bigtown …

Go vote for the DearAuthor May Bookclub selection. The Ja(y)nes will picked a number of books and everyone who is registered at the forum can vote. The Bookclub selection will receive a review from Jayne and a video review from Jane. Click HERE to see the nominations and HERE to vote.

We choose to require registration to avoid drive by voting.

Enter your nominations in the comments section. It must be a book released in April or May of 2007 but can be anything from non fiction to fiction to romance to fantasy. We love new authors and we love midlist authors. After a week, we'll take a look at the nominations and pick a few books. The books will then be voted upon by the readers to determine the book club selection. The “winning” book will be treated to a review by Jayne or Janine and a video review by Jane. Nominate away.

Teleread.org is reporting on the appearance of a not so new contender to the used book market. Authors are cringing at more companies encouraging readers to trade books through the mail while readers are rejoicing.

BookMooch and PaperbackSwap work essentially the same way. You list the books you have to trade and then you earn points by sending out books via media mail.

Book Mooch has about 270,000 books from textbooks to romance novels. PaperbackSwap has over 1 million paperback books. It’s a very economical way to read.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not a hater of Victoria Beckham. I have three pairs of Rock n Republic Beckham jeans which I love. They are very comfortable. But a book club started by a woman who bragged to the Spanish press while promoting her autobiography that she has never read a book her entire life, including her own, sounds a bit suspicious. Do we even know that she can read let alone engage in a discussion about an entire novel.

I’m all for stars using their fame to promote literature, like Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, but when he recommends a book, I actually believe that he has read it. She did tell the press that she likes fashion magazines so perhaps Margaret & Lizz Weiss’ name brand novel would be right up her alley. Heck, maybe she’ll single-handedly bring chick lit back into vogue.

Via The Superficial.

Dear Ms Bartlett,

I have to be honest and tell you that if this hadn’t've been a review book, I wouldn’t have gotten more than 1/2 way through it. As it was, I kept trying to think positively and flipping pages. At the halfway mark, I started skimming. By the end, I knew I would not be continuing on with you in this series.

Gloriana Eloisa St. Claire is a vampire and has been for almost 400 years. A sexy Highlander converted her backstage at the Globe Theatre in London where she was scandalizing her parents by acting in an age where women didn’t act. But then she’d already disgraced them by marrying a (now dead) actor in the first place so there wasn’t much lower she could go. At least she thought so until she met Jerry, well that’s what he goes by now, Jerry Blade and he’s still one hot, sexy vampire. Currently they’re in the off cycle of their on/off romance and Glory is finishing up a stint in Vegas before moving on to Austin, TX. During the trip, Jerry phones her to warn her that an old friend of …

Enter your nominations in the comments section. It must be a book released in February or March of 2007 but can be anything from non fiction to fiction to romance to fantasy. We love new authors and we love midlist authors. After two weeks, we’ll take a look at the nominations and pick six books. The six books will then be voted upon by the readers to determine the book club selection. Nominate away.

Additional Reviews from around the net of DearAuthor’s January’s Book Club Selection. The general consensus is that this debut book features phenomenal world building featuring a strong heroine, a divine hero and a very sexy romance that is, at times, hampered by pacing issues and dialogue.

If you’ve picked up the book and want to join in the discussion, take a look at the comments on Jayne’s review. The Author came and answered some questions. If you’ve got more, make a comment and Ms. Brook will likely come and answer.

Nath’s review.
Bam’s Revew
May’s Review
Kardis’ Review
Devon’s Review
Guest Bitch Review from Robin
Candy’s thoughts
Keishon’s review
Sanctuary’s Finest
Angie W
Tara Marie