Our first order of business on Friday was a meeting with Kaitlyn at Sourcebooks to discuss their upcoming titles and there are some good ones! I’m most excited about these books:
- MOTHERHOOD SO WHITE by Nefertiti Austin (Septermber 24, 2019) is a memoir by an African American woman who chose to adopt an African American boy from the foster care system and was shocked by the reactions of others.
- YALE NEEDS WOMEN by Anne Gardiner Perkins (September 10, 2019) is a nonfiction account of the first women to attend Yale University.
- PRETTY GUILTY WOMEN by Gina Lamanna (September 3, 2019) is the only work of fiction on the list. When a man is found dead at a wedding, four women come forward to confess to his murder and they all claim to have acted alone.
Julie (Booking Mama) and I left the Javits to meet up with one of our favorite authors, Adriana Trigiana, for coffee and pastries. We love visiting with her and talked about books, movies, publishing, family, colleges, decorating, etc. I don’t think there’s anything Adriana can’t do and I love the way she builds up others. When we started talking about the lipstick she helps create and sells for her charity, The Origin Project, she gave us lipstick lessons – I lesson I really needed! Here we all wearing our lipstick:
After all that fun, it was back to the Javits. We only had a little while to walk around but did manage to speak to a few people and pick up a few books.
Our last official Book Expo event was Book Group Speed Dating presented by Reading Group Guides. This event is my favorite year after year. At this event, everyone is assigned a seat and publicists from many (22 this year!) publishers rotate to different tables and pitch books that are great for book club discussions. Of course, not all the publicist make it by each table but, those that do, always make me excited about their books. As I looked through my notes, it was hard for me to whittle down my list to the titles I’m most excited about.
- DEVOTION by Madeline Stevens (Ecco; August 13, 2019) This debut novel tells the story of a nanny and the woman she works for who become obsessed with each other. The author was a nanny when she first moved to New York.
- THE LAST BOOK PARTY by Karen Dukess (Henry Holt; July 9, 2019) Described as a “perfect summer book,” this story is set in the 1980s publishing world of New York and the beaches of Cape Cod.
- JOY ENOUGH by Sarah McColl (Liveright; January 14, 2020) McColl’s memoir is about losing her beloved mother and going through a divorce at the same time and learning to “live joyfully” again.
- GODSEND by John Wray (Picador; paperback publication October 15, 2019) This “book for our time” is about an eighteen-year old young woman who leaves home and travels to Pakistan to become an Islamist militant.
- THE RECKLESS OATH WE MADE by Bryn Greenwood (Putnam; August 20, 2019) This “unlikely” love story is by the author of ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS. The main character’s dad is in prison and her mom is a hoarder – both issues the author has experience with.
- NEVER HAVE I EVER by Joshilyn Jackson ( William Morrow; July 30, 2019) Suspense is a new genre for Jackson and the publicist said she does it well in this twisty cat and mouse story.
Participants were asked to list the books they were most excited about at the end of the event and the top three were:
- AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Flatiron Books; January 21, 2020)
- THE WORLD THAT WE KNEW by Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster; September 24, 2019)
- THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware (Gallery Books; August 6, 2019)
After I shipped my books, we bought tickets, grabbed a bite to eat and shopped a little (I bought shoes!) before going to see Come From Away. This show has been on our radar for a few years but I’ve always hesitated to see it because it’s about 9/11. So many people raved about it, we decided to see it and I’m so glad we did. Yes, it did make me tear up a few times, but it’s ultimately uplifting and, oh so good!
Book Expo 2019 Day One • Book Expo 2019 Day Two • Book Expo 2019 Day Three
