What is C. V. Wyk reading?

Featured at Writers Read: C. V. Wyk, author of Blood and Sand: A Novel.

Her entry begins:

I am actually re-reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It’s an historical fantasy retelling of the legend of Achilles leading up to and during the Trojan War as told from the perspective of his beloved companion, Patroclus. Miller does an incredible job of portraying the god-like Achilles as a very human, very fallible young man. Her writing is lyrical and resonant, and this was a surprisingly character-driven story. There is certainly action and wonderfully described battle scenes, of course. But the heart of this song centers around Achilles and Patroclus and how...[read on]

About Blood and Sand, from the publisher:

FORGED IN BATTLE...
FROM THE DUST OF THE ARENA...
A LEGEND WILL RISE

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic—and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus...

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire—an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end—and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus...

Visit C. V. Wyk's website.

Writers Read: C. V. Wyk.

--Marshal Zeringue

Lisa Black's "Perish," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Perish: A Gardiner and Renner Novel #3 by Lisa Black.

The entry begins:

In Perish, Cleveland forensic specialist Maggie Gardiner investigates a series of murders at a mortgage loan company—which doesn’t sound too exciting until she learns just how cutthroat a field that is. She has become slightly—slightly—more comfortable functioning beside erstwhile serial killer Jack Renner. Jack kills to make the world a safer place, and Maggie can’t expose him without exposing herself. Provided they both focus on solving the murder of Joanna Moorehouse, they can continue their awkward truce without bloodshed. Their own blood, that is. Joanna’s has been spread all over her opulent living room.

Having been addicted to the BBC show Orphan Black, I have always pictured Maggie as something like Tatiana Maslawny. Scary smart but not genius, stubborn but not unrealistic, tough but empathetic, youngish but not arrogant. Unwilling to slack off when something needs to be done. An unspoken but fierce commitment to sticking up for the little guy, or gal, or dog, or principle.

Casting Jack Renner is...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Lisa Black's website.

The Page 69 Test: That Darkness.

My Book, The Movie: Unpunished.

The Page 69 Test: Unpunished.

My Book, The Movie: Perish.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eleven of the best YA dystopian novels

One of eleven top YA dystopian novels, as tagged at the Tor Teen blog:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Based in a future society that is void of pain, The Giver follows a boy named Jonas as he receives his adult assignment. Everyone in the society has a role. In the “Ceremony of Twelve,” Jonas receives his: “Receiver.” Unlike others, Jonas must take the heavy responsibility of holding the community’s bad memories—and, in doing so, he realizes the world is much more complex and incredible than he thought, and the society is much worse. On a mission to escape and restore everyone’s memories, Jonas discovers that this society is not a utopia at all. Heart-wrenching and powerful, The Giver is one of our favorite books… of all time.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Giver made Jeff Somers's top five list of science fiction novels that really should be considered literary classics, Jen Harper's top ten list of kids' books from the ’90s that have proven to be utterly timeless, John Corey Whaley's top ten list of coming of age books for teens, Shaun Byron Fitzpatrick's list of thirteen top, occasionally-banned YA novels, Guy Lodge's list of ten of the best dystopias in fiction, film, art, and television, Joel Cunningham's list of six great young adult book series for fans of The Hunger Games, and Lauren Davis's top ten list of science fiction’s most depressing futuristic retirement scenarios.

Coffee with a Canine: Lois Lowry & Alfie.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Aila M. Matanock's "Electing Peace"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Electing Peace: From Civil Conflict to Political Participation by Aila M. Matanock.

About the book, from the publisher:

Settlements to civil conflict, which are notably difficult to secure, sometimes contain clauses enabling the combatant sides to participate as political parties in post-conflict elections. In Electing Peace, Aila M. Matanock presents a theory that explains both the causes and the consequences of these provisions. Matanock draws on new worldwide cross-national data on electoral participation provisions, case studies in Central America, and interviews with representatives of all sides of the conflicts. She shows that electoral participation provisions, non-existent during the Cold War, are now in almost half of all peace agreements. Moreover, she demonstrates that these provisions are associated with an increase in the chance that peace will endure, potentially contributing to a global decline in civil conflict, a result which challenges prevailing pessimism about post-conflict elections. Matanock's theory and evidence also suggest a broader conception of international intervention than currently exists, identifying how these inclusive elections can enable external enforcement mechanisms and provide an alternative to military coercion by peacekeeping troops in many cases.

Visit Aila M. Matanock's website and Twitter perch.

The Page 99 Test: Electing Peace.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Jane Corry reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Jane Corry, author of Blood Sisters: A Novel.

Her entry begins:

Last night, I finished reading a proof copy of BA Paris’ new novel Bring me Back. It’s written in the first person from the point of view of a man who left his girlfriend in the car at a motorway station and then returned to find she had gone. I don’t want to give away the twists but the hero has a past which might - or might not - have contributed to her disappearance. I was particularly keen to read the book because...[read on]

About Blood Sisters, from the publisher:

From the bestselling author of My Husband’s Wife, a new thriller featuring three girls, one accident, and a lifetime of lies.

Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead.

Fifteen years later, Kitty can’t speak and has no memory of the accident that’s to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn’t keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face.

Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She’s struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence.

Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do...

Follow Jane Corry on Twitter and Facebook.

My Book, The Movie: My Husband's Wife.

The Page 69 Test: My Husband's Wife.

Writers Read: Jane Corry.

--Marshal Zeringue

Coffee with a canine: Cheryl Reid & Django

Featured at Coffee with a Canine: Cheryl Reid & Django.

The author, on how Django got his name:

Django was a rescue with the very regal name of Marcus. We have a friend named Marcus, so it wouldn’t do to have our dog go by the same. I love the French Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and I had always wanted to name a child Django, but with each child, I chickened out, knowing that he’d always be spelling it, explaining it, etc. But a dog doesn’t have to spell his name. Django fits him. But I call him...[read on]

About  Cheryl Reid's As Good as True, from the publisher:

A powerful and haunting novel of a woman’s broken past and the painful choices she must make to keep her family and her home.

August 1956. After a night of rage and terror, Anna Nassad wakes to find her abusive husband dead and instinctively hides her bruises and her relief. As the daughter of Syrian immigrants living in segregated Alabama, Anna has never belonged, and now her world is about to erupt.

Days before, Anna set in motion an explosive chain of events by allowing the first black postman to deliver the mail to her house. But it’s her impulsive act of inviting him inside for a glass of water that raises doubts about Anna’s role in her husband’s death.

As threats and suspicions arise in the angry community, Anna must confront her secrets in the face of devastating turmoil and reconcile her anguished relationship with her daughter. Will she discover the strength to fight for those she loves most, even if it means losing all she’s ever known?

Learn more about As Good as True by Cheryl Reid.

Coffee with a Canine: Cheryl Reid & Django.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Clarissa Harwood's "Impossible Saints"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Impossible Saints by Clarissa Harwood.

About the book, from the publisher:

Set in England in 1907, Impossible Saints is a novel that burns as brightly as the suffrage movement it depicts, with the emotional resonance of Tracy Chevalier and Jennifer Robson.

Escaping the constraints of life as a village schoolmistress, Lilia Brooke bursts into London and into Paul Harris’s orderly life, shattering his belief that women are gentle creatures who need protection. Lilia wants to change women’s lives by advocating for the vote, free unions, and contraception. Paul, an Anglican priest, has a big ambition of his own: to become the youngest dean of St. John’s Cathedral. Lilia doesn’t believe in God, but she’s attracted to Paul’s intellect, ethics, and dazzling smile.

As Lilia finds her calling in the militant Women’s Social and Political Union, Paul is increasingly driven to rise in the church. They can’t deny their attraction, but they know they don’t belong in each other’s worlds. Lilia would rather destroy property and serve time in prison than see her spirit destroyed and imprisoned by marriage to a clergyman, while Paul wants nothing more than to settle down and keep Lilia out of harm’s way. Paul and Lilia must reach their breaking points before they can decide whether their love is worth fighting for.

Visit Clarissa Harwood's website.

The Page 69 Test: Impossible Saints.

--Marshal Zeringue

Fifty royal reads for royal wedding obsessives

At B&N Reads Tara Sonin tagged fifty royal reads for royal wedding fans. One entry on the list:

Crimson Bound, by Rosamund Hodge

Rachelle is a servant to the realm, one of a select few capable of fighting dangerous creatures and protecting the prince. But she hates Armand, the man whose life she is supposed to put before her own. Court conspiracies, dark magic, and forbidden love run amok in this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

Read about another entry on the list.

Crimson Bound is among Shaun Byron Fitzpatrick's six YA stories that take place in the woods and Sona Charaipotra's seven top YA books for fans of Game of Thrones.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is C. M. Wendelboe reading?

Featured at Writers Read: C. M. Wendelboe, author of Hunting the Five Point Killer.

His entry begins:

Whenever I get hung up on characterization, I often go back to school. My instructors that I fall back on are Craig Johnson and Charles Dickens. A contemporary writer, Johnson’s characters are vivid, and they literally come alive for readers. In his latest book, The Western Star, Johnson’s main character, Walt Longmire, steps out of element when he rides a train, and in so doing, winds up right in the middle of a murder. Longmire’s strong role adds...[read on]

About Hunting the Five Point Killer, from the publisher:

On the tenth anniversary of a series of unsolved murders, the Five Point Killer is back for blood—and retired cop Arn Anderson could be the next investigator who gets too close to the truth.

Retired detective Arn Anderson never thought he’d be broke enough to take on a cold murder case. Or desperate enough to team up with a TV reporter. Or pathetic enough to go back to his rundown childhood home after he swore he’d left Cheyenne for good. But here he is, hunting a serial killer who also appears to have come out of retirement. On the anniversary of the Five Point Killer’s crimes, Arn’s only option is to survive the carnage of a murderer who may be too twisted—and too brilliant—to catch.

Visit C. M. Wendelboe's website.

The Page 69 Test: Hunting the Five Point Killer.

Writers Read: C. M. Wendelboe.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Andrew Elfenbein's "The Gist of Reading"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Gist of Reading by Andrew Elfenbein.

About the book, from the publisher:

What happens to books as they live in our long-term memory? Why do we find some books entertaining and others not? And how does literary influence work on writers in different ways? Grounded in the findings of empirical psychology, this book amends classic reader-response theory and attends to neglected aspects of reading that cannot be explained by traditional literary criticism.

Reading arises from a combination of two kinds of mental work: automatic and controlled processes. Automatic processes, such as the ability to see visual symbols as words, are the result of constant practice; controlled processes, such as predicting what might occur next in a story, arise from readers' conscious use of skills and background knowledge. When we read, automatic and controlled processes work together to create the "gist" of reading, the constant interplay between these two kinds of processes. Andrew Elfenbein not only explains how we read today, but also uses current knowledge about reading to consider readers of past centuries, arguing that understanding gist is central to interpreting the social, psychological, and political impact of literary works. The result is the first major revisionary account of reading practices in literary criticism since the 1970s.

Learn more about The Gist of Reading at the Stanford University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: The Gist of Reading.

--Marshal Zeringue

Matt Hilton's "Worst Fear," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Worst Fear by Matt Hilton.

The entry begins:

The principal characters of Worst Fear are private investigator Tess Grey and her partner, Nicolas ‘Po’ Villere, an ex-con from Louisiana. Being the fourth book in the series, I have a firm image of both of them in my mind’s eye while writing. Had a movie been made of the book about twenty years ago the principal actors I’d have chosen would have been Patricia Arquette and Sam Elliot as they come closest to the physical and characteristic descriptions I have in mind. However, right now, I’d be hoping for current star appeal so would cast...[read on]

Visit Matt Hilton's website.

The Page 69 Test: Judgment and Wrath.

My Book, The Movie: Judgment and Wrath.

The Page 69 Test: Painted Skins.

Writers Read: Matt Hilton.

The Page 69 Test: Worst Fear.

My Book, The Movie: Worst Fear.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six books that show truth is stranger than fiction

Will Self's new novel is Phone. One of his six favorite books that prove truth is stranger than fiction, as shared at The Week magazine:

In the Belly of the Beast by Jack Henry Abbott

Abbott was the imprisoned murderer Norman Mailer befriended via mail correspondence and who murdered again after he'd won early release. Besides the Mailer-Abbott letters, this book contains an astonishing philosophical disquisition by the self-taught Abbott, who absorbed quantities of Marx, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche while serving time.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Mark Henshaw's "The Last Man in Tehran"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: The Last Man in Tehran: A Novel by Mark Henshaw.

About the book, from the publisher:

Decorated CIA analyst Mark Henshaw continues the “authentic, compelling, and revealing” (Jason Matthews) Red Cell series following agent Kyra Stryker who must work with retired analyst Jonathan Burke to save the CIA from being torn apart by a conspiracy of moles.

New Red Cell Chief Kyra Stryker has barely settled into the job when an attack on an Israeli port throws the Middle East into chaos. The Mossad—Israel’s feared intelligence service—responds with a campaign of covert sabotage and assassination, determined to protect the homeland. But evidence quickly turns up suggesting that a group of moles inside Langley are helping Mossad wage its covert war.

Convinced that Mossad has heavily penetrated the CIA’s leadership, the FBI launches a counterintelligence investigation that threatens to cripple the Agency—and anyone who questions the official story is suspect. With few officials willing to help for fear of getting accused, Kyra turns to her former mentors—now-retired Red Cell Chief Jonathan Burke and his wife, former CIA Director Kathryn Cooke—to help uncover who is trying to tear the CIA apart from the inside out.

Visit Mark Henshaw's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Fall of Moscow Station.

The Page 69 Test: The Last Man in Tehran.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nine top meet cutes in YA lit

At the BN Teen Blog, Nicole Hill tagged nine favorite meet cutes in YA history, including:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling

“You’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know?” It’s not a line that’s guaranteed to sweep any potential match off their feet. But, you know, Hermione Granger is the brightest witch of her age and she makes it work for her first meeting with future husband Ron Weasley, who is, well, not overly smooth. This particular meeting is made all the cuter by the sheer number of other first romantic encounters that have occurred on the Hogwarts Express, the Love Boat of the wizarding world.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Harry Potter books made Meghan Ball's top ten list of the unluckiest characters in science fiction & fantasy, Anna Bradley's list of the ten best literary quotes in a crisis, Nicole Hill's list of seven of the best literary wedding themes, Tina Connolly's top five list of books where the girl saves the boy, Ginni Chen's list of the eight grinchiest characters in literature, Molly Schoemann-McCann's top five list of fictional workplaces more dysfunctional than yours, Sophie McKenzie's top ten list of mothers in children's books, Nicole Hill's list of five of the best fictional bookstores, Sara Jonsson's list of the six most memorable pets in fiction, Melissa Albert's list of more than eight top fictional misfits, Cressida Cowell's list of ten notable mythical creatures, and Alison Flood's list of the top 10 most frequently stolen books.

Professor Snape is among Sophie Cleverly's ten top terrifying teachers in children’s books.

Hermione Granger is among Brooke Johnson top five geeky heroes in literature, Nicole Hill's nine best witches in literature, and Melissa Albert's top six distractible book lovers in pop culture.

Neville Longbottom is one of Ellie Irving's top ten quiet heroes and heroines.

Mr. Weasley is one of Melissa Albert's five weirdest fictional crushes.

Hedwig (Harry's owl) is among Django Wexler's top ten animal companions in children's fiction.

Scabbers the rat is among Ross Welford's ten favorite rodents in children's fiction.

Butterbeer is among Leah Hyslop's six best fictional drinks.

Albus Dumbledore is one of Rachel Thompson's ten greatest deaths in fiction.

Lucius Malfoy is among Jeff Somers's five best evil lieutenants (or "dragons") in SF/F.

Dolores Umbridge is among Melissa Albert's six more notorious teachers in fiction, Emerald Fennell's top ten villainesses in literature, and Derek Landy's top 10 villains in children's books. The Burrow is one of Elizabeth Wilhide's nine most memorable manors in literature.

Remus Lupin is among Aimée Carter's top ten shapeshifters in fiction.

Fang (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is among Brian Boone's six best fictional dogs.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban appears on Amanda Yesilbas and Katharine Trendacosta's list ot twenty great insults from science fiction & fantasy and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest prison breaks in science fiction and fantasy.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone also appears on Kenneth Oppel's top ten list of train stories, Jeff Somers's top five list of books written in very unlikely places, Phoebe Walker's list of eight mouthwatering quotes from the greatest literary feasts, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best owls in literature, ten of the best scars in fiction and ten of the best motorbikes in literature, and Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest personality tests in sci-fi & fantasy, Charlie Higson's top 10 list of fantasy books for children, Justin Scroggie's top ten list of books with secret signs as well as Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs's list of well-known and beloved science fiction and fantasy novels that publishers didn't want to touch. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire made Chrissie Gruebel's list of six top fictional holiday parties and John Mullan's list of the ten best graveyard scenes in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Tyrell Johnson reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Tyrell Johnson, author The Wolves of Winter.

His entry begins:

I’m lucky enough to have a publisher who doesn’t mind sending me a book or two before the official release. So right now, I’m reading The Philosopher’s Flight, which Simon and Schuster will publish in February 2018. When I read the description, it reminded me of one of my favorite novels, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel—a bit of magic, a bit of history, and told with a literary flare. So I...[read on]

About The Wolves of Winter, from the publisher:

A captivating tale of humanity pushed beyond its breaking point, of family and bonds of love forged when everything is lost, and of a heroic young woman who crosses a frozen landscape to find her destiny. This debut novel is written in a post-apocalyptic tradition that spans The Hunger Games and Station Eleven but blazes its own distinctive path.

Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive in the endless white wilderness beyond the edges of a fallen world.

Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As the memories of her old life continue to haunt, she’s forced to forge ahead in the snow-drifted Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap and slaughter.

Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who brings with him dark secrets of the past and sets in motion a chain of events that will call Lynn to a role she never imagined.

Simultaneously a heartbreakingly sympathetic portrait of a young woman searching for the answer to who she is meant to be and a frightening vision of a merciless new world in which desperation rules, The Wolves of Winter is enveloping, propulsive, and poignant.

Visit Tyrell Johnson's website.

Writers Read: Tyrell Johnson.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight top true crime books

Thomas Harding's newest book is Blood on the Page.

One of his eight favorite true crime books, as shared at the Waterstones blog:

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003)

Marketed as both fiction and non-fiction, but surely more ‘true’ than In Cold Blood, Larson tells the story of an architect at the Chicago World’s Fair and a serial killer on the rampage.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Devil in the White City is among Graham Moore's six favorite books about technology, Jeff Somers's eight top true crime books, Dell Villa's top five literary escapes to American cities, and Randy Dotinga's five favorite historical true-crime books from the last decade.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: C. M. Wendelboe's "Hunting the Five Point Killer"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Hunting the Five Point Killer by C. M. Wendelboe.

About the book, from the publisher:

On the tenth anniversary of a series of unsolved murders, the Five Point Killer is back for blood—and retired cop Arn Anderson could be the next investigator who gets too close to the truth.

Retired detective Arn Anderson never thought he’d be broke enough to take on a cold murder case. Or desperate enough to team up with a TV reporter. Or pathetic enough to go back to his rundown childhood home after he swore he’d left Cheyenne for good. But here he is, hunting a serial killer who also appears to have come out of retirement. On the anniversary of the Five Point Killer’s crimes, Arn’s only option is to survive the carnage of a murderer who may be too twisted—and too brilliant—to catch.

Visit C. M. Wendelboe's website.

The Page 69 Test: Hunting the Five Point Killer.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twenty-five must read titles

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and the Ustari Cycle from Pocket/Gallery, including We Are Not Good People. At the B&N Reads blog he tagged twenty-five "books you must read, no matter who you are," including:

The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett

The modern concept of the private investigator, the rough-and-tumble guy with a gun and some questions, was born with Dashiell Hammett, and this is his best novel. It still crackles with a thoroughly modern energy, and upon publication signaled a sea-change in the stories that novels could tell, and the manner in which they could be told. That’s as important as any postmodern artistic experiment ever conducted.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Maltese Falcon appears on a list of six books that influenced sci-fi author Robert J. Sawyer, Mark Billingham's six best books list, Kathryn Williams's reading list on greed, Sara Brady's top five list of books with plots propelled by the search for an object, J. Kingston Pierce's top ten list of introductions to crime fiction and John Mullan's lists of ten of the best fat men in literature and ten of the best femmes fatales in literature, and among Armistead Maupin's five best San Francisco novels and Janet Rudolph's ten favorite San Francisco-backdropped crime novels.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Josephine Quinn's "In Search of the Phoenicians"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: In Search of the Phoenicians by Josephine Quinn.

About the book, from the publisher:

Who were the ancient Phoenicians, and did they actually exist?

The Phoenicians traveled the Mediterranean long before the Greeks and Romans, trading, establishing settlements, and refining the art of navigation. But who these legendary sailors really were has long remained a mystery. In Search of the Phoenicians makes the startling claim that the “Phoenicians” never actually existed. Taking readers from the ancient world to today, this monumental book argues that the notion of these sailors as a coherent people with a shared identity, history, and culture is a product of modern nationalist ideologies—and a notion very much at odds with the ancient sources.

Josephine Quinn shows how the belief in this historical mirage has blinded us to the compelling identities and communities these people really constructed for themselves in the ancient Mediterranean, based not on ethnicity or nationhood but on cities, family, colonial ties, and religious practices. She traces how the idea of “being Phoenician” first emerged in support of the imperial ambitions of Carthage and then Rome, and only crystallized as a component of modern national identities in contexts as far-flung as Ireland and Lebanon.

In Search of the Phoenicians delves into the ancient literary, epigraphic, numismatic, and artistic evidence for the construction of identities by and for the Phoenicians, ranging from the Levant to the Atlantic, and from the Bronze Age to late antiquity and beyond. A momentous scholarly achievement, this book also explores the prose, poetry, plays, painting, and polemic that have enshrined these fabled seafarers in nationalist histories from sixteenth-century England to twenty-first century Tunisia.

Learn more about In Search of the Phoenicians at the Princeton University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: In Search of the Phoenicians.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Molly MacRae reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Molly MacRae, author of Scones and Scoundrels.

Her entry begins:

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading an odd mix of books and enjoying them all. Because I work in the children’s department of a busy public library, three of them are children’s books.

The first is a picture book - Roger is Going Fishing, written and illustrated by Koen Van Biesen. Think of it as laying the groundwork so preschool children grow up to properly crave caper novels by writers like Donald Westlake and Timothy Hallinan. This is a story of unintended consequences with a full complement of onomatopoetic sounds. It’s about Roger, his young friend Emily, and their bicycle trip to the lake for a day of fishing. What could possibly go wrong as Roger peddles along the busy city sidewalks with Emily sitting in the seat behind him holding...[read on]

About Scones and Scoundrels, from the publisher:

The new mystery in the Highland Bookshop series, bringing together a body outside a pub, a visiting author determined to find the killer, and a murderously good batch of scones...

Inversgail, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, welcomes home native daughter and best-selling environmental writer Daphne Wood. Known as the icon of ecology, Daphne will spend three months as the author in residence for the Inversgail schools. Janet Marsh and her business partners at Yon Bonnie Books are looking forward to hosting a gala book signing for her. Daphne, who hasn’t set foot in Scotland in thirty years, is ... eccentric. She lives in the Canadian wilderness, in a cabin she built herself, with only her dog for a companion, and her people skills have developed a few rough-hewn edges. She and the dog (which she insists on bringing with her) cause problems for the school, the library, and the bookshop even before they get to Inversgail. Then, on the misty night they arrive, a young man—an American who’d spent a night in the B&B above Yon Bonnie Books—is found dead outside a pub.

Daphne did her Inversgail homework and knows that Janet and her partners solved a previous murder. She tries to persuade them to join her in uncovering the killer and the truth. To prove she’s capable, she starts poking and prying. But investigating crimes can be murder, and Daphne ends up dead, poisoned by scones from the tearoom at Yon Bonnie Books. Now, to save the reputation of their business—not to mention the reputation of their scones—Janet and her partners must solve both murders. And Daphne’s dog might be able to help them, if only they can get it to stop howling...

Visit Molly MacRae's website.

My Book, The Movie: Plaid and Plagiarism.

The Page 69 Test: Plaid and Plagiarism.

The Page 69 Test: Scones and Scoundrels.

Writers Read: Molly MacRae.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sara Stewart's 6 best books

Sara Stewart is a Scottish actor whose film credits include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Mrs. Brown, and Batman Begins. One of her six best books, as shared at the Daily Express:

THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller

This was sent to me anonymously. It's about the homosexual relationship between Achilles and Patroclus.

Having really connected with the Greek islands, to read about the history and mythology, written so poetically, moved me to tears.

Read about another book on the list.

My Book, The Movie: The Song of Achilles.

--Marshal Zeringue

James Anderson's "Lullaby Road," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Lullaby Road: A Novel by James Anderson.

The entry begins:

Lullaby Road, though not a sequel, is a continuation of The Never-Open Desert Diner, meaning you can read either without having read the other. There are some choice, scenery-eating roles in Lullaby Road, like that of Walt Butterfield, the very fit but slightly crazy owner of the diner. An obvious choice would be Clint Eastwood, though I can imagine Sam Elliott and Tommy Lee Jones.

Perhaps the most interesting speculation, at least for me, is the director, and...[read on]

Visit James Anderson's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Never-Open Desert Diner.

The Page 69 Test: Lullaby Road.

Writers Read: James Anderson.

My Book, The Movie: Lullaby Road.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six YA novels that take place in twenty-four hours

At the BN Teen blog, Jenny Kawecki tagged six top YA novels that take place in a single day, including:

This Is Where it Ends, by Marieke Nijkamp

Claire, Tomas, Autumn, and Sylv are just about to start the last semester of their senior year at Opportunity High. But on the first day of school, a fellow student brings a gun to school, locks the auditorium doors, and opens fire. This Is Where It Ends takes place over the next fifty-four minutes, as each character navigates the unfolding tragedy. Claire watches from outside the school, while Tomas attempts to free the people trapped in the auditorium. Meanwhile, Autumn (the gunman’s sister) and her girlfriend Sylv are stuck in the middle of it all. This Is Where it Ends is heartbreaking, suspenseful, and absolutely impossible to put down.

Read about another entry on the list.

This is Where it Ends is among Tara Sonin's fifty YA novels adults will love, too, and Eric Smith's six top diverse YA thrillers.

The Page 69 Test: This Is Where It Ends.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Matt Hilton's "Worst Fear"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Worst Fear by Matt Hilton.

About Worst Fear, from the publisher:

Private investigator Tess Grey discovers that someone from her past is pursuing a deadly vendetta - and she could be the next to die.

When the body of Tess Grey's former university roommate is found on a rocky Maine beach, having fallen from the cliffs above, the initial verdict is suicide. But why would Chelsea Grace, who was terrified of heights, have chosen to end her life in a way that invoked her very worst fear? Tess determines to find out.

Visit Matt Hilton's website.

The Page 69 Test: Judgment and Wrath.

My Book, The Movie: Judgment and Wrath.

The Page 69 Test: Painted Skins.

Writers Read: Matt Hilton.

The Page 69 Test: Worst Fear.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Laurie Gwen Shapiro reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica.

Her entry begins:

I love to read books that are true heavily-researched stories that unfold like novels. My two favorite books I read recently was Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, and Douglas Preston’s Lost City of the Monkey God.

Grann was the writer who most inspired me to write narrative non-fiction. He has a true knack for making the 1920’s come alive. I loved Grann’s Lost City of Z too. This latest offering from him was about the oil-rich Native Americans – members of the Osage tribe - who were getting murdered in...[read on]

About The Stowaway, from the publisher:

The spectacular, true story of a scrappy teenager from New York’s Lower East Side who stowed away on the Roaring Twenties’ most remarkable feat of science and daring: an expedition to Antarctica.

It was 1928: a time of illicit booze, of Gatsby and Babe Ruth, of freewheeling fun. The Great War was over and American optimism was higher than the stock market. What better moment to launch an expedition to Antarctica, the planet’s final frontier? This was the moon landing before the 1960s. Everyone wanted to join the adventure. Rockefellers and Vanderbilts begged to be taken along as mess boys, and newspapers across the globe covered the planning’s every stage.

The night before the expedition’s flagship launched, Billy Gawronski—a skinny, first generation New York City high schooler desperate to escape a dreary future in the family upholstery business—jumped into the Hudson River and snuck aboard.

Could he get away with it?

From the grimy streets of New York’s Lower East Side to the rowdy dance halls of sultry Francophone Tahiti, all the way to Antarctica’s blinding white and deadly freeze, Laurie Gwen Shapiro’s The Stowaway takes you on the unforgettable voyage of a gutsy young stowaway who became an international celebrity, a mascot for an up-by-your bootstraps age.

Visit Laurie Gwen Shapiro's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Stowaway.

Writers Read: Laurie Gwen Shapiro.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: John Pemble's "The Rome We Have Lost"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Rome We Have Lost by John Pemble.

About the book, from the publisher:

For a thousand years, Rome was enshrined in myth and legend as the Eternal City. No Grand Tour would be complete without a visit to its ruins. But from 1870 all that changed. A millennium ended as its solitary moonlit ruins became floodlit monuments on traffic islands, and its perimeter shifted from the ancient nineteen-kilometre wall with twelve gates to a fifty-kilometre ring road with thirty-three roundabouts and spaghetti junctions.

The Rome We Have Lost is the first full investigation of this change. John Pemble musters popes, emperors, writers, exiles, and tourists, to weave a rich fabric of Roman experience. He tells the story of how, why, and with what consequences that Rome, centre of Europe and the world, became a national capital: no longer central and unique, but marginal and very similar in its problems and its solutions to other modern cities with a heavy burden of 'heritage'.

This far-reaching book illuminates the historical significance of Rome's transformation and the crisis that Europe is now confronting as it struggles to re-invent without its ancestral centre -- the city that had made Europe what it was, and defined what it meant to be European.

Learn more about The Rome We Have Lost at the Oxford University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: The Rome We Have Lost.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top books about the body

Emma Glass's new novel is Peach. One of her ten top books about the body, as shared at the Guardian:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Food is a powerful stirrer of emotions. (I have particular issues with custard. The smell alone makes me shudder with the memory of gloopy, cold school dinners.) But imagine discovering at a young age, as Rose does, an extrasensory ability to taste the emotions of others through the food that they prepare. The focus of this book is on the pain and sadness that comes with knowing too much about those you love. Rose copes by turning away from food that she can’t bear to swallow. She takes solace in heavily processed foods, where the emotions of the farmers and factories are diluted through time and space. Bender alludes to her protagonist’s unique physiology through the Brillat-Savarin quote: “Food is all those substances which, submitted to the action of the stomach, can be assimilated or changed into life by digestion, and can thus repair the losses which the human body suffers through the act of living.”

Read about another book on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Molly MacRae's "Scones and Scoundrels"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Scones and Scoundrels by Molly MacRae.

About the book, from the publisher:

The new mystery in the Highland Bookshop series, bringing together a body outside a pub, a visiting author determined to find the killer, and a murderously good batch of scones...

Inversgail, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, welcomes home native daughter and best-selling environmental writer Daphne Wood. Known as the icon of ecology, Daphne will spend three months as the author in residence for the Inversgail schools. Janet Marsh and her business partners at Yon Bonnie Books are looking forward to hosting a gala book signing for her. Daphne, who hasn’t set foot in Scotland in thirty years, is ... eccentric. She lives in the Canadian wilderness, in a cabin she built herself, with only her dog for a companion, and her people skills have developed a few rough-hewn edges. She and the dog (which she insists on bringing with her) cause problems for the school, the library, and the bookshop even before they get to Inversgail. Then, on the misty night they arrive, a young man—an American who’d spent a night in the B&B above Yon Bonnie Books—is found dead outside a pub.

Daphne did her Inversgail homework and knows that Janet and her partners solved a previous murder. She tries to persuade them to join her in uncovering the killer and the truth. To prove she’s capable, she starts poking and prying. But investigating crimes can be murder, and Daphne ends up dead, poisoned by scones from the tearoom at Yon Bonnie Books. Now, to save the reputation of their business—not to mention the reputation of their scones—Janet and her partners must solve both murders. And Daphne’s dog might be able to help them, if only they can get it to stop howling...

Visit Molly MacRae's website.

My Book, The Movie: Plaid and Plagiarism.

The Page 69 Test: Plaid and Plagiarism.

The Page 69 Test: Scones and Scoundrels.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Matt Hilton reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Matt Hilton, author of Worst Fear.

The entry begins:

I’m best known as a writer of thrillers and mysteries, but there’s nothing more I like to read (and occasionally write) than a creepy horror or ghost story. Recently I was recommended to read Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel. Now, twice Man Booker Prize-winner Dame Mantel (author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies) would never have been my natural choice to reach for when thinking about a good horror story, but with Beyond Black I’ve been happily surprised. In fact, more than happy. Albeit the word ‘happy’ is probably a poor choice concerning the emotions the narrative stirred in me. The book concerns an obese psychic medium, Alison Heart, and her severe assistant/business partner Colette, and is as much a tale regarding their awkward relationship as it is a tale of the supernatural. It’s...[read on]

About Worst Fear, from the publisher:

Private investigator Tess Grey discovers that someone from her past is pursuing a deadly vendetta - and she could be the next to die.

When the body of Tess Grey's former university roommate is found on a rocky Maine beach, having fallen from the cliffs above, the initial verdict is suicide. But why would Chelsea Grace, who was terrified of heights, have chosen to end her life in a way that invoked her very worst fear? Tess determines to find out.

Visit Matt Hilton's website.

The Page 69 Test: Judgment and Wrath.

My Book, The Movie: Judgment and Wrath.

The Page 69 Test: Painted Skins.

Writers Read: Matt Hilton.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jody Gehrman's "Watch Me," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Watch Me: A Gripping Psychological Thriller by Jody Gehrman.

The entry begins:

I obsess about the “casting” of my books quite extensively, so this question is right up my alley. I started as a playwright and I’ve written a lot of screenplays, so casting feels like a natural part of the writing process for me. Seeing and hearing the characters is so essential, and assigning a specific actor to the role really helps flesh out their possibilities.

My suspense novel, Watch Me, centers around Kate Youngblood, a thirty-eight-year-old writing professor who fears she’s disappearing. Her husband left her for a younger woman. Her second novel tanked. Her best friend’s having a baby, something she dreads more than she’d like to admit. She feels men’s eyes on her less and less, which is messing with her confidence. All of this forms a perfect storm of vulnerability, making her easy prey for a charming sociopath, Sam Grist. Sam also happens to be her star writing student. He’s stalking her, and he’ll do anything to ensure their future together.

I realize these casting choices would require a time machine, but no matter. They’re useful archetypes.

Kate Youngblood is Cate Blanchett, no doubt. I even borrowed a bit of her name. She has the acting chops to pull off a character who’s both bitingly cynical and hopelessly romantic. Blanchett’s range is so impressive, and her poise remarkable. She would be the hands-down most elegant choice for Kate.

Sam Grist is a young...[read on]

Visit Jody Gehrman's website.

Writers Read: Jody Gehrman.

The Page 69 Test: Watch Me.

My Book, The Movie: Watch Me.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twenty top books by writers who experienced something few others have

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and the Ustari Cycle from Pocket/Gallery, including We Are Not Good People. At the B&N Reads blog he tagged twenty books by people who know what they’re talking about, including:

Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea, by Steve Callahan

The title says it all. While competing in a race across the Atlantic Ocean in 1981, Callahan got caught in a storm and lost his boat. Luckily, he managed to grab his emergency kit and get into the six-person raft he’d taken along as a precaution. For the next 76 days he drifted on the ocean, teaching himself how to catch fish, make repairs, and generally stay alive. If you’ve ever drifted during a stressful meeting and wondered what it might be like to be lost at sea, Callahan’s epic memoir will tell you.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Laurie Gwen Shapiro's "The Stowaway"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro.

About the book, from the publisher:

The spectacular, true story of a scrappy teenager from New York’s Lower East Side who stowed away on the Roaring Twenties’ most remarkable feat of science and daring: an expedition to Antarctica.

It was 1928: a time of illicit booze, of Gatsby and Babe Ruth, of freewheeling fun. The Great War was over and American optimism was higher than the stock market. What better moment to launch an expedition to Antarctica, the planet’s final frontier? This was the moon landing before the 1960s. Everyone wanted to join the adventure. Rockefellers and Vanderbilts begged to be taken along as mess boys, and newspapers across the globe covered the planning’s every stage.

The night before the expedition’s flagship launched, Billy Gawronski—a skinny, first generation New York City high schooler desperate to escape a dreary future in the family upholstery business—jumped into the Hudson River and snuck aboard.

Could he get away with it?

From the grimy streets of New York’s Lower East Side to the rowdy dance halls of sultry Francophone Tahiti, all the way to Antarctica’s blinding white and deadly freeze, Laurie Gwen Shapiro’s The Stowaway takes you on the unforgettable voyage of a gutsy young stowaway who became an international celebrity, a mascot for an up-by-your bootstraps age.

Visit Laurie Gwen Shapiro's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Stowaway.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Alafair Burke's "The Wife"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: The Wife: A Novel of Psychological Suspense by Alafair Burke.

About the book, from the publisher:

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look at the man she married. And when she is asked to defend Jason in court, she realizes that her loyalty to her husband could unearth old secrets.

This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke’s Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

Visit Alafair Burke's website.

The Page 69 Test: Dead Connection.

The Page 69 Test: Angel’s Tip.

The Page 69 Test: 212.

The Page 69 Test: All Day and a Night.

The Page 69 Test: The Ex.

The Page 69 Test: The Wife.

--Marshal Zeringue