Congrats to Janelle D., Jill M., Jen O., Tonya W., and Kristin W.! Their entries were selected at random to win a set of bestselling novels from Nichole Bernier, Jenna Blum, and J. Courtney Sullivan.
Make sure you’re subscribed at the top of this page. You’ll get a weekly email from us with info on how to enter our members-only Read It First giveaways.
Meanwhile, why not click around and get your first look at the next great book!
Nichole Bernier – author of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. – shares a list of books that remind us you never really know the hearts and minds of others.
“Books that reveal that things are not what they seem have always fascinated me,” says Nichole Bernier. “Here are some of my favorites that show the hidden pains and motivations roiling beneath the surface of us all.”
Nichole Bernier includes classics like Crossing to Safety, recent bestsellers like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and book club favorites like A Pilot’s Wife. Check out her list and tell us about a book you think should make the list!
Our live video chat with bestselling authors Nichole Bernier, Jenna Blum, and J. Courtney Sullivan has been POSTPONED. We’ll let you know when it’s rescheduled so you can save the date!
Three talented novelists, together live on video to talk with you about their books, their writing process, and their literary friendship.
Don’t miss this special opportunity! Perfect for book club members – and all voracious readers of fiction – who want to connect with bestselling authors. Think of it as a big virtual book signing. Hope to see you there!
These discussion questions and topics are designed to enhance your reading group’s discussion of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D
“Do you think the difference between being a stay-at-home mom and a mother with a career outside the home still creates barriers between women? Do you think if women show too much passion for their work they can be perceived as less motherly? If you have belonged to a playgroup, PTA, or other social organization of mothers, have you sensed tensions, stereotypes, or expectations based on working status?” Many more provocative questions are included, sure to create a lively discussion of Nichole Bernier’s novel, which is perfect for book clubs.
“My book grew out of the what-ifs: What if a mother left behind hints of a more complex and mysterious person than her loved ones thought they’d known?”
Nichole Bernier – author of the novel The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. – talks with friend and fellow author Dani Shapiro, author of the the novels Black & White and Family History and the best-selling memoirs Devotion and Slow Motion.
They discuss the “shimmer” that inspires a story. Nichole says, “The shimmer for me was the incomplete obit, the discrepancy between the public and the private self. We all die with bits of our story untold.”
“Written with exquisite grace, depth, and honesty, The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. explores decisions driven by motherhood and marriage,” writes Randy Susan Meyers, international bestselling author of The Murderer’s Daughters. “I was transfixed as Kate read the journals she’d inherited from Elizabeth, peeling back the layers of her friend’s life, and in the process grappling with her own choices and terrors. Women have secret lives – sometimes hidden in the corners of our minds, sometimes in dreams unrealized. One mark of friendship is when and whether these nightmares and ambitions can be revealed. This riveting novel fiercely captures this fulcrum of the public and private lives of American mothers.”
