A Special Report for Book Lovers
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It’s the fifth Tuesday of the month, and time for my Newsletter for Book Lovers.
It comes with this good news for 2026: the creation of the Book Lovers Club.
For those who are interested, I would be happy to email new reviews to you as soon as they are posted.
Click here to join the Book Lovers Club.
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And now on to business: This Newsletter contain the five books I have enjoyed most in the last several months.
In honor of it being the end of the year, I am also going to include three books that are personal standouts from the year. I feel lucky to have read them. All three are very strange and very thought-provoking.
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Here are my five favorite books this quarter:
- Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
- Heart the Lover by Lily King
- Making it Home by Teresa Strasser
- The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
- Making the Best of What’s Left by Judith Viorst
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NOTE: Click the book’s title to get my review.
Click “Amazon” to get other readers’ reviews.
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Book title: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Brief synopsis: Lucy was accused but never found guilty of murdering her best friend. She has no memory of the night. A cold case investigator aims to change that.
One more thing to say: I read this book and listened to it, and need to say the audiobook is wonderful. There are two narrators. January Lavoy reads the chapters about Lucy. These chapters alternate with podcast episodes read by Will Damron. There is even theme music that plays before and after a podcast chapter making it a lot of fun to listen to.
Learn more about Listen for the Lie on Amazon.
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Book title: Heart the Lover by Lily King
Brief synopsis: The story of a love triangle in college and the lasting feelings from it. Watch those feelings play out almost three decades later.
One more thing to say: This book is both a prequel and a sequel to Lily King’s novel, Writers & Lovers from 2021. I find that concept difficult to wrap my brain around, but at the same time, it’s true. It’s also crazy but true that you don’t need to have read Writers & Lovers to LOVE this new book.
Learn more about Heart the Lover on Amazon.
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Book title: Making it Home by Teresa Strasser
Brief synopsis: Teresa Strasser and her dad watch Little League baseball games together as she processes her difficult childhood and the death of her brother.
One more thing to say: This is a “when bad things happen to good people” type of story when we think of Teresa and her brother. But it’s also a “when good people do bad things” story when we think of the dad.
Learn more about Making it Home on Amazon.
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Book title: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Brief synopsis: Sybil’s life in her 70s was going along without a blip on the radar, and then BAM! CHAOS!” Read all about it in this popular epistolary novel.
One more thing to say: Sybil is a crusty character, but she is also a very loveable one. I rooted for her through the whole book. If you read and enjoyed Olive Kitteridge, you’ll find the same type character in Sybil.
Learn more about The Correspondent on Amazon.
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Book title: Making the Best of What’s Left by Judith Viorst
Brief synopsis: This book was published two months after the author’s ninety-fourth birthday and it is important reading for everyone. Depending on your age, it’s validation, previews of coming attractions, or insight into loved ones who are older.
One more thing to say: From Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to Making the Best of What’s Left, Judith Viorst is an author worth knowing about.
Learn more about Making the Best of What’s Left on Amazon.
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And now the three very strange and very thought-provoking books:
Book title: A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
Brief synopsis: What’s it like in Hell? This book offers a Welcome to Hell letter setting out nine rules to follow for “a pleasant stay.”
One more thing to say: The book is only 100 pages long and it opens with five people sitting before a devil-like character and learning immediately that unless they had followed the correct religion – Zoroastrianism – they are condemned to hell.
Learn more about A Short Stay in Hell on Amazon.
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Book title: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
Brief synopsis: Lewis and Wren are newly married when Lewis is diagnosed with a carcharodon carcharias mutation. He is transforming into a great white shark.
One more thing to say: Human to animal mutations are a very real fate in this book. They are stand-ins for the very real fates in our world like metastatic cancer and mental illness. Lewis’s mutation is an aggressive one, and he will be a shark within a year.
And just one more thing to mention: This is the kind of book where every other line is beautiful and meaningful and if you are one to highlight books, almost every page will be colorful.
Learn more about Shark Heart on Amazon.
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Book title: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Brief synopsis: Forty women survive for years as prisoners in an underground bunker. See what happens upon their escape – and for the decades that follow.
One more thing to say: This book was written in 1995 and is famous now thanks to BookTok. Indeed, the book has 21,000 ratings on Amazon and 359,000 on Goodreads. On both platforms, the average rating is 4.1 stars out of five.
Learn more about I Who Have Never Known Men on Amazon.
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As I end this Newsletter, I am hoping two things:
- That you will sign up for the Book Lovers Club as mentioned above.
- And that you will take a look at my new book, Chai on Life. It is available in three formats, hardback, eBook, and AudioBook.
Many thanks,
Lorie
You make every one of these books sound amazing! Your book, Chai on Life, has been my favorite read!! Thanks, as always for sharing your wisdom and inspiration!! ❤️
Thanks for the Chai on Life compliment. I needed that!