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Kirkus Reviews is the premiere pre-publication book-review journal in the world of publishing. After all, its staff has reviewed more than 300,000 titles in the magazine's 74-year history. A favorable review in Kirkus can guarantee a book's success - and vice versa.
Which makes us pay attention when Kirkus recommends a list of what its editors consider the 25 best books for reading groups for 2006, calling them "guaranteed to generate discussion and lead to richer, more rewarding reading groups."
"A great book-group book is more than just a great book," said Jerome Kramer, Kirkus Reviews editor-in-chief. "For (this list), we sought out 25 titles that encourage engagement, discussion and debate - though we certainly hope there's no significant bloodshed."
OAS_AD('Button20'); Some of the titles are available now, but most of them are to be published in the coming months. For the complete list: www.kirkusreviews.com/ kirkusreviews/magazine/ special_editions.jsp.
RITA Award-nominated chick-lit author Eileen Rendahl has had back-to-back hits in the past two years with "Do Me, Do My Roots" and "Balancing in High Heels."
The Davis-based author strikes again with "Un-Bridaled" (Downtown, $13, 288 pages), about which she said on the phone, "It's a runaway-bride, secret-baby, cowboy-reincarnation book. That's a romance writer's in-joke. Really, it's about how important mothers are."
Actually, the book follows the misadventures of Chloe Sachs, who ditches her groom, loses her job and ends up in the family cabin in Winters for some R&R. But what's this? A stack of revealing old letters hidden inside a wall? And then ...
Rendahl will celebrate the book's release at 6:30 tonight at Soga's restaurant, 217 E St. in Davis. Hors d'oeuvres and cake will be served, and Borders Books will be there to sell copies, which Rendahl will autograph. It's free and open to the public. For more information: (530) 757-1733 or www.eandabooks.com/ EileenRendahl/.
Upcoming appearances by authors include:
* Kim Stanley Robinson for "Fifty Degrees Below" (Bantam, $25, 416 pages): The award-winning Davis-based sci-fi writer has followed last year's eco-thriller, "Forty Signs of Rain," with the second entry in his trilogy about the consequences of global warming. Tonight's free program is titled "How To Live, What To Do: Thinking With Technology in Environmental Crisis." Robinson will also discuss "Fifty Degrees Below," which Kirkus Reviews calls "first-rate ecological speculation." Robinson appeared for The Bee Book Club in July 2004.
Event: 6 tonight at 176 Everson Hall on the UC Davis campus; (530) 752-9621.
* Stephen Daubert for "Threads From the Web of Life: Stories in Natural History" (Vanderbilt University Press, $24.95, 162 pages): UC Davis molecular scientist Daubert partnered with his brother, Chris Daubert, an art professor at Sacramento City College, to produce a science-grounded book that is very accessible to the layperson. It puts the reader in the middle of the action within 16 "ecological processes," such as what it's like to be a sea turtle on a 3,000-mile ocean journey. A slide show will be included.
Event: 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Avid Reader, 617 Second St. in Davis; (530) 758-4040.
Consider this lineup of diverse titles:
"NNNNN" by Carl Reiner (Simon & Schuster, $21, 224 pages): From the twisted mind of one of the all-time comic geniuses comes this novel-in-a-novel about identity crisis, family connections and just plain craziness.
"My Father Is a Book" by Janna Malamud Smith (Houghton Mifflin, $24, 304 pages, on sale Wednesday): Novelist and short-story writer Bernard Malamud ("The Fixer," "The Natural") was one of the more respected literary voices of the 20th century. Here, his daughter shares her father's private life.
"In Between Men" by Mary Castillo (Avon, $12.95, 304 pages): Castillo, 31, is a fourth-generation Mexican American whose Latina-accented chick-lit "Hot Tamara" was a best-seller in 2005. "Men" follows the adventures of Isa Avellan (a character from "Tamara"), whose makeover into "sex goddess" status brings its own set of problems.
"Mourners" by Bill Pronzini (Forge, $24.95, 288 pages): The prolific creator of the "Nameless Detective" is back with the 30th in the series. Nameless and his cohorts are hired to trail a mysterious man who likes attending the funerals of strangers. What's the connection between him and the deceased, who all have died violently?
About the writer: The Bee's Allen Pierleoni can be reached at (916) 321-1128 or apierleoni@sacbee.com. Contact him with news of coming literary events that are open to the public. Unique content, exceptional value. SUBSCRIBE NOW! To see more of the Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe, go to http://www.sacbee.com Copyright 2004 Sacramento Bee. All Rights Reserved.
