Bethanne's Blog

In my last post, I talked about history's losers. Vladimir Ilyich Ulanov, known to history as "Lenin," cannot properly be called a loser or a winner, but he can be deemed a Person of Significance.

Any book knowledge I previously had of Lenin was confined to my experience as an undergraduate political-science major (I did see plenty of his busts in Eastern Europe when I lived in Soviet-era Germany!). I wasn't at all sure what to expect when I picked up "Lenin's Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution" (Norton) by Philip Pomper, a professor of history at Wesleyan University.

I adore the group of books we've gathered in this week's giveaway, because they are about different stages that the distaff side of humanity experiences -- and they are three different types of books, too.

For marriage, we've got "Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding" by Judith Martin and Jacobina Martin (Miss Manners and her daughter), a how-to book that is also extremely funny. For grandmotherhood, we've got "Eye of My Heart" by Barbara Graham, an anthology of essays from many wonderful writers. For running away and trying to figure it all out? "The Scenic Route" by Binnie Kirshenbaum, a novel with incredibly beautiful language and style.

Ten randomly chosen giveaway winners will receive all three of these books. All you have to do for a chance is answer this question in our Comments section:

If you wrote a book about one woman -- any woman -- what would it be called?

History has its winners, and we all know their names: Alexander the Great. Henry the Fifth. General Eisenhower. For hundreds of years, history books, schoolrooms, and popular media emphasized the winners, celebrating their names in stories, song, documentaries, and more.

However, over the past few decades writers have begun to investigate history's losers, and these stories can be fascinating. If Michael Kranish hadn't written "Flight from Monticello: Jefferson at War," I doubt I would ever have known that Benedict Arnold conducted at least one large-scale naval and military invasion of Virginia -- or that Thomas Jefferson, revered as one of our Founding Fathers, was vilified during that invasion for fleeing his post as Governor of Virginia.

How do I even begin to introduce this video? (You'll notice I'm not in it, which is due to the technical and logistical difficulties of filming in a five-star hotel suite. The added benefit is that the focus is on the wonderful authors.)

I got to meet and interview Dame Julie Andrews with her daughter and co-author Emma Walton Hamilton for their new book, "Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies."

!!!!!

Even months after conducting this interview, I can scarcely believe it. I met Julie Andrews. Somebody, pinch me...

However, if you watch the interview, I hope you'll notice not just Dame Andrews and Ms. Hamilton as fascinating and impassioned advocates for reading, but that you'll also see the warm and loving mother-daughter relationship that they share. 

I truly enjoy almost every interview I conduct for The Book Studio, but some of these interviews really do become better conversations than others. There are so many factors that go into a good interview, including the strength of a book's content and its author's ease in discussing that content. James McGrath Morris has an incredible subject in Joseph Pulitzer -- and he's wonderfully well versed in that subject. 

When you see him on television, Howie Mandel is about as friendly as can be -- and many of us have seen him giving a contestant on "Deal or No Deal" his trademark fist bump. 

Turns out that that fist bump is Mandel's way of coping with a serious case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He doesn't shake hands, and he'd prefer never to make physical contact with strangers if he could help it. In his memoir "Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me," Mandel tells the story of growing up with OCD and coming to terms with the illness as an adult.

Pete Dexter and Richard Russo are two of contemporary literature's best, and I've been fortunate to meet them both in person. They are both quite different -- Dexter is sardonic, Russo ebullient; Dexter lives mainly in Arizona, while Russo lives mostly in Maine -- yet they do have a few similarities, including their mustaches and their ways of capturing the American Male.

Ten of you, randomly selected, will receive copies of both Dexter's "Spooner" and Russo's "That Old Cape Magic," as long as you leave an answer below in the Comments to this question:

What's one defining quality or trait of that singular species, The American Male? 

Here's my favorite thing about Paula Butturini's new memoir "Keeping the Feast: One Couple's Story of Love, Food and Healing in Italy" (Riverhead): Even though the book is actually about coping with tragedy, mental illness, and relationships, its descriptions of food are so vivid that readers have started asking the author if she might release a companion book of recipes!