From Random House Reader's Circle

Dear Readers,

The quality of wine is often measured by the year the grapes were harvested. If books were judged by the year of their publication, then 2005 would certainly be considered a fine year for literature.

We kicked of 2005 with some heavy hitters including Mary Doria Russell's A THREAD OF GRACE, John Irving's masterpiece UNTIL I FIND YOU, and Lorna Landvik's new novel OH MY STARS. The New York Times just named their 10 best books of 2005 and among them were Curtis Sittenfeld's debut, PREP and the nonfiction bestseller by Jonathan Harr, THE LOST PAINTING. Both USA Today and The Boston Globe declared Peter Pouncey's touching story RULES FOR OLD MEN WAITING among the best books of the year. And I know I'm bragging, but wouldn't you brag, if E.L. Doctorow's THE MARCH and Lisa See's SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN were among the books you added to your library this year? And let us not forget two newcomers that stole our hearts this year- Brian Strause's MAYBE A MIRACLE and Amanda Eyre Ward's HOW TO BE LOST - both are on my holiday gift list to others... gotta spread the joy.