New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 11

This week’s “Watch List” is in the previous post.

Reviewer Favorite

Vampires in the Lemon GroveVampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories, Karen Russell, (RH/Knopf; BOT; Thorndike Large Print)

Russell’s novel, Swamplandia! was on most of the Best Books lists for 2011 and was one of three finalists for the 2012 Pultizer Prize in fiction, a year when the Academy infamously chose not to award a winner. Expect many reviews for this one,  beginning with the NYT‘s formidable Michiko Kakutani, who says that Russell can “make magic ” of any subject. A feature is planned for the upcoming NPR Weekend Edition Saturday.

Media Magnets

Life CodeLife Code: The New Rules for Winning in the Real World, Phil McGraw, (Bird Street Books)

It happens that the publisher of TV talk show host McGraw’s latest book is owned by his son, Jay McGraw. Also available is a companion DVD, Beyond Life Code. Both will, of course, be promoted on The Dr. Phil show next week. They are also being advertised in People magazine and USA Today.

CoolidgeCoolidge, Amity Shlaes, (Harper; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe)

Surprised that a biography of a president who is generally known only as the butt of jokes is hot? The interest has more to do with the author than the subject. Amity Shlaes’ recent book, The Forgotten Manhas been called  the bible of the conservative, anti-Obama, free-market movement. Unsurprisingly, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News are big supporters. UPDATE: It is scheduled for the cover of the Feb. 17 NYT Book Review.

Living and Dying in Brick City

Living and Dying in Brick City: An E.R. Doctor Returns Home, Sampson Davis, (RH/Spiegel & Grau; Blackstone Audio)

Media attention for this memoir by a doctor who returned to his hometown of Newark to help the city’s poor and forgotten begins with a four-star review in People magazine. It is also scheduled for a feature on the NPR’s upcoming Weekend Edition Saturday.

Drinking and Tweeting   Long Shot   Days That I'll Remember

Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders, Brandi Glanville, (S&S/ Gallery Books) — One of the “Real” House Wives of Beverly Hills dishes on her life, loves, etc. The tabloid press can’t get enough.

Long Shot, Mike Piazza, (Simon & Schuster) — A memoir by “the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball.”  He’s scheduled for appearances on the upcoming NPR Weekend Edition and to do BOTH Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart’s shows next week.

Days That I’ll Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Jonathan Cott, (RH/Doubleday; Tantor Audio; Center Point Large Print) — By a contributing editor at the Rolling Stone, who knew the couple since 1968.

These titles, and more, including “Usual Suspects” on our downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

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