New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 18

We’re well into the second month of the year, so readers must be impatient for another book by James Patterson. Not to fear, Alex Cross, Run (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) arrives on Tuesday. Among this week’s media magnets is Clive Davis’s autobiography and Po Bronson’s look at competition (with the headline-making revelation that teamwork is overrated). Below are the highlights of the week. More forthcoming titles are on our download spreadsheet, New Title Radar 2/18/13.

Watch List

After Visiting FriendsAfter Visiting Friends, Michael Hainey, (S&S/Scribner)

When the author was six years old, his father died unexpectedly. Reports said simply that he had died “after visiting friends.” This is the story of Hainey’s quest to find out what really happened. An IndieNext pick for March, it is described by bookseller Linda Bubon of Chicago’s Women & Children First, as “one of the most compelling memoirs” she’s read which is also “an insider’s tribute to the hard-working and hard-drinking big city newsmen of the 1950s and ’60s.” The author is the editor of GQ Magazine, so he will be getting publicity; features are scheduled in the upcoming week in Entertainment Weekly, on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Farewell, Dorothy ParkerFarewell, Dorothy Parker, Ellen Meister, (Penguin/Putnam; AudioGo)

Meister’s previous novel The Other Life employed magical realism in the story of a woman who discovered a portal to another life; the one she might have lived if she had made different choices. In this new book, the portagonist has an unusual life coach; her heroine, Dorothy Parker, who comes back to life and moves in with her, complete with drinking habits and sardonic bon mots.

Pure  Fuse

FuseJulianna Baggott, (Hachette/Grand Central)

The second in a planned trilogy of dystopian novels folows the Alex Award winner, PureA movie deal was announced last year.

Media Magnets

The Soundtrack of My LifeThe Soundtrack of My Life, Clive Davis, (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio)

Record producer and former head of Columbia Records, Davis has been in the media eye this week for his annual hot-ticket pre-Grammy party. The 80-year-old will appear on  range of shows next week, including The View and Charlie Rose.

The Secrets of Happy FamiliesThe Secrets of Happy Families, Bruce Feiler, (Harper/Morrow; Dreamscape Audio)

Say it isn’t so. Bruce Feiler claims that  the best way to create family harmony is to adopt some of various  business techniques, like creating a family mission plan and instituting weekly family planning meetings. We hope annual performance evaluations are not part of the approach.

Top DogTop Dog, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, (Hachette/Twelve; Hachette Audio)

This is not a book about the Westminister Dog Show, but about the nature of competition. Bronson and Merryman. whose first collaboration, Nurture Shock, made waves in the parenting world, are already making news with this new book by declaring that teamwork is overrated.

Noble SavagesNoble Savages, Napoleon Chagnon, (Simon & Schuster; BOT)

The NYT Mag features the author in the upcoming issue, calling him “our most controversial anthropoligist.”

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