This week, contemporary short story masters Nathan Englander and Dan Chaon return, while Josh Bazell delivers the sequel to his breakout debut. Usual suspects include Lisa Gardner, Vince Flynn, J.A. Jance and YA author Sara Shepard. Our major title to watch details the life of a slum in Mumbai by Katherine Boo. In nonfiction, historian James Simon probes the faceoff between FDR and Chief Justice Hughes, and Tucker Max delivers his third raucous memoir.

Watch List

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (Random House; BOT Audio; Thorndike Large Print; ebook and audio, OverDrive) focuses on Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels in Mumbai, as India starts to prosper. As we’ve said before, we think this one is headed for best sellerdom. Lots of media attention this week should help it along.

Wild Thing by Josh Bazell (Hachette/Little,Brown/Reagan Arthur; Hachette Audio) is the sequel to Bazell’s popular debut, Beat the Reaper, once again featuring Dr. “Peter Brown,” this time as he accompanies a sexy but self-destructive paleontologist on the world’s worst field assignment. LJ says, “it’s as good as [Bazell’s debut] and more. In addition to the mayhem and madness of the original, there’s an element of ecoconsciousness and political satire (the long-delayed appearance of the government official is worth the purchase price) that will leave readers wanting still more.”

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank: Stories by Nathan Englander (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; OverDrive ebook and audio) includes eight new stories from celebrated novelist and short fiction author (For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and The Ministry of Special Cases). Kirkus says his “voice evokes a long legacy of Jewish storytelling and the sharp edge of contemporary fiction” and pronounces his tales of Israel, American Jewry and suburbia the work of “a short-story master.” The newspaper reviews, however, have not been so complimentary (WSJ and L.A. Times). The NYT profiled the author’s “Sunday Routine.”

Stay Awake: Stories by Dan Chaon (RH/Ballantine; ebook, OverDrive) is a collection of 12 stores about fragile characters who wander between ordinary life and a psychological shadowland by National Book Award finalist Chaon, following hss critically acclaimed novel Await Your Reply. LJ says, “The powerful writing in this intense and suspenseful collection draws us into the emotional maelstroms experienced by the characters. A highly recommended work, not to be missed.” The NYT Book Review calls the best of the stories “superbly disquieting.”

Usual Suspects

Catch Me by Lisa Gardner (Penguin/Dutton; Brilliance Audio; Thorndike Large Print) finds Detective D. D. Warren faced with a client who believes she will be murdered in four days, and she wants D. D. to handle the death investigation. In a starred review, Booklist says, “Last year, Gardner had three titles on different New York Times bestseller lists; her latest D. D. Warren novel will launch a new streak for 2012.”

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn (S&S/Atria; S&S Audio) is a suspenseful political thriller that follows a deadly mission to hunt down the men responsible for the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. LJ says, “If you loved the author’s The Secret Supper, you’ll probably love this, too.”  USA Today profiles Flynn, who has defied odds after being diagnosed with cancer in 2010

Left for Dead by J. A. Jance (S&S/Touchstone; Thorndike Large Print; S&S Audio) Ali Reynolds investigates two shocking cases of victims brutally left for dead — Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, Ali’s classmate from the Arizona Police Academy, and an unidentified young woman presumed to be an illegal border crosser.

Young Adult

Two Truths and a Lie (The Lying Game Series #3) by Sara Shepard (Harper Teen; HarperAudio) is the third installment in the new series by the bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars, about one twin trying to solve the murder of another, by unraveling her cryptic journal, tangled love life, and the dangerous pranks she played.

Nonfiction

FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, and the Epic Battle Over the New Deal by James F. Simon (Simon & Schuster) recounts how the two men fiercely collided at a pivotal moment in history — during the initial stages of FDR’s New Deal. PW says, “With the present-day Court poised to rule on health care reform amid controversies over the governments power to address economic turmoil, Simons account of a very similar era is both trenchant and timely.”

Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max (Blue Heeler Books) is the third volume by the author of the bestsellers I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell and Assholes Finish First, about his sexual and drunken exploits.

Hilma Wolitzer’s new novel got a strong review from Fresh Air‘s Maureen Corrigan yesterday, calling it a “droll novel of manners” (the publisher compares it to the word-of-mouth success, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand). As a result, the book up to #381 (from #1,251) on Amazon sales rankings. Several libraries are showing holds as high as 10 to 1.

An Available Man Hilma Wolitzer Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: RH/Ballantine – (2012-01-24) ISBN / EAN: 9780345527547/0345527542

AudioGo; ebook and audio on OverDrive

Next week brings three debuts to watch – about the Korean immigrant experience, an Alaskan couple longing for a child in 1920, and a Romanian Jewish village in 1939 – plus two well-reviewed thrillers by authors steadily building their audiences, Daniel Palmer and William Landay. Usual suspects include Robert Harris, Kristin Hannah and Shannon Hale  - while Elizabeth George delivers a Christian devotional for moms.

Debuts to Watch

Drifting House by Krys Lee (Penguin/Viking; Thorndike Large Print) is a debut novel portraying the Korean immigrant experience from the postwar era to contemporary times. Library Journal says, “Readers in search of exquisite short fiction beyond their comfort zone—groupies of Jhumpa Lahiri (Unaccustomed Earth) and Yoko Tawada (Where Europe Begins) — will thrill to discover Lee’s work.”

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (Hachette/Little,Brown/Reagan Arthur; Thorndike Large Print) is a debut novel about a couple struggling in their marriage, who arrive in Alaska in 1920. Longing for children, they build a child out of snow that’s gone the next morning, though they glimpse a small girl running through the trees. Kirkus calls it “a fine first novel,” saying ”the book’s tone throughout has a lovely push and pull–Alaska’s punishing landscape and rough-hewn residents pitted against Faina’s charmed appearances–and the ending is both surprising and earned.”

No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (Penguin/Riverhead) is set in a remote Jewish village in Romania in 1939, as war closes in. At the suggestion of an 11-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger, the villagers decide to reinvent the world: deny any relationship with the known and start over from scratch. Library Journal says “debut novelist Ausubel has written a riveting, otherworldly story about an all-too-real war and the transformative power of community.”

Rising Thrillers

Helpless by Daniel Palmer (Kensington; Brilliance Audio) is the followup to the author’s acclaimed debut Delirious, the story of an award-winning coach accused of murder. (Palmer, by the way, is the son of bestselling author Michael Palmer.) LJ says, “Palmer scores again with a terrific thriller that has it all—murder, drugs, kidnapping, techno-mayhem, romance, manly ex-Navy SEAL exploits, and a burgeoning father-daughter relationship.”

Defending Jacob by William Landay (RH/Delacorte; Blackstone Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is the latest from the author of The Strangler and the award-winning Mission Flats. It features Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber, who is shocked to find his 14 year-old son Jacob charged with the murder of a fellow student. Library Journal raves, “this brilliant novel …  is equal parts legal thriller and dysfunctional family saga, culminating in a shocking ending. Skillful plotting and finely drawn characters result in a haunting story reminiscent of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.”

Usual Suspects

The Fear Index by Robert Harris (RH/Knopf; Random House Audio). Author Harris has successfully moved from alternate history to ancient history to WWII thrillers and contemporary stories and now a techno-thriller about an artificial intelligence project with a mind of its own. Library Journal says this “outstanding thriller… will kindle readers’ minds from the first page. Get ready to enjoy a brilliant integration of fascinating research, compelling themes, and vivid characterization.” It will be in the media next week, including a feature on NPRs “Morning Edition.” A movie is in the works, directed by Paul Greengrass, with Harris writing the screenplay.

Home Front by Kristin Hannah (Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Center Point Large Print; Macmillan Audio) is the story of a couple whose growing distance is twisted by the wife’s unexpected deployment to Iraq. Publishers Weekly says “by reversing traditional expectations, Hannah calls attention to the modern female soldier and offers a compassionate, poignant look at the impact of war on family.”

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury) is a sequel to the bestselling Austenland (2007 ), in which another contemporary American plays Regency heroine at Pembrook Park. PW says, “though a tacked-on romance and some flimsy plot twists strain credibility… Hale provides a welcome, witty glimpse of a side of Austen rarely explored in the many contemporary riffs on her work.”

Nonfiction

A Mom After God’s Own Heart Devotional by Elizabeth George (Harvest House Publishers) draws from the author’s bestselling books, radio spots and podcasts, along with scripture, to provide devotionals to guide mothers in parenting.

Given the librarian stereotype, it seems appropriate that a book which praises introverts, Quiet, will be featured at the raucous ALA MidWinter meeting, on Saturday. The book releases this week, along with several novels deserving an RA push and titles by returning favorites, Robert Crais, Walter Mosley, Hilma Wolitzer, Margot Livesey and Tim Dorsey.

Watch List

Bond Girl by Erin Duffy (HarperCollins/Morrow) is the tale of a business school graduate in four-inch heels, set in the financial world, leading up to the tumultuous year of 2008 – it’s billed by the publisher as The Devil Wears Prada meets Wall Street. Library Journal says, “despite financial details that may make your head spin and a workplace that will make your stomach churn, Duffy’s fresh take on the single-in-the-city tale does a terrific job of reviving chick lit.”

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson (Hachette/ Grand Central; Hachette Large Print) is a Southern famiy saga by the author of Gods in Alabama, and follows a young woman’s search for the truth about who her mother really is.  In a starred review, Booklist calls it “Jackson’s most absorbing book yet, a lush, rich read with three very different but equally compelling characters at its core.”

Heft by Liz Moore (Norton) is the author’s second novel, featuring a 600-pound former academic and a teenager in crisis who become unlikely allies. PW says, “the writing is quirky, sometimes to a fault, yet original, but the diptych structure is less successful, as the respective first-person narrators are sometimes indistinct. Regardless, Moore’s second novel wears its few kinks well.”

Usual Suspects

Taken by Robert Crais (Penguin/Putnam; Wheeler Publishing; Brilliance Corporation) is the 15th Elvis Cole novel, involving a wealthy industrialist whose missing son appears to have faked his own kidnapping. “Cole and sidekicks Joe Pike and Jon Stone all get a chance to shine, ,” says PW. “Told from multiple points of view, this installment would make a fine action-packed film with three strong male leads.”

All I Did Was Shoot My Man: A Leonid McGill Mystery by Walter Mosley (Riverhead; Penguin Audiobooks) finds Leonid McGill in his fourth outing, investigating a complex case that involves adultery and murder as his own life unravels. ”General readers and Mosley fans will appreciate his characteristically fine writing as well as the internal struggles Mosley inflicts on his protagonists,” says Library Journal.

An Available Man by Hilma Wolitzer (RH/Ballantine; Center Point Large Print; Audiogo)  is about a widowed 62-year-old science teacher who finds himself ambushed by female attention after his stepchildren place a personal ad in the newspaper. Library Journal says, “Wolitzer is surprisingly good at portraying a man’s perspective. Although her writing is not as crisp as in some of her previous novels, this is a breezier tale with a lighter edge.”

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey (Harper; Harperluxe) is a modern take on Charlotte Brontë’s classic, Jane Eyre, set in early 1960s Scotland. PW says, “although guardian angels and kind strangers turn up like an army of deus ex machinas, these plot missteps dont detract from Gemmas self-possessed determination. Captivating and moving, this book is a wonderful addition to Liveseys body of work.”

Pineapple Grenade by Tim Dorsey (HarperCollins/Morrow; HarperAudio) marks the return of Florida serial killer Serge Storms. He’s finagled his way into becoming a secret agent in Miami for the president of a Banana Republic, and now Homeland Security wants to bring him down. PW says, “though the books formula will be familiar to series fans, neither Dorseys fast-paced prose nor his delight in skewering human foolishness has lost its mischievous sparkle.”

Movie tie-in

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach (Random House Trade) is a comic drama about a group of British retirees in a home for the elderly in India. It’s being published in the U.S for the first time as a tie-in to the British film version - starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Billy Nighy, and Dev Patel – which will be released here in May 2012. The original UK novel title was These Foolish Things.

Young Adult

Fallen in Love (Lauren Kate’s Fallen Series #4) by Lauren Kate (RH/Delacorte YR; Listening Library) includes four new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages.

Nonfiction

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Crown Publishing Group; Random House Audio) argues that introverts get a bum rap and extroverts should not be held up as the ideal – it even charges, as People says in its lead review this week, that “risk-loving extroverts in the financial industry helped cause the global crisis.” The author wrote the lead essay in the New York Times Sunday Review last week, which attracted many comments. She also appears at ALA Midwinter tomorrow.

Fairy Tale Interrupted by RoseMarie Terenzio (S&S/Gallery Books; Tantor Media) as we noted earlier, this memoir by John F. Kennedy Jr’s personal assistant, publicist, and one of his closest confidantes during the last five years of his life is already grabbing headlines. PW says, “Terenzios captivating story, told with style and grace, chronicles her time with Kennedy within the glorious but often brutal bubble that encircled his world, and what he taught her about living.”

City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Sea by Roger Crowley (Random House) traces the full arc of the Venetian imperial saga for the first time. It is framed around two of the great collisions of world history: the ill-fated Fourth Crusade in 1202 and the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499–1503. Kirkus says, “an action-packed political and military history that will remind readers of the Italian sea power that prevailed for centuries before Western European nations arrived on the scene.”

The Lives of Margaret Fuller: A Biography by John Matteson (Norton) explores the life of writer and social critic Margaret Fuller (1810–1850), who was perhaps the most famous American woman of her generation, but also plagued by self-doubt. LJ says, “the work is well written, easily accessible, and entertaining. Prior knowledge of Fuller is not necessary to enjoy it. A great read for anyone interested in extraordinary women in our literary and women’s history.”

To watch next week, a young adult title set during the Haitian earthquake has strong crossover appeal. Stewart O’Nan delivers a love story and Orson Scott Card returns with another title in the Ender series. In nonfiction, the fascination with SEAL’s continues with an autobiography by the most deadly sniper in U.S. military history.

Young Adult Watch List

In Darkness by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury) is set in Haiti, where a teenage boy is trapped among ruins, surrounded by bodies, with death seeming imminent. But then he becomes aware of Touissant L’Overture reaching out to him across 200 years of history. The Wall St. Journal covered it a roundup of YA titles for Black History Month, saying “elegant, restrained prose and distinct characters will reward adults and older teenagers able to brave a story with strong language, harrowing scenes of brutality and an almost painful stab of joy at the end.”

Notable Literary Titles

The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O’Nan (Viking; Center Point Large Print) is set on Valentine’s weekend, as Art and Marion Fowler – both jobless and facing foreclosure - flee to the site of their honeymoon in Niagara Falls decades earlier, book a bridal suite, and risk everything at the roulette wheel. Library Journal says that O’Nan “sensitively makes the everyday hurts of everyday people real and important. This book will resonate profoundly in today’s strapped environment; great for book clubs.”

Usual Suspects

Raylan by Elmore Leonard (William Morrow; Blackstone Audio) is the third crime novel starring U.S. marshal Raylan Givens (now the star of the FX television series Justified), a former Kentucky coal miner, against three very different female crooks. Library Journal says, “Leonard lovers will find the fascinatingly twisted personalities common to his fiction here, along with memorable trademark Leonard moments of humor, grit, and greed. Raylan will play well with his current popularity and won’t disappoint fans of the books and the show.”

Death of Kings (Saxon Tales #6) by Bernard Cornwell (HarperCollins; HarperLuxe Large Print) is the sixth (but not final) installment of  Cornwell’s saga of England, in whichAlfred the Great lays dying, while the fate of the Angles, Saxons and Vikings hang in the balance. PW says, “Ninth-century combat lacks the grandeur of large armies, but Uhtred’s cunning, courage, and a few acts of calculated cruelty make for a compelling read.”

Shadows in Flight (Ender’s Shadow Series #5) by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books) finds Bean having fled to the stars with three of his children, who share the engineered genes that gave him both hyper-intelligence and a short, cruel physical life. Library Journal says, “Card deals with the repercussions of bioengineering for the human species. [His]graceful storytelling gives this narrative the feel of a parable or a futuristic myth; it is bound to please the author’s fan base and readers who enjoyed the first book.” But Kirkus cautions, “Do not attempt to appreciate this book without at least some familiarity with Card’s child-warrior Ender series.”

Young Adult

Hallowed (Unearthly Series #2) by Cynthia Hand (HarperTeen) is the second novel to feature part-angel Clara Gardner, who is torn between her love for her boyfriend Tucker and her complicated feelings about the role she seems destined to play. Kirkus says, “readers who enjoyed the steadfast characters, plotting and romance of Unearthly (2010) can expect more of the same in this equally satisfying sequel.”

Nonfiction

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle (William Morrow; HarperLuxe Large Print) is the autobiography of SEAL Chief Chris Kyle, whose record 255 confirmed kills make him the most deadly sniper in U.S. military history. Booklist says, “The book reads like a a first-person thriller narrated by a sniper. The book follows his career from 1999 to 2009, and, like Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead (2003), it portrays a sniper’s life as a mixture of terror and mind-numbing boredom… A first-rate military memoir.”

Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions; S&S Audio) finds the bestselling author of Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto exploring the philosophical basis of America’s foundations and the crisis that the government faces today.

Asian politics animate two key titles this week, one by American author Adam Johnson about North Korea, and the other a translation of a novel by Chan Koonchung about China in the near-future that has been banned in that country. Usual suspects include Elizabeth George, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and John Burdett – plus young adult authors John Green and Beth Revis. In nonfiction, there are biographies of the Obamas by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor and of Queen Elizabeth by Sally Bedell Smith.

Watch List

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (Random House; RH Audio) follows a young man’s journey from a North Korean orphanage into a life of spying, kidnapping, and torture, followed by a new identity as the husband of the Dear Leader’s favorite actress. Library Journal says, “evidently a blend of personal story and political revelation, with thriller overtones thrown in for fun, this work is being positioned as a breakout for Johnson. The first two serials go to Granta in August 2011 and Playboy in January 2012, which certainly suggests broad appeal.”

The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung (Nan A. Talese) was an underground sensation in China before being banned. Set in Beijing in the near future, it’s about a group of friends who decide to find out more about the “lost month” during the country’s political transition that has been erased from the nation’s memory.  PW says, “this first English translation… feels flat, a quality exacerbated by the novel’s uneven pace and lengthy digressions into historical and political minutiae. However, Koonchung (founder of Hong Kong’s City Magazine) reveals the moral and political perils of contemporary Chinese life.”

Usual Suspects

Believing the Lie (Inspector Lynley Series #16) by Elizabeth George (Dutton; Penguin Audiobooks; Thorndike Large Print) finds Scotland Yard policeman Thomas Lynley to delving into the accidental death of the gay nephew of a wealthy industrialist. Kirkus says, “pared-down George, weighing in at a svelte 600 pages, but still strewn with subplots, melodrama, melancholy, a wretchedly unhappy Havers and the impossibly heroic, impossibly nice Thomas Lynley.”

Gideon’s Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing; Hachette Audio; Thorndike Large Print) finds Gideon Crew in his second outing, tracking a terrorist cell ten days before a planned attack on a major American city. PW says, the “lead could be cut-and-pasted into any number of books by less gifted genre writers.”

Vulture Peak: A Bangkok Novel by John Burdett (Knopf) is the latest to feature Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, who is in charge of the highest-profile case in Thailand — an attempt to bring an end to trafficking in human organs. Kirkus says, “Burdett’s strengths are tilted toward characterization rather than plotting, for Buddhist Sonchai remains a fascinating cross between Buddhist monk and hard-boiled detective.”

Lothaire by Kresley Cole (Gallery Books; S&S Audio) continues the Immortals After Dark series, with the story of how Lothaire the Enemy of Old rose to power a millenia ago, becoming the most feared and evil vampire in the immortal world.

Young Adult

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Dutton; Brilliance Audio). The uber-popular author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns, applies his trade-marked humor to a serious subject. A young girl facing terminal illness encounters an unexpected friend who turns her life around.  Every time Green mentions the book on his popular vlog, it rises on Amazon, as we’ve been noting for several months, so it’s no surprise that the announced first printing is 150,000 copies. Entertaiment Weekly is giving it a push, with an author interview, an “exclusive” (but rather unrevealing) trailer and a strong review.

A Million Suns: An Across the Universe Novel by Beth Revis (Razorbill) is the second installment in the Across the Universe trilogy about the 2,763 people trapped aboard a spaceship. Kirkus says, “Revis’ shining brilliance is the fierce tension about survival (is Godspeed deteriorating? can people survive terrorism inside an enclosed spaceship?) and the desperate core question of whether any generation will ever reach a planet. Setting and plot are the heart and soul of this ripping space thriller, and they’re unforgettable.”

Nonfiction

The Obamas by Jodi Kantor (Little, Brown; Thorndike Large Print) peers inside the White House as the Obamas try to grapple with their new roles, change the country, raise children, maintain friendships, and figure out what it means to be the first black President and First Lady. Kantor is the Washington correspondent for the New York Times, as well as its “Arts & Leisure” editor.

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith (Random House; Random House Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is “comparable to Ben Pimlott’s excellent The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II (1998),” says Library Journal. “But with information on nearly 15 more years, this will appeal to readers of biographies, British history, and all followers of the British royal family. The Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee should increase demand.”

Next week, look out for Lou Beach‘s quirky debut story collection based on Facebook posts, along with a new novel from Anita Desai and the relaunch of an old one by Paul Theroux. Veteran  P.D. James delivers a murder mystery in the form of a sequel to Pride and Prejudice that is already getting attention. In nonfiction, there’s an original title from the Dalai Lama, along with Richard Bonin‘s look at Ahmed Chalabi’s role in shaping contemporary Iraq.

Watch List

420 Characters by Lou Beach (Houghton Mifflin) is a collection of very short stories that originally appeared as Facebook status updates. Library Journal says, “there are some books you like, others that you don’t, and that rare book that you like in spite of yourself. This book fits into the latter category… Like a tasting menu, these stories add up to something wonderful.”

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (RH/Knopf; Random House Large Print; Random House Audio) subjects the characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to a murder mystery. It’s set in 1803, six years after Elizabeth and Darcy began their life together at Pemberley, when their idyll is shattered by Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who announces that her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been murdered. NPR’s Fresh Air featured it on Tuesday, calling it “a glorious plum pudding of a whodunit,” adding  James “ferrets out the alternative noir tales that lurk in the corners of Pride and Prejudice, commonly thought of as Austen’s sunniest novel. Ruinous matches, The Napoleonic Wars, early deaths, socially enforced female vulnerability: Austen keeps these shadows at bay, while James noses deep into them.” We’ve put this on our “Watch List” because it may bring James a whole new audience.

Returning Literary Lions

The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai (Houghton Mifflin) includes three novellas about characters struggling with modernization and Indian culture, by the author thrice shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Kirkus says, “reading Desai’s poignant and wry new effort offers a modest pleasure that suits its fragile characters. A deft exploration of the limits people place on themselves by trying to cling to the past.”

Murder in Mount Holly by Paul Theroux (Grove/Atlantic/Mysterious Press) is a caper novel set in the 1960s and first published in the U.K. in 1969, which follows a draftee, his mother and her amateur criminal lover in the small American town of Mount Holly. Booklist says “its a slim twig of a book, but it’s howlingly funny and will stay with readers for a long time,” but PW finds it “subpar” for the writer best known for his travel books.

Usual Suspects

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell (Penguin/Putnam; Thorndike Press; Penguin Audio) finds Kay Scarpetta’s former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, has been murdered, and she wants to know why. It began rising on Amazon 10/25/11, and is at #78 as of 12/1/11. Publishers Weekly says, “As in other recent work, Cornwell overloads the plot, but Scarpettas tangled emotional state and her top-notch forensic knowledge more than compensate.”

Children’s & Young Adult

Witch & Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson and Jill Dembowski (Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) is the climax of the Witch & Wizard fantasy series, in which sister and brother battle a merciless totalitarian regime.

Ruthless by Sara Shepard (HarperTeen) is book ten of the Pretty Little Liars series. High school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer are back – and this time must face a ruthless stalker who wants to make them pay for their darkest secret. The new season of the ABC TV Family series based on the books begins on January 2.

Movie Tie-in

Big Miracle (originally, Everybody Loves Whales) by Tom Rose (Macmillan/St. Martin’s/Griffin; Dreamscape Audio) is the story of a reporter and a Greenpeace activist who enlisted the Cold War superpowers to help save a whale trapped under Arctic ice in 1988, written by a conservative talk show host. This edition ties in to the movie adaptation opening February 3, starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore. PW says, “the book is most compelling when it focuses on the simple drama of the whales plight and the extraordinary lives the people of Barrow eke from the harsh elements; its less interesting when it strays into antibig government polemics and caricatures of limousine liberal environmentalists.”

Nonfiction

Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Alexander Norman (Houghton Mifflin; Brilliance Audio) continues the Dalai Lama’s case for a universal ethics rooted in compassion. PW says, “This wise, humane book, an original work rather than a collection of talks, is an incisive statement of His Holinesss’s thinking on ways to bring peace to a suffering world.”

Arrows of the Night: Ahmad Chalabi’s Long Journey to Triumph in Iraq by Richard Bonin (RH/Doubleday; Random House Audio) examines an Iraqi exile’s ultimately successful attempts to have Saddam overthrown. Kirkus says that ”the book occasionally suffers from myopia as all of the events are seen through the lens of Chalabi,” and predicts that ”this crisp, clean book won’t be the last word on the perplexing events in Iraq, but for now it’s one of the better ones.”

Inside SEAL Team Six: My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors by Don Mann and Ralph Pezzullo (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) chronicles the service of a SEAL team member and instructor.

Photo: Lisa Von Drasek

You don’t need us to tell you that the next title in the Wimpy Kid series is around the corner, arriving on Tuesday, Nov 15 (above, Bank Street Books, one of six bookstores nationwide that was “wrapped” in anticipation of the big day). In this, the sixth in the series, Cabin Fever, (Amulet/Abrams) Greg Heffley finds himself in big trouble after school property is damaged. 

You and your kids can join Jeff Kinney via Webcast at 10 a.m., Eastern, this coming Tuesday, Nov. 15, for his appearance at the Bank Street College of Education (where EarlyWord Kids correspondent is the librarian). Register here (space is limited). The visit is being recorded and will be Webcast from School Library Journal, a few days later.

On the adult side, it seems to be the week of fiction based on reality. The three Kardashian sisters give us a novel about three celebrity sisters, Ann Beattie imagines the life of Pat Nixon, and  there’s even a novel about the Bin Laden raid. The week is rounded out by actual memoirs, including one by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her astronaut husband Mark Kelley, TV host Regis Philbin, basketball giant Shaquille O’Neal and actress/director/photographer Diane Keaton.

Fiction Based on Fact

Mrs. Nixon: A Novelist Imagines a Life by Ann Beattie (Scribner/S&S; Audio, Dreamscape Media) is a fictional portrait of reticent First Lady Pat Nixon. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Beattie has created a resplendent paean to the pleasures of the literary imagination, and a riveting and mischievous, revealing and revitalizing portrait of an overlooked woman of historic resonance.” But Kirkus cautions, “there’s a whiff of condescension about the whole enterprise.” Last week, the New York Times ran an essay by Beattie  about writing the book.

KBL: Kill Bin Laden: A Novel Based on True Events by John Weisman (Morrow/HarperCollins; HarperLuxe Large Print) is a fictionalized account of the hunt for Bin Laden and the raid on his hideout. Kirkus says, “the novel is much better than the typical military fare, but like the inevitable movie, it’s also not as strange or impressive as the truth. A down-and-dirty thriller that feels as rushed as its publication date.”

Dollhouse by Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian (Morrow/HarperCollins) is a novel about a trio of rich sisters with celebrity problems – not unlike the authors, who are best known for their TV show, the E! Reality Series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. As the New York Times Media Decoder blog noted, “the ending of Kim Kardashian’s unusually brief marriage happened to be beautifully timed with a planned Kardashian book blitz” that includes the recently released Kardashian Konfidential, with pictures of the wedding that occurred 72 days ago.

Literary Favorites

The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don DeLillo (Scribner; S&S Audio) includes stories ranging from the fiction master’s jazz-infused early work to the minimalism of his later stories. Library Journal says, “For readers of literary fiction, this book is a good introduction to DeLillo’s iconic postmodern style, though those new to the genre may find it a somewhat hard pill to swallow.” Indie booksellers see it as having broader appeal; it’s the #1 Indie Next pick for November.

Devil’s Gate by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown (Putnam; Wheeler Large Print; Penguin Audio) is the latest adventure featuring the NUMA Special Assignments Team. PW says, “thriller fans who aren’t too picky about credibility will be most rewarded.”

Kill Alex Cross (Alex Cross Series #18) by James Patterson (Little, Brown; Little Brown Large Print; Hachette Audio) finds the President’s teenage children slipping away from the Secret Service and into the hands of a sadist. PW is not impressed, saying that the story line is recycled from Along Came a Spider, and that ”Patterson neither sweats the details nor invests his lead with more than two dimensions.”

V Is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Series #22) by Sue Grafton (Marion Wood/Putnam; Thorndike Large Print; Random House Audio) invites speculation about how this venerated series will end, just four installments from now. Still, Kirkus likes this one reasonably well: “Grafton is as original, absorbing and humane as ever. The joints just creak a bit.”

Smokin’ Seventeen (Stephanie Plum Series #17) by Janet Evanovich (Bantam/RH; Random House Large Print; Random House Audio) has been on Amazon’s top 100 sales rankings for a while now. The film One for the Money, based on the 1994 book that launched the Stephanie Plum series, is now set for January 2012.

Memoirs

Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope by Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly with Jeffrey Zaslow (Scribner/S&S; Thorndike Press; S&S Audio) is the story of the Democratic congresswoman from Arizona and her astronaut husband, and includes her ongoing recovery from the Tucson shooting, which has left her continuing to struggle with language and with only 50 percent of her vision in both eyes. It is excerpted and on the cover of the new issue of People magazine.

How I Got This Way by Regis Philbin (It Books/HarperCollins; HarperLuxe Large Print; HarperAudio) is the memoir of the television host and entertainer and comes a month before he retires, with an announced 500,000-copy first printing.

Then Again by Diane Keaton (Random House; Random House Audio) is the film star’s memoir of her bond with her mother, Dorothy, who kept eighty-five journals about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself, in a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.

Shaq Uncut: My Story (on Library catalogs as Tall Tales and Untold Stories) by Shaqulle O’Neal and Jackie MacMullan (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is the National Basketball Association giant’s memoir. PW says, “O’Neal has intriguing insights into the fraught group dynamics of a sport where positional roles are uniquely ill-defined… Preening and prickly, Shaq’s reminiscences illuminate the knotty psychology behind the swagger.” This one began rising on Amazon 11/2/11.

Current Events

Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony by Jeff Ashton and Lisa Pulitzer (Morrow/HarperCollins) gives the prosecutor’s account of the murder investigation and trial.

From Yesterday to TODAY: Six Decades of America’s Favorite Morning Show by Stephen Battaglio (Running Press) chronicles the history of NBC’s Today Show.

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 by Ian W. Toll (Norton) uses primary sources, maps and illustrations to explore the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway from both sides.

Next week, watch for Nancy Jensen‘s debut The Sisters, much anticipated fiction titles from Stephen King, Umberto Eco, and Christopher Paolini, and a book about the Osama Bin Laden raid which may be controversial.

Watch List

The Sisters by Nancy Jensen (St. Martin’s Press; Blackstone Audio) is a debut novel about two girls separated by a tragic misunderstanding in 1920 Kentucky, affecting four generations of women. It’s had strong support on GalleyChat. Some libraries report it’s getting an unusually large number of holds for a midlist debut. It’s also the #1 Indie Next pick for Dec and was featured as one of the Hot Fall titles for book clubs at BEA.

Heavily Anticipated

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King (Scribner; S&S Audio; Thorndike Press) finds the horror master venturing in science fiction, with a Maine restaurant owner who asks the local high school English teacher to grant his dying wish, to enter a time portal to 1958 in his diner and go back in time to prevent the 1963 assassination of JFK. Janet Maslin gave it gave it a glowing review in Monday’s NYT. Unsurprisingly, it’s been in Amazon’s Top 100 for months.

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Audio, Recorded Books) pivots on the creation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the discredited document used by anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists as proof of a worldwide Jewish cabal, by a fictional main character, Simone Simonini – a spy, a forger, a murderer, and a misanthrope. Kirkus says, “Simonini keeps good and interesting company, hanging out with Sigmund Freud here, crossing paths with Dumas and Garibaldi and Captain Dreyfus there, and otherwise enjoying the freedom of the continent, as if unstoppable and inevitable. What does it all add up to? An indictment of the old Europe, for one thing, and a perplexing, multilayered, attention-holding mystery.” 200,000 copy first printing.

Young Adult

Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini (Knopf; RH Audio; Books on Tape) finds the young Dragon Rider Eragon in a final confrontation with the evil king Galbatorix to free Alagaesia from his rule once and for all. It has been on Amazon’s top 5 for months.

Nonfiction

SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden by Chuck Pfarrer (St. Martins Press; Macmillan Audio) is based on a series of interviews with SEAL Team Six [UPDATE: CNN reports that the SEALs deny speaking to Pfarrer] by a former commander of the group. The Hollywood Reporter, in a story about film and tv rights being shopped, says it disputes the Obama Administration’s official account of the Bin Laden raid.
Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie (Random House) is the biography of a minor German princess, Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796), by the Pulitzer-winning biographer of Nicholas and Alexandra and Peter the Great. PW calls it “a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch.” It broke into the Amazon Top 100 earlier this week.

War Room: Bill Belichick and the Patriot Legacy by Michael Holley (It Books; HarperLuxe) is “a deeply reported, thoroughly engaging look at what it takes to succeed in the NFL–and a perfect complement to the NFL Network’s compelling miniseries Bill Belichick: A Football Life,” says Kirkus.

The holidays are heralded with the release of tie-ins to three major family movies, directed by two major filmmakers. Coming for Thanksgiving is Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. At Christmas, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin will be going head-to-head with, um, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

Heavily anticipated (as documented by New York magazine’s “Anticipation Index“) is Joan Didion’s next memoir Blue Nights, which follows her searing Year of Magical Thinking. We also see the finale of the Wicked series.

Memoir & Biography

Blue Nights by Joan Didion (Knopf; RH Audio; Large Type, Thorndike) is a memoir of the acclaimed writer’s loss of her adopted daughter in 2005, and her reckoning with herself as an aging, grieving mother. New York magazine has a piercing profile of Didion, with more coverage to follow after the blockbuster success of Didion’s memoir of widowhood, The Year of Magical Thinking. Appearances are scheduled for the Today Show, NPR’s Fresh Air and the Charlie Rose Show. Library Journal says, “This worthwhile meditation on parenting and aging by a succinct writer, while at times difficult to read and a bit self-centered, is well worth the emotional toll.”

No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington by Condoleeza Rice (Crown; Random House Audio) is the former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State’s story of eight years serving at the highest levels of government. The Washington Post writes that Rice’s confessions of self-doubt and regret are a revelation – and calls it the first serious memoir of the Bush Administration.

Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews (S&S; Thorndike Large Print) is a biography by the host of MSNBC’s Hardball that draws on interviews with friends and former staffers of the 35th President. PW says, “Matthew’s stirring biography reveals Kennedy as a fighting prince never free from pain, never far from trouble, and never accepting the world he found.” Matthews has ready access to TV coverage and will appear on several shows next week, including NBC’s Today Show and ABC’s The View.

Usual Suspects

Zero Day by David Baldacci (Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Grand Central Large Print) finds combat veteran and investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division on a brutal murder scene in West Virginia coal country. Preorders have kept it in Amazon’s Top 100 for a month.

Lost December by Richard Paul Evans (Simon and Schuster; S&S Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is another feel-good Christmas tale by the mega-selling author, this time featuring the self-made owner of a copy shop empire, Carl, and his estranged son, Luke. Kirkus is not impressed: “Although Luke’s downfall is a mesmerizing train wreck, his redemption is predictable and unearned.”

The Next Always by Nora Roberts (Berkley; Brilliance Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is the first installment in a series that draws extensively on the author’s experience running a historic Maryland inn. PW says, “Roberts paints a charming picture of smalltown life with likable characters, but supernatural thriller elements feel out of place in the bucolic contemporary setting, and too much detail about the nuts and bolts of the inns restoration slows down the story.”

Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steele (Delacorte; Brilliance Audio; Random House Large Print) is the story of an Eloise-like girl raised by a single father as he struggles to keep his hotel running while being a responsible parent. PW says, “As usual, Steel leaves nothing of her character’s feelings, backgrounds, or attitudes to reader inference, preferring to spell out every last detail, but who can argue with success?”

Out of Oz: the Final Volume in the Wicked Years by Gregory McGuire (Morrow; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe) finds Oz in the midst of civil war, with granddaughter of the infamous Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West, coming of age with a band of friends. Booklist give it a thumbs up: “after the slightly disappointing Son of a Witch (2005) and A Lion among Men (2008), Maguire recaptures his mystical mojo.” The musical based on first in the book series, Wicked is still running on Broadway. News broke in January of a possible ABC TV mini-series based on the book (not the musical). Since there has been no further news, that project may be stalled.

Young Adult

Crossed (Matched Trilogy #2) by Ally Condie (Dutton; Penguin Audiobooks) is the second installment in the popular teen science fiction series. PW says, “Newcomers will need to read the first book for background, but vivid, poetic writing will pull fans through as Condie immerses readers in her characters yearnings and hopes.”

Movie Tie-ins

The Hugo Movie Companion by Brian Selznick (Scholastic) ties in to the movie Hugo, directed by Martin Scorcese and based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret, also by Brian Selznick. The film opens 11/23 (the day before Thanksgiving). Scholastic is also publishing The Hugo Cabret Notebook in November. The first trailer was released this week, followed quickly by a second trailer.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (Scholastic) ties in to the major Spielberg movie that opens 12/23. The story, about a horse taken from a gentle farm boy and sold into service in WW1, was originally published in Great Britain in 1982.

The Adventures of TinTin by Herge, adapted by Stephanie Peters (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) ties into another big Spielberg movie, opening on Christmas Day. Other tie-ins include a chapter book, picture books, and a middle grade book, (check our list of Upcoming Movies Based on Books for all the tie-ins). LBYR is also re-releasing the Tin Tin originals in new editions.

According to New York magazine’s “Anticipation Index” (which quantifies buzz on books, movies, music and TV, based on the amount of online chatter), Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 is second-most talked-about forthcoming book, behind Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs.

The question on library and bookstore buyers minds has been whether readers will be willing to tackle the 944-page behemoth. Now the question is whether readers will have time to pick up anything else.

Coverage has been heavy. In Salon, Laura Miller says this book about love in a paralell universe is “the international literary giant at his uncanny, mesmerizing best.” For those unfamiliar with the author, the New York Times Magazine profile offers a handy “Murakami Starter Kit.” The Washington Post‘s Michael Dirda says readers will want to read the entire book because, “Murakami possesses many gifts, but chief among them is an almost preternatural gift for suspenseful storytelling.”

In a YouTube video, designer Chip Kidd talks about creating the cover:

Amazingly, it is also available as an unbridged audio (just 36 hours long) from Brilliance Audio.

Some libraries bought it in the original Japanese, as well as Chinese, Korean, Spanish and even Russian.

Two books will dominate attention next week; Walter Isaacson’s biography of the late Steve Jobs and John Grisham’s newest legal thriller, The Litigators. In the first consumer review, The Washington Post‘s Louis Bayard says that, if you’ve never been a Grisham fan, “ this snappy, well-turned novel might be a good place to start.”

Watch List

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures by Caroline Preston (Ecco/HarperCollins) is the first illustrated work by the author of the novel Jackie by Josie, who was also an archivist at Harvard’s Houghton Library. Drawing on more than 600 pieces of original 1920s material she collected from antique stores, eBay and many other sources, it tells the story of a zelig-like aspiring writer Frankie, who travels to Vassar, New York, and Paris. Ecco editor Lee Boudroux presented it at the Editors Buzz Panel at ALA Annual in New Orleans. Kirkus calls it “lighter than lightweight but undeniably fun, largely because Preston is having so much fun herself.”

Men in the Making by Bruce Machart (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is a collection of short stories exploring the modern role of manhood by the author of last year’s debut novel The Wake of Forgiveness, which Library Journal called “lacerating” and ”a gasper.” His protagonists here ”are guys who labor on farms and in factories and hospitals, always struggling with what it means to be a man and wondering whether they come up short,” says LJ‘s Barbara Hoffert.

Literary Giant

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (Knopf;  Brilliance Audio) is billed as the Japanese master novelist’s magnum opus and homage to George Orwell, set in a Tokyo where  two moons have emerged, signaling the dawning of a parallel time line known as 1Q84 controlled by the all-powerful Little People. This 1,000-page single-volume edition is predicted to meet with a similar reception to the Japanese edition, which sold out, despite being in three volumes. It has already been in Amazon’s Top 100 since 10/3, perhaps helped by Nobel buzz (though that prize went to Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer). The Washington Post‘s Michael Dirda gives it an early consumer review, noting the author’s popularity among college students, he says, “Perhaps the American writer he most resembles, in multiple ways, is Michael Chabon.” As to the book’s length, he says, “Once you start reading 1Q84, you won’t want to do much else until you’ve finished it.”

Usual Suspects

The Litigators, by John Grisham, (Doubleday, 9780385535137; RH Audio, 9780307943194; BOT Audio, 9780307943217; RH Large Print, 9780739378335) is heralded by Louis Bayard in The Washington Post, who says that Grisham is growing as a writer, suggesting that he’s “read Elmore Leonard and Michael Connelly and Scott Turow with profit.” Referring to the actor who played the lead in the movie version of The Firm, and is now, controversially, set to play Jack Reacher in the film of Lee Child’s One Shot, Bayard adds, “Most intriguingly, [Grisham] began tossing back drinks with characters who would never in their lives be played by Tom Cruise.”

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck (Threshold; Simon and Schuster Audio) is a Christmas-themed novel by the former Fox News pundit, about a woman struggling to break free of a painful family legacy. A childrens version, adapted by Chris Schoebinger  and illustrated by Brandon Dorman is also being released (S&S, 9781442444485).

The Night Eternal: Book Three of the Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (Morrow/HarperCollins, 9780061558269; HarperAudio, 9780062097880; HarperLuxe, 9780062088659)
is the conclusion to the authors’ much-talked-about vampire trilogy. As the final battle dawns, avenging “angels” help reclaim the planet for humanity.

Young Adult

Destined by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin, 9780312650254; Macmillan Audio, 9781427213396; Thorndike Large Print, 9781410442338) continues the paranormal romance House of Night series, with Zoey finally at home, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, and preparing to face off against Neferet.

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (Random House Books for Young Readers, 9780375814709; Listening Library/RH Audio, 9780307941725; ) is the third Legend of Beka Cooper fantasy novel.

The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Phantom by L. J. Smith (HarperTeen, 9780062017680) continues the popular YA paranormal series. The tv series based on the books, is in its third season on CW.

Nonfiction

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster, 9781451648539; S&S Audio, 9781442346277;  Large print, Thorndike, 9781410445223; Spanish Edition, Vintage Books, 9780307950284) uses interviews–including more than 40 with Jobs himself–to create an encompassing portrait of the late Apple visionary. Isaacson will appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday. Sony is reported to be negotiating to buy the rights for a movie version. Although the book is under “strict embargo,” the AP obtained a copy and reports, in a story that is being carried widely, that it “sheds new light” on Jobs. The NYT also managed to snag a copy, and writes about Jobs’s reliance on exotic treatments for his cancer. The Huffington Post claims an exclusive, outlining the book’s major revelations.

Confessions of a Guidette by Nicole Polizzi (Gallery/S&S, 9781451657111) is the latest literary endeavor by the Chilean-American TV star Snooki, who appears on the MTV reality show Jersey Shore.

Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson by Hunter S. Thompson and Jann Wenner (Simon & Schuster, 9781439165959) compiles all of Thompson’s Rolling Stone articles. Johnny Depp’s movie of his late friend Thompson’s only novel, The Rum Diary, opening at the end of the month, is bringing new attention to the author’s works.

Next week, watch for Kimberly Cutter‘s fresh debut about Joan of Arc, popular YA author Ellen Hopkins‘ first adult novel, and a YA novel by Maggie Stiefvater that some are predicting could become a blockbuster. There are also new novels by Ha Jin, Amos Oz and Colson Whitehead, along with James Patterson, Iris Johansen and Chuck Palahniuk. In nonfiction, there’s a new Van Gogh bio that draws on new sources.

Watch List

The Maid: A Novel of Joan of Arc by Kimberly Cutter (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is a debut that captures the bloody warfare and nasty politics of 15th Century France through the eyes of young Joan herself, based on the author’s own journey from Joan’s birthplace in Domrémy to Rouen, the site of Joan’s burning at the stake. PW calls it “a dynamic page-turner” and Kirkus calls it “a thoughtful retelling.” Below, the author explains what drew her to the subject.

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (Atria Books; S&S Audio) is this popular YA author’s first novel aimed at adults, about three friends, one in a marriage on the downswing, another searching and finding intimacy and moral compromise, and a third trying to hold her complex life together, told in the author’s signature free verse. PW calls it “a raw and riveting tale of love and forgiveness that will captivate readers,” but Library Journal cautions that ”at 544 pages, it’s indulgent, and some of the poems seem contrived and clunky.”

Literary Returns

Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin (Pantheon) the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award winning author’s sixth novel focuses on the atrocities committed by the Japanese occupiers in 1937 Nanjing, and the heroism of a female missionary who sheltered 10,000 people in the face of brutality. LJ says, “readers should be aware of the book’s relentless, graphic horror. Jin’s loyal readers will notice a bluntness—jarringly effective here—different from his previous works, as if Jin, too, must guard himself against the horror.”

Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz, translated by Nicholas de Lange (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) explores the sometimes hidden, often melancholy aspects of life in a fictional Israeli village in eight finely wrought, interconnected stories. LJ says it “reminds us of the creepy unsureness that underlies all ‘village’ life, rural or urban—and not just in Israel. Highly recommended.”

Zone One by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) marks yet another shift in direction for this critically praised author, who offers a wry take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel in which plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. Booklist gives it a starred review, calling it a ” deft, wily, and unnerving blend of pulse-elevating action and sniper-precise satire.”

Usual Suspects

Bonnie by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s; audio, Brilliance; large type, Thorndike) is the latest mystery featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, as she enters the final phase of her painstaking journey to find her daughter Bonnie’s remains and her killer. LJ says it “drags on for about 100 pages too long and loses the success of its earlier parts with too many twists that are remedied too easily.”

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo (Little, Brown; large type, Thorndike;  Hachette Audio) again abandons the thriller for a title that sounds (and looks) more like a Nicholas Sparks’s novel. It features a widow who suddenly decides to re-marry on Christmas Day, to one of three suitors. Kirkus says, “The authors maintain the suspense, with Gaby and her brood riding a roller-coaster of family problems, right up to the wedding day. A perfect plot for a Meryl Streep or Diane Lane happily-ever-after movie.” This is Patterson’s second outing with coauthor DiLallo who shared writing credits on Alex Cross’s Trial (Little, Brown, 2009).

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday; audio, Blackstone) is the story of the 13 year-old daughter of a self-absorbed movie star mother and a financial tycoon father who collect Third World orphans. Booklist says,”Palahniuk’s latest is no Fight Club (1996) or Choke (2001), his two best, but with frequent laughs and a slew of unexpected turns, readers will find in it a certain charm.” Holds to copies are heavy in some libraries.

Young Adult

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic; Audio from Scholastic) is a new YA book from the author of Shiver and Linger, about a beachside contest that’s often fatal to the riders of a fierce breed of man-eating water horses, who rise from the sea. Booklist predicts it will appeal to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and action-adventure alike, this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster.”

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is the third supernatural novel in the bestselling Beautiful Creatures series, set in a small Southern town.

Memoir and Biography

My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir by Mark Whitaker (Simon & Schuster) is a personal and familial memoir from an executive v-p of CNN Worldwide, who is the biracial son of Syl Whitaker, a grandson of slaves who became a prominent African studies scholar, and Jeanne Theis, a white refugee from WWII Nazi-occupied France whose father helped rescue Jews. Kirkus says, “It’s difficult to follow the many names and threads, especially in the first half, but the writing comes across as honest and wholly engaging.”

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (Random House) is a new biography written with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and tapping a wealth of previously untapped materials.

History

Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion by Robert Morgan (Shannon Ravenel/Algonquin) chronicles the expansion of the U.S. across the North American continent in the early 19th century.

Current Events

Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? by Patrick J. Buchanan (Thomas Dunne/St. Martins; Macmillan Audio) blames what the author calls the downfall of the United States on the country’s ethnic and religious diversity.

It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom by Andrew P. Napolitano (Thomas Nelson) is an argument by the former judge and current Fox commentator against giving some powers to the federal government.

Next week, look out for 80-year-old Pakistani debut novelist and international publishing discovery Jamil Ahmad, plus new novels from Jeffrey Eugenides and Allan Hollinghurst. In nonfiction, there are memoirs from Harry Belafonte and Ozzie Osbourne, and a fresh look at the Jonestown massacre.

Attention Grabber

via @PeterLattman

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print). Visitors to Times Square may be startled by the unfamiliar phenomenon of a giant billboard featuring an author. Pictured is Jeffrey Eugenides, in full stride, a la the Marlboro Man. Anticipation is high for the release on Tuesday of his new book, The Marriage Plot  (FSG), the first since his 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning Middlesex. Even Business Week gives it an early look. Set during the 1980s recession, it follows three disillusioned college students caught in a love triangle. The Los Angeles Times compares it favorably to Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, calling it “sweeter, kinder, with a more generous heart. What’s more, it is layered with exactly the kinds of things that people who love novels will love.” Michiko Kakutani says in the NYT, “No one’s more adept at channeling teenage angst than Jeffrey Eugenides. Not even J. D. Salinger” and NPR interviewed the author on Wednesday. Holds are heavy in most libraries.

Watch List

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad (Riverhead; 10/13) is a series of fictional sketches about a family on the harsh border region between Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan that has become a literary sensation in Pakistan and has received positive coverage in the UK. The author is a Pakistani writer who is now 80 years old, and was engaged in welfare work in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas for decades. According to a Los Angeles Times interview, Penguin India picked up the book in 2008 after  it was submitted for a contest, 37 years after London publishers had originally rejected it.  U.S. trade reviews are mixed, with PW calling it a “gripping book, as important for illuminating the current state of this region as it is timeless in its beautiful imagery and rhythmic prose,” while Kirkus says it’s “fascinating material that’s badly in need of artistic shaping.”

Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst (Knopf; Random House Audio) is a social satire about the legacy of a talented and beautiful poet who perishes in WWI, in the vein of E.M. Forster and Evelyn Waugh - written by the 2004 Booker prize winner for the Line of Beauty. The Washington Post says it ”could hardly be better,” and PW calls it “a sweet tweaking of English literature’s foppish little cheeks by a distinctly 21st-century hand.”

Usual Suspects

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Grand Central Large Print) explores the decades of fallout caused by a misguided high school romance.

Snuff (Discworld Series #39) by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins) brings back fan favorite Sam Vimes, the cynical yet extraordinarily honorable Ankh-Morpork City Watch commander as he faces two weeks off in the country on his wife’s family’s estate. There are more than 65 million copies of the series out there.

Young Adult

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Mass Market; Trade Paper) is back in a movie tie-in edition, in advance of the film opening November 18. Beginning Nov. 1, theaters will feature “Twilight Tuesday” showings of the entire series, including new  interviews with the cast and behind the scenes footage.

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Memoirs

My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte and Michael Shnayerson (Knopf; Random House Audio; Random House Large Print ) is the memoir of the music icon and human rights activist.

Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy: Advice from Rock’s Ultimate Survivor by Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Ayres (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is a humorous memoir mixed with dubious medical advice.

Nonfiction

Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam by Lewis Sorley (Houghton Mifflin) argues that much of the fault for losing the Vietnam War lies with General William Westmoreland. Kirkus says, “The general’s defenders will have their hands full answering Sorley’s blistering indictment.”

A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres (Free Press) follows the experiences of five Peoples Temple members who went to the Jonestown farm in Guyana to sacrifice their lives to the vision of a zealous young preacher. Scheeres draws on thousands of recently declassified FBI documents and audiotapes, as well as rare videos and interviews. PW says, “Chilling and heart-wrenching, this is a brilliant testament to Jones’s victims.”

Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes with More Than 300 Recipes by Paula Deen and Melissa Clark (Simon & Schuster) is a collection of Southern recipes. PW says it’s ”not quite as comprehensive as it could be, [but] certainly an honorable addition to the field.”

The Nobel Prizes are being announced this week, with the Prize for Literature coming on Thursday, so betting is on in the UK. Japanese writer Haruki Murakami is currently #3 at bookmaker Ladbroke’s, with odds of 9:1. If he wins, it would put American libraries in the unfamiliar position of already owning the books by a new Nobel laureate, since he has been widely published here. It would also be perfect timing for the Oct, 25 release of the author’s 900-page novel in the U.S, 1Q84, (Knopf; Brilliance Audio).

Murakami’s publisher has been beating the publicity drum for what they call the author’s “long-awaited magnum opus,” by giving away a chapter to those who “like” the book on Facebook and releasing an excerpt in New Yorker in September. The book has been in the top 100 on Amazon for 21 days, rising to #47 today.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the race to translate the book to meet “pent-up demand” (it was published two years ago in Japan in and has sold over 4 million copies there), describing it as

…a twist on George Orwell’s 1984, which Mr. Murakami frequently references. (In Japanese, the word for ‘nine’ is pronounced ‘kyu’). Rather than an Orwellian dystopian future, Mr. Murakami paints an alternate past. In his characteristically stark, unadorned prose, Mr. Murakami tells an epic love story set in Tokyo in 1984. Aomame, a young female hired assassin, and Tengo, an aspiring novelist, are separately drawn into a parallel reality where some people have two souls, two moons hang in the sky and mysterious ‘little people’ wield power.

Don’t rush to place your bets, however. The winner of the Prize is notoriously difficult to predict; last year’s winner, Herta Muller was given odds of 50:1.