A bio cum memoir about Harper Lee and her sister,  Marja Mills’ The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee, (Penguin Press; Thorndike), published today, is piling up some great reviews. The Washington Post calls is “engrossing” and Maureen Corrigan on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, said it gives a “rich sense of the daily texture of the Lee sisters’ lives.” She goes on to say that, “Fortunately, in Mills, the sisters found a genteel family chronicler knocking at their door at the eleventh hour.”

But the famously reclusive and litigious 88-year-old Harper Lee is not a genteel subject. She has written a letter, reprinted in Entertainment Weekly‘s online column, “Shelf Life,” saying that the book was written on false pretenses, “Miss Mills befriended my elderly sister, Alice. It did not take long to discover Marja’s true mission; another book about Harper Lee. I was hurt, angry and saddened, but not surprised. I immediately cut off all contact with Miss Mills, leaving town whenever she headed this way.”

Remembrances and appreciations are pouring in for Nadine Gordimer, whose books help expose the effects of South Africa’s Apartheid policies and won her a Nobel Prize for literature in 1991. She died on Sunday at 90.

Below is a selection:

NPR — Writer Nadine Gordimer Captured Apartheid’s Contradictions

New York Times — Nadine Gordimer, Novelist Who Took On Apartheid, Is Dead

The Guardian — Nadine Gordimer: five must-read books — American editions listed below:

The Conservationist, Penguin Books

Burger’s Daughter, Penguin Books

July’s People, Penguin Books

Life Times: Stories, Penguin Books

No Time Like the Present, Macmillan/Picador

Today’s release of the LibraryReads list of the ten books librarians love the most for the month of August, is a reminder to get your nominations in for the upcoming months (you can nominate titles to be published from September on. Nominations close on the first of each month for titles published in that month —more how-to specifics here).

The new list offers many titles that provide an answer to the eternal question, “What’s coming out that’s good?” Many of these titles will be available as eGalleys on Edelweiss and/or NetGalley until their pub dates, so grab them now.

The number one pick is Chelsea Cain’s thriller, One Kick (S&S;
S&S Audio; Wheeler Large Print; eGalley available), the beginning of a new series for Cain (she still plans to continue the popular and scary Gretchen Lowell series, alternating between the two). NBC announced in October that it is developing a series based on the new titles about a woman who, having been abducted herself as a child, works to rescue other kidnapped kids.

Most of the titles come from well-known names, but this list also includes a debut, the historical novel The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (HarperCollins/Ecco; HarperLuxe; eGalley available) which was featured at the BEA Editor’s buzz Panel. Set in 17th C Amsterdam, it is compared to the best of Sarah Waters and Emma Donoghue.

Also resonating from BEA, Lucky Us by Amy Bloom (Random House; RH Audio, eGalley available on request), who won over the crowd at the  Random House Librarians Breakfast with her tales of growing up in a library (with a very understanding librarian) and her description of the sources for the female friendship at the center of her new book.

The full list offers suggestions for a wide range of tastes, from historical to romance, science fiction, and literary titles.

Also, check our compilation of all the lists since LibraryReads began last September, LibraryReads-All-Lists-Through-Aug-2014, Sort it by category and you’ll have an instant list to use when you’re stuck trying to recommend a recent book in a particular category, or for creating displays.

Leading in holds of the books that arrive next week is the return of Daniel Silva’s art restorer and occasional spy for Israel, Gabriel Allon in The Heist, (Harper; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe) in which he searches for a stolen Caravaggio. Close behind is Stone Barrington’s newest outing, Cut and Thrust by Stuart Woods, (Penguin/Putnam; Recorded Books; Thorndike). Publishers Weekly gives it a fitting summary, “This installment goes down as smoothly as a glass of Knob Creek.”

Holds are also heavy for relative newcomer, Deborah Harkness’s The Book of Life, (Penguin/Viking; Recorded Books; Penguin Audio; Thorndike), the final book in her All Souls trilogy,  which began in 2011 with A Discovery of Witches, (a book we predicted would be a hit, but then, what librarian could resist a novel set in the Bodleian?)

All the books mentioned here, as well as several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet, with ordering information and alternate formats – New Title Radar, Week of July 14, 2014

Reorder Candidates

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee, Marja Mills, (Penguin Press; Thorndike)

Holds are growing on modest orders for this memoir/literary biography about the author’s relationship with Harper Lee. The Washington Post gave it a gotta-read review yesterday and notes a library connection, “As a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Mills was assigned to write about Monroeville [the town where Harper Lee lived] when To Kill a Mockingbird was chosen to launch Chicago’s One Book, One Chicago program on the 41st anniversary of its publication.”

It is also a LibraryReads July pick:

“A warm and engaging telling of the life story of Harper Lee. Like no other biography, this book offers insights directly from Lee’s point of view as shared with the journalist she and her sister embraced in friendship late in their lives. Informative and delightful!” — Jan Fisher, Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT

Factory Man:  How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local – and Helped Save an American Town, Beth Macy, (Hachette/Little, Brown)

Since the NYT’s Janet Maslin declared earlier this week that this book is, “in a class with other runaway debuts like Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit and Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers … Ms. Macy writes so vigorously that she hooks you instantly. You won’t be putting this book down,” holds have grown on light ordering.

Readers Advisory

Life Drawing, Robin Black, (Random House)

EarlyWord’s GalleyChatter Robin Beerbower has been urging librarians to read this debut novel ever since the first of the year, calling it “a gorgeously written suspenseful study of marriage and betrayal. Not exactly a Gone Girl readalike but just as compelling.” It was also singled out as one of a dozen Great Summer Reads by People magazine.

The PW review has so many quotable lines, it’s difficult to excerpt, “ A middle-aged married couple, their new friend, and her daughter interact, sometimes stormily, in this emotionally complex novel …Beginning with the information that one of these characters is now dead, the book draws the reader in from the first page and builds narrative tension almost ceaselessly to the bitter end …An astute inquiry into relationships and betrayal, this novel is nerve-wracking yet irresistibly readable.”

The author’s first book was the well-received short story collection, If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, (Random House, 2010).

World of Trouble: The Last Policeman Book III, Ben H. Winters, (Quirk Books, original pbk; Brilliance Audio; )

LibraryReads July pick:

“Still the last policeman, Detective Hank Palace tirelessly pulls together clues from crime scenes and interrogates witnesses to find his missing sister. Winters paints a believable picture of a world awaiting its end thanks to an asteroid on a collision course. A great series for mystery and science fiction lovers, as well as anyone looking for a pre-apocalyptic tale without a single zombie.” — Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

The death last week of Louis Zamperini brought renewed attention to Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 book about the Olympian and WWII hero, Unbroken, causing it to rise on best seller lists (from #88 on the USA Today list to #7).

A second boost is likely to come from the just-released trailer for the movie adaptation.

The L.A. Times says it “bears many of the hallmarks of an awards-season contender, including an inspirational true story, a potential breakout performance and a pair of Oscar-winning screenwriters…The trailer provides a glimpse of what looks to be a fierce performance from newcomer Jack O’Connell as Zamperini .”

Directed by Angelina Jolie, the movie opens on Dec. 25

A paperback edition, with new photos and an interview with the author, will be published later this month.

Unbroken : A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Laura Hillenbrand
Random House: July 29, 2014
9780812974492, 0812974492
Trade paperback

Based on the trailer, released today, Wild, adapted from Cheryl Strayed’s brutally honest memoir is already being called an Ocsar contender.

That may not be such a leap. Wild‘s director, Jean-Marc Vallee did pretty well at the Oscars last year with The Dallas Buyers Club.

It opens Dec. 5th.

Tie-in:

Wild (Movie Tie-in Edition): From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Cheryl Strayed
RH/Knopf: November 18, 2014
9781101873441, 1101873442
Trade paperback

People, prepare for a long marketing campaign.

The opening salvo for part one of  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay arrived two weeks ago with an unconventional teaser that doesn’t even include an image of star Jennifer Lawrence, but is simply a short chilling propaganda message by President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The presence of a defeated-looking Peeta next to him is the only nod to fans about what has happened since Catching Fire.

The second teaser has just arrived, and again, no Jennifer Lawrence, no dramatic scenes, just one small hint about the plot understandable only to those familiar with the story.

If all goes according to Lionsgate’s plan, these will be viral, so we won’t need tell you about each new one.

There’s no official Web site yet, but Mockingjay.net is tracking all Mockingjay-related news (we’ve linked to them on the right, under Movies &TV Based on Books — Trailers, Official Web Sites)

A preview for the upcoming Outlander series for Starz, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, features the author as well as an answer to the eternal question — what do men wear under their kilts?

The series begins on Aug. 9. UPDATE: Starz announced that the first episode will be available free online beginning on Aug. 2.

Official Web Site: Starz.com/Originals/Outlander

Tie-ins:

Outlander (Starz Tie-in Edition)
Diana Gabaldon

RH/Bantam: July 1, 2014
9780553393705, 0553393707
Trade paperback
$18.00 USD

RH/Dell: July 1, 2014
9780553393699, 0553393693
Mass market paperback
$9.99 USD

This time, it’s for a TV series.

Gillian Flynn’s debut Sharp Objects, (RH/ Shaye Areheart Books, 2006) is being developed as a one-hour serialized drama, according to many sources, including Entertainment Weekly.  Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will handle day-to-day operations as the show runner, with Flynn as one of the executive producers. It has not yet been sold to a network.

The novel was an Edgar Award finalist for best first novel and Stephen King was a big supporter, 

To say this is a terrific debut novel is really too mild. I haven’t read such a relentlessly creepy family saga since John Farris’s All Heads Turn as the Hunt Goes By, and that was thirty years ago, give or take. Sharp Objects isn’t one of those scare-and-retreat books; its effect is cumulative. I found myself dreading the last thirty pages or so but was helpless to stop turning them. Then, after the lights were out, the story just stayed there in my head, coiled and hissing, like a snake in a cave. An admirably nasty piece of work, elevated by sharp writing and sharper insights.

Two movies based on the other books by Flynn arrive this fall. Dark Places, starring Charlize Theron, is listed for release on September 1 (although some sites list it as still TBD), and Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris, on October 3.

When interviewed on the Colbert Report, about his new book  No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State, (Macmillan/Holt/Metropolitan Books; Macmillan Audio; May 13), Glenn Greenwald said he was working on a story he believed would have even more impact than his previous reporting as it would reveal who the NSA has been spying on.

That story was published this morning on Greenwald’s news site, The Intercept, and, as expected, is being picked up widely (see ABC news story below).

ABC News | ABC Sports News

Greenwald’s book moved to #23 on last week’s  NYT Hardcover Nonfiction list, after being in the top ten for 4 weeks (with a high of #5). It’s still on hold in many libraries.

Sticker from The Colbert Report web site

Amazon must be feeling the heat.

After Stephen Colbert and Sherman Alexie called the company out for strong-arming publisher Hachette in negotiations over terms, Amazon was uncharacteristically quiet.

Over the weekend, Amazon made its own appeal to authors, saying it was “thinking of proposing” that, for the duration of the negotiations, authors published by Hachette get to keep all of the revenue from their digital-book sales (see Amazon’s letter to authors and agents here), with both Amazon and Hachette giving up their percentages.

As word got out, Hachette issued a statement, rejecting the idea, saying it would be “suicidal.”

Amazon responded, “We call baloney. Hachette is part of a $10 billion global conglomerate. It wouldn’t be ‘suicide.’ They can afford it. What they’re really making clear is that they absolutely want their authors caught in the middle of this negotiation because they believe it increases their leverage. All the while, they are stalling and refusing to negotiate, despite the pain caused to their authors. Our offer is sincere. They should take us up on it.”

The story is being covered widely. Shelf Awareness, the daily newsletter for booksellers, characterized Amazon’s move as being ” a bit like a mugger wanting praise for donating stolen goods to a charity.”

New York Times — Amazon Angles to Attract Hachette’s Authors to Its Side

Washington Post — Amazon makes an offer to Hachette authors — this article takes an interesting look at the stats, which indicate that Hachette would have much more to lose by giving up revenue from their author’s ebooks than Amazon — “According to Hachette’s Web site, the publisher makes approximately 33 percent of its sales from e-books; the New York Times reported that around 60 percent of that business comes through Amazon. A New Yorker report in February estimated that 7 percent of Amazon’s revenues come from books.”

Wall Street Journal — Amazon Dangles E-Book Offer Amid Hachette Dispute

New York Post — Amazon bows to author pressure in e-dispute

Already having declared her love for Beth Macy’s nonfiction debut, Factory Man, (Hachette/Little, Brown, 7/15), in her summer preview, NYT‘s daily reviewer, Janet Maslin, gave it a full review just before the holiday.

Her opinion is not dimmed. Saying this book, subtitled, How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local — And Helped Save An American Town, is “in a class with other runaway debuts like Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit and Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers … Ms. Macy writes so vigorously that she hooks you instantly. You won’t be putting this book down.”

She also notes that, since the book is published by Hachette, it is another victim of  the Amazon/Hachette battle and will not be available for purchase on Amazon until pub date or on Kindle,  but ” it’s worth the trouble to read what will be one of the best, and surely most talked about, books of 2014.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — Be sure to check out the great offer in the comments section.

As a respite from the heat, NPR’s Morning Edition interviewed Ann Cleeves, the author of a series of mysteries set in Scotland’s sub-polar “wild and bleak” Shetland Islands.

The most recent title is in the series, the fifth, is Dead Water, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s/Minotaur; Feb, 2014). The sixth, Thin Air, is due next year.

The books are the basis for Shetland, a popular BBC One series in the U.K. (it hasn’t been broadcast in the U.S.)

Below are the titles in the series (first four are currently available in trade paperback from Macmillan Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books):

• Raven Black 
• White Nights 
• Red Bones 
• Blue Lightning 
• Dead Water, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s/Minotaur; Feb, 2014)

A new trailer for the feature film adaptation of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn appeared online today. More extensive than the first one that appeared in April, it gives a better sense of the plot (but still doesn’t reveal the ending, which the director David Fincher has hinted will be different from the book’s).

The movie opens in theaters on October 3.

Tie-ins:

Gone Girl (Movie Tie-In Edition)
Gillian Flynn
RH/Broadway; August 26, 2014

Trade paperback

Mass market (rack) paperback

Gone Girl (Audio Tie-In Edition)
Narrators: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne

The adaptation of  J.K. Rowling’s first adult book, The Casual Vacancy, (Hachette/Little, Brown), begins shooting in Gloucestershire today. The three-part series, a joint production between the BBC and HBO, is expected to begin airing later this year.

Gloucestershire’s village of Stroud, with its cobbled market square, will stand in for the fictional English village of Pagford. The series stars Michael Gambon (who replaced actor Richard Harris as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies), as delicatessen owner Howard Mollison.

In addition, more Harry Potter is on its way. Warner Bros. just announced that production of a feature adaptation of the HP companion book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, (Scholastic, 2001), will take place in their studios near London. Planned as a trilogy, Rowling has written the adaptation based on the fictional Hogwarts textbook. The first film is set to be released in November of 2016.