If anyone can make you want to read an unconventional literary novel, Dwight Garner can. His review of Rachel Cusk’s Outline,(Macmillan/FSG; Ebook; Blackstone Audio;1/13/15) in today’s New York Times makes you ready to throw caution aside and dive into a “a poised and cerebral novel that has little in the way of straightforward plot.”

The review alone is worth reading, if only for the quote from W. H. Auden, “Thank God for books as an alternative to conversation,” which is apt for a book that is described by the publisher as “a novel in ten conversations.”

If Garner’s review doesn’t convince you, consider the three starred prepub reviews (Kirkus is the holdout, but the review reads like someone just forgot to add the star).

George Pelecanos spoke for nearly 40 minutes on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday (listen here), about his new short story collection, The Martini Shot (Hachette/Little, Brown; OverDrive Sample). He begins by reading a gripping section of one of the stories, “String Music,” and goes on to discuss everything from his experiences writing for The Wire, adoption, and the day the cops called him and said “”Would you like to come in or would you like us to come arrest you?” after he pulled a crazy stupid stunt in a car.

Pelecanos’s website includes a story from the collection, “Miss Mary’s Room,” which first appeared in Playboy. In addition to it and “String Music,” The Martini Shot includes five other stories and a novella, two of which are new.

Holds are currently within reason, but Pelecanos’s name and rising media attention makes this a book to watch.

News of the many award nominations for Julianne Moore’s performance as a victim of early onset Alzheimer’s disease in Still Alice has brought attention to the movie even though it won’t open in most cities until February (it had a limited Oscar-qualifying run in early Dec., will open in  NYC and L.A. on Jan 16, before expanding to more theaters).

The book it is based on, Still Alice by Lisa Genova (S&S/Gallery, 2009), is also rising on Amazon sales rankings (now at #26 and rising) and shows growing holds in libraries.

One of the film’s producers, Maria Shriver, featured the author in a segment on the Today Show (a slightly different version was featured on last night’s NBC Nightly News).

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Genova tells the Boston Globe that the success of both the book and the movie are “humbling” surprises. Unable to get an agent for the book, she self-published it. Her guerrilla marketing was so successful that she then landed an agent and a mainstream publisher, Simon & Schuster. For the movie rights, she went with a “very small new production company in London,” because she felt, “they really understood the intent of the story.”

Genova, a neuroscientist, has published two novels since, both dealing with brain disorders. Left Neglected is about the results of a brain injury and Love Anthony, on autism. In her next novel, Inside the O’Briens, (S&S/Gallery” S&S Audio, 4/7/14), she writes about a family dealing with Huntington’s Disease.

Tie-ins:

Still Alice, Lisa Genova
S&S.Gallery: December 16, 2014
Trade Paperback

Mass Market, S&S/Pocket Books

Audio CD, &S Audio

In the Washington Post, Patrick Anderson gives high praise to Tim Johnston’s Descent, (Workman/Algonquin; OverDrive Sample; Jan 6), saying it is the most powerful thriller he’s read that uses the popular theme of a missing girl — more powerful than Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, or Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know. He adds, “The story unfolds brilliantly, always surprisingly, but the glory of Descent lies not in its plot but in the quality of the writing.”

On NPR’s web site, Alan Cheuse uses a different comparison, saying, “Tim Johnston has written a book that makes Gone Girl seem gimmicky and forced.”

Check your catalogs; several libraries have not yet ordered it. Those that have are showing holds, heavy in some areas.

You may not have the resources that Mark Zuckerberg has, but now you can read like he does.

As a new year’s resolution, he has set himself a goal of reading a book every two weeks and has created a Facebook page, A Year of Books, that invites others to join in.

He says he will choose books that “emphasize learning about new cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies.”

We’re not sure how the first title fits that definition. By the former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, Moises Naim, it is The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used To Be, (Perseus/Basic Books, 2013).

The author, exuberantly interviewed on CNN (the host marvels that Zuckerberg will have to read 24 pages a day! to meet his goal), says the book may have special meaning for Zuckerberg, a member of the new power elite that disrupted the old, but at a time when power itself offers diminishing returns (see the Washington Post review for more on his Naim’s thesis). Zuckerberg says he’s interested in it because it “explores how the world is shifting to give individual people more power that was traditionally only held by large governments, militaries and other organizations. The trend towards giving people more power is one I believe in deeply.”

The End of Power sold out on Amazon within hours of the announcement, but the publisher was able to quickly resupply it. Good thing. The window for this is short. Zuckerberg is scheduled to announce his next book on January 16.

Libraries we checked are showing holds that outstrip modest inventories.

Looking ahead to the new year, we want to know what the Washington Post‘s insightful critic, Ron Charles is anticipating.

He obliges us with a list of his top ten most anticipated novels, acknowledging that the book that eventually become his favorite of the year may not be on this list (for 2014, it was one he didn’t see coming, the debut, Fourth of July Creek, by Smith Henderson. These anticipatory lists, of necessity, focus on authors with already established reputations).

He’s has us salivating for Amitav Ghosh’s Flood of Fire, (Macmillan/FSG, 8/4/15), the final book in the Ibis trilogy about the opium trade in 19th-century India. He gives the series high praise, “The earlier books, Sea of Poppies (2008) and River of Smoke (2011), are among the most thrilling historical novels I’ve ever read.”

He also mentions two books coming in the fall but not yet listed on catalogs, Jonathan Franzen’s Purity, and John Irving’s Avenue of Mysteries.

The Millions has also just released a list of the titles that are ringing their bells for the new year. We have combined  the two newest lists with Entertainment Weekly’s “20 Books We’ll Read in 2015” and The Barnes &  Noble Review‘s selections of “the most enticing new books slated to arrive in the first half of 2015″ into an Edelweiss collection, a list of over 100 titles you can check for eGalleys, so you can be the first in your library to spot a winner.

The next wave of readers clamoring for more graphic novels might not be the stereotypical teenage boy but his sister instead. The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article exploring the rise in female graphic novel authors and illustrators, a new focus on female characters, and the expansion of female readers. Not only have graphic novel sales grown, “outpacing the overall trade-book market” according to the article, it seems, at least in part, that women are behind those figures, expanding the market and changing the graphic novel landscape.

The new attention might be behind the recent focus on female characters in superhero comics, a world long dominated by male figures. Not only has Wonder Woman gotten more attention in 2014, but She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, and Batgirl all saw an increase in their profiles. In the TV world, Agent Carter makes the point as well.

Female writers and artists are certainly changing the scene, offering new stories, characters, and approaches. The WSJ article features Raina Telgemeier, creator of Smile (Graphix, 2010; OverDrive Sample) and Sisters (Graphix, 2014; OverDrive Sample) and mentions Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (Bloomsbury USA, 2014; OverDrive Sample), a finalist for the National Book Award and on many best books lists.

More to Consider

Collection development and RA librarians seeking more examples might also consider This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (First Second, 2014), How to Be Happy by Eleanor Davis (Fantagraphics, 2014), Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014; OverDrive Sample), and Gast by Carol Swain (Fantagraphics, 2014).

When the NYT‘s Janet Maslin reviews a debut ahead of publication, it signals that she sees a hit coming. In the case of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, (Penguin/Riverhead, Jan. 13), which Maslin reviews today, her expectation is further backed up by heavy holds in libraries, averaging 10:1.

A January LibraryReads pick, this debut began drawing attention from librarians on GalleyChat back in August. It is one of three titles Entertainment Weekly considers a possible successor to Gone Girl, along with the “buzzy” The Kind Worth Killing, Peter Swanson, (HarperCollins/Morrow, Feb. 3) and “the most understated an plausible of the three,” The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor, (Workman/Algonquin, May 5).

Maslin credits The Girl on the Train with having “more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since Gone Girl,” (which she also reviewed ahead of publication) and though she doesn’t find it as “clever or swift,” she expects it to also draw a “large, bedazzled readership.”

Fair warning to increase those orders.

Jon Stewart returns from the holiday hiatus this week, with two shows featuring authors:

Monday, Jan 5, Steven Brill

America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System, Steven Brill, (Random House)

As we noted earlier, Brill’s book is  an expansion of Brill’s award-winning Time magazine story. Brill is scheduled for appearances  on CBS This Morning and on  NPR’s Fresh Air.

Tuesday, Jan. 6, Cass Sunstein

Wiser: Getting Beyond Groupthink to Make Groups Smarter, Cass R. Sunstein, Reid Hastie, (Harvard Business Review Press, 12/23/14)

Sunstein’s philosophy of “libertarian paternalism” has caused Glenn Beck to call him “the most dangerous guy out there.” Considered a major influence on President Obama’s political thinking, The Washington Post reports that, as the administration’s former “regulatory czar,” he “become a symbol of a central contradiction of Obama’s White House. In seeking bipartisan common ground, the administration has often embraced policies that disappointed its friends — without disarming its enemies.” He has written several other books including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Penguin, Rev. Ed., 2009).

No Colbert Report

Sadly, the other Comedy Central show that has been very good for books, The Colbert Report, will not be returning. Host Stephen Colbert is headed to a new gig, replacing David Letterman on CBS’s The Late Show. We won’t know until he begins in May whether he will revolutionize late-night network TV by including authors.

Replacing Colbert is The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, hosted by the Daily Shows‘s former “senior black correspondent.” Debuting on January 19, it is created by book lover Jon Stewart, so we can hope Wilmore will also include regular appearances by authors.

A history about books, librarians, publishers, and war is making waves. Molly Guptill Manning’s When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; OverDrive Sample) tells the true story of how the book world helped boost morale by providing American soldiers with paperback editions of titles such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Great Gatsby.

Portable versions of these books allowed soldiers to read on their down time and reminded them of home and what they were fighting for.

Manning’s book is getting glowing coverage in an array of sources including USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, and the Smithsonian. Such widespread attention triggers holds. Some libraries are showing a 5:1 ratio and on light ordering. The New York Times says that Manning’s book feels like “the bibliophile’s equivalent of It’s a Wonderful Life.” How can you beat that?

Two years ago when Edith Perlman’s Binocular Vision, (Lookout Books, 2011)  won the National Book Critics Circle Award after being a finalist for the National Book Award, The Millions explored why readers might view the author as an “overnight sensation,”even though she had published over 250 works of short fiction and four collections.

Even today, Pearlman remains an author many people might compare to George Saunders, in the sense that they are about to wonder why they had not heard of her before.

Pearlman’s newest book, Honeydew, (Hachette/Little Brown, Jan. 2015; OverDrive Sample), has made the jump to a major publishing house and is dominating book coverage this week, days in advance of the book’s release date.

The New York Times Book Review features Pearlman as their cover story. Not to be outdone, the daily NYT runs a glowing portrait titled, “For Writer, Talent Finally Succeeds Where Chance Failed.” In it, her editor offers perhaps the best praise possible for a writer of character-centered fiction, “When I finish reading one of her stories, I always feel understood and somehow forgiven for being human.”

In addition, The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe all have posted reviews, following stars from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly. Checking orders and holds around the country reveals that some libraries have not yet ordered it and others have ordered too lightly, with holds ratios over 5:1.

It is difficult for short story collections to gain traction, but Pearlman might have finally joined the ranks of George Saunders, Karen Russell, Margaret Atwood, and Alice Munro.

The most popular drama in PBS history, Downton Abbey,  returns tonight, in its fifth season (there will be a sixth, and while there is speculation that it will be the final one, there are also rumors of a spinoff movie).

In celebration of the new season, the New York Times offers an episode-by-episode look at the historical context of the series with links to NYT stories (in 1913, British suffragist, Sylvia Pankhurst, addressed the question, “Shall American Women Become Militant?”).

Entertainment Weekly runs down the  “new faces of Downton Abbey” (as if anyone cares — all that really matters is whether Maggie Smith is still on the show and, happily, she is).

Trailer:

Tie-ins:

A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions, and Recipes
Jessica Fellowes, Julian Fellowes
Macmillan/St. Martin’s: October 28, 2014

Downton Abbey: Rules for Household Staff
by “Carson” (the show’s head butler )
Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin: November 25, 2014

This is our favorite season of the year, as new contenders emerge for potential breakout success. Last year, while many were looking for the next Gone Girl, a totally different book became an unexpected long-running best seller, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (S&S/Scribner).

In the first week of the new year, the contenders are Pierce Brown’s second in his Red Rising trilogy and a debut novel that is already a surprise favorite in-house, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton (Hachette/ Grand Central).

All the titles covered here, and several more notable titles arriving next week, are listed, with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of Jan. 5, 2015

Holds Leaders

Insatiable Appetites, Stuart Woods, (Penguin/Putnam; Penguin Audio); OverDrive Sample

Trust No One, Jayne Ann Krentz, (Penguin/Putnam; Recorded Books; Thorndike); OverDrive Sample

Other well-known names also return this week —  Charles Todd, Bernard Cornwell, George Pelecanos (a novella and short stories), Sophie Hannah, and, teaming up for the third time, Marcia Muller with Bill Pronzini — as well as the next in the Flavia de Luce series, the #1 Library Reads pick for January:

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: A Flavia de Luce Novel, Alan Bradley, (RH/Delacorte; RH Audio; Thorndike); OverDrive Sample; go behind the scenes of the audio recording here

LibraryReads recommendation:

“After the unexpected recovery of her mother’s body brings the de Luce’s family secrets to light, Flavia’s life is turned upside down. Now on her way to a Canadian boarding school, she must survive her first term–and more importantly, uncover the mystery of a corpse found in her dorm room chimney the night she arrives. A delightful installment in the series!” — Lizzie Gall, Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, MI

Breakout Contenders

Golden Son: Book II of the Red Rising Trilogy, Pierce Brown, (RH/Del Rey; Recorded Books); OverDrive Sample

Brown’s debut, the first in the Red Rising trilogy, was a hit with librarians who made it the #1 LibraryRead pick last February. The second book, also a LibraryRead pick, is #3 on Entertainment Weekly‘s “Must List” of things to do this week. The only book reviewed in that issue, it is called the “gripping follow-up to last year’s should-have-been-huge debut” It gets an A, of course.

LibraryReads recommendation:

“After reading Red Rising, I was looking forward to seeing more of the politics of this world. Darrow has infiltrated the Golds and works to bring them down from the inside, end their tyranny, and free his people. There’s so much political drama and action. Brown does a wonderful job describing it all through Darrow’s eyes. It’s exhausting, thrilling, and heart wrenching!”– Nita Gill, Brookings Public Library, Brookings, SD

The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, Christopher Scotton, (Hachette/Grand Central; Blackstone Aurio); OverDrive Sample

This debut started small, but generated such support from Hachette’s sales staff, as outlined in a Publisher Weekly story, that it got the big title treatment, with advance readers copies promoted at ABA back in May, plus appearances by the author at regional bookseller shows. It’e worked, the book is the #1 Jan. IndieNext Pick:

“Struggling to recover from the trauma of his baby brother’s tragic death, Kevin and his broken mother relocate to Medger, Kentucky, for the summer. Their return to the Appalachian coal town in which their family is deeply rooted is intended to heal them both. While Kevin’s grandfather is just the person and the wild hollows surrounding their little town just the place to help him mend, Kevin finds that Medger and its citizens are in need of healing as well. Poverty, a mountaintop removal operation, and desperation are tearing their town and the land around it apart. Scotton’s finely wrought characters, perfectly paced plot, and keen sense of place make The Secret Wisdom of the Earth resonate with the reader long after the book has been finished.” —Catherine Weller, Weller Book Works, Salt Lake City, UT 

Scotton spoke at an AAP breakfast at ALA and the book is GalleyChat pick, with Kansas City’s Kaite Stover saying it reminds her of Stephen King’s The Body (adapted as the movie Stand By Me), with the “same strong male relationships and heart-wrenching coming of age elements.“

Entertainment Weekly is not so enthusiastic, however, giving it a B in a review that opens on a downer,”It took Christopher Scotton, who is the CEO of a software company by day, 15 years to write Secret, and it shows. It often feels as if he’s trying to fit every known genre … into his stuffed turducken of a plot,” but goes on to acknowledge, “… it’s not hard to see why the book has earned early praise and an impressive first-run print order of 100,000 copies … it strives to tell the type of story that many contemporary novelists find too old-fashioned, or too sincere … it’s flawed and sprawling and a little bit unmoored, but its aim is true.”

Descent, Tim Johnston, (Workman/Algonquin); OverDrive Sample

On GalleyChat this was compared to Jacqueline Mitchard’s Deep End of the Ocean. Kaite Stover found it, “moving, absorbing, and lyrical in telling the story of a family’s anguish at the disappearance of a child.” It is also and IndieNext pick:

“Descent is a gripping, utterly engrossing account of a girl’s disappearance in the Rocky Mountains. The aftermath of this tragedy is told in alternating voices: the injured brother at the scene of the accident when she left with a stranger to get help; the mother who has been hospitalized and stunned into breathtaking grief; the father who has been unable to leave the small town where the family was vacationing when his daughter disappeared — and most stunning of all, through the words of the victim herself. A real page-turner with a brilliantly conceived climax!” —Kelly Estep, Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville, KY 

People Picks

Her, Harriet Lane, (Hachette/Little, Brown); OverDrive Sample

People Pick of the Week — “Chilling, suspenseful and shrewd about friendship’s mix of love and envy, HER captivates right up to it’s shocking denouement.”

Before I Go, Colleen Oakley (S&S/Gallery; )

People Pick — ‘In this spirited and original debut, 27-year-old control freak Daisy Richmond learns she has just months to live — and becomes obsessed with finding her husband a new wife. Author Oakley has set herself a tricky balancing act here, blending a comic sensibility with the depth and poignancy her subject requires. She pulls it off.’

This is also an IndieNext Pick:

“After just a few years in remission, Daisy’s breast cancer returns with a vengeance and she is given mere months to live. The love shared by Daisy and Jack, her husband, is unbounded and immense. While undergoing experimental cancer treatments, Daisy decides to look for her replacement, a new wife for Jack. She visits dog parks, bookstores, and finally lands upon the ideal woman through an online match service. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say that things do not go as planned. This book about cancer and death is filled with love and a grand sense of humor, is never maudlin or sappy, and serves as a necessary reality check for all of us.” —Nancy Simpson-Brice, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA

Media Attention

America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System, Steven Brill, (Random House)

This is an expansion of Brill’s award-winning story, which Time magazine devoted an entire issue to. Brill had open heart surgery while completing the book, giving him added insight. He is scheduled for appearances next week on CBS This Morning,  The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and on  NPR’s Fresh Air.

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film, Patton Oswalt, (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio)

Author/comedian Oswald is profiled in this week’s NYT BR “By the Book”column. He is scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, on CBS This Morning, as well as Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Movie Tie-ins

Fifty Shades of Grey (Movie Tie-in Edition): Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, E L James, (RH/Vintage; RH audio)

The World Made Straight, Ron Rash, (Macmillan/Picador) — Trailer

Movie arrives next week, Jan. 9, before the more talked about Rash adaptation, Serena, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, which arrives on VOD in Feb. and in theaters in March. The tie-in for it will be released on Jan. 20.