Filming is set to begin on director Ang Lee’s adaptation of Ben Fountain’s award-winning novel about a group of soldiers returning home from Iraq, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, (HarperCollins/Ecco; Dreamscape Audio, 2012).

In talks to join the cast is Twilight‘s Kristin Stewart, most recently seen in a supporting role in Still Alice starring Julianne Moore and based on the book by Lisa Genova.

The Billy Lynn cast includes newcomer Joe Alwyn in the starring role, along with Garrett Hedlund and Steve Martin.

Considered a modern-day Catch 22, Ben Fountain’s novel is not a traditional war story, but the press release that announced the film project promises that the director, know for his ground-breaking special effects, as in the 3-D Life of Pi, “… envisions creating a new way for audiences to experience drama, including the heightened sensation that soldiers really feel on the battlefield and on the home front.”

Hollywood is now mad for military movies based on books, cued by the success of American Sniper. Several nonfiction titles are currently set for adaptation.

Gearing up is a film based on 13 Hours: The Inside Account Of What Really Happened In Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff (Hachette/Twelve, 9/9/14). Directed by Michael Bay it will star John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Max Martini, Pablo Schreiber and Freddie Stroma (Pitch Perfect). Filming is about to begin on a set that is currently being built in Malta.

Recently, a heated auction for war photographer Lynsey Addario’s memoir, It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War (Penguin Press, 2/5/15) ended with Steven Spielberg set to direct and Jennifer Lawrence in the lead. The rights to another women-in war book, Ashley’s War, The Untold Story Of A Team of Women Soldiers On The Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (Harper, 4/21/15), were recently won at auction by Reese Witherspoon.

Television is also in on the act. NBC recently picked up the Weinstein Co.’s 6 hour series based on The Reaper by Nicholas Irving with Gary Brozek, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s).

For more, see our list of upcoming book adaptations, as well as our list of tie-ins.

On the Opening Day of baseball season, Candice Bergen had her own double header with appearances on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday to talk about her new memoir A Fine Romance (S&S; S&S Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Calling the book a “love letter” to her daughter, Bergen writes about her marriage to the French film director Louis Malle, her time on Murphy Brown, motherhood, and her difficult childhood as the daughter of the famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (who, improbably, became a big hit on the non-visual medium of radio).

Bergen tells CBS’s Jane Pauley that her dad cut her out of his will but left a bequest to his wooden ventriloquist’s dummy, Charlie McCarthy.

Bergen’s new book is getting the media attention one would expect for such a well-known actress. She will be interviewed on the Today show, Charlie Rose, Live with Kelly and Michael and Ellen, as well as in a range of print publications, from Vanity Fair to AARP Magazine.

A Fine Romance follows her bestselling 1984 memoir, Knock Wood (S&S; OverDrive Sample), which was re-released last July. The title refers to her feelings about her father’s performing partner.

Holds are heavy in some libraries we checked, spiking well over a 3:1 ratio.

Among the familiar names arriving next week (James Patterson, of course, and Alexander McCall Smith, but in a new guise), are some LibraryReads debuts, including a book that dares to poke fun at the Duchess of Cambridge.

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 April 6, 2015

Holds Leaders

Hot Pursuit, Stuart Woods, (Penguin/Putnam; Penguin Audio; OverDrive Sample)

The technicolor covers of Woods’ Stone Barrington novels are becoming very familiar. The 77 year-old author has stepped up his publishing schedule, He released four new titles last year, and will do the same this year.

Miracle at Augusta, James Patterson, Peter de Jonge, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print; OverDrive Sample)

Nobody can match Patterson, and his pool of co-writers, in terms of output. Coming just three week after NYPD RED 3, which seemed close behind January’s Private Vegas, this is the second book featuring pro-golfer Travis McKinley, after Miracle on the 17th Green.

Stepping Out of Character 

Emma: A Modern Retelling, Alexander McCall Smith, (RH/Pantheon; RH Large Print; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample)

Alexander McCall Smith, known for his No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels, tries on a new character for The Austen Project, a series of Jane Austen reboots commissioned by HarperCollins in the U.K., but published by various publishers here (Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey was published by Grove Press last year. Up next, Curtis Sittenfeld’s take on Pride and Prejudice). The Washington Post feels he does a good job portraying “Miss Emma Woodhouse in blue jeans.” For many of us, though, Clueless is the definitive modern retelling of Emma.

Critics Favorites

The Folded Clock: A Diary, Heidi Julavits, (RH/Doubleday; OverDrive Sample)

Featured on the cover of the NYT Book Review a full two weeks before publication, and now followed by a review in the L.A Times., the author is also scheduled for an interview on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show

The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, (Grove Press)

On the cover of this week’s NYT Book Review and reviewed in today’s Washington Post.

Picks

The Royal We, Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan, (Hachette/Grand Central; OverDrive Sample)

On Entertainment Weekly‘s “Must List” at #3  (just behind the debut of the new season of Mad Men and video for a track from Brandon Flowers new album) this novel by the founders of the sardonic fashion web site Go Fug Yourself is also a LibraryReads pick:

This delightful spin on the story of Prince William and Kate Middleton is the perfect beachy, weekend read for anyone who loves love stories with a healthy dose of humor. Here, Will and Kate are replaced by Nick and Bex–he’s the heir to the British throne, she’s the American who effortlessly steals his heart. Can they weather many obstacles to find their Happily Ever After? Part fairy tale, part cautionary tale, the novel is pure fun from start to finish. — Donna Matturri, Pickerington Public Library, Pickerington, OH

The Children’s Crusade, Ann Packer, (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio)

A People “Book of the Week,” calling it “…  an absorbing novel which celebrates family even as it catalogs its damages,” it is reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle and is an Indie Next pick:

Doctor Bill Blair and his wife, Penny, built a home in a wooded area of California that would later be known as Silicon Valley. It was a time full of hope for the future, but 10 years and four children later Penny has grown resentful of her role as a wife and mother. She finds solace in art, but at a great cost to her family. Thirty years later, the lives of the three oldest Blair children are in upheaval yet again when their youngest brother, the black sheep of the family, returns to the family home and forces them all to confront their past and face their future. Packer’s emotionally gripping story asks just how much our adult lives are determined by the events of our childhood. — Carson Evans, Country Bookshelf, Bozeman, MT

Orhan’s Inheritance, Aline Ohanesian, (Workman/Algonquin; Highbridge; OverDrive Sample)

Workman’s library marketer and personal galley whisperer to many librarians, Mike Rockliff says this one,”reminded me how much it’s a love for the well-turned phrase that’s kept me in this business for over 50 years.” It is also the #1 Indie Next pick for the month.

“Debut author Ohanesian’s historical novel relives the nearly forgotten tragedy of the Armenian Genocide during and after WWI. Through deportations, massacres, and executions of Christian and Jewish Armenians, the Ottoman Empire and its successors eliminated 1.5 million citizens. Ohanesian’s beautifully written book shares a tale of passionate love, unspeakable horror, incredible strength, and the hidden stories that haunt a family. Highly recommended, — Doug Robinson, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, GA

Still the One, Jill Shalvis, (Penguin/Berkley original mass market pbk)

LibraryReads:

Oh Jill Shalvis, how I love thee! Although all the books in this Animal Magnetism series have strong heroines, this one is the absolute best. And chemistry–wowza, it’s intense. The novel brings a focus on two important social issues: the lack of funding available for those who need physical therapy, and the fact that service dogs who do not pass their certification should not be thrown away. I fell in love and learned something at the same time. Instant classic. — Amanda Brown, Roanoke Public Libraries, Roanoke, VA

A Desperate Fortune, Susanna Kearsley, (Sourcebooks Landmark; Brilliance Audio; OverDrive Sample)

LibraryReads:

While transcribing an old manuscript of a young girl’s diary, Sara decodes an account of Jacobite spies. Long before, Mary Dundas gets involved in a mission which makes her confidante to the King of Scotland in exile. And along the way, both women fall for men they know little about. Kearsley is a master at seamlessly blending stories from two time periods. Readers who enjoy a little puzzle solving with their historical fiction will be rewarded. — Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX

It may have slipped to #2 on yesterday’s  USA Today’s best-seller list, but Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Penguin/Riverhead) is still number one on the just-released NYT Hardcover Fiction list, with Harlan Coben’s The Stranger (Penguin/Dutton) at #2. Still going strong after 47 weeks is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (S&S/Scribner) at #3. We issued a holds alert for that book almost one year ago.

The Publishers Weekly/BooScan list shows that GOTT sold 5,000 more copies at the retailers they survey than Coben’s book.

George R.R. Martin offers fans a glimpse into his upcoming novel, The Winds of Winter, with an excerpt featuring the character Alayne, better known as Sansa Stark.

The sneak peek, announced on Martin’s blog yesterday, reveals the once battered and cowed Sansa to be still at the Eyrie, hiding out as “Alayne,” the bastard daughter of Littlefinger, and caught up in another of his plots to seduce a man. Alayne seems to be more than holding her own now, telling her would-be suitor on the eve of a tourney, “I hope you joust better than you talk.”

Martin released another excerpt last year. It was so popular it crashed his site.

There is no firm news on when Martin hopes to complete The Winds of Winter but he has been clearing his schedule to devote more time to the long anticipated novel. Note: the cover we show here may not be the official one. It appears all over the internet, including on Entertainment Weekly’s site, but seems to have originated as fan art. UPDATE: We checked with the publisher, who confirms the cover is NOT official.

The showrunners of the HBO series based on his books recently announced that they will begin to outpace Martin’s story after the upcoming season, leaving fans to pick between spoiler-viewing or waiting for Martin to catch up.

The fifth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones begins on April 12.

Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Penguin/Riverhead) has slipped off the tracks, getting replaced as the top book on USA Today’s best-seller list by Harlan Coben’s The Stranger (Penguin/Dutton; Brilliance Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Girl on the Train ruled the top of the USA Today list for over a month but is now in the No. 2 spot.

In toppling Hawkins from her reigning position, Coben achieved what James Patterson could not. As we reported last week, Patterson’s newest, NYPD Red 3 (Hachette/Little, Brown), hit USA Today’s list in second place, behind GOTT. It has since slipped to the No. 5 spot.

Most libraries routinely buy more copies of Patterson then they do of Coben. It may be time to rethink that.

LibraryReads & the Association of American Publishers have just announced their roster of events exclusively for librarians, to be held at the upcoming Book Expo America.

Several require advance registration. Fellow procrastinators — don’t wait. These events fill up quickly (both LJ‘s Day of Dialog and SLJ‘s were sold out weeks ago, even though the programs haven’t been announced).

Details on all the programs in this downloadable document: AAP/LibraryReads BEA Programs.

Below are the three that require registration:

****************************

Wednesday, May 27, 6:30 pm.
Ninth Annual BookExpo America Adult Librarians’ Dinner
Yale Club, NYC (52 Vanderbilt Avenue, Grand Ballroom)

Featuring:

Master of Ceremonies: Al Roker, The Storm of the Century (HarperCollins/ Morrow; HarperLuxe, 8/11/15)

Karin Slaughter, Pretty Girls (HarperCollins/ Morrow, 8/12/15)

Ernest Cline, Armada (RH/Crown; RH Audio, 7/14/15)

Sloane Crosley, The Clasp (Macmillan/FSG; Macmillan Audio, 10/6/15)

Lauren Groff, Fates & Furies (Penguin/Riverhead; Penguin Audio, 9/15/15)

James Patterson, Cross Justice, (Hachette/Little, Brown, 11/23/15)

Please register your interest to attend HERE. The AAP will confirm if they are able to meet your request.

****************************

Wednesday, May 27, 7:00 pm.
Fourth Annual BookExpo America Children’s Librarians’ Dinner
Co-Hosted by AAP and School Library Journal
Cornell Club, NYC (6 E. 44th Street)

Featuring:

Jeff Anderson, Zack Delacruz: Me and My Big Mouth (Sterling Children’s Books, 978-1454914990, 8/4/15)

Mike Curato, Little Elliot, Big Family (Macmillan/Holt, 10/6/15)

Matt de la Pena, Last Stop on Market Street (Penguin/Putnam Juvenile, 1/8/15)

Candace Fleming & Eric Rohmann, Bulldozer’s Big Day (S&S/Atheneum, 5/5/15)

Kevin Henkes, Waiting (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 8/12/15)

Adam Silvera, More Happy Than Not (Soho Teen, 6/2/15)

Please register your interest to attend HERE. The AAP will confirm if they are able to meet your request.

****************************

Thursday, May 28, 12 pm – 1:30 pm
Annual BEA Adult Librarians’ Author Lunch
Jacob K. Javits Center (Room 1E15-16)

Featuring:

Tama Janowitz, Scream (HarperCollins/Dey Street, 978-0062391322, 1/5/16)

Barry Moser, We Were Brothers (Workman/Algonquin, 978-1616204136, 10/20/15)

Stephanie Clifford, Everybody Rise (St. Martins Press/Macmillan; Macmillan Audio, 8/8/15)

Vu Tran, Dragonfish, A Novel (W. W. Norton, 8/3/15)

Annie Barrows, The Truth According to Us, (RH/Dial Press; RH Audio; RH Large Print, 6/9/15)

Mary Louise Parker, Dear Mr. You (S&S/Scribner, 11/17/15)

Please register your interest to attend HERE. The AAP will confirm if they are able to meet your request.

Mashups seem to be over, but zombies are still with us, as proved by the CW’s new series iZombie and AMC’s The Walking Dead, which just wrapped its fifth season.

So maybe there’s hope that the film version of Pride Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books, 2009), now scheduled to hit screens on Feb. 19, 2016, will avoid the fate of that box office disaster, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

Directed by Burr Steers (Charlie St. Cloud), PP&Z stars the currently hot actress Lily James (Cinderella, Downton Abbey) as Elizabeth Bennett, with Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy. David Russell, celebrated as the director of American Hustle (2013) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012), co-wrote the script with Steers.

For more, see our list of upcoming book adaptations, as well as our list of tie-ins.

After months of highlighting fiction on her weekly radio segment, librarian Nancy Pearl has a cache of recent nonfiction titles to suggest, starting with Christian G. Appy’s American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity (Penguin/Viking; Feb. 2015; Tantor Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Asserting that “we teach history in the wrong way,” Nancy describes Appy’s book as “anything but a dry tome … [it] draws on popular culture, historical facts, everything from the Pentagon Papers to novels about Vietnam … you can see the research that he’s done and yet it all rests very lightly on the prose.”

She adds it would be great book club pick, “It’s going to elicit strong emotions, and I think it’s an important book.” Listen to the segment here.

The Huffington Post agrees, calling it “required reading for anyone interested in foreign policy and America’s place in the world, showing how events influence attitudes, which in turn influence events.”

For readers who want more on the  Vietnam War Nancy suggests Neil Sheehan’s A Bright Shining Lie and David Halberstam’s The Best and The Brightest.

Nancy talks about a new book each week on Seattle’s NPR affiliate KUOW.