Even the Fourth of July holiday won’t prevent books from shipping next week. Julie Garwood’s Wired (see below, under “Peer Picks”) is one of several titles with a July 4 publication date.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar Week of July 3, 2017.
Author Mezrich has covered several wild topics, but none quite as woolly as this, to be featured this week on CBS Sunday Morning. Picked by USA Today as one of “10 Hot Books You Won’t Want To Miss This Summer,” it is described as a “Real-life thriller [that] goes inside the Harvard lab of geneticist George Church as he and his team attempt to ‘resurrect’ the extinct Woolly Mammoth.” Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires was the basis for the successful movie The Social Network. Fox has the film rights to this one.
People magazine’s “Book of the Week” in the new issue, noting, “Steiner (Missing, Presumed) populates this hot-button narrative with achingly human characters, but no one compares to the [pregnant] hormonal, mordantly funny mom-cop who will stop at nothing to save her son.”
“When Agent Liam Scott recruits a beautiful hacker, Allison Trent, to find a leak within the FBI, he uses her cousin’s criminal record as leverage. As they try to deny their growing attraction, the computer program Allison developed is stolen. Liam helps track down the thief while protecting her from continual harassment and attempts on her life. I genuinely enjoyed reading this novel. The whole book was tightly plotted and well written. This is a story I would highly recommend to romance readers, especially those new to the genre.” — Maria Gruener, Watertown Regional Library, Watertown, SD
“I don’t think I’ve gotten this much sheer pleasure from a book in a long while. Made for Love is freaking off-the-wall bonkers in the best way. We follow Hazel, a woman on the edge who recently escaped from her top-of-the-tech-world psycho of a husband (whom, she fears, desires to place a chip in her brain so that they may ‘meld’ consciousnesses), as she battles through hyper-surveillance for a life off the grid. Along the way, she meets a truly delightful cast of characters, gets into some absurd hijinks, and works through the piles of garbage the world has tossed her way. Ditch the jet skis — this is all the summer fun you’re going to need.” —Molly Moore, BookPeople, Austin, TX
“David Granger is a 68-year-old, conservative war veteran with a bleeding-heart liberal son, a granddaughter who needs him, and a whole lot of emotional baggage from his time in Vietnam. He is patriotic and brash, and he has no problem expressing his opinion. In our current politically divided culture, where people with different views struggle to understand each other, this story has incredible value. I wanted to dislike this protagonist, whose views are so different from my own, but I couldn’t. He was kind and caring and his story pulled at my heart.” —Melanie Locke, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins, CO
The Graybar Hotel: Stories, Curtis Dawkins (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio).
“Discard the thought that Curtis Dawkins is serving a life sentence and insert the thought that this is an amazing short-story collection by a debut author. In The Graybar Hotel, we glimpse the emotional lives of the inmates of a Kalamazoo prison, who are cut off from the world and in a place where time moves and sounds different than before. One character calls random numbers just so he can hear a voice or any noise for his allotted 15 minutes, anything to connect to the outside world again. The Graybar Hotel reminded me of reading early Denis Johnson, in the way that the writing is so sparse I fell right into the stories and suffered along with the inmates. A captivating read that allowed me a glimpse of the humanity of prison life.” —Jason Kennedy, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI
“Prepare yourself for a frozen and fun adventure in the Antarctic. Cooper Gosling apparently does not have enough cold weather or oddball people in her Minneapolis life, so she heads to the South Pole Station to try to reclaim her career as a painter. Ashley Shelby has collected a wonderful cast of quirky characters in this southernmost ice box and readers are in for a treat when they meet this bunch of scientists, artists, medics, and misfits. Bundle up and enjoy the ride!” —Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
Several recognized names return next week, including one that is rarely absent, James Patterson, the holds leader for the week with Murder Games (Hachette/Little, Brown; Blackstone Audio; Hachette Large Print; OverDrive Sample; OverDrive Audio Sample). It’s been optioned for a CBS series, Dr. Death, to star Alan Cumming. The Patterson name will also appear on a TV series at the end of the week, when the third season of Zoo begins on 6/30/17.
Exploring a new format, Marie Kondo spins off her major best seller with the a manga version, The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up (PRH/TenSpeed). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kondo recounts discovering that her father was deeply influenced by the manga Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka, about whether doctors should prolong life at all costs, or focus on the quality of life. She says it influenced many people, including her father, to enter the medical profession.
The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 6/26/17.
“When a baby skeleton is unearthed at a construction site, reporter Kate Waters thinks it is a story worth investigating. As she digs into the mystery of the child, she uncovers more than she bargained for. Told from the viewpoints of various characters, Barton tells an intriguing tale about the newborn baby and all the characters involved, leaving it up to the readers to put together the connections until the very end.” — Annice Sevett, New Hanover County Public Library, Wilmington, NC
“Lady Elanna Voltai flees her adopted homeland when the king, who raised her like a daughter, dies under mysterious circumstances and Elanna is accused of murder. Forced to return to the magical homeland of her birth and her estranged father who was branded a traitor for inciting rebellion, Elanna must come to terms with the life she left behind and her destiny. I loved watching Elanna find her voice and her strength, and the rich world of magic around her makes this story even more fantastic!” — Jessica Perham, Schaumburg Township Library, Schaumburg, IL
“The Jhas are a fairly normal family in Delhi, but when Mr. Jha sells his company for millions and decides to move himself and his wife to a fancy new neighborhood, he sets in motion changes for not only his wife, but also his son studying in New York and his former and future neighbors — changes that are sometimes good, sometimes bad, and uncomfortable either way. Jam-packed with fun and lovable characters, this novel is both a delicious, gossipy indulgence and a fascinating glimpse into the lives of people very different from one another. Those who loved the drama of The Nest will adore this warm, tender, and very funny debut from a fresh new voice.” —Kelly Morton, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
“The Amazing Telemachus Family is unlike any other. Patriarch Teddy is a con man whose adult children possess remarkable psychic gifts (telekinesis, lie detection, and clairvoyance), but the loss of their mother leaves the entire family reeling. Though the Telemachus crew’s misadventures attract the attention of everyone from the CIA to a scary local crime boss, Teddy and his children are more threatened by their own emotional damage and sketchy past than anything else. Gregory’s characters are sharply drawn and lovable, and he tells their story in a way that’s wise, warm, and entertaining throughout. With a strong sense of humor and an amazing climax, this is the kind of novel that’s an absolute blast to read.” —Erika VanDam, RoscoeBooks, Chicago, IL
Drunks: An American History, Christopher Finan (Beacon Press; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“The long and evolving history of alcoholism and corresponding sobriety movements in America is fascinating, for both its colorful characters and its complex interface with religion and the sciences. In Finan’s astute, well-researched, and entertaining narrative, this story of sober drunks offers both understanding and insight into a critically important subject whose nature has long been occluded and subsumed in stigma.” —Kenny Brechner, Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers, Farmington, ME
Two tie-ins also arrive for the animated Emoji movie. Premiering on July 28, it is set inside the world of a cell phone and stars TJ Miller, Anna Faris, James Corden, and many more, playing characters such as Hi-5, Meh, Smiler, and Fist Bump.
Responding to the trailer, The Guardian says it “may be one of the most conceptually baffling films ever to be put into production.”
Next week is fairly quiet in terms of the number of new releases. Big-name thriller authors lead the way in holds, with Janet Evanovich at the head of the list for the second in her new Knight and Moon series, Dangerous Minds (PRH/Bantam; RH Large Print; RH and BOT Audio).
A distant second in holds is Dean Koontz’s The Silent Corner, (PRH/Bantam; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample) the beginning of a new series, already set for a TV adaptation (see more below, under “Peer Picks”).
Don Winslow’s The Force (HarperCollins/Morrow; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Audio Sample) is getting an extraordinary amount of early attention (see below, under “Peer Picks”). Add to that a review in today’s NYT by Janet Maslin who calls it a “shattering New York cop epic about an elite task force leader who’s a hero until he’s not.” Drawing on her earlier life as a movie critic, she says it “recalls Sidney Lumet’s great New York police films (Serpico, Prince of the City) and makes their agonies almost quaint by comparison.” Unsurprisingly, it is headed to the big screen. Maslin cautions that the novel “has a lot of exposition to get through in its initial pages … There are many characters and locations and illicit police habits to introduce,” but says, “the pace is kept up by the Winslow way with words, which almost entirely defies being quoted here, either because of the slang (Elmore Leonard league) or because of the everyday obscenities that lace every funny line.”
Those looking for a break from all that pacing, can turn to Adriana Trigiani’s Kiss Carlo (HarperCollins/Harper; Harper Audio; HarperLuxe; OverDrive Audio Sample), which brings together many of the author’s obsessions, the theater, a post World War setting, close-knit Italian-American families who are not above feuds, echoes of earlier lives in Italy and true love that strikes unexpectedly. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Trigiani on an upcoming Today Show, where she is a favorite guest and even manages out-talk Hoda and Kathie Lee.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar Week of June 19 2017.
The Force, Don Winslow (HC/William Morrow; HarperLuxe; Blackstone Audio).
“Denny Malone, veteran NYPD detective and leader of the elite Manhattan North Task Force, didn’t start out as a dirty cop. Over the years, however, the odd payoff and favor became routine, and a talented and effective cop slid past the point of no return, stealing millions in money and drugs. As Winslow shows us, keeping citizens safe isn’t always clean and easy work, but even Malone and his team’s corruption is chump change compared to the real players behind the scenes who are busy rebuilding the city after the September 11 attacks. A gutsy and uncompromising look at the dark heartbeat of modern America.” —Patrick Millikin, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Scottsdale, AZ
“Koontz’s new heroine is Jane Stark, a kick-ass-and-take-names FBI agent who is out to discover why her husband took his own life. When she finds out that other people in key positions are also committing suicide, the more mysterious and complicated the circumstances become and the more attention she draws to herself — and not in a good way. Koontz is a master of suspense, creating sharp twists and turns with originality that will challenge your intellect. The Silent Corner is a gripping, enthralling thriller. I can’t wait for the next installment!” —Robin Allen, Forever Books, St. Joseph, MI
Additional Buzz: It is one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Summer’s 20 Must-Read Books and is already heading to TV according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kirkus stars, saying “Perhaps Koontz’s leanest, meanest thriller, this initial entry in a new series introduces a smart, appealing heroine who can outthink as well as outshoot the baddest of bad dudes.” Romantic Times book reviews gives its 4 stars, writing “The story structure filled with short intense chapters keeps the pace fast and builds an ominous tension.” In the clip below, Koontz talks about his new main character:
Queen Sugar returns for its second season with a two-night event on OWN starting on Tuesday, June 20. Season one pulled in a number of impressive awards, including the NAACP Image Award for Best Drama Series. As we wrote earlier, the story takes place in Southern Louisiana and features three siblings who inherit their father’s sugar cane plantation.
Entertainment Weekly reports that season two will continue the practice from the first season of using a “slate of female filmmakers including returning director Kat Candler (Hellion), Cheryl Dunye (Stranger Inside), DeMane Davis (Lift), Aurora Guerrero (Mosquita y Mari), and Amanda Marsalis (Echo Park).” Ava DuVernay, who created project with Oprah last year, will direct the final episode of the season.
Spider-Man Homecomingopens on July 7, and another tie-in is being released in advance of it premiere date: Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude, Marvel Comics (Hachette/Marvel).
The film picks up after Captain America: Civil War ends and stars Tom Holland, Chris Evans, and Robert Downey Jr., among many others.
Nothing evokes summer like an Elin Hilderbrand cover. Says USA Today of her newest, The Identicals (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette LP; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), “Take the summer setting (The Identicals hops between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) and the plot device of feuding sisters, and you’ve got the recipe for another Hilderbrand beach hit.”
Two heavily anticipated memoirs arrive this week, Roxane Gay’s (see below) and Sherman Alexie’s You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette LP; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample). Entertainment Weekly says that Alexie “blends poetry and prose, and varies widely in tone as he explores old memories and new grief.” It’s one of eight books heralded by People magazine in the current issue as “Summer’s Best Books” (list not available online).
Another memoir to note, although it arrives to shorter holds queues, is comedian Eddie Izzard’s Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens, (PRH/Blue Rider Press; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample). If you are unfamiliar with this British cross dressing comedian, treat yourself to the following animated version of one of his bits.
Izzard narrates the audio. It’s as if he’s having an intimate conversation with the listener.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed withordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of June 12, 2017.
“Lydia Smith is enjoying her comfortable life. She has a job she loves at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Then one of her favorite “bookfrogs” (code word for eccentric bookstore regulars) commits suicide and leaves her his small horde of books. She discovers a strangely methodical defacement which is a kind of code. A delicate spiderweb of connections leading back to a murderous incident in Lydia’s childhood is revealed. This pushed me into reading ‘just one more chapter’ until late into the night.” — Joan Hipp, Florham Park Public Library, Florham Park, NJ
Additional Buzz: It is a June Indie Next pick too.
“Terribly depressed by the emptiness of her long marriage, Marianne decides to end it all by jumping off a Paris bridge. Her unwanted rescue and ensuing marital abandonment jolt Marianne into ditching her tour group and setting out for Finistere, the westernmost coast of Brittany. Keeping body and soul together by working at a seaside bistro, Marianne finds herself healing through the company of a diverse group of quirky locals. The Little French Bistro is merveilleux. It refreshes like the sea breeze sweeping the Breton coast.” — Sarah Nagle, Carver County Library, Chaska, MN
“In Every Heart a Doorway we met Jack and Jill, two sisters bound together yet alienated. In this installment, we learn how these two girls escape their parents when they exit the world we know for a realm of fairy-tale horror via a magic stairway, appearing in a trunk in a locked room. This is a story about two young women and the trauma that shapes them; a story about love, hate, and the thin line between. A captivating and emotional novella that irresistibly sweeps the reader along.” — Tegan Mannino, Monson Free Library, Monson, MA
Additional Buzz:Entertainment Weekly published an excerpt. Library Journal and Publishers Weekly star, with LJ writing, “Beautifully crafted and smartly written, this fairy-tale novella is everything that speculative fiction readers look for: fantastical worlds, diverse characters, and prose that hits home with its emotional truths.”
“Silver Silence is a new chapter in the Psy/Changeling series. As the world tries to adjust after a peace accord, Silver Mercant takes center stage. As head of an aid organization reacting to rampant terrorism, she’s an obvious target. But Alpha Valentin Nikolaev has already decided she’s his to protect. Valentin and Silver start tracking down deadly shadow factions that want to undermine the Trinity Accords. Diverse and fascinating world-building are on full display along with a bumped up level of humor in the face of adversity.” — Jessica Trotter, Capital District Area Libraries, Lansing, MI
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a delightful tale of old Hollywood, so full of detail, that you’ll swear Evelyn was a real actor. Monique Grant is tasked with writing an article about the famous woman, so she interviews Evelyn who tells us all about her career, starting in the 1950s — and her many marriages. This novel will enchant you, and Evelyn will stay with you long after you finish reading.” — Lauren McLaughlin, Wilton Library Association, Wilton, CT
Five additional Indie Next titles hit shelves as well, including the #1 pick for July, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland (HC/William Morrow; HarperAudio).
“For someone who approaches such serious scientific and technological subjects, Neal Stephenson can be outrageously funny. Combine that with Nicole Galland’s storytelling ability and you have a rollicking roller coaster of a novel. The authors mix together magic, witchcraft, time travel, science, and historical figures, both real and imagined, while delightfully skewering bumbling bureaucrats, pretentious academics, a rigid military, and other bastions of the establishment to produce a work that is both thought-provoking and totally entertaining.” —Bill Cusumano, Square Books, Oxford, MS
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Roxane Gay (HC/Harper; HarperAudio).
“This memoir is about trauma and privilege, self-loathing, and a silent fear kept secret for far too long. It’s about our obsession with body weight and body image, what happens when we internalize our pain and become self-destructive, and how very, very large people are treated in humiliating ways. The descriptions of addictive behavior and the journey to want to heal make this book more universal than I expected. When you decide that this is the day you’re going to change and you get out of bed and fail, that’s pretty normal. You’ll have another chance tomorrow — just remember to like yourself enough to overcome the fear of healing and try again. Highly recommend.” —Todd Miller, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI
So Much Blue, Percival Everett (Macmillan/Graywolf Press; HighBridge Audio).
“The newest release from Percival Everett provides ample proof that he is one of the most underrated writers in American literature. So Much Blue jumps among three different points in protagonist Kevin Pace’s life that have shaped his artistry as a painter and his misgivings as a man. These vignettes are sardonic, shocking, and sexy. Like life, Everett’s latest doesn’t give you an easy tie-it-up-in-a-nice-bow revelation — instead, it leaves you thinking about these characters days after you’ve closed the book, mulling over their futures as well as yours.” —Dante Bostic, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY
“I approached Dungy’s book with the same feelings I had when starting Maggie Nelson’s Argonauts. I had very little in common with the writers of these two books or the experiences related in them, yet with each I found myself drawn in by the acute intelligence of the writing and pulled along by the sheer compulsion of a story well told. Not only is Dungy a more than capable storyteller, she writes like the poet she is, and, like all poets, she leads us across a boundary, expanding our worlds.” —Stephen Sparks, Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco, CA
“After a childhood in the wilds of Northern Michigan, where her rugged, brutal father was the center of her world, Helena has made a new life with a family who doesn’t know her past. Now she and her father are hunting each other and Helena must use all the skills he taught her to survive. Fascinating, dark, and disturbing, The Marsh King’s Daughter is a psychological thriller most compelling in its rich descriptions of the survivalist training of a very tough little girl.” —Patty Mullins, Oblong Books and Music, Millerton, NY
The Dark Tower premieres on August 4 and stars Idris Elba as the gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man In Black.
After getting plenty of attention at the Cannes Film Festival, the tie-in edition of The Beguiled: A Novel (Movie Tie-In), Thomas Cullinan (PRH/Penguin; OverDrive Sample) comes out, decades after the first edition hit shelves.
The film is set during the Civil War and the plot involves a group of women sequestered in a girls boarding school in the South, whose lives are turned upside down by the appearance of a wounded Union soldier. Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Elle Fanning, and Kirsten Dunst star.
“Breathless anticipation” is the watchword of the week, with John Grisham releasing his first summer novel, Camino Island (PRH/Doubleday; RH Large Print; RH and BOT Audio).
Featuring plot elements that will appeal to both booksellers and librarians, it’s about hunting down handwritten F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen from the Princeton Library. The investigation leads to a bookseller (indie, of course) on the fictional island of the title in Florida. Grisham also has a new title coming in October, titled at this point simply New Legal Thriller.
OfThe Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy (PRH/Random House; RH and BOT Audio), the Washington Post‘s chief critic Ron Charles writes, “We waited 20 years for [Roy’s] follow-up to The God of Small Things. It was worth it.”
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of June 5, 2017
Not a celebrity memoir, but a book by Alda about his avocation and passion, helping people to communicate better and how he has helped scientists, academics and medical professionals explain themselves more clearly. In a NYT essay, he talks about the origin of the book, when he and a dentist miscommunicated (do not read if dentists make you queasy).
Peer Picks
Three LibraryReads titles arrive this week, including the #1 pick for June, Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (HC/Harper; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio).
“Susan Ryeland is a London book editor who has just received the latest manuscript from one of her most irascible authors, Alan Conway. But the manuscript’s ending appears to be missing and she learns that Conway has committed suicide. As Ryeland learns more about his death, she starts to question whether a murder has occurred and begins to investigate. Magpie Murders is a delightful, clever mystery-within-a-mystery. Horowitz shows real mastery of his craft. This is a terrific, modern take on the traditional mystery with ingenious puzzles to solve.” — Andrea Larson, Cook Memorial Library, Libertyville, IL
“Outstanding fictional account of the Alice network, women spies in World War I, tough and determined to defeat the Germans. The story centers on Eve Gardiner, aka Marguerite, a young woman trained to spy on the Germans, and Charlie St. Clair, a young woman post WWII, pregnant, lost and finding her direction. The two meet and the story alternates chapters as Charlie is determined to find her cousin, Rose presumed dead after the war, while Eve’s story of the Alice network unfolds. A fantastic book with strong female characters.” — Ellen Firer, Merrick Library, Merrick, NY
“Liv and Nora, who are cousins, decide to take their families on a cruise. Both have an eleven-year-old and a younger child as well. At one of the ports, the moms take the children out with another family they met on the ship. All goes well until the children, in a brief moment, aren’t observed and disappear. From here the nightmare begins, and the story alternates between what is happening to the children and the adults. The story is gripping and the characters are well-developed. The book explores family and marital dynamics, race, privilege, guilt, and responsibility.” — Mary Bennett, Carmel Clay Public Library, Carmel, IN
Five additional Indie Next titles publish this week:
Stephen Florida, Gabe Habash (Consortium Book Sales/Coffee House Press; HighBridge Audio).
“Spanning a college wrestler’s senior season, Stephen Florida is eerie, unsettling, and unlike anything else. It can be hard to live in Stephen’s head, but it is impossible to stop reading or to forget what you find there. Stephen is unpredictable, sympathetic, focused, frenzied, cold, and tender. He is hard to love, yet I love him. We are lucky to have a new novel like this: something you haven’t seen before, that makes you remember what good fiction is capable of.” —Tyler Goodson, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA
“Already a huge bestseller internationally, Marc Elsberg’s Blackout is poised to be a sensation in the U.S. this June. In Blackout, hackers are able to take down all the electrical grids across Europe, resulting in a total blackout more far-reaching than anything previously thought possible. Once it becomes clear that this event is not a glitch and the depths of the crisis — no lights, no heat, no Internet, no cell service — become evident, chaos ensues. Piero Manzano is an activist and a former hacker whose investigation into the cause of the disaster soon makes him a prime suspect and forces him to run from the authorities. This is a taut, fast-paced thriller about a frighteningly plausible scenario.” —Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS
The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road, Finn Murphy (W.W. Norton; HighBridge Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“This memoir of a life spent driving trucks full of strangers’ personal belongings across the country is the book I didn’t know I needed. Finn Murphy writes engaging slice-of-life stories about his time as a long-haul truck driver while also showing the changes in the trucking industry and American life in the decades he’s spent pulling thousands of pounds up mountains, through storms, and across plains. Trucking is a solitary life, but Murphy grabbed me like a friend and took me with him on his journey.” —Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First, Chicago, IL
Additional Buzz:NYT reviews, writing it is “almost shamefully enjoyable, allowing readers to have their fix of “fabulous-life-of” porn and class outrage, too.” Murphy offers a playlist for drivers, posted on the Powells’ site.
“If you love mystery, Victorian England, and exploring the tension between science and religion, you will love The Essex Serpent. Many contemporary authors manage to evoke for readers that experience of reading Jane Austen or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the first time. The real miracle of Sarah Perry is that she manages to do so with a completely fresh voice. With beautiful sentences and characters and landscapes so well-crafted you feel you’ve been there, The Essex Serpent captures the imagination and manages to deliver the sense of wisdom only good literature can.” —Tina Ontiveros, Klindt’s Booksellers, The Dalles, OR
Additional Buzz: It has done extraordinarily well in the UK. The Guardian writes it has had “an astonishing trajectory, selling more than 200,000 copies in hardback alone – 40 times more than the initial sales target – and scooping up nominations as varied as the Costa fiction award to the Wellcome prize for books about medicine and health.” Perry beat both Sebastian Barry and Paul Beatty out and won the British Book Award, both best novel and the Book of the Year. It was also on the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction long list and the Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist.
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, Nina Riggs (S&S; S&S Audio).
“This uplifting and affirming book will alter readers’ views about books on death. Nina Riggs’ memoir shares the story of both her ongoing battle against cancer and her mother’s valiant fight against the same disease. Both women face the realities of their situation with wonderful humor and candor. Readers will find themselves laughing out loud and sharing passages with other book lovers. As a cancer survivor myself, I felt that I was reading the ‘bright book’ of the season. The hope, spirit, and determination exhibited in these pages will provide inspiration to all, whether dealing with this disease or not.” —Nancy Simpson-Brice, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
Additional Buzz: The Washington Post calls it “this year’sWhen Breath Becomes Air.” It is People‘s Book of the Week, calling it a “deeply affecting memoir, a simultaneously heartbreaking and funny account of living with loss and the specter of death. As she lyrically, unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort even amid the crushing sadness.”
Tie-ins
Spider-Man Homecoming opens on July 7, spinning webs of tie-ins before it lands. It picks up after Captain America: Civil War and stars Tom Holland, Chris Evans, and Robert Downey Jr., among many others.
Spider-Man: Homecoming: The Deluxe Junior Novel by Jim McCann (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; also in a regular paperback edition; OverDrive Sample) will be one of the lead tie-ins. A level reader also comes out, Spider-Man: Homecoming: Meet Spidey by Charles Cho (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers).
Another Doctor Strange book comes out this week, long after the 2016 film has left theaters, and a few months after the February DVD release, a middle grade novel is based on the movie, Phase Three: MARVEL’s Doctor Strange by Alex Irvine (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; OverDrive Sample).
The “phase three” of the title is not a reference to a sequel but rather to the Marvel Cinematic Universe time line, the period of time when the Avengers have become at odds with each other.
For their holiday weekend edition, the New York Times Book Review takes a look at summer books. Among the titles picked by Janet Maslin is a book of essays arriving next week that sounds like ideal beach reading for those who enjoy a little shade with their sun (with a fitting cover image), We Are Never Meeting In Real Life: Essays by Samantha Irby, (PRH/Vintage; RH Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample). Describing the author as a “frank and madly funny blogger,” Maslin highlights the opening essay which contrasts Irby’s own wardrobe to “Bachelorette” contestants, “I don’t wear evening gowns and booty shorts every day. I wear daytime pajamas and orthopedic shoes, and lately I have become a big fan of the ‘grandpa cardigan.’ ”
Also arriving this week is a book by another funny essayist, David Sedaris, Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) (Hachette/Little Brown; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample). As the subtitle notes, it is based on his diaries, giving fans a view of the raw materials of the more polished essays in his eight bestselling books. Library Journal attests it will appeal to more than die-hard Sedaris fans, “even the more casual reader will be drawn in, as the author comes into his own as a writer and a person.”
With more gentle humor, Mo Willems publishes a stand-alone that is sure to become a baby shower staple, Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals (Hachette/Disney-Hyperion). Written in faux safety manual/waiterspeak it will appeal more to new parents than to kids.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of May 29, 2017
She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, Chelsea Clinton (PRH/Philomela Books; Listening Library; OverDrive Sample).
That other famous first daughter’s new book is aimed at young girls and takes its title from the phrase Mitch McConnell used to vent his frustration over failing to silence Elizabeth Warren. The book is getting attention for the person it does not include, Clinton’s mother. She explains to Entertainment Weekly that she feared “her story [would] overwhelm the book.”
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 May 29, 2017
“After rereading the first Hidden Legacy book, I plunged immediately into White Hot. I wasn’t disappointed. Nevada is trying to return her life to a semblance of normal, “normal” being without powerful, sexy, and very dangerous Prime Rogan. Rogan hasn’t stopped thinking about Nevada and hasn’t stopped wanting her. And what Rogan wants, he eventually gets. The action in White Hot was faster, the plot more intricate, and the characters became even more real. I cannot wait to read book three!” — Heather Cover, Homewood Library, Birmingham, AL
“Sloane is a strong, independent businesswoman working as a trend forecaster. While at an innovative company, Sloane finds that the very technology that is supposed to connect people to one another is actually tearing them apart. The entire story is both hilarious and slightly terrifying as it tells of a future where we outsource intimacy to strangers and lead very isolated lives. Touch is a warning about what can happen if we become too attached to the technology in our lives and a great reminder to put the phone down and connect with others in person.” —Kristen Beverly, Half Price Books, Dallas, TX
“We are all Edsel Bronfman. Or at least those of us who have spent a substantial portion of our lives as terribly awkward introverts with no social skills and a complete lack of romantic experience or opportunity are. Daniel Wallace’s new novel had me cringing with recognition and laughing out loud as his 34-year-old protagonist is launched on an absurd and hilarious journey of self-discovery and transformation initiated by a mysterious phone call from a timeshare saleswoman. Extraordinary Adventures is a quirky, sweet, heartfelt, and offbeat romance that displays the imaginative playfulness Wallace is known for.” —Josh Niesse, Underground Books, Carrollton, GA
“This is the story of the Bodine family, which runs a successful ranch resort. As you learn about Bodine Longbow, who helps to run the family business, and her new relationship, you also learn about Bodine’s Aunt Alice, who took off when she was 18 and never came home. The family never learned what happened to Alice, so when she is found alive they have to find out to keep her from disappearing again. Come Sundown is suspenseful, slightly creepy, and also touching. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a mystery with some romance.” —Linda Keifer, Hockessin Bookshelf, Hockessin, DE
Additional Buzz:Kirkus stars, writing, “Roberts always tells a good story that balances romance and suspense, but in this title, the narrative is deeper, the mystery is more layered … Roberts moves into another level of exploring physical and emotional trauma and the powerful balm of family and love.”
Tie-ins
Two tie-ins come out this week attached to the Wonder Woman movie.
The film arrives in theaters on June 2nd, starring Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious franchise) as the Amazonian Princess. Star Trek‘s Chris Pine plays her romantic interest and ally. Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Lucy Davis, and Danny Huston round out the cast.
It’s a relatively slow publishing week in terms of big names. Other than James Patterson, who releases a YA novel this week, Crazy House (Hachette/jimmy patterson; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample), the most recognized name is Michael Crichton, whose novel Dragon Teeth (HC/Harper; HarperAudio) is being published posthumously. Prepub preview are strong and it’s an Indie Next pick (see “Peer Picks,” below). The NYT book editor, Pamela Paul, publishes a book about, guess what? Reading. My Life with Bob (Macmillan/Henry Holt and Co.; OverDrive Sample) uses the reading notebook she has kept since high school, called “Bob,” or Book of Books, as the basis of a memoir. Prepub reviews are strong, with LJ saying, “Titles about reading and books abound, but this memoir stands in a class by itself. Bibliophiles will treasure, but the addictive storytelling and high-quality writing will vastly increase its audience.”
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable books arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of May 22, 2017.
“I was a fan of Single, Carefree, Mellow so it was a treat to read Katherine Heiny’s latest release. Standard Deviation wryly delves into the complications and contradictions inherent in good, long-term love and parenting a slightly more challenging child. This is a laugh-out-loud, funny read with brains and heart, and a gentler world to spend time in for anyone who just needs a break.” —Sarah Bumstead, Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena, CA
Additional Buzz: The author will be interviewed on the upcoming NPR Weekend Edition Saturday. Reviews are scheduled in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and People magazine. BookPage lists her as one of “10 Women To Watch In 2017,” saying “Heiny offers a wry, often hilarious take on monogamy and marriage with her debut novel.” LJ includes the book on their list of May “Top Debut Novels,” calling it “brightly funny.”
“Shadow Man is supposed to be the story of a serial killer who was horribly abused as a child and the efforts of the police to track him down and keep him from killing others. However, this book is really about Ben Wade, one of the detectives on the case. While the victims of the serial killer greatly affect Wade, who gives his all to catch him, it is the apparent suicide of a young teenager that really shakes up his world. Much more than just a search for a killer, Shadow Man is about living in the shadows of what happened in the past. Shadow Man could be called a thriller, but it is really much more than that, with characters that are so real you can feel their pain.” —Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC
Dragon Teeth, Michael Crichton (HC/Harper; HarperLuxe, HarperAudio).
“I worshipped Michael Crichton. I cried for two days when he died, in part because there would be no more novels. However, after all these years, Dragon Teeth is a true surprise, and a joyful one indeed! Although he’s more associated with futuristic science, Mr. Crichton was a dab hand at the historic thriller, and this novel is deeply grounded in fact. At its heart are two feuding paleontologists, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh, participants in the late-1800s Bone Wars, a period of frenzied fossil discovery. Add to the mix a fictional Yale student, friendly and unfriendly Native Americans, a heap of varmints and scoundrels, and a lady or two, and you’ve got a rollicking good story!” —Susan Tunis, Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco, CA
“The unnamed narrator of Wang’s winning and insightful novel is working on her PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, but the chemistry she really needs to learn is the one that makes relationships click. The prodigy daughter of high-achieving Chinese American parents, she’s always strived to meet their demanding expectations. Then, suddenly, she just can’t. Her lab work falters. She’s unable to accept or decline her boyfriend’s marriage proposal. But when she has a breakdown and loses in both academia and in love, she finally realizes how angry she is. Coming to terms with her past becomes her next project, and soon she can see her parents in a new light — and they aren’t the fierce tiger couple they’d always seemed to be.” —Laurie Greer, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
Five tie-ins come out this week for the same movie, Despicable Me 3. The film stars Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, and Trey Parker. It will premiere on June 30.
Included in the tie-in line up is Despicable Me 3: The Junior Novel, Sadie Chesterfield (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; also in a Deluxe edition). Other tie-ins include the hardback picture book Despicable Me 3: Agnes Loves Unicorns!,Universal (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) and Despicable Me 3: Seek and Find, Universal (Hachette/LB Kids). There are also two level readers, Despicable Me 3: The Good, the Bad, and the Yellow by Trey King (Hachette/LB Kids) and Despicable Me 3: Best Boss Ever by Trey King (Hachette/LB Kids)
Beach scenes on covers signal that Memorial Day is on its way. Dorothea Benton Frank takes us back to South Carolina’s low country in a novel that follows two couples through multiple shared vacations in Same Beach, Next Year(HarperCollins/Morrow; HarperLuxe; HaperAudio). Holds ratios indicate that ordering is not in line with the author’s growing popularity.
For those who prefer horror mixed into their sand, Stephen King returns to a fictional location, Castle Rock, in his new novella, Gwendy’s Button Box, coauthored with Richard Chimer, head of Cemetery Dance Publications, which is also the publisher of the book (S&S Audio). Entertainment Weekly notes the setting is “the site of some of King’s most well-known early tales” and the book is a “coming-of-age novella that has a sinister twist.”
Jack Reacher also makes a comeback, this time in a collection of short stories, No Middle Name by Lee Child (PRH/Delacorte; RH Large Print). Prepub reviews are strong, with Kirkus writing, “the short form is refreshing after the misfire of Child’s last novel, in which the violence became unpleasant and the tone curdled. No such problem here. And it’s encouraging that the novella Too Much Time, which leads into the next Reacher novel, feels like a return to form. These are tasty appetizers that will hopefully lead to a satisfying entree.”
Long before the name had another connotation, Scott Turow set his mysteries in the fictional Kindle County. His newest, Testimony (Hachette/Grand Central; Grand Central Large Print; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample) moves to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The Washington Post writes, “30 years after Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow still thrills.” Check your inventory of the author’s backlist, the publisher is re-issuing several in trade paperback and mass market (see our downloadable spreadsheet, Turow Reissues).
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of May 15, 2017.
“Imagine a sentence that has the slow-burn intensity you feel when reading your favorite mystery novels and the nuance and music of your icons of prose style. Now imagine a whole book of them. Set that book in a small town in Upstate New York, move a family of city folk into a Shirley Jacksonian home, and tell part of the story from the point of view of an ‘Observer’ who could represent the reader, the author, a house spirit, God, or something else entirely. Now cede your imagination to J. Robert Lennon, whose new novel will transport and move you. A perfect union of breezy and deep, Broken River has something for everyone.” —John Francisconi, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
“The novels of Phaedra Patrick are good for what ails you! Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a charming novel about a dull British jeweler who finds new light in his life when his American niece springs a surprise visit on him. Gemma may only be 16 years old, but she is a catalyst for some much-needed change in Benedict’s life and for the entire village. Readers would need a heart of stone to miss the joys of this delightful, feel-good novel. Book clubs are going to be taking a ‘shine’ to Benedict Stone.” —Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
Also on the June list is The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich (Macmillan/Flatiron Books; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich didn’t set out to investigate the rape and murder of six-year-old Jeremy Guillory in Louisiana; it was the case she was assigned as a young law school intern in 1992. In a fascinating twist, this becomes not only the true story of a heinous crime for which the perpetrator is in prison, but also of the investigation that unlocks the author’s memories of her own youth, a childhood in which she and her sisters were repeatedly sexually abused by their maternal grandfather. As Marzano-Lesnevich moves backward and forward in time between the young man who killed Jeremy and her own life, the reader is swept along on a current of dismay and awe: dismay that human beings can do these things to each other, and awe that the author could face such demons and move on. I’ve never read another book like this.” —Anne Holman, The King’s English, Salt Lake City, UT
Additional Buzz: It’s on multiple previews, including Entertainment Weekly‘s “19 book you have to read in May.” They write, “Marzano-Lesnevich interweaves the story of a disturbing 1992 murder case she stumbles upon as a law intern with her own past trauma in this haunting, excellent memoir.”
Tie-ins to three adaptations hit shelves this week.
The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, Diana B. Henriques (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin; Tantor Media; OverDrive Sample).
HBO version of the the Bernie Madoff story debut next Saturday, May 20,The Wizard of Lies. Barry Levinson directs and Robert De Niro stars as the crooked Ponzi scheme mastermind. Michelle Pfeiffer stars as his wife Ruth Madoff, who was pilloried in the press. The film is based on the nonfiction book with the same title by Diana B. Henriques, who also makes a cameo in the film, playing herself as she interviews Madoff for the New York Times.
The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Robert De Niro gives a quietly intense performance in HBO’s Bernie Madoff telefilm, which could be retitled ‘Sympathy for the Devil’s Family.'” Comparing it to an earlier series, “Unlike ABC’s so-so Madoff telefilm from last spring [with Richard Dreyfuss as Madoff and Blythe Danner as Ruth], it generates neither heist-style antics nor tension from the game of cat-and-mouth … Wizard of Lies is a much odder thing, a character study without a conclusive answer.”
The Washington Post dives mores deeply into Levinson’s approach to that character.
Last week’s release of the second season of Netflix’s series The Last Kingdom is based on books three and four in Bernard Wizard of Lies is a much odder thing, a character study without a conclusive answer Saxon Stories series, detailing the 9th century battles between the Saxons and the Vikings.
Among the books arriving next week, the most eagerly awaited, based on holds are The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick, Dennis Lehane’s Since We Fell, which is also a peer pick (see below) and Jo Nesbø’s The Thirst, the 11th novel featuring detective Harry Hole, who will make his film debut this fall, played by Michael Fassbender in The Snowman scheduled for release on October 20.
In literary fiction, Colm Tóibín’s take on Greek tragedy, House of Names, will be heavily reviewed. Among the first is The Washington Post‘s chief critic Ron Charles who writes, “Never before has Tóibín demonstrated such range, not just in tone but in action. He creates the arresting, hushed scenes for which he’s so well known just as effectively as he whips up murders that compete, pint for spilled pint, with those immortal Greek playwrights.” Tóibín is scheduled to appear on NPR’s upcoming Weekend Edition Sunday.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of May 8, 2017
Media Magnets
The Road to Camelot: Inside JFK’s Five-Year Campaign. Thomas Oliphant and Curtis Wilkie (S&S; Recorded Books).
With all the assessments of the recent election, it’s useful to be reminded that the first takes on history are often revised. In The Washington Post, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, admits, “I thought I knew everything about the Kennedy magic on the campaign trail. But to my great surprise, Thomas Oliphant and Curtis Wilkie’s new book … brings much new insight to an important playbook that has echoed through the campaigns of other presidential aspirants as disparate as Barack Obama and Donald Trump.” The authors will be featured this week on CBS Sunday Morning.
“I loved this book about the quirky Eleanor, who struggles to relate to other people and lives a very solitary life. When she and the new work IT guy happen to be walking down the street together, they witness an elderly man collapse on the sidewalk and suddenly Eleanor’s orderly routines are disrupted. This is a lovely novel about loneliness and how a little bit of kindness can change a person forever. Highly recommended for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Rosie Project – this would make a great book club read.” — Halle Eisenman, Beaufort County Library, Blufton, SC
Since We Fell, Dennis Lehane (HC/Ecco; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio).
“Rachel is a journalist who, after her online breakdown, becomes a recluse scared to resume her daily life. She is recently divorced and meets an old friend who wants to help her overcome her fear. They fall in love, marry and appear to have the perfect life, until Rachel ventures out of the house one day and sees something that makes her question everything she knows about her new husband. Once a reporter, always a reporter and Rachel has to get to the bottom of her story.” — Michele Coleman, Iredell County Public Library, Statesville, NC
“A newly divorced woman is starting life over in a small Arizona town. She comes across the skeletal remains of what the locals think is the body of a seventeen-year-old girl named Jess who disappeared almost two decades ago. The discovery forces community members to recall memories and secrets that have been buried a long time. Readers are treated to a cast of characters with distinct personalities who, with each piece of the puzzle, form a patchwork that reveals the truth surrounding Jess’s disappearance.” — Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, Huntington, NY
“Sisters Nora and Theresa Flynn leave their home in Ireland for a new life in 1958 Boston. Each adjusts to life in America in her own way. Steady Nora watches younger Theresa, until choices made by each woman drive the sisters apart. We follow the story from 1958 to contemporary New England, Ireland, and New York, exploring how siblings and children relate to their parents and each other as they age. Novels about Irish immigrant families and their American descendants are a weakness of mine and the way this story unfolds from everyone’s perspectives is very satisfying!” — Trisha Rigsby, Deerfield Public Library, Deerfield, WI
Publishing’s summer season kicks off with the book expected to be seen in every beach tote, Paul Hawkins’s Into the Water (PRH/Riverhead; RH Audio/BOT), the follow up to her sales phenomenon, The Girl on the Train.
Critics have already begun to wade in, and not too happily, as we wrote earlier. Echoing the first consumer reviews, Maureen Corrigan writes in the Washington Post, “something’s amiss in this second novel: It’s stagnant rather than suspenseful.”
But one important audience member has already plunked down money for the book. DreamWorks is set to adapt it and it’s been assigned to the Oscar-winning duo behind La La Land, producers Marc Platt and Jared LeBoff.
It’s a week filled with several Patterson releases, four in total. In hardcover, the next in his Women’s Murder Club series, 16th Seduction (Hacehtte/Little Brown; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample), arrives. In paperback, it seems we sounded the death knell for the BookShots series too early. Although many of the upcoming titles have been cancelled, this week brings two, both extensions of hardcover series (as we’ve noted before, the branded BookShots seem to sell better). Detective Cross (Hachette/BookShots; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample) bears a cover burst reassuring wary readers that it is the “First time in print anywhere.” Also arriving is Private: Gold (Hachette/Bookshots; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).
Patterson is also publishing what appears to be a humor book, co-written with son Jack, Penguins of America (Hacehtte/Little Brown; OverDrive Sample). With no prepub reviews, we have to rely on the publisher’s description, “Featuring humorous illustrations with captions that show penguins in the day-to-day situations that we’ve all experienced–from a relaxing day at the beach to a stressful morning commute.”
Patterson also announced this week that he is jumping on the true crime bandwagon, and plans to write a book about the Aaron Hernandez case.
Often quoted during the controversy over the publication of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, the author’s close friend, historian Wayne Flynt is publishing Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee, (HC/Harper; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample), which includes many of the letters he and Lee wrote to each other. Covering it today, the New York Times reporter notes, “At least two other books about Ms. Lee are planned in coming years … That makes for at least six books from major publishers about a woman who wrote only two.”
According to prepub reviews, those looking for dirt will be disappointed. Says LJ, “Flynt’s discretion, as a friend and as the Baptist minister Lee trusted to speak at her memorial service, serves his friend well.” PW adds, “Flynt is a fluent writer in his own right, but the main rewards here lie in Lee’s tart observations on the modern world, sly sense of humor, and wonderful turns of phrase.”
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of Week of May 1, 2017.
“One morning, eleven-year-old Deming Guo’s mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job and never comes home. Deming is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town. This is a poignant story of a boy who struggles to find his footing in a new world. It’s also an unflinching look at the difficult decisions a mother faces. This novel explores what it means to be a family and the duality of lives, especially through adoption.” — Jennifer Ohzourk, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis MO
“Tyson’s writing style is always approachable and entertaining, and his latest book is no exception. Clear and concise, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry gives readers exactly what the title promises, a basic understanding of a deeply fascinating subject. Highly recommended for readers who want to understand our universe better.” — Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX
Additional Buzz: A GalleyChat title and a spring book pick from Paste‘s list of “A Great New Batch of Science Books,” Tyson is also making news for his recently released video on the importance of science and fact:
“The Austen fan genre is expanded by an original new novel set both in the past and the near future. Two employees of a time travel company are assigned to go back to Austen’s day, ostensibly to retrieve the full copy of “The Watsons,” lost for all time…until now. The blending of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance with a beloved classic author thrown in the mix is a daring combination which succeeds.” — Leslie DeLooze, Richmond Memorial Library,Batavia, NY
Additional Buzz:Flavorwire featured Flynn in their “The Sweetest Debut” column.
“What an amazing debut novel! Ludwig effectively captures the voice, thought process, and behaviors of a young autistic girl who has escaped a harrowing living situation and has finally settled into a new”forever”home. Unfortunately, she becomes obsessed with returning to her old home to find her “baby doll,”jeopardizing both her own and her new family’s safety. Ginny truly is an original, and readers will be captivated by her story.” — Vicki Nesting, St. Charles Parish Library, Destrehan, LA
Additional Buzz: Harlequin is not a name synonymous with literary fiction, but their new imprint, Park Row aims to be an “exclusive line of thought-provoking and voice-driven novels by both celebrated and new authors.” This debut, seems to fulfills that mission. It is both an Indie Next and a GalleyChat title and a Summer 2017 Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Book and received starred reviews from PW, Library Journal and Booklist. In a separate interview with the author, PW calls it a “gorgeous debut novel.”
“This is the story of hundreds of young, vibrant women who were sentenced to death by their employers. The so-called “Radium Girls” painted luminescent faces on clock and watch dials using a paint mixture that contained radium. Instructed to “lip-point”their brushes as they painted, they absorbed high doses of radium into their bodies. When the effects of the radium led to horrific disfigurement and pain, the company refused to take responsibility. This heartrending book was one I could not put down.” — Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, CT
Additional Buzz: It is a GalleyChat title and an Indie Next pick for May. Coverage is wide ranging, from The Atlantic to the NY Post to The Spectator to Nature. The Spectator leads with the creepy headline, “The Radium Girls — still glowing in their coffins,” while Nature calls the book “harrowing.” The trailer features historical photos and articles.
Last Things: A Graphic Memoir of Loss and Love, Marissa Moss (Red Wheel Weiser Conari/Hampton Roads/Conari Press).
“In this achingly raw graphic memoir, Marissa Moss untangles the seven whirlwind months between her husband’s ALS diagnosis and his death. Forced to balance Harvey’s increasingly complex medical needs and the needs of their three young sons, Moss struggles to maintain a sense of normalcy for her family in the midst of crisis. Absent are movie-perfect declarations of love and reconciliation; Moss lays bare the emotional devastation left in the wake of Harvey’s illness with her understated drawings and text. But there are moments of joy, too, reminding us beauty can be found in the darkest of times. Powerful, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, hopeful, Last Things challenges readers with its unflinching look at marriage, family, love, and loss.” —Beth Wagner, Phoenix Books, Essex Junction, VT
“Accomplished poet Hala Alyan exceeds the brilliance of her excellent collections of poems in her moving, deeply felt, powerfully realized first novel, Salt Houses. I can’t think of many writers who have so adeptly written of family relationships — here, spanning five generations, all against a vividly rendered backdrop of exile and migration. From Palestine to Jordan, Lebanon to Kuwait, Boston to New York, this is a story of people losing, finding, and making their way. Salt Housesgives voice, body, and love to people whose lives in this country tend, at most, to be featured anonymously in news accounts — and at that, in the negative. This is real life, beautifully written and graciously enlarging the sense of who we are.” —Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
Miss Burma, Charmaine Craig (Grove Press; Blackstone Audio).
“Charmaine Craig’s Miss Burma is nothing short of stunning. Based on the lives of her mother and grandparents in Burma, Craig deftly tells the epic story of one family as they try to survive the horrors of World War II, independence, and then civil war. What distinguishes this book from others is its frank look at who and what survives under such perilous conditions. Especially for readers unfamiliar with Burma, like me, Miss Burmais a chronicle of loss and love in a country too long neglected by the world.” —Michael Triebwasser, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
“Four women, five decades, and one Las Vegas nightclub come together in a powerful story of lust, grief, and family ties. Laura McBride spins a richly evocative tale of the glory days of Las Vegas and the women who inhabit this world. Their stories are intertwined both with and without their knowledge, and together they forge a future that none of them could foresee. Taking readers from the depths of grief and then sending them soaring with emotion, ’Round Midnight is an awe-inspiring novel that deserves to be on the bookshelf of every avid reader.” —Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
“Lilian Girvan is a young widow going through the motions: mother of two, newly unemployed, and navigating life’s daily aggravations. When she grudgingly signs up for a weekly gardening class, she’s surprised to find support, wisdom, and the possibility of a new relationship. Lilian is a funny, sassy everywoman who will make you laugh out loud, cry a little, and cheer as she takes tentative steps toward her own small beginnings of happiness. Abbi Waxman’s debut novel will be enjoyed by fans of The School of Essential Ingredients and anyone who believes that happiness can be a choice regardless of what life brings.” —Cindy Pauldine, the river’s end bookstore, Oswego, NY
“A published poet, Lockwood’s first memoir is a hilarious and contemplative narrative written with precise, flowing prose that baptizes the reader. Calling it an honest portrayal is a severe understatement, as Lockwood describes a father who converts to Catholicism and becomes a priest due to a little-known loophole that allows him to continue his ‘normal’ relationship with his wife and three children. Her understanding of what appears, from the exterior, to be bizarre behavior in the guise of religion is a peek under the sheets of a cold embrace. Loved it!” —Todd Miller, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI
“This collection of stories scrambled my brain, in the best possible sense. They made me reread, wonder, turn the book upside down and shake it a bit to see what other fantastical imaginings would fall out. Girls turn into eels and men into foxes, a house is obsessed with a woman, and a bloodsucking girl gang preys on Internet dates. A few stories broke my heart, too. Johnson has a way of manifesting loneliness and loss into physical pain and malady that shocks the senses. Startling, unusual, and sneakily profound, Fen is an unforgettable collection.” —Stefanie Kiper Schmidt, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH
“Emma is an apprentice baker in a small Normandy village during the Nazi occupation whose quiet determination to keep her friends and grandmother alive is heroic and heart-wrenching. Forced to bake ten loaves of bread for the Kommandant each day, Emma stretches her supplies to make extra loaves to help feed the starving villagers. While she refuses to think she is part of the resistance and has lost hope of the Allies arriving, Emma epitomizes the French spirit of survival. Once again, we learn that the bravest among resistance fighters are often little more than children themselves. What a beautiful book to recommend to book groups and customers seeking a well-written story.” —Patricia Worth, River Reader Books, Lexington, MO
Tie-ins
The series premiere of American Epic begins on PBS May 16. The documentary, narrated by Robert Redford, explores music in the 1920s when scouts traveled the country recording artists such as The Carter Family and Blind Willie Johnson. A companion book is being released this week, American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself, Bernard MacMahon, Allison McGourty, Elijah Wald, (S&S/Touchstone; Highbridge Audio).
A contemporary effort to remake the 1920s recordings will air on PBS on June 6th. Called The American Epic Sessions, it features artists such as Jack White, Elton John, Nas, Taj Mahal.
It tells the story of a young girl who moves to the West and finds friends, both horse and human, and excitement. Collider, for one, is not fully on board and says it offers “adventure alongside PSAs.”
The first of several tie-ins arrive for the upcoming Wonder Woman film, set for release on June 2.
The holds leader for the upcoming week is John Sandford’s Golden Prey (PRH/Putnam; RH Large Type; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample), which has also received strong prepub reviews.
A distant second is Iris Johansen’s No Easy Target(Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample), in which one of the supporting characters from her best selling Eve Duncan books gets her own book.
The titles covered in this column, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of April 24, 2017
The new book by the author of the award-winning dystopian Southern Reach Trilogy arrives with three starred prepub reviews (Kirkus calls it an “odd, atmospheric, and decidedly dark fable for our time“) and film rights already sold to Paramount. In addition, in late March, CinemaCon attendees were treated to footage of the adaptation of Annihilation, the first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy. Directed by Ex Machina‘s Alex Garland, it stars Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac, release is expected in 2018.
UPDATE: Laura Miller gives Borne a thoughtful review, in the context of the recent popularity of post-apocalyptic novels, in the New Yorker.
Media Magnets
Option B, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant (PRH/Knopf; RH Audio/BOT).
The COO of Facebook, famous for her book on women in the workplace, Lean In, writes about what she learned after the sudden, unexpected death of her husband in 2015 at age 47. She will be featured on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend, in a segment that promoted today on CBS This Morning. More will follow, with appearances on Good Morning America, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and NPR’s All Things Considered.
The Secrets of My Life, Caitlyn Jenner (Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette Audio/Blackstone Audio).
“Strout does not disappoint with her newest work. Her brilliant collection takes up where her novel, My Name is Lucy Barton, leaves off. The chapters read like short stories with Lucy Barton as the thread that runs between them. The characters populate Amgash, Illinois and their stories are woven together carefully and wonderfully. No one captures the inner workings of small town characters better than Strout. Written to be read and enjoyed many times, I highly recommend for readers of fine literary fiction.” — Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX
“Backman’s most complex novel to date takes place in the small, hockey-crazed village of Beartown. He deftly weaves together the stories of the players, the coaches, the parents, and the fans as Beartown’s hockey team chases its dream of winning a championship. Weighty themes are explored. How high a price is too high for success? How deadly is silence? Who can you trust with your secrets? How far will you compromise your beliefs in the name of friendship? There are no easy answers. A great book club choice.” — Janet Lockhart, Wake County Public Library, Cary, NC
Additional Buzz: It is one of our GalleyChat picks and an Indie Next selection. AARP includes it on their list of “Spring Books for Gownups.”
“Jay Baron Nicorvo’s novel envelops you in a world most civilians never know, where homeless veterans gather to work on regaining their hearts and minds. The reader is a listener, learning about these characters through each of their voices, accents, idioms, and military jargon — sometimes mean and ugly, sometimes only vaguely understood. Even in their hidden Catskills retreat, there is a realization that they are not beyond the reach of a sinister corporate world waging another, more personal war for oil. The Standard Grand is sculpture, a work of art with every word, every detail, perfect.” —Diane Marie Steggerda, The Bookman, Grand Haven, MI
Additional Buzz:Booklist stars itwith reviewer Bill Kelly writing “Alongside Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2012) and Yellow Birds (2012), The Standard Grand is an important and deeply human contribution to the national conversation.” LJ counts it among its picks of the “Great First Acts: Debut Novels.”
It stars Kevin Hart, Jordan Peele, Thomas Middleditch, Ed Helms, Nick Kroll, and Kristen Schaal and opens on June 2, just in time to delight kids looking forward to summer vacation.
Several series authors arrive next week to long holds lists, including David Baldacci, with the third in a new series featuring an Ohio State football player who suffered a head injury in this first and only NFL game. The injury has an unusual result, useful in his new career as a police detective, he remembers everything. Appropriately, the first book in the series was titled Memory Man. The new title, The Fix (Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette Large Print; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample), is heralded by a pricey two-page ad in the NYT Book Review.
The biggest nonfiction release of the week is David Grann’s new book, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, (PRH/Doubleday; RH Large Print; RH Audio/BOT).
In a great piece of timing, it arrives on the heels of the release of the star-laden adaptation of his previous title, The Lost City of Z. The film is receiving glowing reviews, with the New Yorker claiming it “Resuscitates Cinema’s Classic Adventure Tale.” There’s many more Grann adaptations in the pipeline, as Entertainment Weekly details in their profile of the author as “the man Hollywood can’t stop reading.”
Reviewing the new book, the NYT‘s Dwight Garner holds it up to the impossibly high standards of the previous title, which, he says, is “deservedly regarded as one of the prize nonfiction specimens of this century.” He writes that regretfully, while he enjoyed the new book, it “didn’t set its hooks in me in the same way.” Grann is scheduled to appear on NPR’s Fresh Air on Monday.
It is both an Indie Next and a LibraryRead’s pick:
“In the 1920s, a string of unsolved murders rocked the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. Made rich by oil rights, the Osage were already victimized by unscrupulous businessmen and societal prejudice, but these murders were so egregious, the newly formed FBI was brought in to investigate. Immensely readable, this book brings a shameful part of U.S. history alive and will keep readers thinking long after they have finished the book.” — Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA
The titles highlighted in this column 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 17, 2017.
Media Magnets
Politics continue dominate the media. Elizabeth Warren, who has been vocal on her opposition to the new administration, via her Twitter exchanges with Trump, is making headline for her embargoed title, This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class (Macmillan/Metropolitan Books; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample). Most focus on her admitting that she considered a run for president in 2016. The Washington Examiner focuses on other issues, including that she is no fan of Bill Clinton, accusing him of actions that lead to the 2007 financial crisis.
Taking a longer view, historian David McCullough, who has written best sellers about John Adams and the Wright Brothers among others, tells the Wall Street Journal that “the past can serve as an antidote to self-importance and self-pity,” as outlined in his new book, a collection of speeches, The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For (Simon & Schuster). He is scheduled to appear this Sunday on Face the Nation and the following day on CBS This Morning. On May 3rd, he will be the recipient of the “Ken Burns American Heritage Prize.”
“Grace, a young woman with two small children, lives by the coast in Maine in 1947. Her marriage isn’t very happy, but she’s dutiful and devoted to her children. After escaping a devastating fire that wiped out her town and nearby forests, Grace has to become braver, stronger, and more resourceful than she’s ever had to be before. She manages it, and it’s lovely to watch happen, until something unexpected makes her life contract once more. This was deeply engaging and opened a real window on what it would have been like to be a woman in a small town in the 1940s.” — Diana Armstrong Multomah County Library, Portland, OR
“Hannah is eager to return home to her boyfriend, Matt Stone, with news of her impending work promotion. Hannah’s joy quickly turns to terror when she finds Matt missing and the house empty of all evidence of his presence. She begins to feel she is being stalked and receives messages that she is certain are from Matt. Little by little, Hannah descends into darkness as all the truths start to unravel and a different tale emerges. This dark debut is one to devour yet savor at the same time.” — Jennifer Winberry,Hunterdon County Library, Flemington, NJ
One additional Indie Next choice comes out, Spoils, Brian Van Reet (Hachette/Lee Boudreaux Books; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“Borne of his experience fighting in Iraq, Brian Van Reet’s Spoils is a clear-eyed, gritty, and tension-filled story of young soldiers caught up in impossible circumstances. At the heart of the story is Cassandra, a 19-year-old machine gunner who is captured by the enemy. Her ordeal as a captive along with two fellow soldiers is harrowing, but also provides insight into the character of soldiers and their captors. Recent and current conflicts have inspired some excellent fiction and Spoils ranks with the best of it.” —Mark Laframboise, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
Seeming to reflect current fears, Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale (Houghton Mifflin) hit best seller lists again, further boosted by the of news of the forthcoming Hulu series adaptation. The tie-in edition comes out this week, with an eerie photo of star Elizabeth Moss on the cover: The Handmaid’s Tale (Movie Tie-in), Margaret Atwood (PRH/Anchor; OverDrive Sample).
The show starts May 5 and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell – plus a buzzy soundtrack.
Next week, Jeffery Deaver’s character Lincoln Rhymes returns in his lucky 13th outing in The Burial Hour(Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette LP; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample). In terms of holds for titles arriving next week, it is running neck and neck with a new standalone from Lisa Scottoline, One Perfect Lie (Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample).
On the other hand, there are surprisingly few holds for James Patterson’s Two from the Heart (Hachette/BookShots; Hachette Audio/Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample). It is under his imprint BookShots, which seems to be going through a reevaluation. Announced last year as a series of short original paperbacks, most upcoming titles are now showing on wholesaler sites as cancelled. This title is a hardcover and may be a compilation of two titles originally planned for the paperback series.
It’s not high on holds lists yet, but keep your eye on the thriller, The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda (S&S; S&S Audio). Word of mouth continues for her title from last year, All the Missing Girls, propelling the paperback edition on to the NYT best seller list, where it is currently #10, after five weeks, down from a high of #7. A full-page ad in this week’s New York Times Book Review overstates that a bit, calling Missing a “runaway New York Times bestseller.” Most prepub reviews are strong for Stranger, with PW suggesting it for fans of Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Jennifer McMahon.
Also getting a full-page ad in this week’s New York Times Book Review, in a shocking shade of pink which sets off the cover, is Jojo Moyes’ The Horse Dancer (Penguin Books; RH Large Print; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample). After the author’s big success here with her most recent titles, the publisher is reaching in to her backlist to bring her earlier novels to the US in trade paperback, branded to remind her fans of the success of Me Before You. Booklist warns that this release, a coming of age story “differs sharply” from the author’s later romances.
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 10, 2017
Media Magnets
An American Sickness:How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back, Elisabeth Rosenthal (PRH/Penguin Press; RH Large Print; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample).
This timely new book, featured on the cover of this week’s NYT BR, is by former physician, now journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal. As a reporter for The New York Times, she wrote the prize-winning series “Paying Till It Hurts.”
Out of Line: A Life of Playing with Fire, Barbara Lynch (S&S/Atria).
Boston restaurateur Barbara Lynch’s rags-to-ricotta memoir, is called by Kirkus, “A rugged tale of a self-made woman in a high-stress profession.” Profiled in 2012 by the NYT, she clearly has a fascinating backstory, so it’s not surprising that the host of the Food Network program “Giada at Home” has already optioned the book for a possible TV series. Lynch is scheduled to appear on this week’s NPR Weekend Edition Sunday.
“Twentysomething Alexandra heads to Bulgaria to teach English and attempt to escape the pain of losing a family member. She ends up searching for a family when she realizes she accidentally kept one of their bags after helping them on her first day in the country. With the help of Bobby, a Bulgarian taxi driver, and many other entrancing characters, the search takes her all over Bulgaria and even back in time as she learns more about the family she is trying to find. Beautifully written and completely enthralling.” — Caitlin Loving, Bedford Public Library, Bedford, NH
“As I consider the themes of memory and marriage in my own life, I realize that Dani Shapiro has reached across time to touch me with her insight and candor, and this is how Hourglass will touch every reader who is lucky enough to find this special little gem of a book. What a particular and original voice she has shared, reflecting on questions like, how are relationships formed? How does love burn and transform you? How does marriage, that age-old subject, play out between creators in the race against time? Through fragments, touching bits of memory, and poetic flights of fancy, this memoir honors the genre and elevates the form. I couldn’t put it down and devoured it in one sitting.” —Cristina Nosti, Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL
Additional Buzz:Elle picks it as one of their “7 Great Books to Read in April,” saying “If you’re in the mood for a Calder mobile–like memoir that spins on its own inventive, beautifully crafted apparatus, [this] is that work of art.” NYLON picks it as well, “reading Shapiro’s magical reflection on love and aging and family and self [is] akin to reading a diary instead of a memoir, so intimate are the thoughts and experiences that unfold within.” Literary Hub includes it on their list of 16 April choices, saying it “might already be a classic.” PW and Kirkus star; Cheryl Strayed and Jenny Offill blurb.
“This is the most beautiful collection of short stories I have read in a long time. Each story feels perfect. The writing, the topic, and the resolution all left me completely satisfied. Their connecting theme is solitude or isolation and the struggle to move through it. The collection reminds me of some of Kevin Brockmeier’s writing: beautiful, sometimes disturbing, and always memorable.” —Lisa Sharp, Nightbird Books, Fayetteville, AR
“Sarah Gerard is a Southern writer for the 21st century. In Sunshine State, the sacred lies right next to the profane; the weird is always inextricable from its own beauty. These essays reach out toward the people and places of Gerard’s childhood, family, and history while also reaching within to examine her own complicity in the creation of her life’s story. You’ll want to linger in these strange, quiet corners with her, and you will struggle, as she does, to understand the mysteries that motivate the people we love.” —Elizabeth Anderson, Charis Books & More, Atlanta, GA
“In this story, the devil is, indeed, in the details. You think you’re being distracted, only to learn that Rader-Day is actually building layers of evidence for the reader, connecting a framework of apparent incidentals to reach a pinnacle of suspense. Almost anyone can be guilty, but only one is a villain. You unexpectedly feel sympathy for certain characters, partly because they’re so genuine. I neglected things because I HAD to finish this book. You will, too.” —Tracy Aleksy, Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, Forest Park, IL
Tie-ins
Advertising is beginning to hit for the National Geographic series which begins airing on April 25 and the tie-in is releasing this week, Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson (S&S; S&S Audio; OverDrive Sample). The series portrays Albert as a young man, his personal life, and rise in scientific circles. Based on Isaacson’s book, it stars Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech) Johnny Flynn (Clouds of Sils Maria) and Emily Watson (The Book Thief). Ron Howard directs, in his first effort at scripted television.
Keep your eye on the dystopian debut novel, American War by Omar El Akkad (PRH/Knopf; RH Large Type; RH Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample), arriving on Tuesday.
As we note in Peer Picks, below, this LibraryReads selection has been getting a remarkable amount of advance attention for a debut, and particularly for a Sci-Fi debut. Much of the attention focuses on it’s spine-chilling view of the possible consequences of unchecked climate change. Today, the NYT looks at how it, along with five other “new dystopian novels … seem to channel the country’s current anxieties.” The massive media attention has caused sales bumps on Amazon’s rankings, but, inexplicably, are not generating heavy holds in libraries. We suspect that will change soon.
The big news of the week may be the books that are NOT arriving. James Patterson’s series of short paperbacks, called BookShots, seems to have halted. All forthcoming titles are showing as unavailable or cancelled. Even the prolific Patterson may have found the output of 4 to 6 novels a month in addition to his already dizzying pace, a bit distracting. But we are not Patterson-less next week. He is releasing the next in his middle-grade series, I Funny: School of Laughs(Hachette/jimmy patterson; Blackstone Audio).
Several favorite series arrive to heavy holds, but it may be worth taking note of one that is further down the list, Philip Kerr’s 12th Bernie Gunther thriller, Prussian Blue(PRH/Marian Wood Books/Putnam; RH Large Type; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample). In a starred review, PW says, “Kerr once again brilliantly uses a whodunit to bring to horrifying life the Nazi regime’s corruption and brutality.”
In an effort to bring the series to a wider audience, the publisher is running an ad in this week’s NYT, featuring blurbs from three big names under the header, “Alan Furst, Tom Hanks and Lee Child are reading Philip Kerr. Have You?”
In a bit of “hasn’t this happened already?”, the trade paperback edition of Anthony Doerr’s runaway hit, All the Light We Cannot Seearrives in trade paperback (S&S/Scribner), nearly three years after the hardcover became a surprise best seller.
The long-time queen of romantic suspense, Mary Higgins Clark will be profiled on CBS Sunday Morning this week. Her story of building a writing career to support her children after being widowed at a young age may be familiar, but it is still amazing.
Nevertheless: A Memoir, Alec Baldwin (Harper; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio).
There are no prepub reviews for this one, indicating it was embargoed, undoubtedly in deference to the Vanity Fair cover excerpt. The effort to generate coverage isn’t working for everyone, however. Newsday sniffs,”The big news out of this: There really isn’t any.” Apparently, they are not as taken as Esquire is with the story that he Once Tried to Hit on Tina Fey. Baldwin, of course, narrates the audio.
Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Sally Bedell Smith (PRH/Random House: RH Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample).
Like the Baldwin book, Bedell Smith’s bio is excerpted in this month’s Vanity Fair, under the headline, “The Lonely Heir: Inside the Isolating Boarding School Days of Prince Charles.” It escaped embargo and prepub reviews are positive, including a star from Booklist, which calls it an “admirably fair biography.” UPDATE: USA Today lists tidbits from the book under the headline, “Odd stuff you didn’t know about the next British king,” including that he felt bullied into marrying Diana. People magazine continues to roll out excerpts, including one titles, “Prince Charles Sought Help During Honeymoon with Princess Diana — and Feared He Would Be Blamed for Her Death, New Book Claims.”
The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince, Mayte Garcia (Hachette Books; Hachette Audio; Blackstone Audio).
Also apparently embargoed since there are no prepub reviews, this book, by the musician’s first wife, is published on the anniversary of his death. It was excerpted in People magazine, a story picked up by other entertainment news sources.
“In the not too distant future, the United States is again at war with itself. Fossil fuels, which have decimated the environment, are banned, but the states rich in them refuse to comply and thus break away from the union. Biological warfare, drones as killing machines, and state fighting against state contribute to make this a prescient novel. Multiple narration and differing viewpoints combine to make this an absorbing, shocking read of what could be. A must read that will be discussed by all who read it.” — Marika Zemke, Commerce Township Public Library, Commerce, MI
Additional Buzz: El Akkad caught librarians’ attention at ALA Midwinter, where he part of the United for Libraries “Spotlight on Adult Literature” showcase, The author describes the story in the book trailer, below, and says that, since it comes out at “a time when we are having a serious debate about whether the most powerful nation on earth is descending into fascism,” he understands why it is being seen as a cautionary tale.
The author is set to appear on NPR’s Weekend Edition on Saturday.
Michiko Kakutani reviews it in the NYT, writing it is a “powerful novel — one that creates as haunting a postapocalyptic universe as Cormac McCarthy did in The Road … and as devastating a look at the fallout that national events have on an American family as Philip Roth did in The Plot Against America.”
“Time-traveling FBI Agent Kendra Donovan remains stranded in 1858 England. When her confidante and potential lover, Alec is accused of murdering his former mistress, Kendra must use her modern investigative skills to work through the list of suspects and clear Alec’s name. Kendra must also decide whether to stay in the past with Alec or to continue to try to find a way back to the present. If she makes it home, what will be waiting for her? Highly recommended to readers of historical romance, romantic suspense, and time travel.” — Glenda Ramsey, Catawba County Library System, Newton, NC
“The sequel to Sleeping Giants contains just as much action and page-turning suspense. The story begins four years later and is told through interviews, memos, and news reports relating to the first robot, after Themis, lands in London. Soon Earth is in an uproar and Themis and her crew are once again called upon to make contact. Read the first book before you tackle this one but the good news is that you will have a shorter time than the rest of us waiting for the next installment.” — Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin TX
Additional Buzz:LJ and Kirkus give it stars, with Kirkus calling it “unputdownable.”
“Tess and Gus meet at when they are both eighteen and on holiday in Italy. Their meeting is one of those instant connections, but they go in different directions. Tess returns home, expecting to go to university, but instead her mother dies leaving her to care for her much younger sister. Gus goes to medical school and must deal with the death of his brother. Tess and Gus’ lives momentarily intersect at various points over the years. I enjoyed both of their stories and the anticipation of hoping they would meet again and make a final connection.” — Mary Bennett, Carmel Clay Public Library, Carmel, IN
“Hallelujah Anyway completely consumed me. The world has changed so much in the last year and it seems overwhelming at times. Lamott’s new book is the answer to that despair, hopelessness, and futility. It’s exactly what the title says — mercy through difficult times, kindness when it’s not deserved, and singing hallelujah anyway. Lamott writes with such refreshing honesty. This book is now what I like to refer to as ‘well-loved’ — underlined, dog-eared, and slightly worn. I suspect I’ll revisit my favorite passages for years to come.” —Kristin Beverly, Half Price Books, Dallas, TX
Additional Buzz:The Washington Post reviews it, writing “Reading Anne Lamott’s new book of essays is like sitting down with a girlfriend you haven’t seen for quite a while. At times you’re perfectly in tune: You know this woman; you trust her. But when, out of nowhere, she starts spouting advice like, “Stop the train. Be where your butt is,” you roll your eyes and wonder if perhaps she’s spent too much time obsessing about the Kardashians. Still, you read on.” In response Lamott takes to Twitter to call the review “half great, half snarky & asshatty” and says it “is EXACTLY why I stopped reviewing books myself.”
“A Little More Human kept me up way past my bedtime. Fiona Maazel’s seamless novel draws you in subtly and irresistibly. I just had to know how Phil Snyder (nursing assistant, professional superhero impersonator, and actual mind-reader) ended up on a horse with splashes of blood on his clothes and no memory of how he got there. Uncovering secrets in snippets along with Phil reminded me of his own mind-reading talent and built the suspense beautifully page by page. Another clever literary masterpiece from Fiona Maazel!” —Anna Thorn, Upshur Street Books, Washington, DC
“Intense, haunting, and exquisitely rendered, the stories in Lesley Nneka Arimah’s debut collection exist in a category of their own. They are individual worlds linked together by familiar themes — self-discovery, yearnings to love and be loved, generational divides, and the meanings of home and place — refashioned in a fresh, new light. Arimah shines in this debut, whose magic will surely live with you beyond the final page. Absolutely stunning.” —Purvis Cornish, Square Books, Oxford, MS
“I can’t believe this is a debut novel: the writing is so assured; the prose so exquisite. Buntin is a master of word choice, and every sentence felt deliberate and precise. I quickly got sucked into this story about a pair of teenage girls, one doomed, one not. It was a quick read, but one I found myself lingering over. I’d recommend Marlena to fans of Megan Abbott’s dark, twisty books about girlhood — this is a similarly fierce read!” —Lauren Peugh, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
Additional Buzz: It earned three starred reviews, from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. Kirkus writes “Buntin creates a world so subtle and nuanced and alive that it imprints like a memory. Devastating; as unforgettable as it is gorgeous.”
Tie-ins
Three anticipated blockbuster adaptations get tie-ins this week.
This is just one of seven tie-ins for the movie that are hitting shelves this week. See our list of tie-ins below for the others.
The sequel to the blockbuster SF film opens May 5 and stars (among others) Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell.
Expect an audience. As we posted earlier, the release of the trailer alone was enough to send the paperback edition soaring on Amazon’s rankings, jumping from #2,242 to #13. In hardback, the book debuted at No. 1 on the NYT YA best-seller list in 2015 and earned a glowing NYT review (“gorgeous and lyrical”) and an A- review from Entertainment Weekly (a “complex,” “fresh, moving debut”).
The film stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games, The Darkest Minds) and Nick Robinson (Jurassic World, The 5th Wave). Stella Meghie (Jean of the Joneses) directs.
Set to be her breakout Jessica Shattuck’s third book, The Women in the Castle (HarperCollins/Morrow) arrives this week. The novel looks at how ordinary German citizens dealt with the compromises they made to survive in WWII Germany. The story has personal resonance, as Shattuck reveals in a NYT Op/Ed piece titled, “I Loved My Grandmother. But She Was a Nazi.” The book is also a LibraryReads title (see below, under Peer Picks).
More highlights from the titles coming out next week are below. All are listed, along with other titles of note, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of March 27.
Publishers Weekly not only calls this “brilliantly twisty” but goes on make the pronouncement that “Many readers will agree with Patterson that this is the ‘best book [he’s] written in 25 years.'”
The host of Fox News The O’Reilly Factor, will undoubtedly use the show to flog his new book, which, according to the publisher, describes a “looming confrontation” between “Old Schoolers” and “Snowflakes,” who “[whine] about social injustice and income inequality and [cheer] Bernie Sanders as he [suggests] the government pay for almost everything,” adding that it is explained “so even the ladies on The View can understand it.”
At 28, Singh can claim to know what she’s talking about in the “conquering life department.” She’s listed at #8 Forbes list of “The World’s Top-Earning YouTube Stars 2015.” She is set to appear on the Today Show on Tuesday, 3/28 and later that day on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Peer Picks
Only two peer picks arrive this week, but both are #1 selections.
“Meet Samuel Hawley, a man in a constant struggle with his violent past, doing the best he can to raise his daughter. Meet Loo, his daughter, a girl with an obscure past and an uncertain future, on the cusp of adulthood. And meet Lily, the dead woman who connects them both. In this finely woven novel, the past and the present gradually illuminate the story of a man’s life through the bullet wounds he carries with him and makes readers consider what it is to be both good and evil.” — Dawn Terrizzi, Denton Public Library, Denton, TX
Additional Buzz: It is also an Indie Next selection for April 2017. It makes a number of monthly or seasonal best lists, including those by the BBC, Bustle, BuzzFeed, and InStyle. The BBC writes, “This is a surprising and celebratory father-daughter story told with astonishing language and scope.” It gets reviewed by The Rumpus and The Washington Post, for which Ron Charles offers a video review:
Tinti was interviewed as part of PBS’s showcase from the AWP Bookfair:
“Three war widows and their children help each other survive at the end of World War II in this engaging novel filled with rich period details. Their husbands died as members of the resistance, but aside from that common thread, Marianne, Benita, and Ania bring very different backgrounds to their makeshift home in the castle’s kitchen. They also face repercussions from past choices and current secrets. Jessica Shattuck brings us into their world and shows us that the rules for love and loyalty are different in wartime.” —Dawn Rennert, The Concord Bookshop, Concord, MA
Additional Buzz: As we note above, this is likely to be the author’s breakout. In addition to the Indie Next #1 pick, it is a Library Reads pick for March. In an unusual pre-pub push, the owners of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Ann Patchett and Karen Hayes, suggest it to their readers writing it is a “book is for readers who love World War II novels and especially for anyone who thinks they don’t need to read another World War II novel.” In another bookstore connection, the top book buyer for Tattered Cover chooses three titles she recommends as she retires. One of them is The Women in the Castle.
The Starz’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods premieres on Sunday, April 30, 2017.
One of the early reviews is particularly promising. Slash film calls the pilot “a Weird and Wonderful Start to a Promising Series … American Gods appears to do justice to Gaiman’s work, expanding on his world while being faithful to what makes it work in the first place. Green and Fuller seem to have crafted something very special, perhaps even a series that can replace the dark fantasy hole in our hearts when Game of Thrones comes to an end.”
Returning to Starz’s is another adaptation of a Philippa Gregory novel, after the successful The White Queen. This time it is Princess Elizabeth of York’s moment in the spotlight. The power-play-power-struggle begins on April 16.
There are no reviews yet. See our coverage here and here.
A tense meal will be served on May 5, with the premiere of the adaptation of Herman Koch’s The Dinner. The novel was on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list for seven weeks, reaching a high of #7.
The film stars Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny, and Charlie Plummer. Early reviews, from film festival viewings, are mixed. Variety is on board, writing that it is “riveting” with “a catchy atmosphere of disturbance.” The Hollywood Reporter disagrees, saying the film “will probably see some arthouse action both in Europe and stateside before ending up as broadcast fodder for people watching TV with plates of microwaved food on their knees.”
Woolly, Ben Mezrich (S&S/Atria; S&S Audio).
Persons Unknown, Susie Steiner (PRH/Random House; RH Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample).
Wired, Julie Garwood (PRH/Berkley; OverDrive Sample).
Made for Love, Alissa Nutting (HC/Ecco; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample).
The Reason You’re Alive, Matthew Quick (HC/Harper; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample).
The Graybar Hotel: Stories, Curtis Dawkins (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio).
South Pole Station, Ashley Shelby (Macmillan/Picador; OverDrive Sample).
Midnight, Texas, a mid-summer debut TV series premiering on NBC July 25, gets its tie-in this week, Midnight Crossroad (TV Tie-In) by Charlaine Harris (PRH/Ace; OverDrive Sample).
