Holds are 10:1 in many libraries on the debut Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly, 7/5; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Thorndike). Yesterday’s L.A.Times echoes a string of other strong reviews:

Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t seem like a great subject for a page-turner…And yet a page-turner is exactly what Alice LaPlante has crafted.

It’s the #1 Indie Next selection for July and one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011.”

People magazine’s 3.5 (of a possible 4) star review of the debut Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking, 7/26; Penguin Audio) begins with this irresistible invitation,

Put on some Billie Holiday, pour a dry martin ig and immerse yourself in the eventful live of Katy Kontent, as smart you woman trying to fin herself in Manhattan in the lat 1930’s.

It is also one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011.” Holds are growing in libraries.

Word of mouth is growing for S.J. Watson’s debut psychological thriller about a woman trying to piece together her life after losing her memory. Before I Go To Sleep (Harper. 6/14; HarperLuxe, 9780062060556) debuts on the 7/31 NYT Hardcover Fiction list at #7 (it’s been on the Extended list for four weeks). Libraries are showing heavy holds.

John Hart achieves new heights with Iron House  (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s St. Martins, 7/12; Macmillan Audio; Large print, Thorndike), which arrives on the list at #10 in its first week of publication.

The heavily promoted and well-reviewed The Last Werewolf  by Glen Duncan (Knopf, 7/12) just makes the Extended List at #32 in its first week. Word of mouth may yet work its magic on this one.

A Dance With Dragons, by George R. R. Martin. (Bantam, $35; RH Audio and BOT Audio) debuts at #1, proving that the fantasy category is stronger than many realized. The first in the series, Games of Thrones is #1 on Mass Market Fiction list and #6 on Trade Fiction, due to the HBO series.

Next week brings a stylish debut set in 1930s Manhattan, the sophomore effort by the author of Alice I Have Been, a fresh caper from Peter Spiegelman and a sequel to Jonathan Burnham Schwartz’s Reservation Road. In nonfiction, NPR-correspondent turned Fox News host Juan Williams has his say about honest debate in the media. And there are plenty of usual suspects to keep the pages turning.

Watch List

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking; Penguin Audio) is a debut novel about an upwardly mobile young secretary making her way though 1930s New York Cafe Society. According to the UK’s Telegraph, “the best feature of Rules of Civility is its fast pacing and irresistible momentum. The language is snappy, too, full of period idiom and witty one-liners… Katey Kontent has the brains of a bluestocking with the legs of a flapper and the mores of Carrie Bradshaw.” And here’s the buzz from our own GalleyChat on Twitter: “So much fun! Mad Men set in the 30s!”

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (Delacorte; Random House Audio) is a fictional exploration of a 19th century icon, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump – all of 32 inches tall – who joined the circus and married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, orchestrated by impresario P.T. Barnum. Popular with indie booksellers, this one also got some mentions on our Twitter Galley Chat. It’s the the sophomore effort of  the author of the national bestseller Alice I Have Been, about the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. 

Rising Stars

Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwartz (Random House; Large Print, Thorndike) is a sequel set 12 years after the tragic events of Reservation Road, turning the focus from the father of a boy who was killed in a hit-and-run accident to the perpetrator of that crime and his long-estranged, now-grown son. On the NPR website, critic Sarah Weinman calls it “one of the most emotionally commanding novels of the year. ” PW says that “[despite] a sanctimonious streak… Schwartz is otherwise exceptional at describing the chemistry of desire, creating emotional tension, and making his characters feel more like flesh and blood than fictional constructs.”

Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman (Knopf) is an Ocean’s Eleven-style caper story by the  author of Black Maps, which won the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel, as well as Death’s Little Helpers and Red Cat. This one gets a B+ from Entertainment Weekly: “Spiegelman weaves a complex, satisfying tale around gang leader Carr, a onetime CIA trainee with a level head and an increasingly untrustworthy bunch of co-conspirators. Though the end has perhaps one too many surprise! moments, Spiegelman’s sharp prose and deft plotting elevate this [effort].”

Usual Suspects

Bannon Brothers: Trust by Janet Dailey (Kensington; Large Print, Thorndike ) starts a new series with this well-paced but unremarkable love story between an injured cop and the artist who inspires him. PW says, “Dailey’s prose is lovely, with imagery that clearly evokes the setting, but the contrived plot never overcomes its formulaic pattern, and readers will figure out the solution long before Bannon does.”

Full Black by Brad Thor (Atria; S&S Audio; Large Print, Thorndike) is a thriller about a former Navy SEAL and current counter-terrorism operative.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (Roc; Penguin Audio; Large Print, Thorndike) is book 13 of the supernatural Dresden Files series featuring Chicago-based wizard Harry Dresden. PW finds it “less accessible to newcomers than many of its predecessors, though longtime fans will be gratified.”

Merciless by Diana Palmer (Harlequin; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Wheeler) is a romance about the spark that grows between a guarded FBI agent and his efficient assistant.

Spell Bound (Otherworld) by Kelly Armstrong (Dutton; Audio, Recorded Books) is the 12th and penultimate entry in Armstrong’s bestselling series. PW says, “Armstrong keeps the focus on hip, impulsive, and likable Savannah, building suspense with plenty of plot reversals and betrayals. Fans of the series won’t want to miss what is clearly the first battle in an Otherworld war.”

Nonfiction

Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate by Juan Williams (Crown) explores what the Fox News analyst sees as political correctness in the media. Kirkus says, “much of the narrative is a long exercise in complaint about his bad treatment at the hands of NPR management, in which Williams overlooks, it seems, the Ailesian right-to-work credo, which holds that all employees serve at the pleasure of their bosses and there’s no such thing as tenure or appeal.” The author will be on The Daily Show on July 26 and the 700 Club on August 5.

The Real Girl Next Door by Denise Richards (Gallery) is a memoir by the reality show star and small-town girl who made it in Hollywood, only to find herself in a painful, high-profile divorce from Charlie Sheen, raising their two young daughters alone as her mother was dying of cancer.

The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck–101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers by Ron Clark (Touchstone; S&S Audio) makes the case for education reform. PW says, “Clark’s ode to his academy is overloaded with glowing testimonials, but educators and parents will find much to emulate in this passionate, motivating tool book.”

NYT reviewer Janet Maslin proved herself a fan of crime writer Colin Cotterill in 2007, when she praised his Dr. Siri Paiboun books set in Laos during the turbulent 1970’s for their “wry, seasoned, offhand style…the secret weapon of this unexpectedly blithe and charming series.”

She is also a fan of the first book in Cotterill’s new Killed at the Whim of a Hat (featured on our Watch List for this week; coming in Large Print from Thorndike in Nov; ISBN 9781410441270), the first in a new series and the author’s first book with Minotaur. Set in southern Thailand, where Cotterill lives, it features  “sardonic, self-important” female crime reporter, Jimm Juree.

Where does the title come from? A George Bush speech from 2004,

Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.

Killed at the Whim of a Hat Colin Cotterill Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books – (2011-07-19) ISBN / EAN: 0312564538 / 9780312564537

Highbridge Audio

Soho will publish the eighth and final book in the Dr. Siri series, Slash and Burn, (9781616951160) in December. The full backlist is available in pbk. from Soho and Blackstone Audio is in the process of bringing out all the titles. Ebooks of the backlist are shown as “coming soon” on OverDrive.

Parade Magazine weighed in with their 12 picks for summer reading last week (distinguishing themselves by being the only ones to select Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River, getting strong critical acclaim and showing heavy holds in libraries). With the country in the midst of a seemingly endless heat wave, it seems appropriate to now call the summer reading lists of 2011 a wrap.

On the right side of the site, we’ve linked to the major lists, under “Previews — Summer ’11.” Browsing through the various list serves as a quick R.A. refresher.

For an exhaustive (and exhausting) list of nearly every guide, check out the blog Largehearted Boy. It’s interesting if your curious what books more specialized sources, like what Ad Age recommends.

Since it’s instructive to see how others hand-sell books, below are Harlan Coben and Jennifer Weiner (who is on several reading lists herself, for Then Came You, Atria, out this week), presenting their top picks on the Today Show earlier this month.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You know you’ve arrived when your new book is heralded by a publication day sit-down with Matt Lauer on the Today Show. This is now a regular event for Daniel Silva, whose new book, Portrait of a Spy arrived yesterday (it also happens that his wife works for the show, but the fact that each of his last four books has gone to #1 on the NYT Best Seller list probably trumps nepotism). This is the eleventh title in the Gabriel Allon series.

Universal Studios recently acquired the film rights to the series. This is the first of Silva’s books published by HarperCollins after his switch from Putnam.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Even if you’ve read Sex on the Moon (Doubleday, 7/12), you still don’t know what motivated aspiring astronaut Thad Roberts to throw everything he achieved away on a crazy scheme to steal and sell moon rocks, a scheme that landed him in jail for six years.

Unfortunately, Mo Rocca’s interview with him on CBS Sunday Morning doesn’t add much insight. Also interviewed is the book’s author, Ben Mezrich, who admits that he still doesn’t understand it either and that Roberts is “the most complicated person I’ve ever written about and…I’ve written about Mark Zuckerberg [in Accidental Billionaires, the basis for the movie The Social Network].

Next week brings various views of the post-9/11 world, including a book that examines ten years worth of evidence about the attacks (The Eleventh Day) and another that looks at upheavals in the Middle East after bin Laden’s death (Rock the Casbah). In fiction, publishers continue to fill the beach reading pipeline.

Watch List

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) follows 11-year-old Harri Opuku, a recent Ghanaian immigrant in London’s housing projects, as he investigates the apparent murder of one of his classmates. LJ says, “If your patrons liked Roddy Doyle’s Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and if they rooted for Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire, they will love Harri Opuku.”

Rising Star

Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill (Minotaur Books) launches a new mystery series featuring one of Thailand’s hottest crime reporters, who’s roped into running a down-at-the-heels resort purchased by her possibly senile mother and stumbles into murder. It has THREE starred reviews, from LJ, PW and Booklist, which says “Cotterill combines plenty of humor with fascinating and unusual characters, a solid mystery, and the relatively unfamiliar setting of southern Thailand to launch what may be the best new international mystery series since the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.” Librarians on GalleyChat agree that it’s a fun read.

Usual Suspects

Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons (Grand Central) explores a disintegrating marriage and familial betrayal in rural North Carolina. Kirkus says, “Siddons is at her usual incisive best at skewering the mores of socially pretentious Southerners, and her prose is limpid and mesmerizing, but the Grand Guignol denouement beggars belief.”

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel (Delacorte) follows a mother-daughter duo—one a Martha Stewart-style lifestyle guru, the other a shy, gifted chef—both facing turning points, and each about to find love when she least expects it.

Justice by Karen Robards (Gallery Press) is the latest adventure featuring criminal attorney Jessica Ford, as she defends the victim of a rape case involving a sentor’s son.

Split Second by Catherine Coulter (Putnam) continues the FBI Thriller series with agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, this time locking horns with a serial killer who has ties to Ted Bundy. Booklist says, “Told from several points of view, including the serial killer’s, the novel moves quickly, thanks to short chapters and numerous plot twists. One plot element, the appearance of a magic ring, requires significant suspension of disbelief and proves jarring in this otherwise realistic and, in the main, riveting story.”

Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva (Harper) is an espionage thriller whose protagonist is both an art enthusiast and secret agent.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Dominian by Eric Van Lustbader (Grand Central Publishing) continues Robert Ludlum’s story of Jason Bourne, a rogue secret agent who has lost his memory. Publishers Weekly says, “it’s a testament to Lustbader’s skills that he can keep everyone in place and blazing away without losing track of the ongoing plot. While one needn’t have read the earlier volumes, knowledge of the last two or three would help keep things straight.” This is the fourth in the Bourne series written by Lustbader. Of course, Ludlum’s Bourne titles have been made into successful movies, starring Matt Damon. The first of the series to be written by Lustbader, The Bourne Legacy, is currently in pre-production as a movie, but this time without Damon. The planned release date is Aug. 3, 2012.

Star Wars: Choices of One by Timothy Zahn (LucasBooks) is a new adventure for Luke Skywalker and friends set during the original trilogy.

Nonfiction

The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby Warrick (Doubleday) is a Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post intelligence reporter’s investigation of the intelligence failures that allowed a suicide bomber to kill seven CIA agents in Afghanistan. LJ says, “Warrick’s straight journalistic report, without editorializing, is highly recommended both to those who follow the U.S. war on terror and to all readers of spy and espionage thrillers.”

The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (Ballantine) uses a decade of new information to analyze the 9/11 attacks.

Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World by Robin Wright (Simon & Schuster) is look at the upheaval in the Middle East following Osama bin Laden’s death and the recent uprisings that delivers the stirring news that jihadism is fading, and Arab nations are finally entering the modern world. Kirkus ays that it is “more journalism than deep analysis, [and] paints a vivid portrait of dramatic changes in the Islamic world.”

Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life by Mike Leach (Diversion) is a look at the unorthodox career path and coaching techniques that helped Leach take the Texas Tech Red Raiders to numerous bowl games, achieving the #2 slot in national rankings and being voted 2008 Coach of the Year before being unceremoniously fired at the end of the 2009 season.

Libraries reported unexpectedly heavy holds on several titles during this week’s GalleyChat. The following list is in order by the largest holds ratios in the libraries we checked.

Once Upon a River, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Norton, 7/5; Holds over 10:1

The author’s collection of short stories, American Salvage, was a surprise finalist for the 2009 National Book Award. After the NBA put the book on the map, it appeared on most of the end-of-the year best books lists. With one exception, the consumer reviews for Campbell’s new book have been very strong, with Ron Charles in the Washington Post describing the book’s appeal most clearly. Curiously, neither the daily NYT nor the Sunday NYT Book Review have covered it.

Sister, Rosamund Lupton, Crown, 6/7; Holds 8:1 where buying is light

A debut novel that the NYT BR describes as a “taut, hold-your-breath-and-your-handkerchief thriller,” which was a big success in the UK last year.

 
The Watery Part of the World, Michael Parker, Algonquin, 4/26; Holds 8:1 where buying is light

Prepub reviews for this historical novel set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina were very strong, with Kirkus giving it a star (“A vividly imagined historical tale”). Nancy Pearl calls it “transporting” and included it in her “10 Terrific Summer Reads” on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Iron House, John Hart, St. Martins, 7/12; Holds 3:1
Audio, Macmillan audio; Large print, Thorndike

Three to one holds may not be impressive, but this is likely to be just the start for two-time Edgar winner John Hart. This is his fourth book since 2006, giving him name recognition and a growing fan base. More attention will arrive soon; it is the #1 title on the August Indie Next List. Hart  writes mysteries that are both plot- and character-driven, as he describes in the following interview:

They must be high-fiving over at Knopf. Their big front-list title of the summer, The Last Werewolf, by Glen Duncan (Knopf, 7/12) gets the love from the Washington Post‘s Ron Charles, in a review studded with praise, for the language, chacterizations, plot and even the “hot werewolf sex scenes (which will tempt readers “to wander out under the full moon [themselves] next month.”)

Duncan was interviewed yesterday on Minnesota Public Radio. Interviewer Kerri Miller admits that she was wary of a book featuring a werewolf, but ended up loving it so much that she keeps pressing it on others. She was tipped off by Justin Cronin (author of The Passage), who says he is reviewing it for a “major daily.”

Unsurprisingly, given the enthusiastic coverage on Minnesota Public Radio, holds are building fast in Minnesota libraries. Libraries in other parts of the country are showing modest holds on light ordering (single copies for the larger branches). Time to order more; this kind of enthusiasm indicates word of mouth should be taking off soon.

Available in audio from RHAudio and as downloadable audiobook and eBook from OverDrive.

NYT reviewer Janet Maslin is not amused by Ben Mezrich’s new book Sex On the Moon (Doubleday, 7/12; Large Type, Thorndike; Audio, RH Audio), calling the author a “…baloney artist whose highly speculative, Peeping Tom version of the Facebook story (The Accidental Billionaires) became, through no apparent fault of Mr. Mezrich’s, the basis for a brilliant, razor-edged movie (The Social Network).” Throughout the rest of the review, Maslin is unequivocal in her dislike of both the author and his dozen books.

In The Miami Herald, reviewer Larry Lebowitz notes that other critics have raised serious questions about the Mezrich’s approach, saying he takes “…too many dramatic liberties, blending factual events and creating composite characters for the convenience of narrative flow and storytelling simplicity. Mezrich hasn’t helped his own cause, arguing in some interviews that he’s an entertainer creating a new genre of fact-based popular nonfiction.”

But, says Lebowitz, “If you’re willing to cast aside such questions and simply want to enjoy a rollicking summertime page-turner crackling with sex, astronauts, stolen dinosaur bones and international cyber-intrigue, then Sex on the Moon is your book.”

It is also one of five titles recommended as “Summer’s Biggest, Juiciest Nonfiction Adventures” on the NPR Web site.

It’s no wonder they took a pseudonym; the real names of the husband and wife team known as Lars Kepler are Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. Their book, The Hypnotist, (FSG, 6/21/11) is the most recent title to be hailed as the “next Stieg Larsson” (and, in fact, the authors chose the name “Lars” as a tribute to their predecessor).

The authors are profiled on NPR’s Morning Edition today. They say the real reason they chose a pen name for their first crime novel is that each is already a published writer in Sweden and they wanted to create a new identity. They are parents of three daughters, and much of the book’s violence is carried out by children and women. Why? Because, they say, books are scary if you “care for the people in the book…you don’t want anything bad to happen to them.”  In writing The Hypnotist, they thought of how frightening it would be if their daughters became evil.

The book landed on the 7/17 NYT Fiction best seller list at #15. Libraries are show growing holds.

Holds are equally heavy for the an earlier “next Stieg Larsson” title, The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (Knopf, 5/10/11). It debuted on the NYT Hardcover Fiction list at #10, stayed on for four weeks and is now#28 on the extended list.

Diane Sawyer’s Primetime interview last night with Jaycee Dugard sent her memoir, A Stolen Life (S&S), to #1 on Amazon sales rankings; the audio rose to #147. Dugard is also scheduled for Good Morning America, tomorrow, the book’s release date.

Next week in fiction, two buzzy titles arrive: NBA finalist Dana Spiotta returns with her third novel and British author Glen Duncan delivers a literary werewolf thriller for adults. In nonfiction, Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her kidnapping and 18 years as a captive of her abductor and will appear on major evening and morning news shows, while journalist Ben Mezrich returns with a real-life NASA-related adventure.

Watch List

Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta (Scribner) is the third novel by this National Book Award finalist, about a conflicted artist in Southern California and his sister, who is convinced he’s a genius. PW says its “clever structure, jaundiced affection for Los Angeles, and diamond-honed prose” make this “one of the most moving and original portraits of a sibling relationship in recent fiction.” It also gets an early review in New York magazine, which calls it “good, sly fun, but … also tender, rueful, and shrewd.”

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (Knopf)  is a literate page-turner about a 201-year-old werewolf who is the last of his kind. It’s getting a big push from the publisher, buzz from early readers, and has been mentioned at BEA’s Shout and Share as well as on our very own GalleyChat. This one’s a fun (and dirty!) read.

Rising Star

Iron House by John Hart (Thomas Dunne Books) is the story of two orphaned boys separated by violence. It’s the fourth literary thriller by this award-winning writer, whose last book (The Last Child) was a bestseller. This one has an announced 200,000-copy first printing and is the #1 Indie Next pick for August.

Usual Suspects

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (Bantam) is the long awaited fifth installment of the epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire series. It already had a strong fan base that was expanded by HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on the first book. Its been in the Amazon Top Ten for a month. Recent news stories about  spoilers surfacing on fan sites on the Web are just adding to the excitement.

Quinn by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s) is a follow-up to Eve that delves deep into the life and psyche of Eve Duncan’s lover and soul mate, Joe Quinn. As a ruthless killer closes in, long-held secrets are gradually revealed. LJ, PW and Booklist all say it’s a pulse-pounder.

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner (Atria) is the story of four women whose lives intertwine in creating a child through reproductive technology. LJ says, “fans of Marian Keyes, Anna Maxted, and other authors of serious chick lit will thoroughly enjoy this title for its humor mixed with a sympathetic portrayal of real women’s lives and challenges.”

Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel by Kim Harrison (Del Rey) brings the authors popular urban crime fantasy series to visual form.

Young Adult Fiction

Dragon’s Oath by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin) is the first in a new mini-series of novellas, and tells the story behind the fencing instructor in the bestselling House of Night series.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic) concludes the Wolves of Mercy Falls werewolf trilogy.

Nonfiction

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (Simon & Schuster) is a memoir by a woman who was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 and endured 18 years of living with her abductor and his wife, bearing and raising his child before she was discovered in 2009. This one has an impressive news lineup. It’s on the cover of the July 18 issue of People, with an excerpt and a brief Q&A with Diane Sawyer about her  two-hour interview with Dugard, to air on ABC’s PrimeTime July 10th. Sawyer says that her spirit “will astonish you” and that “everything she says makes you stop and examine yourself and your life.” She is also scheduled for Good Morning America on July 12th.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich is the story of a fellow in a NASA program who schemed to steal rare moon rocks as a way to impress his new girlfriend. The author wrote Accidental Billionaires (the basis for the movie The Social Network). Our own view is that the details about the space program will be catnip for space junkies (and even those who are not – the James Bond stuff they have at the Johnson Space Center is amazing), but the central character doesn’t have the celebrity value of Mark Zuckerberg, so it may not draw a wider audience. It is currently being developed for a movie, by the same production team that created Social Network, but with Will Gluck (Easy A) directing, rather than David Fincher.

I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards (Houghton Mifflin) is the story of Google’s rise from the perspective of the company’s first director of marketing. PW says, ” The book’s real strength is its evenhandedness” and that it’s “more entertaining than it really has any right to be,” though Kirkus finds it less focused than it could be, given all the other books written about Google.

Of Thee I Zing: America’s Cultural Decline from Muffin Tops to Body Shots by Laura Ingraham and Raymond Arroyo (Threshold) criticizes the contemporary American culture of consumerism.