WATCHMAN and Beyond,
Titles to Know the Week of July 13
The title on everyone’s mind is Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, (Harper), but there are several other titles worth talking about that arrive next week, including Ta-Nehisi Coates’s look at race relations in the U.S. today, Between the World and Me, (RH/Spiegel & Grau). If you want to get away humans, check out the People Pick of the week, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. For better or worse, however, it seems they are like us.
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 July 13, 2015
Holds Leaders
No surprise, the title leading in pre-publication holds this week is Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, (Harper; also note that a Spanish language edition is being released in the U.S.). The number is even higher than the holds that were waiting for John Grisham’s title from last fall, Gray Mountain.
For the other two holds leaders, the word is naked and the color is purple.
Naked Greed, Stuart Woods, (Penguin/Putnam) — Prepub reviews are pretty bad. Booklist says “yet another sub-par entry in the long-running series” and Kirkus says “you can’t help wondering if Woods has set his word processor to auto-type.”
The Naked Eye, Iris Johansen, (Macmillan/ St. Martin’s) — on the other hand, this one gets a strong review from Booklist,”power-up the emotional stakes in this page-turning thriller that cements [main character, special agent Kendra] Michaels’ reputation as a force to be reckoned with”
Advance Attention
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, (RH/Spiegel & Grau)
In the form of a letter from Coates to his 15-year-old son, this book about racial violence in the U.S. was moved up from its original September publishing date, says the publisher, “in response to the Charleston shooting and a wave of interest in the book spurred by comments from David Remnick, John Legend and others.”
Coates was interviewed today on NPR’s Morning Edition and the book is reviewed by Michiko Kakutani in today’s New York Times. The book is excerpted in The Atlantic.
More attention is on the way, including:
NBC – Meet the Press – 7/5
NPR / Fresh Air – 7/13
New York Magazine – profile piece – 7/13
CBS This Morning – Interview—7/13
Comedy Central – The Daily Show – 7/23
NBC – Late Night with Seth Meyers—TK
Media Picks
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, Carl Safina, (Macmillan/Holt)
People “Book of the Week”, 7/27/15 — “In this awe-inspiring book, ecologist Safina explores the rich inner lives of elephants, killer whales, apes and more … Elephants grieve, cradling their dead. An alpha wolf pretends to lose a wrestling match with his cub. A tiger, after humans take his kill, destroys their traps.”
God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother, Amy Seek, (Macmillan/FSG)
People pick — ‘A balm for anyone who’s ever faced an excruciatingly tough decision.”
Bennington Girls Are Easy, Charlotte Silver, (RH/Doubleday)
Oprah Dazzling New Beach Reads — “Like some of the well-to-do gals in Mary McCarthy’s The Group, the heroines of this delightful satire move to New York expecting the city to enfold them like the arms of so many Amherst boys. But as they swiftly learn, reality is as unforgiving of youth as it is of missed rent, and eventually it’s time to grow up.”
Entertainment Weekly gives it just a B-, “Silver can be a clever and even lyrical writer, but her silly, self-absorbed Girls are too-easy targets,” but check your holds, they are growing in some areas.
Peer Picks
Miss Emily, Nuala O’Connor, (Penguin trade pbk. original)
“Conjure an image of Emily Dickinson: brilliant, but dour and odd? No! In O’Connor’s gem of a novel, Miss Emily is spirited and witty, even brave. Emily befriends Ada Concannon, who was hired as the Dickinsons’ kitchen girl almost immediately after she arrived from Ireland. Their unlikely friendship quickly provides each with solace and strength in a world where women are often marginalized. Later, an act of raw violence will ripple outward, resulting in consequences that neither Ada nor Emily could ever have imagined. O’Connor has written a small, hope-filled masterpiece!” —Christopher Rose, Andover Books, Andover, MA
Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day, Leanne Brown, (Workman)
This began as a free ebook that went viral. It became so popular that the author began a Kickstarter campaign to publish a print version which went on to be finalist in the IACP Cookbook Awards. Now published by Workman, it is a LibraryReads pick:
“Wow! This is a great looking book. Great for beginners with its details about ingredients and kitchen tools. Best of all, each recipe is made from ingredients that most everyone has; there were only two ingredients in the whole book that I don’t own. This book is just what my doctor ordered, literally. I am a basic cook and like simple and tasty. This book is OUTSTANDING!” — Nancy Chalk, Charlton Public Library, Charlton, MA
NOTE to New Yorkers: According to the NY Post, you need to double the food budget here, “but eating well for less than $10 a day in New York City is still a feat.”
Armada, Ernest Cline, (RH/Crown)
Prepub reviews for this second book after the popular Ready Player One are harsh. Kirkus calls it “A hackneyed sci-fi spectacle” while PW says, “the story becomes more conventional and less imaginative. The plot holes get harder to ignore as the conclusion approaches, but the book’s beginning offers glimpses of Cline’s significant potential.” Bookpage also knocks it, saying “It’s big fun, especially if your idea of fun is sitting around watching your friends play video games while discussing important theories like Sting vs. Mjolnir.”
There are fans, however. It is an Indie Next pick:
“This new work from Cline definitely will not disappoint the myriad fans of Ready Player One. On the contrary, it is another magical, nerdy romp through science fiction and fantasy pop culture where the thing that happens to the hero is exactly the thing every sci-fi lover secretly — or not so secretly — dreams will happen to them! A successful screenwriter, Cline fills this tale with super-cool action, relatable characters, and inventive plots. I loved it!” —Heather Duncan, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Natasha Pulley, (Macmillan/ Bloomsbury)
On this week’s GalleyChat readers called this title a “well-constructed gem!” hoping that “this wonderful historical fantasy catches on.” It may be doing just that, it is also an IndieNext pick:
“It takes a special talent to have a reader truly suspend disbelief, but Pulley succeeds spectacularly well in this debut. In 1880s London, Thaniel Steepleton is a telegraphist whose life is saved by a very timely pocket watch. When he meets its maker, Keita Mori, his entire life is upended and made more beautiful — and dangerous. The clock is ticking on this new friendship, and Thaniel must use his ingenuity and previously untapped bravery to save Keita’s life and his own future. Fans of David Mitchell and Erin Morgenstern will be intrigued, and I think it’s safe to say that we can expect great things from Pulley.” —Amanda Hurley, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL