New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 25
On our Watch List this week is a debut memoir that’s called a “bleaker, funnier, R-rated version of The Glass Castle”… in a blast from the past, V.C. Andrews rises from the grave with the first in a new series … and Jodi Picoult’s next best seller arrives, a story that involves the Holocaust. These titles and more arriving next week are available on our downloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar Wk. of Feb 25.
Media Magnet
Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss, (Random House; RH Audio; BOT)
Publicity for this investigation into how the food industry hooks consumers begins with a cover story in the New York Times Magazine (the author is a NYT reporter who won a Pulitzer for reporting on E. coli in beef), under the compelling title, “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” (above, right). The author is also scheduled to appear on NPR’s Fresh Air and The Dr. Oz Show next week. The NYT and People are expected to review it.
Watch List
With or Without You, Domenica Ruta, (RH/Spiegel & Grau; RH Audio; BOT)
This debut memoir is called a “bleaker, funnier, R-rated version of The Glass Castle … marks the arrival of a blazing new voice in literature,” by Entertainment Weekly, adding “As a writer, Domenica Ruta should thank her lucky stars that she was blessed with such a character for a mother … As a daughter, not so much.” It’s an IndieNext Pick for March, NPR offers an “Exclusive First Read” on their site, and a profile by Chip McGrath is scheduled for Tuesday’s NYT. Holds are light at this point, but we’re keeping our eye on it.
Benediction, Kent Haruf, (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; BOT)
As the #1 IndieNext Pick for March, this one will be getting promotion in independent stores. The annotation calls this followup to Plainsong and Eventide the “answer to our literary prayers.” The Washington Post’s Ron Charles published one of the first of what will be a string of reviews this week. He points out that it’s been a decade since Eventide and a “whole new generation of readers” now have the opportunity to discover Haruf.
The Teleportation Accident, Ned Beauman, (Bloomsbury USA)
Long-listed for the Booker last year, this the novel’s first appearance here. Entertainment Weekly gives it an unequivocal A, saying, “Every generation gets the hipster satire it deserves. But this one’s for every generation.”
Usual Suspects
The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult, (S&S/Atria/Emily Bestler; Center Point Large Print)
Unsurprisingly, Picoult’s next is in leads in number of holds for all the titles releasing next week. This one is about a woman who befriends a retired German teacher only to discover that he is a former SS officer hiding out in her small New Hampshire town.
Calculated in Death, J. D. Robb, (Penguin/Putnam; Brilliance Audio; Wheeler Large Print)
Robb, of course, is Nora Roberts writing under the pen name she uses for her futuristic In Death suspense series.
Forbidden Sister, V.C. Andrews, (S&S/Gallery Books)
Flowers in the Attic and its gothic, incest-tinged successors, were best seller list staples in the 1980’s. Since the author’s death in 1986, the estate has issued more novels in her name (adding extra meaning to the term “ghost written”). This is the first in the 20th series under the franchise.
TV Tie-ins
A Story of God and All of Us: A Novel Based on the Epic TV Miniseries “The Bible”
A Story of God and All of Us: Reflections: 100 Daily Inspirations based on the Epic TV Miniseries “The Bible”
Both by Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, (Hachette/FaithWords; Hachette/Audio for the novel)
Companion books to The Bible, a ten-hour mini-series which begins airing on the History channel on March 3. Both the series and the tie-ins are produced by husband-and-wife team Mark Burnett (producer of Survivor, The Apprentice, Shark Tank and The Voice) and Roma Downey (star of the tv series, Touched by An Angel). See Kids New Title Radar for the children’s tie-ins.