Titles to Know and Recommend, Week of June 13, 2016
Next week, fans of Terry Pratchett will have the bittersweet pleasure of reading the novel which was completed in 2013, before his death last year. The Long Cosmos. Terry Pratchett, with Stephen Baxter (Harper; HarperLuxe) is the final title in the Long Earth series.
Below are highlights of other titles coming out next week. They are listed, along with several other notable titles arriving next week, with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of June 13, 2016.
Holds Leaders
Among the holds leaders this week are three authors who long ago achieved marquee status (i.e., their names are in larger type than the titles on their book jackets) and a rarity among holds leaders, a debut novel.
Foreign Agent, Brad Thor, (S&S/Atria; S&S Audio)
Thor, a favorite of conservative talk shows, was interviewed on the Glenn Beck Show on Sirius Radio at the end of May. Discussing Donald Trump’s candidacy, which neither support (Beck has said that, although he doesn’t disagree with many of Trump’s policies, he feels he is “deeply flawed and dangerous as a human being“), Thor made a comment that, according to a Sirius Radio statement, “may be reasonably construed by some to have been advocating harm against an individual currently running for office, which we cannot and will not condone.” As a result, the show was suspended for a week. Thor will have plenty of opportunities to talk about that story next week as he is scheduled for interviews on several Fox-TV shows as well as on Beck’s radio show to promote his new book, the 15th in his Scott Harvath series
Bay of Sighs: Book Two of the Guardians Trilogy, Nora Roberts, (PRH/Berkley; Brilliance Audio)
The second in Roberts’ original trade paperback paranormal romance trilogy, following Stars of Fortune.
Here’s to Us, Elin Hildebrand, (Hachette/Little, Brown: Hachette Audio
The next in her Nantucket-based series. Hilderbrand’s previous recent title, The Rumor, brought her to a new level on best seller lists;
Rivaling Hildebrand is a brand-new author, Emma Cline (see Peer Picks, below). Holds are strong everywhere, but sky high at to Hennepin Public Library, which will host an appearance by the author next week.
Advance Attention
I’m Just a Person, Tig Notary, (HarperCollins/Ecco)
The memoir by the comic who appears on Transparent and on radio in This American Life, was featured in last week’s People magazine. Upcoming is an Amazon series about her life.
In the Darkroom, Susan Faludi,(Macmillan/Metropolitan Books)
People magazine, listing it as one of their summer reading picks, calls this a “A fascinating memoir” by the feminist author (Backlash) about her efforts to come to terms with her estranged father, after he has goes through a late-life sex-reassignment surgery. Definitely not a feminist, her father, now a woman, tells her, “Men have to help me. It’s one of the great advantages to being a woman. You write about the disadvantages of being a woman, but I’ve only found advantages!”
Appearing on several summer reading lists, it will be covered widely. In one of the first reviews, Laura Miller in Slate says that the book’s “complexity fascinates.” Entertainment Weekly gives it an A- and says, “It’s a gripping and honest personal journey—bolstered by reams of research—that ultimately transcends family and addresses much bigger questions of identity and reinvention.”
Consumer Media Picks
Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, Ramona Ausubel, (PRH/Riverhead)
People magazine’s “Book of the Week” is also on several summer reading previews. Set in the “60’s and ’70’s, it’s about couple with two children, who suddenly faces the fact that their fairly luxurious lifestyle will not longer be funded by the largess of their parents.
Peer Picks
Librarians and booksellers offer readers ten titles this week. The LibraryReads selections include the return of several series as well as two debuts, while the Indie Next picks highlight a buzzy summer reading favorite.
Books librarians recommend include:
The Invisible Library, Genevieve Cogman (PRH/Roc; OverDrive Sample).
“Directed by powerful librarians, agents roam alternate realities searching out special volumes for their mysterious library’s collections. Irene is a spy for the library but something is a little off about her current mission; there’s something strange about her new assistant that she can’t quite put her finger on and worse, the requested volume has already been stolen. Cogman’s engaging characters and a most intriguing imagined world are sure to delight readers, especially bibliophiles.” – Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY
Read our online chat with the author here.
Under the Harrow, Flynn Berry (PRH/Penguin; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“Nora leaves London to visit her sister, Rachel, in the countryside often. But this trip is different – a silent house, a dead dog hanging from the railing and so much blood. Nora stays, trying to help the police solve the case. She thinks it might have something to do with the unsolved attack on Rachel when she was just a teen but it could be someone new. This story is thrilling and quietly gripping. We become as obsessed as Nora in finding her sister’s killer and what if he strikes again?” – Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX
Stiletto, Daniel O’Malley (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“In the long-awaited sequel to The Rook, negotiations between two highly secret organizations, one based on science and reason and the other on the supernatural, are continuing. Odette and Pawn both come to the forefront of the story as we get more of the history of the groups and why mortal enemies would want to join forces. With its blend of intricate world-building and fantastical situations, Stiletto both surprised me and made me laugh.” – Mary Bell, Wilbraham Public Library, Wilbraham, MA
It is a summer reading pick, selected by the Amazon Editors.
Widowmaker, Paul Doiron (Macmillan/Minotaur; OverDrive Sample).
“Doiron delivers a novel of intensifying suspense. The brooding and flawed Bowditch deals with a newly revealed family secret that sets him off on a search for the truth. His personal mission leads him into danger as he chases a vigilante through the wintry Maine woods. Doiron perfects his storytelling with a richly detailed setting and admirable sense of timing. You’ll want to go back to the previous Bowditch adventures while awaiting the next installment. Highly recommended for fans of Nevada Barr and C.J. Box.” – Mamie Ney, Auburn Public Library, Auburn, ME
Booksellers offer suggestions this week for books coming out in June and July:
The #1 June pick is The Girls, Emma Cline (PRH/Random House; Random House Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“Evie Boyd is a lonely 14-year-old adjusting to her parents’ recent divorce and an emotional break with her childhood best friend. She encounters a wild and enchanting group of girls and is immediately drawn into their world of reckless abandon. Seduced by their thrilling, cult-like family hidden in the California hills, Evie finds herself pulled into events that will lead to unspeakable violence. Cline’s captivating prose strips bare the deep desires and vulnerability of teenage Evie as she struggles for acceptance. The Girls is an enthralling and haunting novel that will linger with readers long after the last page.” —Tarah Jennings, Mitzi’s Books, Rapid City, SD
The consensus top summer read title, selected by Entertainment Weekly, People, NYT, WSJ, USA Today, Amazon Editors, Buzzfeed, and the syndicated St. Louis Post-Dispatch list. Entertainment Weekly writes it “is so accomplished that it’s hard to believe it’s a debut.” Reviewers have been mostly positive about the book, with the exception of the NYT‘s Dwight Garner, under the headline, “The Girls Has a Great Start. Too Bad About the Rest.”
Brighton, Michael Harvey (HC/Ecco; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample).
“Gritty, thrilling, and full of twists, Harvey’s first novel to be set in his hometown of Boston is cause for celebration. Its namesake neighborhood is as richly textured as the characters in this deeply moving crime story about two friends haunted by their shared past of violence. While it will certainly appeal to fans of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, Brighton sings with a fresh Bostonian voice that is all its own.” —Thomas Wickersham, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA
Barkskins, Annie Proulx (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio).
“This multigenerational saga follows the fortunes of the Sel and Duke families from early Colonial days to the present, spanning centuries and continents as they make their living not only from the bounty of the land but also from the ravaging and destruction of it. As always, Proulx is brilliant at creating a story that flows impeccably, and her nature writing is some of the most beautiful and evocative to be found in modern literature. This novel is an epic work, a fictional Silent Spring that will linger with readers long after completion.” —Bill Cusumano, Square Books, Oxford, MS
It also, of course, was featured in many summer reading previews, selected by the Amazon Editors, B&N, Buzzfeed, USA Today, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The author is scheduled to appear on NPR’s All Things Considered today, June 10 and is profiled in today’s Wall Street Journal.
If I Forget You, Thomas Christopher Greene (Macmillan/Thomas Dunne; OverDrive Sample).
“Twenty years ago, Margo and Henry fell in love, lost each other to a fierce misunderstanding, and went their separate ways — to marriages, children, and a second-best kind of happiness. Now, a chance encounter holds out hope for reconciliation and the joy of true love. Greene tells this story by jumping back and forth in time and between narrators, while readers wonder ‘will they or won’t they?’ Read this one for the story and the superb style. One of the best books I have read this year.” —Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane, WA
I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid (S&S/Gallery/Scout Press; S&S Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“With his debut novel, Reid sets an extremely high bar for all future psychological thrillers. The entire story takes place in little over 24 hours as Jake and his girlfriend travel to meet and have dinner with his parents. In the narration by the unnamed girlfriend, something unsettling surfaces early and builds with the passage of every page. Readers will become riveted, reading faster and faster as the ‘unsettling’ becomes frightening, and then terrifying. Recommended for all who enjoy a good mind-twisting scare!” —Nancy Simpson-Brice, The Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
Another summer reading pick, selected by the Amazon Editors.
The Insides, Jeremy P. Bushnell (PRH/Melville House; OverDrive Sample).
“With wildly inventive ideas, compelling suspense, and surprising emotional depth, The Insides captured my attention and imagination right from the start. Bushnell is a playful and adventurous writer, coloring outside the lines of genre, breaking the real world open and building his own between the cracks. In a feat of literary street magic, he blends the ordinary and the surreal together into a harmony that feels perfectly right and true even as it disorients the senses The result is a quirky paradox of a novel: fierce yet tender, lighthearted yet severe, weird yet natural.” —Jason Foose, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
Tie-ins
The reboot of Ghostbusters dominates the tie-ins with five titles forthcoming.
There are two novelizations. Out this week is the version written for ages 8-12, Ghostbusters Movie Novelization, Stacia Deutsch (S&S/Simon Spotlight). Following that, on June 28th, is the full novelization, issued by a different publisher, Ghostbusters, Nancy Holder (Macmillan/Tor; OverDrive Sample).
The supernatural comedy opens July 15th and stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. So high are expectations that action figures are forthcoming as well from a range of producers including Lego and Mattel.
Additional tie-ins include the Ghostbuster’s Handbook, Daphne Pendergrass (S&S/Simon Spotlight) and two leveled readers Proud to Be a Ghostbuster (S&S/Simon Spotlight; OverDrive Sample; also in pbk.) and Who You Gonna Call? (S&S/Simon Spotlight; OverDrive Sample; also in pbk.) both by David Lewman.
For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.