Next week, watch for Kimberly Cutter‘s fresh debut about Joan of Arc, popular YA author Ellen Hopkins‘ first adult novel, and a YA novel by Maggie Stiefvater that some are predicting could become a blockbuster. There are also new novels by Ha Jin, Amos Oz and Colson Whitehead, along with James Patterson, Iris Johansen and Chuck Palahniuk. In nonfiction, there’s a new Van Gogh bio that draws on new sources.

Watch List

The Maid: A Novel of Joan of Arc by Kimberly Cutter (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is a debut that captures the bloody warfare and nasty politics of 15th Century France through the eyes of young Joan herself, based on the author’s own journey from Joan’s birthplace in Domrémy to Rouen, the site of Joan’s burning at the stake. PW calls it “a dynamic page-turner” and Kirkus calls it “a thoughtful retelling.” Below, the author explains what drew her to the subject.

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (Atria Books; S&S Audio) is this popular YA author’s first novel aimed at adults, about three friends, one in a marriage on the downswing, another searching and finding intimacy and moral compromise, and a third trying to hold her complex life together, told in the author’s signature free verse. PW calls it “a raw and riveting tale of love and forgiveness that will captivate readers,” but Library Journal cautions that “at 544 pages, it’s indulgent, and some of the poems seem contrived and clunky.”

Literary Returns

Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin (Pantheon) the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award winning author’s sixth novel focuses on the atrocities committed by the Japanese occupiers in 1937 Nanjing, and the heroism of a female missionary who sheltered 10,000 people in the face of brutality. LJ says, “readers should be aware of the book’s relentless, graphic horror. Jin’s loyal readers will notice a bluntness—jarringly effective here—different from his previous works, as if Jin, too, must guard himself against the horror.”

Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz, translated by Nicholas de Lange (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) explores the sometimes hidden, often melancholy aspects of life in a fictional Israeli village in eight finely wrought, interconnected stories. LJ says it “reminds us of the creepy unsureness that underlies all ‘village’ life, rural or urban—and not just in Israel. Highly recommended.”

Zone One by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) marks yet another shift in direction for this critically praised author, who offers a wry take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel in which plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. Booklist gives it a starred review, calling it a ” deft, wily, and unnerving blend of pulse-elevating action and sniper-precise satire.”

Usual Suspects

Bonnie by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s; audio, Brilliance; large type, Thorndike) is the latest mystery featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, as she enters the final phase of her painstaking journey to find her daughter Bonnie’s remains and her killer. LJ says it “drags on for about 100 pages too long and loses the success of its earlier parts with too many twists that are remedied too easily.”

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo (Little, Brown; large type, Thorndike;  Hachette Audio) again abandons the thriller for a title that sounds (and looks) more like a Nicholas Sparks’s novel. It features a widow who suddenly decides to re-marry on Christmas Day, to one of three suitors. Kirkus says, “The authors maintain the suspense, with Gaby and her brood riding a roller-coaster of family problems, right up to the wedding day. A perfect plot for a Meryl Streep or Diane Lane happily-ever-after movie.” This is Patterson’s second outing with coauthor DiLallo who shared writing credits on Alex Cross’s Trial (Little, Brown, 2009).

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday; audio, Blackstone) is the story of the 13 year-old daughter of a self-absorbed movie star mother and a financial tycoon father who collect Third World orphans. Booklist says,”Palahniuk’s latest is no Fight Club (1996) or Choke (2001), his two best, but with frequent laughs and a slew of unexpected turns, readers will find in it a certain charm.” Holds to copies are heavy in some libraries.

Young Adult

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic; Audio from Scholastic) is a new YA book from the author of Shiver and Linger, about a beachside contest that’s often fatal to the riders of a fierce breed of man-eating water horses, who rise from the sea. Booklist predicts it will appeal to lovers of fantasy, horse stories, romance, and action-adventure alike, this seems to have a shot at being a YA blockbuster.”

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is the third supernatural novel in the bestselling Beautiful Creatures series, set in a small Southern town.

Memoir and Biography

My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir by Mark Whitaker (Simon & Schuster) is a personal and familial memoir from an executive v-p of CNN Worldwide, who is the biracial son of Syl Whitaker, a grandson of slaves who became a prominent African studies scholar, and Jeanne Theis, a white refugee from WWII Nazi-occupied France whose father helped rescue Jews. Kirkus says, “It’s difficult to follow the many names and threads, especially in the first half, but the writing comes across as honest and wholly engaging.”

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (Random House) is a new biography written with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and tapping a wealth of previously untapped materials.

History

Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion by Robert Morgan (Shannon Ravenel/Algonquin) chronicles the expansion of the U.S. across the North American continent in the early 19th century.

Current Events

Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? by Patrick J. Buchanan (Thomas Dunne/St. Martins; Macmillan Audio) blames what the author calls the downfall of the United States on the country’s ethnic and religious diversity.

It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom by Andrew P. Napolitano (Thomas Nelson) is an argument by the former judge and current Fox commentator against giving some powers to the federal government.

Next week, look out for 80-year-old Pakistani debut novelist and international publishing discovery Jamil Ahmad, plus new novels from Jeffrey Eugenides and Allan Hollinghurst. In nonfiction, there are memoirs from Harry Belafonte and Ozzie Osbourne, and a fresh look at the Jonestown massacre.

Attention Grabber

via @PeterLattman

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print). Visitors to Times Square may be startled by the unfamiliar phenomenon of a giant billboard featuring an author. Pictured is Jeffrey Eugenides, in full stride, a la the Marlboro Man. Anticipation is high for the release on Tuesday of his new book, The Marriage Plot  (FSG), the first since his 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning Middlesex. Even Business Week gives it an early look. Set during the 1980s recession, it follows three disillusioned college students caught in a love triangle. The Los Angeles Times compares it favorably to Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, calling it “sweeter, kinder, with a more generous heart. What’s more, it is layered with exactly the kinds of things that people who love novels will love.” Michiko Kakutani says in the NYT, “No one’s more adept at channeling teenage angst than Jeffrey Eugenides. Not even J. D. Salinger” and NPR interviewed the author on Wednesday. Holds are heavy in most libraries.

Watch List

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad (Riverhead; 10/13) is a series of fictional sketches about a family on the harsh border region between Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan that has become a literary sensation in Pakistan and has received positive coverage in the UK. The author is a Pakistani writer who is now 80 years old, and was engaged in welfare work in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas for decades. According to a Los Angeles Times interview, Penguin India picked up the book in 2008 after  it was submitted for a contest, 37 years after London publishers had originally rejected it.  U.S. trade reviews are mixed, with PW calling it a “gripping book, as important for illuminating the current state of this region as it is timeless in its beautiful imagery and rhythmic prose,” while Kirkus says it’s “fascinating material that’s badly in need of artistic shaping.”

Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst (Knopf; Random House Audio) is a social satire about the legacy of a talented and beautiful poet who perishes in WWI, in the vein of E.M. Forster and Evelyn Waugh – written by the 2004 Booker prize winner for the Line of Beauty. The Washington Post says it “could hardly be better,” and PW calls it “a sweet tweaking of English literature’s foppish little cheeks by a distinctly 21st-century hand.”

Usual Suspects

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Grand Central Large Print) explores the decades of fallout caused by a misguided high school romance.

Snuff (Discworld Series #39) by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins) brings back fan favorite Sam Vimes, the cynical yet extraordinarily honorable Ankh-Morpork City Watch commander as he faces two weeks off in the country on his wife’s family’s estate. There are more than 65 million copies of the series out there.

Young Adult

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Mass Market; Trade Paper) is back in a movie tie-in edition, in advance of the film opening November 18. Beginning Nov. 1, theaters will feature “Twilight Tuesday” showings of the entire series, including new  interviews with the cast and behind the scenes footage.

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Memoirs

My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte and Michael Shnayerson (Knopf; Random House Audio; Random House Large Print ) is the memoir of the music icon and human rights activist.

Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy: Advice from Rock’s Ultimate Survivor by Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Ayres (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is a humorous memoir mixed with dubious medical advice.

Nonfiction

Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam by Lewis Sorley (Houghton Mifflin) argues that much of the fault for losing the Vietnam War lies with General William Westmoreland. Kirkus says, “The general’s defenders will have their hands full answering Sorley’s blistering indictment.”

A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres (Free Press) follows the experiences of five Peoples Temple members who went to the Jonestown farm in Guyana to sacrifice their lives to the vision of a zealous young preacher. Scheeres draws on thousands of recently declassified FBI documents and audiotapes, as well as rare videos and interviews. PW says, “Chilling and heart-wrenching, this is a brilliant testament to Jones’s victims.”

Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes with More Than 300 Recipes by Paula Deen and Melissa Clark (Simon & Schuster) is a collection of Southern recipes. PW says it’s “not quite as comprehensive as it could be, [but] certainly an honorable addition to the field.”

Next week holds many riches: Michael Lewis‘s follow up to The Big Short, Susan Orlean‘s much anticipated Rin Tin Tin bio, a new novel from Michael Ondaatje that’s said to be his most engaging since The English Patient, and Jose Saramago‘s final work, plus a new novel from Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright.

Watch List

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (Norton, Thorndike Large Print) is the story of an ill-fated affair that leads to the collapse of two marriages, set in Ireland as the Celtic Tiger wanes into recession. It follows Gathering, Enright’s Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestseller (for more than five months). Kirkus says Enright “once again brings melancholy lyricism to a domestic scenario and lifts it into another dimension.” It was also a pick on our own Galley Chat.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (Algonquin; Highbridge Audio; Large Type, Thorndike, 9781410445063) is a dystopian take on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, in which Hannah Payne wakes up after having been injected with a virus to turn her skin red, punishment for aborting her unborn child. Library Journal says, “Jordan offers no middle ground: she insists that readers question their own assumptions regarding freedom, religion, and risk. Christian fundamentalists may shun this novel, but book clubs will devour it.” It was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA, in which one reader called it a “brilliant, disturbing, unexpected turn. Much more than 1984 meets The Scarlet Letter.”

Eagerly Awaited

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje (Knopf; Random House Audio; Books on Tape) is the author’s “best novel since his Booker Prizewinning The English Patient,” according to Publishers Weekly. It starts with an 11 year-old boy’s voyage from Ceylon to London to live with his divorced mother, getting up to all sorts of mischief with two other children on the ship, in adventures that color his life for years to come.

Night Strangers by Christopher Bohjalian (Crown; Random House Audio; Books on Tape; Random House Large Print) is the story of a traumatized pilot – one of nine plane crash survivors – who retreates with his family to a New Hampshire town, but doesn’t find much peace. Library Journal calls it a “genre-defying novel, both a compelling story of a family in trauma and a psychological thriller that is truly frightening. The story’s more gothic elements are introduced gradually, so the reader is only slightly ahead of the characters in discerning, with growing horror, what is going on.”  It was also got some enthusiastic mentions on GalleyChat last July.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (Scribner) is historical fiction centering on four powerful women, set during the Roman siege of the Judean fortress on Masada. It’s a librarian favorite.

Young Adult

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (Random House Audio; Books on Tape) is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series.

The Lost Stories (Ranger’s Apprentice Series #11) by John Flanagan (Philomel/Penguin) is a collection of “lost” tales that fill in the gaps between Ranger’s Apprentice novels, written in response to questions his fans have asked over the years.

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (S & S Books for Young Readers) is the conclusion to the Hush Hush saga, in which Patch and Nora, armed with nothing but their absolute faith in each other, enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything.

Usual Suspects

Nonfiction

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis (Norton; S&S Audio) is a follow up to The Big Short, in which the bestselling author visits societies like Iceland, which transformed themselves when credit was easy between 2002 and 2008, and are paying the price. As we’ve mentioned, Michiko Kakutani has already given the book a glowing review in the New York Times, which caused the book to rise to #17 on Amazon’s sales rankings. Lewis will appear on NPR, CBS radio and TV, and on MSNBC.

Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is a collection of humorous musings by the afternoon talk show host, that comes eight years after her last bestseller. Kirkus says, “though DeGeneres doesn’t provide many laugh-out-loud moments, her trademark wit and openness shine through.”

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True by Richard Dawkins (Free Press; S&S Audio) finds the master science writer and author of The God Delusion teaming up with a master of the graphic novel to create a new genre: the graphic science book that considers the universe in all its glory, magical without creator or deity. Kirkus says, “watch for this to be mooted and bruited in school board meetings to come. And score points for Dawkins, who does a fine job of explaining earthquakes and rainbows in the midst of baiting the pious.”

The Price of Civilization by Jeffrey Sachs (Random House; Random House Audio; Books on Tape) is the blueprint for America’s economic recovery by the well-known economist, who argues that we must restore the virtues of fairness, honesty, and foresight as the foundations of national prosperity. Kirkus says, “A lucid writer, the author is refreshingly direct—tax cuts for the wealthy are ‘immoral and counterproductive’; stimulus funding and budget cutting are ‘gimmicks’—and he offers recommendations for serious reform.” He will appear on NPR’s Morning Edition and on several TV news shows.

Movie Tie-ins

The Descendants: A Novel (Random House Trade Paperback) ties into the movie starring George Clooney, which opens 11/18. A dark comedy about a dysfunctional family in Hawaii, it received raves at the Toronto Film Festival (Variety: “one of those satisfying, emotionally rich films that works on multiple levels.”) By director Alexander Payne, whose earlier movie Sideways increased tourism to Napa Valley, this may do the same for Hawaii; it is also a good opportunity to reintroduce readers to the book, the first novel by Hawaiian Kaui Hart Hemmings, which came out to strong reviews in 2007 (as exemplified by this one in the NYT Book Review). Trailer here.

The Rum Diary: A Novel by Hunter S. Thompson (S&S) is the tie-in to the film adaptation of the only published novel by the gonzo journalist, starring Johnny Depp (who played Thompson in the poorly received Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). The movie, opening Oct 21, has a strong cast, but it’s based on one of Thompson’s weakest works, so it may do more for rum sales than for the book. Trailer here,

This week brings an unusual number of big trade paperback releases, the book club format of choice, so we have listed them under their own heading.

Watch List

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier (Random House; Audio, Random House Audio and Books on Tape; Large Print, Random House; Audio currently on OverDrive, eBooks available soon) is the author’s third novel. Anticipation is high, as indicated by the fact that it is already reviewed in the NYT and Entertainment Weekly.

Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks, (Ecco; HarperAudio; Large Type, HarperLuxe; ePub, OverDrive); This one comes with Nora’s personal recommendation, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been so involved with a book’s characters that at one point, I shouted, ‘No, don’t!'” About a young man forced into homelessness after being convicted as a sex offender, it’s a book that people will be talking about. Booklist starred it, but Publishers Weekly found it, “Bloated and remarkably repetitive, this is more a collection of ideas and emblems than a novel.”

River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (FSG; Audio, Brilliance and on OverDrive) is the second volume of a trilogy about the Opium Wars in China that began with the 2008 Booker short listed Sea of Poppies. Publishers Weekly warns, “This crowded novel is in turn confusing and exhilarating, crammed with chaotic period detail and pidgin languages.”

Trade Paperback Originals

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore: A Novel by Stella Duffy (Penguin; Audio, Recorded Books) caught the eye of librarians at BEA’s Shout ‘n’ Share program and was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA. Below, the author describes the book.

The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman, (Mira/Harlequin) was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA, a disturbing story about a teacher involved in a sexual relationship with a student. Ripe for book discussions, the trade paperback format makes it even more attractive to book groups.

The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate (Algonquin; ePub and Kindle, on OverDrive) is part of the Algonquin Readers Roundtable, titles published in original trade paperback to appeal to book groups. It was included in Reading Group Guides’ 2011 Hot Fall Titles for Book Clubs. This is the third book by an author that Kirkus calls “A master at portraying the hurdles faced by upwardly mobile African-Americans,” In this case, the novel deals with the effect of alcoholism on a family. Booklist gives it high praise, “With a lyrical style and obvious respect for her craft, Southgate has composed a compassionate, complex, and concentrated novel, tenderly powerful, that explores family bonds that last long after the family is dispersed.” People chose it as one of five fiction titles in their Great Fall Reads preview.

Childrens

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers; Audio, Random House and Books on Tape and OverDrive) is a collection of “lost” stories by Dr. Seuss. Earlier this year, All Things Considered explored the story of the book’s origins. On eBay, a Random House art director discovered that a Dr. Seuss-obsessed collector had identified magazines from the ’50′s featuring Seuss stories that had not been published elsewhere.

The Flint Heart by Katherine and John Paterson, illustrated by John Rocco (Candlewick Press; Audio, Brilliance and OverDrive) is the retelling of a hundred-year-old story by the Newbery Medalist (Bridge to Terabithia) and her husband. It is starred by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, which said, “This timeless, enjoyable retelling is a strong choice for both a read-aloud and an under-the-covers escape.”

Ten Rules for Living with My Sister by Ann M Martin, (Feiwel & Friends) is nine-year-old Pearl’s hard-won rules for living with her 14-year-old sister. Says Kirkus, “Pearl, as narrator, shows herself to be a keen observer of the people around her and mature enough to handle some sticky situations, all with a sense of humor and aplomb.”

Usual Suspects

The Affair by Lee Child, (Delacorte/RH; RH Audio and Books on Tape;  RH Large type) explores the series character, Jack Reacher’s back story (sorry, Reacher fans, the movie version of One Shot is moving along,  with Tom Cruise in the role of the imposing 6′ 5″ Reacher). Janet Maslin already sang its praises in the NYT this week.

Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke (S&S; Audio, S&S; Large Type, Thorndike) continues the story of Hackberry Holland, the reformed drunk who is now a sheriff in a small South Texas border town. Booklist stars it, saying, “As Burke steers the elaborately structured narrative toward its violent conclusion, we are afforded looks inside the tortured psyches of his various combatants, finding there the most unlikely of connections between the players. This is one of Burke’s biggest novels, in terms of narrative design, thematic richness, and character interplay, and he rises to the occasion superbly.”

Nonfiction

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean (S&S; Audio, S&S; Large Type, Thorndike); we’re expecting this to be THE narrative nonfiction title of the fall. An excerpt appeared in the 8/25 issue of The New Yorker. In a video, Susan Orlean chats about her work.

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt, (WW Norton, 9/26) has already been featured twice on NPR, on Morning Edition and Fresh Air (libraries may want to heed the advice that this will bring a spike in the sales of Greek philosopher Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things). More media attention is coming next week.

Worm: The First Digital World War by Mark Bowden (Atlantic Monthly Press; Brilliance Audio) is a true cyber-crime story about the battle against the Conficker computer worm by the best-selling author of Blackhawk Down.

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (Holt; Audio, Macmillan Audio; Large Type, Thorndike) the Fox News host joins forces with historian Martin Dugard (who earlier teamed with James Patterson on the nonfiction title, The Murder of King Tut) to retell an often-told story. PW commented dryly, “Well-documented and equally riveting histories are available for readers interested in Lincolns assassination; this one shows how spin can be inserted into a supposedly no spin American story. ”

Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, (Knopf) is a celebrity memoir (Lindsay-Hogg is the son of actress Geraldine Fitzgerald and the director of Brideshead Revisited). Kirkus, enthuses, “even those who dismiss celebrity memoirs should enjoy this jaunt through the glitz.”

Movie Tie-ins

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Penguin; other editions available in ePub and Kindle on OverDrive) includes “The Final Problem,” the story that is the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starring Robert Downey Jr., which opens Dec. 16.

Winning this fall’s Big First Novel Sweepstakes so far is The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, (Little, Brown; Hachette Large Print), a book we’ve been writing about since it was introduced at BEA. It rises to #3 on the 9/15 Indie Bestseller list, from #15 last week, its first week on sale. We hear it will  arrive at #6 on the 9/25 NYT list, coming out later today (the list dates are confusing, but both cover virtually the same time period).

The spoiler on next week’s lists could be The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday, 9/13; Audio, RH Audio and Books on Tape; Large Print, Center Point), published this week after much fanfare. It’s outselling the other big debuts on both Amazon and B&N.com. Holds are growing in libraries and are heavy where ordering is light.

Below are the rankings for the rest of the titles on the new Indie Fiction List, with links to our coverage:

Rules of Civility, Amor Towles (Viking, 7/26;  Books on Tape; Penguin Audio; audio on OverDrive; LT in Dec. from Thorndike) — #5 after 7 weeks; technically this is not a fall title, since it came out the end of July, but it’s keeping some of the other titles out of the top 5. Libraries report that holds picked up after it was an Early Show on Saturday Morning book club pick.

The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, (8/23; Audio, Random House Audio and Books on Tape and OverDrive; Large Print, Thorndike) — #7, down from #6 after 3 weeks; EarlyWord‘s coverage

We The Animals, Justin Torres. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Blackstone Audio) — #9, moving up from #14 last week; on our Watch List for the week of 9/5

The Submission, Amy Waldman, (FSG; Audio, AudioGo; Large Type, Thorndike)  — #13, first week; THE SUBMISSION — Michiko Likes It!

The book people are likely to be talking about next week, has already been in the headlines this week. Joe McGinniss’s The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin (Crown) arrives on Tuesday, along with another take Palin by her almost-son-in-law and metaphor-mixer, Levi Johnston, Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin’s Crosshairs (Touchstone/S&S). Check our earlier stories for more on both books.

Also competing for the headlines that day is Pulitzer Prize-winner Ron Suskind‘s examination of  Obama and the financial crisis, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President. The AP reported one of the book’s revelations yesterday, “Treasury Secretary Ignored Obama Directive.”

Below, more on it, and the other titles you’ll need to know next week.

Watch List

Habibi by Craig Thompson (Pantheon) is a the author’s first graphic novel in seven years, a “lushly epic love story that’s both inspiring and heartbreaking,” according to PW, that recounts the story of a modern Arabic girl sold into marriage at age nine, who’s captured by slave traders and escapes with an abandoned toddler, who becomes her companion and eventually her great love. An interview with the author is featured in New York magazine’s fall preview. They note that the author’s 2003 graphic memoir, Blankets, “won its Portland, Oregon, author just about every cartooning award there is.”

Fan Favorites

Reamde by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow; Brilliance Audio) is a thriller in which a wealthy tech entrepreneur gets caught in the very real crossfire of his own online fantasy war game. If your’e worried about how to pronounce that title, listen to the approved, official pronunciation here. Booklist says, “not many writers can make a thousand-page book feel like it’s over before you know it, but Stephenson, author of Cryptonomicon (928 pages), Anathem (981), and the three-volume Baroque Cycle (about 900 each), is a master of character, story, and pacing.”

Usual Suspects

Lethal by Sandra Brown (Grand Central; Hachette Audio; AudioGo; Grand Central Large Print) revolves around a woman and her four year old daughter held hostage by an accused murderer who claims that he must retrieve something extremely valuable that her late cop husband possessed. LJ says, “Fast paced and full of surprises, this taut thriller, marking the author’s return to Grand Central, features a large cast of superbly drawn characters and the perfect amounts of realistic dialog and descriptive prose. Brown, who began her career writing romance novels, also adds palpable romantic tension to the proceedings. Public libraries should expect high demand.”

Son of Stone: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Putnam; Penguin Audio; Thorndike Large Print) finds Stone Barrington back in New York, though his former love, Arrington Calder, has other plans for him, including introducing him to the child he fathered many years ago. Booklist says, “most of the book focuses on Stone setting [his son] up in an elite private school and [his son’s] application to Yale, which doesn’t make for the most scintillating reading. The pace picks up toward the end, though, when Arrington’s menacing former suitor decides to exact revenge [on Stone and Arrington].”

Children’s

You Have to Stop This (Secret Series #5) by Pseudonymous Bosch (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) is the final book in Bosch’s Secret Series. It revolves around the disappearance of a mummy from a local museum. Cass and her friends Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji try to solve the case.

Everything on It by Shel Silverstein (HarperCollins) is a posthumous collection of Silverstein’s previously unpublished poems and illustrations with a similar design to his beloved earlier books, and the same “whimsical humor, eccentric characters, childhood fantasies, and iconoclastic glee that his many fans adore,” according to PW.

Nonfiction

Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President by Ron Suskind (HarperCollins; Audio, Dreamscape and on OverDrive; LT, HarperLuxe) is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s look at how the Obama administration has handled the financial crisis, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with administration officials.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medecine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (Random House; RH Audio; BOT Audio) is a three-way biography of president James Garfield, who was shot onlyfour months after he took office in 1881, his assassin, Charles Guiteau, and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, whose made an unsuccessful deathbed attempt to locate the bullet lodged in the president’s body. Booklist’s starred review calls it “splendidly insightful” and says it stands “securely at the crossroads” of popular and academic biography. 

Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris by David King (Crown; BOT Audio) is the true story of a serial killer in WWII. PW says, “this fascinating, often painful account combines a police procedural with a vivid historical portrait of culture and law enforcement.” Kirkus calls it “expertly written and completely absorbing,” and Booklist‘s starred review says that unlike the many other stories that have been compared to Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, this one finally has the critical and commercial potential to meet Larson’s standard.”

Columbus: The Four Voyages by Laurence Bergreen (Viking) recounts the explorer’s three other voyages, in addition to the famous 1492 trip across the Atlantic. Each was an attempt to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. Kirkus, PW and Library Journal find fault with the author’s  scholarly rigor and uneven writing, though PW and Booklist see potential for a general readership.

The Orchard: A Memoir by Theresa Weir (Grand Central; AudioGo) is the story of a city girl who adapts to life on an apple farm after she falls in love with the golden boy of a prominent local family whose lives and orchards seem to be cursed by environmental degradation through pesticide use, and toxic family relationships. Booklist says, “Best known for her acclaimed suspense novels written as Anne Frasier, Weir’s own story is as harrowing as they come, yet filled with an uncanny self-awareness that leads, ultimately, to redemption.”

After months of anticipation, Erin Morgenstern‘s impossible-to-miss debut novel The Night Circus finally comes to town. Now it’s time to see how the hype plays out. The book that will rival it for attention is Brian Selznick’s middle grade novel, Wonderstruck, which has stirred great excitement among prepub reviewers. In nonfiction, Jackie Kennedy will be making news again, along with Michael Moore.

Watch List

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday; Random House Audio; Center Point Large Print) has already received a bevy of press attention. Comparisons to other titles in terms of expected commercial success range from The Help and The Da Vinci Code (USA Today), to the Harry Potter and Twilight (WSJ). PW set its sights a bit lower, saying, “This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics [by Marisha Pessl, Viking, 2006],” which was a best seller, but briefly. It’s also been compared to another book about English magicians, the 2004 bestseller Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, (Bloomsbury), which also arrived with great expectations and comparisons to Harry Potter. It did well, but not nearly as well as HP. It was in the top ten on the Indie Best Seller list for 13 weeks, four of them at #2.

Two reviews have appeared already; many more are sure to come next week. The 9/19 issue of People awarded it 3.5 of a possible 4 stars. Why not the full Monty? People warns the book can be disorienting with chapters that “leap from city to city across oceans and continents on no discernible schedule.” Laura Miller in Salon assesses the book as  “sentimental enough to win over a large audience but unlikely to cloy the palates of more sophisticated readers.” She warns, “Plot is this novel’s flimsiest aspect, however, serving mostly as a pretext for presenting readers with a groaning board of imaginative treats.” That may just undercut the potential for “large audiences” to embrace it. Miller calls it “the first Etsy novel” (sorry, you have to read the review to find out what that means).

Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam (Other Press; Blackstone Audio) gives Lolita a 21st century spin in this tale of a man whose wife has left him and whose father has died. He stumbles on a seventh grade girl who enters a fantasy friendship with him with a creepy edge. PW says, “Nadzam has a crisp, fluid writing style, and her dialogue is reminiscent of Sam Shepard’s. The book suffers from the inevitable Nabokov comparison, but it’s a fine first effort: storytelling as accomplished as it is unsettling.” On our GalleyChat, librarians report that there’s “lots of talk over the twitterverse about Lamb! People sucked in from the get-go.” It’s also a Sept Indie Next Pick.

The Winter’s in Bloom by Lisa Tucker (Atria; Brilliance Audio) is a suspenseful tale about overprotective parents whose child disappears. Library Journal is on the fence: “if the characters had been more fully developed, the novel would have blossomed.” Booksellers are more enthusiastic; it’s a Sept Indie Next Pick. Tucker recently wrote an essay in the New York Times about how the novel was unintentionally shaped by her diagnosis and treatment for a brain aneurysm while she was writing it.

Kids and Young Adult

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, (Scholastic), Prepub reviewers were practically sputtering in their excitement over Selznick’s follow up to The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which also inventively combines text and graphics. The consumer press, though slightly more measured, is showing equal excitement, as in yesterday’s review on the NPR Web site. Even the Wall Street Journal joined in, offering an “exclusive preview” on its SpeakEasy blog earlier this month. We probably don’t have to remind you that Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D family film, Hugo (see trailer here), releasing on Nov. 23, is based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, (McElderry/S&S); continues the author’s signature verse poetry style in this story about four 12th-graders who are expected to be perfect

Usual Suspects

Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues (a Jesse Stone) novel by Michael Brandman (Putnam; Random House Audio; Books on Tape; Thorndike Large Print); Before you (or your customers) get too excited about a new Robert Parker book, look closely at the fine print. This one is actually written by Michael Brandman, who collaborated with Parker on TV adaptation of his books. In his first effort to fill in for the departed author, PW found the plot lacking, but praised Brandman for maintaining Parker’s “easy, banter-filled writing, balanced with the lead’s apparently limitless compassion, informed by bitter experience.” Booklist felt exactly the opposite, calling it “strong on plotting but derivative on everything else.” Parker’s Spenser series will also continue, written by author Ace Atkins. The first title will be released in the spring of 2012. Sixkill, the final Spenser novel from Parker’s hand, was released in May.

Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins (St. Martins, Macmillan Audio, Thorndike Large Print); Lucky Santangelo is back and still looking great since her 1981 debut in Chances.

Forbidden by Ted Dekker, (Center Street; Hachette Audio and Large Print); mega seller Dekker begins a new trilogy (The Books of Mortals) with a new collaborator. Says Booklist, “Dekker and Lee have created an intriguing future world in which human beings are fundamentally different from what they are today but who still operate with the same basic motivations, even if they don’t know that they do.”

Kings of Vice by Ice-T with Mal Radcliff (Forge Books) is the first novel by the rapper (and husband of Coco, whose first novel, Angel is also coming out this week). Says Booklist, “Ice-T takes readers into the murky world of gangs and organized crime. A solid crime thriller.” Kirkus was not as appreciative, “a relatively slow-moving crime caper, with much rationalization and philosophical musings apparently meant to add gravitas.”

Angel by Nicole “Coco” Marrow and Laura Hayden (Forge Books); expect plenty of cross-promotion with the title above.

The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Sharyn McCrumb, (Dunne/St. Martin’s; Brilliance Audio); Set in North Carolina after the Civil War, the next in McCrumb’s Ballad series looks in to the violent crime that inspired the popular song.

New York to Dallas by J. D. Robb, (Putnam; Brilliance Audio); The publisher claims that this, the 33rd in the Eve Dallas series, “takes readers deeper into the mind of Eve Dallas than ever before.”

Nonfiction

Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy by Caroline Kennedy, (Hyperion), arrives on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s first year in office. It is already rising on Amazon as news begins to leak that Jacqueline dishes on LBJ and Lady Bird. The book includes eight audio CDs. It will be featured on ABC’s Primetime and on Good Morning America next week.

Life Itself: A Memoir, Roger Ebert, (Grand Central/Hachette); the film critic, who was silenced by throat cancer, writes about the importance of life. It was previewed in USA Today this week

Happy Accidents, Jane Lynch, (Voice/Hyperion); the star of TV’s Glee on finding happiness. In a video promo, she’s every bookseller’s nightmare.

Here Comes Trouble: Stories from my Life, Michael Moore (Grand Central/Hachette); vignettes from Moore’s early life.

Movie Tie-ins

Killer Elite (original title, The Feather Men) by Ranulph Fiennes (Ballantine) is the basis for a movie opening September 23 and starring Robert DeNiro. This mass market paperback, which Kirkus called “marvelously entertaining,” recounts the true story of an elite group of vigilantes drawn from the ranks of England’s select paramilitary operatives and charged with eliminating four contract killers so deftly that their hits appeared to be merely accidents.

Anonymous and the Shakespeare Authorship Question (Newmarket) one of the two official ties-in to the movie Anonymous, opening 10/28, this provides backgrounds and debate on the playwright’s identity. Movie trailer here.

Anonymous: William Shakespeare Revealed, (Newmarket), this is the “visual companion” to the movie.

Several favorites from Book Expo’s Editor’s Buzz Panel will be released next week with enviable media fanfare, including debuts from Chad Harbich and Justin Torres. Plus there’s Simon Toyne‘s debut thriller, which has been sold in 27 countries, and National Book Award winner Lily Tuck‘s new novel. Usual suspects include Jacqueline Mitchard, Christine Feehan and Clive Cussler. And Thomas Friedman tops our nonfiction list with his look at four unresolved problems holding back the U.S. from supremacy, along with WWII historian Ian Kershaw‘s latest and a new memoir from Lucette Lagnado.

Watch List

Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (Little, Brown; Hachette Large Print) is the tale of a high school shortstop destined for greatness, until he mysteriously starts to choke – a reversal that affects the fates of four others at his school. This title has been on nearly every Fall preview list, helped no doubt by a strong pitch at Book Expo’s Editor’s Buzz Panel. It was also a GalleyChat Pick of ALA – librarians who joined our post-show tweetfest said it’s “phenomenal” and  ”not to be missed.” Entertainment Weekly gives it a B+, saying that although the characters feel “underdrawn,” Harbach has “a talent for atmosphere, drawing you into his portrait of campus angst.” It’s also a Oprah Book to Watch for in September, and a September Indie Next Pick.

We The Animals by Justin Torres (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Blackstone Audio) is a much-praised debut novel about three biracial brothers and a dueling husband and wife who are bound by poverty and love. It was also featured on the Editors Buzz Panel at Book Expo, and was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA. In an early review, the New York Times says, ” a sense of lives doomed to struggle and disappointment pervades the writing without dragging it into lugubrious or melodramatic territory. Scenes that thrum with violence can suddenly turn tender too.”  It’s also a Oprah Book to Watch for in September, and a September Indie Next Pick.

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (Norton; author’s backlist on OverDrive) is the story of a damaged family grappling with the implications of the teenage daughter’s decision to run away at age 13. This was another Book Expo Editors Buzz panel book that became a GalleyChat favorite – librarians said it may be Abu-Jaber’s breakout. It’s also a September Indie Next Pick. Early reviews are uniformly positive. PW says, ” Abu-Jaber’s effortless prose, fully fleshed characters, and a setting that reflects the adversity in her protagonists’ lives come together in a satisfying and timely story.”

Sanctus by Simon Toyne (HarperCollins; Blackstone Audio Books; HarperLuxe) is the first in a projected trilogy of thrillers in the Dan Brown tradition, about an ancient sect of monks on a mountain near the fictional Turkish city of Ruin, who have been protecting a secret since before the Christian era. Kirkus says, “One hopes for a more tightly structured narrative next time around, but the right ingredients are all here.” The announced first printing is 100,000 copies.

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman (Ace; Blackstone Audio) is a debut horror novel about a college professor-turned-would be author who comes face to face with his past and a violent family secret at his family’s rural Southern estate. Library Journal‘s Barbara Hoffert was strong on this one in her BEA summary, and the LJ review calls it “a creepy, suspenseful, and well-crafted debut.”

I Married You for Happiness  by Lily Tuck (Atlantic Monthly; author’s backlist on OverDrive) is a wife’s reflections on her 42 years of marriage to her mathematician husband, set on the night of his death. It’s Tuck’s first book since she won the National Book Award in 2004 for The News from Paraguay. Kirkus says, “Does the couple’s mutual happiness provide a Hegelian synthesis? Not quite, though Tuck’s crisp writing is a joy.”

Usual Suspects

Second Nature: A Love Story by Jacquelyn Mitchard (Random House; Center Point Large Print; author’s backlist on OverDrive) explores the tumultuous life of a woman whose beauty is lost–then restored–after a fire.

Prey: A Novel by Linda Howard (Ballantine; Random House Audio; Thorndike; author’s backlist on OverDrive) follows rival Montana wilderness guides forced to cooperate against a killer on their trail.

Dark Predator by Christine Feehan (Berkley; Penguin Audiobooks; author’s backlist on OverDrive ) continues the supernatural Carpathian series.

The Race: An Isaac Bell Adventure by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott (Penguin; Penguin Audiobooks; Thorndike; author’s backlist on OverDrive) is a mystery set in the early days of aviation featuring Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency.

Young Adult

Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel by Harlan Coben (Putnam Juvenile; author’s backlist on OverDrive) takes place after Mickey witnesses his father’s death, his mom goes to rehab, and he’s forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools. This is Coben’s first YA novel.

Nonfiction

That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print) outlines the four major problems the U.S. is not grappling with: globalization, infotech shake-up, out-of-control energy consumption, and lasting deficits.

Living Beyond Your Feelings: Controlling Emotions So They Don’t Control You by Joyce Meyer (FaithWords; Hachette Audio; author’s backlist on OverDrive) is a Biblical take on managing emotions. PW says, “Meyer focuses on learning to think biblically, speak biblically, and then see lives and emotions transformed. Her many fans will not feel disappointed in her latest work.”

The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1944-1945 by Ian Kershaw (Penguin Press; author’s backlist on OverDrive) is an examination of the last year of the Third Reich as it struggled to survive the dual challenge of defeating the Soviets coming from the East and the Allies advancing from the West, by one of the foremost experts on WWII, Hitler and Nazism. PW says, “Kershaw’s comprehensive research, measured prose, and commonsense insight combine in a mesmerizing explanation of how and why Nazi Germany chose self-annihilation.”

The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn by Lucette Lagnado (Ecco) is the author’s exploration of her mother’s upbringing in Cairo and her own in Brooklyn, New York. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Lagnado is spellbinding and profoundly elucidating in this vividly detailed and far-reaching family memoir of epic adversity and hard-won selfhood.” This one was also presented at the Editors Buzz Panel at ALA Annual New Orleans. A section about Lagnado’s mother working in the cataloging dept of Brooklyn P.L. is poignant. In the beginning, the work gives her a liberating new sense of self, but a new supervisor removes all the joy from the job.

Dick Cheney and Tom Perrotta grab attention for books coming next week, while Simon Garfield‘s book about type fonts gets high praise. Titles to watch include the promising start of a new thriller series by Amanda Kyle William.  Usual suspects include James Patterson and Jude Devereaux. Nonfiction includes veteran Karl Marlantes‘s meditation on what it’s like to go to war, and Patrica Bosworth‘s much praised bio of Jane Fonda.

Media Darlings

In My Time: A Personal and Poltical Memoir by Dick Cheney (Threshold Editions; Simon and Schuster Audio, abridged) is scheduled for a torrent of prime time attention leading into its publication this coming Tuesday, and has already received an embargo-breaking review by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times. The former Vice President’s memoir is unlikely to get high marks for candor, but with a media blitz that his publisher is touting as one of the “largest nonfiction rollouts in publishing history,” he will be hard to miss.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta (St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio) explores the lives of suburbanites left behind after the Rapture. Perrotta’s sixth novel has garnered an early New York Times review, in which Michiko Kakutani finds it “cartoony and melodramatic,” yet saved by “Perrotta’s affectionate but astringent understanding of his characters and their imperfections”. It also got an early NPR interview, and is an Oprah Book to Watch for in September. Though it’s Perotta’s darkest novel yet, this one was a favorite among librarians who joined our GalleyChat after ALA , and independent booksellers made it a September Indie Next Pick. It has been signed for an HBO series, says Variety.

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield (Penguin) argues that type fonts carry their own meaning, and explores what we are saying when we choose one. Already a hit in the UK, it got an early review in the New York Times, in which Janet Maslin enthused, “This is a smart, funny, accessible book that does for typography what Lynne Truss’s best-selling Eats, Shoots & Leaves did for punctuation: made it noticeable for people who had no idea they were interested in such things…Mr. Garfield has put together a lot of good stories and questions about font subtleties and font-lovers’ fanaticism.”

Watch List

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury) chronicles the 12 days leading up to Hurricane Katrina from the point of view of a pregnant 14-year-old black girl living with her three brothers and father in poverty on the edge of Bois Sauvage, Miss. Booklist says, “this coming-of-age story tends at times to get lost in its style…[but it is] redeemed by the empathetic family [Ward] has created.” It’s an Oprah Book to Watch for in September, and also an Indie Next Pick for the same month.

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle William (Bantam) features a damaged Asian-American PI who fights her own personal demons while hunting for a serial killer, in the start of a new thriller series following William’s Madison Maguire paperback mysteries of the early 1990s. Booklist calls it “a character-driven, nonstop thriller with flashes of wit and romance that builds to a harrowing climax; fans of the genre will want to get in at the start.”

You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Kolya Maksik (Europa Editions) is a cautionary tale about a brilliant teacher in Paris, and his imperfections. Kirkus says, “Some of the best scenes in the novel involve the reconstruction of the philosophical give-and-take of his classroom, Will’s efforts to get his students to think and to make the literature their own.” It’s a September Indie Next Pick.

Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger (Atria; Brilliance Audio) is the 11th Cork O’Connor mystery, this time set on an Ojibwa reservation in the remote Minnesota-Canadian border region. PW says, “Krueger never writes the same book twice as each installment finds him delving deeper into Cork’s psyche.” It’s another September Indie Next Pick.

Usual Suspects

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is about a hard-up art student who finds a bag containing $13 million worth of diamonds during an attack on New York’s Grand Central Station, and makes off with it, only to be trailed by an assassin.

The Cut (Spero Lucas series) by George Pelecanos (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; AudioGo) is the first in a new series by Pelecanos, who was already interviewed about it on NPR’s Morning Edition last month.

Heartwishes: An Edilean Novel by Jude Deveraux (Atria; S&S Audio) follows the hunt for a magic stone that grants wishes.

A Trick of the Light (Armand Gamache Series #7) by Louise Penny (Minotaur; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is the latest mystery featuring Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, this time set in a tiny Quebec village where the art world is gathered. Booklist says in a starred review: “Penny has been compared to Agatha Christie [but] it sells her short. Her characters are too rich, her grasp of nuance and human psychology too firm.” This one is also a Sept Indie Next Pick.

Young Adult

The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman (Scholastic) is the sixth book in the 39 Clues series, which is accompanied by two secret-filled card packs, and a website. This time, 13-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, who thought they belonged to the world’s most powerful family, discover their family members are being kidnapped by a shadowy group known only as the Vespers.

Nonfiction

What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes (Atlantic Monthly; Blackstone Audio) chronicles the real Vietnam War experiences of the author of Matterhorn. PW calls it “a riveting, powerfully written account of how, after being taught to kill, he learned to deal with the aftermath. Citing a Navajo tale of two warriors who returned home to find their people feared them until they learned to sing about their experience, Marlantes learns the lesson, concluding, ‘This book is my song.’ ”

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is a biography of the actress, fitness instructor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist that’s been 10 years in the making, written by a friend of Fonda’s who is also an accomplished biographer and Vanity Fair journalist. People gives it 4 of 4 stars and make it a People Pick in the 9/5 issue: “it is more than 500 pages and not one is wasted…[Bosworth] has written an astute accounting of a woman of deep contradictions, a depressive plagued by bulimia and self-doubt.” PW says, “With access to Fonda’s FBI files and personal papers, plus extensive interviews with her family and colleagues, Bosworth has succeeded in capturing Fonda’s step-by-step transformation from wide-eyed, apolitical ingénue to the poised personality of recent decades.”

Where You Left Me by Jennifer Gardner Trulson (Gallery Books) is a 9/11 widow’s memoir by the wife of Doug Gardner, an executive broker and father of two, who was one of the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the Twin Towers. Kirkus calls this “uneven, but in its stronger moments, the book provides trenchant insights into one woman’s resilience and makes a respectable entry in the burgeoning field of 9/11 widow memoirs.”

This week, novels to watch include a new thriller by Danish bestseller Jussi Adler-Olsen and a bittersweet story of committed love from comedy writer Patricia Marx. Usual suspects in fiction include Laura Lippman, Kathy Reichs and Terry Brooks. Nonfiction highlights include a memoir by Erica Heller, the daughter of Joseph Heller, and a parable by Buddhist bestseller Thich Nhat Hanh.

Watch List

Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Dutton; Penguin Audio; Thorndike Large Print; audio & eBook, OverDrive) is a thriller by the bestselling Danish author, about former homicide detective Carl Morck in charge of handling Copenhagen’s cold cases, including one about a missing politician. As we noted in an earlier roundup of Nordic Noir coming this summer, PW gave this this one a starred review, saying “Stieg Larsson fans will be delighted.”

Starting from Happy by Patricia Marx (Scribner) is a comical exploration of romance through the unlikely match up of a lingerie designer and a scientist, written in 618 “chaplettes.” The author has written comedy for Saturday Night Live and the New Yorker, as well as the 2007 novel Him Her Him Again The End of Him. Booklist says, “Readers who enjoy the sly observations of Nora Ephron and the smart silliness of Woody Allen and Steve Martin should try it.”

We Others: New and Selected Stories by Steven Millhauser (Knopf) ranges across three decadesof the Pulitzer Prize winner’s stories. The Wall St. Journal says the best stories are “two concerning magicians, ‘Eisenheim the Illusionist’ (the basis of the very good 2006 film The Illusionist) and ‘The Knife Thrower,’ about a performer who may or may not be killing audience volunteers as part of his show. In these shimmering tales, the author deals directly with wonder and uncertainty rather than attempting to conjure those qualities through heavy-handed metaphors.”

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine; Audio, Random House Audio and Books on Tape and OverDrive; Large Print, Thorndike) is a debut about 18-year-old Victoria, who has placed out of the foster care system with perilously few resources, and finds an unlikely path to stabilty in her understanding of flowers, by an author who has fostered many children and also adopted one. The San Francisco Chronicle calls it “Jane Eyre for 2011” and “a cautionary tale about what happens to kids who’ve grown without families, one that strives to be honest but still hopeful.”

Usual Suspects

The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman (Morrow; Harper Audio; Large Print, HarperLuxe ) follows a circle of Baltimore friends who harbor a deadly secret. The Los Angeles Times say it “occupies the unlikely middle ground between thriller and coming-of-age saga… [but] doesn’t always measure up. On the one hand, [Lippman] effectively evokes the wildness of kids alone in a landscape of their own making… yet there is also something a bit headlong, a bit unformed about [her] writing.”

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner; S&S Audio; Large Print, Wheeler/Thorndike) is the 14th thriller with forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Library Journal says, “Although devoted Reichs fans will miss the clever repartee and nonstop action of her previous novels, they will still plod through this one. Series newcomers will find earlier titles, such as 206 Bones and Bare Bones, far more interesting.”

Young Adult and Children’s

Bloodlines (Razorbill/Penguin) by Richelle Mead is a new teen fiction series, set in the same world as the Vampire Academy series. Fans rose to the author’s challenge  to pre-order 10,000 copies. The second book in the series, The Golden Lily is scheduled for spring 2012.

Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon & Schuster; Large Print, Thorndike) is book four of the children’s time traveling Missing series.

Nonfiction

Yossarian Slept Here: When Joseph Heller Was Dad, the Apthorp Was Home, and Life Was a Catch-22 by Erica Heller (Simon & Schuster; Tantor Audio) recalls the tumultuous and eccentric childhood of Joseph Heller’s daughter. PW says, “The total effect is akin to leafing through a bulging family scrapbook where one finds a few blurry images among many snapshots in sharp focus. Erica Heller has inherited her father’s finely tuned flair with words.” And in a review that compares Heller’s memoir with a new biography by Tracy Daugherty called Just One Catch, The Los Angeles Times adds that Yossarian Slept Here is “much deeper and feels like all a reader needs to get the feel for the man who wrote, and lived with having written, “Catch-22.”

The Novice: A Story of True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh (HarperOne) is a parable about a Vietnamese woman who dresses like a man in order to become a Buddhist monk, by the second bestselling Buddhist author in the U.S.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts (Ballantine) chronicles the surprise success of Harry de Leyer and his horse Snowman in the late 1950s. Kirkus calls it “aheartwarming story begging for the Disney treatment.” USA Today gave it early attention on Friday.

Next week, watch for a dystopian debut infused with Gen X nostalgia by Ernest Cline and nonfiction looking at Al Qaeda, sexual abuse in the Church, a town recovering from a tornado and what ails the U.S. educational system.

Watch List

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Crown) is a debut novel set in 2044, in a dystopian America where the only escape is a vast virtual-reality simulation game based on geek culture from the 1970s and ’80s. It gets an “A-” from Entertainment Weekly, which says: “To say [it’s] the literary-fiction equivalent of VH1’s I Love the 80’s series may not sound like a compliment, but we… give Cline credit for crafting a fresh and imaginative world from our old toy box, and finding significance in there among the collectibles.” It was also a BEA Shout ‘n’ Share pick.

Usual Suspects

The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind (Tor) continues the story of Richard and Kahlan begun in the Sword of Truth fantasy series.

Childrens

Big Nate on a Roll by Lincoln Peirce (HarperCollins) is an illustrated children’s book based on the Big Nate comic strip.

Nonfiction

Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker (Times) reveals some of the covert methods used to combat terrorism.

The Grace of Everyday Saints: How a Band of Believers Lost Their Church and Found Their Faith by Julian Guthrie (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) chronicles the struggle by members to reopen a San Francisco church closed by the Archdiocese to conceal evidence of sexual abuse.

The Sacred Acre: The Ed Thomas Story by Mark Tabb and Tony Dungy (Zondervan) tells the story of an Iowa town destroyed by a tornado and the coach who gave hope to the community.

Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools by Steven Brill (Simon & Schuster) assigns the majority of blame for America’s education shortcomings on teachers unions. Kirkus call it “an in-depth, impeccably researched examination of the education-reform movements that have swept America over the last several decades, as well as the obstacles they’ve faced…The author “tackles this beast of a topic admirably, creating a lucid, often riveting history that will be invaluable to the next generation of reformers.”

Movie Tie-in

Moneyball by Michael Lewis (Norton) is a reissue of the bestselling behind the scenes look at the world of baseball, tying in to the movie opening September 3, which stars Brad Pitt.

Watch for three notable debuts next week: two of them are comic family sagas – Kevin Wilson’s The Family Fang and Matthew Norman’s Domestic Violets – and the other is a modern update of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca set in Provence. Usual suspects include Lev Grossman, Julie Garwood and W.E.B. Griffin. In nonfiction, look for Geoffrey Gray’s account of notorious skyjacker D.B. Cooper.

Watch List

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (Ecco) is a debut novel about surviving the ultimate dysfunctional family: a clan of performance artists who create events in shopping malls that result in chaos, as a protest against superficiality. As we reported earlier, it’s received a strong NYT review today and a B+ from Entertainment Weekly. Featured in one of our GalleyChats in February, this one has been gathering buzz since then, and was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA.

Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (HarperPerennial; Trade Pbk Original) is a debut comedic novel about a divorced novelist father who moves in with his son, and takes on everything from the corporate machine and the literary machine, to adultery, family, and dogs with anxiety disorders. PW says, “despite a heavy reliance on pop-culture references and some stock characters — the pompous writer, his tough agent, the trophy wife — this is a thoroughly entertaining, light but thoughtful read.” It was also a buzz title in our own GalleyChat in July.

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (HarperCollins; Dreamscape Media; HarperLuxe) is a modern gothic about a younger woman married to an older man who refuses to discuss his former wife – think Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but set in contemporary Provence. It was a Galley Chat Pick of ALA, and the GalleyChatters agree with the publisher that it will be BIG. PW says, “Lawrenson expertly manages suspense and intrigue throughout and breathes great, detailed life into her lush French countryside setting, making one wonder why this, her sixth novel, is the first to be published in the U.S.” Kirkus, however, warns that “it never captures the delicious psychological creepiness of the original.”

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn (Morrow; HarperLuxe), is about the  CIA and the MI6 as they are today by someone who knows the territory; he was a field agent. The publisher is backing it with a 150,000 first printing.

Rising Star

Thirteen Million Dollar Pop: A Frank Behr Novel by David Levien (Doubleday) is the third thriller to feature private investigator Frank Behr and the American heartland setting which began with the author’s first hit, City of the Sun.

Usual Suspects

The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Viking; Penguin Audio) is a sequel to The Magicians, a previous novel by the book critic for Time magazine. Here, Quentin and his friends are now kings and queens of the magical land of Fillory, but a life of royal luxury goes wrong when a magical ship brings Quentin back to his parents’ house in New England. LJ says “Grossman’s flawed characters struggle for what they want and often lose their way, a refreshing twist. Fillory’s pointed resemblance to Narnia gets a bit tiresome, however. This is best for readers who like some grit and realism in their fantasy and who have read the first book.”

The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood (Dutton) is a romantic suspense novel featuring FBI agent Max Daniels, who promises to protect shooting witness Ellie Sullivan through a dangerous trial – but it isn’t long before the sparks start flying. Booklist says, it “has all the literary ingredients her readers expect: snappy writing, sharp humor, a fast-paced plot spiced with plenty of danger and suspense, and an abundance of sexy chemistry between two perfectly matched protagonists.”

Victory and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Putnam; Penguin Audio) takes place weeks after Hitler’s suicide, as Cletus Fraude and his fellow OSS agents are fighting for the agency’s survival with other U.S. government departments and facing the growing threat of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. PW calls it “slow-moving,” but adds that the detailed descriptions of weapons and aircraft won’t disappoint techno-thriller fans.

Acceptable Loss: A William Monk Novel by Anne Perry (Ballantine) begins when a dead man surfaces in the river Thames, returning William Monk to a heinous case that he thought he’d left behind.

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension (#8) by Christie Golden (LucasBooks/RandomHouse; Books on Tape; Random House Audio) is the eighth installment in a nine-volume saga that takes palce 40 years after the Star Wars trilogy, and features Luke Skywalker, his Jedi son, Ben, and an apprentice as they travel the galley. LJ says, “Golden’s excellent storytelling captures the essence of the beloved space opera and should leave series followers eagerly anticipating the story’s conclusion.”

Young Adult

Thirst: The Shadow of Death #4 by Christopher Pike (Simon Pulse, Trade Pbk) is the conclusion to bestselling Thirst series, and follows five-thousand-year-old vampire Alisa Perne as she battles a new race of immortals: the Telar.

Nonfiction

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray (Crown; Books On Tape; Random House Audio) is based on a New York magazine story about the search for the identity of the famed skyjacker, which immersed the author in the subculture that sprung up after his death four decades after Dan Cooper (a.k.a D. B. Cooper) parachuted out of a plane somewhere over Oregon or Washington, carrying a sack full of money.

Movie Tie-in

I Don’t Know How She Does It, by  Allison Pearson, (Anchor Books, Movie Tie-In Edition); The movie, coming in September (see trailer here), stars Sarah Jessica Parker, and sounds like Sex and The City with Kids. Will the book that was “the national anthem for working mothers” (Oprah) still resonate in its movie incarnation during a recession?

Next week, look for a debut novel set amid P.T. Barnum’s Manhattan circus, a debut thriller with a half-Inuit protaganist, and a controversial religious thriller from Christian publisher Howard Books – as well as appearances from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Charlaine Harris and Sara Shepard. In nonfiction, there’s a 9/11 survivor’s drama, a look at the history of the FBI by bestselling investigative writer Ronald Kessler, and an entertaining search for the Garden of Eden.

Watch List

Among the Wonderful by Stacy Carlson (Steerforth) is a debut set in 1840s Manhattan, and follows a giantess and a taxidermist in the employ of P.T. Barnum, as they struggle to break free of their personal and emotional shackles. It’s an Indie Next Pick for August and a buzz title on our very own GalleyChat. Kirkus says, “a nice commentary on the entertainment racket, with carefully crafted prose that too often goes on just a beat too long. Still, a refreshing take on an aspect of and time in American history that are too little known.”

White Heat by M.J. McGrath (Viking; Blackstone Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is a debut thriller about a half Inuit/half white  woman who makes her living leading white (or qalunaat) tourists on hunting expeditions near her tiny outpost town of Autisaq on Canada’s Ellesmere Island. In a starred review, Booklist says it “transports the reader to a land of almost incomprehensible cold and an unfamiliar but fascinating culture, taking on issues of climate change, energy exploration, local politics, and drug and alcohol abuse. Edie, a fiercely independent woman in a male-dominated milieu, is sure to win fans. Expect great things from this series.” Holds are building quickly: Cuyahoga quintupled their original order as a result and other libraries are showing 10:1 holds.

The Second Messiah: A Thriller by Glenn Meade (Howard/S&S) follows an archeologist and a police inspector investigating a controversial Dead Sea scroll. PW says, “Fans of Davis Bunn or Dan Brown won’t bat an eye at Meade’s unblinking look at the Vatican and the religious secrecy that fuels such novels. With a plot that screams, a controversial edge, and characters with attitude and something to prove, this has all the makings to be the next Da Vinci Code.”

Usual Suspects

Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is the latest mystery featuring Special Agent Pendergast.

Retribution (Dark-Hunter Series #20) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio) is a supernatural thriller about a vampire who has sworn to protect humans locked in confrontation with a human adopted by vampires who has sworn to protect them.

Home Improvement: Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (Ace; Brilliance Audio) is a collection of paranormal short stories about the perils of do-it-yourself, with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story.

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (Hyperion) is the final installment in the series that began with The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, with a mix of familiar characters and the story of the star-crossed romance between two intrepid adventurers in the arly 20th Century. Booklist says, “Donnelly has leaned more toward Indiana Jones than Barbara Taylor Bradford, and the result is a perfect vacation read.”  

Young Adult

Never Have I Ever (Lying Game Series #2) by Sara Shepard is the second book in the latest series from the author of the bestselling Pretty Little Liars series.

Nonfiction

Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan (Howard/S&S); Simon and Schuster Audio) tells the story of a woman who was buried under the rubble of the World Trade Center for 27 hours.

The Secrets of the FBI by Ronald Kessler (Crown; Random House Audio; Center Point Large Print) uncovers the history and espionage techniques of the federal agency. LJ says, “Having reported on the FBI for decades and written two best sellers on the agency, Kessler really does have some secrets to share. These have less to do with how the FBI functions than with what its agents have learned while dealing with the White House, Wall Street, terrorists, spies, the Mafia, and more.”

Paradise Lust: Searching for the Garden of Eden by Brook Wilensky-Lanford (Grove Press) investigates the many searches for the “real” location of the Garden of Eden. Booklist says, “Wilensky-Lanford’s tone is indeed light and entertaining, she portrays her obsessed subjects with respect and even a little sympathy. In the end, the book is less about Eden-finding or myth-busting than it is a study of the undying human need for meaning, symbolism, and unity in a fractured and profane world.”

Now in Trade Paperback

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal (Picador). This was Nancy Pearl’s favorite work of nonfiction published in 2010.

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson (Picador)

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.”

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.