The media blitz is working; Double Down: Game Change 2012, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (Penguin Press; Penguin Audio) is gaining holds in libraries, as high as 14:1 on light ordering.

An excerpt is featured as the cover story of the new issue of New York magazine (where co-author Heilemann is a journalist) and the book is  covered in many other publications from the New York Post to the Washington Post.

The authors appeared on The Today Show (video below) earlier this morning. Appearances are also scheduled for NPR.

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To recognize libraries for their support of Attica Locke’s new book The Cutting Season, HarperCollins Library Marketing is offering an opportunity for a library to host an event with the author.

To enter, please fill out the form here, including information on how you would make an Attica event special.

Proposals are being solicited until October 12, 2012.  The visit would occur before the end of this calendar year.

The UK’s Observer just reviewed the book, saying, “Belles, balls and bloody deeds mingle to dazzling effect in Attica Locke’s evocation of the deep south past and present.”

Team Attica Locke member Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library has built up substantial holds on the book because of staff recommendations and are hosting a Facebook chat with Attica on Oct. 23rd.

Sawyer interviewed Woodward for his 2010 book, “Obama’s Wars”

As is typical for celebrity journalist Bob Woodward, his next book has had no title or description until now, less than a month before publication, ensuring focused media attention.

The Price of Politics will be published on Sept. 11. It is described by ABC News, which has the first interview with Woodard about the book, as

…a sweeping you-are-there account of how President Obama and the highest profile Republican and Democratic leaders in the United States Congress attempted to restore the American economy and improve the federal government’s fiscal condition.”

The network will air Diane Sawyer’s “exclusive first interview”  the evening before publication, followed closely the next morning by Woodward’s sit-down with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America.

The race is now on to see which news source will manage to break the embargo first. The New York Times claimed that honor for Woodward’s most recent book, Obama’s Wars.

The media went on red-alert last week about an erotic fiction trilogy.The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Fifty Shades of Grey by first-time British author E.L. James “has NYC moms reading like never before.” Apparently, they are also talking nonstop to each other about what they are reading. So much sharing is going on that one woman called it “the new kabbalah for female bonding in this city.”

Canada’s Globe and Mail gives the publishing background,

Through an independent publisher in Australia [The Writer’s Coffee Shop is based in New South Wales, Australia; the company’s US address is in Waxahachie,Tex] the trilogy has sold more than 100,000 copies, the bulk of them e-books…First time-author E.L. James, a television executive living in London, honed her erotica chops penning BDSM-themed Twilight fan fiction. She has said that the bondage opus was her “midlife crisis.”

The story was picked up by several other news sources, culminating on the Today Show on Friday.

WorldCat indicates that a handful of libraries own or have ordered the print version of the book. Most are showing a modest number of holds. The first title in the series hit the NYT best seller list in ebook format last week (#24, rising to #23 this week).

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Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan appeared on Fox News on Friday after being dropped by MSNBC, where he had been a commentator for the last ten years. He was on suspension from the station for the last 4 months after the release of his latest book, Suicide of a Superpower. Citing the chapters titled “The End of White America” and “The Death of Christian America,” many organizations had called for Buchanan’s ouster. In January, the president of MSNBC signaled his displeasure by saying, “The ideas he put forth [in the book] aren’t really appropriate for national dialogue, much less the dialogue on MSNBC.”

In the Fox interview, Buchanan told Sean Hannity, that he feels he is the victim of a blacklist against “conservative and traditionalist thought.”

Suicide of a Superpower debuted at #4 on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction list after its first week on sale. It slid down to #25 after three weeks and is no longer on the list.

Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? Patrick J. Buchanan Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books – (2011-10-18) ISBN / EAN: 0312579977 / 9780312579975

Jeffrey Zaslow co-author with Randy Pausch of The Last Lecture, (Hyperion, 2008) and author of several other best sellers, including The Girls from Ames, (Penguin/Gotham, 2009) died in a car accident on Friday morning while touring for his latest book, The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters, according to a report by Detroit’s local Fox station (via Publishers Marketplace’s Automat). He was 53.

UPDATE: NYT Obituary

The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters Jeffrey Zaslow Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Penguin/Gotham – (2011-12-27) ISBN / EAN: 1592406610 / 9781592406616

In the book’s trailer, Zaslow describes The Magic Room as a tribute to his three daughters.

A rush of new titles start landing with the new year. Watch for BBC writer David Snodin‘s historical featuring Shakespeare’s Iago and Thrity Umrigar‘s novel of Indian college friends reunited years later in the U.S.. Usual suspects include Janet Evanovich, James Patterson with coauthor Maxine Paetro, Matthew Reilly and Val McDermid. Plus the latest from YA author Sara Shepard, a handful of movie tie-ins, and a memoir of caretaking and grief by the late Patrick Swayze’s wife, Lisa Niemi. 

Watch List

Iago by David Snodin (Macmillan/Henry Holt) is a historical novel that begins where Shakespeare’s Othello leaves off, and focuses on the complex villian and his powerful accuser. LJ calls it a ” vivid though long novel, which is filled with all the drama, intrigue, and violence of Renaissance Italy–and even a little romance on the side.” On the other hand, Kirkus says, “Iago’s character never really deepens: We learn plenty about his capacity for viciousness, but the climactic revelations about his past history feel underwhelming. A likable page-turner about love, war and conspiracy in the early 16th century. Just don’t expect Shakespeare.”

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar (HarperCollins; HaperLuxe) finds four friends who attended Bombay College in the 70’s reunited when one woman becomes ill, in a tale that straddles India and the U.S. PW says, “though none of the major story elements Umrigar employs are remotely fresh, her characters make this a rewarding novel.”

Usual Suspects

Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly (Macmillan/St. Martins; Macmillan audio) is a standalone novel set in a small town microbrewery, featuring out-of-work, just-separated Kate Appleton, and is a collaboration between the bestselling author and the president of the Romance Writers of America. Booklist says, “Evanovich is known for her humor, and she and Kelly skillfully combine comedy with romance and suspense to make a story sure to please readers.”

Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print) is the second novel featuring Morgan, the founder of an L.A. investigative firm, who is framed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. PW calls it “lackluster,” and complains that “unrelated subplots, including a serial killer who leaves his victims in different locations of a hotel chain, serve only to add to the books length. An evil identical twin doesnt help with plausibility.”

Gun Games (Decker/Lazarus Series #20) by Faye Kellerman (HarperCollins/Morrow; HarperLuxe; Thorndike) finds the Deckers investigating the suicide of a high school student, while rescuing 15-year-old Gabe Whitman, a brilliant musical prodigy whose father earns his living as a pimp. PW finds this one “subpar” for the series.

Halo: Primordium: Book Two of the Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear (Macmillan/Tor; Macmillan Audio) is set in the wake of apparent self-destruction of the Forerunner empire, as two humans are washed up on very strange shores.

Scarecrow Returns by Matthew Reilly (S & S) is the action-packed fourth title in the Scarecrow series, by the internationally popular author of Seven Deadly Wonders. Booklist says, “pitting his heroes against polar bears, ranks of crazed berserkers, and colorful henchmen like Bad Willy, Big Jesus, and Typhoon, Reilly ups the ante on swashbucklers like Clive Cussler and Ted Bell by dishing out page after page of truly nonstop, explosive action, from cover to cover. Does he pull it off? Absolutely!”

The Retribution: A Tony Hill & Carol Jordan Novel by Val McDermid (Atlantic Monthly) is the seventh thriller in the Tony Hill series, which pairs the British clinical psychologist with his long-term work partner and sometimes lover, Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan as they pursue Vance, the TV talk show host responsible for murdering 17 teenage girls in 1997’s The Wire in the Blood. PW says, “the emotional wedge that the sadistic Jacko is able to drive between Tony and Carol makes this one of McDermids strongest efforts.”

Young Adult

Pretty Little Secrets by Sara Shepard (HarperTeen) is a “special bonus book” set in the lost period between books four and five of the Pretty Little Liars series, the winter break of the girls’ junior year, as told from the point of view of stalker Ali. The new season of ABC’s Pretty Little Liars begins Jan. 2.

Movie Tie-Ins

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (RH/Vintage) ties in to the movie opening January 6, adapted and directed by Vietnamese filmmaker Anh Hung Tran. It will appear in a limited number of theaters, but fans of Murakami’s 1Q84 are likely to be drawn to this tie-in. Published in Japan in 1987, it was the author’s first major hit in that country, but wasn’t released here until 2000, after the success of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (RH/Vintage; Blackstone Audio) is a classic ghost story about a lawyer who travels to remote English village and finds the ghost of a scorned woman terrorizing the locals – and ties in into the gothic horror movie remake, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Janet McTeer, which opens February 3.

The Firm by John Grisham (RH/Dell) is a reissue of the original 1993 thriller. It’s the basis for an NBC TV series set ten years after the book. The series launches on January 8 and 9, before it moves to its regular Thursday night time slot.

Memoir

Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss, and Moving Forward by Lisa Niemi  (S&S/Atria; Centerpoint Large Print) is a memoir by actor Patrick Swayze’s wife, who co-wrote her husband’s memoir, The Time of My Life, and now reflects on caring for her husband during his final months before he died of pancreatic cancer in 2009. PW says, “Niemi writes movingly of trying to keep a positive outlook, staying organized with drugs, treatments, and foods for her husband, employing relatives as helpers and researchers, and, most of all, using the time she and Swayze had left together to enjoy and appreciate each other. Its a heartfelt account, both brave and honorable.”

The fourth title in NPR’s Backseat Book Club for kids is The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis, (RH/Delacorte), winner of both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King award. On NPR’s Web site, All Things Considered host Michelle Norris describes it as “a modern classic…the story of a hilarious 10-year-old named Kenny whose family is quirky, proud and loving” and their journey from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1963, where they encounter a critical turning point in the Civil Rights movement, the bombing of Birmingham’s 16th St. Baptist Church. Norris, whose family is from Birmingham, says this choice is perfect for January because the book will “entertain and inform young readers as the country remembers the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. for the national holiday in his name.”

The December pick, Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu was featured on All Things Considered last night. As a result, it rose on Amazon’s sales ranking to #293 from #1,152. Published this year, it was on both PW and SLJ‘s Best Books lists (see our spreadsheet which rounds up the major 2011 Childrens and Young Adult best books picks for the year).

Breadcrumbs Anne Ursu Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Walden Pond Press – (2011-09-27) ISBN / EAN: 0062015052 / 9780062015051

NPR’s All Things Considered takes a look at the new Sherlock Homes movie, Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr., through the lens of two recent books inspired by Conan Doyle’s master detective.

As a result, The House of Silk, rose on Amazon’s sales rankings. Libraries are showing moderate holds. In its review, PW said, “The hype surrounding what’s being billed as the first pastiche ever officially approved by the Conan Doyle estate is amply justified in this authentic, if melancholy, recreation of the beloved Baker Street characters by the creator of the acclaimed Foyles War TV series.”

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel Anthony Horowitz Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Mulholland Books – (2011-11-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316196991 / 9780316196994

The second book is a collection of short stories inspired by Conan Doyle, also released this fall.

A Study in Sherlock: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon Laurie R King, Leslie S Klinger Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 250 pages Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press – (2011-10-25) ISBN / EAN: 1590585496 / 9781590585498

Of course, many other authors have carried on the Holmes tradition. Check this list from Wikipedia for the makings of an extensive book display.

The new movie, unlike the previous one, is based on a specific Holmes story,  “The Final Problem,” which is included in the re-released The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin; other editions available in ePub and Kindle on OverDrive).

Shipments of new books will be light next week (just one notable title, listed below), so we are skipping ahead to the week after the holiday, when the final hardcover releases of 2011 arrive, in time for customers cashing in gift certificates and exchanging what they got for what they wanted.  Look for Rod Rees‘s dystopian steampunk debut, a new series from Anne Holt, Norway’s #1 bestselling crime writer, and the much-anticipated followup to Taylor Stevens‘s first Vanessa Michael Monroe thriller. Not all of the usual suspects are turning out their best work, according to the early reviews, but there are new titles from Dean Koontz, W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV, Stuart Woods, Robin Cook, Tamy Hoag and Karen Robards. 

Watch List

NPR’s Fresh Air featured Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller yesterday, sending the book to #110, from 248, on Amazon’s sales rankings.

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil Tom Mueller Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company – (2011-12-05) ISBN / EAN: 0393070212 / 9780393070217

Audio: Dreamscape

Lawrence Lessig, best known to librarians for his work on copyright, also founded RootStrikers.org (previously, Fix Congress First!), a web site aimed at reducing the influence of money on politics. His latest book is Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress–And a Plan to Stop It, (Hachette/Twelve, Oct). He will appear on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday.

On a quite different note, Food Network host, Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and Worst Cooks in America) and author of Cook Like a Rock Star: 125 Recipes, Lessons and Culinary Secrets (RH/Clarkson Potter, Oct) appears on the show tonight.

On Tuesday, Comedy Central’s Colbert Report features journalist Mark Whitaker, author of My Long Trip Home, (S&S, Oct), a memoir that examines his parent’s lives and marriage. Whitaker describes the marriage as “doubly scandalous;” they were not only an interracial couple in the 1950’s, but the relationship began when Whitaker’s white mother was his African-American father’s professor at Swarthmore. Below, Whitaker describes the book.

Among the few books that land next week, there’s a debut thriller by the creators of the TV show ER, Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene, plus new titles from Jo Nesbo and Tom Clancy, and a memoir by U.S. Marine Mike Dowling about his patrols on the streets of Iraq with his bomb-sniffing dog.

Watch List

Kill Switch by Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene (Kensington; Blackstone Audio) is a debut thriller by the Emmy Award-winning creators of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and ER. The protagonist is New York City forensic psychiatrist Claire Waters, who has always been drawn to “untreatable” patients seemingly without conscience or fear. Kirkus says, “The investigative narrative is workmanlike but tolerable, much like the rerun of a TV serial. It’s toward the end, as Claire confronts the killer who abducted her childhood friend and the primary plot becomes a Fugitive-style medical mystery, that this novel starts to lose its edge.”

Usual Suspects

The Leopard by Jo Nesbø (Knopf; Random House Large Print; Random House Audio) finds Inspector Harry Hole deeply traumatized by the Snowman investigation and lost in the squalor of Hong Kong’s opium dens. But when a series of women are murdered in a mountain hostel, he agrees to return to Oslo to investigate. Kirkus says, “Nesbø’s formula includes plenty of participation by Kaja, a very capable woman, and plenty of current geopolitical backdrop, making Nesbø a worthy mysterian-cum-social-critic in the Stieg Larsson tradition… taut, fast-paced thriller with wrenching twists and turns.”

Locked On by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney (Putnam; Thorndike Press Large Print; Brilliance Audio) brings together Jack Ryan, his son, Jack Jr., John Clark Ding Chavez and the rest of the Campus team as Jack Sr. runs for President of the United States again. But he doesn’t anticipate the treachery of his opponent.

Nonfiction

Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog by Mike Dowling (Atria Books) is the true story of a U.S. Marine and his German Shepherd Rex, a bomb-sniffing dog on the streets of Iraq’s most dangerous city. PW says, “Despite some tense moments and close calls, this deeply affecting tale of courage and devotion in the cauldron of war has a happy ending.”

The ninety-something P.D. James decided to take a break from her Adam Dalgliesh novels and try her hand at a murder mystery featuring characters by her favorite novelist, Jane Austen. She spoke to NPR this morning about the resulting book, Death Comes to Pemberley, (RH/Knopf; RH Large Print; RH Audio).

The book has been enjoying strong reviews. Says USA Today, “Countless authors writing in a plethora of genres have tried to re-create Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but James’ new novel is incomparably perfect.” Michael Dirda, in the Washington Post, calls it “a solidly entertaining period mystery and a major treat for any fan of Jane Austen.”

Libraries are showing heavy holds in some areas. The book came out on Tuesday and has already risen to #20 on Amazon’s sales rankings.

New information about Austen has come to light in the last week. An Austen scholar is pursuing a hypothesis that arsenic poisoning was the cause of Jane’s early death (it was an element in several medications at the time).  Also, a previously unidentified portrait recently emerged, which may be of Austen. The Telegraph, reports the story with the upbeat headline, “Jane Austen wasn’t as ugly as people think.”

Ralph Fiennes’ debut as a director, for the adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, is currently in a one week Oscar-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles, (the full run begins on Jan. 20).

It was just announced that Felicity Jones will play Charles Dickens’ alleged mistress in Fiennes’ second directorial effort, The Invisible Woman, based on Claire Tomalin’s The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens, (RH/Knopf, 1991). Shooting is planned for sometime in 2012, which happens to be the bicentenary of  Dickens’ birth.

Tomalin’s new book, a full-length biography of Dickens, incorporates material from the earlier one. Other scholars, such as Peter Ackroyd have concluded that Dickens’ relationship with Ternan, whom he met when she was 18 and he was in his mid-forties, was strictly a friendship. Tomalin argues that not only was she his mistress, but they had a child together.

Tomalin talks about Dickens (but not about Ternan) in the following video:

Charles Dickens: A Life Claire Tomalin Retail Price: $36.00 Hardcover: 576 pages Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The – (2011-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 1594203091 / 9781594203091