Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Curtis Sittenfeld (Random House; BOT; April 19) is the #1 pick on the April LibraryReads list.

Part of The Austen Project, Sittenfeld recasts Elizabeth as a magazine editor and Darcy as a neurosurgeon. The novel has made many “most anticipated lists” including those by Entertainment Weekly, The Millions, and The Washington Post. It was also a favorite of Galleychatters.

Leslie DeLooze, of Richmond Memorial Library, Batavia, NY offers this annotation:

“Love, sex, and relationships in contemporary Cincinnati provide an incisive social commentary set in the framework of Pride and Prejudice. Sittenfeld’s inclusion of a Bachelor-like reality show is a brilliant parallel to the scrutiny placed on characters in the neighborhood balls of Jane Austen’s novel, and readers will have no question about the crass nature of the younger Bennets, or the pride—and prejudice—of the heroine.”

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts, Joshua Hammer (Simon & Schuster; April 19) made the list with its account of a literary “Ocean’s Eleven” – the heist of centuries-old Arabic manuscripts under threat from Al Qaeda.

Marika Zemke, of Commerce Township Public Library, Commerce Township, MI shares this summary:

“For centuries, Arabic manuscripts were collected by private households in Mali, particularly Timbuktu: gilded manuscripts painted with real gold, showing vibrantly colored illustrations of nature. These highly valued manuscripts were handed down within families who acted as caretakers. As radicalized Muslim leaders came into power, the manuscripts were seen as corruptions of true Islam, requiring intervention. History and adventure at its best.”

Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (Macmillan/Tor.com; Macmillan Audio; April 5) explores the other side of portal fantasy stories. Jennifer Kelley, of Kershaw County Library, Camden, SC invites readers to wonder:

“What happens to children who find a doorway into a fantasy land, and then come back into the mundane world? It’s certainly not a happily ever after scenario for these children, but those that find their way to Eleanor West’s school are learning to cope. Shortly after Nancy comes to the school, a series of horrific events occur. It’s up to her and others at the school to figure out who is committing these atrocities. This book is so wonderfully written.”

Three debuts make the list, including Tuesday Nights in 1980, Molly Prentiss (Gallery/Scout Press; April 5) which explores the NYC art world of the 80s.

Diane Scholl, of Batavia Public Library, Batavia, IL says:

“Following the lives of three individuals in New York on the cusp of 1980, this book was structured in such a unique and original way. Lucy is in her early twenties, experiencing life in a big city; James who after college finds himself the reigning critic of the art world and Raul, escaping the post Peron Dirty War in Argentina will find himself the art world’s new favorite; these three will find their lives entwined in many ways. A tragic accident will change all these characters and others close to them. This is a wonderful book that I wasn’t ready to finish.”

Librarians also selected the next books by several big names, including Nora Roberts, Amanda Quick, and Laurie R. King.

The full list is available now.

The headline of this post may seem odd, but it refers to the title of a book featured on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, an historical account of what author Adam Cohen considers “one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in American history,” Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck (PRH/Penguin; OverDrive Sample).

It recounts the 1927 case in which the Supreme Court voted 8-1 to uphold a state’s right to forcibly sterilize a citizen deemed “unfit” to procreate. The case grew out of the eugenics movement, which Cohen details as well.

Holds are light thus far but the title zoomed up the Amazon sales rankings to #72 after Fresh Air, making it a candidate to hit best seller lists next week.

If so, it won’t be Cohen’s first best seller. He is the author of Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America which hit the NYT‘s Nonfiction Hardcover list in 2009.

The holds leaders this week all feature the return of favorite characters.

Clawback: An Ali Reynolds Novel, J.A. Jance, (S&S/Touchstone; S&S Audio; Thorndike)

Off the Grid: Joe Pickett Novel #16, C.J. Box (Penguin/Putnam; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample)
Starred PW, “With this exceptional entry, Box solidifies his place at the upper level of the crime fiction pantheon.”

The Steel Kiss: Lincoln Rhyme Novels. Jeffery Deaver (Hachette/ Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print; OverDrive Sample)
If you have a fear of escalators, look away. The cover and title refer to a key plot element, a man is gruesomely mangled when one of them malfunctions in a Brooklyn department store..

The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of March 7, 2016.

Media Magnet

Love, Loss, and What We Ate, Padma Lakshmi, (HarperCollins/Ecco; HarperAudio)

As the former wife of Salman Rusheie and the co-host of Top Chef, Lakshmi’s story has appeal for a wide range of media, including NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday and People magazine.

And, yes, she spills the beans about her marriage.

Peer Picks

The March LibraryReads selections arriving this week include a literary psychological suspense novel which has been highly praised in the trade reviews and the next in a popular urban fantasy series.

All Things Cease to Appear, Elizabeth Brundage (PRH/Knopf; BOT; OverDrive Sample).

Also a People magazine “Book of the Week,” called  an “insightful, evocative thriller”

Jennifer Dayton, of Darien Library, Darien, CT offers this annotation:

“When the Clare family purchases a ramshackle farmhouse at a foreclosure auction, it appears that all is well in their world, until George comes home one evening from his job as an Art History Professor at the local private college and finds his wife murdered and their three-year-old untended yet unharmed. Told through the eyes of the townspeople and the families involved, this is a gorgeously unsettling look at a marriage and what happens to a community in the process of change.”

A GalleyChatter favorite, Brundage earned All Stars status for the novel as well, racking up starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

Marked In Flesh: A Novel of the Others, Anne Bishop (PRH/Roc; BOT).
Emily Peros, of Denver Public Library, Denver, CO gives her take on the fourth of the Courtyards of the Others series:

“In this thrilling installment, Bishop continues to explore the relationships of The Others and the humans who live at the Lakeside compound. Meanwhile, Humans First and Last organization has been making themselves known, after the attacks in the previous book that killed numerous Others along with their “Wolf Lover” friends, they are not backing down. Little do they know it’s not the Others humans need to be wary of but the Elders for which the Others act as a buffer. This is an excellent installment in the novels of the Others, exciting, heart-wrenching and suspenseful.”

Four Indie Next March picks also arrive.

Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens, Steve Olson (W. W. Norton; OverDrive Sample).

“Eruption is everything a nonfiction book should be: Marvelous storytelling mixed with a great cast of characters, fascinating science, and little-known history. Anyone with even a passing interest in the Pacific Northwest or volcanoes will love this book. I read it in three long, satisfying gulps, and, like all great books, its stories linger in the mind long after you’ve read the last page.” —Tom Campbell, The Regulator Bookshop, Durham, NC

The Travelers, Chris Pavone (PRH/Crown; BOT; OverDrive Sample).

“Full of twists and turns, secrets and lies, and enough misdirection to keep you guessing, Pavone’s third novel delivers everything readers have come to expect from his thrillers. As in his previous work, the world of publishing takes a central role: This time it’s a fading travel magazine and its companion travel agencies in the midst of an acquisition. Will and Chloe are a young married couple dealing with a home in need of extensive repairs so Chloe decides to take a less active role at Travelers magazine after Will is brought on board as the European correspondent. When Will meets an alluring woman while on assignment, she will change his life in ways he never could have foreseen.” —Billie Bloebaum, A Children’s Place, Portland, OR

This third thriller by Pavone struck GalleyChatters as a “sure fire hit.”

Spill Simmer Falter Wither, Sara Baume (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; OverDrive Sample)

“Baume’s debut novel is a heartbreaking story of loneliness and friendship, depression and pure joy, as revealed through the relationship between a man and the dog he rescues. Baume’s transcendent use of language and utterly original voice had me stopping to read whole sentences — even entire paragraphs — aloud. Spill Simmer Falter Wither is an amazing achievement by a writer who makes her work seem effortless.” —Mary Wolf, Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse, Santa Fe, NM

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, Helen Oyeyemi (PRH/Riverhead Books; OverDrive Sample).

“There is magic in Helen Oyeyemi’s writing. There is magic in the settings, which shift between the conventional and the fantastic as readers devotedly follow her characters down any path they please. There is magic in the tales themselves, as readers recognize a situation only to have it bloom into a flower they have never imagined before, full of beauty or of dread. And, most certainly, there is magic in such breathtaking prose and unimaginable characters. This is a captivating story collection, filled with both fairy tale whimsy and dark, complicated mystery. Highly recommended!” —Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

Tie-ins

Only one tie-in this week, but it is a biggie. As we reported earlier, the PR surrounding the second season start of Outlander is growing in advance of the April 9th premiere date.

Now comes the tie-in release of the novel that will power the next set of Jamie and Claire’s adventures, Dragonfly in Amber (Starz Tie-in Edition), Diana Gabaldon (PRH/Bantam; OverDrive Sample; also in Mass Market).

The cover art was tweeted by Gabaldon. It keeps with the lush yet dangerous tone of the trailer and supports the series new tag line, “The Etiquette of War.”

For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.

Holds queues are growing quickly for the debut novel The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (HC/Ecco; HarperAudio), just announced as the #1 Indie Next pick for April.

Entertainment Weekly calls it “one of 2016’s most talked-about debuts,” borne out by its appearance on several other most anticipated lists for the spring. Librarians are also fan, it delighted GalleyChatters and is a LibraryReads pick for March.

Jennifer Oleinik, University Book Store, Seattle, WA offers this summary:

“Welcome to the strikingly dysfunctional Plumb family: four siblings connected by little more than ‘The Nest,’ a joint trust fund that each has earmarked to support their unrealistic lifestyles. When Leo, the older brother and the center of the Plumb family universe, injures himself and a 19-year-old waitress in a scandalous car accident and endangers ‘The Nest’ just months before the funds are to be made available, the siblings come together for damage control. Sweeney artfully touches on each family member as they scramble to save the precarious lives they have built for themselves, bringing light and humor to her characters’ various plights. Funny, thoughtful, and filled with unique and complex characters — this book is a must-read.”

The memoir Lab Girl, Hope Jahren (PRH/Knopf; OverDrive Sample) also makes the list.
It too is picking up attention, with the WSJ selecting it as one of the six “The Hottest Spring Nonfiction Books.”

Pete Mulvihill, Green Apple Books, San Francisco, CA says that:

“This book has it all: nature, love, science, drama, heartbreak, joy, and plenty of dirt. Not since Cheryl Strayed’s Wild have I read such a rich and compelling nonfiction narrative. Lab Girl is the story of Jahren’s life in science, and her writing on the wonders of nature will renew your sense of awe. But more than that, it is an exploration of friendship, mental illness, parenthood, and the messiness of life. The only flaw — these pages fly by too quickly, leaving you wondering what you could possibly read next that will be just as good.”

The full list of bookseller picks, which is notably wide ranging this month, includes titles from big name authors (Augusten Burroughs, Tracy Chevalier, and Lisa Scottoline), another debut, and more nonfiction. Featured as well are two more titles that are also March LibraryReads picks, The Summer Before the War and Jane Steele.

This month Costco’s book buyer, Pennie Clark Ianniciello, calls attention to a sleeper hit and its follow-up.

The influential Costco buyer is well known for bringing new attention to titles re-released in trade paperback, such as The Art Forger, The Orchardist and Beautiful Ruins, resulting in each book rising or making its debut on best seller lists.

This month she mixes it up, going back in time to a book first reviewed in the trades in 2009, Kathleen Grissom’s debut, The Kitchen House (S&S/Touchstone; OverDrive Sample), also setting up the author’s forthcoming second novel.

The Kitchen House is likely already in most collections. While the sleeper languished at first it became a huge book club hit based on the PR efforts of Grissom. So remarkable was its rise that in 2012 The Wall Street Journal ran a story on its rags to riches turn around (link may require a subscription).

Now Pennie is pushing it again, saying the antebellum story of a white indentured servant
has her “ready for Grissom’s follow-up novel,”
Glory Over Everything: Beyond the Kitchen House,(S&S; S&S Audio; April).

The Kitchen House is still in demand with
active holds at many libraries we checked and Glory Over Everything already showing
solid demand.

On Fresh Air yesterday, Nancy Jo Sales talked about her new book American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, (PRH/Knopf; BOT and RH Audio; OverDrive Sample).

The book has received earlier media attention, including a Katie Couric special on ABC’s Nightline. As a result, was already fairly high on Amazon’s sales rankings, but Fresh Air kicked it up to #5.

Holds are strong on modest ordering. As we wrote earlier, this was a drop-in title and therefore was released too late for review coverage from the prepub media.

The political clout of a large and growing segment of women voters is analyzed by Rebecca Traister in All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation (Simon & Schuster).

A writer at large for New York Magazine and a noted figure in journalism and historical/political research related to women, Traiter’s newest book is getting a wide coverage. The author appears today on CBS This Morning:

This book has been heavily anticipated. In 2014, Traister appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, when it was still  in progress, giving an overview of her findings.

Thus far, library orders are very light but media attention may fuel demand .

As predicted by library holds, Fiona Barton’s The Widow (PRH/NAL; BOT; OverDrive Sample) hits best seller lists this week. It’s #12 on the 3/6/16 NYT Hardcover Fiction list. It’s also #12 on the USA Today list. That list combines all formats and categories and The Widow is the sixth hardcover fiction title.

At number one on both lists is Jeffrey Archer’s Cometh
the Hour, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio), the sixth in the Clifton Chronicles. USA Today notes this is a step up for the author, “Archer’s previous peak was No. 5 in May 2013, with Best Kept Secret, the third book
in the series. All the Chronicles titles have hit the Top 25, with four now making the Top 10.”

Next week is blessedly free of titles arriving with long holds queues, but fans are anticipating several titles from repeat authors, including Clive Cussler’s 9th in the Isaac Bell historical detective series, The Gangster, a posthumous collection of Maeve Binchy short stories, A Few Of The Girls, and a new thriller by James Grippando, Gone Again.

The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 28

Media Magnets

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond (PRH/Crown; BOT).

Focusing on one of the most heartbreaking aspects of poverty, the loss of a home, Evicted has already struck a chord with the media. Following four starred prepub reviews, the New York Times gave it an unusually early review on Monday, and also profiled the author. Earlier, The New Yorker published an excerpt. Coverage is also coming in this Sunday’s New York Times Book Review. [UPFATE: Featured on the cover of the NYT Book Review, Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed credits Desmond with having “set a new standard for reporting on poverty.”]

The first paragraph of the daily NYT review is a grabber:

“One of the most heartbreaking moments in Matthew Desmond’s Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City — and there’s a shameful assortment to choose from — is when 13-year-old Ruby Hinkston takes refuge in the public library. She’s come to use the computer. It turns out that she’s been slowly building her dream house with a free online game, and she wants to visit it again.”

The review goes on to describe the horrible conditions Ruby faces at home.

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, Rebecca Traister (S&S; S&S Audio).

In their list of “Don’t-miss nonfiction,” Entertainment Weekly wrote, “The literary world is already buzzing about journalist Traister’s history of the unmarried American woman.” Highlights of the media attention below:

• New York Times Sunday Review, 2/28
• CBS This Morning, 2/29
• NPR Fresh Air with Terry Gross, 3/1
• Daily New York Times review, 3/6

Above the Line: My Wild Oats Adventure, Shirley MacLaine, (S&S; S&S Audio).

Of course MacLaine will be getting attention, including appearances on the Today show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, both scheduled for March 15. The next day, she will step across the aisle to Fox & Friends. Reviewed in the Washington Post.

Peer Picks

The return of a favorite author and the debut of a new one are the highlights this week from the March LibraryReads picks.

Proving her ability to write across genres and make readers and librarians take note, Lisa Lutz turns to thrillers in The Passenger (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio).

Beth DeGeer, of Bartlesville Public Library, Bartlesville, OK offers this annotation:

“This is a compulsively readable story of a young woman who has to keep switching identities and stay on the run. Is she a reliable narrator or not? What was the original event that sent her on the run? There is a lot of action and suspense as she tries to survive and evade the law while trying to keep her moral center intact. Unlike Lutz’s Spellman books, this reads more like a Charles Portis road novel, though considerably more serious and dangerous. Highly recommended.”

It is also a March Indie Next selection and was hit with our GalleyChatters.

Debut novelist Catherine Lowell offers a new take on the ongoing interest in all things Jane Eyre in The Madwoman Upstairs (S&S/Touchstone).

Kristen McCallum, of the Algonquin Area Public Library, Algonquin, IL invites readers to:

“Meet Samantha Whipple, a descendant of the Bronte family, who arrives at Oxford to study literature, as her father did before her. She receives a copy of Jane Eyre – a volume that she thought was destroyed in the fire that took her father’s life. When a second Bronte novel belonging to her father turns up, she is convinced he has staged an elaborate treasure hunt for her promised inheritance. Enlisting the help of her sexy, young professor, Samantha sets out on a quest to find buried treasure and learns the value of friendship and courage along the way.”

It too is an Indie Next selection for March and a GalleyChat hit.

Three additional Indie Next picks pub this week as well, among them a book on physics that is getting compared to poetry.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Carlo Rovelli (PRH/Riverhead Books; BOT; OverDrive Sample).

“With a deft sensibility associated more often with poetry than theoretical physics, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics not only makes understandable the transcendent physical discoveries of the past century, but also reveals their powerful relevance to the human spirit. A revelatory and concise account of quantum mechanics, relativity, and the delight in both finding answers and seeking new questions, this jewel of a book lyrically demystifies the extraordinary realities of the cosmos.” —Robin J. Dunn, St. John’s College Bookstore, Annapolis, MD

Bottomland, Michelle Hoover (Grove Press/Black Cat; Blackstone Audio).

“In the years following World War I, the Hess family settles on Iowa farmland hoping to escape anti-German sentiment. Two of their girls disappear as the U.S. marches towards World War II, and relationships both within and outside of the family suffer. Based loosely on an unearthed family secret, Hoover has written an atmospheric novel evocative of both a time and place.” —Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO

Blackass, A. Igoni Barrett (Graywolf Press; OverDrive Sample).

“We have seen transformation handled masterfully in literature, and Blackass, with its black, Nigerian protagonist waking up in the body of a white man, immediately calls to mind Kafka’s Metamorphosis. But this is something more, something different. There is a willingness here to confront how we create our identities — racially, politically, and even on social media. Barrett does this with intelligence and a playful humor that is by turns bright and biting. There is an edge to Blackass, a fire, the beginning of trouble. This is Kafka for the Kanye generation.” —Kenny Coble, King’s Books, Tacoma, WA

All Star

At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others, Sarah Bakewell (PRH/Other Press; OverDrive Sample).

Bakewell introduced many readers to the 16th century philosopher Michel de Montaigne in How To Live: Or A Life Of Montaigne In One Question And Twenty Attempts At An Answer (2010). In her follow up, she moves ahead to the 20th century in a book starred by all four pre-pub sources. Booklist points out that it’s not all arcane philosophy, “With coverage of friendship, travel, argument, tragedy, drugs, Paris, and, of course, lots of sex, Bakewell’s biographical approach pays off.”

Tie-ins

There are three official tie-ins this week.

Rudyard Kipling’s beloved story collection gets a second Disney adaption on April 15th, this time as a live action film (the animated Disney version came out in 1967 and was the last film Walt himself worked on).

As we reported earlier, Disney is pushing the film hard, running the trailer during the Super Bowl.

The Jungle Book: The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack, Scott Peterson, Joshua Pruett (Hachette/Disney Press) is an illustrated novel based on the movie.

In support of the new Syfy 13-episode series Hunters, starting April 11, Alien Hunter comes out in a tie-in edition entitled Hunters, Whitley Strieber (Macmillan/Tor Books).

It is the first novel in an ongoing series. The second is Alien Hunter: Underworld. A third, Alien Hunter: The White House, is due in April.

The show combines thriller and SF in an alien conspiracy story, where the aliens are terrorists.

Another tie-in for Sundance’s Hap and Leonard series comes out this week as well. This time it is the complete collection of the previous Lansdale short stories augmented with one new story and an introduction written by Michael Koryta.

Hap and Leonard, Joe R. Lansdale (Perseus/PGW/Tachyon Publications).

As we reported when the first tie-in came out, the series debuts on March 2.

For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.

On Late Night Wednesday, Seth Meyers delved into the science of health with Dr. David Agus

Angus’s latest book is
The Lucky Years : How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health, (S&S; S&S Audio)

Head of the National Security Agency and the CIA during some of the most tense and controversial years of American history, Michael V. Hayden surveys his tenure in the Bush administration, detailing what occurred and why from his point of view, in Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror (PRH/Penguin; Penguin Audio; BOT; OverDrive Sample – embargoed until yesterday’s pub date).

The book is currently #10 on Amazon’s Top Sellers. Library holds thus far are in keeping with fairly low level of ordering. Holds may still grow, as word about this embargoed title spreads.

Author Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down) reviewing the book for The New York Times is not impressed:

“Mr. Hayden seems oblivious … He has written an occasionally engaging book about matters — moral, legal and technological — that are very complex, but he shows little interest in examining them. Throughout he is breezy and unapologetic. And why not? At the same time his efforts were being met by public criticism, they led to steady praise and promotion. He ended his Air Force career a four-star general.”

While not passing judgment on the book itself, NPR’s Robert Siegel conducted a probing interview with Hayden for All Things Considered earlier this week. In one key moment Siegel asks: “What did you tell Leon Panetta, your successor as CIA director, to say about waterboarding?”

Hayden replies:

“Do not use the word ‘torture’ and ‘CIA’ in the same sentence ever again. You can object to some of the enhanced interrogation techniques. You can, in your heart of hearts, believe they meet some legal definition of torture. But Leon, you’re taking over a workforce that did these things in good faith. They did these things with the assurance of the attorney general that they indeed were not torture. Do not accuse them of felonies.”

He also says that it was the US intelligence agencies that got the facts about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction wrong, not the Bush administration. “We were wrong. It was a clean swing and a miss. It was our fault.”

MSNBC’s Morning Joe featured Hayden in a long segment yesterday.

Holds are growing in libraries on Fiona Barton’s The Widow (PRH/NAL; BOT; OverDrive Sample), which the A.V. Club headlines as “a delightfully trashy thriller.” A debut, orders are light, so requests are outpacing copies.

Little wonder. It is a book much in the news. Currently rising on Amazon’s sales rankings, it is the verge of breaking on to best seller lists.

As we reported, it is a March Indie Next pick, a People pick, and listed in the WSJ  as a potential big thriller of the year.

In the Washington Post, Lisa Scottoline notes, “Barton is a veteran British journalist who has reported for the Daily Mail and other publications, so it comes as no surprise that her prose is deft and her story well told. What does come as a surprise is that her novel is also richly character-driven in a way that is both satisfying and engrossing.”

Barton talks about her background as a reporter, the basis for her character, in an interview in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. She is at work on a second novel that will also feature Kate Waters, the reporter in The Widow.

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War by Robert J. Gordon (Princeton University Press) is shaping up to be this year’s Capital in the 21st Century, anointed as such by both The New York Times Magazine and Fortune.

The book has become a prime topic of discussion among economists and business leaders. We reported earlier on Paul Krugman’s cover review for The New York Times Sunday Book Review, which helped push holds over orders in many libraries.

Krugman’s review came after several other notable attention. An earlier review in The Economist called the book “magnificent” and “brilliant.” The WSJ early review ended by proclaiming:

“Every presidential candidate should be asked what policies he or she would offer to increase the pace of U.S. productivity growth and to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the economy. Bob Gordon’s list is a good place to start.”

Several reviews, including the one in The Economist, also find fault with the book, not agreeing with Gordon’s asserting that IT revolution has played less of a role in re-shaping society than did indoor plumbing or the wide availability of cars.

More on this hot topic of a title can be found in Gordon’s 2013  TED Talk and a TED Talk debate, in which economists dug into Gordon’s arguments.

The authors of the holds leaders for the week have something in common. Each have had earlier books adapted for TV by the Hallmark Channel.

A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, Debbie Macomber (PRH/Ballantine Books; BOT; OverDrive Sample)

The #1 holds leader for the week is the the second in Macomber’s New Beginnings series. Interest in Macomber was boosted by Hallmark’s adaptation of her Cedar Cove series.

Also a LibraryReads pick for the month, Linda Tilden, of Cherry Hill Public Library, Cherry Hill, NJ offers this recommendation:

“Leanne and her daughter-in-law Nichole both leave cheating husbands to start over. They learn that it is never easy and that hardships abound, but they meet many wonderful people on their way to happily-ever-after. Believable characters and an enjoyable story made this perfect for relaxing reading—definitely one of Macomber’s best. An excellent choice both for long-time fans of the author and for those who have never read her novels.”

Wedding Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries #19), Joanne Fluke, (Kensington)
The second holds leader for the week continues the series that has been the basis of Hallmark’s Murder She Baked movies.

The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 22, 2016

Media Magnets

American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, (PRH/Knopf; BOT and RH Audio)
As we noted earlier, this is a drop-in title and therefore was released too late for review coverage from the prepub media. It was reviewed this week in the NYT. The author is scheduled for an interview with Katie Couric Monday on ABC’s Nightline. The following day, Sales will be interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition and on Fresh Air, 2/29.

Cravings, Chrissy Teigen with Adeena Sussman, (PRH/Potter)
Sorry, guys, this is a book about food cravings by the supermodel and co-host of the show Lip Synch Battle. The budding activist, who donated food to Ferguson protesters and has engaged in twitter battle with Donald Trump, will be getting plenty of media attention for her cookbook:

Tuesday, March 1
Good Morning America
Live with Kelly and Michael
Late Show w/ Stephen Colbert

Wednesday, March 2
The Chew
Comedy Central – Daily Show 

Peer Picks

In addition to Debbie Macomber’s latest (above), three other February LibraryRead picks come out next week.

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, Mona Awad (Penguin Books; OverDrive Sample).

Kimberly McGee, of Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX offers this annotation:

“Everyone loves Lizzie–she is the confidant, the late night go-to, and she is always there and hungry for attention. Lizzie becomes even more obsessed and needy when she no longer feels insecure about being overweight and it becomes painfully obvious that she will always feel bad about herself. It is a candid and sad look at how we mistreat people with different body types.”

NOTE: Librarians chatted with the author  as part of  the Penguin First Flights program on EarlyWord

It is also a March IndieNext choice.

Fighting Dirty, Lori Foster (Harlequin/HQN Books; OverDrive Sample).

Jessica McCroskey, of Holston River Regional Library, Johnson City, TN says the following about the fourth book in Foster’s Ultimate series:

“What. A. Ride! I absolutely loved this book. I loved finally getting Armie and Merissa’s story. I also enjoyed being able to go back and revisit past characters and getting to know future ones! The story was fast-paced and dreamy. Armie’s fight with himself over his emotions wasn’t drawn out, nor did it get tedious to read. All around, this book was an absolute pleasure, and I can’t wait to read more from Foster!”

Flight of Dreams, Ariel Lawhon (PRH/Doubleday; BOT; OverDrive Sample)

Kristin Fields, of Farnhamville Public Library, Farnhamville, IA offers:

“Flight of Dreams chronicles an author’s imagined scenario on the ill-fated last flight of the Hindenburg, which was shrouded in mystery. Lawhon does a masterful job by giving meticulous detail of the ship and delving into the lives of many of the characters on board. I read with mounting dread and intensity as the storyline of the disaster unfolded. Historical detail and wonderful storytelling make this a must read for historical fiction lovers.”

The following are Indie Next picks:

Under the Influence, Joyce Maynard (HC/William Morrow; OverDrive Sample).

“Remembrances from The Great Gatsby ran through my head both as a warning and a promise the entire time I read Under the Influence. I was fascinated by the Havillands, the whirlwind couple at the center of the book, with their wealth, their ease, and their charm. It is easy to see why they appeal to Helen, weary and downtrodden as she is, and why she slips so easily into their embrace. I felt a growing sense of unease as the pages passed, picking up the warning signals Helen ignores, but I was as helpless to escape as she is. I couldn’t stop reading until I reached the bitter end!” —Lauren Peugh, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ

Green Island, Shawna Yang Ryan (PRH/Knopf; OverDrive Sample).

“Like Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, Ryan’s heartbreaking novel takes readers to an island with a history unknown to many: Taiwan. Rarely portrayed in a work of fiction, Taiwan is an island of complex political relations, families torn apart by political unrest, and a lush and beautiful physical landscape. Told in luscious prose, Green Island teaches readers about the humanity of mankind, the brutality of political power and unrest, and why some secrets are never told. I cannot wait to handsell this!” —Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT

Tie-ins

The major tie-in release this week is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (The Taliban Shuffle MTI): Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Kim Barker (PRH/Anchor; BOT; OverDrive Sample).

The film version of the memoir titled The Taliban Shuffle, starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, and Billy Bob Thornton, opens March 4, 2016.

It has brought new attention to author Kim Barker. Recently interviewed in the Columbia Journalist Review, she is also scheduled for CBS Sunday Morning this week.

Is it too soon to apply humor to the Middle East? Judge for yourself from the trailer.

Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl and Her Amazing Story of Healing, Christy Wilson Beam (Hachette Books; Hachette Audio; OverDrive Sample; also in Mass Market) comes out next week as well. It is the tie-in for the March 18th film starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah.

As we noted earlier, People magazine highlighted the the story about a young girl who “survived a 30-ft. fall from a tree and told her parents she had visited heaven – then was inexplicably cured from her terminal digestive disorder.”

Ratchet & Clank is a SF video game series featuring a Lombax (a cat-like species that walks on two feet) and a robot who have adventures across multiple galaxies. On April 29 the games become an animated film.

Scholastic is releasing two tie-in titles. Ratchet and Clank: The Movie Novel, Kate Howard (Scholastic; OverDrive Sample) and Ratchet and Clank: Hero Time (The Movie Reader), Meredith Rusu (Scholastic; OverDrive Sample).

For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.

The NYT posted their online review (to run in print in the Feb. 28 Sunday Book Review) of A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy. Sue Klebold, Andrew Solomon, (PRH/Crown) on Feb. 15.

Just a few days later the paper felt the need to post a follow-up piece to summarize some of the over 900 comments the review prompted.

That level of engagement with the book is reflected in libraries across the country. Holds are growing and libraries haven’t caught up with them.

We reported in “Titles to Know and Recommend” last week that ABC News was covering the book in a big push, with an ABC Prime Time Special with Diane Sawyer, promoted on Good Morning America. The author also appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air on Tuesday.

The book clearly touches nerves, as indicated by the remarkable number of personal reactions to it from reviewers.

Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A grade, saying:

“This book, which can be tough to read in places, is an important one. It helps us arrive at a new understanding of how Columbine happened—and, in the process, may help avert other tragedies.”

The LA Times‘s reviewer, responding both to the book and to the ABC coverage, writes:

“I believe Sue Klebold … I feel so sorry for her — I really do. Did you watch 20/20? Her pain is so raw, her vulnerability so extreme. I want to reassure her: One way or another this book will change lives. What it won’t do is bring Dylan back … And what it also won’t do, is my guess, never mind what I believe, is allow Sue Klebold to forgive herself.”

The Washington Post reviewer says:

“Reading this book as a critic is hard; reading it as a parent is devastating. I imagine snippets of my own young children in Dylan Klebold, shades of my parenting in Sue and Tom. I suspect that many families will find their own parallels. This book’s insights are painful and necessary, and its contradictions inevitable.”

The book is currently #31 on Amazon’s sales rankings.