Now that the best books of 2010 lists are wrapped up (from the various media outlets, that is. As noted in the comments, we still have the ALA lists to look forward to), media attention is turning to the most anticipated books of the new year.

The first up to offer their takes, are The Huffington Post (40 titles through March) and The Book Beast (17 titles through May). The selections tend to focus on the more literary; not necessarily the ones your customers will be clamoring for. However, there are a few possible exceptions.

January

My Father at 100: A Memoir, Ron Reagan, Viking/Penguin (January 18, 2011), 9780670022595; Nostalgia for Reagan continues (even President Obama took a book about Reagan with him on his Christmas vacation), so this memoir by his son may be a hit. Selected by The Book Beast.

O: A Presidential Novel, Anonymous, Simon & Schuster (January 25, 2011), 9781451625967; According to The Book Beast, this anonymous novel “about just what President Obama will do to win in 2012” will cause a sensation similar to Primary Colors, about the Clinton administration. There is, however, very sketchy information on wholesalers’ and bookseller’ sites and none on S&S’s, making us wonder if it’s been delayed. Libraries we checked have not ordered it.

February

A Widow’s Story: A Memoir, Joyce Carol Oates, Ecco/HarperCollins, (February 15, 2011) 9780062015532; if you”ve read the excerpt in The New Yorker, you’ll agree with The Book Beast that “Oates’ memoir will join Antonia Fraser and Joan Didion on the shelf of essential works on loss.” It’s also picked by The Huffington Post.

Townie, Andre Dubus III, Norton, (February 28, 2011), 9780393064667; we’ve been hearing advance buzz on this. If you’re going to MidWinter, be sure to stop by Norton’s booth for an advance readers edition. Dubus will  be the the Sunrise Speaker this Sunday, Janurary 9th at MidWinter and will be signing at the Norton booth that day, from 2 to 2:30 pm.

April

The Uncoupling, Meg Wolitzer, Riverhead, (April 5, 2011), 9781594487880; A staging of  Lysistrata has unexpected effects on female teachers and students. The Book Beast predicts it “will provoke.”

Try this on customers still waiting for a crack at The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; USA Today says the books by the Swedish crime-writing duo, Roslund & Hellstrom are as good, if not better than Stieg Larsson’s.

The latest in by the authors, Three Seconds, comes out tomorrow.

Roslund, a former journalist and Hellstrom an ex-con, met when Roslund was making a documentary about an organization founded by Hellstrom, KRIS (Criminals Return Into Society). They have written four previous titles, only one of which, Box 21, is available in the U.S.

The publisher of Three Seconds, Silver Oak, is a new joint venture between Sterling in the U.S. and Quercus in the U.K..

Three Seconds Anders Roslund, Borge Hellstrom Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: SilverOak – (2011-01-04) ISBN / EAN: 1402785925 / 9781402785924

It won’t be published until March, but Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Future is already featured on Good Morning America. No wonder; the author says that in our lifetime, we could see one of five major cities (Los Angeles or San Francisco are on the list) completely destroyed by an earthquake.

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Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 Michio Kaku Retail Price: $28.95 Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Doubleday – (2011-03-15) ISBN / EAN: 0385530803 / 9780385530804

Caroline Leavitt’s Pictures of You, an original trade paperback, is the January Costco Book Pick (Costco Book Buyer Pennie Ianiciello is credited with creating several best sellers via her monthly picks in the Costco Connection. She is also on the King County Library Foundation’s Board of Directors). She describes it this way,

The story begins with two women running away from home. When their cars collide on a foggy highway, one is killed. The survivor, trying to heal herself, sets out to help the husband and child left behind by the deceased. Once their lives intersect, the unlikely trio fumble through questions of forgiveness, love, truth and what really matters.

The prepub reviews were all splendid (with the possible exception of LJ, which offered a criticism that sounds more like a recommendation; “This is an entertaining read and a wonderful story, but it doesn’t cover any new literary ground.”)

Check out the insightful interview with Leavitt by Susan Henderson (we’re big fans of her debut, also an original trade paperback, Up From the Blue) in the online publication The Nervous Breakdown; useful for book clubs.

Pictures of You Caroline Leavitt Retail Price: $13.95 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Algonquin Books – (2011-01-25) ISBN / EAN: 1565126319 / 9781565126312

Now that the gift-buying season is over (and the rush to redeem gift certificates begins), the flow of new releases begins to rev up.

The Gambles

The Radleys: A Novel Matt Haig Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Free Press – (2010-12-28) ISBN / EAN: 1439194017 / 9781439194010

The Radleys by Matt Haig (Free Press) was touted at BEA (and was one of Neal Wyatt’s Librarians Shout & Share picks). About a family of vampires trying to pass for normal in a British suburb, it comes from the UK with a plenty of great quotes. Prepub reviews here were also strong. The first consumer review, Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, finding it charming but not a standout in the crowded field of vampire stories. The Dallas Morning News has this amusing take, “Haig effectively treats the unhinging, fiendish desire to feast on human blood as, well, just another unfortunate family dysfunction. Like alcoholism or drug addiction, only with hemoglobin.”

It also has backing from Hollywood; it was announced in April that Alfonso Cuarón acquired film rights. The director (Y Tu Mamá También and HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban) calls the book “funny, scary and wickedly familiar…On the one hand it’s a parochial comedy of manners in a dull suburban setting, but it quickly gathers poison and then effortlessly enters the supernatural without ever betraying its worldly concerns.”

This may have crossover appeal; in the UK, it was released as both adult and YA.
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American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee Karen Abbott Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Random House – (2010-12-28) ISBN / EAN: 1400066913 / 9781400066919

American Rose by Karen Abbott (Random House); we’ve heard good things from people who have read the ARE’s of this new biography of Gypsy Rose Lee and RH is backing it with an announced 100,000 copy printing. The NYT‘s Janet Maslin, however, faults the book for focusing more Lee’s times than on Lee herself.

The Usual Suspects

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz (Bantam) is a supernatural thriller about the murder of a family that reawakens an investigator’s memories of surviving a similar family massacre. PW carps that the terror level doesn’t get high enough, but Booklist gives it a star, noting that “Koontz worked out a family-at-risk scenario in last year’s Relentless; but whereas that book was breakneck-paced, science-fictional, riddled with screwball humor, and concerned about cultural politics, this novel is deliberate, highly supernatural, somber throughout, and motivated by religious dread of Koontz’s weightiest performances.”

In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz (Putnam) is the first in the new Looking Glass trilogy, and also part of Krentz’s ongoing romantic suspense Arcane Society series, about a psychic detective agency. Booklist gives it a starred review: “Krentz’s flair for creating intriguing, inventive plots; crafting clever dialogue between two perfectly matched protagonists; and subtly infusing her writing with a deliciously tart sense of humor are, as always, simply irresistible.”

The Outlaws by W. E. B. Griffin & William Butterworth (Putnam) is the sixth military thriller in the Presidential Agent series, in which Lt. Col. Carlos “Charley” Castillo must face life after the disbandment of his secret organization, the Office of Organizational Analysis. PW says “Series fans who love these characters will find the novel fulfilling; newcomers and those expecting a big payoff will be disappointed.”

To Have and To Kill (Wedding Cake Mystery) by Mary Jane Clark is the first in a “promising new cozy series” (PW). Hear her editor, Carrie Feron, talk about Mary Jane’s transition from her harder-edge mysteries to this new series in HarperCollins Editors’ Buzz.

Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag (Dutton) is the second in the author’s Deeper Than the Dead series. Says PW, “Newcomers will have no trouble getting into this suspense novel rich in pre-DNA detecting methods.”

Young Adult Fiction

Bloody Valentine (Blue Bloods Series #7) by Melissa de la Cruz. Prolific author Cruz also begins a new adult fantasy series, Witches of East End this summer and is working on a Blue Bloods spinoff, Wolf Pack, coming April 2012.

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (Penguin) is the sequel to Incarceron; Taylor Lautner has been signed to play the lead in the film adaptation of Incarceron, which appears on three Best Books lists; PW, SLJ, Washington Post and Hornbook.

She may have traded in her “black heels for tractor wheels,” but Ree Drummond (who blogs at ThePioneerWoman.com) has not lost any of her L.A. style marketing skills.

After she chucked her career to move to a working Oklahoma cattle ranch (a “rugged and virile cowboy” was involved, of course), she began blogging about her new life. Then she published The Pioneer Woman Cooks (some of you still have holds on it) and became a best selling author (ten week in the top five on the NYT Hardcover Advice list).

Yesterday, she announced on her blog that her next book is coming in February and it jumped to #56 on Amazon’s sales rankings.

Libraries we checked have not ordered it.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels–A Love Story Ree Drummond Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: William Morrow – (2011-02-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061997161 / 9780061997167

Putnam has announced that they will publish a book about the Chilean miners’ rescue in February. Titled 33 Men, it’s by Jonathan Franklin, an American journalist who has lived in Chile for 15 years.

Two big commitments are on the agenda for tomorrow — voting and GalleyChat. For information on how to join the latter (begins at 4 pm., EST), link here.

During the last GalleyChat, Harper offered copies of Tom Franklin’s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. Over 150 people took advantage of that offer; we’d like to hear how you are enjoying it.

We’re also curious to know if you are taking advantage of Simon & Schuster’s eGalley program (the latest title being offered is the paranormal thriller, Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann, coming in February with a 200,000 copy printing).

Cryer’s Cross Lisa McMann Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse – (2011-02-08) ISBN / EAN: 1416994815 / 9781416994817

Below are some other titles on our radar. We look forward to hearing what’s on your TBR list.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption Laura Hillenbrand Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Random House – (2010-11-16) ISBN / EAN: 1400064163 / 9781400064168

RH Large Print; 9780375435010
RH Audio; 9780739319697

During our last galley chat, several wondered whether Laura Hillenbran’s new book will have as much appeal as the author’s earlier book Seabiscuit. I’ve read it and believe it will. In that book, Hillenbrand was able to get thousands fascinated by the story of a long-forgotten race horse. Imagine what the same author can do with a WWII hero who survived 47 days in the open ocean only to be captured by the Japanese. The book’s already received universally strong prepub reviews; we’re expecting heavy consumer coverage when it arrives in two weeks.

Looking ahead to the spring,

Left Neglected Lisa Genova Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Gallery – (2011-01-04) ISBN / EAN: 1439164630 / 9781439164631

Large Print; Thorndike; (ISBN 9781410433824; price $35.99; release date 1/5/2011

After Still Alice, a novel about  early-onset Alzheimer’s, this is the story about a woman afflicted with another brain disease; one that makes the sufferer unable to recognize part of themselves. Booklist has already called it “more accessible than her somber first book,” There is strong inhouse buzz that this will reach a wider audience than Still Alice.

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ARE’s for The Fates Will Find Their Way, a literary debut with strong inhouse buzz were sent in the Oct B&T mailing. Lee Boudraux’s editorial letter asks people to “take a moment” to read it; it’s a refreshingly short book (Boudraux terms it “economical”).

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West of Here Jonathan Evison Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Algonquin Books – (2011-02-15) ISBN / EAN: 1565129520 / 9781565129528

Highbridge Audio; 9781615731169

We’ve been hearing about this for months from Michael Rockliff, head of library marketing at Workman/Algonquin and we still have a few months to go before the public gets its hand on it. It’s picking up buzz at the regional bookseller shows, just received a star from LJ and it now has a Web site, complete with a timeline and newspaper clippings from the period the book covers.

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The Weird Sisters Eleanor Brown Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam – (2011-02-17) ISBN / EAN: 0399157220 / 9780399157226

Penguin Audio; 9780142428948

The sisters’ motto: “There is no problem a library card can’t solve.” From the editor that brought us The Help and The Postmistress, Booklist says that debut novel The Weird Sisters exhibits “no false steps.”

It may have seemed that she got a slow start. Belva Plain published her  first book, Evergreen, at 59, but she went on to write 20 more books, all best sellers. At 95, she died last week at her home in New Jersey, as reported by the New York Times.

Delacorte lists a new novel by Belva Plain to be published in February. It follows the story of the Stern family that began with her first book, Evergreen. Her previous title was Crossroads (Delacorte, 11/08).

Heartwood: A Novel Belva Plain Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Delacorte Press – (2011-02-08) ISBN / EAN: 0385344120 / 9780385344128

The amazing self-promoter with the daunting last name, Gary Vaynerchuk has a new book coming in March, The Thank You Economy that is already moving up Amazon’s sales rankings (currently at #182).

Vaynerchuk became an internet hit with his fast-talking, no-nonsense videos about wine, (described as “frenetic” by the NYT) created to promote his family’s wine shop and his 2009 book about internet marketing, Crush It!The new book is about giving great customer service.

The Thank You Economy Gary Vaynerchuk Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Harpercollins – (2011-03-08) ISBN / EAN: 0061914185 / 9780061914188

The deadline is nearing to sign up for a special look at 2011 adult titles from a wide range of publishers (sponsored by the Trade Library Committee of the Assoc. of American Publishers; they’re the library marketing folks), being held on Oct. 20, beginning at noon at Random House in New York City. More details here.

RSVP by October 8, 2010 to Marlene Scheuermann at mscheuermann@publishers.org.

New York magazine lists 20+ most anticipated books of the fall.

For an in-depth look at the upcoming season, crafted particularly for librarians, check out HarperCollins’ Fall Buzz presentation on our site.

Looking further ahead, publishers that have three seasons are beginning to release their Winter/Spring ’11 catalogs.

The new Penguin, Harper and Random House catalogs have recently been added to Edelweiss (make sure to take advantage of their nifty “GeoSearch” feature  that lets you identify books about your area or by local authors). Other publishers, such as Macmillan and Simon & Schuster offer e-catalogs on their own sites (links are available at the right, under “Publishers Catalogs”).