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Big Books of the Week

Sooley by John Grisham (Doubleday: Random House) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Finding Ashley by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press: Random House)

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

Reunion Beach: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank by Elin Hilderbrand et al. (William Morrow)

Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf: LJ starred review)

These books and others publishing the week of April 26th, 2021 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

There are two LibraryReads selections publishing this week:

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkeley)

“Meddy’s blind date doesn't end as planned, and she now has a corpse to dispose of. Her mother’s solution: call in the three aunties. What follows is a roller coaster ride of a weekend with the Chan family trying to get rid of the body while working at a high profile wedding. A fast-paced and darkly humorous debut with sweet romantic moments throughout. For fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and Get a Life, Chloe Brown.”—Laura Eckert, Clermont County Public Library, Milford, OH

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin (Dutton)

"Beekeeper Alice is an older widow who is working to save her small town from big corporate greed. She forms an alliance with two young adults who both find unexpected joy in nature. For those who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.”—Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library, Elm Grove, WI

It is also an Indie Next selection:

“Comparing this book to Eleanor Oliphant left me a bit skeptical, but the comparison is fair and I’d even say that The Music of Bees stands on its own beautifully. Add in some interesting facts on bees and heartwarming stories of lovable, offbeat characters and you have a winner.”—Pat Rudebusch, Orinda Books, Orinda, CA

Three additional Indie Next selections arrive this week:

Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur (Erewhon)

“At its heart, Folklorn is a haunting and lyrical novel about mythology, science, generational trauma, and identity, but it’s also much more. I took my time reading this since I wanted to really stop and think about the questions it raised. A truly memorable, genre-bending reading experience!” —Grace Rajendran, University Book Store, Seattle, WA

Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, Bk. 6) by Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

“I haven’t felt such joy reading a sci-fi series in a long time. Murderbot is just the best. If you’ve been putting off reading The Murderbot Diaries, go start right now!” —Katherine Osborne, Letterpress Books, Portland, ME

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey (William Morrow)

“An absolutely incredible concept brought to life by a stunning new voice in literature. We get to know the two protagonists so completely as they live their lives. This novel has time travel, mystery, self-exploration, and at its heart true love. Just the best kind of storytelling.” —Becky Doherty, Northshire Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY

In the Media

People's book of the week is Little Matches: A Memoir of Grief and Light by Maryanne O’Hara (HarperOne). Also getting attention are Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone (Scribner) and What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins (Riverhead). A “New in Nonfiction" section highlights Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967–1975 by Richard Thompson (Algonquin; LJ starred review), World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain & Laurie Woolever (Ecco: HarperCollins; LJ starred review), and Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants by George W. Bush (Crown).

The “Picks” section features the Netflix adaptations Shadow and Bone, based on the novels by Leigh Bardugo and Things Heard and Seen, based on the book All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. Also, profiles of Julianna Margulies, author of Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life (Ballantine) and Cindy McCain, Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor In My Life With John McCain (Forum: Penguin Random House).

Reviews

The Washington Post reviews When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (Ballantine): “an atmospheric and intricately plotted suspense novel. But be forewarned: For some of us readers who remember the real-time terror of Klaas’s kidnapping and its tragic aftermath, this novel may be too faithful to history to be wholly pleasurable.” Also, Until Justice Be Done by Kate Masur (W.W. Norton): “Masur’s monumental account leaves no doubt that a generation of 19th-century racial egalitarians altered history. They forced white supremacists to change course, and they created resources used ever since by advocates in the fight for equality.” The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: Hachette): “an innovative audio book with music, sound effects and archival clips as well as a paperback. Gladwell’s easy conversational style works well in both formats, and his admiration for the Bomber Mafia shines through.” The NYT also reviews: “a conversational work, almost garrulous at times, as when he reports that one psychologist ‘has a heartbreaking riff about what one member of a couple will often say when the other one dies — that some part of him or her has died along with the partner.’ However, this chatty style also glides over some important historical questions.” The Enduring Kiss: Seven Short Lessons on Love by Massimo Recalcati (Polity): “his ‘lessons’ feel less like an offering and more like a circular conversation among European men whose real love is the sound of their own voices.” The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White (Norton; LJ starred review): “explores the master’s life and work through a dozen different prisms that expose and illuminate his various personas.” Plus, The Triumph of Nancy Reagan by Karen Tumulty (S. & S): “she had the energy and stamina to play the ultimate role of her life, that of a first lady who unstintingly made her husband the best president he could be — at least in her adoring eyes and among his legions of admirers.”

NPR reviews CURB by Divya Victor (Nightboat Books): “a profound act of poetic debridement for the South Asian American diaspora, and an insistent plea to resist erasure by first acknowledging, absorbing, processing, and remembering our own communal histories.”

Briefly Noted

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

Oprah Daily has “50 Most Anticipated Romance Novels of 2021 to Renew Your Faith in Love.”

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award winners are announced, including The Prize for Literature won by Dr. Iman Mersal for her book In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat.

John Grisham talks basketball, books, and his new novel Sooley (Doubleday: Random House) with The Washington Post.

The NYT interviews Rachel Kushner, The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000–2020 (Scribner), on “What She Takes From Art (and Artists).”

Laura Dave, The Last Thing He Told Me (S. & S.), talks to Entertainment Weekly about how Enron inspired her forthcoming novel.

The LA Times has an interview with Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews, Stronger Together (Audible), about their marriage, healing and faith. Also, a panel of short story writers considers “vast spaces” at the LA Book Festival.

Fox News notes that Martha Stewart will publish her 99th cookbook this year. Martha Stewart's Fruit Desserts: 100+ Delicious Ways to Savor the Best of Every Season: A Baking Book (Clarkson Potter) will come out in September.

LitHub has a US cover reveal for Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka’s new novel, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (Pantheon), which will be published in September.

DC launches new a imprint, DC Horror, and will begin with The Conjuring: The Lover, a five-issue limited series, Entertainment Weekly reports.

CrimeReads features a panel of writers of psychological thrillers and domestic suspense “who discuss writing during the pandemic and where the genre is headed next.”

Kathie Coblentz, the New York Public Library’s third-longest serving employee dies at 73. Also, Al Young, who served as California’s poet laureate and also wrote about jazz, dies at 81. The New York Times has both obituaries.

Authors on Air

"Chloé Zhao Makes Oscars History As First Woman Of Color To Win Oscars Directing Award" for Nomadland, Deadline reports. Watch Zhao’s acceptance speech. Nomadland, based on the book by Jessica Bruder, also took home the Best Picture Award. Variety has the story and a full list of winners and GMA has a recap.

NPR’s Alt Latino speaks with Ben Lapidus, author of New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940-1990 (University Press of Mississippi) about New York City's Influence On Latin Music.

NPR’s All Things Considered talks to Ben Kirby about his new book, PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities (Thomas Nelson). Also, an interview with Leigh Bardugo on the diversity of the Grishaverse and seeing her work adapted for television. NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour calls Bardugo’s Shadow And Bone “Tsar-tlingly Bingeable”, and The LA Times explains why Netflix “spliced together” her beloved books.

Paul and Justin Theroux talk with The NYT about their collaboration on the forthcoming Apple TV+ series and the shared history behind ‘The Mosquito Coast’.

The Hollywood Reporter announces that Josh Hartnett will join the cast of The Fear Index, a four-part thriller based on the book by Robert Harris.

MiLu Entertainment and Ian Reichbach are developing a TV series based on Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba by Tom Gjelten, “which fuses the story of the Bacardi family’s famous rum business with Cuba’s tumultuous experience over the last 150 years, including Cuba’s fight for freedom, its tortured relationship with America, and the rise of Fidel Castro.” Deadline has the news.

Fox News highlights a new Wondery true-crime podcast titled MANslaughter, which is based on Dorothy Marcic’s 2018 book, With One Shot: Family Murder and a Search for Justice (Citadel).

Tordotcom has a piece on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and “The Need to Do Better.”

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