Want to get the latest book news delivered to your inbox each day? Sign up for our daily Book Pulse newsletter.

Big Books of the Week

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Berkley; LJ starred review) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Sisters Murder Investigations by James Patterson & Candice Fox (Little, Brown)

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (Harper Muse; LJ starred review)

Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer (Ballantine)

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (S. & S.)

These books and others publishing the week of April 21, 2025, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Remembering Pope Francis

“Francis, the First Latin American Pope, Dies at 88.” NYT has an obituary. Washington Post, The Guardian, and Time have remembrances.

Pope Francis was the author of a number of books, including Life: My Story Through History, tr. by Aubrey Botsford (HarperOne); Hope: The Autobiography, written with Carlo Musso, tr. by Richard Dixon (Random); and I Want You To Be Happy: Finding Peace and Abundance in Everyday Life (FaithWords).

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three Indie Next picks publish this week.

Gabriële by Anne Berest & Claire Berest, tr. by Tina Kover (Europa Editions)

“A beautiful book about the talented French musician Gabriële Buffet and her tumultuous relationship with the artist Francis Picabia. A wonderful book for art and history lovers, and anyone who wants a novel about a strong woman.”—Kelly Evert, Village Books, Bellingham, WA

Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put by Annie B. Jones (HarperOne)

“Fans of Annie Jones will love this peek behind the scenes, but even for those unfamiliar with Annie’s story, these essays are deeply relatable. Perfect for people who stayed in their hometowns, who lead a quieter life, and who have struggled with their faith.”—Claire McWhorter, River & Hill Books, Rome, GA

The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Doubleday)

“The Pretender reads like Kurt Vonnegut wrote Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall by way of Ken Follett! A cousin of princes raised as a farm boy discovers he is an heir to the throne…if only Henry VII would die. Terrific!”—William Carl, An Unlikely Story, Plainville, MA

In the Media

People’s book of the week is Atavists: Stories by Lydia Millet (Norton). Also getting attention are The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (S. & S.) and The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner). Titles with “powerful social statements” include Zeal by Morgan Jerkins (Harper), Big Chief by Jon Hickey (S. & S.), and Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman (Tor). There is a Q&A with “the Queen of Beach Reads,” Emily Henry, whose latest book, Great Big Beautiful Life (Berkley; LJ starred review), publishes this week.

The “Picks“ section spotlights The Amateur, based on the novel by Robert Littell. There is a profile of Christie Brinkley, whose memoir Uptown Girl (Harper Influence) publishes next week. There is also a summer movie preview. Plus, a recipe from Diane Morrisey, author of You Got This!: Recipes Anyone Can Make and Everyone Will Love (Simon Elemen; LJ starred review).

Reviews

NYT reviews Notes to John by Joan Didion (Knopf): “This book is a comparative bargain with the same effect: darkening some of the dazzle of an important star, clarifying but also complicating our view”; Atavists: Stories by Lydia Millet (Norton): “Most of these stories do not stand on their own—they aren’t meant to—which puts a lot of pressure on their cumulative power to stir in readers both the dread and joy of being alive”; Exit Zero: Stories by Marie-Helene Bertino (Farrar): “Through all of Exit Zero Bertino blurs the line between writer and magician”; and Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer by David Denby (Holt): “A longtime writer for The New Yorker, Denby, an obviously talented raconteur, perfects the ironic erudition that has long characterized that magazine’s style.”

Plus, Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life by Dan Nadel (Scribner): “Nadel is a canny visual reader of comics, and he traces Crumb’s influence on a long line of cartoonists, from Art Spiegelman and Matt Groening to Daniel Clowes, Lynda Barry and Seth.” Washington Post also reviews: “Fans of Crumb and those invested in learning more about the history of underground comics will find much to embrace.”

Washington Post also reviews The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Doubleday): “The Pretender offers a new beginning fashioned by the hand of a man whose life till now has been subject to the designs of others. It’s so suitable and (cautiously) hopeful that readers may (almost) wish for a sequel”; and Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI by John Cassidy (Farrar): “Cassidy relates the major events of capitalism’s biography — its origins in state-backed mercantilist monopolies, its embrace of industrialization, its half-hearted efforts at self-regulation, its eventual celebration of global free trade—through the eyes of thinkers and activists who have resisted its temptations.”

Briefly Noted

Brenda Peynado wins the Philip K. Dick Award for her novel Time’s Agent (Tor.com; LJ starred review). A special citation was given to Adrian Tchaikovsky for his novel Alien Clay (Orbit). Watch the ceremony here.

Infodocket shares details on OCLC’s filing against Baker & Taylor “over claims of interference with contracts and misuse of OCLC’s product, WorldCat.”

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books for the week.

WSJ highlights 17 books for the week.

People recommends “10 Nonfiction Women’s History Books.”

USA Today reports on the return of the silent book club trend.

People goes behind the scenes with a preview of A Minecraft Movie: From Block to Big Screen by Andrew Farago (Insight Editions), due out this week.

Authors on Air

LitHub's First Draft podcast talks with Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda about her new translation of Yuko Tsushima’s novel Wildcat Dome (Farrar).

Isaac Marion is adapting his forthcoming novel The Overnoise as a feature film, Deadline reports.

Jason Wilson, The Man the Moment Demands: Master the 10 Characteristics of the Comprehensive Man (Thomas Nelson), visits Tamron Hall today.

Chris Hayes, The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource (Penguin Pr.), will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Want to get the latest book news delivered to your inbox each day? Sign up for our daily Book Pulse newsletter.