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Big Books of the Week

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman: Viking) leads holds this week. 

Other titles in demand include:

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave (S. & S./Marysue Rucci)

The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop (Gallery)

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty by Hillary Rodham Clinton (S. & S.)

Stay by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen (Bloom)

These books and others publishing the week of September 16, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Six LibraryReads and five Indie Next picks publish this week:

Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

“Alam’s latest searing social novel asks: Can money truly buy happiness, or is it rather, the root of all evil? Brooke is a progressive young woman hired to assist a billionaire in giving away his fortune before he dies. She quickly becomes seduced by wealth and power, wanting to use the money to her own advantage. Her upbringing, race, gender, and privilege all play a part in the decisions she faces. Perfect for book groups.”—Rebecca Vnuk, LibraryReads

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“In Entitlement, Rumaan Alam’s prose is at its most effortless, his storytelling at its most engrossing,his pacing at its most propulsive. Questions of race, class, generosity, and obsession weave through a thoroughly unpredictable story.”—Joelle Herr, The Bookshop, Nashville, TN

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft (Del Rey; LJ starred review)

“On an expedition to find an enchanted spring, Lorelei and Sylvia must work together to solve the murder of their leader. Exploring themes of magic, romance, adventure, political intrigue, academic rivalry, racism and classism, grief, and healing make for a really good read. The strange, unpredictability of the magic makes the plot engaging.”—Shannon Carney, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Mesmerizing, romantic, and charged through poignant critiques of nationalistic literature.Saft’s adult debut challenges the dark origins of twisted fairytales with empathy while weaving a tense web of sapphic yearning. A new favorite!”—Isabel Agajanian, The Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson (Ace: Berkeley)

“This dark academia fantasy is an immersive, glittering jewel shot through with tendrils of true horror. In Savannah, GA, a young woman gets recruited to a mysterious academy of magic teeming with secrets. Fans of Lev Grossman and Olivie Blake will enjoy this book, yet Henderson is a wholly unique voice in the genre.”—Gregg Winsor, Johnson County Library, MO

Hall of Fame pick The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave (S. & S./Marysue Rucci) is also the #1 Indie Next pick:

“Laura Dave’s signature blend of twisty mystery, family drama, and moving love story is top-notch in this tender and profound exploration of grief, truth, trust, and forgiveness. A perfect follow-up to The Last Thing He Told Me!”—Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, MA

Other Hall of Fame picks include We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman: Viking) and Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik (Del Rey). 

Two additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts by Louis Bayard (Algonquin; LJ starred review)

“Bayard transports us to the British countryside, an Italian villa, the trenches of France, and back to London. Told in the language of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The Wildes involves the entire Wilde family and the scandalous drama that ensues.”—Mindy Ostrow, The River’s End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by Mariana Enríquez, tr. by Megan McDowell (Hogarth)

“Mariana Enríquez is willing and able to explore the darkness simmering in both Buenos Aires and the Argentinean countryside. Be prepared for her mesmerizing storytelling and otherworldly horrors.”—Elizabeth Ahlquist, Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, LA

In the Media

People’s book of the week is The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts by Louis Bayard (Algonquin; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (Crown) and Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Riverhead; LJ starred review). A “Spooky Season Thrillers” section highlights So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison (Berkley; LJ starred review), Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon (Bantam), and William by Mason Coile (Putnam). Plus, there is an interview with Kelly Bishop, The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir (Gallery).

The “Picks” section spotlights Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand, and The Critic, based on the novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. There is a fall TV preview. People remembers James Earl Jones and his legacy. There is also a feature on Uzo Aduba and her new memoir, The Road Is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter’s Purpose (Viking). Plus, there are recipes from Tamron Hall, A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen, with Lish Steiling (Hyperion Avenue), and Michael Solomonov, Zahav Home: Cooking for Friends & Family, with Steven Cook (Harvest).

Reviews

NYT reviews Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (Morrow): “This book is not for everyone. I’m not sure it’s for me. But I’ve scraped myself up off the floor to be able to write: Tulathimutte is a big talent and he is clearly just getting started”; Stench: The Making of the Thomas Court and the Unmaking of America by David Brock (Knopf): “Stench is inevitably suffused with dramatic irony: Brock, a seasoned political street fighter with an inglorious past, is warning about ‘the integrity of the high court’”; She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street by Paulina Bren (Norton): “In She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street, the historian Paula Bren takes us on a lively journey through many of these women’s careers, showing how ingenuity and dogged persistence led to occasional bursts of success”; Hampton Heights: One Harrowing Night in the Most Haunted Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Dan Kois (Harper Perennial): “It’s a testament to Kois’s sharp eye and warm heart—and his well-honed balance of earnest emotional truths, frightening moments and judiciously deployed scatological jokes—that the novel still feels fresh even in a post-Stranger Things world”; Question 7 by Richard Flanagan (Knopf): “The title is a reference to an obscure short story by Chekhov, but the book’s presiding spirit is W.G. Sebald, whose memoir-like novels also move between the individual life and the deep waters of history—particularly the poisoned legacy of World War II”; and Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue by Sonia Purnell (Viking): “The majority of biographies lose steam as the subject ages; Kingmaker gets a strong second wind with Harriman’s early talent spotting of Bill Clinton, among the many muckety-mucks interviewed for Kingmaker.”

Washington Post reviews We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman: Viking): “This is both an auspicious start to an entertaining new series and a perfect stopgap to tide us over until Joyce and her friends beguile us all over again”; Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung (Grand Central): “Chung’s memoir, often enchanting and enlightening, serves as a historical account of broadcast news during its most powerful, competitive and sometimes most absurd era”; Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot (Liveright): “Boot’s splendid biography reminds us that Reagan was the leader many Americans felt they needed at a time when they were looking for national restoration, and they may seek his like again”; Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous by Gillian Anderson (Abrams): “Amid the raunch, the heat and—yes—the romance threaded throughout this collection is the longing to be seen, desired, understood. This is the least salacious, and most tender, theme in Want”; and Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty by Hillary Rodham Clinton (S. & S.): “If you read the news, you will find few surprises here. Clinton preaches to the converted, her legion of admirers who will happily pay $30 for this book because they know precisely where she stands.”

Briefly Noted

The National Book Awards released its longlists last week. Here are the honorees in all categories. Washington Post has coverage.

Yurina Yoshikawa has won the inaugural Southern Prize for Literary Arts. Constance Collier-Mercado is named finalist.

CrimeReads previews the most anticipated crime, horror, and mystery novels for fall and suggests 10 new books for the week.

Connie Chung talks about her memoir, Connie (Grand Central), with USA Today. 

NYT has a profile and interview with Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert about their partnership and new cookbook, Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves (Celadon).

NYT examines the staying power of Robert A. Caro’s 1975 book, The Power Broker : Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Knopf).

NYT highlights Will Self’s latest book, Elaine (Grove; LJ starred review). 

Authors on Air

Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses her new memoir, Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty (S. & S.), with CBS Sunday Morning. Read an excerpt here. 

Shōgun, based on the novel by James Clavell, wins 18 Emmy Awards, Variety reports. Shelf-Awareness rounds up more book-related Emmy winners.

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