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Buzzy Books, New, and Coming Soon

Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Tate (Avid Reader Press: S. & S) is the November book club pick from Reese Witherspoon.

The second book in the Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good by Timothy Zahn (Del Rey: Random House), will arrive on Star Wars Day, May 4, 2021. io9 reports.

The NYT examines efforts to diversify the insular world of publishing houses, highlighting examples such as executive editor Krishan Trotman's development of the new Legacy Lit imprint at Hachette, which is "dedicated to social justice and focused on works by writers of color" and is set to publish its first books in 2022. Also noted in the NYT piece: Simon & Schuster's appointment of Cuban-American Aminda Marqués González, former executive editor of The Miami Herald, to vice president and executive editor, and the announcement that they'll publish Freedom Lost, Freedom Won, a memoir by Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. Publishers Weekly has more details on Legacy Lit.

Vanity Fair does a deep dive into bulk buys and the NYT Best-Seller Lists.

WWE commentator Renée Paquette announced her new cookbook, Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously (Permuted: S. & S.), on Instagram. It's due out May 18, 2021.

In other forthcoming book news, the hardcover edition of the graphic novel This Is Where We Fall by Chris Miskiewicz and Vincent Kings (Z2 Comics: S. & S.) will arrive in March 2021 packaged with a soundtrack, on cassette or vinyl, by Mitski. Pitchfork reports. Also, Tordotcom announces a two-book deal with Alexandra Rowland, the first of which will be the historical fantasy novel A Taste of Gold and Iron. It is due out in 2022.

Page to Screen

Oct. 30:

The Mandalorian, which has associated titles. Disney+. No reviews | Trailer

Suburra, inspired by the book by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

Nov. 3:

Acute Misfortune, based on the book by Erik Jensen. VOD. Reviews | Trailer

Nov. 5:

Paranormal, based on the series by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

The Washington Post reviews Divorcing by Susan Taubes (NYRB Classics: Random House; reissue): "I have rarely read a novel as death-haunted as this one." Also, The Virginia Dynasty: Four Presidents and the Creation of the American Nation, Lynne Cheney (Viking: Penguin): "As a work of history, the book is a disciplined, agreeably constructed synthesis. As a human interest story it is no less agreeable." Stalin: Passage to Revolution by Ronald Grigor Suny (Princeton): "The book’s strength lies not in any innovative, broad analysis but in its excavation of important episodes of the early years." Fauci by Michael Specter (Audible): "'Fauci' the audiobook is not quite a biography, with deep research into its subject yielding penetrating insights. Instead, it employs the remarkable career of this man of the pandemic moment to personify the side of virtue in Specter’s moral reasoning about good vs. evil." The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War by David Nasaw (Penguin; LJ starred review): "Nasaw has done a real service in resurrecting this history, but what’s often missing are the personal narratives of the individuals who lived through this period. One has to turn to other forms — novels, plays, memoirs — to grasp the full human drama." The Cold Millions by Jess Walter (Harper): "The only guarantee is that Walter’s new tragicomedy about this moment of American history is one of the most captivating novels of the year."

NPR's Fresh Air also reviews The Cold Millions: "The plot-heavy structure suggests something else Walter is sentimental about here, namely the traditional historical novel…Walter's style owes even more to midcult yarns by Kenneth Roberts, Herman Wouk, and Howard Fast, tellers of big stories about the forgotten foot soldiers of the past in novels like 'Northwest Passage' and 'Spartacus.'"

The L.A. Times reviews Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark (Knopf): "The melodrama of her life and its horrific conclusion overwhelms the fact that above all, Plath was a poet ... Now, after nearly half a century, new information has emerged, old grudges been buried. The result is Clark’s defining project, both a joyful affirmation for Plath fanatics and a legitimization of her legacy."

Book Mark picks “The Best Reviewed Books of the Week.”

Briefly Noted

Elle picks "The Best Books Of 2020 (So Far)."

The NYT has "12 New Books We Recommend This Week."

O: The Oprah Magazine lists "The 42 Best LGBTQ Books of 2020."

The 2020 CBC Poetry Prize longlist includes 32 writers. The winner will be announced Nov. 12.

Hear an excerpt from Still Learning by India Oxenberg (Audible), former NXIVM member, at Elle.

Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics (Chronicle), "Shares the Heartwarming Stories Behind 10 of Her Favorite Songs" with Parade.

Ed Lin, David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets into an Ivy League College (Kaya: D.A.P. Artbook), does a Q&A with Electric Lit.

In a Q&A with Amazon, John Grisham talks A Time for Mercy (Doubleday: Random House), but also about writing light "beach books."

The Guardian profiles Matt Furie, Mindviscosity (Fantagraphics: W. W. Norton), described as "a superhumanly gentle person" who "never wanted to be in the political limelight."

Hoda Kotb, This Just Speaks to Me: Words to Live By Every Day (G.P. Putnam’s Sons: Penguin), shares her favorite bits of pop culture with Entertainment Weekly.

The L.A. Times talks with Kevin Kwan, Sex and Vanity (Doubleday: Random House) during its Festival of Books.

Tana French addresses the "Books That Made Me" column in The Guardian.

Book Riot has tips for adults to improve reading comprehension.

Parents of North Carolina teen have filed a federal lawsuit to have a high school remove The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo from its curriculum. The Charlotte Observer reports.

Penguin Random House is extending an Open License for librarians, teachers, and others to conduct online readings through March 31, 2021.

The American Booksellers Association notes a recent increase in online sales may correspond to increased numbers of COVID-19 cases. Amazon's reported quarterly profits support that, as MarketWatch notes.

Authors on Air

Marc Forster will direct a feature adaptation of White Bird: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio, which expands on characters in Wonder, which also has a film adaptation.

The CW has set season premier dates for Batwoman, Nancy Drew, The Flash, and more. Variety has the info.

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