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Big Books of the Week

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel (Delacorte) leads library holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz (Berkley)

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin’s)

Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson, trans. by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Hogarth)

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

These books and others publishing the week of Jan. 2, 2023, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

News, Booklists & New Year Previews

EarlyWord’s GalleyChat migrates to Mastodon. This month’s chat will be held on both Twitter and Mastodon this Thursday, Jan. 5, from 4 to 5 pm ET. February 2’s chat will be on Mastodon only.

Barack Obama shares his favorite books of 2022.

The Guardian previews fiction and nonfiction to look for in 2023. 

LitHub recommends “12 new books to kick off your 2023 reading.”

Salon previews “22 books we’re looking forward to in 2023.”

ElectricLit shares “The Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of Spring 2023.”

The Root lists “January 2023 Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait To Read.”

Bustle shares “The Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2023” and “20 Books by British & Irish Women To Look Out for in 2023.”

BookPage previews 2023’s most anticipated fiction, nonfiction, mystery & suspense, romance, and science fiction & fantasy. 

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Four LibraryReads and eight Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin’s)

“Mystery writer Emily reunites with her famous self-help guru friend Chess, who invites her to a beautiful Tuscan villa that was the scene of a brutal murder in the 1970s. The story flashes back to 1974 where Mari and her stepsister Laura try to create their own art while surrounded by a rockstar and his guests. It had a great twist ending and evoked a gothic feel with tension in both timelines.”—Kathie Jackson, Sunrise Mountain Library, Peoria, AZ

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Six weeks in an Italian Villa is an ideal summer for best friends Chess and Emily—except for the secrets they’ve kept. The Villa has secrets of its own. ‘Houses remember’ is the first line of a book written at the Villa; this one has seen it all!”—Beth Mynhier, Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest, IL

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (Dutton)

“Maya sees a viral video of a woman in a diner dropping dead while seated across from her boyfriend. Maya knows this man, as years ago her friend also died suddenly in front of him. Reyes keeps readers guessing, creating a wonderfully sinister undertone while enriching the suspense by incorporating elements of Guatemala’s history. For fans of Behind Her Eyes.”—Blinn Sheffield, Greenwood-Leflore Public Library, Greenwood, MS

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (Ballantine; LJ starred review)

“An amazing debut novel about a group of women who are part of a micro-loan community in an Indian village. Everyone thinks Geeta has killed her no-good, rotten, abusive husband, so the other women want her to kill their husbands too. A story full of humor, pathos, and suspense.”—Ariel Zeitlin, Montclair Public Library, Montclair, NJ

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“A rebuke of misogynistic violence and a rollicking romp through an erstwhile crime spree, The Bandit Queens is incisive, yet funny and sweet in its sharpness. This tongue-in-cheek celebration of women’s solidarity is not to be missed.”—Milo Michels, University Book Store, Seattle, WA

Back in a Spell by Lana Harper (Berkley; LJ starred review)

“Witch Nina Blackmoore must decide who she is and what matters most when her rocky date with “normie” Morty Gutierrez results in a magical bond between the two. With solid pacing, tremendous feats of magic, and a sweet and passionate romance, this third installment of the Thistle Grove series will knock your socks off. For fans of Ann Aguirre.”— Shannon Collins, Upper Dublin Public Library, Fort Washington, PA

Six additional Indie Next picks publish this week, including the #1 pick:

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

“A potent and moving crime drama set in India, Age of Vice takes a magnifying glass to the corruption and violence caused by wealth. Sweeping in scope yet attuned to the minute details of everyday life, this is a novel that’s not to be missed.”—Bennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson, trans. by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Hogarth)

“If you love a good Swedish crime novel or are a fan of Stieg Larsson then this book is for you! A runaway bestseller in Sweden, this is the American debut for the author and a can’t-put-down thriller that had me guessing until the end.”—Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone (Scribner)

“A highly immersive thriller on an insular and remote Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides. Johnstone uses this wild ‘thin place’ (where the division between this world and the next is porous) to great effect—she clearly knows her stuff.”—Debra Ginsberg, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA

In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari (A John Scognamiglio Book: Kensington)

“A poignant exploration of family, migration, cultural revolution, and community ties. Pari crafts nuanced characters woven together and torn apart by the same events; the journeys they each travel are momentous. This is a must-read.”—Ashleigh Howland, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA

Sam by Allegra Goodman (Dial)

“You’ve never read a novel like Sam. Sam’s seminal years leave her insecure at best, entering adulthood with a number of missteps. Rock climbing gives her purpose; it doesn’t take her where she wants to go, but leads to unseen paths. Powerful.”—Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

The New Life by Tom Crewe (Scribner)

“Crewe pays great tribute to those throughout history who have braved the battles to rightfully normalize homosexuality. Addington and Ellis boldly believed in a New Life for everyone. Their legacy is nothing less than inspiring.”—Barbara Hall, Readers’ Books, Sonoma, CA

In the Media

The People “Picks” book of the week is The Circus Train by Amita Parikh (Putnam). Also getting attention are The Villa by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin’s) and The Color of Family by Jerry McGill (Little A). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction by Jamie Kreiner (Liveright), Have You Eaten Yet?: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World by Cheuk Kwan (Pegasus), and The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise by Pico Iyer (Riverhead). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Hulu’s series adaptation of Kindred, based on the book by Octavia Butler. The cover feature looks at the many talents of Drew Barrymore. Plus, recipes from Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things (Clarkson Potter; LJ starred review), and Lisa Lillien, Hungry Girl Simply Comfort (St. Martin’s Griffin).

Reviews

NYT reviews Ghost Music by An Yu (Grove): “Ghost Music inverts the tropes of the ghost story, which often feature spirits acting out in the violent, passionate way of the living—hurling objects from tabletops, demanding recognition and restitution—instead drawing the familiar world of human life closer to the enigmatic realm of the dead.”

The Washington Post reviews Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor (Riverhead; LJ starred review): “Ordinarily, if a novelist introduced a new narrator on Page 442 with a 34-page detour, I’d be rolling my eyes in exasperation. Here, it feels like some forbidden elixir to be hoarded”; The New Life by Tom Crewe (Scribner): “Crewe keeps one eye on the past and the other on the future; his book brims with élan and feeling, an ode to eros and a lost world, and a warning about the dangers ahead”; and Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg (Doubleday; LJ starred review): “Greenberg is known for his ability to explain complicated technology in a way anyone can understand, and he doesn’t disappoint when he tackles crypto.” Plus, there are reviews of “four sci-fi and fantasy stories about women who survive the worst.”

Datebook reviews Have You Eaten Yet?: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World by Cheuk Kwan (Pegasus): “Have You Eaten Yet? isn’t the most provocative read, but it will certainly leave you hungry for Chinese food.”

Briefly Noted

Audiofile announces the January 2023 Earphones Award Winners.

NYPL names Brent Reidy as director of its Research Libraries. 

January’s Costco Connection is out, featuring buyers’ picks: The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine; LJ starred review), new in paperback, and The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (Dutton). The suggested book club pick is The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (St. Martin’s Griffin), also out in paperback this week. 

The Washington Post talks with Shaun Bythell about owning a bookstore and his latest book, Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary (David R. Godine: Ingram). 

NYT previews 10 books coming out in January. 

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads shares 10 new books this week. 

BookRiot highlights books publishing this week. 

Shondaland has “10 Meditative Books To Help You Slow Down.”

Tor suggests “6 SFF Works To Brighten Gloomy Days.”

NYT reports on librarians reaching readers on TikTok. 

Past winners of the Baillie Gifford Prize recommend books at LitHub. 

T&C has book suggestions for fans of Knives Out. 

USA Today highlights works entering the public domain in 2023, including Arthur Conan-Doyle’s last Sherlock Holmes book. See the full list at Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain.

Gayle King recommends Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times (Crown; LJ starred review) and The Modern Loss Handbook by Rebecca Soffer (Running Pr.), at OprahDaily.

The Atlantic considers “Why Travel Inspires So Many Writers.”

NYT promotes Well’s “7-Day Happiness Challenge,” highlighting The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz (S. & S.), due out next week.

“Cara De Silva, Food Historian Who Preserved Jewish Recipes, Dies at 83.”  

“Jean Franco, 98, Pioneering Scholar of Latin American Literature, Dies.”

“Edith Pearlman, Writer Who Won Acclaim Late in Life, Dies at 86.” NYT has obituaries.

Authors on Air

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lies in state. NBC has coverage. The National Catholic Register reflects on “his most significant theological works.”  ABC News reports that Archbishop Georg Gaenswein will publish a tell-all book about his time as the Pope’s longtime personal secretary, Nothing But the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI, with the Piemme imprint of Italian publishing giant Mondadori. The Chicago Tribune also reports. 

FoxNews revisits Barbara Walters’s 2009 memoir Audition (Vintage). Today has tributes to the pioneering journalist, who died on December 30. PBS Canvas remembers her legacy. 

Washington Post book critic Ron Charles discusses his favorite novels of 2022 on CBS Sunday Morning.

NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour makes 2023 pop culture resolutions.

Kirk Cameron gives an interview with Fox News following his book reading at Indianapolis Public Library. Deadline reports. 

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