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Awards & News

The 2023 £50,000 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction announces its shortlist. The Guardian has coverage.

The 2023 Utopia Awards are announced. Locus has details.

Big Books of the Week

Blood Lines by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille (Scribner) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella (Dial)

Obsession by Stuart Woods and Brett Battles (Putnam)

Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (Berkley)

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (Morrow)

These books and others publishing the week of October 9, 2023, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Four LibraryReads and three Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella (Dial)

“This fun summer camp sports romance is a perfect beach read. The characters are complex, and the men (other than the ‘bad guys’) are written to be very respectful of and thoughtful to the women in their lives, whether in friendship or romance. The book is also very sex-positive. Readers who missed the first book in this series won’t feel like they are missing anything, but will want to catch up!”—Jennifer Lizak, Chicago Public Library, IL

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone (Avon; LJ starred review)

“When rule-follower Winnie decides to take part in a steamy Christmas movie, she doesn't have a clue how to perform racy scenes. She asks co-star Kallum, the former chubby goofball member of a boy band, for sexy practice sessions. As the two grow closer, can they get past their issues and have a real relationship?”—Jessica C Williams,Tiffin-Seneca Public Library, OH

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“A gloriously spicy holiday romance that is hilarious and heart wrenching—celebrating holiday joy while tackling topics like religion and purity culture. Holly Jolly is a trademark balance of laughter, spice, and everything nice!”—Jenni Marchisotto, Mysterious Galaxy Books, San Diego, CA

Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (Berkley)

“Neighbors Kate and Christopher grew up together and over the years, snarky comments and shenanigans ensue until Kate flees home. When she returns years later, the animosity between them hasn’t waned. With their families begging for peace, they determine they need to get along. Which they do…too well. Readers will find watching them fall in love to be nothing short of magical.”—Taylor Banze, St. Charles City-County Library, MO

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (Morrow)

“A Chinese woman desperate to find with the daughter adopted without her consent makes a dangerous journey to the U.S. Her story intersects explosively with that of an editor eager to recover from a career-ending scandal. Kwok hooks readers with an emotionally gripping story of two mothers willing to risk everything to protect what they love, skillfully balancing perspectives to a riveting climax.”—Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign Public Library, IL

Four additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto, tr. by Asa Yoneda (Counterpoint)

“Have you ever felt haunted by something from your childhood? A vague memory on the edge of remembrance? Yoshimoto unravels hidden grief, loneliness, and family secrets in The Premonition. Originally published in the ’80s, this is timeless.”—Jenny Gilroy, E. Shaver, Bookseller, Savannah, GA

The Hive and the Honey: Stories by Paul Yoon (S. & S./MarySue Rucci)

“Paul Yoon portrays 400 years of violence suffered by Korean people, dispersed by uncontrollable events with profound consequences on their lives. His concise, incisive stories bring all of these tales to life and probe universal truths.”—Bill Cusumano, Square Books, Oxford, MS

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare (Del Rey: Ballantine)

“I grew up reading Cassandra Clare. Here I am as an adult, reading her adult debut, a masterwork of worldbuilding and beautiful respect for her own history woven in. Sword Catcher is the next unstoppable force in the world of adult fantasy.”—Caitlyn VanOrder, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC

Family Meal by Bryan Washington (Riverhead; LJ starred review)

“Family Meal is a heartbreaking story of love, loss, and grief. Cam returns to Houston after the love of his life, Kai, dies. He and his estranged best friend, TJ, try to work through their grief and past hurts. A painful, gorgeous read.”—Kristen Beverly, Half Price Books, Dallas, TX

In the Media

People’s book of the week is Family Meal by Bryan Washington (Riverhead; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf; LJ starred review), and While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appelman (Harper Paperbacks). There is also a Q&A with Jason Reynolds about his picture book debut, There Was a Party for Langston, illus. by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books; SLJ starred review).

The “Scoop” features a Q&A with Patrick Stewart about his memoir, Making It So (Gallery). The “Picks” section spotlights Netflix’s limited series The Fall Of The House Of Usher, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, based on the play by Herman Wouk. There is a feature on Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, whose latest cookbook, Lidia’s From Our Family Table to Yours: More Than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions written with Tanya Bastianich Manuali (Knopf), arrived in September. Plus, country legend Reba McEntire shares recipes from her new cookbook, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots (Harper Celebrate).

Reviews

NYT reviews Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by Werner Herzog, tr. by Michael Hofmann (Penguin Pr.): “This book will be a boon to those people who, after dinner, sometimes like to unwind by reading choice morsels from books aloud. There are some instant classics here”; Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel (Little, Brown; LJ starred review): “A Rebel Life hits its marks but rarely soars, as Madonna did suspended by cables during her Drowned World tour”; Blackouts by Justin Torres (Farrar): “Torres haunts this book full of ghosts like a ghost himself, and with this novel, he has passed the haunting on, creating the next link in a queer chain from Jan to Juan to nene to you”; The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto, tr. by Asa Yoneda (Counterpoint): “There’s a matter-of-factness to Yoshimoto’s prose that would feel stultifying if it weren’t so mischievous”; and Joanna Russ: Novels & Stories by Joanna Russ, ed. by Nicole Rudick (Library of America): “Offers a valuable introduction to a pioneer who defied categories.”

Washington Post reviews Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Penguin Pr.): “The man has lived a life of unmatched specificity; examples from it are bound to be interesting. But building a self-help book around such a sui generis existence is bound to present some complications.”

Briefly Noted

James Patterson and the late Michael Crichton are teaming up on a novel, Eruption, to be published by Little, Brown on June 3, 2024.  Deadline reports.

Entertainment Weekly previews Barbra Streisand’s forthcoming memoir, My Name Is Barbra (Viking), due out November 7. 

People shares details from Julia Fox’s new memoir, Down the Drain (S. & S.)

Chef Josh Scherer partners with YouTube duo Rhett & Link to release The Mythical Cookbook: 10 Simple Rules for Cooking Deliciously, Eating Happily, and Living Mythically (Harvest). People has the story.

LitHub shares 25 new books for the week. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books for the week.

Authors on Air

Kerry Washington, Thicker than Water (Little, Brown Spark), visits Stephen Colbert tonight.

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