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Big Books of the Week

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

The Devil You Know by P. J. Tracy (Minotaur)

The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis (Avon)

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark)

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey (Morrow)

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Berkley; LJ starred review)

These books and others publishing the week of Jan. 16, 2023 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three LibraryReads and eight Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark)

"The Mitford sisters are the toast of 1930s British high society, but scandal erupts when Diana has an extramarital affair with the leader of the British fascists, and Unity insinuates herself into Hitler's inner circle. Eldest sister Nancy, a novelist, is torn between keeping peace in the family and speaking out about her sisters' political activities. For fans of Karen Harper and Gill Paul."—Nanette Donohue, Champaign Public Library, Champaign, IL

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Larger than life, the six Mitford sisters provide a page-turning historical fiction. Bound by family, torn by treason, and astoundingly controversial, this glamorous family makes for an epic story. The Mitford Affair is a sizzler.”—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Berkley; LJ starred review)

“When the reading of a will reveals that Louise’s family estate was left to her brother, known for sinking cash into get-rich-quick schemes, Louise protests, leading to a torrent of otherworldly happenings. Hendrix ramps up the tension until you feel like your nerves are guitar strings ready to snap."—Stephanie McKenna, Horsham Township Library, Horsham, PA

It is also the #1 Indie Next pick:

“Imagine returning to the hometown you couldn’t wait to leave, then staying in a haunted house while you’re there. Now imagine horror, humor, and entirely believable characters. Grady Hendrix does it best. I’m crazy about this book!”—Robert Hawthorn, Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle’s Children’s Books, Mendocino, CA

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Mariner)

Ernie Cunningham writes books on how to write mystery novels for a living and is part of a family where everyone has killed someone. But the story of how and why is unraveled in the pages, and there's another murderer in the midst. The narration is perfect—a retrospective that includes lots of misdirection and breaking the fourth wall. A must-read for mystery fans."—Cari Dubiel, Twinsburg Public Library, Twinsburg, OH

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This is the best mystery I’ve read. The narrator understood that just because he was telling the story, it didn’t make the story about him. Every member of this family was given a story arc that also directly connected to the whole! So good!”—Hannah Oxley, Mystery to Me, Madison, WI

Five additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane (Catapult)

“This debut is wholly imaginative and magnificent, both a meditation on queer love and the government’s relationship with our bodies and children. Crane expertly creates a dystopian world grounded in real, fully-formed characters.”—Adam Vitcavage, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO

Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow (Bloomsbury)

“Decent People captures what a horrific crime can do to a small rural community. You’ll want to cheer for the characters, and you know that someone is responsible for a triple murder. How many secrets can someone hold before they break?”—Shane Mullen, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey (Morrow)

“This book follows a woman’s first year of singledom after her brief marriage unceremoniously falls apart. Depression, delusion, and self-pity all star here, but the author handles it all with tenderness and a dash of humor.”—Tracy Affonso, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA

The Reunion by Kayla Olson (Atria)

“Liv and Ransom were co-stars on one of the most successful teen shows ever. When they reunite for a reunion special, they must face the past and being in love both on and off set. A warm blanket of a book that will make you smile.”—Cara Dyne-Gores, The Bookshelf, Cincinnati, OH

Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman (Harper Perennial; LJ starred review)

“Pandora is the best kind of historical novel, filled with mystery, a cursed artifact, dashing academics, and a hint of romance. This novel will appeal equally to readers of myth and mystery.”—Keith Glaeske, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC

In The Media

People’s book of the week is Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter by John Hendrickson (Knopf). Also getting attention are Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong by Michael Wejchert (Ecco), and How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Berkley; LJ starred review). The “New in Nonfiction” section highlights Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo (S. & S.; LJ starred review), And Finally: Matters of Life and Death by Henry Marsh (St. Martin’s), and Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman (Penguin Pr.).

The “Picks” section spotlights A Man Called Otto, based on A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. The cover feature showcases Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and his blockbuster memoir Spare (Random House). Plus, Noah Galuten, The Don't Panic Pantry Cookbook: Mostly Vegetarian Comfort Food That Happens to Be Pretty Good for You (Knopf) and Tanya Holland, Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West (Ten Speed: Crown; LJ starred review), share recipes.

Page to Screen

January 13:

A Man Called Otto, based on A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Sony Pictures. Reviews | Trailer

Chess Story, based on the book by Stefan Zweig. Film Movement. No reviews | Trailer

Dog Gone, based on the book by Pauls Toutonghi. Netflix. No reviews | Trailer

January 14:

How to Murder Your Husband, based on the essay by Nancy Crampton Brophy. Lifetime. No reviews | Trailer

Reviews

NYT reviews Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo (S. & S.; LJ starred review): “Reconstruction South whose twists and turns could fill many more pages. Yet the part of her story Woo chooses to tell richly deserves this book-length treatment.” And, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's urgent mission to bring healing to homeless people by Tracy Kidder (Random): “Kidder instead relies on his prodigious skills as a reporter to round out his portrait, digging into public records and social science research, and drawing on his months of observation. But even as he movingly captures Tony’s ultimate collapse, the reader never fully understands its etiology.” Also, The Status Revolution: The Improbable Story of How the Lowbrow Became the Highbrow by Chuck Thompson (S. & S.): “This is a book so unclear on its own arguments that its subtitle’s words 'lowbrow' and 'highbrow' appear nowhere in its text.” And, American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795 by Edward J. Larson (Norton): “A key lesson from Larson’s narrative is that ages past were not benighted by a lack of knowledge of the immorality of race-based slavery.” Plus, And Finally: Matters of Life and Death by Henry Marsh (St. Martin’s): “There’s no false comfort here. Instead, there’s prose that breaks in gentle waves, its undercurrents deep, the surface of an ocean vast enough to put our lives in moral perspective.” Lastly, A Woman's Life Is a Human Life: My Mother, Our Neighbor, and the Journey from Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice by Felicia Kornbluh (Grove): “offers insights into how we can form genuine alliances in order to continue making changes that align with the feminist values of compassion, fairness and care: by consolidating ranks, listening to one another in order to understand our differences while simultaneously identifying our commonalities.”

The Washington Post reviews Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon (Celadon): “Amidon provides twist after twist as the revelations about what really happened that night grow more sordid and sad. He whipsaws readers’ suspicions among characters while deftly planting clues to the actual killer in plain sight.”

LA Times reviews Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow (Bloomsbury): “practically turns its own pages, creating in the reader an insatiable curiosity that matches Jo’s own. Winslow proves able to simultaneously drill down and step back, letting the details add up and weaving the grievances of one character into the next until you don’t know whom to trust.”

Briefly Noted

Anthony Joseph wins TS Eliot Prize for his collection, Sonnets for Albert (Bloomsbury). The Guardian has coverage. 

The 2023 Philip K. Dick Award finalists are announced.

Johann Hari has won the 2022 Porchlight Business Book of the Year for Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again (Crown).

The 2023 Canada Reads longlist is announced.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize will have a monthly book club that will feature longlisted writers from 2022 awards, according to CBC Books. 

The February LibraryReads list is out featuring top pick, The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz (Atria/Emily Bestler Books). 

Boris Johnson will write a memoir about his time as British Prime Minister. NPR reports. 

LA Times talks with Ilyon Woo about her new book, Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom (S. & S.; LJ starred review).

The Washington Post looks at the books of Laurie Colwin.

NYT writes about “A Fake Death in Romancelandia.”

USA Today has 5 books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books for the week.

EW shares its "Winter 2023 Books Preview."

Slate explores the pushback of A.I.-generated audiobooks recently released by Apple.

Lit Hub reports specifically on the UK sales of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare (Random) while The Bookseller covers the US and Canadian markets. 

Historian Paul Johnson has died at 94, according to NYT, which has more on his life and influence.

Authors on Air

PBS Canvas explores the new book, Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer (Basic Books; LJ starred review). 

CBS Sunday Morning interviews Ilyon Woo about her new book, Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom (S. & S.; LJ starred review), and shares an excerpt. 

LitHub offers a 2023 Literary Film and TV Preview.

Stephen A. Smith, Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes (Gallery/13A), visits The View today. 

Kristin Chenoweth, I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts: Mini-Meditations for Saints, Sinners, and the Rest of Us (Harper Celebrate), will be on Live with Kelly and Ryan. 

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