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Big Books of the Week

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine; LJ starred review) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (Flatiron)

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (Mulholland)

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (St. Martin’s)

These books and others publishing the week of Aug. 29, 2022 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Awards & Booklists

Tess Gunty wins the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize for The Rabbit Hutch (Knopf; LJ starred review). The Guardian has the story. 

The 2022 Davitt Awards winners are announced.

The 2022 Ned Kelly Award winners are announced.

Time has "A Guide to All The Taylor Jenkins Reid Film and TV Adaptations.”

The AP has a fall books preview.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three LibraryReads selections and six Indie Next picks publish this week:

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine; LJ starred review)

“With fierce determination, Carrie Soto comes out of retirement to claim her title as the GOAT of tennis. Will she also use this opportunity to repair relationships with her father/coach and the other players on the tour? Jenkins Reid is at the top of her game with another winning page-turner.”—Stacy Lienemann, Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System, Waseca, MN

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This might be Reid’s best yet! Carrie Soto was so fierce. It was fun to see her cope with aging and realize there is more to life than winning. Reid delivers yet another strong, unconventional female lead. Just like Carrie, this is a winner!”—Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (Flatiron)

“Darker isn’t just Daisy’s surname: it’s the mood of this closed-room mystery as Daisy’s family members die one by one at a remote island home. Deftly told, this nod to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None mixes suspense and secrets with heartbreaking and poignant observations about family and childhood.”—Jennifer Ohzourk, West Des Moines Public Library, West Des Moines, IA

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Daisy Darker headed in a direction I didn’t expect, and I was torn between rereading all I just read or going forward to see what was next! A dark and twisty tale — from the moment we arrive at Seaglass with the waves pounding until the very end.”—Nona Camuel, CoffeeTree Books, Morehead, KY

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (St. Martin’s)

“To keep a connection to her late mother, Zoey moves into her old apartment on Mallow Island, S.C. The complex and its residents are characters, too. This book is a quick and sweet read about the stages of love from the tickle of a spark to the longing its absence can bring.”—Sara Schettler, Scottsdale Public Library, Scottsdale, AZ

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“It has been over a week since I finished Other Birds and I am still enchanted. A beautiful story with an eclectic bunch of characters in a dreamy southern town with a touch of mystery, love, and loss.”—Elisa McIntosh, The Bookstore Plus Music & Art, Lake Placid, NY

Three additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham (Little, Brown)

“Carlotta, a trans woman, is released home to Brooklyn after 22 years in a male prison. As she adjusts to life outside, she faces one injustice after another. Through so many inequities, Carlotta maintains her optimism, humor, and hope.”—Mary Kay Burnett, Buttonwood Books and Toys, Cohasset, MA

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland (Tordotcom; LJ starred review)

“A sizzling romance that had me on the edge of my seat! Kadou and Evemer are compelling and their world is full of delightful intrigue. Themes of fealty, forgiveness, and the true value of things make this an unforgettable adventure.”—Katie Elms, Bookbug, Kalamazoo, MI

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook: A Heartbreaking Novel of Survival Based on True History by Ellen Marie Wiseman (Kensington)

“Based on the horrible truth of the Willowbrook State School, Wiseman tells a powerful story of sisters and the true strength of family. An emotional ride that speaks to real historic events and the cruelty in institutions like Willowbrook.”—Mia D’Alessandro, Thunder Road Books, Spring Lake, NJ

In the Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are Amy Among the Serial Killers by Jincy Willett (St. Martin’s), and American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna (Arcade). “New in Audiobooks” features Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter, read by Kathleen Early (Blackstone), The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid, read by the author (Penguin Random House Audio), and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, read by Gisela Chípe (Penguin Random House Audio).

The “Picks” section spotlights House of the Dragon, based on "A Song of Ice and Fire" books by George R. R. Martin on HBO Max, and Breaking, based on the article “They Didn’t Have to Kill Him,” by Aaron Gell. There is also a feature on country music star Craig Morgan about the death of his son, and his forthcoming memoir, God, Family, Country (Blackstone).

Reviews

NYT reviews American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune by Greg Steinmetz (S. & S.): “In the chasm between his morality and ours, we find what’s really interesting about Gould’s buccaneering. The controversies surrounding him crystallized the debate over the nature of a financial order that we now take for granted.” And, Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories in the U.S. Census and How to Read Them by Dan Bouk (MCD): “is ruminative and rich; it makes the dull old census a feast for the senses.” Also, Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham (Little, Brown): “Don’t let the title of this wondrous novel fool you. Hannaham cares deeply about Carlotta. From a mash-up of perspectives, he writes like a guardian angel.“ Plus, A Visible Man by Edward Enninful (Penguin Pr.): “is about a life in the media and fashion worlds, but it is also about a man of many identities finding his voice in a world that has not always wanted to hear it.”

The Washington Post reviews Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons by Ben Riggs (St. Martin’s): “Riggs’s book, a compelling adventure in itself, features interviews with many of the key players, narrated by a superfan.” And, Breaking History: A White House Memoir by Jared Kushner (Broadside): “Any reader who’s inclined to plow through the more than 450 pages of often tedious and repetitive claims will, however, get a very good sense of what Kushner is really like — what he sounds like, how he views his interactions with others and what his values are.” Plus, author Jane Smiley reviews Beth Hoffman’s 2021 book, Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America (Island Press): “It’s hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book — and listen.”

The Guardian reviews The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (Knopf): “it’s worth sticking around for the rousing climax, which departs from historical record (though it uses the same narrative switch as O’Farrell deployed in Hamnet). I didn’t believe it for a minute; it stirred me all the same. Still, I couldn’t help marvelling at how a novel that’s so richly descriptive could feel so limited in its range of expressiveness.”

Briefly Noted

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

NYT recommends new and old books.

Entertainment Weekly shares the best books of August.

T&C suggests 6 books about Princess Diana.

For its 75th anniversary, scholars share 5 books and films about the Partition of India at Salon.

NYT writes “Jewelry Adorns New Book Lists,” including Ice Cold. A Hip-Hop Jewelry History by Vikki Tobak (TASCHEN), Bulgari Magnifica: The Power Women Hold ed. by Tina Leung (Rizzoli), and more.

Bustle shares an excerpt from Rules of Engagement by Stacey Abrams writing as Selena Montgomery (Berkley), due out on September 6th.

Vogue highlights “The 5 Books That Changed Leila Mottley’s Life.”

Popsugar previews the next Princess Diaries book, due out in March, which was announced by Meg Cabot last week.

Authors On Air

NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday talks with David Boyd and Lucy North about their recent translation of by Japanese fashion editor Emi Yagi’s Diary of a Void (Viking), with commentary from lecturer Nozomi Uematsu.

LA Times explores the page to screen adaptation Three Thousand Years of Longing, based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A. S. Byatt.

Lithub spotlights the first trailer for White Noise, based on the book by Don DeLillo.

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