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Big Books of the Week

Desert Star by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown; LJ starred review) leads library holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Stellarlune by Shannon Messenger (Aladdin)

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (Park Row; LJ starred review)

Now Is Not the Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson (Ecco)

These books and others publishing the week of November 7, 2022, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Four LibraryReads and seven Indie Next picks publish this week:

Legends & Lattes : A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree (Tor)

“Weary of her boisterous warrior lifestyle, an orc hangs up her sword and pairs with a succubus to open up a coffee shop in a quirky medieval town. This light, slice-of-life speculative tale is sure to appeal to fans of cozy fantasies like A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking and The House in the Cerulean Sea.”—Heidi Schaub, Multnomah County Public Library, Portland, OR

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Legends & Lattes is the perfect low-stakes, found-family cozy fantasy. Viv, Cal, Tandri, and ESPECIALLY Thimble are such lovable characters. Who doesn’t want a latte from an Orc barista and a hot cinnamon bun from an adorable ratkin?!”—Hannah Cloutier, The Bookery Manchester, Manchester, NH

Now Is Not the Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson (Ecco)

“It’s the summer of 1996 in the small town of Coalfield, Tennessee. Awkward teenagers Frankie and Zeke just want to make art, but lose control over their creation. This coming-of-age novel is uniquely compelling about how art can be appropriated by others and morph into legend.”—Jill Minor, Washington County Public Library, Abingdon, VA

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Now Is Not the Time To Panic is a tender coming-of-age novel on the power of art, the short-lived innocence of adolescence, and the nostalgia of first loves. Wilson’s beautiful, funny, sad novel is one that I’ll recommend again and again.”—Alex Brubaker, Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, PA

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (Sourcebooks Landmark; LJ starred review)

“When a body is found floating offshore, the annual lake plunge celebration in Cwm Coed is abruptly canceled. It soon develops that everyone in the community has a reason for wanting the victim dead. Recommended to anyone who enjoys contemporary mystery fiction like I Know You Remember.”—Nancy Eggert, Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (Park Row; LJ starred review)

“Three couples in an isolated luxury cabin in the woods, secrets, and unclaimed DNA tests under the tree. What can go wrong? Told in alternating chapters from different points of view, this is an excellent suspenseful read for chilly autumn nights.”—Michelle Nebbia, Hillsdale Public Library, Hillsdale, NJ

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This has family drama, secrets and great characters—so clear your weekend. Every book establishes Lisa Unger as a fantastic thriller writer and storyteller. This will bring even more fans in her camp (or cabin?). She is in her prime!”—Laura Taylor, The Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

Four additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (Harper)

“Catherine Newman’s writing brings poignancy, humor, insight, and joy to events both mundane and profound. For those who’ve lost a close friend or loved one in recent years, as so many of us have, this book is particularly meaningful.”—Liz Whitelam, Whitelam Books, Reading, MA

Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk (Tordotcom; LJ starred review)

“Short, sweet, romantic, and full of secrets. This magical noir stars wonderful characters and so many twists and turns that I never knew quite what was going to happen next. A delightful ride, handbasket optional.”—Lindsey Pattavina, RJ Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT

And Yet: Poems by Kate Baer (Harper Perennial)

“Baer captures our children growing before our eyes and slow reminders of our inevitable deaths. These poems grip you from the start and refuse to let you go. She explores womanhood and wholeness and what that even means. I can’t get enough!”—Brittania Anoai-Gonzalez, Napa Bookmine, Napa, CA

Flight by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner)

“An intimate exploration of complicated family dynamics with nuanced, distinct characters. A perfect book for anyone who has ever felt out of place going home for the holidays, Flight explores the nature of belonging and community.”—David Vogel, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI

In the Media

The People “Picks” book of the week is Foster by Claire Keegan (Grove). Also getting attention are Small Game by Blair Braverman (Ecco: HarperCollins; LJ starred review), and The Last Chairlift by John Irving (S. & S.). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova (The Open Field), Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life by Margaret Sullivan (St. Martin’s), and README.txt: A Memoir by Chelsea Manning (Farrar).

The cover feature highlights Joanna Gaines and her new book, The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters (Harper Select). There is a short blurb about Prince Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare (Random House). Ralph Macchio, Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me (Dutton), remembers his late friend and mentor, Pat Morita. Actress and author Lauren Graham starts a new chapter with a new book release: Have I Told You This Already? Stories I Don’t Want To Forget To Remember (Ballantine). Plus, Bobby Flay, Sundays with Sophie: Flay Family Recipes for Any Day of the Week (Clarkson Potter), and Gaby Dalkin, What’s Gaby Cooking: Take It Easy—Recipes for Zero-Stress Deliciousness (Abrams), share Thanksgiving recipes. 

Reviews

NYT reviews Flight by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner): “Part of the sense of life in the book comes from Strong’s distinctive prose style—compressed, telegraphic and gestural, one in which the sharp noticing of what might otherwise seem like ordinary details about a character or an exchange takes on a resonating depth.” The Washington Post also reviews: “More than just a domestic tale, it is a larger portrait of hearts and minds at war with the tedium of everydayness and the rote routines of relationships.”

NYT also reviews The Hyacinth Girl: T.S. Eliot’s Hidden Muse by Lyndall Gordon (Norton): “Gordon allows the reader to live with Eliot’s conflicts and contradictions. She is not interested in reducing or bludgeoning the mystery of his words, but in exploring layers and resonances.” And Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern by Neil Baldwin (Knopf): “The story under Baldwin’s story of American modernism seems to be about the costs of Martha Graham becoming Martha Graham, and the charred archive a flame leaves behind.” Plus, The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan (S. & S.):  “This book is about a genius recognizing unfiltered genius in others, when he can find it. Often enough it’s an argument for simplicity.” 

The Guardian reviews Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami, tr. by Ted Goossen (Knopf; LJ starred review): “For all its examples of inspired creative idiosyncrasy, Novelist As a Vocation is in many ways a very matter-of-fact delineation of the novelist’s calling. In it, Murakami lays bare his disciplined approach and personal rituals.” And Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (Flatiron): “It’s harrowing and revealing about the juncture where extreme compound addiction collides with mega-celebrity. It’s a scream of authentic human pain, albeit one sprinkled with stardust. You end up admiring his honesty.”

The Washington Post reviews Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru by Hugh Bonneville (Other Pr.; LJ starred review): “One might forgive him a victory lap or three, but the bulk of his winning and becomingly modest memoir, Playing Under the Piano (the title a reference to his favorite childhood hiding place) is about the struggle that got him there.”

Slate reviews The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice by Wendell Berry (Shoemaker + Company): “Too much of the book is befogged with such resentment, which is a great loss because resentment is cheap and mean. It’s lazy. And The Need To Be Whole is too often a lazy book, with little of the generosity that has always marked Berry’s prose. That bitter resentment winds up turning comrades into competitors, and it will turn away anyone who is thoughtful but not already familiar with Berry’s writing.”

Briefly Noted

The Voss Literary Prize 2022 shortlist is announced.

The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2022 shortlists is announced.

“The Oddest Book Title of the Year shortlist announced for The Diagram Prize 2022.” The Bookseller has details. 

NYT profiles author Clare Keegan, whose newest book Foster (Grove) is recently released. 

LA Times talks with historian Natalia Molina about her latest book, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community (Univ. of California Pr.), and reframing race. 

Salon interviews photographer Devin Allen about his book, No Justice, No Peace: From the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter (Legacy Lit), and the “power of the image.”

Bono, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (Knopf; LJ starred review), reflects on his 40-year marriage for Vogue. 

Autostraddle talks with Jeanna Kadlec, Heretic: A Memoir (Harper), about how a “memoir isn’t a self-help book.”

FoxNews has an interview with Tyler Staton about his new book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools : An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer (Zondervan), and "how to talk to God honestly."

The Washington Post has an excerpt from Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin, illus. By Harry Bliss (Celadon), due out next week. 

Gizmodo shares an excerpt from The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future by Orly Lobel (Public Affairs), which “examines the influence of algorithmic matching on the ‘meat market’ of human companionship.”

Wired explores why “New Mexico Is a Great Place for Sci-Fi.”

The Atlantic claims that “Science Fiction Got Surveillance All Wrong,” in the weekly Books Briefing. 

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

Lambda Literary shares “November’s Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Books.”

PopSugar highlights “14 Books to Read For Your Fifty Shades of Grey Fix.”

Refinery29 has “15 Smutty Holiday Romance Novels Will Keep You Warm This Winter.”

Tordotcom recommends five sci-fi book and movie pairings. 

“Doris Grumbach, Author Who Explored Women’s Plight, Dies at 104.” NYT has an obituary. 

Authors on Air

NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday chats with Rabia Chaudry about her new book, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family (Algonquin).

NPR’s All Things Considered talks with drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova about their new advice book, Working Girls: Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Professional Womanhood (Plume).

NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour shares listening and viewing recommendations. 

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