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Big Books of the Week

Lion & Lamb by James Patterson and Duane Swierczynski (Little, Brown), leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (Atria)

Tides of Fire by James Rollins (Morrow)

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor; LJ starred review)

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Farrar; LJ starred review)

These books and others publishing the week of August 14, 2023, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Five LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week:

Hall of Fame pick, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor; LJ starred review), is also an Indie Next pick:

“A rare, precious, perfect book. A retelling that understands the meaning of the word retelling, that twists and turns so new facets get to shine. I love Toadling with my whole heart—this might be my very favorite Sleeping Beauty ever.”—Nicole Szmyd, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins, CO

Hall of Fame and *book club pick, The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (Atria), is also an Indie Next pick:

“Alice Hoffman has outdone herself with this book. It’s a love letter to readers and book lovers everywhere. I wanted to race through this book because the story is so compelling, but I made myself savor every word. This one has my heart.”—Karen Schwettman, FoxTale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, GA

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker (Avon)

“Pet is a human rainbow—colorful, sparkly, and vibrant, while Matthias is the personification of still waters running deep. Opposites attract in this contemporary workplace romance featuring a royal personal assistant and a bodyguard. Quirky, giggle- inducing humor is balanced by sweet moments. This was so satisfying and such a joy to read!”—Laura Eckert, Clermont County Public Library, OH

The Witch Is Back by Sophie H. Morgan (Harlequin)

“Emmaline has loved Bastian her whole life. When he disappeared shortly before they were meant to be married, he broke her heart. Now he's back and begging her to reinstate their engagement, for all the wrong reasons. Secrets, spells, heartbreak, and hope all come together beautifully in this charming tale! For readers who love Erin Sterling and April Asher.”—Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public, NY

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas (Berkley)

“Nena, a ranch owner’s daughter, and Nestor, a peasant, know their love is impossible, but they still dream of marrying one day. That is until one night a terrifying beast attacks Nena. Believing her dead, Nestor flees in panic. Ten years later Nestor is back to help defend against Texas invaders and the supernatural creatures attacking their village. Set in 19th-century Mexico, this vibrant novel combines historical fiction, horror, and romance to tell a thrilling story.”—Migdalia Jimenez Chicago Public Library, IL

Three additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush (Milkweed Editions)

“In The Quickening, Elizabeth Rush shares accounts of climate change on a journey to Antarctica with a crew from all over the world. A beautiful, compelling, hopeful work that will help us understand how climate change shapes the world and us.”—Lisa Valentino, Ink Fish Books, Warren, RI

The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins (Atria)

“A beautiful story about rebuilding and sacrifice, in the name of love and in the face of disaster. This hopeful rendition of climate fiction will tug at heartstrings you didn’t even know you had.”—Alden Zeff, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH

In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel by Genevieve Plunkett (Catapult)

“In the Lobby of the Dream Hotel—a place two lovers who can’t be together in the real world might meet—is a beautiful meditation on love, madness, motherhood, and art. Plunkett’s writing is achingly gorgeous and Portia is a character for the ages.”—Stefanie Kiper, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH

In The Media

People’s book of the week is The English Experience by Julie Schumacher (Doubleday). Also getting attention are The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Farrar; LJ starred review), and The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman (Atria). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights The Girl in the Yellow Poncho: A Memoir by Kristal Brent Zook (Duke Univ.), Thin Skin: Essays by Jenn Shapland (Pantheon), and Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson by Sally H. Jacobs (St. Martin’s).

Reviews

NYT reviews The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Farrar; LJ starred review): “This all may sound bleak, but Murray’s writing is pure joy—propulsive, insightful and seeded with hilarious observations”; and The Romantic by William Boyd (Knopf): “We may live in the realists’ world, Boyd’s engrossing, scattershot novel suggests. But faced with a mirror, we are all Romantics.” Plus, there is a graphic review of Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors by Ian Penman (Semiotext(e)).

The Millions reviews The English Experience by Julie Schumacher (Doubleday): “Beneath the caricature, deeper efforts are at work. For all of its fun, The English Experience is a bracingly accurate tour of the pedagogical experience, as told by a writer who clearly loves and believes in its importance.”

The Guardian reviews Normal Rules Don’t Apply: Stories by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday): “Over a short distance, such exploits can struggle for much resonance, and the results are patchy; perhaps paradoxically, it is when they ally with another of Atkinson’s gifts—conjuring specific social textures from a handful of well-chosen observations, a gift woven through her Jackson Brodie novels—that they take root most firmly.”

Briefly Noted

Publishers and the Internet Archive agree to resolve some aspects of ongoing litigation. Reuters reports. NYT lays out the implications of the case.

LitHub reports on the Lahaina Public Library damage from Maui’s fires.

Locus releases its “2023 Locus Awards Online Report.”

Haley Jakobson discusses the importance of representation and her “big bisexual book,” Old Enough (Dutton), with USA Today. 

A new biography, August Wilson: A Life by Patti Hartigan (S. & S.; LJ starred review), charts the story of the noted playwright. LA Times asks: “Would he have made it today?”

The Atlantic highlights the “shadowy history” of the fight to save the redwood, as told in The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods by Greg King (Public Affairs). 

Jonathan Franzen writes about the problem with nature writing, at the New Yorker.

USA Today shares 5 books for the week. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books this week.

Tor recommends 5 vampire books.

ElectricLit has “10 Books Portraying a Search for Truth.”

T&C suggests 20 books for fans of Only Murders in the Building. 

BookRiot shares titles where the ghost helps solve the mystery. Plus, 20 books about books.

The Washington Post explores the literature of the southwest to find both warnings and hope in a hotter future.

NYT suggests “two escapist biographies.”

“Keith Waldrop, Professor and Award-Winning Poet, Dies at 90.” NYT has an obituary. 

Polish scholar Nechama Tec dies at 92. NYT has an obituary. 

Authors On Air

Tess Gunty discusses her National Book Award–winning novel, The Rabbit Hutch (Knopf; LJ starred review), with CBS Sunday Morning.

Robinne Lee, The Idea of You (St. Martin’s Griffin), shares steamy reading recommendations with NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. 

Daniel Kraus talks about his new thriller, Whalefall (MTV Bks.; LJ starred review), with NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

The director of Red, White & Royal Blue, based on the novel by Casey McQuiston (LJ starred review), explains the differences between the book and the film, for People. 

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