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Big Books of the Week

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune (Berkley) leads holds this week. 

Other titles in demand include:

The 24th Hour by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader/S. & S.)

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews (St. Martin’s)

Long Island by Colm Toibin (Scribner)

People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle (Berkley)

These books and others publishing the week of May 6, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Nine LibraryReads and nine Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader/S. & S.) *Good for Book Clubs

“An employee of the Ministry of Time becomes a ‘bridge,’ helping a Polar explorer adjust to modern life after being rescued from a lost expedition in 1845. But as she begins to grow closer to him, she finds herself wondering who she can trust, what the real reason for pulling people out of time may be, and whether her life might be in danger. Totally gripping with great character development.”—Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign Public Library, IL

It is also the #1 Indie Next pick:

“The Ministry of Time is a rare story that mashes up favorite time-worn tropes—from Star Trek to spy thrillers to Victorian romances—in a crucible of colonialism and the pitfalls of diversity in a near-future London. Oh, and it’s sexy as hell.”—Amanda Qassar, Warwick’s, La Jolla, CA

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne (Bramble)

“This book is so cozy, readers will want to snuggle under a heap of blankets with a delicious cup of tea. Kianthe and Reyna were the perfect opposites attract couple—determined to make things work no matter the obstacles. The townspeople were delightfully quirky and supportive. Lots of humor with a serious amount of heart. Perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes.”—Laura Eckert, Clermont County Public Library, OH

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson (Dial)

“Constance, companion to an elderly woman, meets Poppy, a young woman trying to start a business for women motorcycle riders. Constance gets drawn into the circle of friendship and independence the motorcycle ladies enjoy. Readers will love the characters, the setting, and the portrayal of life after the Great War.”—Linda Quinn, LibraryReads Ambassador

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune (Berkley)

“Filled with emotional moments as well as fun and flirty scenes, this wonderful story set in picturesque Prince Edward Island is about friendships and found family. More than a romance, this novel has a lot readers will relate to. This is the perfect, steamy romance book for the summer.”—Karen Troutman, LibraryReads Ambassador

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung (Berkley) *Good for Book Clubs

“At times both heartbreaking and uplifting, this novel follows the journey of the women of the Ang family from their farm in rural China to Taiwan during the horrific land reforms of 1948–50. With this story based on Chung’s grandmother’s experience of a turbulent era, readers will be riveted from page one by the mother/daughter bonds and their will to survive.”—Martha DiVittorio, Bellmore Memorial Library, NY

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean (S. & S.) is a Bonus pick

“Teenager Ellie disappears and is found in a state park over two years later, battered and dazed and refusing to cooperate. Police detective Chelsey Calhoun has been on the case from the beginning—and has her own past to deal with—but becomes determined to find out who Ellie may be trying to protect. A gripping thriller with plenty of twists.”—Annabelle Mortensen, LibraryReads Board Member

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger (Harper) is also a Bonus pick

“What do plants know and what can we learn from them once we know how to listen? Readers will never look at plants the same way again after reading this fascinating book.”—Jennifer Winberry, LibraryReads Ambassador, Hunterdon County Library, NJ

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (Avon; LJ starred review) is a Hall of Fame pick

Hall of Fame pick Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews (St. Martin’s) is also an Indie Next pick

“While the cover screams ‘beach read,’ Mary Kay Andrews fans know there’s more to the story. An emotional ride through grief, friendships, secrets, two murder mysteries, new love, and doing whatever it takes to protect home.”—Alecia Castro, Sweet Home Books, Wetumpka, AL

Seven additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

How To Read a Book by Monica Wood (Mariner)

“A charming novel about the power of books to heal, connect, and teach. A prison inmate, her reading group teacher, and the man damaged by the inmate’s crime are drawn together by their love of reading and their need for human connection.”—Susan Taylor, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, NY

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor (Pantheon)

“A debut and a paean to the forgotten cultures on the British Isles. An intelligent yet innocent protagonist is confronted with ethnographers from the mainland, as class, gender, and education meet, while the prose mirrors island life.”—Richard Dixon, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff (Bloomsbury)

“Lee is an overachiever, but when she’s hired to teach an AI program the meaning of loneliness, her life skills are challenged. Dyroff draws an artful and memorable portrait of a woman trying to find answers in a world consumed by technology.”—Manda Riggs, Elm Street Books, New Canaan, CT

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller (Quirk)

“A gruesome, campy book that plays on the beautiful and messy dynamics of queer community, the seedy claws of rainbow capitalism, and every zombie killing method ever fantasized. The Z Word will leave you laughing between every shocked gasp!”—Skye Euryale, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (David R. Godine)

“Simon Van Booy performs a special type of alchemy by taking the simplest of tales—a woman approaching the end of her life discovering a small mouse in her house—and turning it into an astonishingly moving story of love and resilience.”—Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

Long Island by Colm Toíbín (Scribner)

“Eilis Lacey’s story continues in this superb follow-up to Brooklyn. Twenty years later, Eilis is stunned by her husband’s affair and the child he has fathered, and returns alone to her small Irish village. A beautiful, moving novel.”—Marilyn Negip, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT

Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale by Paul Yamazaki (Ode Bks.)

“Reading the Room is a precious artifact, a rare transmission from a truly great mind. If you’re a bookseller, pull up a chair and learn from a master; if you’re a reader, you’ll walk away with an entirely new appreciation for your local indie.”—Vanessa Martini, Green Apple Books & Music, San Francisco, CA

In the Media

People’s book of the week is How To Read a Book by Monica Wood (Mariner). Also getting attention are The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader/S. & S.) and The Lady Waiting by Magdalena Zyzak (Riverhead). “Giftable Books” include Walk With Me: Hamptons: Photographs by Susan Kaufman (Abrams Image), Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food by Michelle T. King (Norton), and Long Island by Colm Toíbín (Scribner). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Prime Video’s The Idea of You, based on the novel by Robinne Lee. There is a feature on Whoopi Goldberg, whose new memoir Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me (Blackstone) publishes this week. People also highlights Owen Elliot-Kugell’s memoir about her mother, My Mama, Cass (Hachette). Plus, recipes from Jenny Martinez, My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo!: Beautiful Flavors, Family Style (Simon Element), and Sarah Johnson, Fruitful: Sweet and Savoury Fruit Recipes Inspired by Farms, Orchards and Gardens (Kyle Bks.).

Reviews

NYT reviews How To Read a Book by Monica Wood (Mariner): “How To Read a Book nudges the conscience as much as it pulls at the heartstrings. But it is also generously seasoned with unexpected twists and a wonderful wit. It’s never saccharine. In book clubs and in life, sometimes you just need a break from the sense of gritty hopelessness. This novel is a reminder that goodness, and books, can still win in this world”; Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor (Pantheon): “Can a novel be both blunt and exquisite? I’m not sure I would have known how to imagine such a work before reading Whale Fall, Elizabeth O’Connor’s excellent debut”; The Mother of All Things by Alexis Landau (Pantheon): “Despite some moments that feel forced and overly earnest, particularly in the ancient narrative and the Nikitas story line, Landau’s writing is accessible, specific, lush and transporting. Her research is rigorous and full of elegant effort”; Blue Ruin by Hari Kunrzu (Knopf): “Each of these novels leans on implausibilities and heavy-handed politics. There is almost no humor or lightness of spirit. Exacting description of everyday things is rare”; Tits Up: What Sex Workers, Milk Bankers, Plastic Surgeons, Bra Designers, and Witches Tell Us About Breasts by Sarah Thornton (Norton; LJ starred review): “It’s to Thornton’s credit that, her polemical tone notwithstanding, she is open-minded enough to entertain paradoxes. (And entertain she does)”; and A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence, by Steve Gleason, written with Jeff Duncan (Knopf): “There are lessons to be drawn from A Life Impossible; some will undoubtedly come away from it with a message of uplift, and I should be among them. But as I turned each page with one eye shut and the rest of my body cringing, my greatest takeaway is that my fear of A.L.S. has only heightened.”

Washington Post reviews Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger (St. Martin’s): “There is nothing supernatural about this story—but if it doesn’t blow your mind just a little bit, I don’t know what will”; Negative Space by Gillian Linden (Norton): “For a novel that chiefly recounts the narrator’s many worries, Negative Space is appropriately uneven—sometimes heavy-handed, sometimes wonderfully subtle”; Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Mulholland; LJ starred review): “Mukherjee has a knack for ending chapters on earned cliffhangers. Plot twists are largely presented without the strain of incredulity, the suspense is always weighted with emotion, surprising revelations are carefully constructed—and the ending is unexpected, daring and truly beautiful”; and Coming Home by Brittney Griner, written with Michelle Burford (Knopf): “Griner describes a blissful paradise ‘surrounded by cactuses and quiet.’ But that paradise also represents one more forced relocation, putting a disconcerting twist on the meaning of Coming Home to today’s deeply divided America.”

Briefly Noted

Alexis Wright wins the Stella Prize for Praiseworthy (New Directions). 

The 2024 Pulitzer Prize winners will be announced today at 3 p.m. EST.

People recommends the best books to read in May, the best books for Mother’s Day, and “Steamy, Spicy Sports-Themed Romance Novels.”

Reactor previews “Can’t-Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction for May and June 2024.”

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books for the week.

Financial Times explores BookTok’s influence on publishing.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward (Center Street), contains a false anecdote about Kim Jong Un. USA Today has the story. People also has coverage.

Time publishes an excerpt from Brittney Griner’s new memoir, Coming Home, written with Michelle Burford (Knopf). 

NYT profiles Miranda July, whose new book, All Fours (Riverhead), publishes this week. 

The Guardian interviews Rebecca Kuang.

In June, Sotheby’s will auction off Thomas Taylor’s original watercolor illustration for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. NPR has the story.

Poet Jerome Rothenberg has died at the age of 92. NYT has an obituary 

Authors on Air

Tom Selleck, You Never Know: A Memoir, written with Ellis Henican (Dey Street), discusses his new memoir and the future of Blue Bloods with CBS Sunday Morning. Selleck will also appear on Live with Kelly and Mark.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward (Center Street), also visits CBS Mornings.

Bonnie Hammer, 15 Lies Women Are Told at Work: …And the Truth We Need To Succeed (Simon Element), visits Today.

Jen Psaki, Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World (Scribner), will be on The View.

Siân Heder will direct the film adaptation of Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Knopf; LJ starred review), Variety reports.

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