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Big Books of the Week

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane (Morrow) leads holds this week. 

Other titles in demand include:

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon (Harper Voyager; LJ starred review)

Not in My Book by Katie Holt (Alcove)

The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth (Harper)

These books and others publishing the week of December 9, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Four LibraryReads and five Indie Next picks publish this week:

Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (Minotaur)

“Madelaine has to live in her late aunt’s home/bookstore for six months in order to inherit. It’s only her first night and she’s already putting out fires, getting threatening phone calls, and finding a body. Does she flee? Nope! She sets out to find the villain. Add in some eccentric women and small town characters for a great cozy mystery.”—Joan Hipp, Florham Park Public Library, NJ

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Madeline inherits her aunt’s bookstore and mansion. She finds herself in the middle of much drama and mystery, with a murder to solve. In the midst of everything, Madeline finds kindred spirits and possibly a home.”—Alexandra Bender, Fonts Books, Mclean, VA

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon (Harper Voyager; LJ starred review)

“Readers who follow this series will be happy to see Talasyn and Alaric work through their tension and angst and come together in order to save the world from being devoured. The slow burn of the enemies-to-lovers romance really sets the pace for the entire book.”—Ashley M., Morton Grove Public Library, IL

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Talasyn and Alaric must prepare for the Moonless Dark and the eruption of the Voidfell. This book is equally funny and heartbreaking as we find out more about their pasts, the present, and how it affects their actions. A stellar Hurricane Wars installment.”—Lisa Kroger, Village Books, The Woodlands, TX

Not in My Book by Katie Holt (Alcove)

“If there’s such a thing as ‘light academia,’ this book embodies it, with collegiate setting-fueled banter in a cute, enemies-to-lovers romance. When Rosie and her nemesis, the snooty Aiden, are forced to write a book together, opposites attract as they produce each chapter. Readers will love the chemistry between the two writers in this debut novel.”—Crystal Faris, Kansas City Public Library, MO

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“WOW! I loved this book. Great characters, great uses of several romance tropes in a great way, and I was crying through the last few pages. An exciting debut; I can’t wait to read more of Katie Holt’s work.”—Nicole Miller, Barbara’s Bookstore, Chicago, IL

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane (Morrow) is a hall of fame pick.

Two additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

I Made It Out of Clay by Beth Kander (MIRA)

“In her adult debut, award-winning playwright Beth Kander dreams up a charming romantic dramedy that even hearts made of stone—er, clay—won’t be able to resist, served with a healthy dose of pathos and a twist inspired by Jewish folklore.”—Emily Liner, Friendly City Books, Columbus, MS

The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh (Gallery)

“This novel is an exciting glass of history and present day that celebrates a strong woman, pouring in journal entries from an 18th-century connoisseur of early champagne with a modern tale of deception, love, and revenge. Well worth the time and read!”—R. Aimee Chipman, The Bluestocking Bookshop, Holland, MI

In the Media

People’s 10 best books of 2024 are The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead; LJ starred review), Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Farrar), The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader; LJ starred review), The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (St. Martin’s Griffin; LJ starred review), James by Percival Everett (Doubleday; LJ starred review), Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (One World), Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Knopf), My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me by Caleb Carr (Little, Brown), Sonny Boy by Al Pacino (Penguin Pr.), and JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio (Gallery).

A “Top 10 Movies of 2024” section includes the adaptations Nickel Boys, based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, and Conclave, based on the novel by Robert Harris. The “Top 10 TV Shows of 2024” include the adaptations: Ripley, based on The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, The Perfect Couple, based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand, and One Day, based on the novel by David Nicholls, all on Netflix.

Included in People’s creator of the year section are Drew Afualo, author of Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve (AUWA), and “zillennial Martha Stewart” Meredith Hayden, whose The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook: Seasonal Recipes for Everyday Luxury and Elevated Entertaining (Ten Speed) publishes in May. A “Farewell” feature includes Quincy Jones, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Chita Rivera, James Earl Jones, Phil Donahue and Teri Garr. 

The cover feature spotlights Taylor Swift and her record-breaking Eras tour and companion book, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Book. There are also features mother-son coauthors Jessie Close (sister of Glenn Close) and Calen T. Pick, who have written a new book on schizoaffective disorder, Silence You (Central Recover) Actor Amy Adams discusses parenting and her new movie Nightbitch, based on the novel by Rachel Yoder. Reese Witherspoon talks about the holidays and her new children’s book, Busy Betty & the Perfect Christmas Present, illus. By Xindi Yan (Flamingo). Plus a recipe from Tieghan Gerard, Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy (Clarkson Potter). 

Reviews

NYT reviews Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat (Algonquin): “With a poet’s lyrical flair, Josaphat delivers a novel for our times, exploring how individuals in an unjust society can manage both political upheaval and meaningful personal connection, both oppression and intimacy.”

Washington Post reviews We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine by Jordan B. Peterson (Portfolio): "Peterson does not seem to care if he wins debates or even if he makes basic sense: His aim is to stage a performance of profundity. In his prose, as in his oratory, the kitsch of grand pronouncements and the dazzle of quasi-technical terminology conspire to yield an imitation of depth."

Briefly Noted

USA Today covers librarians’ efforts to stand up for freedom to read in a number of states.

Amanda Jones, That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America (Bloomsbury; LJ starred review), files a new defamation lawsuit in federal court, Publishers Weekly reports.

Twelve Nobel laureates urge the British prime minister to intervene in the case of jailed activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, The Guardian reports. 

Time names its top 10 novels of the year.

ElectricLit lists the best novels of the year.

Vox selects the eight best books of 2024. 

LitHub has a list of 17 of 2024’s best science fiction, fantasy, and horror books.

People highlights “The Best Celebrity Photo Books of 2024.”

NPR recommends 11 of the year’s best cookbooks. 

The January Indie Next Preview is out, featuring #1 pick Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (Berkley; LJ starred review). 

Entertainment Weekly suggests 18 holiday romance novels, T&C shares 27 must-read holiday books, and USA Today highlights 10 festive books for the season.

Reactor invites readers to “Cozy Up with These 22 Chilly Winter Reads.”

CrimeReads suggests 5 new books for the week.

Author Lucy Foley recommends eight thrillers about bad marriages in NYT.

People shares details from Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician by James M. Bradley (Oxford Univ.), including its Seinfeld connection. 

Washington Post reflects on Aldo Leopold’s environmental classic A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There (Oxford Univ.) as it turns 75 this year.

BookRiot recaps its 2024 “Read Harder Challenge.”

Collins Dictionary names “brat” as its word of the year; “romantasy” made the shortlist. 

Taiwanese romance novelist Chiung Yao has died at age 86. NYT has an obituary. 

Authors on Air

Caleb Azumah Nelson will adapt his novel Small Worlds (Grove; LJ starred review) for television. Kirkus has the news.

Sky offers a first look at Matt Smith starring in the adaptation of Nick Cave’s cult novel The Death of Bunny Munro (Farrar). Deadline has the story.

The Palm Springs Film Festival has booked its 2025 “Books to Screen” schedule, Deadline reports.

StarTribune reviews this fall’s book-to-movie adaptations.

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