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Big Books of the Week

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (St. Martin’s) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include: 

Something To Hide by Elizabeth George (Viking; LJ starred review)

Find Me by Alafair Burke (Harper)

The Horsewoman by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Little, Brown, & Co.)

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur: St. Martin’s)

These books and others publishing the week of January 10th, 2022 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three LibraryReads and thirteen Indie Next picks arrive this week:

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Berkley)

“Ari and Russell scheme to get their feuding divorced bosses back together, Parent Trap-style, and regain peace in the workplace. Instead, they find love. A touching, surprisingly weighty romance, exploring issues of depression and body image and incorporating glimpses of Jewish faith. For fans of Get a Life, Chloe Brown and The Matzah Ball.”—Alicia Ahlvers, Henrico County Public Library, Henrico, VA 

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur)

“Chloe knows what it’s like to be judged and whispered about, and how it feels to have your family torn apart by a serial killer: your own father. Now on the 20th anniversary of the murders, bodies start turning up, and she finds herself in the middle of the investigation. Unique, riveting, and thrilling. For fans of Jennifer McMahon and Laura Lippman.”—Shellie Taylor, Iredell County Library, Statesville, NC

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This twisty thriller kept me reading late into the night! It keeps you guessing up until the very end of this cat-and-mouse game, where monsters and unsettling memories lurk in every corner — who can be trusted? Utterly captivating!”—Maxwell Gregory, Madison Street Books, Chicago, IL 

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (St. Martin’s)

"After her husband’s accidental death, Kayla mourns in the family dream home, but her elderly new neighbor draws her into the house’s history in 1965 North Carolina. This terrific novel has it all : well-rounded characters; dual time periods for suspense; and an age-old mystery. For fans of Lisa Scottoline and Jodi Picoult."—Cyndi Larsen, Avon Free Public Library, Avon, CT

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This bucolic neighborhood may look like a slice of paradise, but Round Hill hides a dark history. Chamberlain masterfully weaves two narratives together to craft a work of both white-knuckle suspense and historical fiction.”—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN

Eleven additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara (Doubleday)

“Expansive, wholly original, and utterly engrossing, To Paradise is a masterpiece. Fans of Yanagihara’s A Little Life will find themselves making a little more room in their hearts for this marvelous, emotional, and brilliant story.”—Christine Bollow, Loyalty Bookstore, Washington, DC

Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom, Bk. 1) by Sue Lynn Tan (Harper Voyager; LJ starred review)

“Glimmering with lavish imagery and ethereal world-building, Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a hero's journey where love is essential to coming of age. A remarkable debut filled with monsters, magic, power, and my favorite — dragons.”—Briana Fields, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz (Random)

“Schulz explores love, loss, and everything in between with empathy and nuance. A feat of pure brilliance that speaks directly to our humanity in these challenging times. It found me at a necessary moment, and I will always be grateful.”—Lesley Rains, City of Asylum Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA

None But the Righteous by Chantal James (Counterpoint)

“Told from the perspective of a wandering soul, None But the Righteous is an innovative and fascinating book about a young Black man who has been displaced by Hurricane Katrina.”—Margaret Leonard, Dotters Books, Eau Claire, WI

I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home (Ecco; LJ starred review)

“I love this book for its honesty about the ups and downs of the writing life, and the self-discovery that comes with telling the truth. Writers and aspiring writers of all ages will adore it. Jami Attenberg has earned her wisdom, and is generous to share it in this book.”—Emma Fusco-Straub, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY

Wahala (Custom House; LJ starred review).

“Wahala offers a fresh, suspenseful, and insightful exploration of the darker complexities of friendship, romance, and ambition from the perspectives of three Anglo-Nigerian women.”—Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, MA

Go Back at Once by Robert Aickman (And Other Stories)

“With brilliant dialogue and oblivious schlepping, à la Stoppard’s Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, Aickman’s two hilarious ladies-in-waiting wander through the horrors of war, men of all disastrousies, and political upheaval unfazed.”—Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson (Avid Reader: S. & S.)

“I loved this suspenseful novel, these mysterious characters. Wilson has created a situation worthy of Hitchcock or Highsmith. Mouth to Mouth asks if we can ever know the truth about those we love, or ourselves.”—Adam Possehl, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR

This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris (Catapult)

“This book is heart-wrenching. I couldn’t put it down. As a mother I was absolutely enveloped in the author’s journey through this incredibly difficult time. I was in awe of her grace in dealing with what life continued to throw at her.”—Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, LA

Small World by Jonathan Evison (Dutton)

“From the Gold Rush with Chinese, Irish, and Native Americans among the protagonists, Evison alternates time — work on the rails to Amtrak, gold panning to modern West Coast life — tying generations together in a splendid sleight of hand.”—Pat Rutledge, A Book For All Seasons, Leavenworth, WA

High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir by Edgar Gomez (Soft Skull)

“I was shocked at how fast I read this book! It was heartbreaking and inspiring, and it felt brutally honest. One of the best coming out stories I’ve read. I hope Edgar Gomez keeps writing, because I want to keep reading.”—Kerry Mayer, Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane, WA

In The Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (St. Martin’s). Also getting attention are The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine; LJ starred review) and Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez (Flatiron). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights Chasing History by Carl Bernstein (Holt), Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz (Random), and I Didn't Do the Thing Today : Letting Go of Productivity Guilt by Madeleine Dore (Avery).

The “Picks” section spotlights Peacemaker, based on associated titles, on HBO Max, Naomi, based on the comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker on CW, Station Eleven on HBO Max, based on the novel by Emily St. John Mandel, All Creatures Great and Small, based on the books series by James Herriot, on PBS, and The Book of Boba Fett, with associated titles on Disney+.

Valerie Bertinelli, author of the forthcoming memoir, Enough Already (HarperCollins), talks about love, life and loss in her cover feature. Lindsey Vonn opens up about her struggle with mental health in her new memoir, Rise (Dey Street) and icon Betty White is remembered. Plus, Michael Symon, Fix It with Food: Every Meal Easy: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Anyone with Autoimmune Issues and Inflammation (Clarkson Potter), and Vanessa Lachey, Life from Scratch: Family Traditions That Start with You, written with Dina Gachman (HarperOne), share recipes.

Reviews

USA Today reviews I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home by Jami Attenberg (Ecco; LJ starred review), giving it 3 out of 4 stars: “Rather than shape her childhood, career milestones, or stints in Brooklyn and New Orleans into an arc, she’s content to let the stitches show. But when her writing is at its liveliest, the book’s looseness just feels on-brand. Tidiness, for Attenberg, would be dishonest about writing in particular and living in general.”

NYT reviews Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez (Flatiron): “The story’s driving tension derives from questions of how to break free: from a mother’s manipulations, from shame, from pride indistinguishable from fear, from the traumatic burden of abandonment, from colonial oppression, from corrosive greed.” And, Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945–1955 by Harald Jähner (Knopf; LJ starred review): “Germany’s current self-image as a country that has wholly come to terms with its past might be, this book suggests, a bit of wishful thinking.”

The Washington Post pairs reviews of The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France by James Mcauley (Yale Univ. Pr.), and The Vanished Collection by Pauline Baer de Perignon, trans. by Natasha Lehrer (New Vessel Pr. ): “the amnesia of the French government and museum world, are part of the larger amnesia from which the Western world has suffered since the Holocaust. Both of these books add important chapters to that narrative and its culture-centered story line.” Also, The Writer's Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five by Tom Roston (Harry N. Abrams): “Given PTSD’s broadening usage and definition, it could be said that it has become a diagnosis for everyone, and so Roston also shows us how — PTSD diagnosis or not — his hero Vonnegut succeeded in writing a book for everybody, one that remains unstuck in time.” And, Art & Crime: The fight against looters, forgers, and fraudsters in the high-stakes art world by Stefan Koldehoff and Tobias Timm, trans. by Paul David Young (Seven Stories Pr.): “Koldehoff and Timm call for more openness in the art business, lamenting the lack of transparency in terms that might apply to Mafia dons: ‘There is a weird collective spirit in the art world … an insistence upon outmoded traditions that invite suspicion, from the handshake deal to the anonymity of business partners to the code of silence’.” And, W.E.B. Du Bois: Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. Du Bois (Library of America): “Today, we read Black Reconstruction to further our thinking about racism and inequality in America, and to heed the book’s call to assess clear-eyed where this country has been and where it still might go.” Plus, Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire by Katja Hoyer (Pegasus): “What this story reveals is how easily governmental institutions can be destroyed when people are led astray by intoxicating notions of a place in the sun. That, perhaps, is a lesson for us all.”

The Guardian reviews To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara (Doubleday): “There’s something miraculous about reading To Paradise while the coronavirus crisis is still playing out around us, the dizzying sense that you’re immersed in a novel that will come to represent the age, its obsessions and anxieties. It’s rare that you get the opportunity to review a masterpiece, but To Paradise, definitively, is one.” And, Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez (Flatiron): “This deeply satisfying and nuanced novel shines a light on political corruption and the limits of capitalism. It’s also a study of the psychological fallout of poor parenting and a tender exploration of love in its many forms.”

Briefly Noted

Entertainment Weekly has a Q&A with Noah Hawley, Anthem (Grand Central), about his writing process.

The Guardian interviews Hanya Yanagihara, about writing and her new book, To Paradise (Doubleday).The New Yorker also has a feature on Yanigihara. 

LA Times has a story about Toni Morrison’s forthcoming Recitatif: A Story (Knopf), due out next month. PBS Canvas also has coverage.

The Millions features Sarah Manguso and her forthcoming memoir-turned-novel, Very Cold People (Hogarth), due out in February. 

Bustle has a Q&A with Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, and the forthcoming Sea of Tranquility, both published by Knopf. 

Vox highlights its January book club selection, No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (Riverhead), and offers discussion questions. 

Salon takes a fresh look at The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort (Harmony: PRH), 50 years on.  

CrimeReads has an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman’s forthcoming City of the Dead: An Alex Delaware Novel (Ballantine), due out February 8th.

The Atlantic looks at "highly anticipated novels from authors who waited decades to return."

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

LA Times has 10 books for the month.

Good Morning America recommends 4 books for January.

Entertainment Weekly suggests “the best comics from December.”

Time shares “The 10 Most Anticipated Cookbooks of 2022.”

Bustle previews "12 Books By British Women Of Colour To Look Out For In 2022."

Authors On Air

CBS Sunday Morning talks with Carl Bernstein about Chasing History (Holt).

NPR’s Book of the Day features the late Desmond Tutu and his book, Made for Goodness : And Why This Makes All the Difference (HarperOne). 

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