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Big Books of the Week

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama (Crown) leads holds this week.

Obama reads excerpts from her book on NPR .

GMA shares video clips from a 20/20 interview with Robin Roberts, now on Hulu.

Obama will appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight and will be a guest on All Things Considered tomorrow.

Other titles in demand include:

The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz (Harper; LJ starred review)

The Perfect Assassin by James Patterson and Brian Sitts (Grand Central)

Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman (Knopf; LJ starred review)

The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)

These books and others publishing the week of Nov. 14, 2022 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

One LibraryReads and ten Indie Next picks publish this week:

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade (Avon; LJ starred review)

“After starring in a TV show together, Peter and Maria’s passion ignites, but what comes next now that their career paths are diverging? There are plenty of sexy scenes, genuine belly laughs, and found family joy, and I was sorry to say goodbye to Peter and Maria. For fans of A Merry Little Meet Cute and One to Watch.” —Sarah Cameron, Richland Library, Columbia, SC

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“I love how Dade writes plus-sized heroines and how they are always strong, confident women. They always love themselves for who they are, not who society tells them they should be. This book is hilarious, adorable — and yes, very steamy.”—Kaitlyn Craig, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

Nine additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

On Browsing by Jason Guriel (Biblioasis)

“Guriel tracks the change in consumer culture from buying in-person to online; he mourns the loss of connection to what we buy. Whether in small independent stores or shopping malls, discovery is a different experience in the flesh.”—Todd Miller, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI

How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison (Harper Perennial)

“It's much too early to start naming the best pandemic novels of our uncanny reality, but I have a feeling that How to Survive Everything will be remembered as one of the greats.”—Jordan Pulaski, Small Friend Records & Books, Richmond, VA

A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings by Will Betke-Brunswick (Tin House Books; LJ starred review)

“Will Betke-Brunswick’s graphic memoir captures a family facing an unimaginable loss, without signposts or explanations. Readers feel an increasing connection to the characters as the story unfolds; a powerful reading experience.”—Keith Mosman, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR

Idol, Burning by Rin Usami, trans. by Asa Yoneda (HarperVia)

“A riveting exploration of fandoms and obsession, Idol, Burning is short but packs a real punch. It reads like a modern-day Mishima, using discomforting prose and slow-burn writing to set the tone for a melancholic and insightful read.”—Katrina Wallace, Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville, KY

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan (Harper Voyager; LJ starred review)

“This was such a satisfying sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess. The pacing is fantastic and the story is unpredictably magical and exciting. I really loved the world building and appreciated the romance.”—Hillary Smith, Black Walnut Books, Hudson Falls, NY

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham (Ballantine)

“This book is like sitting down with an old friend! Learn about an actor’s climb to the top, what book she keeps by her bedside, and what she thinks about when she walks around town. I read it as quickly as her Lorelai Gilmore character talked!” —Margaret Walker, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN

They're Going to Love You by Meg Howrey (Doubleday)

“They’re Going to Love You is simply wonderful. Perfect. The most trenchant and emotionally rich novel I’ve read this year.”—Matt Nixon, A Cappella Books, Atlanta, GA

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)

“Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is a fresh and profound take on America’s most notorious kidnapping. This engaging historical fiction novel vividly describes the secrets and sadness surrounding the Lindbergh kidnapping.”—Susan McBeth, Adventures by the Book, San Diego, CA

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery/ Saga Press)

“At this point, I’ll read anything Rebecca Roanhorse writes. This little book packs a powerhouse of a story! It’s 1920s noir with demons and angels, but with Rebecca’s personal twist. I loved it and I can’t wait to give it to everyone I know!”—Annie Carl, The Neverending Bookshop, Edmonds, WA

In the Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger (Park Row; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are Flight by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner), and Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (Riverhead). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights Playing Under the Piano: From Downton to Darkest Peru by Hugh Bonneville (Other Pr.; LJ starred review), and Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby (Riverhead). Plus, Patti LuPone recommends Everybody Thought We Were Crazy: Dennis Hopper, Brooke Hayward, and 1960s Los Angeles by Mark Rozzo (Ecco). 

The “Picks” section spotlights FX on Hulu’s Fleishman Is In Trouble, based on the book by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, and Netflix’s Wonder, based on the novel by Sebastián Lelio. There is a feature on Michelle Obama and her new book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times (Crown). Plus, Tieghan Gerard, Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals (Clarkson Potter), shares a Thanksgiving recipe. 

Reviews

USA Today reviews Flight by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner), giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars: “Strong bores in on each character, each couple, with acute emotional intelligence, crafting a chamber play atmosphere in the vein of Henrik Ibsen or Ingmar Bergman.”

NPR reviews Ghost Town by Kevin Chen, trans. by Darryl Sterk (Europa; LJ starred review): “The Chen family's collective longing to reunite in the face of constant tragedy fuels an exhilarating and often quite moving reading experience. Ghost Town is simply tough to put down and you'll be thinking about the Chens long after you've left Yongjing.” Plus, there are reviews of a trio of women-centered art books that includes: The Only Woman by Immy Humes (Phaidon Pr.), Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman (Harper Design), and Great Women Painters ed. by Phaidon Editors (Phaidon Pr.). 

NYT reviews The Queen: Her Life by Andrew Morton (Grand Central: Life & Style; LJ starred review): “If you know nothing whatsoever about Elizabeth Windsor, this is a perfectly satisfactory primer. But if you’re a buff of the royal soap opera, it will feel like standing at a party having to nod and grin politely while your husband, maybe after a few too many Pimm’s cups, tells one of his favorite tales, that you’ve heard a million times, too fast, to strangers.” The Washington Post also reviews: “Morton’s reluctance to probe, though, is not just born of Elizabeth’s stoicism. It’s also a choice. Where he once placed himself firmly on Team Diana, here he equivocates, and only more so as his narrative marches toward the present.” Also, No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova (The Open Field): “The memoir truly comes alive — in style and substance — when Porizkova smashes the facade of her glamorous marriage to Ocasek.”

The Washington Post reviews The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown): “A gifted popular writer, Schiff deftly describes the surfaces of people and places, setting a shiny stage for Adams. But she balks at probing the sources of his relentless challenge to power as a threat to liberty.”

The Guardian reviews Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life by Brigitta Olubas (Farrar): “This is a fascinating, searching, compassionate book. It moved and transfixed me. More importantly, it has sent me back to Hazzard’s writing, which is so good I don’t think I could love someone who didn’t also adore it.” And, Cocoon by Zhang Yueran, trans. by Jeremy Tiang (World Editions): “Cocoon is a powerful report from a time and a generation little understood in the west, even if Gong’s and Jiaqi’s narratives are not always easy to tell apart and the almost baroque quality of the relentless familial angst can be suffocating.”

Briefly Noted

Caroline Kepnes teases a new Joe Goldberg novel, For You and Only You, due out from Random House in April. People has the story. 

Failed FTX cryptocurrency head Sam Bankman-Fried will be the subject of a new book by Michael Lewis. The Guardian reports.

Aaron Carter’s unfinished posthumous memoir is being delayed after pushback. Entertainment Weekly reports. Vulture also has coverage.

Time interviews Andrew Morton about his new book, The Queen: Her Life (Grand Central: Life & Style; LJ starred review), Diana, and the future of the British monarchy.

Dolly Parton accepts The Bezos Award for Courage and Civility, along with $100 million. Parton says she “will do my best to do good things with this money." GMA reports.

The Millions talks with Peter Brooks, Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative (New York Review), about the “downsides of reducing everything to storytelling.”

University Press Week begins today, with “Next UP” as this year’s theme. 

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

NYT provides “5 Books to Read About Qatar Before the World Cup.”

Authors on Air

NPR’s Morning Edition talks with Andy Greenberg about his new book, Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency (Doubleday; LJ starred review). 

Washington Post book critic Ron Charles recommends four titles to cozy up with on CBS Sunday. 

NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday covers the Harper Collins strike. 

Brian Boxer Wachler, Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception (Rowman & Littlefield) visits Tamron Hall today. 

Ruby Bridges, I Am Ruby Bridges (Orchard Books) will be on with Kelly Clarkson.

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