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Big Books of the Week

The Winners by Fredrik Backman (Atria) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik (Del Rey; LJ starred review)

Treasure State by C.J. Box (Minotaur)

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday)

Suspect by Scott Turow (Grand Central)

These books and others publishing the week of September 26 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

One LibraryReads selection publishes this week:

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young (Delacorte)

“Another stunner by Young! When August Salt, the love of Emery Blackwood’s life, returns to clear his name after being accused of killing Lily Morgan fourteen years ago, dark secrets arise in Saiorse Island. The prose flows like the magical elements throughout.”—Suzy Card, Grapevine Library, Grapevine, TX

Seven Indie Next picks publish this week:

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth (Vintage)

“Motherthing is dark, witty, and absurd — the perfect combination! Abby and Ralph move in with Ralph’s mother, but Laura is conniving and prickly. This book will leave you gasping, and you might think twice about eating chicken à la king.”—Caitlin Baker, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA

Leech by Hiron Ennes (Tordotcom; LJ starred review)

“This book slowly builds your sense of vertigo by combining body horror and gothic family drama. To find oneself empathizing with a parasite only heightens the sense of dis-ease. I’m still reeling.”—Keith Glaeske, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC

The Winners by Fredrik Backman (Atria Books)

“I savored every page, every word of this well written story of a hockey community; love, death, marriage, human nature, and all for the love of Hockey. Fredrik Backman will take you out of the cold and into your heart.”—Karen Piacentini, Fenton's Open Book, Fenton, MI

Lark Ascending by Silas House (Algonquin Books)

“In a near future that seems closer and closer to becoming a reality, Lark Ascending follows Lark as he survives ordeal after ordeal. Silas House manages to imbue Lark’s story with humanity and hope. This will stick with you for a long time.”—Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN

We Spread by Iain Reid (Gallery/Scout Press)

“A compact and powerful novel! Penny, an elderly widow, has moved into Six Cedars, where things might not necessarily be as they seem. Iain Reid treats Penny with great compassion as we slowly understand what is actually happening to her.”—John Lynn, The Kennett Bookhouse, Kennett Square, PA

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell (Pantheon; LJ starred review)

“Like the jazz in her debut novel, Warrell threads together the lyrical, effervescent story of trumpeter Circus Porter and, more importantly, the women who have marked his life. A beautiful, breakable, lovely mess; this novel is its song.”—Melinda Powers, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Wild by Geoffroy Delorme, trans. by Shaun Whiteside (Greystone Books)

“This is a book to nourish your younger self that desperately wished to flee the human race for the wild. Delorme’s quiet insights into forest lore and intimacy with forest creatures weave an undeniable spell. Excellent for fans of Fox & I.”—Amanda Qassar, Warwick's, La Jolla, CA

In the Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (Random). Also getting attention are Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer (Little, Brown), and The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman (St. Martin’s). A “Star Picks” section highlights Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace M. Cho (The Feminist Press at CUNY), The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco), and Writers & Lovers by Lily King (Grove; LJ starred review).

A “Food Faves!” feature highlights recent and forthcoming pop-culture cookbooks: Seinfeld: The Official Cookbook by Julie Tremaine and Brendan Kirby (Insight Editions), Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook by Elena Craig and Kristen Mulrooney (Insight Editions), My Pokémon Cookbook: Delicious Recipes Inspired by Pikachu and Friends by Victoria Rosenthal (Insight Editions), Parks and Recreation: The Official Cookbook by Jenn Fujikawa (Smart Pop), Emily in Paris: The Official Cookbook by Kim Laidlaw (Weldon Owen), and Marvel's Black Panther The Official Wakanda Cookbook by Nyanyika Banda (Insight Editions).

Reviews

NPR reviews Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer (Little, Brown): “The question you may well be asking at this point is: Is Less Is Lost as good, as funny, as poignant as its predecessor? To which I would happily answer: Yes, at least!”

NYT reviews Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity by Donald Yacovone (Pantheon; LJ starred review): “Yacovone’s thesis is a compelling and convincing one: that Northern publishers, universities, religious authorities and social activists were more responsible than Southern ones in disseminating an enduring ideology of white supremacy and Black inferiority — one that outlasted the institution of slavery and was expressed forcefully in school materials." And, The Furrows: An Elegy by Namwali Serpell (Hogarth): “Serpell is interested in effects here more than in truth dealing. With its scrutiny of doubles, of doppelgängers, of déjà vu, of parallel existences, of the transmigration of souls, of hints of incest, of shifting points of view, the book is a mind-twist.” Also, Mr. Wilder and Me by Jonathan Coe (Europa Editions): “In its own quiet way, the novel is as odd as the movie it describes: part Hollywood biopic, part Holocaust memoir, part middle-class domestic drama.” And, I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie Lacava (Verso): “is meticulously constructed, with each part supporting and supported by the others. Controlled self-awareness like this in novels makes me pay close attention, enriching my experience.” Plus, there are short reviews of three historical novels.

The Washington Post reviews The Complicities by Stacey D’Erasmo (Algonquin): “D'Erasmo's writing is tight and flavorful; her thinking sharp; her characters warmly idiosyncratic; her causes timely, complex, and morally freighted.”

Slate reviews Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday): “At heart, though, it’s a big, rewarding puzzle that casts a jaundiced eye at one of London’s historic heydays while slipping the reader a flask full of Jazz-Age thrills under the table.”

Briefly Noted

Barnes & Noble announces the 2022 Discover Prize shortlist, including debut novels by Laura Warrell, Tess Gunty, Louise Kennedy, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Morgan Talty, and Sarah Thankam Mathews. 

LA Times shares an appreciation for Hilary Mantel, who died last week at the age of 70. PBS Canvas takes a look at Mantel’s literary legacy.

Ring of Fire Press is closing, Locus reports.

USA Today shares five revelations from by Jann S. Wenner’s memoir, Like a Rolling Stone (Little, Brown; LJ starred review).

The Atlantic’s “Books Briefing” considers “What Book Bans Take From Kids."

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

OprahDaily has 25 Fantasy Books, and “30 of the Best Fall Fiction Books of 2022.”

The Millions examines “Soviet Sci-Fi at the End of the World.”

Vulture has a Marilyn Monroe booklist to read after watching Blonde. 

Authors On Air

CBS Sunday Mornings shares the most anticipated books, films, and music for fall. Also, Mitch Albom reflects on “lessons learned from Tuesdays with Morrie.” Plus, a look at “Streaming wars: The fight for viewers.”

Oprah and Apple TV+ end multi-year deal, but will continue collaboration with the Oprah Book Club. THR reports.

Kelly Ripa, Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories (Dey Street), will be on The Tonight Show tomorrow.

Melanie Chisholm, The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl (Grand Central), will visit The View.

Dick Ebersol, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night: My 40 Years of Laughter, Tears and Touchdowns, and Stephen Steve-O Glover, A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I've Learned from a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions will visit The Late Show. 

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