New and Notable
There is a steady stream of new books being published -- here's an advanced look at some you might want to be among the first to read. Plus, at any given time there seems to be resurgent interest in some books that have been around a while -- books you may want to take a second look at.
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Fiction
Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney. From the author of The Saving Graces comes this poignant yet hilarious novel about the funny ways love has of catching up to people despite their most irrational efforts to leave it behind.
Palace Council by Stephen Carter. "USA Today" hailed Carter's last novel
as the perfect summer read. Now the bestselling author of "New England
White" is back with a gripping political thriller set in the era of Watergate and Vietnam. With the murder of a wealthy, connected New Yorker, the young writer Eddie Wesley is pulled into a twenty-year search for the truth. As he uncovers layer upon layer of intrigue, his odyssey takes him from the wealthy drawing rooms of New York through the shady corners of radical politics
all the way to the Oval Office and President Nixon himself.
The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey. Harvey's sizzling, intricately woven follow-up to "The Chicago Way" opens with murder in contemporary Chicago and winds its way back to Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. When PI Michael Kelly is hired by an ex-flame to track her abusive husband, he tail to an old house on Chicago's North Side. Inside, he finds a body and, perhaps, the answer to one of Chicago's most enduring mysteries: who started the Great Chicago Fire and why. Ultimately, Kelly finds himself in a world where nothing is quite what it seems, face-to-face with a killer bent on rewriting history.
I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass. From the author of the bestselling Three Junes comes a richly nuanced tale about the intertwined lives of two sisters. Alternating between the women's voices, I See You Everywhere unfolds across 25 years, offering a candid double portrait that reveals the very nature of sisterhood.
Trespass by Valerie Martin. Rich with menace, this novel unfolds in a world where darkness intrudes into bright and pleasant places, a world with betrayal at its heart. In shimmering prose Martin raises the question, Who shall inherit
America? Two women, Chloe Dale, an artist comfortably ensconced in bucolic suburbia, and Salome Drago, a wily, seductive refugee from a country that no longer exists, confront each other in a Manhattan restaurant, and the
battle lines are drawn. The story of two families--suspicious, territorial, naive in their confidence that they are free of the past-- Trespass unfolds with commanding force. It is a bracing, tender novel for the 21st century.
Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway. This wildly entertaining debut novel introduces a bold new voice that combines antic humor with a stunning
futuristic vision to deliver an electrifyingly original tale of love, friendship, and the apocalypse.
Where the River Ends by Charles Martin. A powerfully emotional and beautifully written story of heartbreaking loss and undying love. He was a
fishing guide and struggling artist from a south George trailer park. She was
the beautiful only child of South Carolina's most powerful senator. Yet Doss Michaels and Abigail Grace Coleman each felt they'd found their true soul mate. Ten years into their marriage and terminally ill, Abbie makes a list of things she hopes to yet accomplish - including a river trip Doss had promised in the early days of their courtship. Together they steal away in the middle of the night to embark upon a 130-mile voyage down the St. Mary's River.
The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson. In a tender, intimate novel of an ordinary life defined by an extraordinary love, Richardson tells the story of 50-year-old Ambrose Zephyr who learns that he has one month to live. Reeling from the news, he and his wife, Zipper, embark on a whirlwind expedition to the places he has most loved or has always longed to visit, from Amsterdam to Zanzibar. As they travel to destinations beautifully evoked by the author, Zipper struggles to deal with the grand unfairness of their circumstances as she buoys Ambrose with her gentle affection and humor. Meanwhile, Ambrose reflects on his life, one well lived, and comes to understand that death, like life, will be made bearable by the strength and grace of their devotion.
The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson. After a long and storied career on the silver screen, Errol Flynn spends much of the last years of his life on a small island off of Jamaica. Based on those years, this novel tells the story of a local girl whose affair with Flynn produces a daughter, as it delves into the provocative history of a vanished era.
The Night Villa by Carol Goodman. Bestselling author Goodman's novel sweeps across the dramatic skies of present day Texas to ancient Capri, evocatively
telling a tale of intrigue, romance, and treachery that changes two women's
lives centuries apart.
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh: At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the "Ibis," whose destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, and whose purpose is to fight China's vicious 19th-century Opium Wars. This adventure spans landscapes from the lush poppy fields of the Ganges to the exotic backstreets of Canton.
2666 by Bolano Roberto: "The posthumous masterwork from ‘one of the greatest and most influential modern writers,'" - James Wood, NYT Book Review. Composed in the last years of Roberto Bolano's life, 2666 was greeted across Europe and Latin America as his highest achievement, surpassing even his previous work in its strangeness, beauty, and scope. Its throng of unforgettable characters includes academics and convicts, an American sportswriter, an elusive German novelist, and a teenage student and her widowed, mentally unstable father. Their lives intersect in the urban sprawl of Santa Teresa--a fictional Juarez--on the U.S. -- Mexico border, where hundreds of young factory workers, in the novel as in life, have disappeared.
The Traveler by Daren Simkin: Charlie had a pretty nice life, but it wasn't perfect. So he traveled all over the world in search of the perfect thing to make him happy. However, that turns out to be much harder to find than he thinks, in this unique story about the relentless search for perfect happiness that preoccupies so many. A wonderful children's book with a message relevant for adults too.
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. From the bestselling, award-winning author of A Conspiracy of Paper comes his most powerful historical mystery yet. Set in post-Revolutionary War America, The Whiskey Rebels is a superb rendering of a vivid and perilous age. Set in and around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City in the years after the Revolutionary War, this clever thriller follows the adventures of Ethan Saunders, once a valiant spy for General Washington, who has fallen on hard times by war's end.
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. This new novel from the author of The Danish Girl and Pasadena is a spellbinding work of literary suspense, set against the history of the Mormon Church, that combines historical fiction with a modern-day mystery. This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day legacy. Ebershoff brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th rebel wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man whose mother, another 19th wife, is accused of murdering his polygamist father, a member of the fundamentalist First Latter-day Saints, in Mesadale, Ariz.
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. The "New York Times" bestselling author of Prep returns with her most ambitious novel yet--the epic and intimate story of an ordinary woman thrust into extraordinary circumstances when she becomes first lady.
Bamboo and Blood (Inspector O Novels ) by James Church: In A Corpse in the Koryo, Church introduces one of the most unique detectives--the elusive
Inspector O. The critically-acclaimed story continues in the next book, Hidden
Moon, which takes O through the minefield of North Korea while he attempts
to solve a crime that is meant to remain unsolved. Now, the Inspector returns.
Nonfiction
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder. Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected and richest men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom.
Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon by Philip and Peter Kunhardt. In honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth comes this sequel to the enormously successful Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography. This work picks up where the previous book left off, and examines how the 16th President's legend came into being.
Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi. The author of the international
bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran now offers a stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, with moving memories of her life lived in thrall to a powerful and difficult mother, against the background of Iran during a time of revolution and change.
With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars by Jonathan Kellerman. In this sumptuously illustrated coffee table book, "New York Times" bestselling author Kellerman shares photos and stories of his incredible, world-renowned collection of rare guitars. Rich with personal account of how he acquired the treasures, the text anecdotally
documents Kellerman's love affair with the guitar.
Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Mark Richardson. In 1968, Robert Pirsig and his eleven-year-old son, Chris, made the cross-country motorcycle trip that would become the inspiration for Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a powerful blend of personal narrative and philosophical investigation that has inspired generations. Richardson revisits the people and places from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, pondering the meaning of Robert Pirsig's philosophy and the answers it may offer to the questions in his own life.
Descartes' Bones by Russell Shorto. A fascinating, colorful, and very readable account of early modern ideas and personalities. At the center of this philosophical tale by the acclaimed author of Island at the Center of the World is a simple mystery: Where in the world is Descartes' skull, and how did it get separated from the rest of his remains? Following the journey of the great 17th-century French thinker's bones over six countries, across three centuries, through three burials after his death in Stockholm in 1650, Shorto also follows the philosophical journey into modernity launched by Descartes' articulation of the mind-body problem.
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H. W. Brands. Drawing on archival materials, public speeches, personal correspondence, and accounts by family and close associates, acclaimed bestselling historian and biographer Brands offers a compelling and intimate portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt's
life and career.
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (audio/ CD). Read by Patrick Egan, 8 compact
discs (10.5 hours).
The Forever War (audio/CD) by Dexter Filkins. A prizewinning "New York Times" correspondent chronicles a remarkable chain of events that begins with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continues with the attacks of 9/11, and moves on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Read by the author. Abridged. 8 CDs (6 hours).
The Geography of Love by Glenda Burgess. This poignant exploration of the
depths of the human heart and the ability to love and to trust no matter the
obstacles is a reminder that "real" life is always richer -- and often stranger -- than fiction. Falling in love is arguably the greatest risk and leap of faith any of us take. There's no guarantee for future happiness, no protection from the ugly scars of the past, no shield from tragedy--this powerful memoir reminds us why we bother.
Schott's Miscellany 2009 by Ben Schott: Practical, entertaining, and utterly compulsive, this almanac presents a unique biography of the year: from the historic 2008 presidential election to Britney Spears' mental breakdown.
Look Me in the Eye by John Robison. Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Aspergers at a time when the diagnosis
simply didnt exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes readers inside the head
of a boy who teachers and other adults regarded as defective. Its a strange,
sly, indelible account; sometimes alien yet always deeply human.
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal
by Ben MacIntyre. Eddid Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man,
and a philanderer. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents
Britain has ever produced. Agent Zigzag offers a unique glimpse into the psychology of espionage, with its thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal.
Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon: National Geographic leads book-loving adventurers on a whirlwind tour of 500 literary landmarks
and offers practical trip-planning advice for visiting in person. Peppered with great reading suggestions and literary gossip, this book is the ultimate browser's delight.
Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Emotional Balance and Compassion by the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman, read by Richard Gere: This landmark exchange on human emotions is part of a conversation between two leading thinkers on the pursuit of psychological fulfillment. Abridged. 6 CDs.
Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips by Roy Blount Jr.; read by the author: After 40 years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, Blount still can't get over his ABCs. In this audiobook, he celebrates the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations. Unabridged. 4 CDs.
Hell in the Pacific: The Battle for Iwo Jima by Gordon Rottman and Derrick Wright. The battle of Iwo Jima was extraordinary for its ferocity. US Marine Corps casualties exceeded by thousands the number of Japanese defenders, who fought almost to the last man over those five desperate weeks. The strategic justification for the mission has been challenged but there is no questioning the courage displayed and the horrors endured by both sides. This book details the composition, weaponry and leadership of the opposing
forces and the five weeks of battle.
Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres, now in paperback. In this lively and groundbreaking new book, economist Ayres shows how today's best and brightest organizations are analyzing massive databases at lightening speed to provide greater insights into human behavior. An international sensation, this "Wall Street Journal" and "New York Times" business bestseller tells how number crunching affects your life in ways you might not even imagine. Intuition and experience are no longer enough to make the grade. In order to succeed -- even survive -- in our data-based world, you need to become statistically literate.
