Prepub Alert

By Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 6/15/2006

Fiction | Nonfiction

Fiction

Aboulela, Leila. The Translator. Black Cat: Grove. Oct. 2006. 208p. ISBN 0-8021-7026-9 [ISBN 978-0-8021-7026-2]. pap. $13.
Alone in overcast Aberdeen, where she works as a translator, Sudanese widow Sammar falls for Scottish Islamic scholar—and nonbeliever—Rae. Aboulela's debut, Minaret, contended for several major awards.

Allen, Jenny & Jules Feiffer. The Long Chalkboard: And Other Stories. Pantheon. Oct. 2006. 128p. ISBN 0-375-42453-9 [ISBN 978-0-375-42453-3]. $16.95.
Journalist/comic Allen and husband Feiffer, of cartoonist fame, join forces in a graphic-novel trio that explores baby boomers in their twilight.

Atkinson, Kate. One Good Turn. Little, Brown. Oct. 2006. 432p. ISBN 0-316-15484-9 [ISBN 978-0-316-15484-0]. $24.99. CD: Time Warner Audio.
Det. Jackson Brodie emerged a millionaire from Case Histories, but he's back sleuthing after witnessing an egregious instance of what appears to be road rage. With a six-city tour; online reading group guide.

Baldacci, David. The Collectors. Warner. Oct. 2006. 448p. ISBN 0-446-53109-X [ISBN 978-0-446-53109-2]. $26.99; lrg. prnt. Cassette/CD: Time Warner Audio.
After several dramatic deaths in Washington, DC, the Camel Club (first introduced in Baldacci's most recent novel) is whipped back into action. Look for the TV ads.

Bradbury, Ray. Farewell Summer. Morrow. Oct. 2006. 208p. ISBN 0-06-113154-7 [ISBN 978-0-06-113154-7]. $24.95.
Lessons for (and from) the boys of Green Town, IL, who don't want summer to end. A sequel to Dandelion Wine, which Bradbury delivered 50 years ago.

Braffet, Kelly. Last Seen Leaving. Houghton. Oct. 2006. 272p. ISBN 0-618-44144-1 [ISBN 978-0-618-44144-0]. $23.
What happens to free spirit Miranda after she wrecks her car and a stranger stops to help? After the success of her “accomplished” trade paperback debut, Josie and Jack, Braffet arrives in the ranks of hardcover novelists.

Bujold, Lois McMaster. The Sharing Knife. Vol. 1: Beguilement. Eos: HarperCollins. Oct. 2006. 400p. ISBN 0-06-113758-8 [ISBN 978-0-06-113758-7]. $25.95.
Soldier-sorcerer Dag rushes to save pregnant Fern from a malice. But it is Fern who gets this adventure going by actually killing the malice. First of a two-volume tale from a Hugo Award winner.

Burke, Jan. Kidnapped: An Irene Kelly Novel. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 384p. ISBN 0-7432-7385-0 [ISBN 978-0-7432-7385-5]. $24.
Family tragedy launches Irene Kelly and her detective husband on another case, and Burke launches a 12-city tour.

Connelly, Michael. Echo Park. Little, Brown. Oct. 2006. 384p. ISBN 0-316-73495-0 [ISBN 978-0-316-73495-0]. $26.99; lrg. prnt. Cassette/CD: Time Warner Audio.
After an accused serial killer confesses to a long-ago murder that Harry Bosch couldn't crack, Harry realizes he missed a vital clue that might have put the man behind bars and saved lives. Not a good feeling. With a seven-city tour.

Da Chen. Brothers. Shaye Areheart: Crown. Sept. 2006. 432p. ISBN 1-4000-9728-2 [ISBN 978-1-4000-9728-9]. $25.
A mighty general's two sons (one illegitimate) head for a collision during the Cultural Revolution. A follow-up to the memoir Colors of the Mountain. With a New England tour; reading group guide.

Delbanco, Nicholas. Spring and Fall. Warner. Oct. 2006. 304p. ISBN 0-446-57871-1 [ISBN 978-0-446-57871-4]. $24.99.
After falling in love at Harvard in 1962, Lawrence and Hermia take 40 years to get together—on a cruise, no less. With a three-city tour; online reading group guide.

Evanovich, Janet. Motor Mouth. HarperCollins. Oct. 2006. 304p. ISBN 0-06-058403-3 [ISBN 978-0-06-058403-0]. $26.95; lrg prnt. CD/Cassette: HarperAudio.
In her second mystery, Alexandra “Barney” Barnaby races to challenge the bad guys with a hot NASCAR driver by her side. With a one-day laydown; a five-city tour.

Evans, Richard Paul. Finding Noel. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 368p. ISBN 0-7432-8703-7 [ISBN 978-0-7432-8703-6]. $19.95.
Except for a Christmas ornament, nothing connects Macy to the parents who abandoned her at age seven, but she's still determined to find the little sister she believes she has. With a five-city tour.

Flynn, Gillian. Sharp Objects. Shaye Areheart: Crown. Oct. 2006. 272p. ISBN 0-307-34154-2 [ISBN 978-0-307-35154-9]. $24. CD: Random Audio.
Returning to her hometown after two preteen girls are murdered there, reporter Camille Preaker must get reacquainted with her mother and weirdly charasmatic little half-sister. And then the bad memories resurface. A debut from Entertainment Weekly's chief TV critic; with a five-city tour.

Flynn, Vince. Act of Treason. Atria: S. & S. Oct. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-7432-7037-1 [ISBN 978-0-7432-7037-3]. $25.95. CD: S. & S. Audio.
After terrorists assault his motorcade, killing his wife and several Secret Service agents, vice president (and faltering presidential candidate) Brian Baxter is handed a landslide by tearful voters. But was the attack everything it seemed? With a nine-city tour.

Gaiman, Neil. Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders. Morrow. Oct. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-06-051522-8 [ISBN 978-0-06-051522-5]. $26.95. CD: HarperAudio.
An alternate Victorian England. Months of the Year sitting around chatting. These are some of the ideas firing the 25-plus stories in Gaiman's new collection. With a one-day laydown on September 26.

George, Elizabeth. What Came Before He Shot Her. HarperCollins. Oct. 2006 448p. ISBN 0-06-054562-3 [ISBN 978-0-06-054562-8]. $26.95; lrg. prnt. Cassette/CD: HarperAudio.
Waving good-bye (if only temporarily) to Thomas Lynley, George deposits three orphans with a desperate aunt in North Kensington. The trouble that follows is bigger than you think. With a one-day laydown; an eight-city tour.

Gordon, Mary. The Stories of Mary Gordon. Pantheon. Oct. 2006. 464p. ISBN 0-375-42316-8 [ISBN 978-0-375-42316-1]. $26.
Short fiction from the stellar Gordon, covering her entire career.

Karon, Jan. The Mitford Bedside Companion. Viking. Oct. 2006. 480p. ISBN 0-670-03785-0. $26.95.
Top scenes, crossword puzzles, trivia questions, and other Mitford goodies, selected by Karon's sister, Brenda W. Furman. Look for the first Father Tim novel in spring 2007.

Ludlum™, Robert. The Bancroft Strategy. St. Martin's. Oct. 2006. 496p. ISBN 0-312-31673-9 [ISBN 978-0-312-31673-0]. $26.95. CD: Audio Renaissance.
Even as ousted agent Todd Belknap hunts for a friend kidnapped in Lebanon, Andrea Bancroft discovers that she will inherit millions if she joins a family foundation that turns out to be suspect. You bet their paths cross.

Naslund, Sena Jeter. Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette. Morrow. Oct. 2006. 400p. ISBN 0-06-082539-1 [ISBN 978-0-06-082539-3]. $26.95. CD: HarperAudio.
Having struck gold with Ahab's Wife, Naslund fashions a novel of Marie Antoinette, a golden girl whose life turned to lead. With an 11-city tour; online reading guide.

O'Brien, Edna. The Light of Evening. Houghton. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-618-71867-2 [ISBN 978-0-618-71867-2]. $25.
The hospital bedside meeting of Dilys and long-estranged daughter Eleanora hardly clears the air, but Eleanora does leave behind a significant journal about their tough times together. With a six-city tour; reading group promotion.

Powers, Richard. The Echo Maker. Farrar. Oct. 2006. 464p. ISBN 0-374-14635-7 [ISBN 978-0-374-14635-1]. $25.
When Karin's brother emerges from a coma after a serious car accident, he refuses to acknowledge Karin as his sister. Powerful stuff from an award-winning author.

Satrapi, Marjane. Chicken with Plums. Pantheon. Oct. 2006. 96p. ISBN 0-375-42415-6 [ISBN 978-0-375-42415-1]. $16.95.
After irreparable damage is done to his beloved tar (a classic instrument), Nasser Ali Khan retreats from life—with consequences that reverberate throughout his family. With a 13-city tour.

Nonfiction

Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: The Prophet for Our Time. HarperCollins. Oct. 2006. 208p. ISBN 0-06-059897-2 [ISBN 978-0-06-059897-6]. $21.95.
Who but Armstrong could deliver an account for all Westerners of Muhammad's life and legacy? An “Eminent Lives” book.

Bradford, Sarah. Diana. Viking. Oct. 2006. 416p. ISBN 0-670-03807-5. $25.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
From a biographer who has ranged from Cesare Borgia to Queen Elizabeth.

Carter, Jimmy. Peace or Apartheid in Palestine. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-7432-8502-6 [ISBN 978-0-7432-8502-5]. $27. CD: S. & S. Audio.
The man who brokered peace between Israel and Egypt confronts today's Middle East. With a six-city tour.

Cassidy, Tina. Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. Atlantic Monthly. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-87113-938-3 [ISBN 978-0-87113-938-2]. $24.
Not What To Expect but how expecting has changed over the millennia—and how it hasn't. With a 15-city tour.

Chopra, Deepak. Life After Death: The Burden of Proof. Harmony: Crown. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-307-34578-5 [ISBN 978-0-307-34578-3]. $24. CD: Random Audio.
Chopra envisions the afterlife, drawing on both the ancient sages of the Vedanta and contemporary physics. With a 15-city tour.

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Houghton. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-618-68000-4 [ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9]. $26.
A famed Oxford scientist on the suspect logic and dangerous consequences of belief in a Supreme Being. With a nine-city tour.

de Botton, Alain. The Architecture of Happiness. Pantheon. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-375-42443-1 [ISBN 978-0-375-42443-4]. $25.
After The Consolations of Philosophy: how architectual style sets the mood. With a six-city tour.

Dickerson, John. On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 224p. ISBN 0-7432-8783-5 [ISBN 978-0-7432-8783-8]. $24.
Nancy Dickerson may have been the first woman to join the Washington, DC, TV news corps, but, as Slate.com's chief political correspondent reports, she wasn't such an easy mom. With a three-city tour.

Dobbs, Lou. War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How We Can Fight Back. Viking. Oct. 2006. 256p. ISBN 0-670-03792-3. $24.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
They're underrepresented, underserved by healthcare, and, given outsourcing, underemployed. So CNN pundit Dobbs wants members of the middle class to retaliate. With a six-city tour.

Ginsberg, Allen. Collected Poems: 1947–1997. Doubleday. Oct. 2006. 1152p. ISBN 0-06-113974-2 [ISBN 978-0-06-113974-1]. $35.
Morgan, Bill. I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. Viking. Oct. 2006. 528p. ISBN 0-670-03796-6. $29.95.
Just in time for Howl's 50th anniversary; painter/archivist Morgan has edited several works by or about Ginsberg and will do a three-city tour.

Kalush, William & Harry Sloman. The Secret Life of Houdini. Atria: S. & S. Oct. 2006. 304p. ISBN 0-7432-7207-2 [ISBN 978-0-7432-7207-0]. $27.95.
Houdini as spy? Magic expert Kalush says it's true.

Koch, Doro Bush. My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush. Warner. Oct. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-446-57990-4 [ISBN 978-0-446-57990-2]. $29.99.
Former President Bush himself encouraged his daughter to write this memoir, which blends family frolics with insights from Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, et al. With a seven-city tour.

Kramer, Peter D., M.D. Freud. HarperCollins. Oct. 2006. 208p. ISBN 0-06-059895-6 [ISBN 978-0-06-059895-2]. $25.95.
The psychiatrist who analyzed our penchant for Listening to Prozac revisits Dr. Freud. With this title, the “Eminent Lives” series pops up in a new design.

Larson, Erik. Thunderstruck. Crown. Oct. 2006. 352p. ISBN 1-4000-8066-5 [ISBN 978-1-4000-8066-3]. $25.95; lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
A milquetoast doctor murders his hen-pecking wife in Edwardian London, then glides off on an ocean liner with his mistress. He would have gotten away with it, too, but for Marconi's newly invented magic. With a 14-city tour; reading group guide.

Mai, Mukhtar. In the Name of Honor. Atria: S. & S. Oct. 2006. 208p. ISBN 1-4165-3228-5 [ISBN 978-1-4165-3228-6]. $25.
Mai's journey from victim of court-ordered rape in Pakistan for her brother's alleged misbehavior to advocate for women worldwide.

Miller, Donald L. The Fiery Trial: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 608p. ISBN 0-7432-3544-4 [ISBN 978-0-7432-3544-0]. $30.
How the Eighth Air Force crewmen risked everything to bomb Germany into submission. From a Lafayette College professor and History Channel regular; with a national tour.

Moalem, Sharon. Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Explains the Radical Way Evolution Shapes Your Health. Morrow. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-06-088965-9 [ISBN 978-0-06-088965-4]. $25.95.
An expert in the new fields of neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine offers an original work explaining that some nasty diseases, e.g., diabetes, may actually have helped our species evolve.

Nasaw, David. Andrew Carnegie. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. 2006. 832p. ISBN 1-59420-104-8 [ISBN 978-1-59420-104-2]. $35.
Director for the humanities at CUNY's graduate center and an award-winning biographer of Hearst, Nasaw aims to penetrate the mystery of the bobbin boy who became king. With a seven-city tour.

Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope. Crown. Oct. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-307-23769-9 [ISBN 978-0-307-23769-9]. $27.95. CD: Random Audio.
The Democrats' rising star wants U.S. politicians to start thinking big again.

Oz, Daphne. The Dorm Room Diet: The 8-Step Program for Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Plan That Really Works. Newmarket. Sept. 2006. 240p. ISBN 1-55704-685-9. $16.95.
A new way for the younger set to stay trim; from the daughter of best-selling author Mehmet Oz.

Schaller, Thomas F. Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South. S. & S. Oct. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-7432-9015-1 [ISBN 978-0-7432-9015-9]. $26.
Drop the South, University of Maryland professor Schaller tells Democrats; other areas are ripe for the picking. With a three-city tour.

Sedaris, Amy. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. Warner. Oct. 2006. 256p. ISBN 0-446-57884-3 [ISBN 978-0-446-57884-4]. $27.99. CD: Time Warner Audio.
Comedy Central star Sedaris cooks up a storm, with humor thrown in (how to make a mini–pantyhose plant hanger?). With a six-city tour.

Sheler, Jeffery L. Believers: A Journey into Evangelical America. Viking. Oct. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-670-03802-4. $24.95.
The publisher is betting that this account of the growing evangelical movement, written by a former religion editor at U.S. News & World Report, will stir lots of interest.

Steinhardt, Arnold. Violin Dreams. Houghton. Oct. 2006. 272p. ISBN 0-618-36892-2 [ISBN 978-0-618-36892-1]. $25.95.
The first violinist of the famed Guarneri String Quartet recounts his life and love of the beautiful instrument he plays. With an audio CD; Steinhardt will perform on his three-city tour.

Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall. The Old Way: A Story of the First People. Sarah Crichton Bks: Farrar. Oct. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-374-22552-4 [ISBN 978-0-374-22552-0]. $25.
The author of the best-selling The Hidden Life of Dogs had her first hit in 1959 with The Harmless People, about her years studying the Kalahari San in Africa. Here she revisits these experiences to consider the behavior hunter-gatherers shared with our animal forebears.

Wu, Emily & Larry Engelmann. Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos. Pantheon. Oct. 2006. 384p. ISBN 0-375-42428-8 [ISBN 978-0-375-42428-1]. $26.
After her father was declared a class enemy, Wu learned firsthand what it was like to be “reeducated” during the Cultural Revolution. With a six-city tour.

Yoo, John. War by Other Means. Atlantic Monthly. Oct. 2006. 224p. ISBN 0-87118-945-6 [ISBN 978-0-87118-945-0]. $26.
Deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel at the time of 9/11, Yoo helped formulate controversial antiterrorist tactics like coercive interrogation and bypassing the Geneva Convention. Here's his perspective; with a four-city tour.