Prepub Exploded
Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 11/4/2008 12:07:00 PM
What will you be reading in March 2009? Laura Lippman's new standalone? The latest from topnotch authors Zoe Heller and Mary Gaitskill? You'll discover these books and more in the latest edition of Prepub Exploded, with added details on authors, tours, and promotion, plus useful links.
Fiction | Nonfiction
Fiction
Adams, Will. The Alexander Cipher. Grand Central. Mar. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-446-40468-6. $24.99.
While traveling through Egypt, Daniel Knox slinks into an off-limits archaeological dig—and realizes that he may be contemplating the grave of his hero, Alexander the Great. With rights sold in 13 countries; first-timer Adams even has a theory about where Alexander is actually buried. The U.K. reviews ran to adjectives like pulse-pounding, and even Adams conceded to the Gazette that he has written "a pretty good book."
Archer, Jeffrey. Paths of Glory. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 512p. ISBN 978-0-312-53951-1. $27.95. CD: Macmillan Audio.
Archer reimagines the life of George Mallory, the brilliant Bloomsbury hanger-on who famously said that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest "because it is there." In 1924, he was last spotted 800 feet from the top—but was he going up or coming down? His remains, finally located in 1999, don’t have an answer. With a one-day laydown on March 3. Archer boasts not one but two web sites: JeffreyArcher.com and JefferyArcherBooks.com.
Brennert, Alan. Honolulu. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-312-36040-5. $24.95.
Having traveled from Korea to Honolulu as a "picture bride" in 1914, Jin is married to a laborer who treats her as badly as her family did, but eventually she flourishes—right along with her adopted city. With a national tour; reading group promotion. Brennert is the author of Moloka’i, which won the 2006 Bookies Award, sponsored by the Contra Costa Library, for Book Club Book of the Year.
Depp, Daniel. Loser’s Town. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-1-4391-0143-8. $25.
Meet David Spandau, a Hollywood P.I. whose first case involves an upcoming film star just sucker punched by blackmail. Yep, Depp: Johnny’s half-brother and a screenwriter in his own right, with shorts that include Stuff and a writing cocredit for his work on Johnny's controversial feature film, The Brave.
Donohue, Keith. Angels of Destruction. Shaye Areheart: Harmony. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-307-45025-8. $24. CD: Random Audio.
A ghostly child arrives one frigid night at the home of the widowed Margaret Quinn, seemingly to take the place of Margaret’s only child, Erica, who ran off years ago to join a bunch of Sixties revolutionaries. Is this another Stolen Child for Donahue? With a seven-city tour to Kansas City, Milwaukee, New York, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Dunn, Sarah. Secrets to Happiness. Little, Brown. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-316-01358-1. $23.99.
Still in love with the husband who dumped her, mournful Holly gives bad advice to everyone—including herself. With a reading group guide. Dunn’s debut, The Big Love, sold big and has been translated into 23 languages.
Fielding, Joy. Still Life. Atria: S. & S. Mar. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4165-8527-5. $25.
Casey is the picture of contentment until she’s clobbered by a runaway car and ends up in a coma. She can’t talk, but she can still hear what everyone is saying—and she discovers that her friends aren’t the nice people she thought they were. Fielding also hints that her heroine’s accident might not have been an accident—a scary thought for anyone immobilized in a hospital bed. With a BookClubReader feature.
Gaitskill, Mary. Don’t Cry: Stories. Pantheon. Mar. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-0-375-42419-9. $23.95.
In the wake of her National Book Award nominee, Veronica, Gaitskill tries out the short form for the first time in over a decade. With a seven-city tour to Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Seattle, and Syracuse.
Goodwin, Jason. The Bellini Card. Sarah Crichton: Farrar. Mar. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-374-11039-0. $25.
Nineteenth-century Turkish gumshoe Yashim is back, on the trail of a possibly resurfaced Bellini painting that seems to be a lot more trouble than it’s worth.
Gross, Andrew. Don’t Think Twice. Morrow. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-06-114344-1. $25.95. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio.
Det. Ty Hauck witnesses a convenience-store killing that may not be so random—and may be connected to some casinos that his politician brother licenses. With a one-day laydown on March 17; ten-city tour to Dayton, Florida, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and somewhere in the tristate regional area. Check out Gross’s web site and MySpace page.
Harrison, Kim. White Witch, Black Curse. Morrow. Mar. 2009. 432p. ISBN 978-0-06-113801-0. $24.95. CD: HarperAudio.
Way back when, the lover of witch Rachel Morgan was murdered, and it all comes back to haunt her when a new predator moves into the neighborhood. With a one-day laydown on February 24; ten-city tour to Austin, Ann Arbor, Charlotte, Chicago, Dayton, Minneapolis, Portland (OR), San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. For more witchery, visit Harrison’s web site and MySpace page.
Heller, Zoë. The Believers. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-06-143020-6. $25.95.
The contentious Litvinoff family, dominated by tough civil rights lawyer Joel and his sharp-tongued wife, Audrey, spins completely out of control when Joel has a stroke. A follow-up to the much-heralded Notes on a Scandal; take a look at the review in the Telegraph—from Lionel Shriver, no less.
Jacobson, Howard. The Act of Love. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4165-9423-9. $25.
After Kalooki Nights, an even edgier performance: a man is so enthralled with his wife that he gives her the go-ahead when she wants to have an affair.
Kleypas, Lisa. Smooth Talking Stranger. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-312-35166-3. $24.95.
Texas playboy Jack Travis hasn’t a care in the world—until one very angry woman arrives on his doorstep carrying a baby he fathered with the woman’s sister. With a one-day laydown on March 17; Kleypas is both a New York Times best-selling author and a RITA Award winner.
Lippman, Laura. Life Sentences. Morrow. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-06-112889-9. $24.95. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio.
Lippman takes a leave of absence from Tess Monaghan for this standalone about a memoirist who returns home, intent on finding her next story. Trouble comes her way when she tries to connect her grade-school years with the travails of an old classmate currently accused of a terrible crime. With a one-day laydown on March 10; 12-city tour to Baltimore, Boston, New York, Oxford (MS), Pittsburgh, Portsmith (ME), Jackson (MS), Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington, DC, and Winston/Salem.
Littell, Jonathan. The Kindly Ones. HarperCollins. Mar. 2009. 896p. ISBN 978-0-06-135345-1. $21.95.
The son of Robert Littell (The Company) has famously written a hefty novel in French that swooped down to grab the Prix Goncourt (the first ever to an American) and the Grand prix du roman de l’Académie française. Finally, it’s in English. The setting? World War II on the Eastern Front. The buzz? Huge; Forbes even opined that this might be the first classic of the 21st century.
Lutz, Lisa. Revenge of the Spellmans. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-1-4165-9338-6. $25.
You loved The Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans so much they became best sellers; now the nutty Spellmans are out for revenge. Here, Isabel’s in therapy, Henry’s in love, and Rae is looking smarter. With a BookClubReader feature and reading group guide; Lutz's 12-city tour will include Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Patterson, James. Maximum Ride #5. Little, Brown. Mar. 2009. 272p. ISBN 978-0-316-00289-9. $19.99. lrg. prnt. $21.99. CD: Hachette Audio.
With fish dying by the millions and ships sinking by the hundreds, Maximum Ride and his buddies are called on to discover what evil lurks off Hawaii’s coast. Patterson claims that Max is his favorite character—"ever"—and that he’s written the book for folks ten to 110, so he’s watching the language.
Picoult, Jodi. Handle with Care. Atria: S. & S. Mar. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7432-9641-0. $27.95.
Little Willow may be smart, beautiful, and assured, but she wasn’t born healthy, and her condition raises moral issues for her parents—and Picoult’s readers. With a 15-city tour tentatively scheduled for Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Lexington, MA, Madison, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vermont, and Washington, DC; BookClubReader feature.
Stahl, Jerry. Pain Killers. Morrow. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-06-050665-0. $25.95.
Stahl has been called the "new king of black humor" by Entertainment Weekly, and that seems about right. In his newest work, Manny Rubert (of Plainsclothes Naked fame) goes undercover in jail to confront an ancient convict who claims to be Joseph Mengele.
Tower, Wells. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Stories. Farrar. Mar. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-0-374-29219-5. $24.
Wacky stories (as the author’s very name suggests) that feature bored Viking marauders, teenaged cousins who get a comeuppance, and a child who (in this day and age) runs off to join the carnival. A highly touted debut; Tower has won a passel of prizes.
Vine, Barbara. The Birthday Present. Shaye Areheart: Harmony. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-307-45198-9. $25.
An upcoming young member of Parliament demonstrates supremely bad judgment by getting involved in a role-playing game that leaves someone dead.
Bascomb, Neal. Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World’s Most Notorious Nazi. Houghton. Mar. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-618-85867-5. $26.
The author of high-profile titles like The Perfect Mile and Red Mutiny, Bascomb takes on the task of tracking Adolf Eichmann’s disappearance post–World War II and eventual capture by Israel’s Mossad—even finding the passport that Eichmann used to escape Europe. With a four-city tour to New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC; rights sold to nine countries.
Black, Keith, M.D., with Arnold Mann. Brain Surgeon: A Doctor’s Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles. Wellness Central. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-446-58109-7. $26.99.
Chair of neurosurgery and director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Black has been named a Hero of Medicine by Time and one of the 21 Most Important People of the 21st Century by Esquire. Here he explains what it’s like to enter "tiger country"—the brain during surgery.
Brinkley, Douglas. The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, 1858–1919. Harper: HarperCollins. Mar. 2009. 704p. ISBN 978-0-06-056528-2. $29.95.
A biography of Roosevelt by popular historian Brinkley; with Roosevelt as a crusading environementalist.
Caro, Mark. The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000 Year Old Delicacy Inspired the World’s Fiercest Food Fight. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-1-4165-5668-8. $25.
Entertainment reporter for the Chicago Tribune, who’s already won awards for his coverage of the foie gras wars, Caro here recounts the ongoing battle fought by activists, farmers, and diners regarding the use of duck livers in cooking and the treatment of the ducks whose livers are used. With a five-city tour to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
Chatzky, Jean. The Difference: New Research Unlocks the 10 Secrets to Becoming Truly Wealthy. Crown Business. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-307-40713-9. $24.95. CD: Random Audio.
The Today show’s financial editor, who also hosts a daily award-winning program on Oprah & Friends, pinpoints the difference between you and the top earners around you—and explains how you can become one of them.
Davis, Tom. Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There. Grove. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-8021-1880-6. $24.
With Saturday Night Live making headlines again, how appropriate to have a memoir from one of the original writers, Al Franken’s former comedy partner and a four-time Emmy® winner. With a four-city tour to New York, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Eule, Brian. Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-312-37784-7. $24.95.
Eule introduces us to Match Day—no, not a day for lining up marriages made in heaven but the third Thursday in March, when each year’s 15,000 medical students are assigned residencies throughout the country. Eule follows three anxious women in the run-up to the big event.
Gilman, Susan Jane. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven. Grand Central. Mar. 2009. 300p. ISBN 978-0-446-57892-9. $23.99; lrg. prnt. $25.99. CD: Hachette Audio.
What better way to celebrate her two paperback best sellers, Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress and Kiss My Tiara, than by going hardcover? Gilman here recounts a truly misguided trip she and a friend took to China in 1986. The promo says it best: it’s Heart of Darkness with lip gloss. With a five-city tour.
Hajratwala, Minal. Leaving India: My Family’s Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents. Houghton. Mar. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-618-25129-2. $26.
Journalist and poet/performer Hajratwala’s great-grandfather left British-occupied India for Fiji, and family members subsequently dispersed to nine countries worldwide. Hajratwala spent seven years tracking then all down to tell this story. With a four-city tour to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Holroyd, Michael. A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Two Remarkable Families. Farrar. Mar. 2009. 640p. ISBN 978-0-374-27080-3. $35.
Remarkable people, really: Ellen Terry, the evanescent actress often painted by her Pre-Raphaelite husband; George Bernard Shaw, who worshipped her; and actor/manager Henry Irving. Together they put the Lyceum Theatre on the map. Not one of his monster multibios, but the Independent ventured that "it's possibly the most challenging work that Holroyd has ever attempted. It may also be the most successful."
Johanson, Donald & Kate Wong. Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. Harmony: Crown. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-307-39639-6. $25.
Johanson discovered the 3.2 million–year–old skeleton now known as Lucy. Here he discusses the 363 specimens of Australopithecus afarensis that he and his team have discovered in the decades since. To help him out, Lucy will be touring six American cities around the time of publication. For more on Lucy, check out the Institute of Human Origins, which Johanson founded in 1981.
Keillor, Garrison. The Keillor Reader. Viking. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-670-02058-4. $26.95.
The best pieces Keillor has written for his syndicated newspaper column and for venues like Time and the Atlantic Monthly; with a five-city tour—and a radio campaign, of course.
McCarthy, Matt. Odd Man Out: A Season on the Mound with Minor League Baseball’s Most Unlikely Pitcher. Viking. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-670-02070-6. $25.95.
It’s not every Yale molecular biophysics major who ends up playing baseball professionally. McCarthy, currently interning at New York’s Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, here recounts a season with the Anaheim Angels’ Class A minor league affiliate (the Provo Angels) after being selected in the 21st round of the 2002 draft. With a five-city tour.
Mamdani, Mahmood. Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror. Pantheon. Mar. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-307-37723-4. $26.95.
A nuanced explanation of the conflict in Darfur that shows how colonial rule split the population between "natives" and "settlers," who then ending up vying for land. From the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs; with a five-city tour to Boston, Detroit, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Mann, James. The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War. Viking. Mar. 2009. 432p. ISBN 978-0-670-02054-6. $27.95.
Just how much should Reagan be credited with ending the Cold War? A new look by Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans; with a four-city tour.
Nilekani, Nandan. Imagining India: The Idea of a Nation Renewed. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Mar. 2009. 416p. ISBN 978-1-59420-204-9. $28.95.
Nilekani has a good perspective on the economic boom that is ushering India onto the world stage; he’s a cofounder of Infosys, a leader in information technology. With a national media campaign out of New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Orloff, Judith, M.D. Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. Harmony: Crown. Mar. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-307-33818-1. $24.95. CD: Random Audio.
Accentuate the positive: best-selling psychiatrist Orloff explains how to turn depression, anger, and fear into something a little more uplifting. With a ten-city tour to Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland (OR), San Francisco, and Washington, DC; look for promotion on MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube.
Roose, Kevin. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University. Grand Central. Mar. 2009. 280p. ISBN 978-0-446-17842-6. $24.99.
For one semester, Brown sophomore Roose attended Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University not to bury its students with ridicule but to try to understand them better. While there, he happened to nab the final interview Falwell gave before his death. Roose’s work has also appeared in Esquire, and he’s got a powerful mentor in A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically.
Roy, Lucinda. No Right To Remain Silent: The Tragedy at Virginia Tech. Harmony: Crown. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-307-40963-8. $25.
English department chair Roy tried to help a troubled and troubling student but was waylaid by campus bureaucracy. And then Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus. Targeted mailings to PTA organizations nationwide should bring this book a lot of attention.
Strauss, Barry. The Spartacus War. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4165-3205-7. $26.
A professor of history and classics at Cornell whom you may have spotted on the History Channel, Strauss delivers a rousing good tale of Spartacus, the gladiator/slave who led a rebellion that eventually numbered 60,000 men. Visit www.BarryStrauss.com for more information.
Thompson-Cannino, Jennifer & Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo. Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-312-37653-6. $25.95.
After being raped at knifepoint, Thompson-Cannino identified Cotton as her assailant, and he was imprisoned for 11 years before DNA evidence proved his innocence. Then the two met and, remarkably, became friends. Their story was one of several chillingly told in the Sundance Award winner, After Innocence. The authors won the 2008 Soros Justice Media Fellowship for this work, which will be copromoted by both the Soros Foundation and the Innocence Project, a national organization aimed at exonerating the wrongfully convicted through DNA testing and criminal justice reform.
Van Winkle, Clint. Soft Spots: A Memoir. St. Martin’s. Mar. 2009. 224p. ISBN 978-0-312-37893-6. $24.95.
Van Winkle recalls life after Iraq, when he was so stunned by his two tours of duty that he went to a Veteran's Administration facility for help—and encountered a whole lot of denial. With promotion to veteran, military, and post-traumatic stress disorder organizations.
Williams, Mary Elizabeth. Gimme Shelter: True Tales from the Real Estate Bubble. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-1-4165-5708-1. $26.
Cultural critic for Public Radio International’s morning show, The Takeaway, Williams just wanted a home in New York—and got nothing but trouble instead. A study of everything that’s wrong with real estate at a particularly timely juncture.
Wizenberg, Molly. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. S. & S. Mar. 2009. 224p. ISBN 978-1-4165-5105-8. $23.
Wizenberg, whose Orangette won Best Overall Food Blog at the 2005 Food Blog Awards, offers a memoir whose context is, not surprisingly, French crullers, pickles, chocolate cake, and more. With recipes—and a six-city tour to New York, Oklahoma City, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC.
