Prepub Exploded: January 2011
By Barbara Hoffert Jul 1, 2010Post-ALA, a small but potent edition of Prepub Exploded, which offers an expanded version of Prepub Alert: check out Crais, Koontz, Vreeland, Abbott, and more.
Fiction
Crais, Robert. The Sentry. Putnam. Jan. 2011. NAp. ISBN 978-0-399-15707-3. $26.95.
Those two Katrina refugees Pike has his eye on? They could have a much darker and trickier past than he could imagine. The First Rule, Crais's last, debuted in the No. 2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list-his best showing yet and a big hint that this new one will do very nicely, thank you. Oooh, and I just found out that his fans are called "The Craisies."
Fallon, Siobhan. You Know When the Men Are Gone. Amy Einhorn Books: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2011. 240p. ISBN 978-0-399-15720-2. $23.95.
At Fort Hood, TX, a group of women await the return of their husbands from war, and Fallon relates their fear and anxieties in a series of interconnected stories. There will be a big publicity push behind this debut, including a featured author appearance at the NCIBA trade show, and editor Amy Einhorn promoted it at Day of Dialog's Editors' Picks panel. Definitely take a chance.
Hattemer-Higgins, Ida. The History of Histories: A Novel of Berlin. Knopf. Jan. 2011. 320p. ISBN 0-978-0-27277-5. $24.95.
In 2002, a bedraggled young woman emerges from a forest outside Berlin with no memory of the preceding night. A man claiming to be a memory surgeon offers to help her. And then, as she starts getting glimmers of two separate tragedies emanating from Berlin's past, all hell breaks loose, with Nazis returning as falcons and buildings turning into flesh. This sounded so darkly, enchantingly weird that I contacted the publisher and discovered that the book was originally set for the fall but then moved back a few months to free it from the crush. Folks inhouse started reading it and fell in love; then the author visited, and they really fell in love with her. Watch this one; could be a real breakout debut.
Dean Koontz. What the Night Knows. Bantam. 352p. Jan. 2011. ISBN 978-0-553-80772-1. $28. lrg prnt.
Billed as one of the scarier ghost stories you'll ever read, Koontz's latest features your average family trapped in their home by a back-from-the-dead type who's evidently mean as hell. Heavy promotion, including a special-effects jacket to draw readers in; Koontz is really busy this season.
Lescroart, John. The Border Lands. Dutton. Jan. 2011. 400p. ISBN 978-0-525-95176-6. $26.95.
Forget about vampires, daemons, and evil fae: this is scary. After Ro Curtlee, scion of a wealthy and unscrupulous San Francisco family, is convicted of rape and murder, those associated with his conviction find their lives and careers insidiously sidelined; homicide detective Abe Glitsky ends up in the payroll office. Then Ro gets out of prison, and fire takes the home-and the life-of the prosecution's star witness. Is Abe suspicious? You bet. Sobering good fun that sounds like one of Lescroat's best.
Moning, Karen Marie. Shadowfever. Delacorte. Jan 2011. 512p. ISBN 978-0-385-34167-7. $26.
We've been through Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, and Dreamfever, all dark and sexy fantasies starring MacKayla Lane, Celtic sidhe-seeker intent on avenging her sister's murder and caught between the Seelie (good Fae) and Unseelie (bad Fae). Here's the fifth and final tale in the series, which will be preceded by a months-long sales campaign boosting the entire series, e.g., all the books will be reissued in mass market paperback starting in August. Oh, and a movie possibility lies in wait. So be prepared.
Parker, Jefferson. The Border Lands. Dutton. Jan. 2011. 400p. ISBN 978-0-525-95200-8. $26.95.
ATF agent Sean Ozburn is working undercover to help upend the Baja Cartel when he suddenly cuts off communication-except for some spooky digital videos he sends his wife. Is he carrying his investigations deeper, or has he gone to the other side? Charlie Hood has gotta find out. From a three-time Edgar winner; buy multiples.
Rubenfeld, Jed. The Death Instinct. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2011. NAp. ISBN 978-1-5944-8782-8. $26.95.
Rubenfeld's debut, The Interpretation of Murder, caused a lot of controversy because, however well it did (and it certainly turned a buck), expectations were that it would do better. None of that takes away from the work itself, a tense and eloquent historical thriller set to thrill the right audience. His new one investigates this country's first terrorist attack-the 1920 bombing on Wall Street, when a horse-drawn carriage weighed down with 100 pounds of dynamite and a quarter-ton of cast-iron slugs blew up, killing or injuring over 400 people. Recommend to readers looking for a good, literate thriller with a sense of history.
Nonfiction
Abbott, Karen. American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee. Random. Jan. 2011. 448p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6691-9. $26. CD: Random Audio.
In this follow-up to Sin in the Second City, Abbott uses the life of America's brainiest stripper to examine early 20th-century century America. Just in time for the centenary of Gypsy Rose Lee's birth, and Sin was on the New York Times extended best sellers list for 14 weeks, so Abbott has a head start here. With a ten-city tour to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New Orleans, Chicago/Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Armstrong, Karen. Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. Knopf. Jan. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-0-307-59559-1. $22.
The notable religion writer expands her discussion to address the need to show compassion and gives us 12 steps for achieving that goal, from "Imagine a World of Compassion" to "Love Your Enemies." Hmmm, hope that she is not too smart for the self-help crowd.
Blyth, Catherine. The Art of Marriage: A Guide to Living Life as Two. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2010. NAp. ISBN 978-1-59240-610-4. $22.50.
Don't roll your eyes. Blyth's The Art of Conversation won raves. For readers who appreciate graciousness and genial wit.
Crowell, Rodney. Chinaberry Walks. Knopf. Jan. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-307-59420-4. $24.95.
Crowell adds to his list of achievements (e.g., nearly 20 albums, five of them No. 1 hits; ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award) with a memoir that affectionately recalls his Holy Roller mom, always inventive about paying the bills, and honky-tonk dad, in whose band he was playing drums by age 11. Refreshing to see positive parental portraits in a memoir; perhaps this will pull in more than Crowell's fans. With a 50-city performance tour.
Greene, Brian. The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Knopf. Jan. 2010. 384p. ISBN 978-0-307-26563-0. $29.95. CD: Random Audio.
Physics is hot-if you don't believe it, check out Prepub Exploded's recent interview with Carol Janeway, editor of Martin Bojowald's Once Before Time: A Whole Story of the Universe and this book as well. Superstring theorist par excellence Greene, who helped launch the current craze with The Elegant Universe, is back to tell us that science is rapidly coming to the conclusion that there are actually many universes: imagine bubbles in a bath or cosmic slices separated by additional dimensions. Go for it if you have informed readers wandering your stacks. With a seven-city tour Boston, New York, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Kingston, Maxine Hong. I Love a Broad Margin to My Life. Knopf. Jan. 2010. 240p. ISBN 978-0-307-27019-1. $24.95.
"I'm standing on top of a hill/ I can see everywhichway-/ the long way I came, and the few places I have yet to go./ Treat my whole life as if it were a day." That's how this enduring woman warrior approached this memoir, opening wide to her life and the world around her. A nice chance to catch up with an icon. With a seven-city tour to Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Pistono, Matteo. In the Shadow of the Buddha: Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet. Dutton. Jan. 2011. 304p. ISBN 978-0-525-95119-3. $25.95.
Set on abandoning his career in politics, Pistono sought peace in the Himalayas-and eventually ended up as a Buddhist student in Tibet. There he became involved in smuggling in messages from the Dalai Lama and smuggling out evidence of abuse and torture in Tibet. His book promises to be a sobering and heartfelt account of life in Tibet today.
Ramachandran, V.S. The Tell Tale Brain. Norton. Jan. 2010. 384p. ISBN 978-0-393-0-7782-7. $26.95.
Richard Dawkins calls him the "Marco Polo of neuroscience," so you know Ramachandran's discussion about the distinctive aspects of the human brain will be an adventure. Calling all science lovers.
Simmons, Russell with Chris Morrow. Rich Inside and Out: A Guide to Money and Happiness. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2011. 192p. ISBN 978-1-5924-0587-9. $22.50.
"Happy can make you money, but money can't make you happy." That's Simmons's mantra, and here he explains how it works, showing how he's focused on spirituality and acts of generosity as he rose to the top of the entrepreneurial heap. Reasonable audience out there.
Taubes, Guy. Why We Get Fat: And What We Can Do About It. Knopf. Jan. 2010. 272p. ISBN 978-0-307-27270-6. $24.99. CD: Random Audio.
I take that title personally. But it does seem that science writer Taubes has something useful to say, arguing that the old "calories in-calories out" model is fallacious and that we must instead consider how insulin regulates fat tissue and how certain types of carbohydrates thus make the biggest contribution to our collective weight gain. With a 12-city tour to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington, DC.
My Picks
Vreeland, Susan. Clara and Mr. Tiffany. Random. Jan. 2011. 432p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6816-6. $26. CD: Random Audio.
The famed Tiffany lamp, with its leaded glass, coruscating colors, and nature motifs, was actually developed by Clara Driscoll, head of Tiffany's women's division. It brought the company critical acclaim as well as a desperately needed financial boost, but it also brought trouble. Even as Driscoll rushed to find a way to mass produce the stunning lamps, struggling with her new role as manager as well as personal burdens (she was first widowed and then abandoned by her second husband), Louis Comfort Tiffany got some wild ideas of his own that could have wrecked the company. It's a true story, but trust Vreeland, who writes insightfully about art and through it about human relationships, to turn this into superlative fiction. Her debut, The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, remains one of my favorite books, and Luncheon of the Boating Party was electrifying-it made me see Renoir's painting in a whole new way. Not for art lovers only; read it if you enjoy love, human drama, and American cultural history.
Bartók, Mira. The Memory Palace. Free Pr. Jan. 2011. 336p. ISBN 978-1-4391-8331-1. $25.
Artist Bartók's mother was an extraordinarily talented pianist who tried to fly out the window when Bartók was five. She ended up schizophrenic and homeless and was difficult to deal with-and so harsh in her dealings with both daughters-that they both changed their names and refused to let their mother know their whereabouts. Then Bartók had a traumatic auto accident that led to brain injury, and she had to struggle to rebuild her use of language, often painting when words failed her. And then a homeless shelter in Cleveland called to say that Bartók's mother was dying. Reconnecting with her mother meant reconnecting with her past-Bartók discovered that her mother kept a storage unite crammed with significant family artifacts-and eventually reconstructing all that she had lost. Neither sensational nor cagily sentimental nor self pitying, this grounded, exquisitely written work is one in the ongoing flood of memoirs that requires reading.
