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Big Books of the Week

After That Night by Karin Slaughter (Morrow) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (Grand Central)

Knockout by Sarah MacLean (Avon)

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor; LJ starred review)

I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkley)

These books and others publishing the week of August 21, 2023, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Awards & News

Bolu Babalola wins the 2023 TikTok Book of the Year award for Honey and Spice (Morrow; LJ starred review). Alice Oseman and Holly Parker also garner awards. BBC has the list of winners.

Locus recaps the 2023 StokerCon, held in June.

Michelle Tea launches, Dopamine Books, a new imprint that will “publish queer authors and highlight queer writing.” Publishers Weekly reports. 

Jeff Smith, creator of the Bone comics, cancels his book tour after suffering from cardiac arrest. Entertainment Weekly reports. 

Wall Street Journal books editor Christopher Carduff died at the age of 66 last week. Publishers Weekly has a remembrance. 

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

One LibraryReads and two Indie Next picks publish this week:

Hall of Fame pick Knockout by Sarah MacLean (Avon) is also an Indie Next pick:

“Imogen, Tommy—that’s it, that’s the perfect romance. The chemistry between these two leaps off the page! I loved the stakes in this story. Just when you thought this series couldn’t get any better, Sarah MacLean knocks it out of the park.”—Destinee Hodge, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC

One additional Indie Next pick publishes this week:

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor; LJ starred review)

“The perfect follow up to She Who Became the Sun. Parker-Chan’s latest continues to expertly explore themes of power, desire, and gender queerness. An absolutely riveting and intricate sequel. This book will make you feel all the things!”—Julia DeVarti, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY

In the Media

People’s book of the week is A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (Mariner). Also getting attention are The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan (Flatiron) and After That Night by Karin Slaughter (Morrow). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear (Scribner), Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Redmond Chang (Farrar), and Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Lankford (Hachette). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Prime’s Red, White & Royal Blue, based on the novel by Casey McQuiston (LJ starred review). The cover story features Jenna Bush Hager, including her joy of reading. There is also a feature on Jon Batiste, whose wife Suleika Jaouad is the author of the memoir Between Two Kingdoms (Random; LJ starred review). Plus, Martha Holmberg, Simply Tomato: 100 Recipes for Enjoying Your Favorite Ingredient All Year Long (Artisan), and Erika Council, Still We Rise: A Love Letter to the Southern Biscuit with Over 70 Sweet and Savory Recipes (Clarkson Potter), share recipes.

Reviews

NYT reviews The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan (Flatiron): “As a travelogue and a mood piece, The Continental Affair is undeniably beguiling and transportive; as a mystery, it drifts”; Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood by Allison Yarrow (Seal Pr.): “For all the research and historical context she includes, it might be her account of her own home delivery that makes the strongest case for an alternative model to hospital births”; and The Great White Bard: How To Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper (Viking): “The Great White Bard contributes to an essential discussion on Shakespeare and race, one that must include literary scholars, historians, etymologists, audiences and, yes, even actors.”

Washington Post reviews Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Hogarth): “We rarely see a novel this assured that centers on disability. Happiness Falls dares to unlock the enigma of love at the molecular level while serving up a page-turner”; and Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora (Penguin Workshop): “Young readers will find Holly Horror spooky, but not too spooky. We’ll save the real terrors for Barney.” Also, Washington Post takes a look at new books on birding that “amplify the experiences of diverse birders”: Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper (Random); Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig (Celadon); Birding While Indian: A Mixed-Blood Memoir by Thomas C. Gannon (Mad Creek Bks.); and The (Big) Year That Flew By: Twelve Months, Six Continents, and the Ultimate Birding Record by Arjan Dwarshuis (Chelsea Green)

NPR reviews three books in translation: Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, tr. by Johnny Lorenz (Verso); On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleza, tr. by Zora Depolo (New Directions); and The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase, tr. by Haydn Trowell (Counterpoint).

Briefly Noted

The September LibraryReads list is out, featuring top pick The September House by Carissa Orlando (Berkley; LJ starred review).

Malcolm Gladwell reflects on Len Deighton’s Bomber (Harper) for The Washington Post, calling it “one of the greatest British anti-war novels ever written.”

LA Times talks with Saul Austerlitz about the comedic staying power of Ron Burgundy, and his new book, Kind of a Big Deal: How Anchorman Stayed Classy and Became the Most Iconic Comedy of the Twenty-First Century (Dutton).

People previews photos and handwritten notes from Amy Winehouse: In Her Words (Dey Street), due out next week. People also provides an excerpt.

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books this week. 

LA Times shares a climate change booklist. 

Tor suggests “Five SFF Books With Superpowered Characters.”

USA Today shares an excerpt from Tara Sim’s story from the forthcoming Star Wars anthology, From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (Random House Worlds).

The Guardian explores “why readers are hungry for Colleen Hoover.”

Authors On Air

Author Joe Hill recommends spooky reads for summer on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Amor Towles visits the NYT Book Review podcast.

Guidebook guru Rick Steeves advises on post-pandemic travels, on PBS Canvas.  

Buzzfeed takes a look at the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians trailer. Vulture also has coverage. Watch the trailer here.

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