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Big Books of the Week

Dark Angel by John Sandford (Putnam) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (Forever; LJ starred review)

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda (S. & S.: Marysue Rucci)

The Trackers by Charles Frazier (Ecco)

Lassiter by J.R. Ward (Gallery)

These books and others publishing the week of Apr. 10, 2023, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Two LibraryReads and four Indie Next picks publish this week:

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda (S. & S.: Marysue Rucci)

“A group of former classmates reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident only to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy. Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Readers won’t be able to put down this page-turner, and will want to reread it to see all the missed clues.”—Vanneshia Crane, Love County Library/Southern OK Library System

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Megan Miranda’s newest novel is a propulsive, hold your breath and grip your book, wild ride that builds. No one does suspense better than Miranda, and her newest novel showcases that talent perfectly!”—Meagan Dallner, Books Are Awesome, Parker, CO

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (Forever; LJ starred review)

“After a terrible first impression, Jacob sends a letter causing Briana to decide to give her irritating coworker a second chance. Surprisingly, she finds him warm and funny. In this eye-opening, brutally honest, and vulnerable romance, the two fall in love while dealing with serious issues such as anxiety and kidney disease. Readers who enjoyed Unlikely Match by Laura Bradbury should enjoy this novel.”—Brenna Jaco, Lubbock Public Library, Lubbock, TX

It is also the #1 Indie Next pick:

“Yours Truly embodies humor and humanity. Readers will laugh hysterically while simultaneously sobbing from Jimenez’s page-turning plot. From pen pals to partners, the protagonists’ undeniable chemistry brings this story to life.”—Amber Reinhart, Adventures By The Book, San Diego, CA

Two additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom; LJ starred review)

“Some Desperate Glory was palms-sweatingly incredible! I desperately sprinted through its pages to get to the end, then cracked it open again to read more slowly. THIS is the sci-fi book I’ve been waiting for. Readers won’t be disappointed!”—Annie Carl, The Neverending Bookshop, Edmonds, WA

You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith (Atria: One Signal; LJ starred review)

“Maggie Smith’s first memoir digs deeper into her life after divorce. The writer zooms in close and then offers wider shots, back and forth, to slowly reveal her heart, and in the process, she discovers her power to create something new.”—Linda Kass, Gramercy Books, Bexley, OH

In The Media

People’s book of the week is The Society of Shame by Jane Roper (Anchor). Also getting attention are Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (Random; LJ starred review) and The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore (Knopf). “New Memoirs” highlighted include You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (Atria: One Signal; LJ starred review), The Dead Are Gods by Eirinie Carson (Melville House), and A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung (Ecco).

The “Picks” section spotlights Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the book by Cheryl Strayed, on Hulu. Plus, Chanie Apfelbaum, Totally Kosher: Tradition with a Twist! 150+ Recipes for the Holidays and Every Day (Clarkson Potter), and Maya Kaimal, Indian Flavor Every Day: Simple Recipes and Smart Techniques To Inspire (Clarkson Potter), share recipes.

Reviews

NYT reviews Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm by Susan Crawford (Pegasus; LJ starred review): “Like a tour guide walking us back in time and across town, Crawford shows us the ways in which legacies of slavery and racism have shaped Charleston’s response to the present”; The Weight by Jeff Boyd (S. & S.): “Presents the engrossing portrait of a man in a bizarre place, at a bizarre time, doing what he can to live with the extraordinary load he carries in his heart and the sheer mass imposed upon his mind”; Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences by Joan Biskupic (Morrow): “She has written a group narrative that combines close accounts of the court’s public business in the Trump years with a history of its private dramas and conflicts”; The Only Daughter by A.B. Yehoshua, tr. by Stuart Schoffman (HarperVia): “It is an old-fashioned book, free of cynicism, encroaching technology and intricate plotting, but imbued with a heartfelt and optimistic view of humanity—in other words, a book filled with feeling and moral values”; This Isn’t Going To End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew by Daniel Wallace (Algonquin): “This Isn’t Going to End Well is a eulogy, a cautionary tale, a love letter and a sob of anger”; Calling Ukraine by Johannes Lichtman (S&S: Marysue Rucci; LJ starred review): “This blend allows for a journey of self-discovery, some mild criticism of global capitalism and a cross-cultural collision, all in a single book”; and Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son by Terry McDonell (Harper): “What we have here is McDonell’s soft underbelly—therapist visits, journaling with colored pens, worrying about Alzheimer’s disease—and I am loath to poke it too much. Call your mother.”

The Washington Post reviews The Trackers by Charles Frazier (Ecco): “The book’s continental scope proves that the lavishly talented Charles Frazier is not just a regional novelist. The Trackers is a novel of suspense with an all-American sting”; and See What You’re Missing: New Ways of Looking at the World Through Art by Will Gompertz (Pegasus): “Gompertz is enthusiastic and open-minded, yet he rarely surprises; real seeing cannot fail to.”

NPR reviews Ephemera: A Memoir by Briana Loewinsohn (Fantagraphics): “It’s a sophisticated and picturesque exploration of the weights that adults carry with them from their childhoods, imprints and encumbrances that accompany them wherever they go. It’s a reminder, too, of how people can reshape these burdens, using art and inventiveness to realign the past in relation to the present.”

Vox reviews White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link (Random): “The worlds she builds are recognizable but fundamentally strange, other, not quite like anything you’ve ever seen before. When you emerge out of White Cat, Black Dog, the world you left behind doesn’t look quite like anything you’ve seen before either.”

Briefly Noted

Earlyword’s May GalleyChat will be held onTuesday, May 2, to avoid conflict with LJ’s Day of Dialog on Thursday, May 4.

The May 2023 Indie Next List Preview is out now, featuring #1 pick Happy Place by Emily Henry (Berkley; LJ starred review). 

Rakuten Kobo expands digital reading offering in the US and UK with Kobo Plus.  

Kelly Link discusses writing advice and her new book, White Cat, Black Dog: Stories (Random), with The Millions.

Slate talks with Roxanna Asgarian, author of We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America (Farrar), about the Hart family and how “the holes in the foster care system failed the children to deadly results.”

WSJ reports on how big tech companies are embracing the new AI technology for recording audio versions of books, citing the example of the late actor Edward Herrmann.

The Atlantic writes about “The Ruling That Threatens the Future of Libraries.”

NYT highlights “The Essential Gabriel García Márquez.”

USA Today shares 5 new books for the week. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books this week. 

NYPL shares “10 Poets To Read in the Month of Ramadan.”

HipLatina highlights “13 Contemporary Latina Poets to Read for National Poetry Month.”

Writers select “The new LGBTQ+ lit list,” at The Guardian. 

The Root’s It’s Lit recommends “Even More April 2023 Books By Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read.”

Harmony Becker, Himawari House (First Second), recommends manga for teens, at NYT.

LitHub has a preview and cover reveal for Jesmyn Ward’s forthcoming novel, Let Us Descend, due out from Scribner in October. 

Sara Kuburic announces a new book, It’s On Me: Accept Hard Truths, Discover Your Self, and Change Your Life, due out from Dial in September. USA Today has the story. 

A cult survivor relates to Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare (Random; LJ starred review), at ElectricLit. 

“María Kodama, Keeper of the Borges Legacy, Dies at 86.” NYT has an obituary. 

Authors On Air

NPR’s All Things Considered celebrates National Poetry Month with Franny Choi, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On (Ecco; LJ starred review). 

Bustle rounds up what you need to know about Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the book by Cheryl Strayed, streaming now on Hulu.

T&C previews Oprah’s The Color Purple Musical Film adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 novel.

Three new Star Wars films are in the works. The announcement was made at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023. PBS Canvas reports. Plus, a new trailer arrives for Ahsoka on Disney+.

Hulu’s Saint X, based on the book by Alexis Schaitkin, gets a trailer. 

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